| | | | | | | Presented By Walmart | | | | Axios AM | | By Mike Allen · Nov 11, 2022 | | 🇺🇸 On Veterans Day, thank you to those who served us. What's open/closed today. - Smart Brevity™ count: 1,153 words ... 4½ minutes. Edited by Donica Phifer.
| | | | | | 1 big thing: Biden's business play | | President Biden yesterday at a post-election DNC rally in D.C. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Biden administration officials are considering recruiting a seasoned business executive — potentially a Wall Street banker — to join the White House in a senior role, Axios' Hans Nichols reports. - Why it matters: Preparing for a reelection campaign during a likely economic downturn, the White House wants to improve relations with the business community.
👂 What we're hearing: After being pounded by inflation, the president's team wants to be sure he's getting a 360-degree view of the economy — even if that means inflaming the party's progressive base by bringing in a figure with corporate finance and investment expertise. - Corporate profits are down, interest rates are rising, and markets are volatile. The White House wants to stay in front of any financial crises — or contagion.
Brian Deese, the National Economic Council director, is expected to leave this winter, creating a high-profile opening at the nerve center of Biden's White House. - The plum position might lure someone with Wall Street experience to leave a lucrative job in New York and come to Washington.
Even if Biden picks someone with more D.C. experience for the NEC slot, like former NEC director Gene Sperling, officials are looking for ways to bring someone with real business experience into the West Wing. - Blair Effron, a co-founder of Centerview Partners, an investment banking advisory firm, is among the potential candidates.
- Effron, a longtime Democratic donor, is also a member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board and involved with the Hamilton Project, which focuses on economic policy and is associated with the Brookings Institution.
The intrigue: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who worked in private equity before serving as governor of Rhode Island, maintains close ties with Wall Street and the business community. - She met with investors yesterday in New York at Evercore, an investment banking firm co-founded by Roger Altman, who served as deputy Treasury Secretary under President Clinton.
🔮 What's next: Democrats did better than expected in the midterm election. But top officials, including the president, know they need to get inflation under control. |     | | | | | | 2. 🇨🇳 Navy warning: "The ship is sinking" | | Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) transits the Taiwan Strait in August. Photo: U.S. Navy via Reuters Navy Adm. Chas Richard, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (Stratcom) warns that China is out-competing the U.S. in dramatic fashion: - "As I assess our level of deterrence against China, the ship is slowly sinking," Richard told an industry luncheon in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 2.
- "It is sinking slowly, but it is sinking, as fundamentally they are putting capability in the field faster than we are. As those curves keep going, it isn't going to matter how good our [operating plan] is or how good our commanders are, or how good our forces are — we're not going to have enough of them. And that is a very near-term problem."
The remarks were reported by the Pentagon, and we saw them flagged by The Drive. - "This Ukraine crisis that we're in right now, this is just the warm-up," Richard said. "The big one is coming. And it isn't going to be very long before we're going to get tested in ways that we haven't been tested in a long time."
| | | | | | | | 3. 🗳️ We don't even agree on what "democracy" means | | Ballots are received, sorted and verified at an L.A. County ballot processing facility in the City of Industry, Calif. Photo: Robert Gauthier/L.A. Times via Getty Images Concerns over democracy were shared by midterm voters of both parties, but for very different reasons, AP reports. - 44% of voters said the future of democracy was their primary consideration — just behind inflation at 51% — according to AP VoteCast, a survey of 94,000+ voters, conducted Oct. 31 to Nov. 8.
Those who said democracy was their first consideration included about 56% of Democrats and 34% of Republicans. - Among Republicans, those who identify as being part of former President Trump's Make America Great Again movement were more likely than others to say the future of democracy was the top factor when voting, 37% to 28%.
- Democrats believed the spread of election lies and the number of Republican candidates repeating them were an assault on the foundation of democracy.
Between the lines: VoteCast found only about a third of Republicans believe Biden was legitimately elected — showing how widely Trump's continued false claims about the election have permeated his party. The bottom line: "Our democracy has been tested in recent years," President Biden said hoarsely at a post-election press conference on Wednesday. "But with their votes, the American people have spoken and proven once again that democracy is who we are." | | | | | | | | A message from Walmart | | Walmart's investments help customers save on their Thanksgiving meal | | |  | | | | This holiday season, Walmart is removing inflation on an entire basket containing traditional Thanksgiving items. Why it's important: The company has made significant investments on top of their everyday low prices to provide savings to American families when they need it most. Learn more. | | | | | | 4. Many vets miss benefits |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | Many veterans are unaware of a range of other benefits, from financial counseling to career services, that are also available to them, Axios Finish Line co-author Erica Pandey writes. - Why it matters: Rates of homelessness are higher among veterans than the general public, and 15 in every 100 veterans lives with PTSD. But many aren't aware of the safety net that exists to support them.
🧮 By the numbers: Veterans are very happy with one of their biggest benefits — health care from the VA. According to a new Ipsos poll, 80% of veterans rate their health care as good or very good. - But 63% say they're not sure how to rate the VA's financial counseling services and another 54% say they don't know how to rate career services.
- Some 50% of vets say they're not sure how to rate the VA's life insurance and 33% are unsure about housing assistance.
Between the lines: Veterans who know about benefits tend to use them. - Of the veterans who said they had the "most knowledge" about the VA's offerings, 62% said they received all benefits from the department.
- Just 41% of vets who said they were "least knowledgeable" about the offerings did the same.
🍽️ Useful for you: Where veterans and military eat free on Veterans Day, by Axios' Kelly Tyko. - Go deeper: What you can do to help heroes (Axios Finish Line).
| | | | | | | | 5. ⚡ Tracking power: Oregon governor-elect | | Tina Kotek addresses supporters in Portland yesterday. Photo: Claire Rush/AP Tina Kotek has been elected Oregon's next governor, extending longtime Democratic control of the state and dashing Republican hopes for a rare win in a top race on the West Coast, AP reports. - Kotek joins Massachusetts Gov.-elect Maura Healey as the first openly lesbian elected governors in the United States.
- Kotek said: "I can tell you that being who I am is important to Oregonians across the state. Lots of young people have come up to me and said thank you for running and thank you for being who you are."
The former longtime speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives faced a stiff challenge from Republican Christine Drazan, who is also an ex-legislator. | | | | | | | | 6. 🖼️ $1.6 billion collection | | "Small False Start," 1960, by Jasper Johns — encaustic, acrylic and paper collage on fiberboard — was one of the auctioned pieces. Photo: Christie's/Courtesy of the Paul G. Allen Estate, via AP Five paintings sold for above $100 million each at Christie's in New York on Wednesday and yesterday, during an auction of the masterpiece-heavy collection of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. - The 155 artworks went for a record $1.6 billion.
Keep reading. | | | | | | | | A message from Walmart | | Walmart removes inflation on a basket of Thanksgiving meal essentials | | |  | | | | Walmart is offering this year's Thanksgiving meal at last year's price, so families don't need to worry about how they'll set their holiday table. The company has been working with suppliers for months to help ensure a strong supply for all the holiday mealtime essentials this season. Learn more. | | | | 📬 Thanks for starting your day with us. Please invite your friends to sign up to get their daily essentials — Axios AM, PM and Finish Line. |  | | 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. | | | |
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