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Presented by Amazon: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | Presented by |  | | | MCCONNELL WARNS DEMS ON FILIBUSTER — Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL delivered one of his most scathing warnings yet to Democrats eager to abolish the filibuster on the Senate floor this morning. The Kentucky Republican — who resisted pressure from DONALD TRUMP for four years to nix the chamber’s supermajority threshold — promised his colleagues a world of hurt should they go through with it. Republicans, he vowed, would throw up their own procedural hurdles — so many that “everything that Democrat[s] … did to Presidents Bush and Trump, everything the Republican Senate did to President Obama, would be child’s play.” So what does he mean exactly? McConnell knows the ins and outs of Senate rules better than anyone. In an institution that operates by unanimous consent for everything — from turning on the lights, to allowing senators to give floor speeches or speed through the customary reading of lengthy legislative text — McConnell can slow down everything with one simple demand: Require quorums for everything. And he signaled he will. That’s particularly problematic in a 50-50 Senate, where VP KAMALA HARRIS is not allowed to break procedural ties. “This chaos would not open up an express lane to liberal change,” McConnell said. “It would not open up an express lane for the Biden presidency to speed into the history books. The Senate would be more like a 100-car pileup, nothing moving.” McConnell also sought to appeal to Democrats’ pragmatic side: If they go nuclear, Republicans will utilize the new chamber rules when they return to power — and that’s just a matter of time, folks. Abortion legislation. Defunding sanctuary cities. Concealed-carry permits nationwide. Right to work. Energy drilling. Southern border lockdowns. “The pendulum, Mr. President, would swing both ways. And it would swing hard,” McConnell promised. Senate Majority Whip DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) responds to the threat to jam up the Senate, via HuffPost’s Igor Bobic : “He has already done that. He’s proven he can do it, and he will do it again.” CAN THE CENTER HOLD? — “Senate centrists weigh brokering deals on immigration, minimum wage,” by Burgess Everett: “A bipartisan group of [20] senators who successfully pushed for a second coronavirus aid bill last year will meet on Wednesday as they weigh whether to wade into another thorny topic.” SIREN IN SACRAMENTO — “Newsom: California recall appears to have enough signatures,” by Jeremy White ABOUT THOSE DIFI COMMENTS … Sen. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-Calif.) today brushed off California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM’S remarks that he’d replace her with a Black woman if she stepped down. “Please, we’re very good friends. I don’t think he meant that the way some people thought,” she said, adding that their relationship is “good and strong” and she intends to serve her full term. (h/t the Hill pool) Good Tuesday afternoon. | | | | A message from Amazon: Voters of both parties support wage increases.
The most recent elections made it clear—voters in both political parties support higher wages. The federal minimum wage hasn’t changed in 12 years, despite significant cost-of-living increases. Amazon saw the need to do more for their employees and communities and established a $15/hour starting wage in 2018.
They’re calling on Congress to pass the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage to $15/hour. | | | GOP STILL HAMMERING ON THE BORDER — ABC’S @rachelvscott: “NEW: Sens. @SenTedCruz & @JohnCornyn to lead a Senate delegation to the southern border on March 26th.” UNRAVELING THE INSURRECTION — “Army initially pushed to deny District’s request for National Guard before Jan. 6,” WaPo: “In an internal draft memo obtained by The Washington Post, the Army said the U.S. military shouldn’t be needed to help police with traffic and crowd management, as city officials had requested, unless more than 100,000 demonstrators were expected. “The draft memo also said the request should be denied because a federal agency hadn’t been identified to run the preparations and on-the-day operations; the resources of other federal agencies hadn’t been exhausted; and law enforcement was ‘far better suited’ for the task. … The Army ultimately relented after facing pressure.” The memo and initial draft THE STIMULUS SALES PITCH — New details from WaPo: “The sales pitch — including a visit by Biden on Tuesday to Chester, Pa. — will feature a host of top administration and Cabinet officials and is expected to encompass Republican-leaning states, too. Biden could visit Ohio, for instance, as early as next week … Democrats say the overlap between the competitive 2022 Senate races and traditional battleground states helps the White House achieve its dual goals of working to hold the Senate and thanking voters who supported Biden.” THE OBAMA REASSESSMENT — There’s been plenty of chatter the past few months about Democrats’ regret over not going big enough with their 2009 stimulus — and how it pushed them to aim higher this year. The NYT has a story this morning that includes some reaction from Obama world: “He has not publicly responded to the recent criticism of his stimulus strategy … But for friends and allies who are close to him, the characterizations of Mr. Obama’s 2009 efforts sting. “Some describe it as an attempt, in a different political era, to act as Monday-morning quarterback, and bristle that figures who were involved in the 2009 negotiations — like Senator Chuck Schumer or Mr. Biden — have now publicly expressed regret over them. Others describe it as the natural course of politics: past actions being used as a baseline for improvement.” BEYOND THE BELTWAY — “Democrats plead for more downballot resources after disappointing 2020,” by Zach Montellaro: “The DLCC has charted out an expansive state legislative battleground list, highlighting the states it expects to invest the most into over the next two years. The list, shared first with POLITICO, includes the immediate goal of defending the Virginia state House later this year … It also has a mix of offensive and defensive targets for 2022, including trying to flip chambers in states like Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania, and defending majorities in Nevada, New Mexico and Maine. “To do so, the DLCC is pleading with donors to invest more, and earlier, in state legislative races. The DLCC memo notes that while the $51 million it raised last cycle was an historic amount for the committee, Senate candidates in states that ultimately weren’t all that competitive were raising significantly more.” The target list THE 2020 REALIGNMENT — “New poll shows Cuban-American voters align with GOP,” by Gary Fineout in Tallahassee: “A new poll of Cuban-American voters in Florida shows that an overwhelming majority is solidly opposed to the Biden administration reengaging with the island dictatorship — and their brief drift toward Democrats has been totally reversed.” The poll | | | | JOIN THE CONVERSATION, SUBSCRIBE TO “THE RECAST”: Power dynamics are shifting in Washington, and more people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. “The Recast” is a new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country, and hear from new voices that challenge business as usual. Don’t miss out on this new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | ON THE WORLD STAGE — “Going after the ‘Achilles’ heel’: Biden charges into global anti-corruption fight,” by Nahal Toosi: “The move [to ban Ihor Kolomoyskyy] was a small but telling signal of the Biden administration’s plan to make battling corruption a key and potentially innovative part of its foreign policy. By selecting a Ukrainian, the administration was hinting that it will expect America’s overseas partners, not just its adversaries, to clean up their act. … “[M]aking fighting corruption a policy priority won’t be easy. It’s a topic that cuts across numerous fields and government agencies, requiring bureaucratic savvy to coordinate initiatives. And America’s own corruption issues … could undercut its voice. Still, anti-corruption crusaders are unusually excited about Biden’s plans. They say a growing number of governments are waking up to the threat posed by corruption … and that American leadership is crucial. There’s also bipartisan support in Washington for wrestling with the challenge.” — “Democrats call for $12B boost in State, USAID budget,” by Nahal Toosi: “[T]hey say [it] should go toward fighting climate change, preparing for pandemics and competing with China. … [G]etting a $12 billion increase through a 50-50 Senate will be difficult given likely Republican resistance to more government spending.” The plan NORTH KOREA’S FIRST BIDEN THREATS — “Austin, Blinken head to South Korea amid fresh warnings from Pyongyang,” by Lara Seligman: “As the U.S. and Japanese officials met in Tokyo, Kim Yo Jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, criticized the United States and South Korea for holding joint military exercises, and warned Washington to ‘refrain from causing a stink.’ “‘If they want to have a good night’s sleep for the next four years, it would be good for them not to do things that would prevent them from sleeping properly from the start,’ she said in a statement.” SUPERPOWER WATCH — “New High in Perceptions of China as U.S.’s Greatest Enemy,” Gallup: “Forty-five percent of Americans now say China is the greatest enemy of the U.S., more than double the percentage who said so in 2020. That year, Americans were equally as likely to say either China or Russia was the U.S.’s greatest enemy. … The rise in perceptions of China as the United States’ greatest enemy is accompanied by a sharp decline since 2020 in those mentioning Iran (down 15 percentage points to 4%).” YIKES — “Veterans Across U.S. Can’t Access Benefits Because Key Agency Hasn’t Returned to Work,” NBC LX: “A key federal agency, tasked with helping veterans secure critical benefits, is acknowledging its coronavirus-induced backlog may be far worse than anyone realized, leaving hundreds of thousands of veteran families without access to benefits they earned while serving America. That includes benefit payments, access to veterans’ facilities and homeless shelters, as well as burials in veterans’ cemeteries. “The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has seen its backlog grow to 500,000 requests after sending most of its staff home in March 2020, with fewer than 10% of employees working on-site in recent months. Because the other 90% of agency staff cannot access most records remotely — and because the NPRC has been slow to bring employees back to the office — veterans have been waiting up to a year for the proof of their service often required to collect benefits. … [I]t could take the agency 18 months to clear the backlog.” | | | | TUNE IN TO GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS: Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded over the past year amid a global pandemic. This podcast helps to identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe and start listening today. | | | | | THE GIG ECONOMY — “As Uber avoided paying into unemployment, the federal government helped thousands of its drivers weather the pandemic,” WaPo: “A Washington Post analysis of SBA data showed ‘Uber’ and ‘Lyft’ were the two most common business names in both the EIDL loan program and the EIDL Advance program. … “The data, which was released by the SBA after The Post and 10 other news organizations filed a federal lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act, shows how workers in the gig economy relied on a hodgepodge of government programs to stay afloat during a severe economic disruption. More broadly, it reflects how a new economic class of workers was left to rely on the social safety net at the same time Big Tech added billions in value and fought regulation that would require gig firms to contribute more to social programs.” SAFE SPACE — “MAGA voters wanted a new home online. Supporters of a Chinese movement gave them one,” by Mark Scott and Tina Nguyen: “In the nine weeks since the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot, SafeChat’s app has been downloaded more times than in all of 2020, quickly becoming a hotbed of conspiracy theories and disinformation that paints President Joe Biden’s new administration in the worst possible light. “But the once-obscure social network, which touts its security protections and respect for free speech, is not just MAGA-friendly. It’s also a conduit that enables fringe groups attacking the Chinese Communist Party to speak directly to — and influence — Trump supporters, creating a Star Wars bar-like atmosphere where AR-15 enthusiasts and a growing number of white nationalists can mingle with Chinese dissidents. According to a review of corporate records and online activity by POLITICO, SafeChat has close links to The Epoch Times.” SORRY, STEVE — “Italy court blocks Bannon-linked plans for populist academy,” AP: “Italy’s top administrative court has ruled against a conservative think tank affiliated with former White House adviser Steve Bannon over its use of a hilltop monastery to train future populist leaders, a decision Bannon denounced Tuesday as a politically motivated ‘joke.’” IN MEMORIAM — “Brian Barger, journalist who helped unravel Iran-contra scandal, dies at 68,” WaPo: “Brian Barger was an investigative journalist who edited and reported on Colombian drug cartels, covert operations of the CIA, international terrorism, money laundering, excessive levels of toxins in sea fish, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was among the primary reporters covering the Iran-contra arms-for-hostage scandals of the Reagan administration. “In a journalism career spanning three decades, he worked for the Associated Press, CNN and The Washington Post, among other organizations.” MEDIAWATCH — Nomaan Merchant will join the AP’s D.C. bureau to cover intelligence. He currently covers immigration from Texas. STAFFING UP — USDA announced several new senior staffers: Sandra Eskin, Eyang Garrison, Jeremy Adamson and Edyael Casaperalta. Announcement TRANSITIONS — “Biden’s digital guru is starting an ad firm of her own,” by Natasha Korecki: “Megan Clasen, who ran a $250 million digital ad program for Biden, and Patrick McHugh, who led Democrats’ largest super PAC over the last two campaign cycles, are launching the digital ad firm Gambit Strategies, they tell POLITICO. Gambit will focus on digital persuasion, get-out-the-vote operations and issue advocacy.” — Alison Kutler has joined Burson Cohn & Wolfe as EVP and deputy market leader in D.C. She most recently was a principal at PwC, and is an FCC alum. … Deema Tarazi is now a senior associate at Chamber Hill Strategies, focusing on health policy and coalitions. She most recently was at March of Dimes. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Clayton Cox, outgoing national finance director of the DNC, and Rachel Rauscher, VP of development operations at the Obama Foundation, welcomed Archie Cox on Monday night. He came in at 8 lbs, 2 oz, and joins big sister Cooper. Archie arrived 10 days early, while Clayton was out on a seven-mile hike on his first day of paternity leave. He had to rush out of the woods and home to get Rachel to GW in time. 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