| | | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | It's going to be an emotional week for a lot of people on Capitol Hill. With the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol siege Thursday, Congress is planning an array of memorials and speeches to commemorate one of the darkest days in American history. Lawmakers will have the opportunity to tell their personal stories of what it was like to hide from angry rioters. Cable news will blanket the airwaves with harrowing footage of the assault. Leaders of the Capitol Police will testify before the Senate Rules Committee about the security situation one year later. But Democrats are hoping that Thursday will be more than just a day of remembrance. In the Senate, we hear from well-positioned sources, there's a desire to take the opportunity to supercharge the party's long-stalled voting rights legislation — possibly even using the anniversary to try to get Sens. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-Ariz.) and JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) to go nuclear on the filibuster or embrace rules changes. HERE'S HOW WE EXPECT THIS TO GO DOWN: Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER is expected to lay out a plan today that will bring the party's push to nationalize voting rights protections to the floor in the coming days. All week, Democrats will argue that the flurry of voting restrictions that have passed in GOP-controlled states over the last year are a direct result of the Jan. 6 riots and the Big Lie promulgated by former President DONALD TRUMP — and that democracy is still very much on the line. The bill will get filibustered by the GOP — just as it has time and time again. Yet some Dems think that an argument pegged to Jan. 6 could win over Sinema and Manchin, the party's two major holdouts against making an end run around the filibuster to pass the voting bill. Schumer has signaled that when the bill goes down, he will open a debate about changing Senate rules to enable passage of voting measures without the chamber's 60-vote threshold. That debate, however, could push into next week, as the party puts the squeeze on Manchinema. WSJ's Siobhan Hughes has more on the latest voting rights push. WILL THIS WORK? Probably not. Manchin has been clear that any rule changes must be bipartisan — though CNN's John Harwood has a piece up about why Democrats think they can change his mind in particular. Sinema has argued repeatedly that if Democrats go nuclear to pass voting rights, the GOP could do the same thing when they're in power — and could use the lower vote threshold to scale back voting rights nationwide. Still, Schumer has allies — and not just on the left. Today, the U.S. Conference of Mayors will release a letter signed by more than 140 Republican and Democratic mayors calling for the Senate to pass the two voting rights bills. Read it here first Could Dems' strategy to try to link these two issues together backfire? It's a fair question. While many GOP voters will downplay or disregard Thursday's anniversary, there are still dozens of elected Republicans who have a big problem with what happened. By using the buildup to the Jan. 6 anniversary to push legislation with virtually no Republican support on Capitol Hill, do Democrats risk pivoting attention away from bipartisan condemnation of such a dark day? More reading: "Biden's words on voting rights meet call to action after 1/6," by AP's Colleen Long and Zeke Miller … "Voting Rights Should Not Be the Focus of Election Reform," by Yuval Levin for NYT Opinion | | A message from Facebook: Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations, including Section 230
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Hear from Aaron on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet's most pressing challenges, including reforming Section 230 to set clear guidelines for all large tech companies. | | | Welcome back to work. That is, unless you got snowed in … (Insert snicker here.) Some of us are Midwesterners used to braving snow to get to just about anything, and we're appalled that local schools canceled early Sunday night when it was still 55 degrees out. Lucky kids! Unlucky parents. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. FYI — Former Senate Majority Leader HARRY REID will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 12. | | | |   | | | PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S MONDAY: — 8:55 a.m.: The president will leave New Castle, Del., arriving back at the White House at 10:05 a.m. — 11:10 a.m.: Biden and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the President's Daily Brief. — 1:30 p.m.: Biden will meet virtually "with family and independent farmers and ranchers to discuss his administration's work to boost competition and reduce prices in the meat-processing industry," with Attorney General MERRICK GARLAND and Agriculture Secretary TOM VILSACK also attending. Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 2 p.m. THE SENATE will meet at noon. THE HOUSE is out. BIDEN'S WEEK AHEAD: — Tuesday: The president and VP will get briefed by their Covid-19 response team on Omicron developments. — Thursday: Biden and Harris will make remarks on the anniversary of the insurrection. — Friday: Biden will speak about the December jobs report. | | | | POLITICO TECH AT CES 2022 - We are bringing a special edition of the POLITICO Tech newsletter to CES 2022. Written by Alexandra Levine and John Hendel, the newsletter will take you inside the most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered together in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 5-7 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the Summit. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY | 
Residents line up at a drive-up distribution site to receive free at-home Covid-19 test kits on Sunday, Jan. 2 in Stamford, Conn. | John Moore/Getty Images | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH WHAT HAPPENED TO THE JAN. 6 RESIGNERS? — In the days following Jan. 6, administration official after administration official resigned their posts in protest of Trump's behavior. But as our Meridith McGraw and Daniel Lippman report today, many of them went quiet in their pushback as the president solidified his hold on the GOP — and some even did a complete 180 and embraced Trump anew. Including breakouts on ELAINE CHAO, BETSY DEVOS, MICK MULVANEY, MATT POTTINGER and STEPHANIE GRISHAM … AND THE RIOTERS THEMSELVES? — One year after the insurrection, many of the prosecutions of rioters have officially entered the sentencing phase. "So far, 71 people have been sentenced for riot-related crimes," write AP's Michael Kunzelman, Colleen Long, Jacques Billeaud and Lindsay Whitehurst . "They include a company CEO, an architect, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, a gym owner, a former Houston police officer and a University of Kentucky student. … Fifty-six of the 71 pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Most of them were sentenced to home confinement or jail terms measured in weeks or months, according to an Associated Press tally of every sentencing." … AND THE CAPITOL POLICE? — Our Kyle Cheney has a story up today about the status of the U.S. Capitol Police and the security situation at the Capitol. Chief THOMAS MANGER tells Kyle that since Jan. 6, 135 officers have retired or resigned, and the force as a whole is "probably 400 officers down from where we should be." CONGRESS DEMS CONTEMPLATE LIFE AFTER PELOSI — Who will take the reins of the Democratic Party once Speaker NANCY PELOSI calls it quits? WaPo's Marianna Sotomayor reports that most Democrats agree the speaker is likely headed out the door after the next election, and questions about who will fill her shoes are grist for the Capitol Hill gossip mill. So, who's next? The piece features quotes from Majority Whip JIM CLYBURN (D-S.C.) and Reps. RO KHANNA (D-Calif.), BRAD SCHNEIDER (D-Ill.), PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.) and JOYCE BEATTY (D-Ohio). "[T]he members interviewed overwhelmingly agreed that Pelosi's replacement should be equally as historic as electing the first female speaker." That leaves everyone looking at one man: Rep. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-N.Y.), whom many view as Pelosi's heir apparent and who would make history as the House's first Black speaker. "Members interviewed for this article said Jeffries has been solicitous of liberals who may be most skeptical of him, including members of 'the Squad,'" writes Sotomayor. "But they also privately said Jeffries should spend time this year making more inroads with them." ALL POLITICS LARRY HOGAN TO THE RESCUE? — Our Alex Isenstadt scoops on the popular blue-state GOP governor who's positioning himself as the anti-Trump: "When Rep. JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER (R-Wash.) — a Trump impeachment backer whom the former president is aggressively targeting for defeat in 2022 — threw a fundraiser last month, she was accompanied by a fellow Republican who'd trekked from the other side of the country: Maryland Gov. LARRY HOGAN. "The foray was part of a broader effort Hogan is launching to bolster the ever-growing list of Republicans Trump is trying to oust in this year's midterm elections. Hogan has hosted fundraisers for Georgia Gov. BRIAN KEMP, and he is looking at helping others, including Alaska Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI, another impeachment supporter facing a Trump-endorsed Republican challenger. He has loudly advocated for the Republican Governors Association to defend Kemp and other sitting incumbents under fire, a position the organization has embraced." | | | |   | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD BIDEN PROMISES 'DECISIVE' RESPONSE TO RUSSIAN THREAT — Biden spoke by phone with Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY on Sunday, assuring him that the U.S. would "respond decisively" if Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN takes the drastic step of invading Ukraine. "The leaders 'expressed support' for upcoming diplomatic talks, [Psaki] said, that will commence in the wake of Putin telling Biden that any economic sanctions imposed in response to military action by the Kremlin could result in 'a complete rupture of relations,'" WaPo's Meryl Kornfield reports. A NEW COLD WAR ALLIANCE — U.S. officials are growing increasingly concerned about an alliance of sorts forming between China and Russia, cooperation between U.S. adversaries that could threaten American power abroad. That's according to a new report by WSJ's Brett Forrest, Ann Simmons and Chao Deng, which has a triple dateline: Washington, Moscow and Taipei. More from the story: "U.S. officials and military specialists say it is difficult to pin down the level of collaboration between two nations that tightly control information, and whose actions are increasingly opaque to outsiders. But Western officials and defense experts are growing more convinced of the closer relationship based on recent economic alliances, military exercises and joint defense development, as well as the few public statements from government leaders. While U.S. officials have long been skeptical of a unified threat from the two countries, some are now changing their tune. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence reported that Beijing and Moscow are now more aligned than at any point in the past 60 years." POLICY CORNER WHAT DEM LEADERS ARE READING (AND FEARING) — Democrats' much-touted child tax credit expires this month just as the newest wave of coronavirus is rocking the nation. NYT's Ben Casselman writes that many families are worried about losing their monthly checks, especially with the pandemic threatening job security amid the uptick in infections. And "economists warn that the one-two punch of expiring aid and rising cases could put a chill on the once red-hot economic recovery and cause severe hardship for millions of families already living close to the poverty line." CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? — AT&T and Verizon rebuffed Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG's "request to delay the planned Jan. 5 introduction of new 5G wireless service over aviation safety concerns but offered to temporarily adopt new safeguards," Reuters' David Shepardson reports. "The wireless companies in a joint letter on Sunday said they would not deploy 5G around airports for six months but rejected any broader limitation on using C-Band spectrum." VALLEY TALK FROM THE VALLEY TO THE HILL — NYT's Ben Smith sits down with BRANDON SILVERMAN, a former Facebook executive now "working with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators on legislation that would, among other things, force the giant social media platforms to provide the sort of transparency that got him marginalized at Facebook. … Mr. Silverman isn't a leaker or a whistle-blower, and he declined to discuss details of his time at Facebook. But his defection from Silicon Valley to Capitol Hill is significant. He arrived with detailed knowledge of perhaps the most effective transparency tool in the history of social media, and he has helped write it into a piece of legislation that is notable for its technical savvy." | | | | 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. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | The White House Correspondents' Association announced that the briefing room will drop down to just 14 seats amid the Omicron wave in Washington. They'll revisit the situation Jan. 21. "I promise this won't last a day longer than necessary," President Steven Portnoy wrote. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tested positive for the coronavirus Sunday. Our Connor O'Brien reports that Austin is fully vaccinated, has received a booster shot and will quarantine at home for the next five days. Joe Rogan joined Gettr, Jason Miller's new-ish social media platform popular among a certain segment of the MAGAverse. "Just in case sh-- over at Twitter gets even dumber, I'm here now as well," he wrote. "Rejoice!" Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton was banned from TikTok. IN MEMORIAM — via WaPo's Matt Schudel: "William Gorham, the founding president of one of Washington's leading think tanks, the Urban Institute, which has helped steer debate and policy decisions on a wide range of domestic social issues, died Dec. 28 at an assisted-living facility in Washington. He was 91. … A onetime 'whiz kid' and protege of Robert S. McNamara, the defense secretary under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, Mr. Gorham held high-level positions at the Defense Department and the old Department of Health, Education and Welfare." — "Sarah B. Tyree, a longtime advocate for the cooperative business model, local food sourcing and nutrition, died December 30 at her home in Washington, DC. She was 54. The cause was brain cancer. … Most recently, Sarah served as Vice President for Policy and Public Affairs at CoBank, where she worked for fifteen years. She focused on local food, urban agriculture, telehealth, water systems and rural broadband. … Sarah was a long time member of the Board of Directors for DC Central Kitchen where she served as Chairwoman for six years and worked tirelessly to raise funds for the kitchen's new location in southwest DC." The full obituary MEDIA MOVES — Julia Marsh and Joe Spector are joining POLITICO as New York editors as current editor Terry Golway moves toward retirement. Marsh most recently has been City Hall bureau chief for the N.Y. Post, and Spector most recently has been Atlantic region government accountability and politics editor for the USA Today Network. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Amena Ross is joining Block (formerly Square) as head of policy for Cash App. She previously was chief of staff for Rep. Al Green (D-Texas). TRANSITIONS — Elena Radding is now press secretary for Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). She previously was press secretary for Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.). … Anna Ashton will be senior fellow for Asia Pacific trade, investment and innovation at the Asia Society Policy Institute. She previously was VP of government affairs at the U.S.-China Business Council. … Lauren Belive is joining SoftBank Group as a director of government affairs. She previously led U.S. government relations for Zoom, and is a Lyft and Obama White House alum. … … Tom Hart is moving up to become president of the ONE Campaign. He most recently was acting CEO. Caroline Rourke is joining the ONE Campaign as senior comms coordinator. She most recently was at the Association for Community Affiliated Plans. … Matt Sowards is now a legislative representative at the National Treasury Employees Union. He previously was a legislative representative at the American Federation of Government Employees. … Kirsten Wing is now a federal government specialist at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. She previously was a legislative director and health policy adviser for Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.). ENGAGED — Danielle Butcher, EVP at the American Conservation Coalition, and Caleb Franz, program manager at Young Voices, got engaged during New Year's Eve celebrations in Louisville, Ky. The two met through mutual friends in 2015. Pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Former Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.) and writer Alex Thomas welcomed Finn Thomas-Hill on Sunday. — Lesley Byers, comms director for the House Homeland Security GOP, and John Byers, chief of staff for Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), welcomed Madison Patricia Byers on Dec. 23. Pic … Another pic BIRTHWEEK (was Saturday): Dan Weiss HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Marc Veasey (D-Texas) … Brad Parscale … Greta Thunberg … WaPo's David Fahrenthold … Verizon's Chris DeBosier … Tim Rieser … NYT's Marc Tracy … Igor Volsky of Guns Down America … Marcie Ridgway Kinzel ... David Margolick (7-0) … Kaiser Health News' Noam Levey ... Jenna Golden … Sarah Lenti … McKinsey's Jonathan Spaner … L.D. Platt … Zach Gates of Rep. Ann Wagner's (R-Mo.) office … National Education Association's Conor Hurley … Carolyn Fiddler of the Daily Kos … James Hunter … POLITICO's Matt Woelfel … Al Cardenas of Squire Patton Boggs … former Treasury Secretary W. Michael Blumenthal (96) … Romina Boccia … Betty Rollin … Tony Chauveaux … Erik Larson … POLITICO Europe's Laura Kayali … "Chef" Geoff Tracy … Richard Ben-Veniste Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. | | A message from Facebook: Facebook puts your safety and security front-and-center
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