Playbook PM: AOC officially kills the DCCC blacklist

From: POLITICO Playbook - Tuesday Mar 09,2021 06:08 pm

Mar 09, 2021

By Rachael Bade, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

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DCCC Chair SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (D-N.Y.) this morning nixed the committee’s “blacklist” policy banning work with contractors who help candidates primary incumbents. But let's be clear about who really brought this thing down: Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.).

The progressive icon — who shocked Washington when she ousted the man then considered speaker-in-waiting, JOE CROWLEY — has been among the most vocal opponents of this rule aimed at protecting House Democrats from challengers on the left, i.e. challengers just like her. She even refused to pay her DCCC dues over it last Congress, donating instead directly to candidates.

The move is just the latest example of the left prevailing over their moderate colleagues in the House since the Democratic takeover. It also suggests a broader change in direction at the DCCC. Rep. CHERI BUSTOS (D-Ill.), the previous chief who wrote the policy, hailed from a DONALD TRUMP district and was extremely wired into the needs of centrists in swing districts.

It’s an open question what this portends for primary challenges against Democrats. Even with the blacklist in place last cycle, progressives were able to take down a number of establishment or centrist Democrats. Now the progresive grassroots will be free of this burden. Expect them to engage more forcefully …

Ally Mutnick had the scoop this morning, including folos with AOC, who called this “an enormous win” in an interview.

COVID RELIEF LATEST — The bill has made its way from the Senate to the House, where it’s likely to get a final vote Wednesday.

— Rep. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-N.Y.) at a news conference this morning said it would pass the House. “Mission accomplished,” he declared.

— MANCHIN CLAIMS VICTORY: “With the ear of Joe Manchin, West Virginia hospitals helped secure billions in new Covid relief funds,” Stat: “[T]his year, unexpectedly, [West Virginia University Health System] and others in the state are part of the reason that rural hospitals across the country will get a last-minute cash influx of more than $8 billion from Congress in the Covid-19 package that represents President Biden’s first major legislative push.

“The hospitals’ longshot lobbying victory came out of their relationships with Sen. Joe Manchin … [H]e chose to expend his political capital pushing for funding for vulnerable health providers. … Biden’s initial outline for his Covid relief package did not include any money for hospitals at all. Nor did the version that passed the House in February, and none was included in early drafts of the Senate’s package.”

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STALLIN’ HAALAND — “Two western GOP senators put holds on Haaland’s nomination as interior secretary,” WaPo

CONFIRMATION HEARINGS — “Biden’s pick for DOJ No. 3 apologizes for ‘harsh rhetoric,’” by Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney: “GOP lawmakers accused her of wanting to ‘defund the police’ — a position [Vanita] Gupta says she rejects — and criticized her for a 2012 call to decriminalize possession of all illegal drugs, a position she says she no longer holds. Democrats said the attacks on Gupta amounted to bad-faith attacks to damage a qualified nominee.”

HOW ABOUT SOME GOOD NEWS — “Vaccine rollout, U.S. stimulus boost global economic outlook: OECD,” Reuters: “The world economy is set to rebound this year with 5.6% growth and expand 4.0% next year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in its interim economic outlook. That marked a sharp increase from its last outlook in early December …

“While the vaccine rollout would give a shot in the arm to the global economy, the United States’ planned $1.9 trillion stimulus package would cascade down to other countries, adding more than a percentage point to global growth. The U.S. economy would grow 6.5% this year and 4.0% next year, the OECD said, ramping up its forecasts.”

THE NEW VOTING RESTRICTIONS — Former President JIMMY CARTER put out a statement, citing his work as an election watchdog overseas, in which he said he’s “disheartened, saddened, and angry” by the GOP’s attempts to limit voting access in Georgia. The statement

ANTITRUST EXERCISE — “Biden Signals Assault on Big Tech as DOJ Pick Looms,” Bloomberg Businessweek: “[O]ne job looms that can’t elide the progressive-moderate split and carries enormous stakes for the future of Big Tech and American business generally: the Department of Justice’s antitrust chief. Biden’s choice for this role will signal whether his administration is going to try to limit growing corporate consolidation, especially among technology companies, or, as some critics fear, follow the more deferential path of the Obama administration.”

SECTION 230 DEATH WATCH — “Tech’s Legal Shield Appears Likely to Survive as Congress Focuses on Details,” NYT: “Former President Donald J. Trump called multiple times for repealing the law that shields tech companies from legal responsibility over what people post. President Biden, as a candidate, said the law should be ‘revoked.’ But the lawmakers aiming to weaken the law have started to agree on a different approach.

“They are increasingly focused on eliminating protections for specific kinds of content rather than making wholesale changes to the law or eliminating it entirely. That has still left them a question with potentially wide-ranging outcomes: What, exactly, should lawmakers cut? … Even these more modest proposals to the legal shield, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, could ripple across the internet.”

SUBSCRIBE TO “THE RECAST” TO JOIN AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION: Power dynamics are changing. “Influence” is changing. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. “The Recast” is our new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. And POLITICO is recasting how we report on this crucial intersection, bringing you fresh insights, scoops, dispatches from across the country and new voices that challenge “business as usual.” Don’t miss out on this important new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.

THE LONG ARM OF TRUMPISM — “Trump’s House GOP fans don his mantle as they seek higher office,” by Melanie Zanona: “At least half a dozen of Donald Trump’s staunchest allies in the House are exploring bids for higher office, eager to carry the Trump mantle into the Senate — as well as into governors’ mansions. A wave of retirements by veteran Senate Republicans has created fresh opportunities for the House’s hard-liners in deep red states such as Alabama, Ohio and Missouri.

“But even in states won by President Joe Biden, such as Arizona and Georgia, some of the former president’s most loyal devotees are willing to test their political fortunes, hoping to seize on a deep but baseless belief on the right that the election was stolen. The potential crop of Trumpworld candidates could usher in a new era for the more reserved Senate, with negotiators traded in for bomb throwers.”

IMMIGRATION FILES — “Biden administration ditches Trump plan to limit immigration for those financially dependent on government,” NBC: “The Biden administration notified the Supreme Court on Tuesday that it will no longer defend a government policy seeking to impose new limits on the admission of immigrants considered likely to become overly dependent on government benefits.”

BORDER TALES — “Young Central American Migrants See Biden Era as Chance to Enter U.S.,” WSJ: “Late last month, Honduran teenager Elder Cruz was detained by Mexican immigration authorities near Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala and deported to Honduras.

“But that isn’t stopping the 15-year-old, an orphan who says he plans to try his luck at the U.S. border again in the coming months because ‘[Donald] Trump is no longer president of the U.S. and there’s a new one,’ even though he doesn’t know the name of President Biden. ‘My friends have told me that with the new president, it will be easier to enter the U.S.,’ said Mr. Cruz, who lives in the violent Villeda Morales slum near the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula.”

WHAT JOHN KERRY’S READING — “U.S and China Engage, Tentatively, on Climate Change,” WSJ: “The U.S. and China are quietly positioning themselves to cooperate on climate issues, raising hopes for the world’s two largest economies to work together on a shared priority as bilateral relations remain strained.”

JAN. 6 FALLOUT — “Republican donations surge despite corporate boycott after Capitol riots,” Reuters: “If anything, the biggest backers of Trump’s false election-fraud narrative - such as Missouri Senator Josh Hawley and Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene - have been rewarded with a flood of grassroots donations, more than offsetting the loss of corporate money. And contributions from both small donors and rich individuals looking to fight the Democratic agenda have poured into the party’s fundraising apparatus.

“The boycott’s limited impact underscores the diminishing role of corporate money in U.S. politics. Individual donations of $200 or less have made up a growing share of campaign money in recent years, while the share given by corporate America shrinks.”

TRUMP INC. — “Trump’s Next Challenge Is to Turn 74 Million Believers Into Buyers,” Bloomberg: “The company could use a boost from fans who sent Trump to the White House and wanted him there for four more years. Winning their vote may be easier than getting their dollars … Donald Trump built his corporate and political empires around very different groups. While rural voters without college degrees were the core of his constituency in November, his career caters to the coastal elites he mocks from the podium.”

THIS THURSDAY: HEAR FROM GOVERNORS ACROSS AMERICA : 2020 was marked by crisis —from the global pandemic and ensuing economic recession to racial injustice protests and the fallout from the presidential election and its aftermath. Governors have been left to pick up the pieces. “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. REGISTER HERE.

THE RIPPLE EFFECT — “Pandemic Forces F.D.A. to Sharply Curtail Drug Company Inspections,” NYT: “The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the Food and Drug Administration to postpone hundreds of drug company inspections, creating an enormous backlog that is delaying new drug approvals and leading the industry to warn of impending shortages of existing medicines.

“Pandemic-related travel restrictions and safety concerns have also hampered the F.D.A.’s ability to ensure the safety of the ever-increasing number of imported medicines, which make up more than 60 percent of the drugs sold in the United States. … The F.D.A. conducted 52 inspections of domestic pharmaceutical plants between March 2020, when the pandemic took hold in the U.S., and Oct. 1, compared with 400 during the same months in 2019, according to the G.A.O.”

UNEXPECTED BOON — “The Pentagon had an email security problem. The pandemic fixed it,” by Martin Matishak: “In December, the Pentagon quietly adopted a security measure for ensuring that its email conversations with outsiders would be encrypted — more than a decade after many private companies and other institutions had done the same.

“Attempts to permanently fix the flaw didn’t gain momentum until last year, when DoD officials realized that the weakness was exposing electronic conversations with a host of civilian agencies and companies developing Covid-19 vaccines.”

ALABAMA SHAKES UP — “How Biden’s Solidarity Emboldened a Liberal Push for Power in Alabama,” NYT: “When Mr. Biden weighed in on the contentious union debate in Alabama … he showed a new side of his nascent presidency. His words demonstrated a willingness to use his bully pulpit on behalf of communities that have often fallen outside the Democratic Party’s governing focus: working-class voters in Republican states, many of whom are Black. The message also elevated the national debate about the future of labor and unions …

“Mr. Biden’s statement did not mention Amazon specifically and carefully avoided backing the union, calling instead for a fair election that followed federal labor guidelines. Still, for union supporters in Alabama, a state used to being on the back burner of national and Democratic politics, Mr. Biden’s video was taken as a sign that his pledges to pursue racial equity and curb corporate power were more than just campaign catchphrases.”

— “Amazon fights aggressively to defeat union drive in Alabama, fearing a coming wave,” WaPo

FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS — “Smithsonian obtains vial from 1st U.S. COVID-19 vaccine dose,” AP: “The acquisition, along with other materials related to that first vaccine dose, was announced by the museum on Tuesday to mark the upcoming one-year anniversary of the pandemic. Associated Press journalists were given an exclusive backstage look at the newly obtained materials, which include vials, special shipping equipment and the medical scrubs and ID badge of the New York City nurse who was America’s first coronavirus vaccine recipient.”

IN MEMORIAM — “Howard University Names Law Library in Honor of Civil Rights Activist Vernon Jordan”

MEDIAWATCH — “BuzzFeed Announces Deep Cuts To HuffPost Staff After Acquisition,” HuffPost: “[Jonah] Peretti told staffers that the decision, which will affect U.S. 47 employees, was made in order to ‘fast-track the path to profitability’ for HuffPost.”

STAFFING UP — The White House announced several new staffers, including Faisal Amin, Dan Jacobson and Dana Rosenzweig in the Office of Administration and Office of Management and Administration, Alicia O’Brien in the White House Counsel’s Office, Jonathan Black, Elizabeth Jurinka, Chad Metzler and Jim Secreto in the Office of Legislative Affairs, Eva Kemp as director of presidential correspondence and Jeff Nussbaum as a senior presidential speechwriter.

TRANSITIONS — Kris Balderston is now a strategic partner at ACG. He most recently was president of global public affairs at FleishmanHillard and head of its D.C. office, and is a Hillary Clinton alum. … The American Clean Power Association is adding Heather Meier as chief strategy officer and Vanessa Sciarra as VP of trade and international competitiveness. Meier most recently was senior director of strategy and operations at the Nature Conservancy. Sciarra most recently was VP of legal affairs and trade and investment policy at the National Foreign Trade Council.

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