Playbook PM: One generation from segregation to the Supreme Court

From: POLITICO Playbook - Friday Apr 08,2022 05:49 pm

Apr 08, 2022

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Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris walk on the South Lawn on Friday, April 8. | Getty Images

It seems like good days are hard to come by for President JOE BIDEN’s White House. Covid is ripping through the halls of power in D.C. Inflation is squeezing the electorate as Dems eye up a bruising midterm season. Russia’s war in Ukraine continues as greater atrocities are uncovered and death tolls climb ever higher.

But today, Biden and VP KAMALA HARRIS tried to put all that aside, at least for an afternoon. Sporting his trademark aviator sunglasses, Biden strode out from the White House flanked by Harris and KETANJI BROWN JACKSON for a South Lawn ceremony celebrating the newly confirmed Supreme Court justice.

In their remarks, the joy behind Biden and Harris’ words was apparent. The vibes were high for the historic moment.

Harris kicked things off:

With an eye toward the future:“Judge Jackson, you will inspire generations of leaders. They will watch your confirmation hearings and read your decisions. In the years to come, the court will answer fundamental questions about who we are and what kind of country we live in. Will we expand opportunity or restrict it? Will we strengthen the foundations of our great democracy or let them crumble? Will we move forward or backward?”

And a personal reflection on the meaning of the confirmation vote: “While I was sitting there, I drafted a note to my goddaughter. And I told her that I felt such a deep sense of pride and joy and about what this moment means for our nation and for her future. And I will tell you her braids are just a little longer than yours,” she said, turning to Jackson. “But as I wrote to her, I told her what I knew this would mean for her life and all that she has in terms of potential. So, indeed, the road toward our more perfect union is not always straight. And it is not always smooth, but sometimes it leads to a day like today.”

Biden spoke next:

Basking in the moment: “This is not only a sunny day — I mean this from the bottom of my heart — this is going to let so much sunshine on so many young women, so many young Black women, so many minorities. … Jill will tell you, I wasn’t going to run again, but when I decided to run, this [was] one of the first decisions I made. I could see it. I could see it as a day of hope, a day of promise, a day of progress. A day when, once again, the moral arc of the universe, as BARACK [ OBAMA] used to put it all the time, bends a little more towards justice.”

He took a swing at Senate Republicans: “I knew the person I nominated would be put through a painful and difficult confirmation process. But I have to tell you: What Judge Jackson was put through was well beyond that. There was verbal abuse, the anger, the constant interruptions, the most vile baseless, vile assertions and accusations.”

And he thanked the three Republicans who voted to confirm Jackson: “I always believed that a bipartisan vote was possible. And I hope I don’t get them in trouble … but I want to thank three Republicans who voted for Judge Jackson. Sen. [SUSAN] COLLINS is a woman of integrity. Sen. [LISA] MURKOWSKI is the same way in Alaska, and up for reelection. And MITT ROMNEY, whose dad stood up like he did … and made these decisions on civil rights.”

Then Jackson:

On the reaction she’s received: “I have spent years toiling away in the relative solitude of my chambers with just my law clerks in isolation. So it’s been somewhat overwhelming in a good way, to recently be flooded with thousands of notes and cards and photos expressing just how much this moment means to so many people. The notes that I’ve received from children are particularly cute and especially meaningful. Because more than anything, they speak directly to the hope and promise of America.”

On the historic nature of her nomination and confirmation: “It has taken 232 years — and 115 prior appointments — for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. But we have made it. We’ve made it. All of us. All of us. And our children are telling me that they see now, more than ever, that here in America, anything is possible. … In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

WaPo’s Cleve Wootson Jr. has a smart step-back piece on what Jackson’s ascent to the High Court will mean for Biden’s legacy:

“15 months into Biden’s presidency, many Black voters sought to temper their joy, knowing from experience that a Justice Jackson — like a President Barack Obama or a Vice President Kamala D. Harris — does not mean instant racial reconciliation.

“For many, a pivotal question remains: Will Biden be remembered as a president who elevated a historic number of Black people to prominent positions, empowering a new generation of rising leaders? Or will his legacy be blighted by unfilled promises and unseized opportunities, especially when it comes to voting rights and police reform?”

There’s always an election angle: “The question is more than a thought exercise. Black voters have solidified their role as a foundation of the Democratic Party, resuscitating Biden’s 2020 primary campaign and handing the party control of the U.S. Senate. Black voters’ engagement — or disenchantment — will affect how Democrats perform in future elections, including midterms this November that party leaders fear could cost them their congressional majorities.”

HEADS UP — Biden is scheduled to travel to Des Moines on Tuesday, the Des Moines Register’s Ian Richardson reports, marking his first trip back to the state since the 2020 election. “Biden will discuss his economic agenda and actions he is taking to lower costs for working families, according to information the White House provided to the Des Moines Register. He will tout the investments in rural Iowa delivered through the infrastructure law he signed late last year, the White House said.”

Happy Friday afternoon.

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THE WHITE HOUSE

BIDEN’S GUN CONTROL CONUNDRUM — Our colleague Laura Barrón-López has a good read up on the administration’s movements on gun control as it faces growing calls from inside and outside of government to act.

“CHRIS MURPHY has tried to be patient with the White House. But the Democratic senator from Connecticut, who has dedicated much of his career since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre to fighting for passage of gun control laws, has had enough.

“‘It's time for more urgency from the administration as the gun violence epidemic gets worse by the day,’ Murphy said in an interview this week. ‘A lot of us know that the president's heart is in the right place and we've been really patient with his team.’

“Murphy is leading a brigade of lawmakers and advocates pressing Biden to take unilateral action on guns. In a March 25 letter, previously unreported, Murphy and 127 other Democratic lawmakers demanded that Biden move expeditiously on three fronts:

Issue new executive orders on gun licensing and create a centralized task force to address gun violence.
And name a new nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Finalize a regulation to crack down on so-called ghost guns before Democrats potentially lose control of Congress.

The midterm angle: “With seven months until the midterms, and an expected shift in control of at least one chamber to Republicans, Democrats are increasingly turning to the White House for answers. … Democrats and gun control advocates argue that their voters need to see some sign of progress before the election — and executive actions like expanding background checks and installing a director of gun violence could help motivate them to turn out at the polls.”

THE FRENCH CONNECTION — Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: The White House has its eyes peeled for Russian election interference. Well, this time the concerns are resting abroad, but the implications could loom large. “There is growing concern within President Joe Biden’s administration about the narrowing polls in the French presidential election that show a tight race between incumbent EMMANUEL MACRON and far-right challenger MARINE LE PEN,” Jonathan Lemire reports.

“A possible victory by Le Pen, a Putin sympathizer, could destabilize the Western coalition against Moscow, upending France’s role as a leading European power and potentially giving other NATO leaders cold feet about staying in the alliance, according to three senior administration officials not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations. Senior U.S. officials have warily watched across the Atlantic for any signs of possible Russian interference in the first round of the elections, which will take place Sunday.”

CONGRESS

CBC PUSHES LEGISLATIVE PRAGMATISM — Nicholas Wu and Sarah Ferris have the details on the Congressional Black Caucus’ embrace of practicality over the grandiose. “In a recent CBC meeting, Rep. HAKEEM JEFFRIES urged his fellow Democrats to talk about something actually on the cusp of getting done: fixing a drug sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenders. The bill, led by Jeffries and Rep. MAXINE WATERS, has support from enough Senate Republicans to send it to President Joe Biden’s desk.

“That’s part of a broader effort by CBC leaders to strike a more pragmatic approach to their agenda — even if it means temporarily setting aside broader goals like policing or voting reforms — so they have progress to show voters in the fall. They’re also trying to gauge support from Senate Republicans on policies related to health care, financial services and housing, though Caucus Chair JOYCE BEATTY (D-Ohio) declined to provide specifics.”

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THE PANDEMIC

COUNTING CASES — It’s not just the D.C. elite class that is getting hammered by spiking coronavirus cases. The latest numbers, via NYT: “Cases have doubled in Washington and have risen about 60 percent in New York City since the last week of March, according to New York Times databases. … Across the United States, caseloads have stopped falling, and have started to rise in states including Alaska, Vermont, Colorado, Rhode Island and New York.”

— But school systems around the country in surging areas “say they aren’t considering reinstating mask mandates on grounds that children aren’t getting very sick, and that vaccination rates are doing enough to protect both students and teachers from serious disease,” WSJ’s Ben Chapman writes.

WAR IN UKRAINE

— “An international organization formed to identify the dead and missing from the 1990s Balkan conflicts is preparing to send a team of forensics experts to Ukraine as the death toll mounts more than six weeks into the war caused by Russia’s invasion. Authorities in Kyiv have reached out to the International Commission on Missing Persons to help put names to bodies that might otherwise remain anonymous amid the fog of war,” AP’s Mike Corder reports.

— Ukrainians are still desperately searching for their family members in Mariupol, WSJ’s Dan Frosch and Ian Lovett write.

— And despite Russian attempts to downplay and deny the country’s actions in Ukraine, personal accounts told to the AP “offer new details from a March 9 airstrike that happened when communications were all but severed” at a hospital in Mariupol.

— “The U.S. will deploy a Patriot missile system to Slovakia, a NATO member state in Central Europe that borders the western tip of Ukraine,” Quint Forgey writes.

— How the ACLU is weighing in: WaPo’s Jeff Stein reports that the organization “helped scuttle a bill this week that would have enabled the Biden administration to liquidate Russian oligarchs’ assets and turn the proceeds over to Ukraine. ACLU officials told lawmakers on Tuesday that the legislation could run afoul of due process protections in the U.S. Constitution because it does not allow its targets to challenge the government’s actions in court, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks.”

— “Russia’s war dead belie its slogan that no one is left behind,” by WaPo’s Robyn Dixon, Sudarsan Raghavan, Isabelle Khurshudyan and David Stern

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THE ECONOMY

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED — Biden this week signed into law a piece of bipartisan legislation aimed at providing the U.S. Postal Service the aid it needs to address some serious institutional issues. “But now, as [ LOUIS] DEJOY heads into his third year at the helm of the agency, the Postal Service is set to emerge from the pandemic with healthier finances and business prospects than most could have imagined. It’s buying new delivery trucks, shipping hundreds of millions of coronavirus test kits to American homes and launching new services to compete with Amazon and other private-sector package shippers. And, as DeJoy has come to realize, the bulk of his work and the 10-year transformation plan he unveiled in March 2021 — to stem annual losses, reconfigure the agency’s decrepit network and reorient its business strategy — is barely underway,” WaPo’s Jacob Bogage writes in a lookahead piece for the embattled USPS.

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

THE ABORTION DEBATE — LAT’s Jennifer Haberkorn has a look at the ever-evolving debate around abortion rights as even longstanding caveats have now moved to the fringe for conservatives. “As conservative states enacted stringent abortion bans in recent decades, there was one threshold they were loath to cross: Abortion was nearly always allowed in cases of rape or incest It was a veneer of acceptance embraced by every GOP president from [RONALD] REAGAN to Trump, and even the strongest abortion foes, that a woman should not be required to carry a rapist’s child.

“Not anymore. Just as states may be on the verge of regaining expansive authority to outlaw abortion, eliminating rape and incest exceptions has moved from the fringe to the center of the antiabortion movement.”

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PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION

THIS ONE’S A DOOZY — Washingtonian’s Sylvie McNamara has a wild followup story on “ARIAN TAHERZADEH , one of two men arrested on Wednesday for allegedly impersonating federal agents.” We’ll just let the headline speak for itself: “Inside the Navy Yard Suspects’ Wild Apartment Building: Fratty parties, secret government jobs, an alleged porno shoot.”

PLAYBOOKERS

SPOTTED at a black tie dinner at British Ambassador Karen Pierce’s temporary residence Thursday night for an evening celebrating the history of Queen Elizabeth’s visits to the White House: Amy and Richard Zantzinger, Rhett Wilson, Eric Sloan, Susan Silverstein Scott, Candace Shireman, Karen Schaufeld, Fred Ryan, John F. W. Rogers, Mattia Pallozzi, Adebayo and Amelia Ogunlesi, Mary Mochary, Stewart McLaurin, Tim and Anita McBride, Bob and Mary Lou McGee, Shahin Mafi, Marlene Malek, Jennifer London, Wendell Lilly, Anne Lantry, Susan Klein, Paul Hamill, Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman, Claire Dwoskin, Alex Del Vecchio, Alan and Ashley Dabbiere, Francesca Craig, Paul and Rose Carter, Jeff Carneal, Teresa Carlson and Andre Pienaar.

TRANSITIONS — Alex Lasry’s Senate campaign in Wisconsin has brought on a trio of senior staff: Shannon Rice will be finance director, Rebecca Osmolski will be digital director and Christina Freundlich will be comms director.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Crystal Thomas, art director at POLITICO, and Christopher Thomas, a Navy veteran, welcomed Ezra Easton Thomas on March 14. Pic … Another pic

— Karishma Shah Page, co-lead of the K&L Gates public policy and law practice, and Jonathan Page, co-founder of Page 1 Labs, welcomed Emerson “Remy” Shah Page on March 30. He joins big brother Xavier. Pic