Playbook PM: What’s at stake in Biden’s big speech

Jan 11, 2022

By Eugene Daniels, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

Presented by

"History has its eyes on you." It's not just a song from "Hamilton"; it's the message President JOE BIDEN is taking with him to Georgia as he and VP KAMALA HARRIS plan sweeping speeches pushing for voting rights this afternoon.

As he headed to Marine One this morning, Biden was asked what he thought he risked politically by making a major speech about voting rights, given the realities of the Senate.

"I risk not saying what I believe. That's what I risk," Biden responded. "This is one of those defining moments, it really is. People are going to be judged: Where were they before, and where are they after the vote? History is going to judge it. It's that consequential." 28-second video, via NBC's Kelly O'Donnell

— WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE SPEECH: Aides say that the president is going to lean into the framing of this as a "history has its eyes on you" moment, and give a full-throated call for a filibuster carveout for voting rights, after years of reticence on the topic.

— WILL IT WORK? The approach is … lofty, and it remains to be seen whether it will break through the current barriers to a filibuster carveout. But Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER appears ready to plow forward.

"The time has come for the Senate to pass voting rights legislation and take whatever steps necessary to address this chamber's rules in order to accomplish that goal," Schumer said this afternoon. "The Senate is going to act as soon as tomorrow." More on that in a moment …

ON ABRAMS' ABSENCE — While departing the White House, Biden was asked about the fact STACEY ABRAMS will miss today's speech due to a scheduling conflict. "I spoke to Stacey this morning. We have a great relationship. We got our scheduling mixed up," Biden said. "We're all on the same page."

Asked if he was insulted that Abrams is missing his speech, Biden was terse: "I'm insulted that you asked the question."

MEANWHILE, IN GEORGIA — MARTIN LUTHER KING III and his wife ARNDREA WATERS KING said it was a "difficult decision" for them to attend Biden and Harris' remarks on voting rights legislation this afternoon. "We certainly understand the frustration of our local partners here in Georgia," Arndrea Waters King told MSNBC in an interview. "It's been a long year of a lot of things not being done, and we stand and we share that frustration." More from Quint Forgey

SOUNDS LIKE A LIGHT LUNCH CONVO — Schumer is bringing in Harvard professors STEVEN LEVITSKY and DANIEL ZIBLATT — the authors of "How Democracies Die" — "to present to the Senate Dem caucus today (at their virtual lunch) on their research and the urgency of passing voting rights legislation to address growing threats to democracy," per a senior Democratic aide.

— Worth flagging: The Senate could be in line for some weekend work. Schumer is telling senators "to plan to stay in town through the weekend to consider changes to the filibuster, according to Democratic aides. The vote could also take place on MLK Day as Schumer seeks to maximize the pressure campaign on his members," Marianne LeVine and Burgess Everett report for Congress Minutes. But FWIW: "Schumer has often threatened sessions of weekend work without following through on it. We'll see if this time is different."

Good Tuesday afternoon.

A message from the Freedom to Vote Alliance:

A strong economy depends on a strong democracy. But the cornerstone of our democratic system – the freedom to vote – is under attack. States nationwide are making it harder to cast ballots and easier for partisan officials to overturn election results.

For businesses to prosper, our basic rights must be protected. The Freedom to Vote Alliance is calling on the Senate to reform its rules and give voting rights legislation a straight up or down vote.

MANDATE MADNESS MEETS THIS TOWN — Conservatives in D.C. are up in arms about an indoor vaccine mandate that is set to take effect this week and would potentially hamper a private Republican club. "Rep. BOB GOOD (R-Va.), a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, stood up in a closed-door GOP Conference meeting Tuesday and told colleagues they should refuse to patronize the 70-year-old Capitol Hill Club, eliciting support from some conservatives in the room," The Hill's Scott Wong reports. "But Good quickly faced pushback from two of the club's board members — Rep. KEN CALVERT (R-Calif.) and JEFF DUNCAN (R-S.C.) — who argued that the club was simply following the city's health regulations and should not be blamed."

CONGRESS

INFLATION WATCH — Inflation was the hot topic at JEROME POWELL's confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee this morning. "Inflation has soared to nearly 40-year highs, and Powell on Tuesday said high prices will persist well into 2022," WaPo's Rachel Siegel writes. Here's Powell: "The economy no longer needs or wants the very highly accommodative policies we've had in place to deal with the pandemic and the aftermath. We're really going to be moving over the course of this year to a policy that's closer to normal. But it's a long road to normal."

SPARKS FLY — ANTHONY FAUCI and Sen. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.) had yet another explosive exchange at a Senate HELP Committee hearing this morning. "You're distorting virtually everything," Fauci said, responding to Paul's criticism of Fauci's handling of the pandemic. "You keep coming back to personal attacks on me that have absolutely no relevance to reality," Fauci said. "So I ask myself, 'Why would a senator want to do this?' So go to Rand Paul['s] website, and you see 'Fire Dr. Fauci' with a little box that says 'Contribute here.' You can do five dollars. 10 dollars. 20 dollars. 100 dollars. So you are making a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain." More from WaPo's Salvador Rizzo, with video

THE THREAT FROM WITHIN — House Sergeant-at-Arms WILLIAM WALKER told a House Appropriations subcommittee this morning that he intends to train "insider threat specialists" to monitor for security officials whose "allegiance has changed," Kyle Cheney reports for Congress Minutes. "Walker also said he envisions implementing a security clearance requirement for Capitol Police, noting that those clearances must be periodically renewed, which gives agencies a chance to check in with employees to ensure they remain 'loyal' to protecting the Capitol."

Meanwhile, at the same hearing, USCP Chief TOM MANGER said: "We've got a ways to go before we can reopen the campus" to the public.

TESTING INCREASE — BRIAN MONAHAN, Congress' attending physician, said that starting this week, they would begin "offering at-home coronavirus testing kits to House members and essential staffers weekly because of a significant increase in cases," WaPo's Eugene Scott reports.

POSTPONED — Due to Covid concerns, House Democrats are postponing their planned annual conference, which had been slated for Feb. 9-11 in Philadelphia, Dem Conference Chair HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-N.Y.) announced in a "Dear Colleague" letter today. Sarah Ferris and Anthony Adragna write for Congress Minutes : "Jeffries said the aim is to reschedule the conference following President Joe Biden's State of the Union 'to the extent the public health landscape would permit such a gathering.' Democrats will hold a "family conversation and full-day virtual messaging summit" on Feb. 10.

TOP-ED — Rep. ILHAN OMAR (D-Minn.) writes for Teen Vogue: "Guantánamo Bay Prison Must Close After 20 Years of Abuse"

DON'T MISS CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE.

ALL POLITICS

TRY TO OUT-TRUMP ME — DAVID MCCORMICK is wrapping himself in a MAGA-proof blanket as he enters the closely watched Pennsylvania Senate race. "As McCormick prepares to imminently enter Pennsylvania's Republican contest for the Senate — a race in which candidates are outdoing each other to prove their loyalty to Trump — he is already making moves to inoculate himself from the all-but-certain primary attacks that he is insufficiently MAGA," Holly Otterbein and Natalie Allison report in Philadelphia . "McCormick has built a campaign-in-waiting with a who's who of Trump-world operatives, and distanced himself from his former company's China ties, while his allies have reached out to Trump-friendly media. The question is whether that will be convincing enough in a state where Trump continues to have a strong hold on the GOP grassroots."

THE WHITE HOUSE

AID ON THE WAY — The White House today "announced $308 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan," AP's Aamer Madhani reports. A White House spokesperson said that the aid "from the U.S. Agency for International Development will flow through independent humanitarian organizations and will be used to provide shelter, health care, winterization assistance, emergency food aid, water, sanitation and hygiene services."

THE PANDEMIC

ARE WE TESTING OURSELVES CORRECTLY? — If you've done an at-home coronavirus test, you've probably inserted a swab into your nose, as health officials and the box instruct. "But some scientists say a throat swab may be more effective at detecting Omicron," reports WSJ's Sumathi Reddy , and they're "calling on the FDA and test manufacturers to better study throat swabs, saying that the reliance on nasal swabs may be one reason why rapid tests seem to be less sensitive in detecting Omicron than previous variants." Worth noting: "The FDA said it doesn't have any data to indicate that throat swabs are an accurate or appropriate way to do home tests. The agency is also concerned that people might hurt themselves doing a throat swab because it's more complicated than a nose swab."

THE ECONOMY

DON'T BET ON IT — When "jobs report" days come around, it's almost impossible to know what to expect. But one thing is consistent: Pundits are whiffing on their predictions. "[T]he pandemic is making a tough job even tougher," WaPo's David Lynch writes . "Even if economists are well schooled to calculate future levels of hiring, investment or trade, they are no better qualified than anyone else to foretell the next move by a shape-shifting virus — or the likely policy response in a hyper-polarized capital."

COMING UP EMPTY — If you've been to the grocery lately, odds are you've encountered barren shelves — something characterized the early days of the pandemic and now, almost two years later, is becoming increasingly common yet again. WaPo's Laura Reiley writes that the cause is "new problems bumping up against old ones," in a mix of the Omicron surge, winter weather, supply chain woes and, simply, more people eating at home.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

POLICY CORNER

IMMIGRATION FILES — Families who were separated at the border but later reunited are now facing a new worry: extortion attempts stemming from the mistaken belief that they received big payouts from the U.S. government. AP's Elliot Spagat, Ben Fox and Claudia Torrens have the story of a 30-year-old Honduran woman who was reunited with her 6-year-old son, now lives in the U.S. and whose mother in Central America now faces "demands for $5,000 a month."

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

RUSSIA LATEST — WSJ's James Marson and Daniel Michaels report in Brussels on the sticky situation that NATO allies are facing as they prepare to sit down with Russian officials this week. "Rather than confront NATO head-on, Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN is exerting pressure in other countries including Ukraine, Syria and Libya. He is testing alliance unity with natural-gas deals while probing its democratic defenses with cyberattacks and disinformation, Western officials say. The approach is testing both the alliance's military might and Western political will. NATO is divided over how to respond."

THREAT ASSESSMENT — The World Economic Forum released its annual Global Risks Report today. The topline: "Cyberthreats and the growing space race are emerging risks to the global economy, adding to existing challenges posed by climate change and the coronavirus pandemic," per AP's Kelvin Chan in London. … The report

CLIMATE FILES — The latest alarm bell is ringing about the world's oceans. "A new analysis, published Tuesday in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, showed that oceans contained the most heat energy in 2021 since measurements began six decades ago — accelerating at a rate only possible because of human-emitted greenhouse gases," WaPo's Kasha Patel reports.

FOR YOUR RADAR — CNN's Oren Liebermann, Pete Muntean and Barbara Starr report that a "ground stop was issued to some pilots for a short period of time following a North American Aerospace Defense Command alert of a launch of a North Korean missile, a U.S. official said Tuesday. The official says it was not a national ground stop and may have been issued by a regional air traffic control facility."

PLAYBOOKERS

Sean Patrick Maloney tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing "minor cold-like symptoms."

TRANSITIONS — John McCarthy is now director of media monitoring at CRC Advisors. He previously was principal deputy war room director at the RNC. … Aleah Shuren is joining Ferox Strategies as a director. She currently is project director at the Trusted AI Coalition. …

… Shane Trimmer will be a legislative director for Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.). He currently is legislative director for Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.). … Laura Yagerman is now head of corporate comms at Twitter. She most recently was SVP for corporate and investor comms at Navios, a group of maritime-shipping and logistics companies.

BONUS BIRTHDAY: POLITICO's Jeremy Crenshaw

A message from the Freedom to Vote Alliance: