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DRIVING THE DAY
IF ALL GOES AS PLANNED, by Thursday morning, the HOUSE will be voting on the half-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill that just passed the Senate, readying it for a trip to the White House for President DONALD TRUMP’S signature.
AND, AT THE SAME TIME, REPUBLICANS will begin unfurling a new political attack against the Democrats with whom they negotiated this package: They wasted time and cost Americans jobs.
REPUBLICANS ARE PLANNING to blame Democrats for sky-high jobless numbers after they spent two weeks pushing to broaden the package to include funding for priorities like hospitals and coronavirus testing. Republicans had preferred a smaller bill, with just more money for small-business loans.
WE SAW THE BEGINNING OF THIS STRATEGY on Tuesday, when House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY told Lou Dobbs on Fox Business that the new jobless claims data this week will be “Nancy Pelosi’s unemployment list. … A lot of people are going to be laid off, a lot of small businesses are going to close because she held it up again to play politics, just like she did with the CARES Act, trying to put into that more money for the Kennedy Center for the Arts, changing election law, Green New Deal, Planned Parenthood, sanctuary cities.”
REPUBLICANS’ CLAIM is a stretch, as are many political critiques. But the broadside is instructive in understanding the outlines of the GOP’s political strategy six months before what could be one of the strangest elections of our lifetime.
JUST AFTER THEY NEGOTIATED THIS DEAL WITH DEMOCRATS, Republicans plan on smacking them across the face with it, breaking the tacit agreement that negotiated, bipartisan policy accords should not become political wedges.
DEMOCRATS, of course, say that they were able to turn a simple $251 billion business lending package into a robust, $500 billion bill that gave much-needed money to hospitals, testing and other priorities. And Democrats say they proposed the outlines of the eventual deal a few weeks ago, so they have a credible case to make that it was Republicans who were slow to come around to that reality.
IN WRAPPING UP THE PACKAGE TUESDAY, MCCONNELL said several important things:
-- HE SAID he will not begin considering another phase of coronavirus stimulus until the Senate is back in session. This is a pump-the-brakes moment for MCCONNELL. He also told BURGESS EVERETT this in an interview after the bill passed: “We need to see how things are working, see what needs to be corrected, and I do think that the next time we pass a coronavirus rescue bill we need to have everyone here and everyone engaged.”
-- MCCONNELL STARTED SOUNDING THE ALARM on the amount of money Congress is spending. “We’ve allocated a stunning amount of money -- $2.2 trillion -- knowing full well that that probably wouldn’t be enough. … I think it’s also time to begin to think about the amount of debt that we’re adding to our country and the future impact of that.”
YOU’LL HEAR A LOT OF DEMOCRATS and some Republicans say that the GOP cares about the debt only when it’s convenient to them -- maybe so, maybe not. But this does signal MCCONNELL has little interest in the large-scale bill that some are talking about as the next phase of rescue efforts.
… SPEAKING OF THAT -- CNBC’S @kaylatausche: “NEW: Sec. @stevenmnuchin1 says a fourth stimulus bill ‘will most likely’ be all the U.S. needs if economy reopens. Mnuchin's list: Infrastructure (roads, bridges broadband) … Incentives for restaurants, sports, entertainment … Payroll tax cut … $$ for states.”
BEN WHITE: “The government is all in on coronavirus: How it’s still not enough”
HEADS UP … Rep. THOMAS MASSIE (R-Ky.) is heading to D.C. ahead of the vote on the coronavirus package Thursday. REMEMBER: As long as the House has a quorum -- 215 lawmakers -- they have the power to basically ignore whatever he wants to do.
Good Wednesday morning. Happy Earth Day.
DEPT. OF UGH … WAPO’S LENA SUN: “Even as states move ahead with plans to reopen their economies, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Tuesday that a second wave of the novel coronavirus will be far more dire because it is likely to coincide with the start of flu season.
“‘There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,’ CDC Director Robert Redfield said in an interview with The Washington Post. ‘And when I’ve said this to others, they kind of put their head back, they don’t understand what I mean.’
“‘We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time,’ he said. Having two simultaneous respiratory outbreaks would put unimaginable strain on the health-care system, he said.” WaPo
NEW via STEVEN SHEPARD: A POLITICO/MORNING CONSULT POLL shows wide support for continued social distancing measures, and majorities still say they are more concerned with the public health implications of the coronavirus.
BUT THE POLL -- conducted Saturday and Sunday as small protests percolated in a handful of states -- does show an uptick in the percentage of voters worried about the U.S. economy. Just over a third in the new poll, 35%, say they are more concerned about the economic impact of the coronavirus, up 6 points from last week. The majority, 58%, say they are more worried about the public health impacts, down 6 points from 64% last week.
REALITY CHECK: Ending social distancing now is still a fringe position. Only 14% say Americans should stop social distancing to stimulate the economy even if it means increasing the spread of the virus, though that’s up 4 points from last week. More than three in four, 76%, say Americans should continue to social distance for as long as necessary, even if it means continued economic damage. Toplines ... Crosstabs
SILVER LINING … AP: “As people stay home, Earth turns wilder and cleaner,” by Seth Borenstein: “An unplanned grand experiment is changing Earth. As people across the globe stay home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, the air has cleaned up, albeit temporarily. Smog stopped choking New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and India’s getting views of sights not visible in decades. Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the northeastern United States is down 30%. Rome air pollution levels from mid-March to mid-April were down 49% from a year ago. Stars seems more visible at night.”
HAPPENING TODAY: ANNA and JAKE will talk with former Secretary of State JOHN KERRY about his push on climate change, the 2020 campaign and the U.S. response to the coronavirus at 4 p.m. Register
-- NEW: Maryland Gov. LARRY HOGAN will join us Thursday at 9 a.m. for a virtual Playbook Interview about the behind-the-scenes efforts that secured 500,000 coronavirus testing kits for Maryland, what it will take to reopen the state economy and how governors are trying to collaborate with the White House on the pandemic response. Sign up
WSJ: “Global Markets Steadier After Two Days of Oil-Driven Turbulence,” by Joanne Chiu and Avantika Chilkoti: “International markets regained some poise Wednesday, as investors came to terms with the effects of this week’s spectacular collapse in U.S. oil prices. Futures linked to the S&P 500 rose 0.8% early Wednesday, suggesting U.S. shares could gain. …
“Oil futures remained under pressure. Prices for West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery fell about 5.4% to $10.95 a barrel, a day after the U.S. oil benchmark’s lowest close in 21 years. Brent crude, the global equivalent, erased early gains, falling 9% to $17.60 a barrel.” WSJ
NYT’S BEN PROTESS, STEVE EDER and DAVID ENRICH: “Trump (the Company) Asks Trump (the Administration) for Hotel Relief”: “President Trump’s signature hotel in the nation’s capital wants a break on the terms of its lease. The landlord determining the fate of the request is Mr. Trump’s own administration. …
“In recent weeks, the president’s family business has inquired about changing its lease payments, according to people familiar with the matter, which the federal government has reported amount to nearly $268,000 per month. …
“Eric Trump, the president’s son, confirmed that the company had opened a conversation about possible changes to the terms of the lease, which could include adjustments to future monthly payments. The Trump Organization has said it is current on its rent.
“The younger Mr. Trump said the company was asking the G.S.A. for any relief that it might be granting other federal tenants. The president still owns the company, but his eldest sons run the day-to-day operations. ‘Just treat us the same,’ Eric Trump said in a statement on Tuesday. ‘Whatever that may be is fine.’”
WAPO’S SEUNG MIN KIM and TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA: “Some Senate Republicans look for ways the federal government can play a bigger role in coronavirus testing”: “Led by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Senate Republicans have largely envisioned the federal government taking a lead role in experimenting with diagnostic and serological tests for the coronavirus, even if some of the ideas ultimately fail -- the thinking being that the government can take chances that perhaps the private sector cannot. …
“Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), has proposed a centralized immunity registry that would track who would be protected from infecting others with the coronavirus, modeling it on existing systems for other diseases that record who has been vaccinated.”
-- LAT: “California becomes first state to recommend coronavirus tests for some without symptoms,” by Emily Baumgaertner: “California public health officials have partially lifted restrictions on who should receive tests for the coronavirus, recommending for the first time that asymptomatic people living or working in high-risk settings such as nursing homes, prisons and even some households should now be considered a priority.
“The move makes California the first state to broaden restrictive federal guidelines and reflects increasing availability of testing, as major labs report sufficient supplies and excess capacity to run more procedures, according to the public health department. The developments are viewed by some experts as a significant step toward establishing widespread testing in California to identify and isolate every coronavirus case.”
THE WSJ ED BOARD is not interested in the president’s new immigration policy: “Trump’s Immigration Distraction: There’s no economic or health case for blocking all immigrants”: “One question is why this is necessary even for public-health reasons. Mr. Trump has barred travel to the U.S. from much of the world, and his Administration has stopped processing nearly all new visas for foreigners.
“Foreign governments have suspended nonessential travel to the U.S. All of this plus mandatory 14-day quarantines for new arrivals should block any new coronavirus surge from overseas. … Beyond the damage to life and livelihood, the greatest threat from the coronavirus are policy mistakes that prolong the economic pain. Democrats want to use the pandemic as an excuse to put government in charge of much more of the private economy. Now Mr. Trump wants to limit America’s supply of human talent. If they succeed, we will wake up in 2021 having defeated Covid-19 but at the high cost of a diminished economic future.”
FOR THE OVERSIGHT PANEL … BRIAN FALER: “Why the U.S. government is sending checks to dead people”: “The agency is under pressure to push the money out as quickly as possible — even as the coronavirus is simultaneously killing tens of thousands of people. The IRS is supposed to check death records before okaying the payments, but the government does not have real-time information on who dies. That data percolates up from the states, and there is invariably a lag in reporting.”
WASHINGTON INC. -- “Coronavirus fuels K Street lobbying gush, new disclosures show,” by Theo Meyer: “Airlines, pharmaceutical companies, utilities and shrimp processors are among the industries that have stepped up their Washington lobbying in an effort to influence the federal government’s response to coronavirus.
“New disclosure filings show how of much of corporate America — as well as small companies that had never hired lobbyists before — have pressed Congress and the Trump administration for help as the virus has placed entire industries in peril.
“At least 3,200 companies, trade groups and other organizations lobbied on the $2.2 trillion relief bill that President Donald Trump signed into law last month and other efforts to respond to coronavirus, according to an analysis of disclosure filings by the Center for Responsive Politics. They include giants such as Apple, CVS and Toyota, as well as smaller players, such as the American Shrimp Processors Association.” POLITICO
DAVID SIDERS: “How the coronavirus crisis is remaking the swing state map”: “The economic and political impact of the coronavirus crisis is beginning to reverberate across the presidential battleground states, creating unforeseen red-state opportunities for Joe Biden but also offering promise for Donald Trump in several Democratic-leaning states where his prospects once seemed limited.
“Interviews with more than 30 political strategists, campaign advisers and officials in both parties paint a portrait of an expanded swing state electoral map, upended by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic dislocation it has caused.
“In the industrial Midwestern states that unexpectedly flipped to Trump in 2016, Democrats have more cause than ever to believe they can win back states such as Wisconsin and Michigan. In Arizona and Georgia, traditionally red states, party officials see the virus’ disproportionate effect on communities of color enhancing conditions for victory.
“At the same time, the widespread disruption has presented the president with an opportunity to improve his standing in competitive states such as Nevada and New Hampshire, where Trump was presumed to be at a slight disadvantage.” POLITICO
TRUMP’S WEDNESDAY: The president and first lady Melania Trump will participate in a tree planting ceremony on the South Lawn at noon. He will have lunch with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at 1 p.m. The coronavirus task force will hold a press briefing at 5 p.m.
-- COMING ATTRACTIONS?: “Trump itches for a coronavirus road show,” by Gabby Orr: “President Donald Trump is eager to hit the road. As his own health officials continue to warn against non-essential travel, Trump has privately urged aides over the past week to start adding official events back to his schedule, including photo ops and site visits that would allow him to ditch Washington for a few hours. The day trips would be similar to those Vice President Mike Pence has made visiting businesses during the viral pandemic, according to three people familiar with the planning.”
PLAYBOOK READS
ICYMI -- “Trump’s immigration pause falls well short of full ban,” by Anita Kumar
FOR THE RECORD -- “Coronavirus Death in California Came Weeks Before First Known U.S. Death,” by NYT’s Thomas Fuller and Mike Baker: “Officials in Santa Clara County, Calif., announced late Tuesday that two residents there died of the coronavirus in early and mid-February, making them the earliest known victims of the pandemic in the United States. The new information may shift the timeline of the virus’s spread through the country weeks earlier than previously believed.” NYT
SCOOPLET -- PER DANIEL LIPPMAN: The Department of Veterans Affairs is spending almost $75,000 on masks with MyPillow, run by Trump friend Mike Lindell, according to a recent purchase order on USASpending.gov. Lindell said that the order has not been filled yet because the company has yet to find a subcontractor to actually make the masks, since the VA wants KN95 and disposable masks and MyPillow only makes cloth masks. Asked if MyPillow is going to profit off the order, Lindell said, “We're not making one dime of profit.”
TEXAS TRIBUNE: “Trump campaign still owes El Paso more than $500,000 for a 2019 rally. City officials may sue to get the money,” by Julián Aguilar
HMM -- “Donna Shalala failed to disclose stock sales in 2019 in violation of federal law,” by the Miami Herald’s Alex Daugherty: “Miami Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala, the lone House Democrat on the committee set up to oversee $500 billion in taxpayer money being used for coronavirus-related payouts to large businesses, violated federal law when she failed to disclose stock sales while serving in Congress.
“Shalala told the Miami Herald on Monday she sold a variety of stocks throughout 2019 to eliminate any potential conflicts of interest after she was elected to Congress in November 2018. But the transactions were not publicly reported as required by the STOCK Act, a 2012 law that prohibits members of Congress and their employees from using private information gleaned from their official positions for personal benefit and requires them to report stock sales and purchases within 45 days. Shalala’s office said the congresswoman and her financial adviser made a mistake.”
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- “DeVos bars undocumented college students from emergency aid,” by Michael Stratford: “The Trump administration on Tuesday prohibited undocumented college students from receiving emergency federal cash assistance for expenses like food, child care and housing.
“The economic rescue law passed by Congress gives $6 billion to colleges to dole out to students for expenses stemming from the disruption on campuses caused by the pandemic. But Education Department officials in new guidance said the money can go only to students who qualify for federal financial aid — U.S. citizens and some legal permanent residents. That prevents undocumented students from accessing the money, although the law includes no explicit restrictions on which students could receive the emergency grants.
“The group that won’t receive assistance includes hundreds of thousands of members of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has provided work authorization and deportation protections for undocumented people who were illegally brought to the United States as children or overstayed a visa. The Supreme Court is considering whether the program should continue and is expected to issue a decision by June.” POLITICO
-- “Director of U.S. agency key to vaccine development leaves role suddenly amid coronavirus pandemic,” by Stat’s Nicholas Florko: “Rick Bright, one of the nation’s leading vaccine development experts and the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, is no longer leading the organization, officials told STAT.
“The shakeup at the agency, known as BARDA, couldn’t come at a more inopportune time for the office, which invests in drugs, devices, and other technologies that help address infectious disease outbreaks and which has been at the center of the government’s coronavirus pandemic response. Bright, whose departure was confirmed by three industry sources and two current Trump administration sources, will instead move into a narrower role at the National Institutes of Health.” Stat
VALLEY TALK -- ANNA spoke with Facebook VP FIDJI SIMO in the latest Women Rule podcast about the company’s decision to block anti-quarantine activists from planning in-person protests, how Facebook has changed its game plan and much more. Listen and subscribe
MEDIAWATCH -- “Netflix Adds 16 Million New Subscribers as Homebound Consumers Stream Away,” by WSJ’s Joe Flint and Micah Maidenberg
PLAYBOOKERS
Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at [email protected].
SPOTTED at a surprise Zoom party Tuesday night for Sopan Deb’s new book, “Missed Translations: Meeting the Immigrant Parents Who Raised Me” ($23.69 on Amazon): his dad, Shyamal Kanti Deb, who joined from India; Wesley Dietrich, Eli Stokols and Elena Schneider, Jon Lemire, Mike Bender and Ashley Parker …
… Nick Corasaniti, Reid Epstein and Kate Goodloe, Ali Vitali and Jeremy Diamond, Ali Watkins, Kevin Draper, DJ Judd, Dorey Scheimer, Erin Lee Carr, Priyanka Aribindi, Rachael Klarman, Kaye Foley, Sean Gallitz, Megan McKinley, Priya Desai, Sattik and Erica Deb, Ron Deb, and Atish and Sima Sarkar.
FOGGY BOTTOM ARRIVAL LOUNGE -- Charles McLaughlin is now senior adviser in the office of policy planning at the State Department. He most recently was director for strategic planning at the NSC’s Strategic Planning Directorate and is an OPIC alum.
TRANSITIONS -- Christian Stellakis is now an account manager at the Herald Group. He most recently was an associate at TDS Public Affairs and is an NRCC alum. … Comms firm Portland has hired Meghan Powers as VP and Jamie Enright as manager. Powers previously was VP at Pace PR, and Enright previously was manager of comms at the National Association of Broadcasters.
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Andrew Taverrite, former New Hampshire comms director for Elizabeth Warren’s campaign. A fun fact about him: “Ruminating on this question sent me into a spiral. Do I have fun facts? Is the ability to name the coverage area of every publication in New Hampshire fun? Do I have enough hobbies? Wondering if my mom is going to see this and be annoyed that I didn’t stick with the piano as a kid. It would be nice to say I can play Chopin from memory. But I cannot. I think it’s time to wrap this up.” Playbook Q&A
BIRTHDAYS: Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) is 6-0 … Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) is 56 … WaPo’s Sari Horwitz … AP’s Elana Schor … Joe Pounder, CEO of America Rising and Bullpen Strategy Group, is 37 … NYT’s Helene Cooper … CNN’s Arlette Saenz is 35 … NBC’s Matt Korade … Sarah Hunt, co-founder and CEO of the Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy … POLITICO’s Tina Nguyen and Gaurav Agrawal … Julie Whiston … Don Graham is 75 … Matt Moore, managing partner at First Tuesday Strategies … Jummy Olabanji … James Kvaal … Shayndi Raice, WSJ Midwest bureau chief … Kombiz Lavasany … Donald Tusk, former president of the European Council, is 63 … Wade Henderson … Jared Wood, staff assistant for Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) (h/t Brooke Starr) … The New Yorker’s Erica Hinsley … Patrick Rucker … Larry Brady … Dahlia Lithwick … Ozy’s Daniel Malloy …
… Bob Reid, senior managing editor at Stars and Stripes … Glenn Simpson, co-founder of Fusion GPS, is 56 (h/t Tim Burger) … Krista Jenusaitis Zuzenak … Marisa (Medrano) Perez … Precision Strategies’ Allie Peck (h/t Miranda Margowsky) … McKinsey’s Elizabeth Anderson Ledet … Allegra Kirkland ... Isabella Gomez Torres ... Allison Ehrich Bernstein (h/t Jon Haber) ... Seth Samuels, co-founder and CEO of the Content Lab ... Brian Forde is 4-0 … Rick Dykema ... Anastasia Dellaccio ... Josh Dorner, managing director at SKDKnickerbocker ... WaPo’s Eugene Scott ... Nicole Bamber ... Allie Medack ... Maureen Mooney ... Christopher Jennison ... Evan Quinnell ... Mark Braden … Doug Lowenstein … NYT’s Elisabeth Goodridge ... Adele M. Stan ... Walter Fields is 6-0 ... Evan Dobelle ... Lisa Allison ... Kyle Osborne ... Yasmina Vinci ... Andrea Clarke ... Britt Cocanour ... Andrea LaRue ... Chung Seto (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)
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