STATES’ LATEST VACCINE PROBLEM: DECREASING DEMAND — Even as states lift remaining eligibility restrictions, open walk-in clinics and devise clever new ploys to get people vaccinated, the supply of shots has begun outpacing demand, POLITICO's Dan Goldberg and Rachel Roubein report. It’s a jarring twist, when just months ago, vaccine-seekers were crashing appointment websites and stalking pharmacy counters hoping to snag leftover doses. The shift happened even faster than some thought it would, leaving state and federal officials rushing to address the issue with only limited success. The Biden administration says it’s been aggressive and nimble in targeting vaccine hesitancy. State and local leaders, meanwhile, argue that the White House can’t rely on the same vaccine promotion strategy it used when supply was constrained, and are focusing their efforts now on meeting people where they are. On Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, EMS personnel are bringing the vaccine to any house or business with more than three people. Bars in New Orleans have offered a "shots for shots " promotion. And North Dakota, which for the first time last week didn’t order its maximum number of doses, is piloting pop-up clinics at Walmart. The challenge comes at a crucial point in the pandemic. More contagious variants are surging across the crisis-fatigued nation, and vaccinations are the only way to meet Biden’s goal of returning the country to something closer to normal by July 4th. Some governors and public health officials are worried the pause of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine will make it even harder to convince people to get their shots, even if overall vaccine supply isn’t as much of an issue. On Tuesday, Biden officials pushed back on those concerns during a private call with polling showing most Americans agreed with the decision to suspend the J&J shot. Yet a separate poll Tuesday found more than a third of voters citing safety concerns as a reason to wait on getting vaccinated. The president himself will try to give the vaccine campaign an added boost today. He's scheduled to give a speech this afternoon on the Covid response and vaccination effort, just days after the U.S. hit 200 million doses administered. CORNYN PUTS BIDEN’s CMS PICK ON HOLD — Cornyn is blocking the Senate confirmation of CMS Administrator nominee Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, in what a spokesperson described as payback for Biden revoking Texas’ Medicaid waiver — and with it, funding to cover poor and uninsured Texans’ health care. It’s the first sign of GOP backlash to Biden’s decision last week to void a 10-year extension of Texas’ waiver as it tries to convince holdout states to expand Medicaid, POLITICO’s Susannah Luthi and Rachel report. Biden officials justified scrapping it because the Trump administration had approved the extension without first going through the required public comment period. But the move has enraged Republicans, who see the rescission as politically motivated — to the point that HHS officials this week began calling GOP senators to try to defuse the situation, two sources said. — Senate Democrats are forging ahead with Brooks-LaSure’s nomination anyway. The Finance Committee will vote on her candidacy Thursday, after Brooks-LaSure sailed through a low-key confirmation hearing. Still, Cornyn’s hold could delay her floor vote, and with it the installation of a top official critical to fulfilling Biden’s health care ambitions. A Cornyn spokesperson said Tuesday that the senator is still waiting to hear from Brooks-LaSure and the Biden administration about whether they‘ll reverse the waiver decision. | 
