💸 Scoop: Yellen exit chatter

Dem candidate calls Pelosi "authoritarian" | Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By The American Petroleum Institute   Axios Sneak Peek By Alayna Treene, Hans Nichols and Zachary Basu · Sep 27, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. The midterms are in six weeks. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,018 words ... 4 minutes. 🌀 Situational awareness: The White House said President Biden spoke to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this evening as Hurricane Ian barreled toward the peninsula with "catastrophic" winds and storm surge. The latest.     1 big thing — Scoop: White House mulls Yellen departure Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios   White House officials are quietly preparing for the potential departure of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen after the midterms, the first and most consequential exit in what could be a broad reorganization of President Biden's economic team, Axios' Hans Nichols reports. Why it matters: While her potential departure would give Biden an opportunity to respond to public concern over his handling of the economy, it would also create an immediate political headache: finding a successor who can be confirmed by the Senate. The process is in the early stages and a decision on Yellen, or any Cabinet replacement, has not been made. Multiple sources stressed the outcome of November's election, including who controls the Senate, will factor into whether she stays. The intrigue: In addition to Yellen, officials are also considering the possibility that Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, will leave early next year. Deese's departure would present an opportunity for Gene Sperling, who is currently coordinating the implementation of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, to serve an unprecedented third term as NEC director after holding that post in the Clinton and Obama administrations. Cecilia Rouse, the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, is also expected to return to her academic post in the spring of 2023, opening up another Cabinet-level economic position. What they're saying: "While we are prudently planning for potential transitions post-midterm, neither Secretary Yellen or Brian Deese are part of those plans," White House senior adviser Anita Dunn said in a statement. Between the lines: Yellen, an economist by trade and at heart, has been reluctant to make overly political arguments when they violate her core academic beliefs. The former Fed and CEA chair has disagreed with the White House on several high-profile issues, including the White House faulting corporations for increasing inflation and — most recently — Biden's decision to forgive some student debt. She has also made several statements that White House officials have privately viewed as blunders. Yellen publicly admitted this summer she was wrong on inflation, and last year said it would be a "plus" if the Fed raised interest rates. Zoom in: Republicans, who have campaigned vigorously on inflation, will seize on any expected departure from the economic team as a tacit admission that Biden has mishandled the economy. The big picture: The world's presidents, central bankers and finance ministers are deeply concerned about the state of the global economy, giving it an ominous feeling with parallels to 2007, Axios' Neil Irwin has written. Some officials will argue for keeping the battle-tested Yellen in place in part because of the respect she commands from those financial technocrats. White House officials are also convinced they have a compelling economic story to tell and are eager to define — and debate — Bidenomics. Share this story.     2. ⚖️ Jan. 6 flurry Judge Amy Berman Jackson moments before sentencing Jan. 6 defendant Kyle Young. Via Twitter Top headlines from a major day of Jan. 6 news in Congress and the courts: Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced 36-year-old Kyle Young to 86 months in prison for assaulting a police officer during the Capitol riot — and used her remarks in court to excoriate GOP leaders for their fealty to former President Trump. The expected final — and now-postponed — Jan. 6 committee hearing is expected to focus in part on how Trump associates planned to declare victory regardless of the outcome of the election. That includes Roger Stone, who CNN reports was captured by a documentary crew raising the possibility of violence the day before the vote. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) endorsed a bill to reform how Congress certifies presidential elections, putting it on track to pass with a broad bipartisan majority in the Senate's lame-duck session of Congress.     3. 🐘 McCarthy's machine Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images   Top allies to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) engaged in a behind-the-scenes effort "to purge the influence of Republican factions that seek disruption and grandstanding," the Washington Post reports. Among the victims of the secretive push: Freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), who was defeated in a May primary after infuriating Republicans with bizarre claims about cocaine-fueled sex parties in Congress. Why it matters: In a Republican-controlled House with a potentially narrow majority, the multimillion-dollar push to "systematically weed out" rebellious candidates could pay major dividends for McCarthy's Speaker ambitions. "McCarthy is a political animal, and he has a lot of political animals working for him," one Republican operative told The Post. "He is not a guy to be trifled with." Other controversial Republicans targeted by McCarthy's machine include Carl Paladino in New York, state Rep. Anthony Sabatini in Florida and Trump-endorsed candidate Joe Kent in Washington state. "They would have been legislative terrorists whose goal was fame," said a person familiar with the effort to stop them.     A message from The American Petroleum Institute Collaborative research project drives methane solutions     As director of CSU's Methane Emissions Tech Evaluation Center, Dan Zimmerle oversees a facility simulating the real-world workings of the natural gas industry. We spoke with him about why reducing methane emissions matters, how to make methane testing more efficient and the future of energy.     4. 🤔 Dem candidate calls Pelosi "authoritarian" Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images   The Democratic nominee challenging House GOP Conference Elise Stefanik in New York's 21st District called Speaker Nancy Pelosi an "authoritarian" in a radio interview today, Axios Sophia Cai reports. Why it matters: It's unusual, to say the least, for a Democrat to use such extreme language about a leader of their own party — especially given that Stefanik herself has attacked Pelosi in the same way. The comments by Matt Castelli — a former CIA officer and National Security Council counterterrorism director — could be aimed at picking off Republican voters in a long-shot district that former President Trump won by 12 points in 2020. "I think Nancy Pelosi is an authoritarian, and I'm not going to support her for another term as speaker," Castelli told WATN radio. "I think she breaks her promises. She tries to rule by division. We need someone that's going to bring folks together."     5. 🇯🇵 Parting shot Photo: Leah Millis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images Vice President Kamala Harris visits Zojoji Temple in Tokyo after attending the state funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.     A message from The American Petroleum Institute New technology is cutting greenhouse gas emissions     Carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. are among the lowest levels in a generation, thanks to technological innovations and partnerships across the country. Learn how the men and women of the natural gas and oil industry are building toward a better future.   📬 Thanks for reading tonight. This newsletter was edited by Zachary Basu and copy edited by Kathie Bozanich. Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. 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