🤫 Scoop: Biden's border crisis

Plus: Scoop - New Iowa threat | Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios Sneak Peek By the Axios Politics team · Apr 19, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. ⚡Situational awareness: The Justice Department announced tonight it will appeal a judge's decision to lift the federal mask mandate — if the CDC concludes it's still medically necessary. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,061 words ... 4 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson.     1 big thing: Scoop - Biden weighs delaying Title 42 repeal President Biden speaks today in Portsmouth, N.H. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images   President Biden's inner circle has been discussing delaying the repeal of Title 42 border restrictions, now set to end May 23, a source with direct knowledge of the internal discussion tells Axios' Hans Nichols and Jonathan Swan. Why it matters: The White House is looking for ways to buy time to avoid a massive influx of migrants that would add to already-historic border numbers. That already endangers Democratic incumbents in states that could decide the Senate majority in November. Biden officials recognize they're in a jam: moderate Democrats are pounding on them to delay the repeal but doing so would inflame the party's progressive base. That includes members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who are scheduled to meet with the president next Monday. A full reversal of the decision to end Title 42, announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 1, is considered by Biden officials to be far less likely than a delay. Reversing the decision would effectively force the White House to overrule the CDC. Between the lines: The CDC's Title 42 order was first issued in March 2020 under former President Trump. It used the pandemic as a reason for turning back migrants attempting to enter the U.S., without the chance to seek asylum. Biden has benefitted from the border restriction but also been reluctant to overrule the CDC throughout the pandemic — and is unlikely to start now. "Title 42 is a public health authority from the CDC and we continue to defer to the CDC on its use and how long it will be in place," White House spokesperson Vedant Patel told Axios. "When it is no longer in place, migrants who attempt to enter the country unlawfully will be placed in immigration proceedings. Asylum and other legal migration pathways should remain available to those seeking protection, but those who don't qualify will be promptly removed to their countries of origin." Keep reading.     2. Scoop: New Iowa threat Data: Axios research; Cartogram: Sara Wise/Axios Washington is joining a series of states angling to jump ahead in the Democratic presidential primary calendar and dethrone Iowa and New Hampshire from their first-in-the-nation perch, Axios' Andrew Solender and Alexi McCammond have learned. Why it matters: Democrats are considering ways to make their nominating process more diverse and representative of the country. The Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee triggered the jockeying last week by voting to let states apply to hold an early primary. The process will move fast: States have just two months to draft formal applications and presentations for a DNC panel to consider. The full DNC is scheduled to vote in August. State of play: Several states have well-publicized plans to apply to hold one of up to five early primaries. They include New Jersey, Nebraska and Michigan. Tina Podlodowski, chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, told Axios it plans to apply. She cited her state's "broad diversity" that "mirrors the Democratic Party," as well as its all-mail voting system. Minnesota is "planning on putting in a bid" as well, state Democratic Party chair Ken Martin told Axios. Party officials in Texas, Colorado, Georgia, New Mexico, Arizona, Alabama and Utah told Axios they're considering bids too. "We are always looking for ways to highlight the great state of Georgia and will be following this new development closely," Rep. Nikema Williams, the Georgia Democratic Party chair, told Axios in a statement. Three current early primary states — Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina — are fighting to keep their spots, while Nevada is angling to move up to first. Keep reading.     3. Charted: Ukraine's Western revival Data: Axios research; Note: Poland's embassy never closed and Kyiv rejected the offer of a visit by German leadership; Table: Kavya Beheraj/Axios Less than two months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a steady stream of Western diplomats are returning to Kyiv to reopen embassies and facilitate in-person visits by their national leaders, Axios' Zachary Basu reports. Why it matters: Russia's retreat from Kyiv has alleviated the immediate threat to Ukraine's capital. As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleads for more military aid amid a decisive second phase of the war, he's encouraged Western leaders to visit Kyiv and witness firsthand the devastation Russian forces have left. Driving the news: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used a call on today to brief G7, NATO and EU leaders on his surprise visit to Kyiv this month, according to a Downing Street spokesperson. Johnson's tour of the capital's streets on April 10 produced a powerful photo op with Zelensky. It was accompanied by a British pledge to send armored vehicles and anti-ship missiles ahead of a major Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. Two days earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where Russian forces massacred hundreds of civilians. She later met with Zelensky to offer a fast-track to EU membership. The big picture: The leaders of Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia have also visited Kyiv in recent weeks. Keep reading.     A message from Facebook Facebook has invested $16 billion to keep you safe on our platform     Facebook invested $16B in safety and security over 6 years. The impact? Quadrupled safety and security teams. Developed industry-leading AI that detects harmful content and reacts as it evolves. Addressed millions of harmful posts and removed 1.7B fake accounts in the last few months. Learn what's next.     4. Worthy of your time Education Secretary Miguel Cardona plays Latin percussion while performing with members of the high school-age Herbie Hancock Jazz Institute Peer-To-Peer Jazz Sextet. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images   😷 The president took a libertarian tack when he was asked if people should continue to wear masks on planes after the Transportation Safety Administration stopped enforcing a public transit mask mandate struck down by a federal judge. "That's up to them," Biden replied, Andrew also reports in tonight's Sneak roundup. 💵 Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel donated $3.5 million to a super PAC supporting Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance — on top of $10 million he's already given — after Vance received a much-coveted endorsement from former President Trump, according to Politico. 💥 Jared Polis, Colorado's Democratic governor, accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of "authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector" after the Republican said he wants to hold Twitter's board of directors "accountable" for adopting a "poison pill" in response to a takeover attempt by Elon Musk. ✈️ Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced a CODEL to Belgium and three Balkan nations — Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo — to "convey continued U.S. support for its allies amid Russian aggression against Ukraine." 🇺🇦 The president and the leaders of key U.S. allies, including the European Union, France, Germany, Poland and Japan, "spoke about providing more ammunition and security assistance to Ukraine" on a call this afternoon, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.     5. Pics du jour President Biden addresses reporters amid a tour of the New Hampshire Port Authority in Portsmouth, N.H. Photos: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images   President Biden visited New Hampshire to tout the bipartisan infrastructure bill — a week after he visited Iowa. Chris Sununu, the state's Republican governor, welcomed the president at Pease International Airport.     A message from Facebook Privacy Checkup helps you stay informed and empowered on Facebook     We want privacy to be as easy as possible for you. That's why we built the Privacy Checkup, so you can: Strengthen your account security. Learn about your privacy settings and how your information is used. Control who sees what you post. Learn more about our safety efforts.   📬 Thanks for reading tonight! Please tell your family, friends and colleagues they can subscribe to Sneak or any of Axios' other free local and national newsletters through this link. Like this email style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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