AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka told Jonathan Swan in an interview for "Axios on HBO" that former Presidents Clinton and Obama didn't understand unions' importance — and were disappointments to organized labor because of it.
What they're saying: "Joe Biden has surrounded himself with people that are worker-friendly, so that in the multitude of decisions that are made every day without the president being involved, they're going to think about the impact it has on workers," Trumka said.
Police unions "should be able to negotiate disciplinary stuff" to protect officers from unfair punishment, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said during an "Axios on HBO" interview.
Why this matters: Following last year's death of George Floyd during an arrest and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests nationwide, law enforcement unions are at the center of a heated debate in the labor movement.
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumkatold Jonathan Swan in an interview for "Axios on HBO" that he wished President Biden hadn't canceled the Keystone XL pipeline his first day in office — because it will cost some good-paying union jobs.
Why this matters: Organized labor is crucial to the Biden coalition. But there are significant tensions among environmentalists, the president's team addressing climate change and some parts of the labor movement.
Ex-Parler CEO John Matze tells "Axios on HBO" that the social media company's negotiations last summer to bring President Trump onto the Twitter rival were a lose-lose proposition and never got beyond unsigned, non-binding term sheets.
What Matze says: "I didn't like the idea of working with Trump, because he might have bullied people inside the company to do what he wanted. But I was worried that if we didn't sign the deal, he might have been vengeful and told his followers to leave Parler."
School closures across the country and a lack of in-person learning due to the coronavirus is "a national emergency," President Biden stressed in a pre-Super Bowl interview with CBS on Sunday.
The insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 has cost taxpayers upwards of $480 million for the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to Washington.
Why it matters: AWashington Post review of local, state and federal spending records, that found former President Trump's refusal to concede the election cost Americans at least $519 million in repairing damaged property, finding and prosecuting insurrectionists, recounting votes and, of course, increasing security protocols.
The Koch-backed group Concerned Veterans for America is launching a seven-figure digital ad campaign this week urging President Biden to pull all remaining U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by May, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The ad blitz comes as Biden's national security team is debating whether to delay the withdrawal, amid fears the wrong decision could lead to a resurgence of terrorism and uptick of violence in the country.
Democrats will introduce a proposal attached to the next stimulus package that would provide $3,000-per-child direct payments in certain households.
Why it matters: The new legislation, led by Ways and Means chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.), comes shortly after Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) introduced a similar proposal, lending bipartisan support to expanding cash benefits for families with children.
American Postal Workers Union president Mark Dimondstein told AP in an interview out Sunday he hopes President Biden makes “bold appointments” that reshape the U.S. Postal Service's Board of Governors.
The big picture: The USPS' workforce — which was already beleaguered after having to process millions of mail-in votes during the 2020 election — fell "further into a hole during the holiday rush, leading to long hours and a mountain of delayed mail," AP writes.
George Shultz, a former Secretary of State in the Reagan administration, died on Sunday at age 100, the Hoover Institute at Stanford announced.
History lesson: Shultz also served as Treasury secretary and Labor secretary under former President Nixon, and "emerged from the wars of Watergate with his reputation unscathed," the New York Times reports.
Schultz held four different Cabinet-level positions, CNN notes.
Kevin McCarthy tried to get Liz Cheney to apologize for how she handled her vote to impeach former President Trump before last week's highly anticipated House GOP conference meeting — a request she refused, two people with direct knowledge told Axios.
Why it matters: Cheney rolled the dice, refusing her leader's ask and counting on her supporters to keep her as conference chair, the party's No. 3 post in the House. Newly empowered, she's now embracing her role as the Republicans' Trump critic-in-chief.
President Biden told "CBS Evening News" in an interview set to air Sunday that the U.S. will not lift sanctions against Iran unless the country first stops enriching uranium.
Driving the news: The comments were revealed hours after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised address that the U.S. must first lift all sanctions for Iran to comply with the commitments under the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, which President Trump withdrew the U.S. from in 2018.
The Wyoming Republican Party voted Saturday to formally censure U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House, for voting to impeach former President Trump for a charge of inciting an insurrection at the Capitol.
Why it matters: Cheney and the nine other Republican lawmakers that voted to impeach Trump have faced backlash from constituents in their home states, and from members of their own party in Congress.
The latest "Saturday Night Live" cold open steered clear of D.C. politics to parody the Super Bowl, ahead of Sunday's game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs — with Aidy Bryant playing both coaches.
The big picture: The "SNL" regular as Chiefs coach Andy Reid revealed their strategy was to "pass it, and then we're gonna run it and when they have the ball, we're gonna stop it." Then as Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians, Bryant revealed a strikingly similar game plan. The show also skewered firms that take political stands in Super Bowl commercials.
