Washington

Essential U.S. political news & intel to start your day.
May 14, 2021
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Top Stories

  • House Republicans are minutes away from a closed-door meeting to decide who will replace Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming as the caucus’s chair, with Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York the odds-on favorite to make the step up. She is being challenged by Rep, Chip Roy of Texas, who announced his entry into the race yesterday and was met with a swift rebuke from former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Stefanik for the role earlier this month. (CNN)
  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings. One public health law expert called the guidance “confusing and contradictory” because of the lack of clarity over which Americans have or have not been inoculated against the virus. (The Associated Press)
  • Biden administration officials confirmed that the White House will release its budget request for the upcoming fiscal year on May 27, which will provide an in-depth look at the administration’s priorities and plans to address taxes and spending in the coming years. The release of the proposal will also signal a measurable time frame for bipartisan talks over an infrastructure funding package. (Roll Call)
 

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What Else You Need To Know

White House & Administration
 

Biden holds ‘good faith’ infrastructure talks with Senate Republicans, but they’re still far apart on the hardest questions
Seung Min Kim and Tony Romm, The Washington Post

President Biden, Democratic lawmakers and congressional Republicans all say they want to do something — anything — to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure. But they don’t yet agree on much else, including what “infrastructure” actually means.

 

Beneath Joe Biden’s Folksy Demeanor, a Short Fuse and an Obsession With Details
Michael D. Shear et al., The New York Times

As Mr. Biden settles into the office he has chased for more than three decades, aides say he demands hours of debate from scores of policy experts.

 

Army bases offering vaccine incentives but no military-wide policy for now
Oren Liebermann, CNN

At least three Army bases are now offering incentives for soldiers to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, including additional days off, gym access and reduced movement restrictions. Near Seattle, Joint Base Lewis-McChord announced in a memo obtained by CNN on Thursday that there will be “up to four hour periods each day during which Welfare/Recreation activities and installation services will be accessible only to vaccinated personnel,” including 24-hour gym access.

 

Far Fewer Young Migrants Are In Border Patrol Custody, DHS Secretary Says
Claudia Grisales, NPR News

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told senators on Thursday that in the midst of a surge of migrants trying to enter the U.S., the number of unaccompanied minors in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody continues to fall dramatically. The total number of young migrants in Border Patrol custody has fallen from nearly 6,000 in late March to 455 as of Tuesday, Mayorkas told a Senate panel in testimony.

 

‘U.S. Welcome Patrol’: how some border agents are struggling with Biden’s policy shift
Ted Hesson et al., Reuters

Some U.S. border patrol agents are so frustrated with President Joe Biden’s more liberal border policies that they are considering early retirement, while other disgruntled colleagues are buying unofficial coins that say ‘U.S. Welcome Patrol.’

 

Guantánamo Detainee Agrees to Drop Call for C.I.A. Testimony
Carol Rosenberg and Julian E. Barnes, The New York Times

A detainee at Guantánamo Bay has agreed to a deal intended to lead to his release in the next few years in return for giving up the right to question the C.I.A. in court about its torture program, United States government officials said. The deal, negotiated by the Pentagon official who oversees the military commissions that serve as a court for some detainees, was reached in recent weeks, and comes as a number of those who have been charged at Guantánamo are seeking to cite their abuse at the hands of the C.I.A. as part of their defense.

 

U.S. brings back climate change website detailing ongoing threats
Andrea Januta, Reuters

After years of delays during the Trump administration, the EPA released its new climate indicators, which show Americans are already feeling effects on their health and safety. Heat waves across the country are more frequent, more intense, and last longer.

 

HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge’s comment on Ohio Senate race was Hatch Act violation
Kate Ackley, Roll Call

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge violated the Hatch Act, which limits the political activities of nearly all federal employees, when she briefed reporters from the White House in March. The Office of Special Counsel, which enforces the law, said Thursday that it had issued the former Democratic congresswoman a warning for remarks about her party’s chances of winning an open Senate seat in her home state of Ohio next year.

 
Congress
 

Democrats open to user fees for infrastructure deal
Hans Nichols and Alayna Treene, Axios

Some Senate Democrats are open to paying for a compromise infrastructure package by imposing user fees, including increasing the gas tax and raising money from electric car drivers through a vehicle-miles-traveled charge.

 

House Dems may force votes on security funding, Jan. 6 commission
John Bresnahan et al., Punchbowl News

House Democrats are moving toward forcing votes next week on two big issues related to the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol: a $2 billion-plus package to beef up Capitol security, and the creation of a bipartisan commission modeled after the 9/11 panel to look into what happened on that horrible day. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) already announced on Thursday that the House would vote next week on the security supplemental package after bipartisan and bicameral talks on the measure fell apart.

 

Republicans Rewrite History of the Capitol Riot, Hampering an Inquiry
Luke Broadwater, The New York Times

Four months after supporters of President Donald J. Trump stormed the Capitol in a deadly riot, a growing number of Republicans in Congress are mounting a wholesale effort to rewrite the history of what happened on Jan. 6, downplaying or outright denying the violence and deflecting efforts to investigate it. Their denialism — which has intensified for weeks and was on vivid display this week at a pair of congressional hearings — is one reason that lawmakers have been unable to agree on forming an independent commission to scrutinize the assault on the Capitol.

 

Liz Cheney said Fox News ‘especially’ has an ‘obligation to make sure people know the election wasn’t stolen’
Lauren Frias, Insider

Rep. Liz Cheney clashed with a Fox News host on Thursday, saying the news outlet “especially” has a “particular obligation to make sure people know the election wasn’t stolen.” Cheney’s scathing comments came after House Republicans voted Wednesday to oust her from her leadership position amid her public criticisms of former President Donald Trump.

 

Feds tighten grip in Gaetz probe
Marc Caputo et al., Politico

Federal investigators are intensifying their sex-crimes probe of Rep. Matt Gaetz as they discuss a potential immunity arrangement with his former girlfriend and have struck a tentative deal with his one-time “wingman” who will likely plead guilty, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.

 

‘Doesn’t matter’: Democrats reject GOP’s debt limit demands
Burgess Everett et al., Politico

Senate Republicans dramatically changed their party rules to take a hard line on the debt limit in the coming months. Democrats don’t care.

 

Former aide says congressman recklessly exposed staff to coronavirus, let son live in Capitol basement
Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post

A former aide accused U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) of allowing his son to live in a storage space in the basement of the U.S. Capitol for several weeks and recklessly exposing staffers to the novel coronavirus, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday. Former aide Brandon L. Pope accused Lamborn, 66, of Colorado Springs, of consistently disregarding “ethical rules and guidelines” for lawmakers, including taking a “reckless” approach to the pandemic and retaliating against Pope when he raised objections.

 

Tim Scott Leads GOP on Race and Policing
Eliza Collins, The Wall Street Journal

The most contentious part of Sen. Tim Scott’s highest-profile speech almost didn’t happen. As he was writing the GOP response to President Biden’s address to Congress last month, the South Carolina Republican said in an interview, he aimed to share his pain of being racially profiled by police.

 

Capitol staff diversity ‘can’t just start at the bottom,’ panel told
Katherine Tully-McManus, Roll Call

Narrow talent pipelines, pigeonholing of portfolio issues and casual microaggressions from colleagues and bosses are some of the issues hampering efforts to recruit and retain House staffers that represent the diversity of the nation and districts they represent, witnesses told the House Modernization of Congress Committee on Thursday. The House Office of Diversity and Inclusion, or ODI, is now a permanent resource for the chamber, and there is funding to pay interns.

 

Congress fires warning shot at NASA after SpaceX Moon lander award
Eric Berger, Ars Technica

On Wednesday, a US senator added an amendment to unrelated science legislation that would impose significant restrictions on NASA and its plans to return to the Moon. The amendment (see document) was spurred by NASA’s decision in April to select SpaceX as its sole provider of a human landing system for the Artemis Program.

 
General
 

Colonial Pipeline Said to Pay Ransom to Hackers Who Caused Shutdown
Dustin Volz et al., The Wall Street Journal

Colonial Pipeline Co. paid a ransom to the criminal hackers who caused the company to shut down the country’s largest conduit of fuel, according to people familiar with the matter, a payment that allowed the firm to obtain decryption tools to try to unlock its computer systems. The ransom, paid in cryptocurrency, was approximately $5 million at the time of the transaction, one of the people familiar with the matter said.

 

Israel launches more strikes on Gaza as fears of a ground invasion grow
Hadas Gold et al., CNN

The Israeli military directed heavy artillery fire and dozens of airstrikes into Gaza overnight into Friday, as fears grew that a ground invasion of the territory could be launched to quell rocket fire from Palestinian militants. As the Israeli bombardment rained down, United Nations officials inside Gaza said dozens of people had fled their homes in the north and east of the enclave to seek refuge in schools — belonging to the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees — which are considered designated emergency shelters.

 

Minneapolis Trial Postponed For 3 Former Police Officers In George Floyd’s Murder
Bill Chappell, NPR News

The trial on state charges facing Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao will be pushed back to March of 2022, a judge ruled Thursday. The former Minneapolis police officers are also facing federal charges over the killing of George Floyd that outweigh state charges of aiding and abetting.

 

Court rejects challenge to federal anti-riot law
Josh Gerstein, Politico

A federal judge in Alabama has upheld the constitutionality of a half-century-old federal anti-riot law in the face of claims that the law has racist roots and threatens protest activity protected by the First Amendment. U.S. District Court Judge Terry Moorer’s decision Thursday afternoon in favor of prosecutors clears the way for Tia Pugh, 22, to face trial next week on a single felony charge: that she violated the “civil disorder” law by smashing a police car window with a bat during a protest in Mobile six days after a Black man, George Floyd, died in the custody of Minneapolis police.

 

First known active-duty military member is charged in Jan. 6 insurrection
Ben Leonard, Politico

An active-duty Marine has been charged with assaulting a U.S. Capitol Police officer in the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday. Maj. Christopher Warnagiris of the U.S. Marine Corps, 40, was arrested in Virginia on Thursday after being charged with a number of federal crimes, including “assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers” and obstructing law enforcement, according to charging documents.

 

Activists and Ex-Spy Said to Have Plotted to Discredit Trump ‘Enemies’ in Government
Adam Goldman and Mark Mazzetti, The New York Times

A network of conservative activists, aided by a British former spy, mounted a campaign during the Trump administration to discredit perceived enemies of President Trump inside the government, according to documents and people involved in the operations. The campaign included a planned sting operation against Mr. Trump’s national security adviser at the time, H.R. McMaster, and secret surveillance operations against F.B.I. employees, aimed at exposing anti-Trump sentiment in the bureau’s ranks.

 

Spy Agencies Seek New Afghan Allies as U.S. Withdraws
Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Julian E. Barnes, The New York Times

Western spy agencies are evaluating and courting regional leaders outside the Afghan government who might be able to provide intelligence about terrorist threats long after U.S. forces withdraw, according to current and former American, European and Afghan officials. The effort represents a turning point in the war. In place of one of the largest multinational military training missions ever is now a hunt for informants and intelligence assets.

 
Campaigns
 

Do Democrats have a candidate glut?
David Weigel, The Washington Post

Colorado Democrats still don’t know what to think about Gregg H. Smith. On Jan. 30, as Rep. Lauren Boebert (R) faced a backlash for her support of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to overturn the presidential election, Smith tweeted that he had “tested the waters” and would challenge the freshman congresswoman as a Democrat.

 

Special elections in redistricting cycles: To play or not to play?
Nathan L. Gonzales, Roll Call

Democrats aren’t lamenting getting locked out of the special election runoff earlier this month in a Texas district they targeted previously. But did the party miss an opportunity to bounce back from a surprising 11-seat loss in the 2020 elections? Looking back a decade ago at the special elections ahead of the last redistricting cycle, the answer is: maybe.

 

There has never been a Black woman governor. Will Virginia change that?
Amanda Becker, The 19th

With less than a month until Virginia Democrats nominate a gubernatorial candidate, groups that support women and people of color are starting to pick sides after being torn between Jennifer Carroll Foy and Jennifer McClellan. Carroll Foy, a former state delegate, and McClellan, a current state senator, are both vying to be elected the first Black woman governor in the country.

 
States
 

It’s not just voting: Legislators have introduced 100 state bills targeting protesting
Philip Bump, The Washington Post

In the wake of the 2020 election, there’s been a lot of attention paid to attempts by states to restrict voting. The Brennan Center for Justice has counted more than 350 pieces of legislation that include such restrictions, including a number that have been signed into law.

 

Bill that would ban abortion at six weeks heads to governor’s desk to become Texas law
Shannon Najmabadi, Texas Tribune

Legislation that would ban abortions after as early as six weeks — before many women know they are pregnant — and let virtually any private citizen sue abortion providers and others was given final approval by lawmakers Thursday and is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has signaled he will sign it into law. Senate Bill 8, a Republican priority measure, is similar to “heartbeat bills” passed in other states that have been mostly stopped by the courts.

 

Cuomo accuser blasts governor’s ‘Trumpian gaslighting’ over harassment allegations
Jordan Williams, The Hill

Lindsey Boylan, the first woman who accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of sexual harassment, blasted the governor’s “Trumpian gaslighting” after he defended himself during a COVID-19 briefing. Boylan issued the statement after the briefing, during which Cuomo got into an exchange with a reporter about whether intention behind certain behaviors or actions don’t matter in sexual harassment.

 
Advocacy
 

Tech giants throw support behind letting immigrant spouses work legally
Chris Mills Rodrigo, The Hill

A group of nearly 30 tech companies and other organizations filed a legal brief Friday to defend a program that gives work authorization to the spouses of high-skilled immigrants. The Obama-era rule lets nearly 100,000 spouses of H1-B visa holders in the U.S. work.

 

Progressive legal advocacy group spinning off from sponsor
Lachlan Markay, Axios

Demand Justice’s decision to separate from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a “fiscal sponsor” for scores of largely left-wing organizations, will provide the public with its first detailed look behind the curtain of the influential progressive nonprofit. As stand-alone nonprofits, Demand Justice and its 501(c)(3) arm, the Demand Justice Initiative, will have to reveal new information about their structures and finances.

 
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
 

The Fall and Rise of a House Leader
Carl Hulse, The New York Times

As dissension boiled in their ranks, House Republicans quickly turned on the chairman of their conference, the member of the leadership team responsible for party messaging. After a swift vote, the occupant of that office was unceremoniously dumped.

 
Morning Consult