🐘 Lopsided power struggle

Scoop: Biden plans Africa trip | Monday, December 12, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Walmart   Axios Sneak Peek By Alayna Treene, Hans Nichols and Zachary Basu · Dec 12, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. Smart Brevity™ count: 983 words ... 3.5 minutes. ⚡ Situational awareness: Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) will not stay on as chair of Senate Democrats' campaign arm, forcing the party to find a replacement ahead of 2024's brutal Senate map. 🚨 Breaking: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested in the Bahamas and is likely to face extradition to the U.S. He was scheduled to testify to the House Financial Services Committee tomorrow.     1 big thing: RNC's lopsided power struggle Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios   Ronna McDaniel is set to glide to a fourth term as chair of the RNC next month — an unprecedented vote of confidence for a leader who has thus far failed to preside over a single positive election cycle. Why it matters: With a civil war engulfing the GOP ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the RNC's membership is doubling down on a Trump-allied chair with serious fundraising prowess — but a dismal record when it comes to winning, Axios' Alayna Treene writes. The big picture: Since McDaniel's election in 2017, the party has suffered through a Democratic landslide in 2018, former President Trump's defeat and a Democratic Senate takeover in 2020, and a "red wave" that failed to materialize in 2022. The Texas GOP's executive committee voted unanimously this weekend to call for McDaniel to be replaced as RNC chair but did not endorse a challenger. "If she were an SEC football coach, she would have been out a long time ago," conservative commentator Erick Erickson told Axios. What's happening: Despite these intensifying calls for GOP recriminations, more than 100 of the RNC's 168 members sent a letter last month expressing support for McDaniel and praising her for making the RNC "a stronger and more effective force for our cause." Even after Republicans' final loss in the Georgia Senate runoff and new challenges to McDaniel announced by other pro-Trump figures, none of the letter's signatories have publicly changed their position. Instead, the letter was re-circulated earlier this month with a handful of additional endorsers, McDaniel spokesperson Emma Vaughn told Axios, making it clear she still has the 85 votes necessary to prevail. "Just like the RNC, Chairwoman McDaniel's decision to run for re-election was member driven," Vaughn said. The intrigue: McDaniel's campaign has stressed the RNC's commitment to neutrality in presidential primaries, but Republicans have questioned whether she will be able to appear impartial on the 2024 field given her ties to Trump, who helped install her as RNC chair in 2017. "I don't like this," McDaniel said on "Fox Business" today when pressed on whether Trump bears responsibility for the GOP's midterm performance. "I'm not into the blame game right now." Reality check: The RNC's 168 members aren't representative of the broader GOP — or even conservative public opinion, Axios' Josh Kraushaar writes. Winning the RNC chairmanship is about catering to the interests and whims of at least 85 members — all of whom have agendas that go beyond simply advancing the interests of the Republican Party. Share this story.     2. 🌍 Scoop: Biden plans Africa trip Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland today to attend the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images President Biden is planning a multi-country trip to Africa next year, with an announcement expected to be made at this week's U.S.-Africa summit, Axios' Dave Lawler and Hans Nichols report. Why it matters: The administration hopes announcing a presidential visit to sub-Saharan Africa will send a clear signal that the U.S. is serious about deepening ties to the continent. Representatives from 49 African countries are visiting Washington as Biden looks to move relations beyond the security concerns, humanitarian crises and human rights abuses that have dominated in the past. Unmentioned in the agenda, but looming over the entire summit, is China, which holds summits with Africa every three years either in Beijing or on the continent. Flashback: For the first nine months of Biden's administration, none of the senior-most foreign policy officials visited Africa. Instead, they visited European allies and countries in Southeast Asia that have become a focus of U.S.-China competition. Donald Trump was the first president since Ronald Reagan not to visit sub-Saharan Africa. The Biden administration aims to show that things have come a long way since Trump's tenure — and since Barack Obama hosted the only previous U.S.-Africa summit in 2014. Keep reading.     3. 🔄 Charted: Sinema's forerunners Data: Axios research; Chart: Alice Feng/Axios Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), asked about the future of the Democratic Party after Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's (I-Ariz.) departure, told reporters today: "What's the future of any of the parties? These two parties are crazy. They're making people choose to be which tribe? I'm on one tribe: the American tribe."     A message from Walmart Walmart is investing $1 billion in career training and development     At Walmart, a first promotion is often just the first of many — 75% of management started as hourly associates. That's just one reason why Walmart was named one of LinkedIn's Top Companies to Grow a Career in 2022. Learn how Walmart's mentorship and training help associates advance in their careers.     4. 🎥 Alexandra Pelosi's "unauthorized" documentary House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) and daughter Alexandra Pelosi arrive at the White House for a state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: Sarah Silbiger/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images   Alexandra Pelosi will be out with her 14th documentary tomorrow. The subject is her own mother, the outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Pelosi in the House," which will air on HBO, is the product of more than 800 hours of footage collected over the course of decades, according to the New York Times. The intrigue: Alexandra told the Times this month that Pelosi hadn't yet seen the film, calling her mother "the harshest editor." This is not an authorized documentary. She did not sign a release. I don't think she's going to sue her daughter, but she's not going to be happy. I'm sure she's going to call me the moment she sees it — my husband [the Dutch journalist Michiel Vos] and I have a game going, of how many things she's going to have on her list. I would guess a dozen solid "you shouldn't have included this" and a list of a dozen things [to use] instead. Watch a trailer.     5. 🎄 Pics du jour Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images   President Biden and first lady Jill Biden marked the 75th anniversary of Toys for Tots today at an event hosted by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Through the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, Marines and volunteers have sent out 627 million toys to more than 281 million children since 1947, according to the White House. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images     A message from Walmart Walmart named one of LinkedIn's Top 20 Companies to Grow a Career     Patrick Joseph began his Walmart career as a pharmacy intern. Today, he oversees 11 pharmacies and eight vision centers — and his story is just one of many. See how Walmart's focus on mentorship and advancement helps create more stories like Patrick's.   📬 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? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: