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Presented by Google: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun | Presented by |  | | | DEMS IN (MOMENTARY) DISARRAY — House Democrats barely passed their security supplemental this morning following some last-minute resistance from the so-called Squad. The issue? Progressives complained that the $1.9 billion to fortify Capitol security didn’t address accountability for some officers they say were “complicit” in the riot, forcing the leadership to do a last-minute whipping operation. In the end the bill passed, 213-212 — and only because some of these progressive members agreed to vote “present” instead of no. Voting present were Reps. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.), RASHIDA TLAIB (D-Mich.) and JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-N.Y.). Voting no were Reps. ILHAN OMAR (D-Minn.), CORI BUSH (D-Mo.) and AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-Mass.). Sarah Ferris and Nicolas Wu have the latest. It’s another reminder of the threadbare margin Speaker NANCY PELOSI has to maneuver in the House. So far this year, the votes have been relatively easy compared to what she’s about to face in the coming months. SPEAKING OF PELOSI … NO TIMETABLE FOR A TIMETABLE — Pelosi declined to articulate a timeline for moving to a Plan B for investigating Jan. 6, given that it seems all but certain that the bipartisan commission will fail in the Senate. “I’m not a timetable person,” she quipped at her weekly presser. Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER could move to vote on the House-passed bill to create the commission as early as next week. In the meantime, Pelosi said she’s open to making changes to answer Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL’s concerns about commission staffing. “I don’t think what we heard from the Senate is so bad, especially compared to what we usually hear from the Senate,” Pelosi said. But it doesn’t seem like McConnell wants to get to a “yes” on this, so such changes might be in vain. — House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY, meanwhile, referred to the bipartisan deal struck by his own ally Rep. JOHN KATKO as the “Pelosi Commission” today (poor Katko!) and said “sure!” he’d testify if asked about his conversation with Trump as part of a commission investigation. “The Pelosi Commission is a lot of politics,” he said. — HOW IT’S PLAYING … WaPo’s @seungminkim: “NEWS: [Sen. RICHARD BURR], who voted to convict Trump, opposes Jan. 6 commission, pointing to existing investigations: ‘I don’t believe establishing a new commission is necessary or wise.’” — Burgess Everett (@burgessev): “Sen. [MARCO] RUBIO says he won’t vote to advance the bipartisan Jan. 6 commission unless there’s an opportunity to ‘fix it’ with amendments.” PELOSI ON MASKS: GET USED TO THEM — Pelosi also addressed the growing tension over mask guidance for the House, saying that the rules would only be relaxed once all unvaccinated members get their shots. Quote of the day: “We have to wait for them to be vaccinated, because they are selfishly an endangerment to other people. … Do you want them breathing in your face, based on the strength of their honor?” | | A message from Google: A path to in-demand jobs in under six months. Google has launched four new Career Certificates for in-demand jobs in project management, data analytics, UX design, and Android development.
1.3 million jobs are open in these fields right now in the U.S, and no relevant experience is required to take these courses. Learn more. | | | Good Thursday afternoon. JOIN US — DONALD TRUMP is winning the internal GOP war over the future of the party, following the ouster of Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) from leadership and the looming death of a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot. Join RACHAEL and EUGENE on Tuesday, May 25, at 1:30 p.m. for an interview with Rep. ADAM KINZINGER (R-Ill.), a lead member of the Trump opposition. They’ll discuss his efforts to change the direction of the party — and whether it's even possible. Register here IMMIGRATION FILES — “ICE to stop detaining immigrants at two county jails under federal investigation,” WaPo: “The Biden administration has decided to stop detaining immigrants in a pair of county jails facing federal probes in Georgia and Massachusetts, calling the decision an ‘important first step’ in a broader review of the nation’s sprawling network of immigration jails. “DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to immediately terminate its contract with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office in Massachusetts and to transfer the few remaining detainees elsewhere, according to documents provided to The Washington Post. He also directed ICE to rescind an agreement with the sheriff’s office, which trained deputies to screen inmates arrested for crimes to see if they are also eligible for deportation. Mayorkas also directed ICE to ‘as soon as possible’ sever its contracts with the Irwin County Detention Center in rural Georgia, a more complicated endeavor because the facility is county-owned but run by a private contractor.” THE UNEMPLOYMENT PICTURE — “U.S. jobless claims decline to 444,000, a new pandemic low,” AP: “The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to 444,000, a new pandemic low and a sign that the job market keeps strengthening as consumers spend freely again, viral infections drop and business restrictions ease. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that applications declined 34,000 from a revised 478,000 a week earlier. … “The data release coincides with rapid moves by nearly all the nation’s Republican governors to cut off a $300-a-week federal unemployment benefit that they and many business executives blame for discouraging the unemployed from seeking jobs. Those cutoffs of federal jobless aid will begin in June.” — “As GOP-run states slash jobless aid, the Biden administration finds it has few options,” WaPo: “Federal officials have been reviewing whether they could mandate that states continue paying their unemployed workers, preserving a series of coronavirus stimulus programs dating to last spring. That includes Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provides weekly aid to self-employed workers and others who labor on behalf of gig economy companies such as Uber. “But Labor Department officials have come to believe that the government cannot legally force states to administer these benefits, according to two people briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations. Nor can Washington circumvent Republican governors by administering unemployment checks on its own or through cooperating agencies in other states, the sources said.” | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | INFRASTRUCTURE YEAR — “Elizabeth Warren Wants Joe Biden to Go Bigger on Child Care,” Mother Jones: “On Thursday, [Sen. ELIZABETH] WARREN released a report calling for a $700 billion investment in child care and early education funding over 10 years to support working parents in a post-pandemic economy. While it’s not surprising to see Warren championing child care, the report is notable as a subtle rebuke of President Joe Biden for not devoting enough funds to child care in his infrastructure plans and offers a warning shot to lawmakers who might consider ditching child care as the party crafts its infrastructure agenda over the coming months. … “When I asked if she’d hold up whatever jobs or infrastructure package her chamber considers if it doesn’t include a sizable investment in child care, she hesitated. ‘We’re not there yet,’ Warren says. But she still offered an unmissable warning, should that be the case. ‘I want to make clear that when the infrastructure train moves forward, child care will not be left in the station once again.’” The report THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION — “Biden’s top scientist gets OK from Senate committee,” by Julia Arciga and Benjamin Din: “The Senate Commerce Committee approved Biden Cabinet nominee ERIC LANDER to lead the Office of Science and Technology Policy on Thursday in a bipartisan voice vote. Lander, a top geneticist and director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, is the last of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees awaiting confirmation.” CASH DASH — “House GOP reelection arm posts record-breaking April fundraising haul,” Fox News: “The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) brought in a record $11.2 million in fundraising in April as the reelection arm of the House GOP builds resources while it aims to regain the House majority in the 2022 midterm elections. “According to figures from the NRCC, which were shared first with Fox News on Thursday, the committee has more than $34 million cash on hand, which party officials say is a 70% increase over the same point last cycle. The committee also reports zero debt. And the NRCC highlights that its fundraising last month was its best off-election year April haul ever and more than double what it raised last cycle during the same month.” THE COMEBACK — “Gillibrand climbs back after a tough 2020,” by Burgess Everett: “In national politics, her name is often associated with the ouster of former Sen. AL FRANKEN (D-Minn.), though [Sen. KIRSTEN] GILLIBRAND was only the first — by minutes — of dozens of senators who pushed him to go amid multiple misconduct allegations. Then her presidential campaign sputtered after just five months. But the New York Democrat is now on the cusp of a breakout year that has the potential to rewrite her legacy, putting 2020 and Franken well behind her. … “Gillibrand said she feels more ‘energized’ than ever to be a senator. But at some point she sees herself back on a bigger stage. ‘I definitely want to run for president again,’ Gillibrand said during an interview in her Capitol office, happily maskless after the Biden administration's latest Covid guidance. … Gillibrand isn’t a committee chair nor is she a party leader, but she’s steadily built influence within the Democratic Party.” THE COME-UP — “How J.D. Vance Learned to Play Trump’s Twitter Game,” by Joanna Weiss for POLITICO Mag: “Raised in Appalachia, groomed at Yale Law School, [J.D.] VANCE turned his early life into a best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which spun off into a star-studded movie and a distinctive role for Vance in the intellectual world. He could speak the language of both the elites who ran the power centers and the disaffected white voters who had torn up that power by supporting Donald Trump. And while he understood Trump followers, he was firmly anti-Trump. “So what is Vance doing on Twitter these days, trolling the left in the culture wars? … The easiest answer is that Vance is eyeing a Senate run — PETER THIEL, his onetime boss, recently donated $10 million to a PAC on his behalf. Winning a GOP primary requires certain right-wing bona fides. … But there’s a deeper reason why a cerebral cultural figure like Vance would convert to Trump-style trolldom: In today’s political and media culture, trolling is the shortest, simplest path to a level of attention you’d never get any other way.” | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE — “U.S., Russia at odds over military activity in the Arctic,” AP: “The Biden administration is leading a campaign against Russian attempts to assert authority over Arctic shipping and reintroduce a military dimension to discussions over international activity in the area. “As Russia assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council on Thursday, the U.S. rallied other members to oppose Moscow’s plans to set maritime rules in the Northern Sea Route, which runs from Norway to Alaska, and its desire to resume high-level military talks within the eight-nation bloc. … The effort reflects growing concerns in Washington and among some NATO allies about a surge in Russian military and commercial activity in the region that is rapidly opening up due to the effects of climate change. Russia has expressed similar suspicion about NATO’s motives.” AP INVESTIGATION — “Chinese authorities order video denials by Uyghurs of abuses”: “China has highlighted an unlikely series of videos this year in which Uyghur men and women deny U.S. charges that Beijing is committing human rights violations against their ethnic group. In fact, a text obtained by the AP shows that the videos are part of a government campaign that raises questions about the willingness of those filmed. Chinese state media have published dozens of the videos praising the Communist Party and showing Uyghurs angrily denouncing former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for declaring a genocide in the far west Xinjiang region. “The videos, which officials have insisted are spontaneous outpourings of emotion, have also featured prominently in a series of government news conferences held for foreign media. But the text obtained by AP is the first concrete confirmation that the videos are anything but grassroots. Sent in January to government offices in the northern city of Karamay, the text told each office to find one Uyghur fluent in Mandarin to film a one-minute video in response to Pompeo’s ‘anti-China remarks.’ HEADLINE OF THE DAY — “A fungus could turn some cicadas into sex-crazed ‘salt shakers of death,’” WaPo HISTORY LESSON — The University of Virginia’s Miller Center and the LBJ Library have launched a new website, lbjtapes.org, that offers a newly accessible, free window into LYNDON B. JOHNSON’S White House tapes and more than 100 conversations he had in office. The launch follows more than two decades of efforts to transcribe and analyze Johnson’s tapes at the Miller Center. WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Blake Brown is now a special assistant on the White House American Rescue Plan Implementation team, led by Gene Sperling. He previously worked at the DNC as a special assistant to former Chair Tom Perez and Executive Director Sam Cornale. TREASURY ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Antonio White is now deputy assistant secretary for the office of community engagement at Treasury, where he will lead the secretary’s outreach strategy with community, private sector and advocacy leaders. He most recently was senior comms officer for U.S. campaigns for the Gates Foundation and is also an Obama White House and Treasury alum. TRANSITIONS — Aimee Witteman is now deputy assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Energy. She most recently was director of U.S. states policy for the Climate Imperative, a philanthropic initiative at Energy Innovation. … Matthew Hutchinson will be chief comms officer for Dow Jones. He previously was chief comms officer at Forbes. | | | | A message from Google:   In as little as six months, Google Career Certificates can prepare and connect people to in-demand jobs with 130+ employers, like Infosys, Better.com, and Snap Inc. 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