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Presented by The American Beverage Association: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Tara Palmeri, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | | | BREAKING — NBC’s Pete Williams scooped that Supreme Court Justice STEPHEN BREYER is planning to retire at the end of this term. That will give President JOE BIDEN his first chance to nominate a justice to the high court, though it won’t reshape its ideological balance. When will it happen? CNN’s Wolf Blitzer reports that an announcement could come as soon as Thursday, and that Breyer plans to stay on the court until his replacement’s confirmation. Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER said in a statement that the chamber will move with “all deliberate speed” on Biden’s nominee. Breyer told Biden of his plans last week, Josh Gerstein and Jonathan Lemire report. NBC’s Mike Memoli notes an interesting bit of historical trivia: Biden presided over Breyer’s confirmation as Senate Judiciary chair in 1994. Whom will Biden appoint? During the 2020 campaign, the president vowed to nominate the first Black woman to SCOTUS. Among the names that could be on the shortlist:
- Judge KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, who succeeded A.G. MERRICK GARLAND on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and is a former clerk to Breyer, has often been tabbed as a frontrunner. Among those who’ve been circulating her name is BRIAN FALLON, the executive director of pro-reform group Demand Justice. (Fun fact, via ABC in 2016: She’s related by marriage to PAUL RYAN.)
- California Supreme Court Justice LEONDRA KRUGER was also labeled a “likely contender” in Williams’ piece. Kruger was previously principal deputy solicitor general in President BARACK OBAMA’s administration.
Biden’s margins are narrow, of course, in a 50/50 Senate, but Jackson’s confirmation vote last June landed the support of all 50 Democrats/independents, as well as Republican Sens. SUSAN COLLINS (Maine), LINDSEY GRAHAM (S.C.) and LISA MURKOWSKI (Alaska). Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) has generally been supportive of Biden’s judicial nominees (and voted for two of DONALD TRUMP’s Supreme Court picks as well). Graham put out an interesting statement this afternoon, noting in part: “If all Democrats hang together — which I expect they will — they have the power to replace Justice Breyer in 2022 without one Republican vote in support. Elections have consequences, and that is most evident when it comes to fulfilling vacancies on the Supreme Court.” The vacancy gives Biden an opportunity to shift the narrative. After months of legislative stumbles (Build Back Better, voting rights), the White House has the chance for a major, legacy-shaping win that the entire Democratic Party can rally around. The early handicapping of the nomination points in Dems’ favor (the filibuster doesn’t apply to SCOTUS nominations, and it’s unlikely that Biden will be unable to muster at least 50 votes in the Senate), and the appointment of a Black woman could be an energizing moment for the party’s base. The White House’s first response, via press secretary JEN PSAKI: “It has always been the decision of any Supreme Court Justice if and when they decide to retire, and how they want to announce it, and that remains the case today. We have no additional details or information to share from @WhiteHouse.” The 83-year-old Breyer, the oldest justice on the court, has been on the Supreme Court for 27 years. Williams notes some of the highlights of his career on the bench, including a 2015 dissent in which he wrote the death penalty was likely unconstitutional. Vox’s Ian Millhiser also has a detailed examination of Breyer’s legacy. Since the start of the Biden presidency, there have been calls for Breyer to retire out of fear that Democrats could have a repeat of RUTH BADER GINSBERG, who died at 87 during the Trump administration and was replaced by AMY CONEY BARRETT, shifting the court dramatically to the right. Good Wednesday afternoon.
| | | | A message from The American Beverage Association: At America’s beverage companies our plastic bottles are made to be remade. We’re carefully designing them to be 100% recyclable, including the caps—so every bottle can become a new one. That means less plastic waste in our environment. Please help us get Every Bottle Back. EveryBottleBack.org | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD THE DRUMBEAT OF WAR — The U.S. has now sent its official written response to Russia’s demands on Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN said in a briefing this afternoon that the letter gave no ground on Russia’s insistence that NATO refuse entry to Ukraine. — The U.S. and some allies are now discussing preemptively deploying 1,000 troops to each of multiple Eastern European countries, including Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, report CNN’s Jim Sciutto and Natasha Bertrand . Though the U.S. and the U.K. are among the countries in what’s being called a “coalition of the willing,” not all NATO members are in agreement. Such a deployment could be a show of force to the Kremlin, but it also risks angering Moscow. — Six U.S. fighter jets have now made it to Estonia, per Fox News. — POLITICO Magazine rounded up more than a dozen experts on Russia and VLADIMIR PUTIN to get their thoughts on what will happen next in Eastern Europe — as well as how the U.S. should approach the situation. They’ve got a wide range of opinions on whether Putin will strike soon or bide his time, and whether the U.S. should step up military deterrence or tone down its language. Plus: FIONA HILL on how Putin’s background in judo informs his geopolitical strategy. — A Kremlin spokesperson warned today that personal sanctions on Putin, which the U.S. is considering, wouldn’t really affect him financially — but they would be “politically destructive.” More from Reuters — But experts tell WSJ’s Georgi Kantchev that the range of sanctions under consideration “could cause broad economic pain” for the country despite the Kremlin’s efforts to protect against such measures over the past several years. Technology remains a particular Achilles’ heel. — Meanwhile … not a milestone the White House wants: Oil has now hit $90 a barrel, driven by Russia-Ukraine fears as well as supply issues, per Reuters. It hasn’t touched that threshold in seven years.
| | | | JOIN FRIDAY TO HEAR FROM GOVERNORS ACROSS AMERICA : As we head into the third year of the pandemic, state governors are taking varying approaches to public health measures including vaccine and mask mandates. "The Fifty: America's Governors" is a series of live conversations featuring various governors on the unique challenges they face as they take the lead and command the national spotlight in historic ways. Learn what is working and what is not from the governors on the front lines, REGISTER HERE. | | | | | POLITICS ROUNDUP CASH DASH — The Senate Leadership Fund and its nonprofit partner raised $94.4 million last year, Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser scooped . That’s an off-year record for the super PAC aligned with the Senate GOP, which ended the year with $87.5 million in cash on hand. — Sen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-Ga.) raised more than $9.8 million in Q4 of 2021, and has around $23 million cash on hand, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein. His likely Republican opponent, HERSCHEL WALKER, raised $5.4 million in the same three-month span, and has roughly $5 million cash on hand. — Sen. MITT ROMNEY (R-Utah) is holding a March fundraiser for Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) at BOBBIE and BILL KILBERG’s home. NYT’s Jonathan Martin has the list of hosts, including DICK CHENEY and SCOOTER LIBBY. FOR YOUR RADAR — Republicans’ generic congressional ballot advantage over Democrats has jumped to 2 points in FiveThirtyEight’s tracker , the highest it’s been all cycle. (Typically, Dems have needed an advantage of several points to win the House.) IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES INFRASTRUCTURE YEAR — When it comes to making their infrastructure dreams a reality, Democrats may have gotten only half the job done. Jennifer Scholtes, Jessica Calefati and Eleanor Mueller report that Manchin’s opposition to Build Back Better has cut the legs out from under a key pot of $20 billion for workforce training — meaning the country will lack the skilled workers necessary to actually achieve all the potential job creation in the bipartisan infrastructure law. Now, some Democrats are pinning their hopes on a large infusion into workforce training via appropriations bills instead, to avoid having big infrastructure projects sit idle for lack of labor. JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH ANOTHER INTERVIEW — BEN WILLIAMSON, a top aide to chief of staff MARK MEADOWS in the Trump administration, testified virtually before the Jan. 6 committee for six to seven hours Tuesday, per CNN’s Ryan Nobles, Whitney Wild, Zachary Cohen and Annie Grayer. “His cooperation with the committee is significant, given that his boss, Meadows, is currently facing possible criminal contempt of Congress charges because of his lack of cooperation with the committee.” POLICY CORNER HAPPENING TODAY — All economic eyes are on the Federal Reserve, which is expected to signal this afternoon that it plans to start raising interest rates in March. Victoria Guida has a preview. In anticipation of the Fed’s announcement, roiling stock markets have made significant gains today, per the WSJ. CLEARING THE AIR — The EPA today announced it will beef up enforcement and monitoring of clean air and water rules, with a particular focus on poor communities and communities of color that bear a disproportionate share of pollution, per NYT’s Lisa Friedman . It’s a notable move for an administration that has pledged to prioritize environmental justice. The changes include steps to “increase the number of air pollution inspectors and use novel monitoring methods like a new aircraft that uses sensors and software to detect emissions in real time.” Among the EPA’s targets are Louisiana’s infamous “Cancer Alley” and other Gulf Coast areas. IMMIGRATION FILES — Two doctors who are medical advisers to DHS urged the department to step up coronavirus vaccinations and other health measures at immigration detention sites, CBS’ Camilo Gontoya-Malvez reports. They blasted current measures as “slow and inconsistent.” The letter
| | | | 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. | | | | | BEYOND THE BELTWAY ROLLING IN DOUGH — Around the country, massive budget surpluses and infusions of federal funding in state capitals are handing governors a powerful reelection tool, reports Liz Crampton : plenty of cash to throw around. Quote of the day: “I just wish I could close my eyes and wake up back in the mansion and be KATHY HOCHUL,” former New York Gov. DAVID PATERSON tells her. But there are a few wrinkles: Legislatures led by opposing parties are often pumping the brakes on governors’ plans, while Republican leaders face an ideological conundrum as they “don’t want to appear eager to accept money from the Biden administration.” THE PANDEMIC GETTING A BOOST — Half of all eligible Americans and 70% of all eligible seniors have now gotten their coronavirus vaccine booster shots, JEFF ZIENTS announced at this morning’s pandemic briefing. He also said the U.S. has now donated 400 million vaccine doses abroad for free. MEDIAWATCH PADDLING UPSTREAM — CNN may have been late to launch a streaming service, but a series of splashy hires in the past few months have drawn the industry’s attention, constituting “a tier of talent that had previously been hesitant to commit to a news channel’s streaming service, especially an untested one,” report NYT’s John Koblin and Michael Grynbaum . Now, the big question is whether viewers will actually want to sign up and pay for their news on a new platform. (Unlike CNN and Fox, competitors NBC, ABC and CBS have made their streamers free.) PLAYBOOKERS MEDIA MOVES — WaPo named new leadership for its national desk: Matea Gold as national editor and Philip Rucker as deputy national editor. Gold has most recently been national political enterprise and investigations editor, and Rucker has been senior Washington correspondent. BOOK CLUB — ProPublica’s Isaac Arnsdorf is writing a new book, “The Redeemers,” about Republicans’ grassroots “Precinct Strategy” movement to change American politics and democracy. PAINT THE TOWN — The National Portrait Gallery announced its 2022 honorees for the Portrait of a Nation Award, who will each be honored with a portrait in the permanent collection: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, José Andrés, Clive Davis, Ava DuVernay, Marian Wright Edelman and Anthony Fauci. NEW NOMINEES — The White House announced six more U.S. attorney nominees around the country: Vanessa Avery for the District of Connecticut, Trina Higgins for the District of Utah, Jesse Laslovich for the District of Montana, Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska, Alexander Uballez for the District of New Mexico and Jane Young for the District of New Hampshire.
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