Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough issued an opinion Monday that could allow Democrats to use the budget reconciliation process again in fiscal year 2021, a spokesman for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) said
Why it matters: The opinion increases the number of pathways for advancing President Biden’s agenda without having to end the filibuster.
A Democrat-aligned advocacy group is kicking off a six-figure campaign backing President Biden's mammoth infrastructure spending measure — starting with ads targeting constituents of Sens. Joe Manchin and Susan Collins — the group tells Axios.
Why it matters: The American Working Families Action Fund (AWFAF) is one of the first groups to announce the launch of an independent digital and TV advertising effort aimed at selling the proposal to Congress and the public.
The White House is pitching its $2 trillion infrastructure plan, Republicans are opposed and Corporate America is caught between wanting robust infrastructure and not wanting higher taxes.
Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with Barbara Humpton, president and CEO of Siemens USA, to get her thoughts on Biden’s proposal.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced a COVID-19 vaccine distribution partnership with Publix grocery stores weeks after the company gave $100,000 to his PAC, CBS' "60 Minutes" reported Sunday, citing campaign finance records. DeSantis and Publix deny any wrongdoing.
Why it matters: DeSantis has been criticized for directing vaccines toward wealthy communities, with some who benefitted from the vaccine pop-ups also donating to the governor's political action committee, per Axios' Tampa Bay reporter Ben Montgomery.
Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo said Monday "sanctity of life is absolutely vital" when considering the use of force and that former police officer Derek Chauvin "absolutely" violated department policies in his use of force on George Floyd.
Why it matters: In the second week of Chauvin's trial, Arradondo described a departmental culture at odds with Chauvin's behavior when he kneeled on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Monday vetoed a bill that criminalizes gender-affirming care for transgender kids, saying the bill is "a product of the cultural war in America" and a "vast" government overreach and "extreme."
Why it matters: LGBTQ advocates consider the veto a win, although Hutchinson called on lawmakers to "think through the issue again" and take another approach.
The American Civil Liberties Unionis raising eyebrows after updating its privacy policy to note that it is sharing data with Facebook, one of the companies whose policies it often criticizes.
Why it matters: The move shows that even many organizations that don't like Facebook nonetheless find it an effective way to reach people online.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) forewarned in a radio interview Monday that he will not support a hike in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% as proposed in President Biden's infrastructure bill, adding that there are "six or seven other Democrats that feel very strongly about this.”
Why it matters: The tax hike is Biden's pitch on how to pay for the $2 trillion price tag on his American Jobs Plan. But pushback from moderates like Manchin could kill the bill, as a 50-50 split in the upper chamber has made every Democratic vote a must-have.
Manchin said he thinks the corporate tax rate should have "never been below [25%]" and that he would be comfortable with that number.
Between the lines: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week that he will fight against Biden's plan, signaling that there will be no Republican support for the measure.
And with the filibuster still in place, Democrats will also likely still need to pass the measure through a budget reconciliation process in order to avoid the need for 10 Republican votes, even if the entire Democratic caucus supports it.
What he's saying: "As the bill exists today, it needs to be changed. ... Bottom line is that's what legislation is all about. This bill will not be in the same form you've seen it introduced." Manchin said, adding that Biden's proposal might be broken up into three separate bills.
A former aide to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said Monday that two FBI agents questioned him after people in the media told the FBI that he knew of Gaetz's alleged involvement in illegal sex-trafficking activities.
Driving the news: Nathan Nelson, Gaetz's former director of military affairs, denied at a press conference Monday that he had any knowledge of the matter, and he said that his resignation last fall was not related to the Department of Justice probe into the Florida congressman.
The Minneapolis doctor who attended to George Floyd testified Monday that it's more likely Floyd died of loss or deprivation of oxygen than of a heart attack or drug overdose.
Why it matters: Opening the second week of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial, the doctor's testimony challenges the defense's argument that Floyd suffered a heart attack related to the influence of drugs — and not as a result of Chauvin's use of force.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a statement Monday accusing U.S. corporations that oppose the GOP-sponsored law curbing voting access in Georgia of using "economic blackmail to spread disinformation."
Why it matters: Dozens of CEOs and corporations have spoken out in the wake of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signing the new law, which institutes strict new ID requirements, gives the Republican-controlled state legislature more control over elections, and limits the use of ballot drop boxes, among other restrictions.
Between the lines: Though the Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of the case, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a concurring opinion that the "unprecedented" amount of control that Twitter and other digital platforms have over speech must be addressed in the future.
The federal government will not mandate the use of vaccine passports for travelers or businesses post-pandemic, President Biden's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told the Politico Dispatch podcast Monday
Why it matters: Passports showing proof of vaccination could speed up international travel re-openings, but the idea of requiring immunization credentials has become a point of contention, particularly among Republican officials.
CEO Climate Dialogue, a two-year-old group that includes execs from giant energy and industrial companies, has brought on lobbying powerhouse Forbes-Tate.
Why it matters: The newly public filing highlights the increased K Street activity around pricing since President Biden's win opened the door for new climate legislation.
About half of Republicans surveyed in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll believed that the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol siege was a "non-violent protest or was the handiwork of left-wing activists trying to 'make Trump look bad,'" Reuters writes.
By the numbers: The poll also indicates that about 60% of Republicans believed former President Trump's unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him. The same number of Republicans believe Trump should run for re-election in 2024.
Disjointed results for the wealthy and working classes since the pandemic hit the U.S. have fostered an environment in which most Americans don't trust the Federal Reserve, or think that the central bank is doing a good job.
Driving the news: New polling from Ipsos exclusively for Axios shows that 53% of Americans say they don't trust the central bank, and just 38% say the Fed has done a "good" or "excellent" job, while 58% say the Fed is doing a "fair" or "poor" job.
Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo is expected to take the stand as soon as today, as testimony in the Derek Chauvin trial continues for a second week.
Why it matters: The city's top cop will tell jurors that Chauvin's "conduct was not consistent" with MPD training and policies, per special prosecutor Jerry Blackwell's opening statement.
Janet Yellen will use her first major address as Treasury secretary to argue for a global minimum corporate tax rate, Axios has learned, as she makes the case for President Biden’s plan to raise U.S. corporate taxes to fund his $2 trillion+ infrastructure plan.
Why it matters: Convincing other countries to impose a global minimum tax would reduce the likelihood of companies relocating offshore, as Biden seeks to increase the corporate rate from 21% to 28%.
The Open Society Foundations are pledging $20 million to jumpstart as much as $100 million for a campaign to rally progressives around President Biden's infrastructure and social welfare proposals.
Why it matters: Backing from the George Soros-founded group could serve as an important call to action for Democratic donors and activists who support Biden's initial $2 trillion+ infrastructure plan but want to see him go bigger.
More than half of the states in the U.S. are at "extreme risk" of congressional districts being drawn to unfairly favor one party, according to a new analysis of state redistricting processes by RepresentUs, a non-partisan advocacy group focused on election reform.
Why it matters: The states at risk of gerrymandering — a process the group says can produce "rigged maps" — include battlegrounds like Texas, Georgia, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
