Playbook PM: SCOTUS wades into abortion debate

From: POLITICO Playbook - Monday May 17,2021 05:24 pm

May 17, 2021

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POLITICO health care reporter Alice Miranda Ollstein writes in about today’s big news out of the Supreme Court:

SCOTUS SETS SIGHTS ON ROE VS. WADE — The Supreme Court sent shockwaves throughout the country this morning with the announcement that it plans to hear a case next year that directly challenges Roe vs. Wade.

The challenge to Mississippi’s ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy is the first major abortion case to come before the court since conservatives secured a 6-3 supermajority with Justice AMY CONEY BARRETT’S confirmation last fall. Abortion opponents who pushed for her appointment and confirmation hailed today’s news as a sign that the court — which has long punted on the issue — will now act more aggressively to curb access to the procedure.

“Hey hey, ho ho. Roe v. Wade is going to go!” cheered Students for Life of America President KRISTAN HAWKINS.

Abortion rights supporters in Congress and around the country are also bracing for their worst-case scenario — a court ruling that gives states a green light to ban abortion before a fetus can survive outside the womb — and are ramping up the pressure on the Biden administration to intervene as a wave of red and purple states introduce new bans on the procedure. The move could also pour gasoline on the already raging debate over whether Democrats should move to expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court.

A decision on the case is likely to come down in the summer of 2022 — just a few months before midterm elections that could decide control of both the House and Senate, and both parties are likely to use the case to rally their bases.

— White House press secretary JEN PSAKI said at today’s briefing that President JOE BIDEN is “committed to codifying” Roe vs. Wade regardless of the Supreme Court’s eventual decision. “Over the last four years, critical rights like the right to health care and the right to choose have been under withering and extreme attack, including through draconian state laws,” Psaki said.

MORE FROM SCOTUS — “Supreme Court won’t hear case involving the N-word,” AP: “The Supreme Court is declining to hear a case that would have let the justices decide whether a single use of the N-word in the workplace can create a hostile work environment. The high court said Monday it would not take the case of a former Texas hospital employee who said he was subjected to a hostile work environment, including graffiti in one elevator that used the N-word.”

BIG VACCINE NEWS — “Biden to Send U.S.-Authorized Vaccines Abroad for First Time,” Bloomberg: “President Joe Biden plans to send an additional 20 million doses of U.S. coronavirus vaccines abroad by the end of June -- including, for the first time, shots authorized for domestic use, where supply is beginning to outstrip demand.

“Biden will announce Monday that he’ll export 20 million doses of vaccines from Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. or Johnson & Johnson, on top of 60 million AstraZeneca Plc doses he had already planned to give to other countries, according to a senior administration official familiar with the plan. … Biden will also announce that he is putting JEFF ZIENTS, who has served as the White House coronavirus response coordinator, in charge of his effort to beat back the pandemic globally, the official said.”

Good Monday afternoon.

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GAETZ-GATE LATEST — “Gaetz associate pleads guilty to six federal crimes, including sex trafficking a teen,” by Marc Caputo: “A former friend and ally of Rep. MATT GAETZ formally pleaded guilty Monday to multiple federal charges, including sex trafficking a minor, ID theft, stalking and fraud, bringing his broad crime spree to an end and officially marking a new chapter in the investigation of the embattled congressman.

“JOEL GREENBERG, who had served as a locally-elected tax collector in Central Florida’s Seminole County, had to resign his post last year after he was hit with the first of three indictments that eventually totaled 33 federal charges, but prosecutors agreed to pare those back in order to secure his cooperation. … The 84-page plea agreement Greenberg formally signed off on in U.S. District Court does not mention Gaetz or any one else by name. But it states that the victim of the sex trafficking had sex with ‘other men’ while she was 17.”

LATEST ON THE MIDDLE EAST — “Blinken signals no immediate U.S. press for Mideast cease-fire,” AP: “Speaking in Copenhagen, where [Secretary of State ANTONY] BLINKEN is making an unrelated tour of Nordic countries this week, Blinken ticked off U.S. outreach so far to try to de-escalate hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel, and said he would be making more calls Monday.

“‘In all of these engagements we have made clear that we are prepared to lend our support and good offices to the parties should they seek a cease-fire,’ Blinken said. He said he welcomed efforts by the U.N. — where the United States has so far blocked a proposed Security Council statement on the fighting — and other nations working for a cease-fire.”

— National security adviser @JakeSullivan46: “I spoke this morning with Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben Shabbat about the ongoing crisis. I also spoke with the Government of Egypt. The United States is engaged in quiet, intensive diplomacy and our efforts will continue.”

COMING SOON — “Piggy bank-filling payments for nearly 90 percent of kids will start July 15,” by Brian Faler: “The federal government will begin sending monthly payments worth up to $300 per child to millions of Americans beginning July 15, in what is perhaps the most ambitious government initiative of the Biden administration so far.

“Some 39 million households, including almost 90 percent of the nation's children, are set to receive the payments, the Treasury Department says, marking the country’s first-ever child allowance. The checks will continue to go out each month on the 15th, except when that falls on holidays and weekends, so that people can plan their budgets around them.”

NOT SO FAST — “They’re Vaccinated and Keeping Their Masks On, Maybe Forever,” NYT: “In interviews, vaccinated people who continue to wear masks said they are increasingly under pressure, especially in recent days; friends and family have urged them to relax, or even have suggested that they are paranoid. … But for some people, no newfound freedom will persuade them to reveal their faces just yet. After a year, they say they have grown accustomed to the masks and glad for the extra safety they provide.”

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THE POST-TRUMP WASHINGTON — “Chamber of Commerce draws fire after a risky bet on Democrats,” WaPo: “The U.S. Chamber’s new strategy, forged years ago by top executives and implemented in earnest during last fall’s frenzied election season, calls for closer relationships with members of both parties as opposed to lockstep support for Republicans. The decision to endorse so many freshman Democrats, rather than give them time for their voting records to take shape, was a dramatic break from past procedure. …

“The embrace of Democrats has been met with resistance at the state and local level. Two state chamber executives contacted by The Post said they were blindsided by the national Chamber’s endorsement of Democrats last September. The Kansas Chamber, pointing to the Washington group’s endorsement of incumbent Rep. SHARICE DAVIDS (D-Kan.) over Republican challenger AMANDA ADKINS, has decided against renewing its membership next year, according to president and chief executive ALAN COBB.”

ON THE ROAD AGAIN — “Trump heading to battleground N.C. to headline state GOP convention,” Fox News: “The North Carolina GOP says the former president will attend its state convention in Greenville on Saturday, June 5 and will speak at the convention dinner. The state party’s Monday morning announcement of the Trump stop in North Carolina was shared first with Fox News.

“Trump’s address will be his first outside of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., since his keynote speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 28 in Florida. The former president also addressed the Republican National Committee’s private spring donor retreat at Mar-a-Lago on April 10. Trump has lived at his residence at the south Florida resort since leaving the White House on Jan. 20.”

THIEL THE COWS COME HOME — “Rise of a megadonor: Thiel makes a play for the Senate,” by Alex Isenstadt: “The largesse has transformed [PETER] THIEL, an early Facebook investor and PayPal co-founder, into an outsize figure in the fight for control of the 50-50 Senate, providing fuel to two longtime associates who embrace his populist-conservative views. Top Republicans have expressed astonishment at the size of the donations and say they’ve turned [J.D.] VANCE and [BLAKE] MASTERS — who’ve never before run for elected office and will have to overcome primary rivals with far longer political resumes — into formidable contenders in the blink of an eye. …

“Thiel’s support for 2022 candidates is expected to go beyond Vance and Masters, those familiar with his plans say. The list includes Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS, a rising star in Republican politics up for reelection next year, with whom Thiel has met privately. Thiel is also looking at donating to an assortment of House candidates, including Army veteran JOE KENT, who is waging a challenge to GOP Rep. JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER, a Trump impeachment backer, in Washington state's all-party primary next year.”

— SPEAKING OF … @Olivia_Beavers: “JD Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy, is the Republican Study Committee’s special guest this week. He will be joining RSC Chairman Jim Banks and Budget Cmte RM Jason Smith who are hosting a private, informal member roundtable this evening.”

MEANWHILE … @Gawker, an old adversary of Thiel, tweets for the first time since 2016.

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VEEP FILES — “What Kamala Harris Has Learned About Being Vice President,” by The Atlantic’s Isaac Dovere: “Critics of Harris see her vice presidency so far as a collection of unconnected set pieces. Harris arrives somewhere with the plane and the motorcade and the Secret Service agents, makes a few mostly bland statements, then tells whomever she’s meeting with about how she’s going to bring their stories back to Washington. Then she’s quickly out of sight again.

“She marvels aloud to aides about how the president is the same in private as he is in public—a fact that is striking to her because she is still getting to know him, and because her public and private personas are different: She is much looser, and talks more about herself and her experiences, when the cameras are off.”

DISINFORMATION DIGEST — “Chinese businessman with links to Steve Bannon is driving force for a sprawling disinformation network, researchers say,” WaPo: “A sprawling online network tied to Chinese businessman GUO WENGUI has become a potent platform for disinformation in the United States, attacking the safety of coronavirus vaccines, promoting false election-fraud claims and spreading baseless QAnon conspiracies, according to research published Monday by the network analysis company Graphika.

“The report, provided in advance to The Washington Post, details a network that Graphika says amplifies the views of Guo, a Chinese real estate developer whose association with former Trump White House adviser STEPHEN K. BANNON became a focus of news coverage last year after Bannon was arrested aboard Guo’s yacht on federal fraud charges. Graphika said the network includes media websites such as GTV … along with thousands of social media accounts that Graphika said amplify content in a coordinated fashion.” The report

LOOK WHO’S BACK — “Social app Parler is cracking down on hate speech - but only on iPhones,” WaPo: “When social media network Parler came back to life on Apple’s App Store Monday, it was designed to be a less offensive version than what users are able to see elsewhere.

“Posts that are labeled ‘hate’ by Parler’s new artificial intelligence moderation system won’t be visible on iPhones. There’s a different standard for people who look at Parler on other smartphones or on the Web: They will be able to see posts marked as ‘hate,’ which includes racial slurs, by clicking through to see them.”

WILD STORY — “The Trump lobbyist and the ‘sex tape’: Behind Dominic Foppoli’s combative response to sexual assault allegations,” SF Chronicle: “With his political career on the brink of ruin amid multiple allegations of sexual assault, Windsor Mayor DOMINIC FOPPOLI turned to an old friend who had parlayed early loyalty and slight ties to Donald Trump into a multimillion-dollar lobbying business in Washington.

“With the help of ROBERT STRYK, described by the Associated Press as ‘one of the most successful lobbyists during the Trump presidency,’ Foppoli has waged an aggressive campaign to save his job that has alarmed many residents and local officials already upset over the allegations revealed in a Chronicle investigation last month.”

MEDIAWATCH — Zach Dorfman is now a national security correspondent at Yahoo News. He previously was a senior staff writer covering cybersecurity at Aspen Digital.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Basharat Peer is leaving the NYT, where he was a staff editor for international opinion. He will remain a contributing writer for opinion and will also work on a number of long-term writing projects.

TRANSITION — Kevin Xu is joining GitHub as senior director of international expansion strategy. He previously has worked at a number of tech startups and is an Obama White House alum.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — “‘CBS This Morning’ co-host Tony Dokoupil and MSNBC anchor Katy Tur welcomed their second child together on Thursday, May 13. Their daughter's name is Eloise Judy Bear Dokoupil, the couple announced.” More from CBS, with pics

BIRTHWEEK (was Friday): Kelly Cannon … (was Sunday): Christine Delargy

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