🇨🇳 Scoop: Labor warns Biden

Plus: "Seditious conspiracy" charges | Monday, June 06, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios Sneak Peek By Alayna Treene, Hans Nichols and Zachary Basu · Jun 06, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. Smart Brevity™ count: 842 words ... 3.5 minutes. 🌸 Situational awareness: Former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) will open a gun violence memorial on the National Mall tomorrow at 10am ET — her first public appearance since the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting. Details. 🌎 Breaking: President Biden will unveil a new economic framework for Latin America at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Go deeper.     1 big thing — Scoop: Labor fires warning shot at Biden Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images   President Biden is facing public pressure from America's leading unions on an issue that has divided his top advisers: The Labor Advisory Committee urged Biden this evening to extend former President Trump's China tariffs on approximately $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, Axios' Hans Nichols reports. Why it matters: The Biden administration is engaged in an intense internal debate on whether to waive some of the so-called Section 301 tariffs to help ease inflation — the top issue roiling Biden's presidency. By filing an official comment with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, union leaders are going public with what they've been saying in private: they expect Biden to keep all of Trump's tariffs in place. Context: Biden, who prizes his relationship with organized labor, has taken pains not to aggravate union leaders and is deeply hesitant to cross them. But fiddling with Trump's tariffs is one of the few dials the president has that can marginally affect the inflation rate, which currently sits at 8.3% and is clearly spooking Democrats heading into the midterms. Driving the news: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said yesterday that it "may make sense" to lift some of Trump's China tariffs and mentioned specific products — like bicycles — that could be exempted. Raimondo is joined by other Biden officials, like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in arguing behind the scenes that removing some tariffs could ease the pain for Americans fed up with high prices. On the other side are officials like U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who argues that the U.S. should take a more strategic approach to the tariffs — both to protect American workers and to maintain leverage over China. The big picture: Politically, there's no debate soaring prices are taking a toll — just 28% of Americans approve of Biden's handling of inflation, according to a recent survey from ABC News/Ipsos. Biden has repeatedly said in recent weeks that fighting inflation is his "top priority," but officials know they have limited tools to bring it down quickly. Top officials suspect removing Trump's tariffs would have only a marginal effect on the overall inflation rate, about 0.26%, according to one study. Biden has released oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower gas prices and is soon planning to visit Saudi Arabia, which just announced plans to increase its oil production. Some Democrats are clinging to hopes that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) might agree to a climate and energy package that would also force the pharmaceutical industry to negotiate directly with Medicare, lowering prices for consumers. The bottom line: White House officials — and Biden himself — are always careful to emphasize that fighting inflation is primarily the responsibility of the Federal Reserve. Share this story.     2. ⚡ Three Jan. 6 headlines Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio at a protest in Washington on Dec. 12, 2020. Photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images   With three days to go until the House Jan. 6 committee's first public hearing (Thursday at 8pm ET): The longtime leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, and four of his lieutenants were indicted for "seditious conspiracy" in connection with the attack on the Capitol. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), one of the more outspoken Democrats on the committee, told Washington Post Live the investigation "has found evidence about a lot more than incitement" when it comes to former President Trump's role in Jan. 6. Republicans are seizing on Axios' scoop that some committee members want to recommend abolishing the Electoral College as evidence of its alleged partisanship.     3. 👀 GOP donors back gun talks Image courtesy of letter organizer Todd Maclin Over 250 conservative gun owners in Texas, including GOP donors to Gov. Greg Abbott, signed an open letter supporting congressional action on red flag laws, expanded background checks and raising the age to buy a gun to 21. ⚡ Latest: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said this afternoon the "Core Four" senators leading bipartisan gun negotiations are "hovering above the target" on a rough compromise. "If we reach an agreement, law-abiding gun owners would not be affected at all," Cornyn said, emphasizing that the proposals would focus on keeping guns away from people already prohibited from owning them. "We're not talking about banning weapons or high-capacity ammunition magazines or changing the background check system," he added.     A message from Facebook Facebook is taking action to keep its platform safe     We spent $16 billion to enhance safety and security across our platforms over the past 6 years. That's enough to build 7 pro stadiums. And it's just one example of the work we're doing to create safer connections. Learn more about our work ahead.     4. 🐦 Elon's Texas mind meld Via Twitter   Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into allegations Twitter has misrepresented the number of fake bot accounts that make up its user base. Context: Elon Musk, who moved Tesla's headquarters to Austin, Texas, last year, is threatening to walk away from his Twitter acquisition over claims the platform has refused to share information on fake accounts.     5. 📷 D.C. lens Photo: Alex Brandon/Associated Press Student activists wear body armor today during a Students Demand Action gun-safety event near the West Front of the Capitol.     A message from Facebook We have over 40,000 people working on safety and security     That's more than the size of the FBI. And they're working to create more meaningful connections for our communities. That's just one example of the work we're doing. Facebook is taking action to keep its platform safe. Learn more about our work ahead.   📬 Thanks for reading! Send us feedback by hitting reply or emailing us at sneak@axios.com. Like this email style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. 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