Playbook PM: Sanders makes her entrance as Portman announces his exit

From: POLITICO Playbook - Monday Jan 25,2021 06:21 pm

Jan 25, 2021

By Eugene Daniels, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

Presented by

I bet you thought we wouldn’t hit you with campaign news so soon. Well, joke’s on you (and us).

Center-right Sen. ROB PORTMAN (R-Ohio) announced today he won’t run for reelection in 2022, citing Washington dysfunction as the reason. “It has gotten harder and harder to break through the partisan gridlock and make progress on substantive policy, and that has contributed to my decision,” he said in a statement.

Cincinnati Enquirer: “It’s expected to remain a safe seat for Republicans, who’ve been tightening their grip on Ohio for the past decade. Potential GOP candidates for Portman’s seat include: Congressman Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken, former state treasurer Josh Mandel and ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ author J.D. Vance.” Burgess Everett and James Arkin add: “Rep. Steve Stivers, who ran his party’s House campaign committee in 2018, is considering a run, according to a source familiar with his plans.”

— BLOOMBERG’S @JenniferJJacobs: “GOP operatives saying they believe Republican US Sen. @senrobportman’s decision to not seek re-election in [2022] signals that he doesn’t think the party is coming back anytime soon into a working majority.”

— EYES EMOJI … @ConnieSchultz: “P.S. You can stop texting me only men’s names for the Democratic candidate. Ohio may have other plans.”

Meanwhile, former Trump White House press secretary SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS made a splashy entrance into the 2022 race for governor in Arkansas, a state that has moved into the solid-red column over the past two decades. Her nearly eight-minute video announcement unsurprisingly played up her close connection to the former president, and also included a law-and-order message and an attack on the media and “cancel culture.”

“Everything we love about America is at stake, and with the radical left now in control of Washington, your governor is your last line of defense,” Sanders said straight to camera. Her entrance into the race, if not the timing of it, was expected, and it will be one of the first tests of whether Trump is still a benefit for Republicans. (Our bet at this point, especially in states like Arkansas: Yes.)

Our campaigns editor Steve Shepard weighs in: “Despite her national cache, don’t think of her as a field-clearer. There are two candidates already in the race who have been elected statewide: Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, who has D.C. experience as a former two-term congressman, and state Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who held a photo op at the Supreme Court in support of Texas’ lawsuit to throw out the presidential election results from other states. Another wild card: The state has a majority runoff threshold for party primaries, which could add more volatility to a multi-candidate GOP race.”

BREAKING — “Justice Dept. watchdog to investigate possible improper efforts by officials to ‘alter the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election,’” WaPo: “The Justice Department’s inspector general announced Monday that its office is opening an investigation into whether any current or former department official tried to improperly ‘alter the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election’ — a broad review that comes on the heels of a revelation that then-President Donald Trump considered replacing his acting attorney general with an official more amenable to his unfounded claims of voter fraud.”

CNN’S MANU RAJU (@mkraju): “New - Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Senate pro tempore, is expected to preside in impeachment trial, two sources tell me and @JoanBiskupic - not Chief Justice John Roberts. Senators preside when the person facing trial isn’t the current president of the United States, per one source.” Playbook’s take: The absence of Roberts is a gift to Trump: Simply having a Democrat in the seat may make the proceedings seem more partisan and could bolster Republican arguments that the process is somehow not legit.

DAILY RUDY — “Dominion Voting Systems sues Giuliani over election claims,” AP: “Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit on Monday against Donald Trump’s personal lawyer RUDY GIULIANI … The lawsuit seeks more than $1.3 billion in damages for the voting machine company … The suit is based on statements Giuliani made on Twitter, in conservative media and during legislative hearings …

“Dominion’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, is among the first major signs of fallout for the former president’s allies and the failed effort to subvert the 2020 election … Giuliani did not respond to a reporter’s message seeking comment.”

A message from Google:

Free digital coaching for Black and Latino small businesses. Grow with Google Digital Coaches provide digital skills training and coaching to help Black and Latino small businesses reach customers, thrive online, and grow. Offerings include digital skills workshops, hands-on coaching, and opportunities to learn from successful local businesses. Learn more.

PRE-PSAKI READING: “MAGA media looks to turn White House briefing room into a battlefield,” by Chris Cadelago and Natasha Korecki: “[Eric Bolling] recently submitted an application to become a member of the White House Correspondents’ Association … Trump showered his allies in the conservative media with VIP treatment … But they’re on the outside now — and looking to draw blood from the new administration. …

“White House officials stressed that they won’t take steps to banish pro-Trump voices from the White House. They don’t, for example, anticipate proactively revoking hard passes from journalists who got them under Trump. … But Biden’s aides also promised not to allow outlets to use the briefings to spread baseless conspiracies. … For the White House, the trickier challenge may be fighting their own way into a closed, right-wing ecosystem.”

FILIBUSTER DEATH WATCH — Sen. JON TESTER (D-Mont.) sounding more open to axing the filibuster in the NYT: “War Over Filibuster, a Famed Stalling Tactic, Stops the Senate From the Start”: “‘I feel pretty damn strongly, but I will also tell you this: I am here to get things done,’ Mr. Tester said in an interview. ‘If all that happens is filibuster after filibuster, roadblock after roadblock, then my opinion may change.’”

— BUT, BUT, BUT … WAPO: “A spokeswoman for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) said the senator is ‘against eliminating the filibuster, and she is not open to changing her mind about eliminating the filibuster.’”

SCOTUS WATCH — “Supreme Court shuts down 2 Trump emoluments cases,” by Josh Gerstein: “The announcement may indicate that the justices are looking to put the Trump era behind them and are not eager to wade into disputes about his personal or business affairs. The outcome in the cases also signals how ineffective the courts proved to be in policing Trump’s alleged violations of the emoluments clauses …

“Formally, the justices’ decision Monday declared the two suits moot — apparently due to Trump leaving office last week. The high court also wiped out rulings that federal appeals courts in New York and Virginia had issued saying the suits could proceed to discovery. The Supreme Court did not offer a detailed explanation of its rationale. No justice recorded any dissent.”

— AP: “The Supreme Court is declining to take up the case of former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who is serving a 6 1/2-year prison sentence after being convicted in a corruption case.”

VACCINE LATEST — “Moderna says its Covid-19 vaccine is less effective against one coronavirus variant,” Stat: “Moderna is studying adding booster doses to its vaccine regimen after finding its Covid-19 vaccine was less effective against a coronavirus variant that was first identified in South Africa, the company said Monday. …

“[S]cientists found that there was a six-fold reduction in the vaccine’s neutralizing power against the variant, called B.1.351 … There was no loss in neutralization levels against a different variant, called B.1.1.7, that was first identified in the United Kingdom. … Moderna said that despite the reduction in neutralizing antibodies against B.1.351, the antibody levels generated by its vaccine ‘remain above levels that are expected to be protective.’”

— “Anti-Vaccine Activists Peddle Theories That Covid Shots Are Deadly, Undermining Vaccination,” Kaiser Health News

HAPPENING TODAY — “Biden to sign order aimed at pushing federal government to buy American-made products,” WaPo: “The executive order will call for increasing the amount of U.S. content that must be in a product for it to be considered made in America under existing ‘Buy American’ requirements. It will also create a website where American businesses can see what contracts are being awarded to foreign vendors, and a position at the White House Office of Management and Budget tasked with implementing Biden’s push on federal procurement, among other measures.

“The order reflects in part the shifting consensus in American politics away from free trade and toward direct government intervention to promote U.S. producers and manufacturers.”

TRACK THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION: A new president occupies the White House and he is already making changes. What are some of the key moments from Biden's first week in office? Find out in Transition Playbook, our scoop-filled newsletter tracking the appointments, people, and emerging power centers of the first 100 days of the new administration. Subscribe today.

IT’S OFFICIAL — “Biden repeals Trump-era ban on transgender military service,” by Jacqueline Feldscher and Lara Seligman

SOBERING READ — “Our Radicalized Republic,” FiveThirtyEight: “Much of this nation now hates Americans who don’t affiliate with their party. The reasons for and consequences of that hatred look very different on the right than on the left, but it still leaves President Biden with a nearly impossible task: governing a radicalized country.

“For decades, researchers like [Lilliana] Mason have watched as multiple trends — white Americans’ resentment of Black Americans, growth in inequality, how we feel about political opponents — pointed this country in a dangerous direction. Any one of these things, on their own, can destabilize democracies and lead to violence, experts told us. We are grappling with some half dozen.”

TIT FOR TAT — “Hawley calls for ethics investigation into Dems who filed complaint against him,” Fox News: “Hawley aired his grievances in two letters sent Monday morning. In one of the letters, Hawley, R-Mo., called for the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate the seven Democrats who filed the complaint against him and Cruz, R-Texas, accusing the senators of filing ‘an unprecedently frivolous and improper ethics complaint... [w]ithout citing any relevant evidence or offering any good-faith argument.’”

THE ECONOMIC TEAM — “Yellen Passed the Economic Stability Baton to Powell. Now, He’s Handing It Back,” WSJ: “Now, their shared experience and economic views set the stage for the closest working relationship between their institutions since the 2008 financial crisis. This matters for the economy because it is likely to take some of the burden off the Fed for spurring a faster economic recovery.”

STAFFING UP — “Biden Plans to Tap California Labor Chief Julie Su as DOL Deputy,” Bloomberg … “Todd Harper Selected as New NCUA Board Chairman,” Credit Union Times

— “Biden replaces controversial White House physician,” CNN: “A White House official said Biden had selected Dr. Kevin O’Connor to replace Dr. Sean Conley as his doctor. It’s not uncommon for a president to name his own physician when taking office, though his two most recent predecessors each retained the incumbent doctor who had attended the men who served before them.”

INSIDE OMB — “Biden confronts a budget office broken by Trump,” by Caitlin Emma: “[T]he workforce is demoralized, particularly after political leaders pushed to test boundaries at Trump’s behest. Biden will need to restore trust, reset norms and bolster the ranks at the budget office after Trump stripped civil servants of authority and worker protections while pushing a legally dubious agenda that many at the agency do not support, according to interviews with half a dozen current and former OMB officials. …

“In the new president’s first three days in office, the Biden administration has given career staff back their power in overseeing federal spending and released more than $27 billion for critical services temporarily frozen by Trump’s recent request for spending cuts.”

CLIMATE FILES — “World’s Ice Is Melting Faster Than Ever, Climate Scientists Say,” WSJ: “Between 1994 and 2017, the Earth lost 28 trillion metric tons of ice, [a new global satellite survey] showed. That is an amount roughly equivalent to a sheet of ice 100 meters thick covering the state of Michigan or the entire U.K.—and the meltwater from so much ice loss has raised the sea level just over an inch or so world-wide, the scientists said.”

OLIVIA BEAVERS SCOOP in this morning’s Huddle : “House Republicans are looking for ways to connect with corporations and associate PACs amid the current halt on giving PAC money, your Huddle host has learned. Following the deadly insurrection, a long list of corporations put their PAC dollars on pause, with some explicitly ceasing their donations to GOP members who challenged the 2020 election results.

“One fundraising consulting company -- which represents six anti-certification members including Arizona GOP Reps. Andy Biggs, Debbie Lesko, David Schweikert -- is offering access to these GOP lawmakers, their clients, at no cost. While this isn’t the first time free events like this have been offered, it offers a preview of how these members are going to try to adapt to this new, tough political environment.”

HAPPENING TUESDAY - DRAWING THE ETHICAL LINE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: As AI becomes increasingly ingrained in our everyday lives, there are concerns about biases in these systems and ethical standards to guide their fair use. Without an international framework or set of principles governing AI, the ethical guidelines for its use vary across countries and cities and sometimes even come down to individual policymakers, elected leaders, the private sector, and grassroots advocates' work. Join POLITICO for a conversation to explore the pace of global AI innovation and development and what it means for the future of ethical standards in this space. The virtual program features an executive conversation between POLITICO CEO Patrick Steel and Workday EVP of corporate affairs Jim Shaughnessy. REGISTER HERE.

BEYOND THE BELTWAY — “America’s rural crisis triggers calls for Biden to name rural czar,” by Liz Crampton: “Members of Congress and advocates are making the case that the problems plaguing rural regions exacerbated by the pandemic run so deep that a coordinated federal response is critical — a move they argue would speed up the nation’s economic recovery and boost Biden’s popularity among voters in red states. The envoy would work closely with the executive branch, especially the Department of Agriculture, which has offices in nearly every county in the U.S.”

BIG CHALLENGE — “Biden Is Vowing to Reopen Schools Quickly. It Won’t Be Easy,” NYT: “The slow vaccine rollout, and local fights between districts and unions, could make it hard for the president to fulfill his promise.”

AFTER TRUMP — “Some Trump aides stuck with him till the end. Now they’re screwed,” by Gabby Orr, Meridith McGraw and Daniel Lippman: “Tainted by Trump’s reputation, several Trump aides described an increasingly bleak job market with virtually no chance of landing jobs in corporate America and some even having seen promising leads disappear after the rampage at the U.S. Capitol. A second former White House official said they knew of ‘people who got jobs rescinded because of Jan. 6.’ A Republican strategist was blunter. ‘They are really f---ed,’ the strategist said.”

MEDIAWATCH — “‘We Can’t Have That’: Inside The New York Times’ Firing of Lauren Wolfe,” Vanity Fair: “I checked in with a number of senior Times sources on Sunday, and they all told me the same thing: Wolfe had previously been cautioned about her social media behavior. A manager gave her a warning months ago after staffers expressed discomfort with certain tweets she was told bordered on being political. My sources emphasized that Wolfe was not a full Times employee—her position on the ‘flexible editing desk,’ which springs into action during heavy news cycles and staffing shortages, was a temporary one.

“But sources also told me that even though Wolfe was brought on as a ‘casual’ (Times jargon for freelance editor), she was pursuing a full-time position on a newly created live-journalism team headed up by assistant managing editor Marc Lacey. Whether her employment could or would become permanent was yet to be seen. According to someone with knowledge of the phone call in which Wolfe was let go, she was told that her name and the Times’ name were in headlines all over the place, and ‘we can’t have that.’”

— @yashar: “Scoop: ABC’s @TomLlamasABC is leaving the network to head over to NBC News, three sources familiar with the move tell me.”

— Emily Compagno has been promoted to co-host of Fox News’ “Outnumbered.” … Amy Harder is joining Breakthrough Energy to head a new journalism initiative about the transition to cleaner energy. She most recently has been energy and climate change reporter at Axios and author of the Harder Line column, which she’ll continue on a monthly basis.

— “Hillary Rodham Clinton And Chelsea Clinton’s New Production Company Lands The Rights To Gayle Tzemach Lemmon’s ‘The Daughters of Kobani’; Will Be Developed As TV Series,” Deadline: “For the Clintons, the property feels like the perfect IP to help launch their banner given the subject matter and strong women that helped Lemmon write it. … Drawing upon hundreds of hours of interviews and on-the-ground reporting, The Daughters of Kobani is the unforgettable story [of] an all-women Kurdish militia who took on ISIS in Northern Syria – and won.”

TRANSITIONS — Former Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) is now a senior policy adviser at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. He previously was a partner at Carnahan Global Consulting. … Tatum Wallace is now comms director for Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.). She previously was press secretary for Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.). …

… Vanessa Santos is now director of strategy and public relations for District Media Group. She previously was director of media relations for Javelin. … RJ Gibson is joining Heritage Action as manager of Senate relations. He previously was a legislative assistant for Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). … Josh Esquivel is now legislative director for Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). He previously was legislative director for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Lauren Claffey Tomlinson, president of Claffey Communications, and Brock Tomlinson, VP of acquisitions at Bozzuto, welcomed Kennedy Tomlinson on Jan. 16. Pic

A message from Google:

Small businesses can receive hands-on coaching from Digital Coaches in free Grow with Google workshops. They’ll learn how to connect with customers and more. Explore.

Follow us on Twitter