| | | | | | | Presented By AHCA/NCAL | | | | Axios Sneak Peek | | By the Axios Politics team · Apr 24, 2022 | | Welcome back to Sneak. Happy Orthodox Easter, especially to our Ukrainian friends. 🚨 Breaking: "Blinken, Austin meeting with Zelensky," the Associated Press just scooped. ⚡ Situational awareness: "Macron defeats Le Pen to win re-election in France," writes Axios World's Dave Lawler. See Ron Klain's take below! Smart Brevity™ count: 1,087 words ... 4 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Squad's power play |  | | | Greg Casar (left), Jessica Cisneros (center) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Photo illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photos: Drew Angerer, Brandon Bell, Montinique Monroe/Getty Images | | | | The Squad is poised for big gains in November despite the Democrats' likely loss of the House, write Axios' Alexi McCammond and Andrew Solender. Why it matters: The progressive politics that mainstream Democrats blame for their decline stand to take center stage if both trendlines hold. And the Squad-Plus would be positioned to push the diluted ranks of its rivals into backing some of its agenda — impacting the 2024 presidential race. State of play: As many as six staunchly progressive candidates have viable chances to win House seats this cycle. The most notable is Greg Casar, the Democratic nominee in a solid-blue seat rooted in Austin and San Antonio, Texas. - Another Texan, progressive Jessica Cisneros, forced moderate Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) into a primary runoff set for May 24.
- In Pennsylvania, state Rep. Summer Lee, a self-identified Democratic Socialist, is leading her nearest opponent for a Pittsburgh-based U.S. House seat by 25 points, according to a poll from Emily's List, which is backing her candidacy.
- Erica Smith in North Carolina, Becca Balint in Vermont and Amy Vilela in Nevada are three other Squad-aligned progressives with shots at winning, multiple progressive strategists tell Axios.
Between the lines: Far from being chastened by any current Democratic losses, progressives would be inspired for future gains for their bloc. - "In 10 years, a lot more of Congress is going to look like the Squad," Karthik Ganapathy of Left Flank Strategies, a political consultancy supporting left-wing candidates, told Axios.
- "This is where our politics is headed. Not just as Democrats — as a country."
Keep reading. |     | | | | | | 2. Fight for abortion rights enters new arena |  | | | Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios | | | | The battle for abortion access is moving from the courts and legislatures to state ballots, reports Axios' Sophia Cai. Why it matters: The effort to codify public support through a referendum illustrates what many experts say is the future of abortion rights in America. They envision a state-by-state battle to keep abortion legal as the Supreme Court's conservative majority gears up to pare back or overturn Roe v. Wade. What we're watching: Twenty ballot measures addressing reproductive rights are in process for this year, according to the progressive Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. Four have already qualified for their respective state ballot: - A ballot initiative in Vermont, set for a vote on Nov. 8, would enact a state constitutional amendment declaring "an individual's right to personal reproductive autonomy."
- In Kansas, where the state Supreme Court has asserted a constitutional right to abortions, residents will vote in August on an amendment to eliminate that protection.
- In Montana, a ballot measure set to appear on the November ballot would require medical care for "any infant born alive." It would do so by classifying the fetus as a "legal person," with "the right to appropriate and reasonable medical care and treatment."
- In Kentucky, residents will vote in November on a measure that would ensure the state constitution does not "secure or protect a right to abortion, or require the funding of abortion."
The big picture: As Axios' Oriana Gonzalez reported, a patchwork of state laws would govern the procedure if the nation's highest court were to ultimately overturn the precedent established by Roe. Keep reading. | | | | | | | | 3. House member pleads to resume diplomatic services in Kyiv |  | | | Via Twitter | | | | Secretary of State Antony Blinken's surprise meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — reported this evening by the AP — came the same day the only Ukrainian-born member of Congress called for the U.S. to resume diplomatic services in the country. Why it matters: The trip by Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was fraught with risks — but just the kind Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) said the U.S. must take, writes Axios' Alayna Treene. - "In any job, whether it's a political job or diplomatic job, you do take some risks — you need to be smart — but, also, that's a part of your job: to do your service," she said on CNN's "State of the Union."
- "A lot of people, a lot of countries are actually bringing [diplomats] back to Kyiv, but the least we can do actually is bring it maybe to Lviv."
- "If you're not on the ground, it's very difficult to do your job. So, I think, it's important, and also sends a strong message for Ukrainian people," Spartz said.
- Blinken and Austin are the highest-ranking U.S. officials to travel to Kyiv since the war began on Feb. 24.
- The secretary of State stepped briefly onto Ukrainian soil while visiting Poland in March. He met then with the country's foreign minister.
Between the lines: Blinken's trip to Europe — cloaked in such secrecy administration colleagues refused to discuss it prior to him arriving — starts a big week for him. - An administration source said the secretary will testify on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
- Among his stops, Axios has learned, are appearances before both the Senate and House Foreign Relations Committees.
- He'll testify Tuesday before the Senate panel, and will appear again on Thursday before the House committee, committee aides confirmed to Axios.
Keep reading. | | | | | | | | A message from AHCA/NCAL | | It's past time to support our frontline heroes | | |  | | | | Caregivers in long-term care have gone above and beyond the call of duty during the pandemic. We need to support these caregivers to ensure access to care for seniors and their families. It's time to invest in the frontline heroes who protect America's seniors. Learn more. | | | | | | 4. Worthy of your time |  | | | President Biden paid tribute to the late Sen. Orrin Hatch after his death was announced yesterday. Hatch was on Capitol Hill in January 2019 to introduce attorney-general nominee William Barr. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call | | | | 🏛️ Congress returns to session this week after two weeks of Easter recess. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said her members expect a request from the White House to pass another aid package for Ukraine. She said it will be taken up by the House "as soon as we can." 🇮🇱 President Biden had a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and "accepted an invitation to visit Israel in the coming months," the White House said in a readout of the call. ❌ Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that she plans to run for reelection to the Senate, not president, in 2024, stating, "I'm not running for president in 2024. ... President Biden is running in 2024 and I'm supporting him." 🇷🇺 Julia Ioffe reports in Puck News that there's a reason mothers in Moscow aren't protesting the war in Ukraine like in past wars: Most of the combat deaths have come from Buryatia, an economically depressed area in the far east near Mongolia where military service is seen as a hope and honor. 🇫🇷 White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain pointed to French election results as a good omen for Biden, tweeting, "An interesting observation, just FYI ... Macron appears to have secured a double-digit victory over LePen, at a time when his approval rating is 36%. Hmmm...." | | | | | | | | 5. Pic du jour |  | | | Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images | | | | President Biden made a rare visit to the press cabin aboard Air Force One. - He spoke to reporters Friday night while flying from Seattle to Philadelphia after a two-day trip to the Pacific Northwest.
| | | | | | | | A message from AHCA/NCAL | | Support frontline heroes now | | |  | | | | The pandemic has taken a toll on our nation's caregivers, resulting in a staffing crisis and nursing home closures. It's up to policymakers to support those serving on the frontlines in long-term care and protect seniors' access to care. Learn more. | | | | 🚀 Thanks for starting your week with us! 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. |  | 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.
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