1 big thing: Members plot virus-era office upgrades

Moving crates sit outside the former office of Representative Elise Stefanik before she relocated

2. The walls close in on Trump

Photo illustration of the sides of an image closing in on Trump like walls.

3. Biden women come to Flournoy's defense

Michele Flournoy speaks as retired Army General Stanley McChrystal looks on.

4. Tanden tantrum: Blowback surprises Bidenworld

President-elect Joe Biden looks on as Neera Tanden speaks Tuesday following her nomination to be OMB director.

5. Biden baseball card

A baseball card graphic shows the face and vital statistics for incoming White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

6. Top tweet: We've seen this scary movie before

A tweet compares the COVID relief talks in Congress to a scene from Jurassic Park.

7. Women gain strength in Congress

8. Parting shot

The National Christmas tree stands illuminated with the White House in the background.

Welcome to Sneak Peek, our nightly lookahead from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, plus our best scoops.

🚨 Breaking: The New York Times reports President Trump has discussed pardons for three of his children and Rudy Giuliani.

Situational awareness: Former Speaker Paul Ryan has joined the board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Today's newsletter — edited by Axios contributor Glen Johnson — is 489 words, a 2-minute read.

Thanks for ending your day with us. We'll be back tomorrow. Sign up here.

National

The back of a propped up cardboard cut-out of the U.S. Capitol.

blue

Take a look at both ends of Penn Ave — and our best scoops

Axios Sneak Peek

1 big thing: Biden may start with 'skeleton staff'

Illustration of the White House with a single lit window. 

2. Scoop: Mayor Pete may get China post

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg waves as he concludes his presidential campaign in March.

3. Parallel universe alert

4. McCarthy: GOP agrees to $600 cash stimulus

Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy are seen standing behind President Trump in the White House.

5. Pic of the day

President-elect Joe Biden is seen leaving St. Joseph's On The Brandywine Church in Wilmington, Del.

🚨Breaking: The Supreme Court, "without comment" the AP says, refuses to call into question Pennsylvania's election certification process.

⚡Situational awareness: Government funding expires Friday, so Congress will vote tomorrow to extend for a week while lawmakers negotiate a longer solution.

Today's newsletter — edited by Axios contributor Glen Johnson — is 539 words, a 2-minute read.

👏 Thanks for reading. Have a good Hump Day. Please remind your friends to sign up for Sneak!

Editor’s note: The Breaking bullet was corrected to show it was the U.S. Supreme Court that issued the ruling that ended President Trump’s legal fight over election results in Pennsylvania (not the Pennsylvania Supreme Court). 

1 big thing: Scoop ... Biden weighs Power for USAID

Samantha Power sits at the United Nations with President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice in 2015.

2. Scoop: O'Brien takes wife on COVID-era tour of Europe

National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien speaks during a visit to Brazil.

3. Scoop: Kennedy focusing beyond Peace Corps

Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III is shown this past May during a hearing in the House.

4. Electoral College gets extra security

5. First look: Congress least productive in decades

6. Rep. Bass lobbies for Senate appointment

7. Sneak Peek diary

The inaugural platform takes shape this week on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol.

8. Picture of the day

Dressed in a red MAGA had, President Trump heads to the golf course on Sunday.

🚨 Breaking news: Spy novelist John le Carré has died, the New York Times reports.

In a headline le Carré could have written: “Russian spies are behind a global hacking campaign,” reports the Washington Post.

Today's newsletter is 1,208 words, a 4½-minute read.

Editor's note: Adds detail about Power's journalism career and omits reference to Cameroon incident. Corrects that O'Brien will address OSCE meeting on Monday, instead of Tuesday.

👏 Thanks for letting us give you a head start on your week. We'll be back tomorrow night. Sign up here.

Axios Sneak Peek: 3 Scoops: Biden eyes Sam Power ... NSA O'Brien on junket ... Joe Kennedy unlikely for Peace Corps

1 big thing: 💰Progressives fear false stimulus hope

Illustration of a penny as a fire alarm bell

2. Nancy Pelosi's Interior play

A tweet celebrates House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's endorsement of Deb Haaland to be Interior secretary.

3. How stimulus got legs

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell walks through the Capitol today.

4. House Armed Services steps up cybersecurity — after hack

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith is seen reviewing some papers.

5. First man standing

A snowman stands outside the U.S. Capitol as a storm moved through Washington, D.C.

⚡Situational Awareness: Vice President Mike Pence and President-elect Joe Biden will get the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming days, but not everyone's ready to follow suit, Politico and the New York Times report.

Today's newsletter — edited by Axios contributor Glen Johnson — is 686 words, a 3-minute read.

👏 Thanks for reading. We'll be back tomorrow night. Please share us with your friends and let them know they can sign up here.

Axios Sneak Peek: 💰Progressives' stimulus fear — Pelosi's play

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus this week he's prepared, if needed, to double the capacity for underage migrants at Fort Bliss, Texas, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Expanding the capacity at Fort Bliss, where thousands of migrants under age 12 could be held, is controversial because it’s harder to care for younger children in massive facilities, migrant advocates argue.

Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), whose district includes the base, asked Becerra about potential plans to increase the number of beds from 5,000 to 10,000, as HHS prepares to close temporary shelters in Dallas and San Antonio.

Becerra answered by suggesting he didn’t have any other options and was open to any ideas from the lawmakers, people familiar with the matter told Axios.

What they're saying: “Secretary Becerra wasn’t saying anything new: Some emergency intake sites, including Fort Bliss, are not at capacity and could temporarily and safely house more children — if needed — as we work to unify children with parents and sponsors," said Sarah Lovenheim, a spokesperson for HHS.

"We continue to make significant strides in unifying children safely. Just last week, we unified over 3,300 children with sponsors.”

The big picture: HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement is responsible for housing unaccompanied minors after they're turned over by the Department of Homeland Security.

The transfer is supposed to happen in 72 hours.

HHS’s goal is to then find family members already in the country to host the minors. They typically are allowed into the U.S., while adults are rejected at the border.

There are about 20,000 underage migrants currently in government custody, with HHS scrambling to find them homes — even paying travel costs for adult sponsors to arrive at the shelters to pick up the children, Axios reported in April.

Scoop: HHS prepared to double migrant capacity at Fort Bliss

It’s harder to care for younger children in massive facilities, migrant advocates argue.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is seen making remarks.

Xavier Becerra. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Immigration

Latin America and Latinos

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus this week he&#x27;s prepared, if needed, to double the capacity for underage migrants at Fort Bliss, Texas, Axios has learned.Why it matters: Expanding the capacity at Fort Bliss, where thousands of migrants under age 12 could be held, is controversial because it’s harder to care for younger children in massive facilities, migrant advocates argue.

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

A $2 billion request to harden the Capitol includes $521 million to cover recent National Guard call-ups, as well as money to protect the White House, vice president's residence — and pay the heirs of some late House members, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: As one lawmaker said today, "It's a lot of money." But before today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team have given little detail about the components resulting in the $2 billion price tag. 

The details were provided during a weekly conference call for members of the House Democratic Caucus by members of the House Appropriations Committee who spelled out some spending.

The speakers were Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the committee chair, and the chairs of various Appropriations subcommittees.

The details are not finalized and Democrats are working with Republicans to make the emergency supplemental appropriation bipartisan.

"Chair DeLauro is intent on enacting an emergency supplemental appropriation to respond the January 6 insurrection," said Evan Hollander, a spokesperson for the appropriations committee. "She is engaged in bipartisan negotiations to reach an agreement on this critical funding." 

Hollander would not comment on other aspects of the proposal. 

One expense mentioned in passing was a death benefit payment to the families and heirs of the late Reps. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and Ron Wright (R-Texas).

It was outlined by Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), chairman of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.

Hastings died of pancreatic cancer and Wright died of COVID-19 but in the past, Congress has given families the equivalent of a year's salary as a death benefit. The practice has generated some criticism. 

Death gratuities are standard procedure for the appropriations bills following a member's death.

Spokespersons for Ryan did not immediately respond to requests from Axios for comment.

The major security costs include: A one-time fund to pay "unknown costs" involving the physical security of the Capitol complex, whose vulnerabilities were laid bare during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

These include hardening of windows and doors, potentially changing the landscape architecture of the Capitol grounds, a design study for a retractable fence and the feasibility of building visitor screening vestibules on the House and Senate sides of the Capitol.

The infrastructure upgrades also would include funding for personal protective equipment, as well as ventilation cleaning and upgrades to allow for telework and remote operations by certain offices within the Library of Congress.

Providing the federal judiciary throughout the country with security upgrades,  including camera systems.

Additional security funding to protect federal judges following the attack on one at her home in northern New Jersey.

Security assessments to all federal buildings to address security vulnerabilities.

Additional money would be spent not on the Capitol but down Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House complex.

It would include funding for a Secret Service Civil Disturbance Unit to protect the White House, president and vice president.

Additional money would be spent to cover open-source intelligence collection, as well as the cost of temporary fencing installed around the White House and Blair House, the presidential guest house.

The Executive Branch needs the money because its costs weren't anticipated in the 2021 federal budget, the caucus was told.

A series of costs were related to law enforcement agencies and personnel.

The cost of the National Guard deployment that began on Jan. 6 and is scheduled to end on May 22 is $521 million.

The Guard presence in Washington, D.C., and around the Capitol has dwindled from 25,000 during the inauguration to 2,280 members at present.

The emergency supplemental appropriation would include benefits to recruit and retain Capitol Police, including hazard pay, retention bonuses and health and wellness resources like trauma counseling.

It also would pay for training and equipment upgrades, including more body armor and cameras, more canine handlers and teams with specialties around explosives.

The bill would include the construction of barriers for unprotected police posts, after two officers were run down while standing watch on the edge of the Capitol Grounds on Good Friday.

Another $9 million would be provided to the National Park Police to pay for overtime and equipment upgrades.

Finally, the bill would provide reimbursement to local law enforcement including the Metropolitan Police Department.

Be smart: The committee based its funding requests on a series of recommendations.

They came from members of Congress, the Architect of the Capitol, the Capitol Police, the inspector general of the Capitol Police and retired Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, who Pelosi tapped to conduct an immediate security review.

Scoop: Details from Dems $2 billion security proposal includes money for heirs of late House members

The $2 billion request to harden the Capitol also includes $521 million to cover recent National Guard call-ups.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is seen speaking during a congressional hearing.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) speaks Wednesday during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing about the Capitol attack. Photo: Jonathan Ernst-Pool/Getty Images

Capitol riot

A $2 billion request to harden the Capitol includes $521 million to cover recent National Guard call-ups, as well as money to protect the White House, vice president&#x27;s residence — and pay the heirs of some late House members, Axios has learned.Why it matters: As one lawmaker said today, &quot;It&#x27;s a lot of money.&quot; But before today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="have given little detail" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/capitol-security-2-billion-safety-spending-8b6ad818-95aa-460b-be24-d249aa89df82.html" data-vars-content-id="77e59068-aeb3-44c5-9b60-db86af719dff" data-vars-headline="Scoop: Details from Dems $2 billion security proposal includes money for heirs of late House members" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/capitol-security-2-billion-safety-spending-8b6ad818-95aa-460b-be24-d249aa89df82.html" target="_self">have given little detail</a> about the components resulting in the $2 billion price tag.

Axios Closer

Consumers and retailers alike are still trying to figure out what Americans will want to wear as they head back out into the world after a year at home, in sweatpants.

Why it matters: The choices people make about their post-pandemic wardrobes will help define what, exactly, our “new normal” is. They'll indicate how both work and socializing have changed, and will tell the story of how people expressed themselves in the aftermath of a year of massive transformation.

What we’re watching: As sales begin to tick back up, both men and women seem to be moving on from their lockdown looks, but aren’t simply snapping back to their pre-pandemic tastes.

Handbag designers, for example, are still making compartments for hand sanitizer, and will probably continue to, said Lainie Schreiber of Latico Leathers. “We made sure to include pockets for the new essentials,” she said.

What’s trending:  "Not a lot of suits and almost anything without a zipper or buttons,"  said Camille Wright of Style Consortium, a multi-line apparel showroom.

“They cannot get enough dresses," she said. "Everyone wants to wear a dress right now. They want to be pretty.”

Anything soft and flowing, especially in block prints or bright colors — pink, turquoise, lavender — is in. 

Men’s purchases also suggest a lot of them are heading back to the office: They’re buying a ton of tops but fewer button ups. “Everything is kind of comfortable and kind of stretchy,” says Christine Alcalay, owner and operator of Kiwi, a women's store, and Fig, a men's retailer.

“People have enough sweatpants, but they’re still in their COVID bodies so they want really pretty things that aren’t too boxy but comfortable,” Alcalay said.

Between the lines: Businesses have been “extraordinarily cautious” about their inventory, and are now trying to pin down the post-pandemic market at a time when they can’t afford much experimentation.

"We just didn't know what was going to happen,” Lisa Bobb of Squash Blossom, a women’s clothing boutique in Georgia, told Axios. “Was there going to be another wave? Were people going to be gathering for events or opting for smaller outings, where they'd be more casually dressed?”

Retail clothing store sales dropped 5% month-over-month in April. And some specific categories have seen steep declines — women’s dresses and men’s suits saw prices fall 14% and 17%, respectively, from the start of 2020 to March 2021.

But overall apparel prices are now on the rise, and retail employment has improved over the past few months, too.

The bottom line: “After the pandemic, people want to be happy and so I think that is what is translating into what people have been wearing,” Wright said.

Fashion is adapting for a post-pandemic lifestyle

What we wear will be a barometer for the new normal.

Illustration of a vintage paper dress up doll surrounded by clothing and work-related accessories 

Fashion

Retail

Consumers and retailers alike are still trying to figure out what Americans will want to wear as they head back out into the world after a year at home, in sweatpants.Why it matters: The choices people make about their post-pandemic wardrobes will help define what, exactly, our “new normal” is. They&#x27;ll indicate how both work and socializing have changed, and will tell the story of how people expressed themselves in the aftermath of a year of massive transformation.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy is planning to announce a campaign for the U.S. Senate in Florida against Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in early June, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.

Why it matters: Murphy is a proven fundraiser. Jumping in now would give her an early start to build her case for the Democratic nomination and potentially force Rubio and allied GOP groups to spend heavily to retain a seat in a state that’s trending Republican.

President Trump won Florida by more than 3 percentage points in 2020, up from a narrow one-point margin in 2016. He did so, in part, by accusing Democrats of being soft on socialism.

Murphy, who fled Communist Vietnam as a child, calls herself a “proud capitalist” and has warned Democrats about embracing socialism. She knocked off a longtime GOP House incumbent in 2016 at age 38.

Murphy has been on a “listening tour” across the state as she explains her life journey.

“Rep. Murphy has not made a decision on whether to run for the U.S. Senate,” said Lauren Calmet, a campaign spokesperson.

Between the lines: With Murphy working to appeal to Florida voters statewide, she may be less inclined to support President Biden’s proposed tax increases on corporations and capital gains — making House passage more difficult.

Biden won her Orlando-area district by about 10 points in 2020, and while the lines may be redrawn this year through congressional redistricting, the general area leans Democratic.

The big picture: Eighteen months before the election, both parties are looking for candidates who can appeal to swing voters in an unknown campaign climate.

The atmospherics for the midterm races will hang on everything from Biden’s approval ratings to the level of Donald Trump’s determination to re-litigate the 2020 presidential election.

While the Senate is tied at 50-50, Republicans are defending more seats than Democrats, giving Democrats an opportunity to increase their majority — a rarity for the party controlling the presidency at the midterms.

In the House, the Democrat's five-seat margin could be more difficult to maintain, especially with redistricting giving Republican-leaning states additional seats.

Florida will be center stage in 2022 and a petri dish of presidential ambitions.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is also up for reelection, with Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist already announcing a challenge and Rep. Val Demings mulling her own.

While Rubio ran for president in 2016, DeSantis could make his own bid for the White House in 2024, assuming he wins reelection.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, also has hinted at presidential aspirations.

The bottom line: In 2022, Florida may be less of a battleground and more of a proving ground for Democratic strategies about how to win Trump supporters.

Scoop: Stephanie Murphy announcing challenge to Marco Rubio

Murphy's entry into the race would give Democrats a proven fundraiser.

 Rep. Stephanie Murphy. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Marco Rubio

Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy is planning to announce a campaign for the U.S. Senate in Florida against Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in early June, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.Why it matters: Murphy is a proven fundraiser. Jumping in now would give her an early start to build her case for the Democratic nomination and potentially force Rubio and allied GOP groups to spend heavily to retain a seat in a state that’s trending Republican.

Vice President Kamala Harris and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus this week discussed options for micro-lending and digital banking technology in the Northern Triangle to help address a root cause of the immigration crisis, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Developing infrastructure to disburse foreign assistance more directly is one way to guarantee Central American residents of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras receive U.S. support amid concerns about local government corruption.

The topic was broached during a CHC meeting with Harris on Monday and gives some insight into one strategy the administration is considering to redistribute humanitarian assistance to people who often feel compelled to seek refuge in the U.S.

The White House also announced $310 million in humanitarian relief and to address food insecurity in the Northern Triangle region in April.

The big picture: Northern Triangle governments have struggled with stability and transparency, which has hamstrung economic success for their citizens.

Environmental disasters, gang violence and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic have fueled the desire to migrate north.

Digital banking technology has increasingly become more popular abroad as a way to quickly distribute foreign aid directly to citizens. 

More people in developing countries have cellphones and can download mobile money applications easier than accessing traditional banking systems. 

What they're saying: "There's a whole big segment in most developing countries that don't have access to traditional lending mechanisms, and digital is much quicker, transparent and equitable," George Ingram, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Axios.

"And there's less opportunity for corruption," he said. "You don't have the middleman."

But, but, but: Republican lawmakers are expected to resist the idea.

They've been critical of the vice president's work on immigration, calling her out for not traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border to date.

Increasing money to the region would also be a reversal from the Trump administration, whose strategy was to cut funding to the area.

Scoop: VP, CHC discussed digital banking for Northern Triangle

Developing infrastructure to disperse foreign assistance is one way to guarantee Central American residents receive U.S. support.

Vice President Kamala Harris is seen meeting with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Vice President Kamala Harris meets with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Monday. Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus this week discussed options for micro-lending and digital banking technology in the Northern Triangle to help address a root cause of the immigration crisis, Axios has learned.Why it matters: Developing infrastructure to disburse foreign assistance more directly is one way to guarantee Central American residents of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras receive U.S. support amid concerns about local government corruption.

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