🥵 Biden's 2024 headaches

Plus: Midterms cash trend | Thursday, February 09, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Amazon   Axios Sneak Peek By Axios Sneak Peek · Feb 09, 2023 Welcome back to Sneak: Smart Brevity™ count: 598 words ... 2½ minutes. 🚨 Situational awareness: Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating former President Trump, Axios' Hans Nichols and Sareen Habeshian report. The subpoena comes after months of negotiations between Pence's legal team and federal prosecutors, per ABC News. Representatives for Pence declined to comment.     🥵 1 big thing: Biden's 2024 headaches Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images   President Biden is dealing with more re-election primary headaches than you'd expect for an incumbent president, Axios' Alexi McCammond reports. Why it matters: Biden's State of the Union for a "blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America" acknowledged a persistent challenge for Democrats — keeping white, working-class voters in their column. But he's also trying to reward racial and geographic diversity earlier in the primary election calendar, drawing blowback from states that prize their historic placement. Biden's current list of 2024 problems: Chicago Democrats are warning Biden that organized labor will be offended if he hosts the Democratic National Convention in a right-to-work state like Georgia. New Hampshire Democrats say they won't change state law to accommodate his new primary calendar. Georgia Democrats are powerless to help him get the state's primary moved up since they'd need Republicans to make it happen. Zoom out: The last time Big Labor felt rebuffed by a Democratic president's convention site selection (President Obama's choosing Charlotte in 2012), it boycotted and redirected money and time to a different event. "It was a slap in the face" when Democrats selected right-to-work state North Carolina in 2012, said Lonnie Stephenson, former president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. "Normally, we give financial support and we didn't that year," he told Axios. Biden was greeted during a Wisconsin rally yesterday for union workers by a full-page ad urging him to "CHOOSE CHICAGO" for 2024. The bottom line: The DNC has given New Hampshire and Georgia until June to comply with the new calendar dates. Republicans in Georgia oversee these changes and they've maintained they're not interested in helping Democrats. New Hampshire's state Constitution dictates that it hosts the first presidential primary one week before any other state, and Democrats say they can't unilaterally change that. Share this story.     2. Scoop: White House private sector liaison exits Zach Butterworth, White House director of private sector engagement. Photo: Courtesy of Adam Schultz/The White House   A key player in major economic legislation passed by the Biden administration plans to leave the White House tomorrow, Axios' Sophia Cai reports. Why it matters: As the White House's liaison to the business community, Zach Butterworth helped build support for the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS Act to boost U.S.-based chip manufacturing, and the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill. Butterworth has been the "connective tissue" between the senior-most members of the administration and companies, CEOs and small-business groups across a range of industries, several people in and outside of the White House tell Axios. The bottom line: His departure leaves an important role open as Biden gears up for 2024 and as the White House looks to improve its relationship with the business world and leverage public-private partnerships. Share this story.     3. Lawmaker attacked Rep. Angie Craig walks down the House steps at the Capitol in May 2022. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images   Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) is "physically OK" after she was assaulted in the elevator of her apartment building this morning in D.C., Axios' Erin Doherty reports. "There is no evidence that the incidence was politically motivated," Craig's chief of staff Nick Coe said in a statement. "Rep. Craig defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically OK," per the statement. Craig defended herself by tossing her hot coffee at the alleged attacker, who fled before officers arrived at the scene.     A message from Amazon Ready to give up, Frank found a new career at Amazon     Frank started as a shift assistant. Now, five years later, he is a senior operations manager at an Amazon Air Hub, and he mentors colleagues looking to grow. Here's why: Amazon supports career growth for all employees with free skills training and prepaid tuition benefits. Read more.     🤑 4. Huge midterms cash trend Source: Data: OpenSecrets; Chart: Axios Visuals     5. Pic du jour: Biden selfie Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images President Biden takes a selfie at an event to discuss Social Security and Medicare held today at the University of Tampa.     A message from Amazon "I was able to go to college without stressing about the cost"     Julio always planned to go to college but couldn't afford it. The Amazon Career Choice program helped him become the first college graduate in his family. Here's how: Amazon offers pre-paid tuition for nearly 1 million employees and delivery partners. Read how Amazon is helping employees grow.   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. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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