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Presented by Facebook: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | | | We heard extensively from Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) yet again this morning. During a gaggle with reporters, he (1) reiterated he has still not budged beyond $1.5 trillion as a top-line number for the reconciliation bill, (2) once again expressed doubts about climate policies that he believes “penalize” carbon-intensive industries, (3) had reservations about expanding Medicaid coverage and adding benefits to Medicare, (4) seemed open to a wealth tax, and (5) thought a framework deal — though not full legislative language ready for a vote — could come this week. More from Marianne LeVine and Burgess Everett Today’s expansive comments come after the most important senator in America enjoyed breakfast with President JOE BIDEN and Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Del., on Sunday — an invitation from the president that is exceedingly rare. In short, as has been clear for a long time now, Manchin is one of just a few legislators who are writing the reconciliation bill. Manchin’s late-inning preferences are coming directly at the expense of the senator who cobbled together the first draft of this legislation: BERNIE SANDERS. The list of priorities important to the Vermont independent that Manchin (with a big assist from Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA) has killed (or is trying to kill) is long: (1) a prescription drug pricing plan that would raise hundreds of billions of dollars, (2) adding comprehensive vision, dental and hearing coverage to Medicare, (3) climate provisions that would aggressively force utilities to switch to clean energy, (4) a federal program to provide 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, and (5) significant tax hikes on corporations and wealthy Americans. The reconciliation bill is gradually shifting from a Sanders product that encapsulates the policy thinking of the modern progressive movement to a much more business-friendly and targeted package of programs reminiscent of 1990s Clintonism. So far, Bernie and his allies seem OK with all of this — or at least quiet. But as the Democrats prepare to unveil the final agreement, we would be surprised if there isn’t one more rebellion from the left to protest how much progressives have lost in the sausage-making so far. More on Manchin … from AP’s Lisa Mascaro and Hope Yen, who report he’s apparently amenable to including a wealth tax … from WaPo’s Tony Romm, who says that Manchin is continuing to fight the paid leave proposal in the reconciliation bill. NUMBER OF THE DAY — Just 23% of federal rental aid to help forestall evictions was disbursed during the program’s first nine months, as distribution “has started to plateau, despite Biden administration pressure on state and local governments to ramp up delivery,” Katy O’Donnell reports. Good Monday afternoon. | | A message from Facebook: Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations
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Hear more from Jack on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet’s most pressing challenges, including reforming Section 230 to set clear guidelines for all large tech companies. | | | FACEBOOK UNDER FIRE — When was the last time a major company faced as sustained and damaging a series of revelations in the news media as Facebook has been experiencing lately? The hits, many spurred by whistleblower FRANCES HAUGEN, keep coming. This morning, our POLITICO colleagues published no fewer than six new stunners: 1. In the chaotic buildup to the Capitol insurrection, Facebook had no idea how to handle posts that falsely delegitimized the 2020 election, a policy breakdown that allowed conspiracy theories to spread, reports Alexandra Levine. 2. Facebook’s policy lobbyists, steered by a top Republican, are so heavily involved in making decisions about content moderation and products that they’ve prompted internal complaints from employees about the political nature of decision-making, per Emily Birnbaum. 3. In conflict-riven countries around the world, Facebook hasn’t managed to contain the spread of hate speech, religious sectarianism and terrorist/extremist propaganda, reports Mark Scott. 4. Facebook’s been aware for years that much of its toxicity is spread by “individual people who use small collections of accounts to broadcast reams of incendiary posts,” but it hasn’t stopped them in any systematic manner, write Julia Arciga and Susannah Luthi. 5. Internally, Facebook employees trumpet their market dominance — in contrast to the company’s public downplaying of its power in an attempt to avoid antitrust regulation. The documents could help the FTC build its case against Facebook, reports Leah Nylen. 6. Many Facebook employees are angry over what they see as the platform’s failings, wrestling with their consciences amid the political upheaval of the past few years. John Hendel samples some of the internal message board comments. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE: — MARK ZUCKERBERG personally decided to censor government opposition in Vietnam last year rather than risk being taken offline in the country, WaPo’s Elizabeth Dwoskin, Tory Newmyer and Shibani Mahtani reveal. The move “exemplifies his relentless determination to ensure Facebook’s dominance, sometimes at the expense of his stated values.” Another shocking anecdote: Ahead of the 2020 U.S. election, WhatsApp wanted to create a Spanish-language “voting information center” to help users register to vote, but Zuckerberg quashed the idea by saying it wasn’t “politically neutral.” — Haugen was also testifying before the British Parliament today. More from the BBC — SCOOP: Tonight, the House Democratic Caucus hosts a members-only “dinner and discussion” on “antitrust enforcement and its impact on economic and racial inequality.” The backdrop, of course, is all the news about Facebook, but the dinner — which we’re told is hosted by Reps. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-N.Y.), DAVID CICILLINE (D-R.I.) and PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.) — will be more wide-reaching in scope. Members will be joined by two Biden administration officials: TIM WU, the special assistant to the president for technology and competition policy, and BHARAT RAMAMURTI, deputy director of the National Economic Council. (h/t Heather Caygle) FACEBOOK FIGHTS BACK — The company’s head of global policy management, MONIKA BICKERT, went on NBC’s “Today” show this morning and said the company is getting better at stopping online abuse: “We do listen to the researchers.” The interview | | | | INTRODUCING CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO’s new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. GET A FIRST LOOK AT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | (IR)RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES LATEST FROM THE WHITE HOUSE — Biden said he hopes to land a deal among Democrats on the reconciliation bill before he goes to Europe on Thursday. But “even if it doesn’t happen before he leaves, the president can do the work that he needs to do abroad,” principal deputy press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE said aboard Air Force One this morning. — METAPHOR ALERT, via Bloomberg’s @JenniferJJacobs, on the road with Biden at a New Jersey elementary school: “‘Whoa! I’m sorry, that was my fault,’ Biden says as child’s mini infrastructure project collapses.” BACK OF THE PACK — The lack of any paid family and medical leave places the U.S. among a group of just six countries in the world that don’t offer such benefits to new parents and six workers. And if the reconciliation bill passes with a slimmed-down four weeks of leave, the U.S. would still lag the vast majority of countries, reports NYT’s Claire Cain Miller — giving just half of what, say, Malawi offers. Russia clocks in at an eye-popping 166 weeks; the average maternity leave for countries that have it is 29 weeks. OTOH: The proposal’s “very broad definition of family and caregiving,” including time off to care for in-laws, grandparents and other loved ones, “would put the United States at the forefront internationally.” POLITICS ROUNDUP 2022 WATCH — It’s a familiar story by now: Scandal-plagued Republican candidate jumps into a key race, gets as Trumpy as possible, surges to the lead and worries the party establishment. In the case of ERIC GREITENS in Missouri, Natalie Allison reports, people who know him don’t even consider him a MAGA true believer — more “an opportunist who has shamelessly recast himself.” One big question mark is how DONALD TRUMP and Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.), an erstwhile opponent and investigator of Greitens, will weigh in: “Trump and Hawley discussed the Missouri race as recently as the last two weeks.” ANOTHER HOUSE DEM DEPARTURE — Rep. ANTHONY BROWN (D-Md.) is leaving Congress to run for Maryland A.G., per The Baltimore Sun’s Bryn Stole. It’ll launch a competitive primary to replace Brown in the heavily Democratic district. CONGRESS PRESSURE TO ACT ON CHINA AND SUPPLY CHAINS — A bipartisan national security bill to counteract China’s rising stature and help with supply chain issues has languished in the House for months after passing the Senate in June. Now pressure is building to end the logjam, report Andrew Desiderio and Gavin Bade, with Virginians calling on House Dems to accomplish something to help TERRY MCAULIFFE in the governor’s race, and moderate Dems urging swift passage of at least the bill’s semiconductor chips pieces. YARMUTH SOUNDS OFF — Retiring Rep. JOHN YARMUTH (D-Ky.) went on former Rep. PAUL HODES’ (D-N.H.) podcast, “Beyond Politics,” and shared some observations about the ongoing negotiations in Congress. “One of the things that’s actually been pretty revealing to me is that the only people who have been drawing red lines in this process have been the people who have never been in a governing majority before,” Yarmuth said, calling out Jayapal and Rep. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-N.J.) by name. | | | |   | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD HAVANA OOH-NA-NA — As early as 2018, the State Department was testing its employees for possible exposure to “directed-energy weapons” (one of the potential culprits behind the mysterious Havana Syndrome), report Andrew Desiderio and Lara Seligman. That was more than two years before State filled Congress in on their suspicions. Two victims were immediately brought back to the U.S. after the results of those tests in 2018. HACK ATTACK — Microsoft is alleging that Russia has launched another major hacking operation aimed at surveilling thousands of American institutions, even in the face of recent U.S. sanctions, reports NYT’s David Sanger. “While Microsoft insisted that the percentage of successful breaches was small, it did not provide enough information to accurately measure the severity of the theft.” The U.S., in turn, blamed Microsoft and other cloud providers for not preventing the attacks. Microsoft’s blog post THE PANDEMIC THE LATEST RESULTS — Moderna said today that its Covid-19 vaccine is effective and safe in children ages 6 to 11. It plans to give the data to federal regulators soon ahead of a possible authorization. More from Reuters BOOSTER BATTLE — Behind the approval of Covid vaccine booster shots lie plenty of misgivings, even among some of the federal advisers who voted yes. NYT’s Apoorva Mandavilli talked to several of them who said there’s little evidence to support boosters for most Americans under 65 — but that the decision was already baked in once Biden had promised the shots. POLICY CORNER AT THE BORDER — A House Democratic committee investigation has faulted Customs and Border Protection for being too lax in disciplining agents involved in the scandal of sharing violent, sexist and racist posts in private Facebook groups, per WaPo’s Maria Sacchetti and Nick Miroff. Though 60 people were found to have committed misconduct, the agency didn’t follow recommendations of an internal discipline board, firing only two. The House Oversight report WSJ GETS RESULTS — In the wake of a WSJ investigative series examining federal judges’ stock trades, bipartisan bills to introduce new disclosure requirements are in the offing, report the Journal’s James Grimaldi, Coulter Jones and Joe Palazzolo. House Judiciary will also hold a hearing exploring new accountability rules on Tuesday. MEDIAWATCH MUST-SEE TV — N.Y. Mag’s Olivia Nuzzi tweets: “On November 7 at 10pm Eastern, @MSNBC premieres ‘Four Seasons Total Documentary,’ which I am honored to have co-produced with this incredible team, led by director CHRISTOPHER STOUDT.” Trailer | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen sat down with CBS to discuss their joint “Renegades” podcast and book. The former president recalled Michelle Obama telling him to spend more time with the music icon: “You know, he understands all his failings and flaws as a man,” he recalled her saying, “and you don’t seem to understand as well just exactly how messed up you are.” Josh and Erin Hawley have a new podcast (about their life together, not politics). MORE ‘POWER’ — Ahead of the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, Tara is out today with a bonus episode of her Sony Music podcast, “Power: The Maxwells,” featuring new reporting about how Ghislaine’s brothers, Ian and Kevin Maxwell, may have been following in the footsteps of their father, Robert, by hiding money in an offshore trust in the isle of Jersey. Listen to “Follow the Money” here FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Jessica Hertz has been named general counsel of commerce platform Shopify, where she’ll start in November. She most recently was staff secretary in the White House (where Neera Tanden is replacing her), and is a Facebook alum. White House chief of staff Ron Klain told Playbook: “Jess has been an indispensable and longtime member of Team Biden. We will miss her greatly but as everyone knows, once you’re a part of the Biden staff family, you’re always a part of it.” (h/t Daniel Lippman) — Bloomberg announced new leadership for its Washington bureau, both internal moves: Peggy Collins is becoming Washington bureau chief, and Mike Shepard is becoming executive editor for U.S. government. It’s the first time Bloomberg has broken these roles into two. — SPOTTED: Stephanie Land, author of “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive” (now an acclaimed Netflix series), meeting virtually with Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) about the child tax credit today. TRIVIA TIME — On Friday, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) became the fourth-longest serving senator in history. We asked you which three former senators were ahead of him. The answers: Robert Byrd (51 years, 5 months, 26 days), Daniel Inouye (49 years, 11 months, 15 days) and Strom Thurmond (47 years, 5 months, 8 days). The winner: Norberto Salinas of Salinas Strategies, who beat out more than 50 guessers — well done! MEDIA MOVES — Our stalwart California Playbook colleague Carla Marinucci is leaving the newsletter after this week to take a sabbatical, though she’ll be back at POLITICO covering the state’s politics next year. More … Bob Davis is retiring from the WSJ at the end of the month after a 39-year run. The Pulitzer winner has long been “a Washington muckraker par excellence,” Paul Beckett wrote in his announcement. Davis will be freelancing, looking for new book ideas and taking care of his first grandchild, who’s moving to D.C. next week. TRANSITIONS — Waxman Strategies is adding Gina Drioane as senior director of health comms and Catherine Gorman as senior associate in marketing. Drioane previously was associate director of federal policy and advocacy comms at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Gorman previously was project manager at ignite Agency, and is a DDC Public Affairs alum. … … Sarah Hegeman is now head of production at the Hooligans Agency. She previously was VP of video production at AKPD Media and Message, acting as a producer and creative partner. … Bill Meierling is now VP of strategic comms and marketing at the International Franchise Association. He previously was chief marketing officer and EVP of external relationships and strategic partnerships at the American Legislative Exchange Council. ENGAGED — Diana Nesukh, legislative and public affairs analyst working with the U.S. Air Force, and Robert Feiler, sales specialist at Viewpoint, got engaged Thursday. The couple met in D.C. when Diana, working for Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) at the time, was looking for a place to live and Robert, who was with Rep. Lee Zeldin’s (R-N.Y.) office, had a room available in the house he was living in. They were able to see past their political differences and went on their first official date several months later to Belize. Pic … Another pic | | | | Sponsored Survey SHARE YOUR OPINION: Please take a short, 3-question survey about one of our advertising partners. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
