Playbook PM: Senate Republicans face their first impeachment test

From: POLITICO Playbook - Tuesday Jan 26,2021 06:45 pm

Jan 26, 2021

By Rachael Bade, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

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END OF AN ERA — WaPo Executive Editor MARTY BARON will retire at the end of next month. Fred Ryan’s announcement and Baron’s newsroom note … Jeff Bezos’ Instagram tribute

— CNN’S BRIAN STELTER: “Marty Baron, the editor who transformed the Washington Post into an international powerhouse and led the news organization to win 10 Pulitzer Prizes, is retiring next month. … Both inside and outside the Post, Baron was credited with steadying the editorial ship through business model turbulence, political attacks and international crises.”

— VANITY FAIR’S JOE POMPEO covered some of the post-Baron jockeying in December. Some names to watch: KEVIN MERIDA (a former Postie and current ESPN exec) and STEVEN GINSBERG (WaPo’s national editor).

— JACK SHAFER EMAILS: “The easiest job in journalism will be taking the baton from Marty Baron, who rebuilt the Washington Post. Baron did great work wherever he went, notably at the Miami Herald and the Boston Globe, where he was the top editor before arriving at the Post, but nobody figured out how the taciturn wizard performed his magic.”

— WHO DO YOU THINK WILL REPLACE BARON? Send us your suggestions, predictions and insider tips: playbook@politico.com.

SIREN — PAUL TO FORCE VOTE ON IMPEACHMENT PROCESS: Sen. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.) this afternoon plans to raise a point of order on the impeachment article delivered to the Senate, arguing that it’s unconstitutional since DONALD TRUMP is no longer president. This might seem like a silly procedural gambit, but it’s important: The move will trigger a vote on whether senators agree, forcing Republicans on record TODAY over whether they even think Trump’s trial is even allowed to proceed.

Should more than 34 Republicans agree with Paul, it’s game over. You’ll have your answer that Trump will not be convicted.

Just before lunch, Paul expressed confidence to reporters that they’d get there: “I think it’ll be enough to show that, you know, more than a third of the Senate thinks that the whole proceeding is unconstitutional, which will show that ultimately they don’t have the votes to do an impeachment,” he said. More from Andrew Desiderio and Burgess Everett

BIG NEWS — “White House expected to tell governors they will get more coronavirus vaccine starting next week,” WaPo: “Federal allocations of coronavirus vaccine to states and other jurisdictions are expected to increase by about 16 percent next week, easing shortages that have intensified nationwide without fully alleviating supply problems.”

THE BIDEN CABINET … ANTONY BLINKEN was confirmed today as secretary of State, 78-22. … ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, the DHS secretary nominee, was reported out of committee on a 7-4 vote. CNN: “Biden staffing up swiftly at Homeland Security to reverse Trump's immigration policies”

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JAN. 6 AFTERSHOCKS — “‘We did not do enough’: Acting Capitol Police chief apologizes for security failure,” by Melanie Zanona: “During a closed-door briefing with the House Appropriations Committee, Yogananda D. Pittman, the acting head of the U.S. Capitol Police, said the department was outmanned and unprepared for the attack. She also admitted that a Capitol police board denied a request on Jan. 4 for additional support from the National Guard.”

— “U.S. Capitol officers debating no-confidence vote for leaders in charge during Capitol riots,” CNN

— “Pentagon restricted commander of D.C. Guard ahead of Capitol riot,” WaPo: “Local commanders typically have the power to take military action on their own to save lives or prevent significant property damage in an urgent situation when there isn’t enough time to obtain approval from headquarters.

“But Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, said the Pentagon essentially took that power and other authorities away from him ahead of a pro-Trump protest on Jan. 6. That meant he couldn’t immediately roll out troops when he received a panicked phone call from the Capitol Police chief warning that rioters were about to enter the U.S. Capitol. … Walker and former Army secretary Ryan C. McCarthy are set to brief the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday behind closed doors about the events.”

— “D.C. National Guard deployment extended through end of March,” by Natasha Bertrand, Lara Seligman and Andrew Desiderio

NEW ON THE PRESIDENT’S SCHEDULE — Biden will deliver remarks on the pandemic at 4:45 p.m. in the State Dining Room. CNN reports he’ll focus on vaccine supply and distribution.

COVID RELIEF LATEST … Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER said today Dems want to pass a bill with GOP support, but they’ll do it without Republicans if they have to.

— MORE DETAILS from the WSJ : “Democrats are likely to eventually move to a process called budget reconciliation to pass at least part of the legislation with a simple majority in the Senate. Reconciliation typically limits a bill to tax and spending measures …

“But some in the party want to go further, exploring ways to stretch the rules and precedents that have historically constrained what policy provisions are allowed under the reconciliation process. Some see it as a way to pass party priorities like raising the minimum wage without ending the filibuster.”

— @burgessev: “! Durbin says that Senate Democrats are exploring whether $15 minimum wage can be done with reconciliation. He seems optimistic that it could.”

— SARAH FERRIS reports that the Problem Solvers Caucus is meeting with the White House at 3:30 p.m.

— WHAT SUSAN COLLINS IS READING: “Cutting off stimulus checks to Americans earning over $75,000 could be wise, new data suggests,” WaPo: “Families earning above that threshold typically save the stimulus payment, which provides little help to the overall economy and signals the money was not as urgently needed.”

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.

MUSIC TO DEMS’ EARS — “Wall Street shrugs at Washington’s debt pileup,” by Victoria Guida: “Senior U.S. lawmakers are stressing out about mounting government debt as they resist President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion plan … But investors in the federal debt, a wide range of market-focused economists and officials in the Biden administration have a firm response: Don’t worry about it right now.

“The debt poses no imminent danger to U.S. finances, they say, so the more pressing concern should be jump-starting the economy to avoid the type of sluggish recovery that persisted for years following the Great Recession. … Biden can probably spend as much as he wants to revive the pandemic-battered economy and concentrate on the debt later.”

NEWS YOU CAN USE — “CDC finds scant spread of coronavirus in schools with precautions in place,” WaPo: “Schools operating in person have seen scant transmission of the coronavirus, particularly when masks and distancing are employed, but some indoor athletics have led to infections and should be curtailed if schools want to operate safely, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded in papers published Tuesday.”

FILIBUSTER DEATH WATCH … Bloomberg’s ERIK WASSON (@elwasson): “MCCONNELL on Senate floor suggests that if filibuster ever is nuked, GOP will completely tie up the Senate with endless quorum calls, blocked consent requests for routine matters.”

WHAT BIDEN’S SIGNING TODAY — CNN: “The President will issue an executive order that will create a policing commission … Another order Biden will sign will reinstate an Obama-era policy barring the transfer of military equipment to local police departments. … The President will also seek to improve prison conditions and eliminate the use of private prisons.”

MCENANY’S NEXT MOVE? — “Kayleigh McEnany’s Financial Disclosure reveals agreement with Fox News,” Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington: “According to her termination financial disclosure report, McEnany reached an agreement with the company in January 2021 to start working there this month. During her stint in the Trump administration, McEnany regularly appeared on the network, including more than 20 times after Trump lost the 2020 election.”

— FOX NEWS STATEMENT: “Kayleigh McEnany is not currently an employee or contributor at FOX News.” … A source familiar with the situation tells us that there were conversations about McEnany joining after the election but those were put on pause. “We do not discuss the details behind contracts with any personnel, but we are open to hiring her in the future given we do not condone cancel culture,” the source added.

2022 WATCH — Former DNC Chair TOM PEREZ said on “The Bill Press Pod” this morning he’s thinking about running for Maryland governor next year: “I live here in Maryland. And I served in state government in Maryland … Looking at things here, perhaps. We have an open governor’s seat next year. And our current incumbent is term-limited. And so, taking a look at that, and we’ll see what happens.” The interview … More from Zach Montellaro

— “Charlotte Democrat Jeff Jackson to jump into U.S. Senate race,” Charlotte Observer: “Jackson, a 38-year-old Democrat from Charlotte, is in his fourth term in the state Senate. A former Gaston County prosecutor, Jackson is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve and an Afghanistan war veteran.” Announcement video

GET THE SCOOP ON CONGRESS IN 2021 : Get the inside scoop on the Schumer/McConnell dynamic, the new Senate Bipartisan Group, and what is really happening inside the House Democratic Caucus and Republican Conference. From Schumer to Pelosi, McConnell to McCarthy and everyone in between, our new Huddle author Olivia Beavers brings the latest from Capitol Hill with assists from POLITICO's deeply sourced Congress team. Subscribe to Huddle, the indispensable guide to Congress.

NOT OFF THE HOOK YET — “Trump’s Pardon of Bannon Could Raise Risk for 3 Co-Defendants,” NYT: “[T]he pardon also left three other men who were indicted with [Steve] Bannon in an unusual and unenviable predicament. None of them received pardons and so they still must face a trial in May. What’s more, legal experts said, Mr. Bannon could now be called as a government witness to testify against them, potentially increasing their legal jeopardy.

“John S. Martin Jr., a retired federal judge and former U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said that, assuming Mr. Bannon accepted his pardon and the immunity it conferred, he could not invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if called to testify for the government against his co-defendants.”

— BTW … via NYT: “Of the nearly 240 pardons and commutations issued by Mr. Trump, only 25 came through the rigorous process for identifying and vetting worthy clemency petitions overseen by the Justice Department, according to a tally kept partly by Margaret Love, who ran the department’s clemency process from 1990 to 1997 as the United States pardon attorney.”

THE ROAD AHEAD — “Saved Stimulus Checks Expected to Help Spur Economic Recovery,” WSJ: “Many U.S. consumers are starting 2021 flush with savings likely to help fuel the economic recovery this year. … Americans saved $1.4 trillion in the first three quarters of 2020, or about twice as much as in the same period of the prior year, according to analysis by Berenberg Economics.”

KNOWING THE INSURRECTIONISTS — “From Navy SEAL to Part of the Angry Mob Outside the Capitol,” NYT: “It is surprising because [Adam] Newbold’s background would seem to armor him better than most against the lure of baseless conspiracy theories. In the Navy, he was trained as an expert in sorting information from disinformation, a clandestine commando who spent years working in intelligence paired with the C.I.A., and he once mocked the idea of shadowy antidemocratic plots as ‘tinfoil hat’ thinking.”

DAILY RUDY — “Giuliani wasn’t just a Trump partisan but a shrewd marketer of vitamins, gold, lawsuit says,” WaPo

FIRST PERSON … NYT’S STUART THOMPSON: “Three Weeks Inside a Pro-Trump QAnon Chat Room: For the past three weeks, a group of Trump supporters and QAnon believers met online, swapped theories and eagerly awaited the conspiracy’s violent climax. I was listening in. This is what they sounded like.”

VALLEY TALK — “Telegram, Pro-Democracy Tool, Struggles Over New Fans From Far Right,” NYT: “The app has helped fuel democracy movements in Iran and Belarus but now faces scrutiny as extremists and conspiracy theorists flock to it amid crackdowns by Facebook and Twitter on disinformation.”

PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “D.C. restaurants are hoping for a ‘Biden bump’ after the president’s Georgetown deli visit,” WaPo: “The impact of that small order has been immediate and significant, not just in social media buzz, but also in next-day sales. Sales at the Georgetown [Call Your Mother] were 100 percent above those of a typical Monday … The impact was even felt at the chain’s two other brick-and-mortar locations.”

TOP-ED — “Why we need a bipartisan censure to deal with Trump, not another circus impeachment trial,” by Greta Van Susteren in USA Today: “Instead of fracturing our country further, the Senate should censure Trump with a truly bipartisan vote.”

MEDIAWATCH — Avery Miller will be senior editorial producer for CBS’ “Face the Nation.” She most recently was a producer for ABC’s “World News Tonight,” and has covered every election since 2000.

STAFFING UP — Kathy Valle is now heading the higher education portfolio at the Domestic Policy Council. She previously was education policy director for House Education and Labor Chair Bobby Scott (D-Va.).

TRANSITIONS — Andrew Kilberg will be an associate at Gibson, Gunn and Crutcher. He previously was counselor to Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia. … Larkin Parker is now comms director for Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.). She previously was comms director for Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.). …

… Mary Collins Atkinson is now deputy press secretary for Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). She most recently worked for Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.). … Push Digital is launching Laurens Group, a strategic comms firm. Christiana Purves, previously of the RNC, is joining as a VP.

EXPECTING — “MSNBC anchor Katy Tur pregnant with baby no. 2,” Page Six … Announcement

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