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Presented by Wells Fargo: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | | | Oral arguments in the Mississippi abortion case before the Supreme Court finished just before noon today. The initial reactions from legal experts and reporters point toward the court upholding Mississippi’s 15-week ban — and perhaps overturning Roe itself. — NYT: “The Supreme Court seemed poised on Wednesday to uphold a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, based on sometimes tense and heated questioning at a momentous argument in the most important abortion case in decades. “Such a ruling would be flatly at odds with what the court has said was the central holding of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion and prohibited states from banning the procedure before fetal viability, or around 23 weeks. “But the court’s six-member conservative majority seemed divided about whether to stop at 15 weeks, for now at least, or whether to overrule Roe entirely, allowing states to ban abortions at any time or entirely.” — WaPo: “The Supreme Court on Wednesday signaled that it is on the verge of a major shift in its abortion jurisprudence after hearing nearly two hours of arguments from attorneys for Mississippi, an abortion provider from the state and the Biden administration. “Mississippi Solicitor General SCOTT G. STEWART said the landmark decisions of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey ‘haunt our country’ and ‘have no home in our history or traditions’ as he defended a state law that bans most abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. “Attorney JULIE RIKELMAN, a lawyer representing an abortion provider that sued, pushed back, saying the Mississippi law would do ‘profound damage to women’s liberty, equality and the rule of law.’ U.S. Solicitor General ELIZABETH B. PRELOGAR, also arguing on behalf of the provider, warned that ‘the real-world effects of overruling Roe and Casey would be severe and swift,’ predicting a wave of new restrictions in many states.” — AP: “Members of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority are suggesting they may make sweeping changes to limit abortion rights in the United States. … [J]ustices are being asked to overrule the court’s historic 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion and its 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which reaffirmed Roe. Under those decisions, states can regulate but not ban abortion up until the point of viability, at roughly 24 weeks. “Chief Justice JOHN ROBERTS and Justice SAMUEL ALITO were among those who questioned the viability line, with Alito referencing those who have said the line ‘really doesn’t make any sense.’ “The court is hearing a case about a Mississippi ban on abortion after 15 weeks. The state of Mississippi is telling the justices that Roe and Casey should be overturned and its law banning abortion after 15 weeks upheld. “‘Why is 15 weeks not enough time?’ Roberts asked at one point during the arguments, which stretched over an hour and a half.” BREAKING — “Peter DeFazio will retire from Congress in latest blow to Democrats,” by Tanya Snyder Good Wednesday 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. | | | POLITICS ROUNDUP 2022 WATCH — Massachusetts Gov. CHARLIE BAKER announced he won’t seek reelection to a third term, per the Boston Globe’s Emma Platoff and Matt Stout. That will take one of the nation’s last prominent moderate Republicans off the stage, and sets up a newly competitive election in a race where Baker would have been the front-runner. Among the top names now being bandied about: Republican Lt. Gov. KARYN POLITO and Democratic A.G. MAURA HEALEY. — “One of the most popular governors in the country, Baker was the GOP’s best hope of holding onto the governor’s office in a solidly blue state,” Lisa Kashinsky writes from Boston. “But Baker’s been increasingly at odds with his own party. And he faced significant political headwinds if he chose to run for a third term.” WARNING SIGN FOR DEMS — President JOE BIDEN’s approval rating has taken a serious hit among voters under 30, sliding underwater with a group that usually leans left, Steve Shepard reports. It’s consistent with his polling plunge across the electorate. This group still likes Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) best — and dislikes DONALD TRUMP much more. Notably, young voters in at least one poll are still pretty politically engaged by historical standards: More than a third definitely plan to vote in the midterms. BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — Rep. ELAINE LURIA (D-Va.), a top GOP target, is leaning heavily on defense issues and bipartisanship in her Hampton Roads district, reports WSJ’s Eliza Collins in a swing-district profile, which includes a laudatory on-the-record quote from Rep. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-Wis.). VOTING RIGHTS LATEST — The latest turn in the legal feud between the Justice Department and Georgia over the state’s Republicans’ move to restrict voting: Georgia Secretary of State BRAD RAFFENSPERGER today sued DOJ, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A ‘SERIAL HARASSER’ IN HIS MIDST — Multiple accusers allege that RICK JACOBS, a top aide for LA Mayor ERIC GARCETTI, was a “serial harasser,” N.Y. Mag’s Alissa Walker reports — and say Garcetti knew, despite his claims to the contrary. “For the past decade, those who experienced or witnessed Jacobs’s alleged harassment say this has been the line delivered behind closed doors to them by the Garcetti administration: Yes, we know about Rick, but he’s the mayor’s friend and there’s nothing we can do. Earlier this year, in a lawsuit brought against the city over Jacobs’s behavior, Garcetti testified under oath that he knew nothing about multiple allegations leveled against the man he once called a ‘dear friend, as well as one of my most trusted advisers.’ Now, however, four people who worked closely with Garcetti and Jacobs are speaking publicly for the first time, saying the mayor was fully aware of Jacobs’s behavior. … “Garcetti won’t be mayor much longer, thanks to L.A.’s two-term limit, but he is up for a job in the Biden administration as U.S. ambassador to India — the type of post commonly awarded to loyalists like Garcetti, who was a prominent surrogate for Biden’s campaign last year. His confirmation is pending, with the Senate Foreign Relations committee expected to schedule hearings on his nomination.” REALITY CHECK — Prosecutors may have difficulty convicting former New York Gov. ANDREW CUOMO on a misdemeanor forcible-touching charge, NYT’s Grace Ashford reports, citing statistics showing that the relatively newly created charge often ends up in dropped cases and rarely results in significant jail time. THE PANDEMIC FROM ‘AMERICA FIRST’ TO OMICRON — Erin Banco is out with a big story on how Trump administration’s “America First” posture “contributed to a global delay in Covid-19 vaccine donations and a lack of effort to assist low- and middle-income countries” — in part contributing to the burgeoning Omicron variant concerns. The Trump team crafted no strategy for helping the rest of the world get vaccinated, she reports, even though an ongoing pandemic anywhere threatens everywhere. And some experts say the Biden administration moved too slowly as well. WATCH: Six things to know about the Omicron variant: We’ve been dealing with waves and surges and variants for the past eight months. And now there’s a new one, and we don’t know exactly how this is going to unfold, but it is coming for us. South African scientists discovered a new strain of Covid-19, called Omicron. This week, Global Translations author Ryan Heath breaks down six things to know about the Omicron variant. | 
| | | | | 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 COUNTDOWN TO SHUTDOWN — With days left before a potential government shutdown on Friday. Sarah Ferris and Caitlin Emma have the latest on the battle on Capitol Hill over a potential stopgap funding measure. House Majority Leader STENY HOYER told his caucus today, “I have no idea what the schedule is” for a vote. But some top Dems are still projecting confidence. “We’re talking to [MITCH] MCCONNELL. We’re making good progress,” Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER said today, while indicating that he and the minority leader would have to keep their conferences in line to prevent a shutdown. NDAA LATEST — @AndrewDesiderio: “After a breakthrough last night, prospects for finishing up NDAA today are dimming. There are 3-4 GOP objections to the hotline, which means they can’t start voting on the 21 amendments + final passage today. Path forward remains unclear.” BIPARTISAN BREAKTHROUGH ON SEXUAL MISCONDUCT — Lawmakers in both parties and both chambers on the usually contentious Judiciary committees have pushed through significant legislation to reform the private sector’s handling of sexual misconduct, reports Marianne LeVine . The bill would end forced arbitration “by allowing victims to decide whether they want to take their sexual harassment or assault claims to court instead.” How it gets through the full chambers and to Biden’s desk is still TBD, though. (IR)RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES THE STEP BACK — NYT’s Reed Abelson, Sarah Kliff, Margot Sanger-Katz and Sheryl Gay Stolberg have an expansive look at one of the biggest changes in Democrats’ reconciliation bill: expanding health insurance to an estimated 3.4 million more Americans. Its various provisions would “represent the biggest step toward universal coverage since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010,” helping to patch many (though not all) of the system’s current holes. Plus details on giving Medicaid to new mothers, expanding home care and more BEYOND THE BELTWAY SCHOOL SHOOTING LATEST — A fourth teenager has died from the mass shooting at a high school in Oxford Township, Mich. Latest from The Detroit News AFTERNOON READ — From Montgomery, Ala., Liz Crampton has a big feature on the prisons of Alabama, where conditions have gotten so horrific that the Justice Department might take over control. Republicans in the state want to build more prisons as a solution, while Democrats call for bigger reforms. “Alabama’s legal troubles offer a warning to other states struggling to oversee their own prison systems,” Liz writes, “revealing what can go wrong when a state lacks the political will to maintain safe prisons or enact criminal justice reforms before it’s too late.” AMERICA AND THE WORLD TO RUSSIA, WITH WARNING — Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and Russian Foreign Minister SERGEY LAVROV will meet Thursday in Latvia, per WaPo’s Missy Ryan and Isabelle Khurshudyan , as the West continues trying to dissuade Russia from invading Ukraine. FROM RUSSIA, WITH WARNING — The Russian Foreign Ministry today expelled some long-serving U.S. diplomats in a tit-for-tat action following a similar U.S. move this summer, per WSJ’s Ann Simmons and William Mauldin. TRUMP CARDS INFECTOR IN CHIEF — The fallout from MARK MEADOWS’ revelation that Trump tested positive for the coronavirus days before he debated Biden last year continued to roil the political world this morning. NYT’s Michael Shear tweeted: “Hours after he received the call from Meadows informing him of a positive test, Trump came to the back of AF1 without a mask and talked with reporters for about 10 minutes. I was wearing a mask, but still got COVID, testing positive several days later.” VALLEY TALK TABLOID FODDER — The wild JEFF BEZOS-National Enquirer-affair-hacking-Saudi Arabia imbroglio is reaching a “quiet end,” scoop WSJ’s Corinne Ramey, Dustin Volz and Aruna Viswanatha, as probes by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan look unlikely to result in any public action. | | | | 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. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS MAKING A LIST, CHECKING IT TWICE — Forbes’ 2022 30 Under 30 list includes Adam Beckman, Jeremy Diamond, Tyler Foggatt, Isabella Gutierrez, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Pierre Lipton, Wendy Lu, Shaquille Brewster, Charlotte Smith, Alayna Treene, Jasmine Wright and Remi Anne Yamamoto. — Bloomberg is out with its fifth annual Bloomberg 50 list of “the people and ideas that defined global business in 2021.” Among the inclusions: FTC Chair Lina Khan, Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Eugene Goodman, Frances Haugen, Darnella Frazier and Cynthia Choi, Russell Jeung & Manjusha Kulkarni. — Press secretary Jen Psaki, Clarissa Ward and Kara Swisher make TheWrap’s Changemakers list of 32 top women in the entertainment world. EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS — Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) co-hosted a virtual Hanukkah celebration Tuesday night with about 150 guests. Speakers included second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Reps. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.), Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Val Demings (D-Fla.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), the White House’s Chanan Weissman, Canadian MP Anthony Housefather and Rabbi Levi Shemtov. Chef Michelle Bernstein cooked celery root and potato latkes with a salad of fine herbs, pomegranate and Aleppo pepper. A cappella groups Six13 and JukeVox performed, and Rabbi Larry Bazer lit candles and led blessings. Earlier in the evening, Schultz organized a lighting of oil candles outside the House chambers at the House Triangle. Manning, Zeldin, Shemtov, Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) and Susan Wild (D-Pa.), Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and others were served giant latkes and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts). OUT AND ABOUT — The Fulbright Program celebrated its 75th anniversary Tuesday night at the Kennedy Center. SPOTTED: Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez, Argentine Ambassador Jorge Argüello, Portuguese Ambassador Domingos Fezas Vital, Evan Ryan, Liz Allen, Lee Satterfield and Patrick Steel, Michael Hochman, Ann Stock, Heather Nauert, Allan Goodman, Renee Fleming, Capricia Marshall, Billy Webster, Ethan Rosenzweig, Thomas Isen, John Funderburk, Kim Cubine, Marie Royce, Alphonso Jackson, Jimmy Anderson and Roberta Cordano. MEDIA MOVE — Megan Messerly will join POLITICO’s health care team, covering pandemic response and health policy across the states. She currently covers politics and health care for The Nevada Independent. TRANSITIONS — Andrea Prasow will be executive director of the Freedom Initiative. She previously was deputy Washington director at Human Rights Watch. … Matt Peterson, VP at the Claremont Institute, has launched a super PAC, American Firebrand, with former Trump Treasury official Adam Korzeniewski and former White House political affairs adviser Paige Willey. … … Kecia Reynolds is now a partner in Paul Hastings’ intellectual property practice. She most recently was at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. … PIM Brands announced Norman Ross as VP for government affairs. He previously was VP of public affairs and comms at Heartland Coca-Cola Bottling Company. … Craig Anderson is now director of government affairs for the Georgia Forestry Association. He previously was legislative director for Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.). WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Joshua Meservey, senior policy analyst for Africa and the Middle East at the Heritage Foundation, and Lulu Meservey, VP of comms at Substack, recently welcomed Lily Pamela Meservey. She joins big brother Dougie and big sister May. Pic … Another pic | | | |   | | | | | | | 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 | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
