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Presented by Google: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels and Eli Okun | | | | 
VP Kamala Harris is the latest and most prominent in a string of high-profile coronavirus cases to hit Washington in recent weeks. | Patrick Semansky/AP Photo | DEVELOPING — VP KAMALA HARRIS has tested positive for the coronavirus on both rapid and PCR tests, her office announced in a statement this afternoon. (CNN’s Jasmine Wright was the first to tweet out the news.) Here’s what you should know:
- Harris has “exhibited no symptoms, will isolate and continue to work from the Vice President’s residence,” per the statement.
- She has not been in close contact with President JOE BIDEN or first lady JILL BIDEN on account of “their respective recent travel schedules,” noted Harris press secretary KIRSTEN ALLEN. (Harris was out of town all of last week in her home state of California.) The last time that she saw the president in person, according to her office, was April 18.
It’s the latest and most prominent in a string of high-profile cases to hit Washington in recent weeks. Last month, second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF tested positive. Earlier this month, Harris’ comms director, JAMAL SIMMONS, tested positive as well. Testing positive today: Harris, Sens. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) and RON WYDEN (D-Ore.), who has mild symptoms. The spread of a new Covid subvariant through official Washington comes as (1) This Town opens up for soirees in anticipation of this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, and (2) Biden administration aides have worked to push the idea that the country is in a new phase of the pandemic. The point the administration has been trying to drive home: Vaccines are available across the country, and there are new therapeutics that can help keep people from getting severe cases of Covid. MANCHIN IN THE MIDDLE — White House officials are worried that they might not be able to land any kind of reconciliation deal with Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.), even if they shrink their ambitions down to a $1 trillion package, WaPo’s Jeff Stein reports . They’ve been reaching out to the swing-vote senator quietly, but “Manchin has not yet made clear to the White House precisely what he would support in a final agreement” — and they don’t have much time. Even though the administration has had to ax a long list of agenda items, this could be one of their last chances to pass major legislation before the midterms. Manchin met with Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER today to talk inflation, The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports, and told reporters afterward that any reconciliation bill should be focused on fighting inflation and reducing the debt. Towards that end, he supports a corporate tax rate of 25%, and a capital gains tax of 28%. The problem here for Dems, as always, is that Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-Ariz.) hasn’t been on board with the tax hikes Manchin wants. — NBC’s Sahil Kapur: “There’s a first-mover problem here. Manchin has his red lines but he’s not going to drive this effort and seems unlikely to lose sleep if a party-line bill never revives. White House and Chuck Schumer don’t want to get burned again.” Environmental advocates are mounting one last big push to try to land major climate legislation with Manchin, Josh Siegel and Zack Colman report. “Green organizations are inclined to accept a trade-off for legislation that helps speed the growth of clean energy that offers a short-term boost for fossil fuels in order to reach a deal by Memorial Day.” The reality back home: On energy and climate policy, Manchin has repeatedly pushed for the U.S. to adopt an “all-of-the-above” approach that pairs renewables with fossil fuels. But E&E News’ Scott Waldman reports that “when it comes to energy production, the senator’s home state of West Virginia is far from being diverse. Its power is derived almost entirely from coal. And it’s translating to higher electricity costs for his constituents.” Good Tuesday afternoon.
| | | | A message from Google: Google is helping connect American businesses and customers online. Every month in 2021, Google helped drive over 2.4 billion direct connections to customers, including phone calls, bookings, and more. View the 2021 Google Economic Impact Report. | | | THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PARDON ME — Biden today issued the first major set of clemency decisions of his presidency, handing out three pardons to people convicted of felonies and commuting 75 other sentences for low-level drug offenses. Among the people pardoned is ABRAHAM BOLDEN SR., who was the first Black Secret Service agent to serve on a presidential detail (backstory here from the Chicago Sun-Times ). To mark “Second Chance Month,” the White House paired the clemency announcement with new moves to help the formerly incarcerated with reentry, including $145 million for a job training program. Details from USA Today HUNTING HUNTER — Testifying before a Senate subcommittee today, A.G. MERRICK GARLAND said there’s been no political interference from the White House into the HUNTER BIDEN investigation. “And he repeatedly emphasized that the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, DAVID WEISS — appointed by DONALD TRUMP in 2018 — was fully in charge,” Kyle Cheney reports in Congress Minutes. ALL POLITICS POLL OF THE DAY — Georgia Gov. BRIAN KEMP is trouncing Trump-backed primary opponent DAVID PERDUE 53% to 27% in a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, Greg Bluestein reports. Surpassing the 50% threshold would give Kemp an outright win and allow him to avoid a runoff. “The governor dominated Perdue in almost every category of voters polled by the AJC. … [A] majority of respondents said Trump’s blessing made no difference or made them less likely to back a contender.” The crucial secretary of state race is much closer: Incumbent BRAD RAFFENSPERGER is ahead of Trump-supported Rep. JODY HICE 28% to 26%, within the margin of error. Meanwhile, HERSCHEL WALKER is cruising with a nearly 60-point lead over his Senate primary opponents. AD WARS — In Lititz, Pa., WSJ’s Aaron Zitner and John McCormick find that the deluge of negative ads against DAVID MCCORMICK and MEHMET OZ has helped keep the GOP Senate primary close by amping up voter concerns about both men. The negativity could keep the door open for one of the other candidates in the race to surge — or for Democrats to flip the seat. Notable context: “While negative ads are a staple of political campaigns, voters in Pennsylvania have little prior information to help them judge what they are hearing, as neither Messrs. McCormick nor Oz has run for office before or taken a high profile in the state’s civic life.” 2024 WATCH — TUCKER CARLSON will be a keynote speaker at the FAMiLY Leadership Summit in Iowa in July, which CBS’ Bob Costa notes “has long been an event attended by Republicans with presidential ambitions.” NOT HOW HE PLANNED IT — Texas Gov. GREG ABBOTT’s move to bus migrants from the border to D.C. in protest of Biden’s immigration policies “has not resulted in the chaos that Mr. Abbott predicted” yet, NYT’s Eileen Sullivan and Edgar Sandoval report . Low numbers have made it easy for volunteers to help the arrivals, who said they appreciated the free ride. Meanwhile, Abbott’s move “happens to fit into the Biden administration’s strategy for responding to the surge in migrant crossings,” the NYT writes, which “includes working with state and local governments and nonprofits to provide support, assistance and transportation to move migrants out of border communities and toward their final destinations in a humane and orderly way.”
| | | | JOIN US ON 4/29 FOR A WOMEN RULE DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN TECH : Women, particularly women of color and women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, have historically been locked out of the tech world. But this new tech revolution could be an opportunity for women to get in on the ground floor of a new chapter. Join POLITICO for an in-depth panel discussion on the future of women in tech and how to make sure women are both participating in this fast-moving era and have access to all it offers. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | JUDICIARY SQUARE SCOTUS WATCH — The Supreme Court heard arguments today over the Biden administration’s attempt to end Trump’s controversial “remain in Mexico” policy. Bloomberg’s Greg Stohr reports that “the court’s conservative justices generally signaled support for a lower court order that forced the administration to restart the program.” WAR IN UKRAINE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS … — “Time is not on Ukraine’s side,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. MARK MILLEY warned today, sounding a less optimistic note than Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN, per WaPo. — Russian airstrikes hammered Zaporizhzhia, per CNN, where The Guardian has a good preview of the city’s preparations for major trench warfare ahead. AP’s Yesica Fisch and Jon Gambrell have a rundown of all the attacks elsewhere, which reportedly killed several people, continued to rain down on the steel plant in Mariupol and took control of the town of Kreminna. — The intel effect: The unprecedented sharing of U.S. intelligence with Ukraine allowed them to avoid attacks on their air defenses and to down a major Russian transport aircraft with hundreds of troops in the early days of the war, NBC’s Ken Dilanian, Courtney Kube, Carol Lee and Dan De Luce reveal. — Following the money: Hailey Fuchs digs into the PR firms helping businessmen with ties to Russia bat down negative publicity, including Hill+Knowlton Strategies, JConnelly and LANNY DAVIS. — Garland said today he would back a bill to send some of the money to Ukraine from Russian oligarch assets seized by DOJ. More from CNN — Knowing BRIDGET BRINK: Christopher Miller and Andrew Desidero have a profile of Biden’s new pick to be ambassador to Ukraine, who has broad support from her predecessors and senators from both parties. THE ECONOMY STAT OF THE DAY — U.S. consumer confidence bumped downward slightly in April to a reading of 107.3 on the Conference Board index, but their overall outlook remains pretty strong despite inflation and the war in Ukraine, per the AP. “Americans have scuttled some vacation plans, but slightly more intended to make big purchases like a car or major appliance.” CONGRESS DREAMING OF 2023 — In POLITICO Magazine, John McDonough dives into what Republicans’ health care agenda could look like if they retake Congress this fall. His takeaways from talking to health policy experts on the right: 1) Repealing Obamacare is likely off the table. 2) There’s a continued appetite to give consumers more health insurance choices with lower costs as well as lower values/higher risks. 3) Medicare and Medicaid reforms would probably be pretty small. 4) Republicans are divided over prescription drug prices. 5) Conservatives aren’t very focused on social determinants of health.
| | | | DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM THE 2022 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from the 25th annual Global Conference. This year's event, May 1-4, brings together more than 3,000 of the world’s most influential leaders, including 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. "Celebrating the Power of Connection" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect influencers with the resources to change the world with leading experts and thinkers whose insight and creativity can implement that change. Whether you're attending in person or following along from somewhere else in the world, keep up with this year's conference with POLITICO’s special edition “Global Insider” so you don't miss a beat. Subscribe today. | | | | | BEYOND THE BELTWAY FOR YOUR RADAR — Last year saw the highest-ever number of reported antisemitic incidents in the U.S., per new data from the Anti-Defamation League. There were 2,717 assaults or instances of vandalism or harassment reported against Jews and Jewish groups, a 34% jump from the previous year. More from CNN AMERICA AND THE WORLD THE WORLD’S BIGGEST DEMOCRACIES — India has remained steadfastly neutral through the war in Ukraine despite U.S. entreaties (and threats). WSJ’s Shan Li, Rajesh Roy and Sabrina Siddiqui report that the situation highlights some uneasy ties in the U.S.-India relationship, as well as the country’s historic dependence on Russia. THE WORLD’S BIGGEST ECONOMIES — Chinese President XI JINPING is urging his top officials to make sure that the country beats the U.S. in GDP growth this year, WSJ’s Jason Douglas scoops. As China’s economy struggles amid a Covid surge and attendant lockdowns, Xi thinks “it is critical to show that China’s one-party system is a superior alternative to Western liberal democracy, and that the U.S. is declining both politically and economically.” PLAYBOOKERS DEAN BAQUET’S NEXT STEPS — The outgoing NYT executive editor will head a new local investigative journalism fellowship at the paper. It’s designed “to help seed a diverse new generation of great investigative journalists” and shore up declining local news around the country, per the announcement. WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Jeffrey Nussbaum has left the White House, where he was a senior presidential speechwriter. MEDIA MOVE — Madi Alexander is joining POLITICO as a senior graphics editor. She most recently was a computational journalist at The Dallas Morning News, and is a Bloomberg Government alum. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Jeanné Lewis will be interim CEO of Faith in Public Life. She currently is vice chair of the board of directors, and works as VP and chief engagement officer at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. Lewis will replace the founding CEO, Rev. Jennifer Butler, who will become founder in residence. TRANSITIONS — Maria Pica Karp will be VP of global government relations at ADM. She previously spent 18 years at Chevron, including seven leading their global government affairs. … Alex Mitchell is now director of external relations for the Institute for the Study of War. He previously was VP at Vox Global. WEEKEND WEDDING — Hannah Strub, legislative director for Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.), and Seth Morrow, a VP at Targeted Victory, got married Saturday at the historic Perry Belmont House in D.C. They met while working for former Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.). Pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Dan Shorts, senior director of government affairs for the National Confectioners Association, and Inma Galvez-Shorts, manager of social media and analytics for the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, welcomed Nicolas Antonio Shorts on Monday.
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