Playbook PM: Meadows to cooperate with Jan. 6 panel — sort of

From: POLITICO Playbook - Tuesday Nov 30,2021 06:20 pm

Nov 30, 2021

By Rachael Bade, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

Presented by

BIG JAN. 6 COMMITTEE NEWS — MARK MEADOWS, who was chief of staff to former President DONALD TRUMP, has agreed to provide documents and sit for an interview with the Jan. 6 select committee, CNN’s Annie Grayer, Zachary Cohen, Jamie Gangel and Ryan Nobles scooped.

“Meadows' lawyer GEORGE TERWILLIGER said in a statement to CNN that there is now an understanding between the two parties on how information can be exchanged moving forward, stating that his client and the committee are open to engaging on a certain set of topics as they work out how to deal with information that the committee is seeking that could fall under executive privilege. But the agreement could be fragile if the two sides do not agree on what is privileged information.”

We’re curious to hear what Trump has to say about this. The ex-president hasn’t taken kindly to close associates testifying about him in the past. Meadows has long been one of his closest allies and more than likely will refuse to answer certain questions that Trump argues are privileged. Still, could this be the beginning of a frayed Trump-Meadows relationship?

THE BIG PICTURE: The move shows that the Jan. 6 panel’s aggressive tactics are working, plain and simple. The arrest and criminal prosecution of STEVE BANNON is still making its way through the court system. But the threat of jail time appears to have coaxed at least one person into talking. Meadows had previously defied the panel’s subpoenas.

BUT A NOTE OF CAUTION: No one seems to expect that Meadows is going to show up and spill the beans about what exactly happened on Jan. 6. Rather, many view this as a way for Meadows to act helpful in order to avoid a House criminal contempt citation and possible arrest like Bannon. The panel and Meadows will almost certainly find themselves at loggerheads over what information is privileged — which could send us right back to Square One.

Meanwhile, in another victory for than Jan. 6 panel, via Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein: “Three federal appellate judges appear likely to reject Donald Trump’s effort to block Jan. 6 investigators from obtaining his White House records — a big potential boost for lawmakers hoping to reveal the former president’s actions as a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol.”

THE RECONCILIATION PLAN — Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER is telling his colleagues that the massive spending package will be put on the floor the week of Dec. 13, Burgess Everett reports for Congress Minutes.

“Schumer laid out his timeline to his leadership team during a Monday night meeting. That timeline would give the Senate space to work out its disagreements on defense bill amendments over the next few days,” Burgess writes. “Schumer has also noted that schedule is contingent upon completing work with the parliamentarian, who will determine whether the bill runs afoul of the budget reconciliation’s protections from a filibuster.”

MANCHIN IN THE MIDDLE — In the perfect illustration of the unique position that Sen. JOE MANCHIN finds himself in these days, the West Virginia Democrat was spotted walking into Schumer’s office this morning … before darting into Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL’s office about an hour later.

HOT DOC — House Majority Leader STENY HOYER dropped the 2022 House calendar today. “Lawmakers are scheduled for 100 days of actual voting — with four of the popular ‘committee work’ weeks where they don't have to travel to Washington,” Anthony Adragna writes for Congress Minutes. Other highlights, via Anthony: 1) Members are scheduled to be out of town for six weeks in October until after the midterms. 2) A five-week break is slated for August into September. In recent years, those have occasionally been shortened — though that's probably less likely to happen in an election year. The full calendar

Good Tuesday afternoon.

A message from Wells Fargo:

Small businesses make neighborhoods thrive. Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund is providing nonprofits with roughly $420 million to support small businesses, and champion these mainstays of the community. In cities across America, we’re helping businesses invest in resources and build equity, to propel them to a brighter and more secure future. Learn more at wellsfargo.com/impact.

THE OMICRON VARIANT

THE WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE — How much federal money is available to combat the Omicron variant? That’s the question top administration officials are studying, report WaPo’s Jeff Stein, Tyler Pager, Taylor Telford and Dan Diamond — including a look at “exactly how much funding they have remaining previously approved by Congress that could be redirected to new problems that arise from the variant.”

TRACING THE SPREAD — Omicron was already in the Netherlands “at least a week before” two flights from South Africa on Friday, NYT’s Cora Engelbrecht reports. That means the variant had spread to Europe “before the World Health Organization labeled Omicron a ‘variant of concern,’ the step that prompted countries around the world to ban flights from southern Africa, where researchers first identified the variant.”

— After a slow start, the U.S. is starting to pull its weight in tracking coronavirus variants, AP’s Carla Johnson writes. “It’s a global effort, but until recently the U.S. was contributing very little. With uncoordinated and scattershot testing, the U.S. was sequencing fewer than 1% of positive specimens earlier this year. Now, it is running those tests on 5% to 10% of samples.”

‘THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE GOOD’ — Should we expect the current slate of vaccines to be as effective against Omicron? Moderna CEO STÉPHANE BANCEL doesn’t think so, per FT’s Jamie Smyth: “I think it’s going to be a material drop. I just don’t know how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I’ve talked to . . . are like, ‘This is not going to be good.’”

— On a related note: “Preliminary tests indicate the Covid-19 antibody drug cocktail from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. loses effectiveness against Omicron, the company said Tuesday, a sign that some products in an important class of therapies might need modifying if the new strain becomes widespread,” WSJ’s Joseph Walker reports.

THE WHITE HOUSE

NOMINATION NEWS — President JOE BIDEN is considering nominating RICHARD CORDRAY, the former head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to serve as the Fed’s top banking regulator, WSJ’s Nick Timiraos, Andrew Ackerman and Ken Thomas report. Cordray is currently the COO of Federal Student Aid in the Education Department.

KNOWING JAKE SULLIVAN — NYT’s Mark Leibovich profiles national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN, and the journey that brought him where he is today. “Washington has long been captivated by fallen star narratives. This has made Mr. Sullivan a figure of fascination in recent months, something between sympathy and schadenfreude. His daily mission of managing a sprawling national security apparatus through simultaneous crises and headaches … has made Mr. Sullivan the face of a foreign policy team that has endured criticism from many directions, most pointedly over Afghanistan. … The question is whether Mr. Sullivan, 45, lauded as a ‘once-in-a-generation intellect’ by Mr. Biden and ‘a potential future president’ by [ HILLARY] CLINTON, can recover from a messy year of foreign policy predicaments.”

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.

CONGRESS

WHAT’S THE HOLDUP? — What’s behind Republicans’ blockade on the must-pass NDAA? One of the sticking points appears to be a Russian-built pipeline in Europe. “GOP senators have resorted to hardball tactics to force the administration to implement sanctions on the Russia-to-Germany natural gas line, known as Nord Stream 2,” Andrew Desiderio and Connor O’Brien write. “Republicans have slow-walked confirmation of key national security officials and, on Monday night, blocked further action on the defense policy bill absent a vote to strengthen those sanctions.”

ALL POLITICS

IT RAINS PENNIES FROM KEVIN — House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY “raised more than $400,000 in contributions from more than 18,000 online donors in the handful of days after his eight-and-a-half-hour speech that lasted from the evening of Thursday, Nov. 18, into the following morning — the longest floor speech in House history,” Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser reports . “McCarthy's political team, which shared the fundraising figures first with Fox News on Tuesday, said that more than $100,000 was hauled in in the hours immediately after the conclusion of the House GOP leader's speech. And it also shared that roughly $17 million was hauled in by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) at its annual fundraising dinner, which this year was held Nov. 8 in Tampa, Florida, and headlined by Trump.”

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

BEHIND THE SCENES — NYT’s Rick Rojas goes inside the last abortion clinic in Mississippi — the Jackson Women’s Health Organization — as the Supreme Court takes up a marquee case with the clinic at the center. “Although the Jackson clinic’s survival hangs in the balance, it has never been busier. In recent months, it has expanded its hours of operation from three days a week to five. The phone rings constantly with people trying to make appointments, calling from across Mississippi and more and more from Texas — an influx attributed to the new law there that is the most restrictive in the country. The clinic now sees about 300 women a month.”

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

THE NEW SPACE RACE — While much of the rhetoric about power and dominance in space seems far off, WaPo’s Josh Rogin writes that outside of the public view, the jockeying is well underway. “While Washington officials and experts warn of the risks of an arms race in space, the United States’ adversaries are constantly conducting operations against U.S. satellites that skirt the line between intelligence operations and acts of war. The pace of conflict is intensifying, according to a top Space Force general, who told me that China could overtake the United States to become the number one power in space by the end of the decade.”

FARC OFF TERRORIST LIST — Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN announced that the Biden administration “formally revoked the terrorist designation of Colombia’s former FARC guerrilla army on Tuesday, but newly imposed the designation on commanders and offshoots of the group who have refused to lay down their arms,” AP’s Ellen Knickmeyer reports.

PLAYBOOKERS

MEDIA MOVES — Noel King is joining Vox as co-host and editorial director of “Today, Explained.” She previously was co-host of NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “Up First.” The announcement … Christina Zhao is joining NBC as a politics editor. She previously was a senior editor at Newsweek.

TRANSITIONS — Retired Army Major Gen. Paul Pardew and Col. Bradley Boyd are joining The Roosevelt Group as senior advisers. Pardew most recently was commander of Army contracting command. Boyd is currently a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and is a DoD and Angus King alum. … Craig Dixon is now northeast regional coordinator at Heritage Action for America. He previously was a regional field coordinator for the Leadership Institute. …

… Heather Painter is now legislative director for Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.). She previously was senior legislative assistant for Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.). … Timothy Taylor has rejoined Holland & Knight as a litigation partner. He most recently was senior counsel for employment and investigations for the Treasury Department’s Office of the Special IG for Pandemic Recovery, and is a Labor Department alum.

WEDDING — Katharine Cooksey, NRSC press secretary, and Kyle Noyes, professional staff on the House Armed Services Committee, recently got married in Houston. The wedding weekend kicked off at one of the bride’s favorite restaurants, El Tiempo Cantina. Following a beautiful ceremony, guests danced the night away in black tie under a ceiling of flowers at the Houston Country Club. Pic