POLITICO NIGHTLY: Delta to Biden: The easy part is over

 

BY LAUREN MORELLO With help from Myah Ward SO MUCH FOR OUR HOT VAX SUMMER — America’s official return to pre-Covid life lasted all of three weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly reversed its guidance on mask wearing today. The agency now says that vaccinated people in Covid-19 hotspots should mask up indoors, and sometimes even outdoors, based on new data on the highly contagious Delta variant. For President Joe Biden, who pledged a “return to normal” on July 4, the CDC’s about-face is a tacit admission that competence alone won’t vanquish the coronavirus. When his administration took office in the chaotic early days of the nation’s vaccine rollout, it picked the low-hanging fruit by working to streamline vaccine distribution channels and improve communication with governors and other state officials. The federal government set up a network of high-volume vaccine mega-sites across the country and arranged for pharmacies nationwide to give out the shot, helping to boost Covid vaccinations to a daily record of 4.6 million doses on April 10. A sign advises shoppers to wear masks outside of a store in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. | Marcio Jose Sanchez, File/AP Photo But the deep partisan split over the pandemic — and the value of the vaccines — has helped to stall the country’s adult vaccination rate at just under 70 percent, the goal Biden hoped to reach by Independence Day. In states like Alabama and Louisiana, where the Delta variant is driving a surge in new infections and hospitalizations, the adult vaccination rate is just over 50 percent. So, with the pace of inoculations slowed to a crawl, and a new wave of infection building nationwide, the CDC has once again turned to masks to fight the virus. We’re not alone in this: Countries like Israel, Australia and South Korea have reinstated national or regional mask mandates in the face of Delta. It’s yet another sign that Covid-19 is a wily foe, and the fortunes of the vaccinated and unvaccinated are inextricably linked. Unwilling to revisit the lockdown days of 2020, the White House now appears to be turning to powerful but so far untested tools against the virus. Biden said today that he is considering a vaccine mandate for federal employees — one day after the VA said it would require the shot for any employees who provide direct patient care. “Unlike 2020, we have both the scientific knowledge and the tools to prevent the spread of this disease,” Biden told reporters. “We are not going back” to “the kind of lockdowns, shutdowns, school closures, and disruptions we faced in 2020.” There’s no way to roll back the clock. But there’s still a way to beat Covid. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author directly at lmorello@politico.com or on Twitter at @lmorello_dc.   National Security Daily From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, get the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. Subscribe now   ASK THE AUDIENCE Nightly asks you: As the Delta variant leads to increased cases around the nation, are you changing your behavior this summer? Send us your answers using our form , and we’ll feature select responses in Friday’s edition. WHAT'D I MISS? — Senators nearing $2B Capitol security deal: Senate spending leaders are closing in on a more than $2 billion agreement that would fill the waning budgets of the Capitol Police and National Guard after months of strain following the Jan. 6 insurrection. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) are negotiating the deal as a counter proposal to the $1.9 billion emergency spending bill that stalled in the Senate after House passage in May. The package would total just over $2 billion, including more than $1 billion for the Department of Defense, $100 million for the Capitol Police and $300 million for other Capitol security measures, according to sources familiar with the proposal. — Biden expected to visit NYC’s 9/11 memorial site for 20th anniversary of attacks: Biden is expected to attend the 9/11 memorial in New York City to mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks , four sources with knowledge of his plans told POLITICO. The White House recently indicated to officials in New York that Biden plans to travel for the commemoration, two of the sources said. Officials are also looking at possible stops at other locations attacked that day: the Pentagon and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa. But one administration official said it may be logistically difficult to attend all three spots in one day. — DHS Secretary Mayorkas cancels in-person events over Covid fears: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is working remotely because he was in contact with a department official who later tested positive for Covid-19, a DHS spokesperson told POLITICO. — Cuban embassy in Paris attacked with petrol bombs: The Cuban embassy in Paris was attacked with petrol bombs today, its staff said, causing damage to the building but no harm to those working inside. The Cuban Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on Twitter and posted photos of the damaged building, writing: “Those directly responsible for these acts are those who incite violence and hatred against our country.” — Warren urges Yellen to crack down on cryptocurrency: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to rally federal agencies to develop a “coordinated and cohesive regulatory strategy” on cryptocurrencies, which the Massachusetts Democrat says pose growing risks to the financial system. Warren told Yellen in a letter released today that she should tap the Financial Stability Oversight Council — a panel of top regulators that the Treasury secretary chairs — to “act with urgency.”   JOIN WEDNESDAY – A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION WITH THE WOMEN POWERING SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT: Covid-19 took a massive toll on the entertainment and sports industries over the past year and a half. As the summer movie season kicks into full gear, concerts make their way back and crowds fill sports stadiums, we look to the women powering these industries to return in full force. Join POLITICO Women Rule editor Elizabeth Ralph for a conversation with Kamala Avila-Salmon, head of Inclusive Content for Films at Lionsgate; Monica Dixon, president, External Affairs & chief administrative officer Monumental Sports; and Sandy Lighterman, Film & Entertainment commissioner, Miami Dade County Office of Film and Entertainment on lessons learned from the pandemic upheaval to these industries and what it means for the long haul. REGISTER HERE.     NIGHTLY INTERVIEW JUST ANOTHER MANDATE MONDAY — Yesterday felt like a tipping point for vaccine mandates — a contentious idea that employers across the U.S., including the federal government, are warming up to as Covid patients once again fill up hospital beds. More than 60 medical organizations, including the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association, said vaccine mandates for all health care workers are an “ethical” obligation. Nightly’s Myah Ward talked with ANA President Ernest Grant about his organization’s decision to sign on to the joint statement, why he felt now was the right time for it and how these moves may influence hospitals across the country to require vaccinations. This conversation has been edited. This is a large group of people in agreement on a controversial topic. Did it take a lot of debate to get here? ANA changed our position statement on vaccines a couple of weeks before this. But this was relatively quick. The request came in, I believe, last Thursday, and within a couple of days, all the other organizations had signed on. From our perspective, it was an easy decision. It felt like yesterday was mandate day. We had New York and California issuing requirements, and the first federal agency, the Department of Veterans Affairs, said they would require health care workers to get shots. Why now? We had no idea that New York and California would be issuing their statement, and we definitely did not have any idea that the VA system would issue that statement as well. Even though it was not a concerted effort, I think the fact it was like boom boom boom boom boom, hopefully the public and health care workers will begin to sit up and take notice: “Hey, they really mean that. We need to get control of this virus.” Some people argue that it’s too soon to mandate a vaccine that doesn’t have full FDA approval. What would you say to that? There is evidence that the vaccines are effective. There’s been more than 300 million doses of the vaccine given in the U.S. with a relatively small amount of side effects. And of course, if more and more people are not vaccinated, that’s going to allow for more mutations of the virus. And the potential that the vaccines that are out there may become ineffective altogether. And so we’re going to be right back where we were at the beginning of 2020. Any idea when we may see full approval? If I were to speculate, I would say probably before the end of the year. One of the things you have to think about is the hesitancy that individuals might have if there were a rush to approve the vaccines. And then the story would be, “Well, you know, they didn’t study it long enough before it was approved.” We were experiencing a nursing shortage before and during the pandemic. Do you worry mandates will exacerbate this? We estimate probably about 83 percent of nurses have been vaccinated, which is really good, but we’d like to see that number higher. This is based on some surveys that we have done. My big concern is that I hear from nurses every day that they are tired. They’re exhausted. Just when they thought they were going to get the chance to catch their breath, the hospitals are filling up again, and filling up needlessly because we know that if people were to get vaccinated, we could tamp down this virus. Until that happens, it’s going to be very challenging for the nurses, and some of them are choosing or may choose, “I can’t take this. I need to either step away from the bedside or do something else in nursing.”   SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.     AROUND THE WORLD ‘YOU NEED SOME GUNSLINGERS’ — If the United States really wants Russia to stop ransomware attacks and other hostile activities, Garry Kasparov has a solution ripped from his days as a chess grandmaster: Go after the king. Russia President Vladimir Putin is thought to be worth tens of billions of dollars, Kasparov notes. Researchers have pieced together his alleged assets by examining everything from Putin’s luxury watches to a palace he’s said to frequent to unusual money trails that lead to his inner circle. That secret wealth makes Putin uniquely vulnerable to U.S. sanctions, Kasparov argues. It’s time, he says, for the Biden administration to crack down on the billionaire loyalists who keep the Russian dictator in power and help hide his riches. The chess champ and Kremlin critic is not the only one pushing the idea. Activists working with imprisoned Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny have been circulating in Washington a list of 35 people linked to Putin whose assets they say America should freeze. “It’s not an extreme measure. It’s the only effective one,” Kasparov told POLITICO. “Putin doesn’t care about Russia or Russians. There are no national interests, just his.” But to the chagrin of Kasparov, his fellow Russian dissidents and even some former U.S. officials, Biden is resisting such appeals for now. “We’re not really trying hard enough,” said Evelyn Farkas, a former top Pentagon official under then-President Barack Obama. “[Putin] is not taking the message from the new United States president seriously enough.” Instead, Biden has turned to more traditional sanctions and diplomatic moves in the face-off with Russia, Nahal Toosi writes. Some Biden aides are not convinced that going after Putin’s wealth would chasten him to the point critics predict. Instead, after a vigorous internal debate, White House officials decided on a less aggressive approach: They’ll put Russia on notice without escalating tensions or jeopardizing potential cooperation on shared challenges like climate change. NIGHTLY NUMBER 47 percent The percentage of California voters most likely to participate in the September recall election who support recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom , according to a poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and cosponsored by the Los Angeles Times. The poll also showed 50 percent opposed the effort. That difference falls within the poll’s margin of error. PARTING WORDS ‘A MEDIEVAL BATTLE’ — Four police officers who defended the Capitol from a Jan. 6 riot by Donald Trump supporters spoke out today during the first hearing of the select committee investigating the attack , sharing harrowing details of their physical and mental trauma. As the riot fades from public memory amid a new wave of Republican revisionism, select panel members aimed to cast the hearing — the first time Congress has heard publicly from law enforcement on the front lines of the response to Jan. 6 — as a vivid reminder of what happened. Watch what they said, in 180 seconds. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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RSN: Cornel West | My Letter of Resignation From Harvard

 

 

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Cornel West | My Letter of Resignation From Harvard
Cornel West, Cornel West's Facebook Page
West writes: "How sad it is to see our beloved Harvard Divinity School in such decline and decay."
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Biden Denounces "21st Century Jim Crow Assault" on Voting Rights in Philadelphia Speech
Kathryn Watson, CBS News
Watson writes: "President Biden denounced efforts by lawmakers in Republican-led states to impose new restrictions on voting, decrying their efforts as a '21st century Jim Crow assault' and urging Congress to pass federal laws to protect voting access."
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Sanders, Biden Meet as Infrastructure Bill Swells Past $3.5 Trillion
Lisa Mascaro and Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press
Excerpt: "Emerging from a private meeting at the White House, Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that he and President Joe Biden are on the same page as Democrats draft a 'transformative' infrastructure package unleashing more than 3.5 trillion in domestic investments on par with the New Deal of the 1930s."
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Notorious Ransomware Gang REvil Mysteriously Disappears After Causing Global Havoc
Lucas Ropek, Gizmodo
Ropek writes: "The Russian-speaking cybercriminal group REvil has gone dark. Its websites were taken offline early Tuesday morning, and nobody is sure why."
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COVID-19 Accelerated the Corporate Takeover of the Economy
Grace Blakeley, Jacobin
Blakeley writes: "Unless working people organize to resist it, the legacy of the pandemic, like the legacy of the financial crisis, will be a permanent shift in power in favor of capital."
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"Fly So Far": New Film Tells Stories of Women in El Salvador Jailed for Decades Under Abortion Ban
Democracy Now!
Excerpt: "The award-winning documentary 'Fly So Far' looks at the criminalization of abortion in El Salvador through the incredible story of Teodora Vásquez, a woman who in 2008 was sentenced to 30 years in prison after she had a stillbirth at nine months pregnant."
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American West Stuck in Cycle of "Heat, Drought and Fire," Experts Warn
Maanvi Singh, Guardian UK
Singh writes: "As fires propagate throughout the US west on the heels of record heatwaves, experts are warning that the region is caught in a vicious feedback cycle of extreme heat, drought and fire, all amplified by the climate crisis."
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POLITICO NIGHTLY: The TV show that explains the GOP

 

BY ELANA SCHOR Presented by SOMEDAY, WE'LL FIND IT — In a memorable Slate column, Dahlia Lithwick proposed that all of us fall into one of two categories: Chaos Muppet (“out-of-control, emotional, volatile,” think Cookie Monster) or Order Muppet (“highly regimented, averse to surprises,” think Bert). It’s a useful taxonomy that also explains a lot about today’s Republican Party — particularly Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell. The former president — the nation’s leading Chaos Muppet — is exerting his familiar pull on the Republican Party this summer. He’s retroactively lionizing his supporters who laid violent siege to the Capitol on Jan. 6, thrashing the Senate Republicans who helped hammer out a shaky bipartisan infrastructure deal and sending mixed messages about a vaccination push that some of his high-profile allies are trying to undercut as government overreach. But who should Order Muppet Republicans turn to as their party’s leading counterpart to Trump? Who’s prepared to yank back his anarchic influence for the benefit of Republican candidates who need to broaden their appeal beyond his base in order to take back Congress next year? Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell answers questions from reporters as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol. | Win McNamee/Getty Images Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is trying. Her platform on the House’s Jan. 6 select committee will give her a chance to rebut Trump on that front. Her confrontational approach to the ex-president has alienated too many colleagues, though, for them to rally behind her, despite her sterling conservative credentials. The real Order to Trump’s Chaos, no matter how much Democrats despise him, is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell’s guiding motivation has always been keeping and consolidating power in Congress, a lodestar that infuriates his political opponents but also animates his willingness to get in Trump’s way when necessary. He told our Burgess Everett five months ago that he’s prepared to cross the former president in 2022 GOP primaries: “The only thing I care about is electability.” McConnell is also attempting to model an Order-Muppet alternative to Trumpism for Republicans. While Trump used his latest Fox News appearance to laud the Capitol rioters, McConnell has repeatedly touted his faith in vaccines as a polio survivor — a message he’s been consistent on for years. He may eventually oppose the bipartisan infrastructure deal that five of his members negotiated, but he’s been careful not to criticize it or them directly so far. Maybe that’s because McConnell, the nation’s most powerful Order Muppet, senses that outright obstruction of an infrastructure bill pushed by his onetime deal-making partner President Joe Biden won’t help his party at the polls next fall. Trump won’t be on another ballot until 2024 at the earliest, so he has less to lose and every impetus to remain a volatile Chaos Muppet on the sidelines of Congress and all of American politics this year. What remains to be seen is what, if anything, might force McConnell into more open conflict with Trump as the two men vie indirectly for control of the Republican Party’s identity heading into 2022. Cheney could force that inflection point by resurfacing ugly truths of Jan. 6, perhaps with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy under oath in front of her testifying before the select committee. The less theatrical and more likely outcome, however, is Chaos and Order running their Muppet Shows on separate GOP channels. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Seeing a lot of cheugy Olivia Rodrigo tweets out there today. We hope you have a nice time looking up the meaning of cheugy! Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author directly at eschor@politico.com or @eschor. A message from AstraZeneca: Through COVAX, we are working with partners GAVI (the Vaccine Alliance), WHO (World Health Organization), CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) and SII (Serum Institute of India) to ensure people around the world have access to safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines, wherever they live and regardless of income level. Learn more here.   WHAT'D I MISS? — Texas Dems urge voting rights action in D.C. amid threats of arrest for skipping town: Texas Democrats who fled the state to block a Republican elections bill pleaded with Congress to act on voting rights today , with the escapees hammering one message at the U.S Capitol: Time is running short on their delay tactics. Scores of Democratic state legislators fled Texas on Monday, denying Republicans a quorum in the state House and preventing them from passing new legislation that would bar certain voting practices used in heavily Democratic counties in 2020 and tighten the rules for mail voting, among other changes. — “Unfolding assault”: Biden decries attacks on voting rights, calls for action: In a speech at the National Constitution Center, Biden said preserving voting rights was the “test of our time” and said he would launch a new initiative to inform voters of changing election rules before the 2022 midterms. — Russian gang blamed for global ransomware attack vanishes from web: The ransomware hacker gang REvil’s websites are offline, about a week and a half after the group’s cyberattack on IT software vendor Kaseya allowed the criminals to breach hundreds of companies around the world. As of this morning, the group’s public website, the dark-web portal that facilitated its ransom negotiations with victims, and the site that victims used to pay those ransoms were offline. — Biden picks former West Virginia health official as drug czar: The Biden administration is tapping Rahul Gupta as its top drug policy official, charging the former West Virginia public health commissioner with leading federal efforts to combat a spiraling addiction crisis. Gupta, if confirmed by the Senate, would take on the drug czar post amid record levels of deadly drug overdoses, spurred by surging use of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl and methamphetamine. The social isolation and economic hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic have exacerbated the problem, public health officials say. — Jill Biden to lead U.S. delegation to Olympic opening ceremonies: “We will have a delegation from the United States as we have historically had,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “but we will continue to also convey the public health guidelines and guidance that we’ve been delivering out there about only essential travel.” Tokyo entered its fourth Covid-19 state of emergency last week, imposing limitations that will last through the entire Olympics before expiring on Aug. 22. The new Covid sanctions include shutting down businesses that serve alcohol and barring in-person spectators for most of the games. Plus: Covid testing at the Olympics will be akin to drug testing, Anita DeFrantz, the IOC first vice president, told POLITICO’s Ryan Heath today: “It’s like missing a dope test. You’re considered guilty until proven innocent,” and “if you’re positive, then you must go into immediate isolation.”   SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.     ON THE ECONOMY DREADING SUMMERS SCHOOL — There is a new fear circulating inside the West Wing of the White House: Maybe Larry Summers was right. The former Treasury secretary has been warning since February that Biden’s big-spending agenda was creating the risk of an inflation spike this year, potentially cutting into the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. For the moment at least, Summers is looking prescient, chief economic correspondent Ben White writes. The government said today the consumer price index rose 5.4 percent in June from the same month last year, the biggest jump since 2008, as costs for everything from used cars and trucks to restaurant meals and hotel stays continued to soar. It marked the second straight month of sharply higher prices. June prices also unexpectedly rose 0.9 percent from May, undercutting the argument that the price increases only look bad in comparison to last year, when the pandemic was raging. Tuesday’s number beat Wall Street expectations and sparked fears that the Federal Reserve might have to act faster than anticipated to pump the brakes on the economy to prevent a runaway rise in prices.       AROUND THE WORLD MAYORKAS TO CUBANS, HAITIANS: DON’T COME TO U.S. — Cuban-born Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas delivered a clear message today to the Cuban and Haitian people amid upheaval in both Caribbean nations: Do not come to the United States. “The time is never right to attempt migration by sea,” Mayorkas said in a press conference at the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. “To those who risk their lives doing so, this risk is not worth taking.” “Allow me to be clear: If you take to the sea, you will not come to the United States.” Mayorkas’ message comes amid continued protests in Cuba calling for the end of the 62-year-old dictatorship and the recent assassination of the president of Haiti. FLAKE TO SEARCH FOR TURKISH DELIGHT ON MOONLIT NIGHT — Biden nominated former Sen. Jeff Flake to serve as ambassador to Turkey today, extending a high-profile diplomatic post to the anti-Trump Republican. Flake praised the Biden administration’s “strong, experienced and capable team representing U.S. interests abroad,” and nodded to the significance of selecting him for such a strategically important post. Biden met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey in June as part of his diplomatic swing through Europe and has sought to smooth out the tensions between the two countries in recent years, though Biden infuriated Turkey earlier this year by formally recognizing the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire over a century ago.   SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.     NIGHTLY NUMBER $95 million The size of the defamation lawsuit filed by former Alabama chief justice Roy Moore against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen that was thrown out by a federal court today. PARTING WORDS THE BRITS CONFRONT SOCCER RACISM — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet tech company bosses at No. 10 Downing Street to discuss clamping down on hate speech as the country’s government finds itself drawn deeper into a row over racist abuse suffered by the England soccer team. Three England players who missed penalty kicks in Sunday’s Euro 2020 tournament final have been on the receiving end of racist comments on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram since the match, prompting a show of support from their teammates, Esther Webber writes. Tyrone Mings, a member of the England squad who was instrumental in instituting the practice of taking the knee in protest against racism before games, launched an extraordinary intervention on Monday to accuse the government of playing a role in the abuse. Responding to a tweet by Home Secretary Priti Patel, Mings wrote: “You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ & then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against happens.” Patel had previously referred to taking the knee as “gesture politics” and described the impact of Black Lives Matter protests in the U.K. as “devastating.” Asked whether it was acceptable for the crowd to boo players taking the knee, she said it was “up to them frankly.” The main opposition Labour Party also criticized ministers, with deputy leader Angela Rayner writing: “Priti Patel and Boris Johnson gave license to the racists who have abused our England players by taking their side against the England players when they were being booed. When you blow the dog whistle, then you're to blame for the dogs barking.” A message from AstraZeneca: The COVAX initiative is an unprecedented effort to ensure fair and equitable global COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Through COVAX, many more shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine, including our own product, are planned over the coming weeks and months to low- and middle-income countries as the fight against the virus continues. We have always understood vaccination as a global, no-profit, equity-focused undertaking and were the first pharmaceutical company to join COVAX in June 2020. Through COVAX and other global initiatives, we have supplied more than half a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to 170 countries; 300 million of which have gone to low-income regions. Learn more here.   Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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POLITICO NIGHTLY: Why the GOP keeps pushing election integrity

 

BY RENUKA RAYASAM TRUMP’S STAYING POWER — Former President Donald Trump won Texas in November, and the GOP largely held their ground up and down the ballot in the state. Yet many Texas lawmakers are acting as if something about those results is fishy. This weekend they will hold committee hearings for an election reform bill that state Republican leaders say is needed to restore election integrity. The bill is one of many similar efforts that have been filed across the country. The intense focus on election integrity in Texas and beyond is the latest sign that Trump is setting the Republican agenda, state politics reporter Zach Montellaro told Nightly today. Yes, people have less faith in elections now than they did before the 2020 presidential election. But, “the reason for that lowered faith is not because there was a poorly run election in 2020,” Zach said. And it’s “not because there was widespread fraud.” There wasn’t. “The root of that lowered faith is Trump,” he said. Trump told Republican voters not to trust the election. During the pandemic many cities and states did make it easier to vote. Harris County, which includes Houston, let voters cast a ballot from their cars and opened up 24-hour polling locations. The new Texas bill would ban those methods of voting and introduce additional voting restrictions such as a prohibition on local officials sending out unsolicited applications for mail-in ballots, and new ID requirements for voting by mail. Democratic caucus members of the Texas House join a rally on the steps of the Texas Capitol to support voting rights in Austin, Texas. | AP Photo/Eric Gay Texas House Democrats surreptitiously filed out of the chamber at the end of May before a midnight deadline to deny Republican lawmakers the quorum they needed to pass the bill before the end of the regular session. But lawmakers will consider a new version of that election bill during a special session called by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that began on Thursday. The new bill drops some of the most contentious measures of the previous bill, like shortened early voting hours on Sundays. It also includes some new measures that Democrats sought, like a correction process for mail-in ballots and making it harder to punish people for voting illegally on a provisional ballot. To make sure Democrats show up this time, Abbott also vetoed a line item in the state budget that funds lawmaker and legislative staff salaries and added the funding to the special session agenda. Zach has the latest on the showdown in Texas. The Texas bill and other similar ones advancing throughout the country would not make massive changes to how people vote, Zach said. Texas, for example, has a long period of early in-person voting even though qualifying for and getting a mail ballot is difficult. (And many blue states, like New York, do not have no-excuse absentee voting, he added.) But these bills propose new obstacles to the process of registering and getting to the polls. “It may not be a thousand-foot wall that you need to climb over,” Zach said. “What these bills look to do is throw hurdles in the way to vote.” It’s also not clear that higher turnout actually helps Democrats in Texas. In 2020, 66 percent of registered voters cast a ballot in the state, the highest percentage since 1992. But Trump won Texas in 2020 by nearly 6 percentage points, not too far off his 9 percentage point margin in 2016. And Republicans still control both the state House and Senate. Listen to Zach and Renu talk about what’s in the Texas bill, what Texas Democrats are planning and whether federal legislation could upend GOP efforts to reform elections. What's in the Texas election reform bill? Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at rrayasam@politico.com or on Twitter at @renurayasam.   THE ROAD TO TOKYO 2020 – A TUESDAY CONVERSATION WITH FIRST VICE PRESIDENT OF THE IOC ANITA DEFRANTZ: The Tokyo Olympics kick off July 23, 15 months after being postponed. One problem … Japan's capital city is in a Covid state of emergency and has prohibited fans from attending. With financial pressure to push forward and potential punishment for any athletes involved in protests or demonstrations during the sporting event, these Olympics Games will be unlike any other. Join Global Translations author Ryan Heath for a POLITICO Live conversation with Anita DeFrantz, First Vice President, International Olympic Committee, on what's at stake in the Tokyo Olympics, as a global health crisis, sports and politics all come to a head. REGISTER HERE.     WHAT'D I MISS? — CDC: Fully vaccinated students and teachers do not need to wear masks in school: The health agency updated its school guidance as state and local officials as well as administrators prepare for the fall term. The CDC said unvaccinated people who are 2 and up should continue to wear masks in school, particularly in indoor and crowded settings. Students and teachers should also try to maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance to reduce transmission, according to the updated guidelines. — Biden launches assault on monopolies: The White House announced a sweeping executive order today to promote competition throughout the U.S. economy, in the most ambitious effort in generations to reduce the stranglehold of monopolies and concentrated markets in major industries. — Biden delivers a warning to Putin over ransomware attacks: Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin today that the United States will “take any necessary action” to defend critical American infrastructure after a massive ransomware attack by suspected Russian cybercriminals. But by declining to publicly detail which retaliatory actions — if any — are in the works or under consideration, the administration is likely to add to concerns in Washington that the U.S. is not taking a strong enough approach toward the Kremlin. — Biden nominates Garcetti for ambassador to India: Biden named four more nominees for ambassadorships today, including to Monaco, Bangladesh and Chile. As widely anticipated, the president tapped Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti for the India post. The nominees must be confirmed by the Senate. — FDA chief calls for probe of relationship with Biogen: The Food and Drug Administration’s acting commissioner has called for a watchdog probe of her agency's dealings with the drugmaker Biogen prior to last month’s accelerated approval of a new Alzheimer’s therapy from the company. The decision to greenlight Aduhelm has drawn widespread scrutiny, and came over the objections of independent advisers to the FDA and other experts who said there was little evidence of its effectiveness. — Pentagon spokesperson warns of ‘concerning’ Taliban advances: Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told CNN he was “not in a position to quantify or to validate” the Taliban’s claim that its fighters had overtaken 85 percent of the Afghanistan’s territory, but that “we are seeing them continue to advance on district centers around the country. And it is concerning.” — Education Department urges Biden to extend student loan relief: The White House has not yet made a final decision on how and when to restart federal student loan payments, which have been frozen since March 2020. But Education Department officials have suggested to the White House that the administration extend loan relief one final time, through the end of January 2022, according to people familiar with the internal discussions. — Biden fires Social Security commissioner: Andrew Saul, a Trump administration appointee known for his staunch anti-union attitude, refused to resign from the post. A White House official, in explaining the commissioner’s termination, said Saul “undermined and politicized” Social Security disability benefits. Biden named Kilolo Kijakazi, the current deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy, to serve as acting commissioner until the president’s permanent nominee is selected. PUNCHLINES THE HEAT IS ON — Matt Wuerker brings us the latest in political cartoons and satire including global warming, the Tokyo Olympics’ Covid threat and the Trump Organization’s tax charges. NIGHTLY NUMBER $6.1 million The amount of money the Justice Department has agreed to pay to Deloitte Financial Advisory Services to create a database of videos, photographs, documents and social media posts related to the Capitol riot. The database is part of the process of turning relevant evidence over to defense attorneys for the more than 500 people facing criminal charges in the Jan. 6 events, according to a court filing and government records.   SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.     PARTING WORDS BIDEN IS NOT BORING — Our friends at West Wing Playbook write: The White House loves leaning into the notion that the Joe Biden presidency is a deliberate bore. Taking the drama out of politics is a good thing, they argue, if not for their own electoral prospects then for society writ large. But while Biden may be bad for web traffic (not that we care about that), his actual policy agenda has proved anything but tedious. Over the past week, the president has continued to dramatically uproot entrenched U.S. ideologies both domestically and abroad. On Thursday, Biden announced that he wasn’t just sticking to his planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, but expediting the timeframe. Then today, the White House unveiled their latest batch of executive orders to loosen the stranglehold of concentrated markets. “Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism,” Biden declared. “It’s exploitation.” Each of these pronouncements is seismic. The last two presidents both pledged to bring an end to the war in Afghanistan and take a stand for consumers against corporate consolidation, only to fall short on each front. Biden has not only forged ahead, he seems fine with whatever the residual impacts may be. When pressed about whether the United States would be responsible for the loss of Afghan civilian lives, he didn’t skip a beat. “No.” Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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