Rev. Al Sharpton, who will meet with President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris on Thursday, has suggested that the choice before Biden is between figuring out a “workaround in terms of the filibuster” and his own presidential legacy. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo
This afternoon, President JOE BIDEN and Vice President KAMALA HARRIS will meet with civil rights leaders in the Roosevelt Room to talk about voting rights and police reform — both of which have been either stalled or essentially snuffed out in Congress.
Among civil rights leaders, there’s growing frustration — increasingly directed at the White House — about the lack of movement on either of those issues. The “June or Bust” deadline for police reform has come and gone, it’s been weeks since Senate Republicans blocked the For the People Act and agitation is increasing.
They don’t question that Biden wants to do something, but lack confidence about his willingness to make their issues a priority with Congress — and that’s where the dreaded “f” word comes in.
— Rev. AL SHARPTON, who will be one of the eight civil rights leaders attending today’s meeting, invoked filibuster reform on MSNBC this morning, suggesting that the choice before Biden is between figuring out a “workaround in terms of the filibuster” and his own presidential legacy: “I do not think this president wants history to say that in his presidency, there was the continued weakening of voting rights for people that put him and Vice President Harris in office.”
We’ll see whether that argument will move Biden to step out and really push moderate Democrats on the issue — because without either 10 Republicans or major filibuster reform, not much is likely to happen.
— Also this afternoon: Harris will deliver a speech on voting rights — an issue she asked Biden to add to her portfolio — at her alma mater, Howard University. “Harris to announce $25 million DNC investment to aid voting access,” by NBC’s Lauren Egan
A MUST-READ FOR YOUR AFTERNOON — “The Russia Inquiry Ended a Democratic Lobbyist’s Career. He Wants It Back,” by NYT’s Ken Vogel: “The collapse of TONY PODESTA’S $42-million-a-year lobbying and public relations firm in 2017 amid a federal investigation shook K Street and rendered him toxic — a rare Democratic victim of the Trump-era scandals. …
“Now Mr. Podesta is exploring a return to a landscape he once dominated. ‘I don’t want to recreate what I had, but I sort of miss working, and art alone doesn’t sustain me, because I love politics,’ he said. The reception he gets could help answer some questions about life in Washington after [DONALD] TRUMP. Did the backlash to the open access-peddling and corporate influence of the Trump era result in brighter lines between corporate lobbying, fund-raising and governing? Or has the capital simply returned to the clubby culture in which lobbyist fund-raisers like Mr. Podesta held sway?”
Good Thursday afternoon.
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DELTA DAWN — It wasn’t long ago that it seemed — to borrow a phrase from White House Covid coordinator JEFF ZIENTS — that the U.S. was “turning a corner” on the pandemic. Vaccination rates were up, cases were down and all signs pointed to recovery.
We may have turned a corner, but the Delta variant was waiting just around the bend. And now — due to its spread, and due to low vaccination rates in certain areas of the country — it threatens to plunge the U.S. into a new era of Covid restrictions.
Now comes the revelation that the Delta variant is likely far more widespread than federal estimates have made it seem, as our colleagues Erin Banco, Dan Goldberg and David Lim report.
“Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released late Tuesday shows the Delta strain accounted for more than 51 percent of new Covid-19 cases from June 20 to July 3. But the reality on the ground is likely much higher because states and private labs are taking weeks to report testing results to the CDC,” two senior Biden administration officials told Banco, Goldberg and Lim.
“‘It is everywhere now,’ one of the officials said, adding that recent data shows the Pfizer Covid vaccine works well against the Delta variant. ‘The risk really is in the unvaccinated community. We’re starting to see more and more people get sick and need medical attention.’” Read their story
AND IT’S NOT JUST HERE — “WHO sounds alarm as global deaths top 4 million, delta spreads to 100 countries,” WaPo
THIS IS INTERESTING — “Whether Republicans Get Vaccinated Has A Lot To Do With If They Watch Fox News … Or OANN,” FiveThirtyEight
DHS INTEL UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT — “Homeland Security Unit That Failed to Warn About Capitol Attack to Get New Boss,” by WSJ’s Rachael Levy: “The Department of Homeland Security is expected to announce JOHN COHEN as the new acting head of its intelligence branch, according to people familiar with the matter. The move would come more than six months after that branch failed to issue any warnings about the Jan. 6 assault on Capitol to its partner law-enforcement agencies.
“Mr. Cohen is currently DHS’s counterterrorism coordinator and assistant secretary for counterrorism and threat prevention. In his new role, Mr. Cohen is expected to retain his position as counterterrorism coordinator, one of the people said. Mr. Cohen previously held both the intelligence role and the job as counterterrorism coordinator during the Obama administration.”
THE UNEMPLOYMENT PICTURE — “U.S. jobless claims tick up to 373,000 from a pandemic low,” AP
BIDEN’S NEXT EO — “Biden to Target Railroads, Ocean Shipping in Executive Order,” by WSJ’s Ted Mann: “The Biden administration will push regulators to confront consolidation and perceived anticompetitive pricing in the ocean shipping and railroad industries as part of a broad effort to blunt the power of big business to dominate industries, according to a person familiar with the situation.
“As part of a sweeping executive order expected this week, the administration will ask the Federal Maritime Commission and the Surface Transportation Board to combat what it calls a pattern of consolidation and aggressive pricing that has made it onerously expensive for American companies to transport goods to market.”
THE LATEST IN HAITI — “Biden with few options to stabilize Haiti in wake of slaying,” AP: “With the era of gunboat diplomacy long over, the U.S. is unlikely to deploy troops in the aftermath of the brazen slaying Wednesday of President JOVENEL MOÏSE in an overnight raid at his home. But the Biden administration may nonetheless find itself dragged into the country’s increasingly violent political conflict, one that has been building — if largely ignored by Washington — for months and which is now expected to deepen further, with the immediate path forward blurred by intrigue.”
WOWZA — “Trump charged Secret Service nearly $10,200 in May for agents’ rooms,” by WaPo’s David Fahrenthold: “Former president Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J., charged the Secret Service nearly $10,200 for guest rooms used by his protective detail during Trump’s first month at the club this summer, newly released spending records show.
“The records — released by the Secret Service in response to a public-records request — show that the ex-president has continued a habit he began in the first days of his presidency: charging rent to the agency that protects his life. Since Trump left office in January, U.S. taxpayers have paid Trump’s businesses more than $50,000 for rooms used by Secret Service agents, records show.”
IMMIGRATION FILES — “Families fostering migrant kids offer what shelters cannot,” AP: “Transitional foster homes, where families are licensed to care for migrant children, are widely considered to be the best option for kids in U.S. custody, especially for minors who have been traumatized, are very young, pregnant or are teen parents and require extra emotional support. Yet hundreds of transitional foster care beds at family homes and small group facilities are not being used, according to government data.
“Four providers told The Associated Press that they have licensed foster families ready to take children. Two providers said about a third of available beds over the past month were not used. The others declined to specify. Providers say interest in fostering migrant kids is booming with Americans getting vaccinated and virus-related restrictions being lifted on daily life. They are urging the government to move more kids into foster homes.”
BEYOND THE BELTWAY — “In Michigan, Pro-Impeachment Republicans Face Voters’ Wrath,” by NYT’s Jonathan Weisman in Grand Rapids, Mich.: “Representative PETER MEIJER cites GERALD R. FORD as his inspiration these days … because in Mr. Ford, the freshman congressman sees virtues lost to his political party. …
“Six months after the Capitol attack and 53 miles southeast of Grand Rapids, on John Parish’s farm in the hamlet of Vermontville, Mr. Meijer’s problems sat on folding chairs on the Fourth of July. They ate hot dogs, listened to bellicose speakers and espoused their own beliefs that reflected how, even at age 33, Mr. Meijer may represent the Republican Party’s past more than its future. … Dozens of congressional candidates planning challenges next year are promoting the false claims of election fraud pressed by Mr. Trump. But Western Michigan does have one distinction: It is home to 20 percent of the House Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump — that is, two of 10.”
— Quite the quote from Meijer: “‘The challenge is if you believe that Nov. 3 was a landslide victory for Donald Trump that was stolen, and Jan. 6 was the day to stop that steal,” [Meijer] said. ‘I can’t come to an understanding with somebody when we’re dealing with completely separate sets of facts and realities.’ At a recent event, he said, a woman informed Mr. Meijer that he would shortly be arrested for treason and hauled before a military tribunal, presumably to be shot. ‘People are willing to kill and die over these alternative realities,’ he said.”
REDISTRICTING READ — “House candidates declare campaigns for districts that don’t exist yet amid redistricting delays,” by CNN’s Dan Merica: “LORETTA SMITH and WESLEY HUNT are members of different parties, separated by both distance and policy. And yet, Smith, an Oregon Democrat, and Hunt, a Texas Republican, find themselves in similar positions headed into the 2022 midterms: Both have announced plans to run for Congress, but neither know what the district they plan to run in will look like.
“Smith and Hunt are among a growing group of politicians from both parties who, because of a delayed release of the district-level data from the 2020 US Census needed for each state to complete the redistricting process, have announced congressional bids without knowing which district they will be running in. The delay has created a unique set of announcements across the country, with people like Hunt announcing the area they plan to represent, but not the district or opponent they could face.”
TRACKING ELSA — “Tropical storm pounds East Coast after killing 1 in Florida,” AP
OPIOID FILES — “Fatal opioid overdoses are up by the hundreds, hurting families and worrying officials,” by WaPo’s Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Jasmine Hilton
— “Purdue Pharma exit plan gains steam with OK from more states,” AP: “OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s plan to reorganize into a new entity that helps combat the U.S. opioid epidemic got a big boost as 15 states that had previously opposed the new business model now support it.”
SPORTS BLINK — “Fans banned at Olympics; Tokyo under state of emergency,” AP
DEPT. OF WHERE ARE THEY NOW — “Michael Avenatti Faces Sentencing for Trying to Extort Millions From Nike,” WSJ
USDA DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Matt Herrick is joining the International Dairy Foods Association as SVP of public affairs and comms and executive director of the IDFA Foundation. He most recently was director of comms at the Department of Agriculture.
WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Gretchen Goldman is now assistant director for Environmental Science, Engineering, Policy, and Justice in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. She previously was research director for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
TRANSITIONS — Allison Smith is now deputy assistant U.S. Trade Representative for congressional affairs. She most recently was deputy COS and legislative director for Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.). … Emily Tisch Sussman is now a senior adviser to PL + US. She previously was VP of campaigns for the Center for American Progress Action Fund and senior adviser to Swing Left. … Ryan Guthrie is now senior director of government affairs at Chipotle. He previously was VP of government relations for Coca-Cola.
ENGAGED — Zach Sentementes, VP of Advanced Advocacy, and Shannon Sorensen, VP for legal and business affairs of the National Music Publishers’ Association, got engaged Tuesday at Sundance Mountain Resort while vacationing in Utah. The two met at the RIAA & Spotify holiday party at the 9:30 Club in 2017. Pic … Another pic
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