National

White House national climate adviser Gina McCarthy is optimistic about enlisting Sen. Joe Manchin's help on a potential climate bill, she told Axios during an Earth Day event Friday.

Why it matters: Manchin has recently signaled that he'd support some climate provisions as part of a pared-down version of the Build Back Better Act, which failed in Congress after Manchin turned against it and Republicans solidly opposed it.

Yes, but: Progressives in Congress worry such provisions would be heavier on energy independence favored by Big Oil — and lighter on the carbon reduction they seek, Axios' Hans Nichols reported in March. 

“When he says he wants to act on climate, I think it's quite understandable that people would meet that with a great deal of disbelief,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told Axios at the time.

McCarthy sounded more optimistic on the prospects of a deal during conversation with Axios' Mike Allen Friday.  

"I know he's interested in significant investments that will advance climate. And so I'm hoping that there will be a meeting of the minds," McCarthy said.

"But I think it goes beyond hope. I think where we're actually going to show him and others that these are necessary investments, not sacrifices, but the ways in which we're going to deliver for the American public. 

"There's things he wants to, things we want, and that means we should be able to get an agreement and move forward in Congress."

"We are perfectly positioned to build on the work we've already done and make that path to a clean energy future ... and we're going to do our best to work with Senator Manchin. There's things he wants to, things we want, and that means we should be able to get an agreement and move forward in Congress." 

White House national climate adviser Gina McCarthy

The bottom line: McCarthy said she's "pretty confident" Congress can pass climate legislation even during an election year, after it passed a bipartisan infrastructure law last year that contained numerous climate measures. 

"The president is really doubling down on his commitments now and his demand that Congress work with him ... So we can't stop now. We have to move forward and it's exciting because we can."

Biden adviser optimistic Manchin will help on climate

Gina McCarthy said she's "hoping that there will be a meeting of the minds" with the West Virginia senator.

Joe Manchin

Climate change

Policymaking

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

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

Axios Events

Senate negotiators in both parties on Monday announced a deal on a $10 billion COVID-19 preparedness funding package.

Why it matters: The deal comes after the White House had raised alarm bells about insufficient funding to ward off future pandemics and COVID surges, though it still falls far short of what top Democrats say is needed.

The White House initially requested $22.5 billion in emergency funding last month.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi argued that the White House should ask for twice that amount.

The details: All $10 billion of the funding goes to agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services and is offset by unspent COVID aid funds, according to an outline from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

$9.25 billion goes to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the agency that oversees vaccines, treatments and testing. At least $5 billion of that must be spent on therapeutics.

The other $750 million is for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for research, development and manufacturing of vaccines for future COVID variants.

What's not in the bill is $5 billion in funding Democrats hoped to include to boost the distribution of COVID vaccines to other countries.

What they're saying: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), the chief Republican negotiator, said in a statement the legislation "deserves broad bipartisan support."

"While this agreement does not include funding for the U.S. global vaccination program, I am willing to explore a fiscally responsible solution to support global efforts in the weeks ahead," Romney added.

Schumer similarly said he will work to include that funding in "separate legislation," but added that both chambers should "act quickly" to pass this deal.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said he is "deeply disappointed" by the lack of global vaccine funds, which he called "short-sighted," a "grave mistake" and "fiscally foolish." He added, however, that "I intend to vote for this bill."

Senators reach deal on bipartisan $10 billion COVID package

The White House had raised alarm bells about insufficient funding to ward off future pandemics and Covid-19 surges.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was the chief Republican negotiator. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

COVID-19

Axios Sneak Peek

Chuck Schumer’s team is privately acknowledging to Senate Democrats that Eric Garcetti doesn’t currently have 50 votes within their caucus to be confirmed as ambassador to India, congressional aides tell Axios.

Why it matters: The comments by the Senate majority leader’s office, delivered Wednesday through his legislative director during a call with other LDs, mean the Los Angeles mayor is unlikely to receive a floor vote any time soon. Garcetti was formally nominated eight months ago.

The comments also indicate the growing concern — and confusion — within the Democratic Party about the fate of President Biden’s nominee to serve as ambassador to a crucial country resisting the administration’s efforts to get tougher on Russia.

The cold math of a 50-50 Senate may force Biden to pull Garcetti’s nomination and find another candidate who can be seated as his envoy to the world’s largest democracy.

The delay has also created leadership uncertainty for the nation's second-largest city and its 4 million residents.

Driving the news: Schumer’s team was asked about the timing of a possible Garcetti vote during a weekly call designed to provide a big-picture issues overview to Senate offices.

The staffer's comments were based on the public indications from some Democratic senators — a number of whom have said they want more information about allegations of workplace sexual harassment before supporting Garcetti.

At this time, Schumer’s office is not formally “whipping” the vote — asking senators how they plan to vote.

The comments were made before Axios reported Thursday that Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) had “concerns” about the allegations.

That brought the public number of wavering Democratic senators to five.

A spokesperson for Schumer declined to comment to Axios about the call contents.

The big picture: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has placed a “hold” on Garcetti’s nomination, pending his own independent investigations into the allegations. Sen. Joni Ernest (R-Iowa) has placed a second hold on the nomination.

Grassley told the Los Angeles Times he doesn’t expect to be finished with his investigation when the Senate returns from Easter recess on April 25, giving an outside group, Whistleblower Aid, more time to meet with senators from both parties.

The core of the allegations stems from a lawsuit filed by Los Angeles Police Department officer Matthew Garza, who claimed that Rick Jacobs, while the mayor’s deputy chief of staff,  sexually harassed him.

Jacobs has denied the allegations and Garcetti has denied being aware of them.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee looked into the allegations and concluded Garcetti had been truthful in a legal deposition during which he denied any knowledge.

Garcetti’s nomination was voted out of committee in January without Republican opposition.

On March 25, a  State Department official briefed Senate chiefs of staff, explaining the allegations had been investigated by the department and the committee and they determined Garcetti didn’t know about the alleged behavior.

Between the lines: A former Garcetti communications director, Naomi Seligman, continues to arrange meetings with Democratic offices, alleging she also was a victim of harassment from Jacobs.

Meanwhile, a different Garcetti aide wrote to senators last Monday, questioning Seligman’s account, Politico reported.

Editor’s note: This headline was updated to reflect doubts about Eric Garcetti’s chances for confirmation.

Scoop: Team Schumer voices doubts about Garcetti’s chances for India

The Los Angeles mayor is unlikely to receive a floor vote any time soon.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is seen speaking at the Capitol.

Photo: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

India

President Biden signed into law Tuesday a historic bill to make lynching a federal hate crime in the U.S. for the first time.

Why it matters: The new law comes after more than 200 attempts to codify federal anti-lynching legislation.

The absence of a statute allowed the vast majority of perpetrators to go unpunished in cases of nearly documented 6,500 racial terror lynchings between 1865 and 1950.

Details: Under the new law, a crime would be prosecuted as a lynching when death or serious bodily injury results from a conspiracy to commit a hate crime.

A convicted perpetrator would face up to 30 years in prison.

The bill was named in honor of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black boy whose brutal 1955 torture and murder in Mississippi helped spark the civil rights movement.

Between the lines, via Axios' Russell Contreras: By finally making lynching a unique federal crime, the nation is coming to terms with how lynching was used to enforce a racial social order at the risk of violence against people of color.

Federal prosecutors will have another tool to use against violators, even if local prosecutors and weak grand juries look the other way.

What they're saying: "Thousands of people in states across our nation were tortured and murdered by vigilantes," Vice President Kamala Harris said at the signing ceremony. "They were dragged from their homes, they had ropes wrapped around their necks. They were hanged, earned, drowned and dismembered."

"Lynching is not a relic of the past," she added. "Racial acts of terror still occur in our nation. And when they do, we must all have the courage to name them and hold the perpetrators to account."

"Today, I am thinking of Emmett Till and the countless other victims of this brutal crime whose names we do not know," said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), who led the bill in the House, in a statement. "His lynching ... had a ripple effect that we still feel today."

"The signing of this bill is a victory for the City of Chicago, a victory for America, and a victory for Black America in particular."

"My family was devastated that no one was held responsible for the abduction, torture and murder of Emmett," Wheeler Parker Jr., Till's cousin, said in a statement. "But we are heartened by this new law, which shows that Emmett still speaks in powerful ways to make sure that no one can get away with a racist crime like this ever again."

"For people of color, lynching has been a [ubiquitous] part of American life following Reconstruction, as an act of racial power to enforce place in our society," added Christopher Benson, president of the Till Institute board. 

"This law makes us face our nation’s history, and helps us recognize the need for systemic change to advance the values of a truly multicultural society."

Biden signs into law first anti-lynching bill in U.S. history

The historic bill makes lynching a federal hate crime and comes after more than 200 attempts to codify federal anti-lynching legislation.

Photo of Joe Biden signing a piece of paper outside the White House with people watching him

President Biden signs the Emmett Till Antilynching Act into law alongside Vice President Kamala Harris during a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House on March 29. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Hate crimes

Joe Biden

Percentage of Latino adults who say they are comfortable around LGBTQ people, by generation

Data: Axios/Ipsos poll; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Latinos say they are accepting of members of the LGBTQ community, and many support someone’s right to choose the gender they identify with, according to a new Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo. 

Why it matters: The percentage of Latinos who identify as LGBTQ has more than doubled in the past decade and has outpaced growth among white and Black Americans.  

By the numbers: 62% of respondents in the latest Axios/Ipsos poll of Latinos said they are comfortable around people who identify as LGBTQ.

Support rose depending on how long they've been in the country: 70% of second generation Latinos (born to immigrant parents) said they were comfortable around LGBTQ people, while 76% of third generation (have U.S. born parents) Latinos said the same.

Respondents of Central American heritage were the least accepting, whereas those of Mexican and Puerto Rican origins expressed the most tolerance.

Between the lines: States with big Latino populations have recently passed legislation like the “don’t say gay” bill in Florida, and an order from the Texas governor would require authorities to investigate parents for child abuse if they provide gender-affirming treatments for their kids. 

43% of respondents said they don’t think a parent helping a child with gender-affirming treatments should be considered child abuse, while 23% of respondents said it could be and the rest had no opinion.

Two-thirds of polled Latinos said they support students being taught about sexuality and gender identity.

48% agree that teenagers should be able to determine their gender identity for themselves, compared to 29% who disagree.

What they’re saying: “Amid the wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation we are seeing across the country, it is heartening to see a majority of Latino adults in the U.S. embrace acceptance of transgender youth,” Amit Paley, CEO of the nonprofit The Trevor Project, told Axios Latino.

Methodology: This Axios/Ipsos Latino Poll, in partnership with Noticias Telemundo, was conducted March 7-18 2021, by Ipsos' KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,005 Hispanic/Latino adults age 18 or older.

The margin of sampling error is ±3.7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample.

Subscribe to Axios Latino and get more news that matters about Latinos and Latin America, delivered right to your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Poll: Latinos are highly accepting of members of LGBTQ community

62% of respondents in the latest Axios/Ipsos poll of Latinos said they are comfortable around LGBTQ people.

LGBTQ

Two well-known Latino political consultants from dueling political parties are launching a new podcast that will examine Latino voters ahead of the 2022 midterms.

The big picture: Data, surveys and recent primary elections show that Republicans are making inroads with Latinos. At the same time, advocates say Democrats neglect Latinos.  

Hispanics are now 18.7% — 62.1 million people — of the total U.S. population.

There were around 30.6 million eligible Latino voters in 2020, according to a City University of New York study.

Driving the news: Top Democratic operatives tell Axios they see expanding defections by Hispanic voters to the GOP, worsening Democrats' outlook for November's midterms.

A Wall Street Journal poll last week found that by 9 points, Hispanic voters said they'd back a Republican candidate for Congress over a Democrat.

Details: GOP consultant Mike Madrid and Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha announced their new podcast, "The Latino Vote," this month.  

Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation CEO and former Republican Texas state Rep. Jason Villalba will be the host.

What they're saying: "It's just going to be like, open up the hood, get a beer, and sit back. We're going to get down and dirty with some politics and tell you how this engine works," Rocha, a former Bernie Sanders advisor, told Axios.

Rocha and Madrid say they strongly disagree on policy, but both respect each other and want Latinos to succeed in the U.S. The two men are Mexican American.

"Both parties have been doing it wrong for so long because of these white power structures. It's time for something different," Madrid, a founder of the Lincoln Project, told Axios.

Yes, but: Both consultants promise the podcast won't be without its fireworks.

"He is going to lean into his data. And I'm going to lean into stories," Rocha said.

The intrigue: An Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo in December found that crime and gun violence were the number two concerns for Latinos, behind COVID-19 and immigration, social justice and voting rights.

Madrid said Democrats are losing Latino voters by primarily focusing on immigration reform instead of the economy, even though immigration consistently ranks 5th or 6th among Latino concerns.

Rocha, meanwhile, said Republicans alienate Latino voters with offensive messages, but Democrats fail to engage with Hispanic voters and reach out to them late in election cycles. 

Between the lines: In New Mexico, the state with the highest percentage of Latino residents, Republicans are investing in targeted outreach to Latino entrepreneurs, and small business owners, Democratic consultant Sisto Abeyta told Axios. 

Meanwhile, anger is building among Democrats in the traditionally blue state. Some Hispanic Democrats expressed outrage last year after white Democratic insiders chose a white woman to replace outgoing Native American Rep. Deb Haaland as the Democratic nominee. 

GOP and Dem Latino political consultants launch podcast — together

A Hispanic Republican from California and a Tejano Democrat from rural Texas say their podcast on Latino voters will dispel myths.

Sandra Amado Gomez registers a soccer player to vote during halftime at the championship game of soccer in Raleigh, North Carolina .

Sandra Amado Gomez registers a soccer player to vote during halftime at a soccer game in Raleigh, North Carolina. Photo: Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Donald Trump

Immigration

Latin America and Latinos

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

World

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) will introduce a bill aimed at giving women greater access to the Small Business Administration's venture capital fund, she told Axios at an event on International Women's Day. 

Why it matters: Women are less likely to seek small business funding than their counterparts, per the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Ernst said the provisions of the Empowering Women in Small Business Act will be "enticing" to members of both parties. 

What she's saying: "We know that women often do struggle as they're financing a new small business, so this would increase those opportunities and pair it with a number of our other initiatives through the Small Business Committee through a number of bills that I have," Ernst told Axios on Tuesday. 

"We are hopeful to see many more women gain of access to capital and start successful small businesses. 

What to watch: Ernst said she expects the bill to get bipartisan support. 

"This is an important topic to so many, many of the states or like Iowa, where 99 percent of our small business, our business is small business. 

"So it is very important to members, not just those that serve on the Small Business Committee, but everyone else across the spectrum. And we are celebrating Women's History Month, so this is a very timely topic."

Ernst said she will introduce the legislation later this month.

Des Moines

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Get smarter, faster about what’s happening in your backyard with local reporters Jason Clayworth and Linh Ta.

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Sen. Joni Ernst to introduce bill giving women more access to SBA venture fund

Ernst said the provisions of the bill will be "enticing" to members of both parties.

Small businesses

Austin

Axios Austin

Out-of-state abortions by Texas residents before and after SB8

Data: The University of Texas at Austin; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios

Texas' restrictive abortion law has compelled women to travel out of state for abortions or to seek self-managed abortion medication, per new research out of the University of Texas. 

The big picture: Even as in-state abortions have plummeted, the law, known as Senate Bill 8, has not reduced the need for abortion care in Texas.

Instead, it has greatly reduced in-state access and forced thousands of pregnant Texans to undertake long-distance trips to reach abortion facilities outside of Texas or order medication by mail, per separate reports by UT researchers. 

Catch up quick, via Axios' Oriana Gonzalez: The Texas law, which took effect Sept. 1, prohibits nearly all abortions as soon as an embryonic heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy and before many people know they are pregnant.

The law does not have any exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

By the numbers: On average, nearly 1,400 Texas women each month between September and December 2021 sought abortions at 34 facilities in neighboring states, researchers at UT's Texas Policy Evaluation Project found.

That average is nearly equivalent to the total number of Texans who traveled out of state each year to those clinics between 2017 and 2019.

Only 235 Texans were admitted for abortions in the 34 facilities in August 2021, the month before Texas' abortion law took effect.

Of note: The data does not include pregnant Texans who traveled to other states or countries for the procedure — or to facilities in neighboring states, Oriana writes. 

Other numbers: Newly released data shows that Planned Parenthood health centers in Texas' surrounding states saw a nearly 800% increase in abortion patients from Texas between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2021.

Meanwhile in Texas, the number of clinic abortions performed in the state fell by approximately 60% in the first month after Senate Bill 8 was enacted.

What they found: The Texas Policy Evaluation Project researchers interviewed 65 Texas women about their experiences with out-of-state abortions. 

Participants often experienced delays — some built into state law, such as a mandatory ultrasounds and counseling visits — that made it impossible to access abortion care in-state within SB 8's requirements, even if they found out they were pregnant shortly after missing a menstrual period. 

What they're staying: Women interviewed by the researchers referred to the law as "unfair," "cruel" and "inhumane" because it did not give them the chance to obtain care in Texas.

Meanwhile: Another UT researcher found that demand for self-managed abortion care in the state surged. 

In the first week after the law went into effect, the number of average daily requests made to the Austria-based nonprofit Aid Access from people in Texas increased by 1,180% over the previous daily average, leaping to 137.7 requests per day, per research published in late February.

After that initial spike, demand for the medication remained high in the three months after SB 8's implementation. The nonprofit averaged 29.5 daily requests in October, November and December, a 174% increase from the previous daily average.

"The need for abortion doesn't magically go away," Abigail Aiken, an associate professor of public affairs at UT's LBJ School, told Axios. The data "offers us a glimpse into what may well happen if you severely restrict or outlaw abortion altogether."

The bottom line: If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, three of the states that border Texas have so-called trigger laws that would prohibit abortion.

"Texans will find it increasingly difficult to overcome the distance and logistical hurdles to care," the UT Policy Evaluation Project report concluded.

Dallas

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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Austin. Written by Nicole Cobler and Asher Price.

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Texas women forced out of state for abortions

After Texas' restrictive abortion law took effect, some pregnant people sought the procedure out of state.

Public health

The U.S. faces a range of health care flashpoints — unaffordable drugs, opioids, vaping — as we debate whether to adopt universal care. For now, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, but Republicans want to issue it a final death blow.

Health

Axios AM

After returning from a civil-rights event Sunday in Selma, Ala.,Vice President Kamala Harris today helps kick off a week of White House events marking Friday's anniversary of the COVID-relief American Rescue Plan.

Monday will focus on community colleges and historically Black colleges and universities. 

Tuesday will focus on the child tax credit and earned income tax credit.

Wednesday will highlight mayors, and state and local hiring.

Thursday will focus on health care premiums.

On Friday, President Biden will go to Philadelphia, with a spotlight on reopening schools.

Harris kicks off anniversary of $1.9 trillion COVID relief law

Each day will focus on a major provision of the landmark bill.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks Sunday in Selma, Ala., on the 57th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," which galvanized the voting rights movement. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Kamala Harris

A convoy of American truckers calling for an end to COVID-19 safety mandates is expected to arrive in the Washington, D.C.-area this weekend. 

Why it matters: The approaching convoy is a continuation of the Canadian "Freedom Convoy," where protestors jammed up a trio of border crossings and downtown Ottawa for several days last month.

Truckers from around the nation have joined the U.S. convoy, including the "People's Convoy," which started its cross-country trek in Southern California last week.

U.S. trucker convoy to arrive in D.C.-area

A convoy of American truckers calling for an end to COVID-19 safety mandates will arrive in the Washington, D.C.-area this weekend.

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