Axios

Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt is resigning from the group's board amid a series of scandals that has rocked the high-dollar anti-Trump super PAC, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Schmidt, a veteran Republican operative, is the latest and most high-profile departure from the group, which is reeling from revelations that another co-founder, John Weaver, used offers of professional advancement in a series of attempts to solicit sex from young men.

School reopenings should be contingent on community transmission rates and should be a priority over restaurants and other nonessential businesses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Friday.

Why it matters: America's educators have been calling on the health agency to issue clear and useful guidance for schools, following mixed signals sent by the Trump administration last year.

White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo has been placed on one-week suspension without pay after Vanity Fair reported that he threatened to ruin the reputation of a Politico reporter pursuing a story about his relationship with an Axios reporter.

Why it matters: It's an early test of how President Biden disciplines White House staff after four years of the Trump administration's adversarial relationship with the press. Biden warned on his first day in the White House: "I am not joking when I say this: If you are ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot. No ifs, ands, or buts."

A top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told Democratic lawmakers that the administration rebuffed their request for data on coronavirus deaths in nursing homes because they feared it would "be used against us" by federal investigators egged on by then-President Trump, according to a leaked tape obtained by the New York Post.

Why it matters: Cuomo has been under fire for his handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes early in the pandemic. He's now facing new allegations of his administration actively withholding data on coronavirus deaths in nursing homes in order to delay potential investigations.

President Trump was acquitted by the Senate on Feb. 13 in his second impeachment trial, in which he was faced a single charge from the House of Representatives for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

The big picture: At five days, it was the fastest impeachment trial of a U.S. president and ended with the most bipartisan conviction vote in history. Still, the seven Republicans who joined all Democrats were not enough to reach the two-thirds majority necessary for conviction.

The chairman of the Senate's energy committee wants President Biden to consider the "many benefits of responsible domestic natural gas production" as the administration crafts its executive energy policies.

Why it matters: West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin's position, spelled out in a new letter to Biden, comes as Manchin is poised for an influential role in the administration's legislative efforts.

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said that she does not believe former President Trump will run for federal office again in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, telling Politico in an extensive profile: "I don't think he can. He's fallen so far."

Why it matters: Haley has left little doubt that she will run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024. The profile by Politico's Tim Alberta painted the picture of a staunch Republican who has wavered between defending and condemning her former boss — who still holds massive influence within the party's base.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) told Politico in an interview that she does not support increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour as part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that Congress is considering.

Why it matters: Opposition to the $15 minimum wage provision from Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) — another moderate Democrat who has huge influence in a 50-50 Senate — is a major blow to President Biden's hope of passing it via budget reconciliation, which would allow the Senate to circumvent the usual 60-vote threshold.

The Biden administration will soon slowly begin allowing asylum seekers forced to wait in Mexican border towns under former President Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy to enter the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security announced Friday.

Why it matters: President Biden has promised to end the Trump administration's Migrant Protection Protocols program, as it is formally called, which forced tens of thousands of migrants into dangerous, squalid conditions in Mexico as they awaited court proceedings. DHS estimates that there are about 25,000 migrants in the MPP program who have active immigration court cases.

Donald Trump's legal defense will focus entirely on process, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The attorneys representing the former president know it's fruitless to continue defending his actions preceding the Capitol attack. Instead, they'll say none of that matters because the trial itself is unconstitutional — an argument many Republican senators are ready to embrace.

A grand jury declined to indict Buffalo police officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski on felony assault charges for shoving 75-year-old Martin Gugino during a Black Lives Matter protest after the killing of George Floyd in June 2020, AP reports.

Why it matters: Gugino spent around a month in the hospital with a fractured skull and brain injury after the incident. A video of the event drew national attention as thousands of people across the U.S. and around the world held protests against police brutality.

The U.S. Department of Interior said Thursday it will host consultations with indigenous tribal leaders next month to discuss COVID-19, economic inequality, racial justice and climate change.

Why it matters: The move comes as the Biden administration seeks to reset the White House's relationship with tribal governments following years of tensions with former President Trump, who often made offensive remarks about Native Americans.

President Biden on Thursday slammed his predecessor for "not doing his job in getting ready for the massive challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions of Americans."

Driving the news: Biden's remarks at the National Institutes of Health came not long after his administration signed final contracts with Pfizer and Moderna to purchase an additional 200 million doses of the coronavirus vaccines.

Biden administration officials are weighing nominating prominent Republicans to ambassadorships — including Cindy McCain and former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake — to highlight the importance of bipartisanship in U.S. foreign policy, according to people familiar with their thoughts.

Why it matters: President Biden hasn't put any Republicans in his Cabinet, but a move like this would symbolize a return to the Truman-era adage that partisan politics stops "at the water's edge."

Political transparency groups are asking the White House to disclose information about the people who participate in virtual White House meetings, according to a letter obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: President Biden has committed to releasing White House visitor logs on a quarterly basis. But good-government advocates say disclosure of in-person meetings isn't sufficient with COVID forcing so much remote work via teleconference.

The Trump administration published a record number of regulations considered economically significant during its final year, spurred on by the coronavirus and a last-minute policy push.

Why it matters: It's hard to know the long-term impact, but any single rule "could entail hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in annual costs and benefits," George Washington University expert Daniel Perez told Axios.