| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | JUST PASSED — The CHIPS+ package for semiconductor manufacturing and more made it through the Senate, 64-33. The bill goes to the House next.
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President Joe Biden used the likely end of his Covid bout as a moment to highlight the country's progress on the pandemic. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo | MEANWHILE, AT THE WHITE HOUSE — The aviators were on and the mask was off as President JOE BIDEN emerged from isolation today, following two negative coronavirus tests and the end of nearly all his Covid-19 symptoms. Biden said he was "feeling great" and "got through with no fear." Biden has finished his Paxlovid treatment regimen, though he'll keep wearing a mask through the 10-day mark and test more regularly in case of a Covid-19 rebound, presidential doctor KEVIN O'CONNOR wrote in his latest memo today . In the Rose Garden, Biden used the likely end of his Covid bout as a moment to highlight the country's progress on the pandemic — and to draw some subtle distinctions with his once and future rival, DONALD TRUMP. Acknowledging that many people will still get Covid, Biden said his administration's response has made all the difference in the world — not just by distributing vaccines, but also through the three-pronged approach of booster shots, at-home tests and treatments. "What's different now is our ability to protect ourselves from serious illness," he said. Biden also highlighted the difference between his Covid experience and Trump's much more severe illness , which happened before vaccines were available in 2020. Biden's comments served to praise the public health response — and, perhaps, to tout his vigor amid chronic questions about the two septuagenarians' fitness for office. "Here's the bottom line: When my predecessor got Covid, he had to get helicoptered to Walter Reed Medical Center. He was severely ill," Biden said. "Thankfully, he recovered. When I got Covid, I worked from upstairs of the White House." "The difference is vaccinations, of course," he added. "But also three new tools … The same booster shots, the same at-home tests, the same treatment that I got is available to you." It wasn't just Paxlovid: Biden got through Covid with his dog COMMANDER, calls to his grandkids, videos and books about Ireland, while first lady JILL BIDEN took the cat to Delaware, reports CNN's Kevin Liptak . Still, it "couldn't prevent the cabin fever from setting in." ON WISCONSIN — ALEX LASRY is dropping out of the Wisconsin Senate Democratic primary today and endorsing his main rival, Lt. Gov. MANDELA BARNES, a major shake-up that all but clears the path for Barnes to win the nomination next month. In their scoop, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Bill Glauber and Daniel Bice call the move "stunning," given that the Milwaukee Bucks exec had plowed more than $12 million into the race and was running strong, though he trailed Barnes in polling. Barnes will likely be a progressive standard-bearer in a critical swing-state race against incumbent GOP Sen. RON JOHNSON. "We've been saying since day one the most important thing that we can do for Wisconsin is to get rid of Ron Johnson," Lasry told Holly Otterbein . "I firmly believe that if there was no path to victory, the best thing to do is to make sure that we can as early as possible rally around a nominee so that we can spend every second that we have making sure that we're working toward that goal." Good Wednesday afternoon.
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Learn how Meta is helping build the metaverse. | | | JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH LOOK WHO'S TALKING — The Justice Department's Jan. 6 investigation now includes cooperation from CASSIDY HUTCHINSON, who provided bombshell testimony to the House Jan. 6 committee, ABC's Katherine Faulders, Mike Levine and John Santucci report . No details yet on what her cooperation entails. — ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN told CNN's John Berman today that DOJ has contacted other Trump administration officials beyond just MARC SHORT and GREG JACOB. Those other officials "are planning to cooperate" with the investigation, she said. CONGRESS GUNS IN AMERICA — House Dems are postponing their plans to pass an assault weapons ban and other guns and policing legislation this week, per Sarah Ferris, Jordain Carney and Anthony Adragna . They're hoping to have the bills ready by August instead, after "several key groups of Democrats [were] still raising concerns with some of the bills, such as a lack of police accountability measures." — A new House Oversight report today says that five leading assault rifle manufacturers pulled in more than $1 billion in revenue over the past 10 years, thanks to hundreds of thousands of sales annually. The Democrats' findings excoriate the companies for profiting as mass shootings have surged in America. Some of the companies' CEOs are testifying on the Hill today, as the House advances gun restrictions in committee. More from The Hill THE HEXAGRAM OF THE HEAVENS — A new statue of AMELIA EARHART was unveiled today in the Capitol's National Statuary Hall. The event included a rendition of the song "The Sound of Wings," which honors Earhart and insults CHARLES LINDBERGH, per color at the scene from The Kansas City Star's Daniel Desrochers . AMERICA AND THE WORLD DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — The Pentagon is making preparations for what to do if Speaker NANCY PELOSI goes ahead with her trip to Taiwan that has so angered the Chinese government, AP's Lolita Baldor and Ellen Knickmeyer report . Though military leaders don't really think Beijing would attack her plane, the U.S. "would increase its movement of forces and assets in the Indo-Pacific region … fighter jets, ships, surveillance assets and other military systems would likely be used to provide overlapping rings of protection for her flight to Taiwan and any time on the ground there." — And it doesn't look like Pelosi is backing down. Rep. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-Texas) told NBC's Scott Wong that Pelosi had invited him and Rep. GREGORY MEEKS (D-N.Y.), the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to join the trip as part of a small group of legislators. "McCaul's comments are the first on-the-record remarks confirming Pelosi's trip to Taiwan," Wong notes. McCaul said he can't go due to a scheduling conflict.
| | | | 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 . | | | | | ALL POLITICS PRIMARY COLORS — NYT's Jack Healy explores an under-discussed angle of the fraught Arizona GOP gubernatorial primary: It's a contest not just between establishment and MAGA but, in many cases, across class lines. In Prescott Valley, Healy finds that many KARI LAKE backers, struggling with high prices in a GOP-led state, "feel left out and are eager to punish the Republican establishment at the ballot box." Polls show a significant income discrepancy between Lake voters and supporters of KARRIN TAYLOR ROBSON, a wealthy real estate developer. "Ms. Lake's populist homilies and story of a Trump-era political awakening resonate with nontraditional conservatives who say they feel left out of mainstream Republican politics." THE WIZARD OF OZ — The Daily Beast's William Bredderman and Ursula Perano discover that Pennsylvania GOP Senate nominee MEHMET OZ has not disclosed a condo he owns in New Jersey. That doesn't necessarily mean he's violated any rules, though it could add grist to Democrats' attacks on his New Jersey ties. Perhaps most notably, the people living at the condo are "a pair of apparent longtime friends deeply involved in Turkish nationalist activism and connected to groups that have fought to prevent the United States from recognizing the extermination of Armenians on Turkish territory during World War I — which Oz himself has refused to describe as a genocide." POLL POSITION — Another poll finds Georgia voters somewhat split: GOP Gov. BRIAN KEMP leads STACEY ABRAMS by 5 in the latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey , while Democratic Sen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK is ahead of HERSCHEL WALKER by 3, within the margin of error. Biden is massively underwater, and voters are worried about the economy. Perhaps most interestingly, GOP Secretary of State BRAD RAFFENSPERGER enjoys a yawning 14-point lead, thanks in part to 16% of Dems who back the incumbent known for refusing to overturn Trump's 2020 loss. JARGON WATCH — With abortion newly at the fore of American politics, Democrats are increasingly trying to reclaim the word "freedom," which in recent years has more frequently been used as a political rallying cry by Republicans, WaPo's Colby Itkowitz reports . "National Democratic strategists are encouraging their candidates to use the Roe decision as a catalyst to frame issues facing Americans — including economic woes, health care and voting rights — as threats to their freedoms." — Democrats' other buzzword: "extremists." Of course, this time they're not reclaiming a word but trying to label Republicans. CNN's Isaac Dovere reports that the attempt to paint the GOP as extremists comes as Dems are "[s]eized by genuine panic" about the midterms. Now, they say their best shot is to "reframe the stakes of the midterms around a GOP they say has become a threat to America." Rep. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-Mich.) "said she's been surprised both by how much abortion has resonated back home, and by how little most people have registered other issues like democracy and gun control. 'You assume people know this. They absolutely don't know it.'" SWING-DISTRICT DISPATCH — "To stay in Congress, Mayra Flores bets Democratic South Texas is ready for an outspoken conservative," by The Texas Tribune's Patrick Svitek KNOWING CHRISTINA PUSHAW — WaPo's Paul Farhi profiles Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS' combative press secretary, whose comms shop sends out ordinary press releases but then turns aggressive on Twitter against the press or any perceived DeSantis enemies. "In the 14 months since joining DeSantis's staff, she has transformed the typically buttoned-down role of gubernatorial press secretary into something like a running public brawl." Florida politicos say she's helped bolster DeSantis' ties to the online right wing.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | POLICY CORNER CLIMATE FILES — The Energy Department today is launching a new program to bring solar power to low-income homes — a major move to bolster renewables and lower people's electricity bills, Zack Colman reports . The program will matchmake residents who get subsidies for energy costs with community solar developers. "Expanding community solar is likely necessary to hit Biden's climate goals, which include achieving a net-zero electric grid by 2035. It will enable people who rent their homes and have fewer ways to access solar panels or people without the means to finance such investments." MONKEYPOX LATEST — The FDA is making about 800,000 more doses of the Jynneos vaccine for monkeypox available beginning Thursday, the agency announced today . FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS — The Treasury Department is putting out new guidance today aimed at helping municipalities bolster affordable housing stock with Covid-19 relief funds. The notice makes clear that American Rescue Plan assistance can go toward more long-term affordable housing loans, federal housing programs and more. Details from USA Today IT'S CLOUD ILLUSIONS I RECALL — Microsoft is trying to recruit Google, Oracle and other top tech companies to join in its lobbying campaign to get the U.S. government to spread the cloud-computing wealth beyond Amazon, WSJ's Aaron Tilley scooped . "Microsoft's push calls for the U.S. government to establish a preference for multicloud, an industry term that means using the services infrastructure of more than one company." BEYOND THE BELTWAY POLICING THE POLICE — J. ALEXANDER KUENG, one of the former police officers who helped restrain GEORGE FLOYD during his fatal arrest, was sentenced to three years in prison today, per the Star Tribune's Stephen Montemayor . Former officer TOU THAO is also getting sentenced today.
| | | | INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY . | | | | | WAR IN UKRAINE LATEST ON THE GROUND — Ukrainian forces struck a key Russian-held bridge in Kherson overnight as they move toward a counteroffensive to take back the city, while Russia bombarded southern Ukraine with dozens of missiles, per the NYT . THE FUTURE OF INTEL — The nonprofit Open Source Intelligence Foundation is launching in the D.C. area "to promote the tradecraft of open-source intelligence, the analysis of publicly available data that has helped Western powers understand and track Russia's war on Ukraine," WSJ's Dustin Volz scooped . BARBARA ALEXANDER leads the professional association, which aims to build more infrastructure for this type of intelligence-gathering. PLAYBOOKERS MEDIAWATCH — Vox Media announced a coming round of layoffs expected to affect dozens of employees, per CNN's Oliver Darcy . OUT AND ABOUT — Shopify, Stripe, Etsy and Square hosted a small business and entrepreneurship reception Tuesday night at the S-3 Group office. SPOTTED: Tom Manatos, Andres Bascumbe, Jeffrey Zubricki, Liz Hunger, Amy Roberti, Matt Mulder, Walt Kuhn, Maryam Mujica, Will Duffield, Wayne Brough, Josh Withrow, Becca Trate, Taylor Barkley, John Scofield, Mike Ference and Hastie Afkhami. WHITE HOUSE SHUFFLE — Shelley Greenspan will be the next White House liaison to the Jewish community, per Jewish Insider's Gabby Deutch . She most recently has been policy adviser for partnerships and global engagement at the NSC, and is a State Department and Amazon alum. Greenspan replaces Chanan Weissman, who's leaving the role this week. TRANSITIONS — Jon DeWitte will be VP for government affairs at Travelers Insurance. He most recently was chief of staff for Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), and is a Hill GOP veteran. … Anthony Reed is now a partner in FGS Global's energy & sustainability and food & agriculture practices. He previously was interim head of global government relations at Archer Daniels Midland Company, and is an EPA alum. … Woolf Strategy is adding Alexa Hayes as digital content manager and Alyssa Purser as senior client services manager. Hayes previously was with the National Education Association. Purser previously was senior copywriter and strategist for Senestre Creative.
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