Feb 3, 2021

Axios PM

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Mike Allen

Good afternoon: Today's PM — edited by Justin Green — is 380 words, a 1.5-minute read.

⚡️ House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Republicans he supports keeping Rep. Liz Cheney in leadership and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on her committees. Go deeper.

1 big thing... Fauci's plea: Skip the Super Bowl parties

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Biden administration would really prefer that people "lay low" on Super Bowl Sunday.

Why it matters: This is the national event that features multi-family gatherings since New Year's, with growing concerns about the COVID-19 variants.

  • “You don’t want parties with people that you haven’t had much contact with,” Anthony Fauci told NBC’s “Today” show.

"Every time we do have something like this, there always is a spike."

  • “You just don’t know if they’re infected, so, as difficult as that is, at least this time around, just lay low and cool it.”

The CDC is giving the same guidance. It recommends avoiding nonessential travel, as well as indoor gatherings with people who don't live in the same household.

The big picture: Nationwide cases and hospitalizations are falling from early January's terrifying highs.

  • But that progress can be undone with another round of potential superspreader events.
2. Pic du jour
Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP

Pete Buttigieg, with his husband Chasten Buttigieg holding the Bible, is sworn in as transportation secretary by Vice President Harris in the Old Executive Office Building in the White House complex.

3. Catch up quick
Gary Oldman portrays Herman Mankiewicz in a scene from "Mank," which was nominated for a Golden Globe for best motion picture drama. Photo: Nikolai Loveikis/Netflix via AP
  1. Netflix picked up 35% of all nominations for the 2021 Golden Globes. Its hit shows "The Crown" and "Mank" lead the contender's list. Go deeper.
  2. President Biden will keep the Space Force, the White House confirmed today.
  3. The Justice Department is dropping a discrimination lawsuit against Yale that accused the university of violating federal civil rights law by discriminating against Asian American and white undergraduate applicants.
  4. Canada's government designated the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization. Go deeper.
  5. 🎧 Axios Re:Cap speaks with Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates, to get his perspective on the past week for the stock market. Listen here.
4. 1 👀 ad
Screenshot: YouTube

Robinhood isn't backing down from its Super Bowl ad — which runs about $5.5 million for a 30-second slot — after the chaotic GameStop saga, The Wall Street Journal reports.

From the ad:

“We make short-term investments, long-term investments, we diversify our interests, realize our gains and losses, and try to keep the big picture in mind. You don’t need to become an investor, you were born one.”

See the clip.

Mike Allen