Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: POLITICO Playbook: A peek inside the Playbook inbox: Boiling over with rage

POLITICO Playbook: A peek inside the Playbook inbox: Boiling over with rage

Jul 30, 2020

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By Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer

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DRIVING THE DAY

PEOPLE IN THE CAPITOL ARE SICK AND TIRED.

QUITE LITERALLY.

SICK: THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS -- the legislature for the most powerful country on Planet Earth -- has been allowing lawmakers to come into the Capitol without being tested for the deadly coronavirus. This week, a quirky Republican -- Rep. LOUIE GOHMERT of Texas -- walked in infected with the coronavirus, got in close proximity to a powerful member of the president's Cabinet and found out he was positive only because he was slated to travel to the Lone Star State with President DONALD TRUMP. Otherwise, since the institution has no testing policy, he would've walked around the complex, and may have infected colleagues with whom he crossed paths.

TIRED: PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THE BUILDING -- legislative aides, chiefs of staff, press assistants, members of Congress, career workers and maintenance men and women -- are furious with an institution that does not have uniform rules or masking requirements, does not mandate testing and is run with minimal oversight.

PEOPLE FEEL UNSAFE and uncomfortable at work.

ON WEDNESDAY EVENING, after GOHMERT was found to have had Covid-19 after romping around the Capitol, Speaker NANCY PELOSI announced that lawmakers must wear masks in the House portion of the Capitol complex -- office buildings included.

WE GRANTED AIDES, LAWMAKERS and Capitol workers anonymity to discuss the climate of working in a building with few rules, and a gaggle of lawmakers who doubt scientists and hold themselves out as experts on everything from disease hygiene to pharmacology. THE PEOPLE WHO EMAILED US are not the kinds of people who typically reach out to reporters.

-- FROM A HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER: "[Pelosi] is getting hammered by everyone. People are really really mad. Ripshit might be a better word … [Gohmert] was in Judiciary, Natural Resources and on the floor. Doctor has told members who were near him yesterday to call for instructions, Members want masks made mandatory."

-- ONE SENIOR AIDE to a member who came in close contact with GOHMERT was told by the attending physician that they cannot get a test unless they are symptomatic.

-- FROM A SCHEDULER TO A HOUSE REPUBLICAN MEMBER: "Our office has been required to be fully staffed since session resumed at the end of June (including an intern). While mask use isn't banned, it's also not encouraged, and has been derided on several occasions by the [chief of staff] and the member."

-- FROM AN AIDE TO A REPUBLICAN MEMBER WHO HAD COVID: "I'm obviously not allowed to speak on behalf of anyone but it may be worth looking into how many Republican offices are also requiring all staff and interns to come in to work while taking no precautions. Ridiculing people for wearing masks is also not uncommon. I think you'd find a lot of offices in the anti-mask brigade are forcing staff to report to work even if they have legitimate concerns about their health. I'm sure you also [could] find some are having staff … travel to districts in high risk areas and then not providing for quarantine afterwards. …

"THERE IS A GENERAL FEAR that saying anything critical of the current office policy - or lack of policy - will lead to retaliation."

-- FROM A HOUSE GOP STAFFER: "I work in a Republican House office and while we're not encouraged to not wear a mask, we are essentially required to work in the office. We worked from home for a couple days when one of my coworkers was potentially exposed to Covid, but even then, many of my colleagues kept working in the office. We were told to report to work as normal even before the test came back negative because the results were taking too long. I was left feeling guilty for teleworking even though I have an underlying health condition."

-- FROM A CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER TECH STAFFER: "If you asked me to give you a breakdown of mask usage in member offices, it's nearly universal in Democratic offices based on my random observations; within Republican offices, it's probably under 50%. And some GOP offices ask why you are wearing a mask, which puts our staff in an awkward position -- do you say because of the pandemic and risk the office taking that as a political stand? Do you take it off to make them feel better?

"I USUALLY SAY SOMETHING LIKE 'Well, they told us we had to or we'll get fired or end up in HR or something,' which generally satisfies most offices, and lets you dodge the political minefield that wearing a mask has become."

-- A HOUSE DEM AIDE NOTES: "I saw staffers today AVOIDING the members only elevators because they are trying to avoid being near members. That never happens!"

Good Thursday morning. JOHN LEWIS' funeral is today in Atlanta. BARACK OBAMA will eulogize him. BILL CLINTON and GEORGE BUSH will attend.

FINAL WORDS -- LEWIS WROTE AN OP-ED for the NYT "to be published upon the day of his funeral": "When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide."

A message from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network:

Congress addressed the affordability of Covid-19 testing and treatment. Cancer care needs the same. It's time to reduce out-of-pocket costs and ensure cost-sharing assistance benefits cancer patients. Congress: cancer patients need you to act quickly to remove hurdles to quality care.

STARK MILESTONE: More than 150,000 AMERICANS have died from the coronavirus.

AND NOW ONTO COVID NEGOTIATIONS … THESE TALKS are going predictably horrible. They have totally stalled, and enhanced unemployment insurance runs out Friday. MARK MEADOWS said this Wednesday: "We're nowhere close to a deal. … Enhanced unemployment insurance provisions will expire."

AT THE MOMENT, THE DYNAMIC IS THIS: PELOSI and Senate Minority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER hold all the cards, mostly because they're the only ones who have passed a bill and Republicans, as Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL put it, are all over the lot. MEADOWS and STEVEN MNUCHIN are fighting for a president who doesn't mind big spending, but the WH chief of staff and Treasury secretary have to contend with the reality of divided government, and a Senate GOP Conference split in about 30 directions.

MEADOWS seems pretty bearish on a deal privately and publicly, while MNUCHIN is holding out hopes of working with Democrats.

WATCH FOR THIS TODAY: THE ADMINISTRATION will try to break the logjam with something -- a public pronouncement that they are willing to move on unemployment insurance.

LOOK FOR A BUNCH OF NEW GOP offers today on unemployment insurance. Sen. MITT ROMNEY (R-Utah) has a proposal, which we laid out Wednesday night. Sen. RON JOHNSON (R-Wis.) is going to put out a proposal too, which would give 66% of wages or some amount less than $600.

A SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: "THERE'S A DEAL TO BE MADE a much greater number than where Senate Republicans are, and somewhat less than where House Democrats are on unemployment that can be reached by Friday. There's a PPP extension satisfactory to Democrats, funding [community development financial institutions], renter eviction protection."

DEMOCRATS, meanwhile, rightly note that Republicans have yet to find consensus.

BOTH SIDES are betting the other will cave. Dems think Republicans will give in to a big package, the GOP thinks Dems will back an unemployment proposal without a larger deal. Coverage: POLITICO … WaPo … NYT … WSJ

JOHN BRESNAHAN and MARIANNE LEVINE: "'The odd couple': Mnuchin and Meadows struggle to make a deal": "On Tuesday afternoon, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows were getting grilled by GOP senators during a closed-door lunch in the Hart Senate Office Building.

"A number of Republicans … were pressing them about exactly how much federal money for a new coronavirus relief package they were willing to spend as part of bipartisan negotiations. Was the White House prepared to agree to a bill costing more than $1 trillion, the price tag of the newest Senate GOP proposal? And if so, how much more?

"Then Meadows stood up and told the senators he was OK with shutting down Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's most outrageous requests. 'I'm comfortable saying "no" and being the skunk at the garden party,' Meadows insisted. … [T]he self-described 'odd couple' have emerged as central players in a Washington drama that could decide whether Donald Trump can save his presidency, as well as how far the U.S. economy sinks amid the coronavirus pandemic."

WAPO'S PAUL KANE: "Born-again fiscal conservatives are sign of Trump's weakening hand in Congress": "From the presidentially ambitious Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), to onetime deficit hawks like Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.), conservatives are abandoning the president as his top aides struggle with negotiations on a pandemic relief bill that is Trump's last, best chance to pass legislation that could help his floundering reelection bid.

"Ignoring their own record of support for adding trillions of dollars to the national debt, these conservatives have signaled that they think, in a post-Trump Republican Party, that deficits will return to the forefront just as they did in the first years of the Obama administration."

FRONTS: NYT … N.Y. POST … WSJ

DRIVING TODAY: Secretary of State MIKE POMPEO will be on Capitol Hill for a hearing at Senate Finance at 8:30 a.m.

WSJ ED BOARD SLAPS TRUMP AROUND, AGAIN: "Trump's Spite-Germany Plan": "Beneath the din of media condemnation, it can be hard to sort the good from the bad in President Trump's unorthodox foreign policy. Some initiatives scorned by foreign-policy elites have been wise, like pulling out of failing arms accords. Yet the Pentagon's plan to withdraw almost 12,000 U.S. troops from Germany is far from a stroke of populist genius. It's a blow to U.S. interests that won't fulfill the cost-saving objective Mr. Trump claims to be concerned with. …

"Mr. Trump is legitimately impatient about Germany's failure to meet its Nato defense commitments, its support for Russia's gas pipeline, and its naivete about China. He might have emphasized the last point by announcing that the Indo-Pacific is now a more important theater than Europe and moving a few thousand U.S. troops to Asia to pressure Berlin.

"Instead he appears to be undermining America's military position out of pique—moving U.S. forces to punish Germany, though many will go to countries that also aren't pulling their weight. Oh, and in the middle of an election campaign he's undermining the case, which he supported with action over three years, that he is tougher than Democrats on Mr. Putin. Mr. Trump's erratic foreign-policy impulses remain the greatest risk of a second term."

NEW -- "A SOCIALLY DISTANCED CONVERSATION": JOE BIDEN, who is speaking at the American Federation of Teachers' virtual convention at 12:15 p.m. today, has released a new clip of him and OBAMA speaking with a middle school teacher from Denver about the challenges facing kids and schools amid the pandemic. The video, the first the campaign has released, is part of a number of calls Biden and Obama did last week. The call

-- "Weingarten: Teacher strikes possible in Arizona, Florida, Texas," by Juan Perez Jr.: "Teachers in states like Florida, Arizona and Texas are the most likely to strike in protest of unsafe working conditions amid the pandemic, union leader Randi Weingarten warned Wednesday.

"If governors and local leaders reopen schools in places where coronavirus cases are spiking — without first containing the spread or meeting demands for safety measures — teachers can't surrender in negotiations leading up to the start of the school year, said Weingarten, who serves as president of the American Federation of Teachers, in an interview with POLITICO."

-- "Georgetown University reverses plans, will start fall semester online," by WaPo's Lauren Lumpkin

RBG LATEST … AP: "Ruth Bader Ginsburg undergoes medical procedure at hospital": "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has undergone a nonsurgical medical procedure in New York City and expects to be released from a hospital there by the end of the week, the Supreme Court said Wednesday night.

"The court said in a statement that the 87-year-old Ginsburg underwent a minimally invasive procedure to 'revise a bile duct stent' at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The stent had originally been placed last August, when Ginsburg was treated for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas.

"The statement said that, according to Ginsburg's doctors, 'stent revisions are common occurrences and the procedure, performed using endoscopy and medical imaging guidance, was done to minimize the risk of future infection.'" AP

THE ECONOMY …

-- AP: "U.S. is expected to report a record-breaking economic plunge," by Martin Crutsinger: "A huge plunge in consumer spending as people stayed home and avoided shopping, traveling or gathering in crowds as the virus raged is estimated to have sent the economy sinking at a roughly 32% annual rate in the April-June quarter.

"That would be more than triple the previous worst quarterly economic fall, a 10% drop set in 1958. Depressed activity in such areas as business investment, home construction and government spending also likely contributed to the worst quarterly contraction on records dating to 1947."

-- BEN WHITE: "Trump's dream of a V-shape rebound slowly slips away": "The U.S. economy crashed in historic fashion this year as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged businesses and sent joblessness soaring. The question now for President Donald Trump — trailing in the polls and facing a daunting reelection effort — is just how much conditions can snap back in the months leading up to Election Day.

"At least for the moment, the spike in Covid-19 cases, the potential for fresh trouble this fall and a bitter fight over how to pump more federal money into the ailing economy suggest the sharp bounce-back Trump is counting on may not show up in a way he envisions.

"And the potential for another leg of the downturn hangs over a president who once counted the economy as by far his strongest selling point to voters." POLITICO

-- "Federal Reserve Leaves Rates Near Zero as Economic Recovery Sputters," by NYT's Jenna Smialek

VEEPSTAKES -- "Dodd draws fire — and praise — as Biden VP vetter," by Natasha Korecki and Christopher Cadelago

-- AP/SANTA FE, N.M.: "Lujan Grisham builds profile as Biden looks to make VP pick," by Morgan Lee: "Michelle Lujan Grisham has not received the attention of many higher-profile candidates under consideration to be Joe Biden's running mate. But she has a resume that few of them can match.

"The New Mexico governor has executive experience and served in the U.S. House and as her state's health secretary. Tested by the coronavirus pandemic, she has taken strong steps — including a mandatory face mask order and invoking the state's riot act to isolate one city — that have been credited with saving lives.

"She's taking an increasingly tough stand against President Donald Trump, who has sent federal agents to Albuquerque to combat violent crime despite local skepticism about the timing and intentions. … 'The Latino and Hispanic vote will be essential,' Lujan Grisham said last week at a fundraiser for Biden. 'You know it. I know it. The occupant in the White House knows it.'"

TRUMP'S THURSDAY -- The president will leave the White House at 2:35 p.m. en route to the American Red Cross national headquarters. He will arrive at 2:40 p.m. and receive a tour. At 3 p.m., Trump will participate in a roundtable on donating plasma. He will depart at 3:55 p.m. and return to the White House.

JOIN TODAY @ 3 p.m. EDT FOR A LIVE EPISODE OF "FOUR SQUARE ": Where do stimulus negotiations stand? Who are insiders whispering about as the VP frontrunner for Joe Biden? How is Donald Trump's polling affecting down-ballot races? Join POLITICO "Four Square" host Eugene Daniels and top political journalists Tim Alberta, Laura Barrón-López, and Ryan Lizza for a deep dive into the current state of play with insider tidbits from their reporter notebooks. REGISTER HERE.

PLAYBOOK READS

Omar Abdalla, a man originally from Palestine being sworn in as a U.S. citizen, is pictured. | Getty Images

PHOTO DU JOUR: Originally Palestinian, Omar Abdulla is sworn in as a U.S. citizen Wednesday alongside hundreds of others at a drive-in naturalization ceremoiny in Santa Ana, Calif. | Mario Tama/Getty Images

JOHN HARRIS column: "Why Trump Might Quit": "As it happens, the Trump Drops Out scenario is one I have trafficked to colleagues and sources for a couple years now, usually to dismissive grunts or quizzical stares. It is true that there is scant time left for the scenario to come to pass. It's true also that, if I were a reliable predictor of Trump's political fortunes, Hillary Clinton would now be running for re-election.

"But even if one doesn't really think Trump will drop out of the race —as a proselytizer of the theory I acknowledge it is a stretch—it is worth examining the reasons he just might, as a way of illuminating the bleakness of his situation with just over three months to go before the general election."

PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION -- "Maryland governor expands mask order, issues travel advisory," by WaPo's Ovetta Wiggins, Michael Brice-Saddler, Patricia Sullivan and Dana Hedgpeth: "Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Wednesday expanded the state's mandate for face coverings, requiring residents older than 5 to wear masks while indoors in public spaces and outdoors when social distancing is not possible.

"Hogan also warned against travel to states with high levels of novel coronavirus infections, ordering residents to be tested and quarantine until they receive results. The directives are the latest actions taken across the greater Washington region to slow the spread of the virus." WaPo

BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- "DeSantis touts the return of in-person classes as schools say they'll go online," by Andrew Atterbury in Tallahassee: "Florida's largest school district will begin the fall semester with remote classes, joining others that are keeping campuses closed while the state works to beat back the coronavirus outbreak.

"Miami Dade County schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced the move Wednesday, a day after nearby Monroe County said it would rely on digital instruction for the immediate future. School leaders in Broward and Palm Beach counties, which along with Miami are the state's hottest Covid-19 spots, also intend to start the school year with online courses. Despite four large counties opting to shutter campuses, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran were unwavering in their confidence that brick-and-mortar schools will reopen their doors this fall.

"The DeSantis administration has said it will withhold state funding from schools that don't physically open, but the Republican governor on Wednesday downplayed the possibility of districts actually losing funds. 'I don't think you're going to have a school district in the state that is going virtual for the whole semester,' DeSantis said during an education roundtable at a special needs school in Clearwater." POLITICO

BECOME A CHINA WATCHER: Across the globe, America's allies are pushing back hard on Beijing as evidence of human rights abuses against Uighurs pile up. How should the U.S. and its allies approach the China challenge? Join the conversation and gain expert insight from informed and influential voices in government, business, law, tech, and academia. China Watcher is as much of a platform as it is a newsletter. Subscribe today.

PLAYBOOKERS

Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at politicoplaybook@politico.com.

IN MEMORIAM -- "Turning Point USA co-founder dies of coronavirus-related complications," by Daniel Lippman and Tina Nguyen: "[Bill] Montgomery, who started it in 2012 with young conservative star Charlie Kirk, died at the age of 80 on Tuesday from Covid-19 … Before starting Turning Point with Kirk, Montgomery, who lived in Illinois, worked in marketing, publishing, restaurants and was a business development consultant." POLITICO

SPOTTED: Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) at Cava in Eastern Market on Wednesday night. Pic

TRANSITIONS -- Lila Nieves-Lee is joining Autos Drive America as VP of government affairs. She previously was a policy adviser to Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and staff director for the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection. … Carly Cooperman is now CEO of Schoen Cooperman Research, which is rebranding from Schoen Consulting. She previously was a partner at the firm, and has recently been a top pollster for Mike Bloomberg's presidential campaign and Everytown for Gun Safety.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Mark Beatty, head of industry, elections and advocacy at Google. How he's celebrating: "This is my first birthday as a dad! I'm looking forward to a low-key celebration at home in D.C. with my wife and daughter. She's really close to taking her first steps, so maybe today will be the day." Playbook Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) is 54 … NYT's Jim Rutenberg … Dave Kochel … former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is 73 … Carl Lavin … CFTC's Michael Short (h/t fiancee Natalie Strom) … Anita Hill is 64 … Shane Harris, WaPo intelligence and national security reporter … Michael Glassner … Mario H. Lopez, president of the Hispanic Leadership Fund … Eleanor Smeal is 81 … Rebecca Kutler, VP at CNN … Michelle Bernard … former CFTC Chair Tim Massad is 64 … Francesca Pigna … POLITICO's Alexa Velickovich, Lauraine Genota and Tyler Weyant … Tony Maciulis … Jonathan Olsen, accounting manager for the RNC, is 4-0 (h/t Caroline Boothe) … Brad Jenkins … Bill O'Leary, partner at Heidrick & Struggles … Heidi Crebo-Rediker (h/ts Ben Chang) … Shailen Bhatt, president and CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (h/t Cathy St. Denis) … Micah Johnson … Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America and author of a new book, "Dare to Speak" … Glen Chambers … Meredith Simpson …

… Jonathan Spalter, president and CEO of USTelecom (h/ts Brian Weiss and Teresa Vilmain) … Bob Bissen of Cannae Policy (h/t Chris McCannell) … Candace Randle Person … Alex Parker, senior tax correspondent at Law360, is 39 … Robert Gottheim … Ben Marter, director of comms at API … Rich Cohen … Sintia Radu, communications director at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (h/t Randolph Court) … Kana Smith … former Rep. Quico Canseco (R-Texas) is 71 … former Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-Colo.) is 8-0 … former Rep. Wendell Bailey (R-Mo.) is 8-0 … Carolyn Freeman, digital strategist at Stand Up America (h/t Ryan Thomas) … Ines de La Cuetara … MSNBC's Isaac-Davy Aronson … Garry Malphrus … Netflix's Ashley Alman … Maggie Cutrell … Kate Harris … Lindsay Butcher … Colleen Murray … Salesforce's Jim Green … Nora Langan … Nate Beeler … Dave Koenig is 61 … Paul Dickson … Courtney Asbill … Emily (Sanders) Elam … Furhawn Shah … Freeman Klopott … Chelsie Gosk of Airbnb … Robert Basmadjian

A message from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network:

COVID-19 has shone a spotlight on the significant barriers to affordable health care that cancer patients have long faced. Policymakers took action to address the affordability of COVID-19 testing and treatment. Lawmakers must do the same for cancer patients by removing the red tape of prior authorization and step therapy, reducing out-of-pocket costs, and ensuring cost-sharing assistance directly benefits patients. Learn more.