Playbook PM: Gaetz reckons with his new reality

From: POLITICO Playbook - Tuesday Mar 30,2021 05:24 pm

Mar 30, 2021

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Florida Rep. MATT GAETZ is eyeing early retirement for a potential gig with Newsmax, Axios reported this morning.

The move would make a lot of sense for Gaetz. He’s been down on his job since he arrived in Congress four years ago, chafing at the importance of seniority and what he sees as the phoniness of D.C. culture.

Gaetz is best known for his unadulterated loyalty to DONALD TRUMP: The South Florida congressman has become a fixture on right-wing media as a go-to defender of the former president, including by spreading some of Trump’s big falsehoods. That made him far more powerful than your typical junior member of Congress.

But after Trump’s loss, Gaetz’s direct line to power is gone. He’s effectively been demoted to being in the minority of the minority party. It’s got to be a comedown.

According to our Florida Man Marc Caputo, for months Gaetz has been having conversations with lots of people about what’s next for him, whether it be political or otherwise (i.e. Newsmax).

On the political front, we’re told an ally of Gaetz paid pollster RYAN TYSON to test the appetite of voters for Gaetz (or Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson) for state commissioner of agriculture in his home state.

BIG GET FOR POLITICO — Ruby Cramer is joining in June as a senior staff writer for POLITICO and POLITICO Magazine, with a focus on political enterprise and magazine stories about Biden's Washington and the state of the GOP. She currently is a political reporter for BuzzFeed. From the staff announcement: “Ruby is a careful student of her craft. She specializes in sparkling, definitive profiles that capture the flaws and motivations of some of the biggest characters in politics — and we are ecstatic about what she’ll bring to her new role, whether it’s revealing the inner lives of members of Congress, digging into the Biden administration, or bringing her refractive lens to the 2024 campaign.” Full memo

NEW … “White House announces new actions to address violence against Asian Americans,” CBS: “The administration said Tuesday that it is reinstating the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and expanding the initiative's original mandate to include coordination across federal agencies to respond to anti-Asian bias and violence, with a particular focus on gender-based violence against Asian Americans.

“According to a White House fact sheet on the new actions, President Biden will also ‘appoint a permanent Director to lead the Initiative in the coordination of policies across the federal government impacting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.’ The initiative was first established during the Clinton administration, and has been reinstated and expanded by subsequent presidents.”

Good Tuesday afternoon. JOIN US — President JOE BIDEN’S agenda is moving along with an ambitious timeline of having enough Covid-19 vaccines for all adults by the end of May, the deployment of $1.9 trillion in pandemic relief and a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure plan. But the White House is also dealing with a rise in the number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, the fallout from back-to-back mass shootings and a coming showdown over the Senate filibuster. Join RYAN on Thursday at 9 a.m. for a conversation with White House chief of staff RON KLAIN to discuss what’s next on Biden’s agenda. Register here

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WHO’S REPORT IS IT ANYWAY? — CNN’S @kylieatwood: “NEW: In a joint statement the US & 13 other countries express ‘shared concerns’ about the WHO-convened COVID-19 origins study saying it was ‘significantly delayed and lacked access to complete, original data and samples.’” With statement

THE VACCINE EFFORT — “Biden administration builds volunteer network to boost vaccine confidence,” by Adam Cancryn: “The Biden administration is creating a network of outside health experts and community leaders charged with building trust in coronavirus vaccines, as the shots become available to the entire adult population, according to documents obtained by POLITICO.

“The all-volunteer group — dubbed the Covid-19 Community Corps — would amplify the government’s vaccine messaging within their own communities, and lead on-the-ground efforts to combat skepticism and misinformation. The new program, set to be unveiled Thursday, comes as the administration’s focus shifts from expanding supply of the shots to ensuring people seek them out as soon as they’re able.”

MEANWHILE — “As Covid-19 Vaccinations Ramp Up, Hesitancy Wanes,” WSJ: “The findings come from the latest release of a large-scale survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and developed in concert with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics. The most recent survey gauged responses from nearly 80,000 adults between March 3 and March 15.

“The survey found about 17% of adults said they would either definitely or probably not get vaccinated, down from 22% in January. The decline was almost entirely due to fewer respondents saying they probably won’t get the shot; the share saying they definitely won’t has remained essentially unchanged in the past two months.”

SUSPENSION EXTENSION — “Cardona suspends collection of 1M federal student loans in default,” by Michael Stratford

OUT WITH THE OLD — “Blinken ends Trump rights plan promoting conservative agenda,” AP: “In a sharp rebuke to Trump-era policies, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday will formally scrap a blueprint championed by his predecessor to limit U.S. promotion of human rights abroad to causes favored by conservatives like religious freedom and property matters while dismissing reproductive and LGBTQ rights.

“A State Department official said Blinken will ‘decisively’ repudiate a report prepared by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that sought to pare down the number of freedoms prioritized in U.S. foreign policy. … Blinken will also reverse a Trump administration decision to remove sections on reproductive rights from the State Department’s annual human rights reports on foreign countries, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview Blinken’s remarks ahead of the rollout of those country reports later Tuesday.”

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 our latest newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.

BIDEN’S BACKDROP — “The soft underbelly to a looming economic boom: Millions will miss out,” WaPo: “Despite the headline numbers, the economy is still in bad shape for millions of Americans. And for many workers … jobs may not come back even if the economy booms again. … The bleak picture shows the darker side of the Fed’s plan to keep interest rates near zero for quite awhile.

“Historically, the Fed raised rates and slowed the economy to keep inflation from creeping too high, even at the cost of higher unemployment. Now the Fed goes by a new playbook, one that tolerates higher inflation if that means more people can get a job. But if all of that growth leaves behind people … the Fed’s path to getting as many people back to work as possible will be even harder to forge.”

CLIMATE FILES — “Auto negotiations test Biden’s vow to create a climate-friendly future,” WaPo: “Environmentalists say Biden must set an aggressive deadline — as early as 2035 — when all new vehicles must be carbon-free. But car manufacturers are demanding generous federal incentives to speed the transition to electric engines. And union leaders are warning that the switch is virtually certain to cost their members jobs.”

COMING DOWN THE PIKE — “Democrats Look at Lowering Medicare Eligibility Age in Healthcare Package,” WSJ: “Democrats are still negotiating over which healthcare policy elements could be in the second of two spending programs the administration plans to unveil soon, according to congressional aides and industry groups.

“The package is likely to contain measures to reduce drug prices and expand health coverage, lawmakers said. Proposals to expand Medicare eligibility from age 65 to 60 and to enable the federal government to negotiate drug prices in the health program for seniors—both of which President Biden supported on the campaign trail—are also likely to be included.”

FOLLOWING IN GEORGIA’S FOOTSTEPS — “Florida may restrict offering food and water to voters near polling places,” by Gary Fineout

JAN. 6 FALLOUT — “Proud Boys organizer charged in Capitol attack says he aided FBI ‘antifa’ inquiries,” by Kyle Cheney: “A leader of the Proud Boys charged in an alleged conspiracy to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6 claims he has a longstanding relationship with the FBI, which he said regularly sought him out for information about “antifa networks” in Florida and other parts of the United States.

“Joseph Biggs, one of four Proud Boys organizers charged in one of the Justice Department’s biggest cases stemming from the Capitol siege, said the bureau regularly turned to him for advice on antifa — a loosely affiliated collection of violent leftists that the bureau has described as adherents to an ideology rather than part of an organized group.” The filing

— “Many Capitol rioters unlikely to serve jail time,” by Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney: “A POLITICO analysis of the Capitol riot-related cases shows that almost a quarter of the more than 230 defendants formally and publicly charged so far face only misdemeanors. Dozens of those arrested are awaiting formal charges, even as new cases are being unsealed nearly every day. In recent days, judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys have all indicated that they expect few of these ‘MAGA tourists’ to face harsh sentences.”

THE LATEST FROM INSIDE THE WEST WING : A lot happened in the first two months of the Biden presidency. From a growing crisis at the border to increased mass shootings across the country while navigating the pandemic and ongoing economic challenges. Add Transition Playbook to your daily reads to find out what actions are on the table and the internal state of play inside the West Wing and across the administration. Track the people, policies and emerging power centers of the Biden administration. Don’t miss out. Subscribe today.

BURNOUT — “America's digital defender is underfunded, outmatched and ‘exhausted,’” by Eric Geller: “Staffers are worn out, money is tight and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is struggling to keep up with multiple competing crises, including the recently uncovered intrusions blamed on Russia and China, according to interviews with 15 people familiar with CISA’s work. Among them are four current employees and five former agency officials. …

“Many of those who track the nation’s cyber defenses say they’re worried that CISA — with roughly 2,000 employees — is so consumed with recovering from the existing breaches that it’s too stretched to prepare for the next attack, potentially making future breaches more widespread or more damaging to U.S. economic and national security.”

FOR THOSE KEEPING TRACK — “Trump’s Appeal in Defamation Case Dismissed by N.Y. Court,” Bloomberg

WAR REPORT — “The Taliban Think They Have Already Won, Peace Deal or Not,” NYT: “The Taliban’s swagger is unmistakable. From the recent bellicose speech of their deputy leader, boasting of ‘conquests,’ to sneering references to the ‘foreign masters’ of the ‘illegitimate’ Kabul government, to the Taliban’s own website tally of ‘puppets’ killed — Afghan soldiers — they are promoting a bold message: We have already won the war. And that belief, grounded in military and political reality, is shaping Afghanistan’s volatile present.

“On the eve of talks in Turkey next month over the country’s future, it is the elephant in the room: the half-acknowledged truth that the Taliban have the upper hand and are thus showing little outward interest in compromise, or of going along with the dominant American idea, power-sharing. While the Taliban’s current rhetoric is also propaganda, the grim sense of Taliban supremacy is dictating the response of a desperate Afghan government and influencing Afghanistan’s anxious foreign interlocutors.”

FOR YOUR RADAR — “Dozens of LGBT students at Christian colleges sue the U.S. Education Dept., hoping to pressure Equality Act negotiations,” WaPo: “The suit says the religious exemption the schools are given that allow them to have discriminatory policies is unconstitutional because they receive government funding. The class-action suit, filed by the nonprofit Religious Exemption Accountability Project, references 25 schools across the country.”

SPORTS BLINK — “How Blowing Up College Sports Became a Rallying Cry for Some in Washington,” NYT: “The N.C.A.A. is embroiled in perhaps the most crucial stretch of its long relationship with Washington, where top government officials have increasingly voiced doubts about the management and restrictions of college sports. …

“The confluence of events could ultimately push Washington toward a few outcomes, including national protections for student-athletes or sustained scrutiny on the N.C.A.A. from Capitol Hill and the Justice Department. What lawmakers say is already clear, though, is that the N.C.A.A.’s political standing has eroded in recent years, diminished by protracted internal debates and bipartisan, coast-to-coast pressure for changes that benefit athletes.”

— AND WITH OPENING DAY ON DECK … “Trump never made it to an Opening Day. Will Biden bring the tradition back?” Frederic Frommer writes in a column for WaPo (FWIW: According to press secretary JEN PSAKI, the answer is no, at least for this year.)

MEGATREND — “U.S. home prices soared in January by most in seven years,” AP

MEDIAWATCH — Fox News announced that Kayleigh McEnany will be a co-host of “Outnumbered.” More from Ben Leonard

— Greg Mott is now a news editor for POLITICO’s new economy and business team. He previously was a financial regulation editor at Bloomberg. Mark McQuillan, P.J. Joshi, Toby Eckert, Zachary Warmbrodt and Lorraine Woellert will also be taking on new roles as part of the expanded team. Staff memo

— Ximena Bustillo is now a food and agriculture policy reporter and author of Morning Agriculture. She previously was a Legislative Compass reporter.

TRANSITIONS — Former South Carolina Gov. and Rep. Mark Sanford has joined Shumaker Advisors. … Nate Adams has returned to Sen. Dan Sullivan’s (R-Alaska) office as press secretary. He previously was the comms and digital director on Sullivan’s re-election campaign. … Yasmin Rigney Nelson is joining Bracewell’s Policy Resolution Group as a senior principal. She most recently was a senior policy adviser for Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and is a Debbie Stabenow, Cory Booker, Ron Wyden and Senate Black Legislative Staff Caucus alum. …

… Nicholas Scoufaras is now manager of public and government affairs at the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association. He previously was legislative director for former Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Ga.). … Jeremy Crane is now deputy press secretary for Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.). He previously was policy outreach coordinator and press assistant at CPI. … Rama Yade is now director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. She is France’s former deputy minister for foreign affairs and human rights. … Andrew Bremberg is joining the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation as president and CEO. He previously was ambassador and permanent representative of the U.S. to the Office of the United Nations and is a Trump White House alum.