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Good morning! We hope you had a wonderful weekend. Welcome back to 10 Things in Politics, your weekday look at the biggest stories in DC and beyond. Sign up here to receive this newsletter.
Send tips to [email protected] or tweet me at @BrentGriffiths.
Here's what we're talking about today:
- These are the 9 hurdles to Biden's infrastructure plan
- White House warns Russia about what will happen if Alexei Navalny dies in prison
- A poll shows Texans might be more than alright with Matthew McConaughey as governor
1. WHEELING AND DEALING: Negotiations on President Biden's $2.3 trillion jobs plan are in full swing. He will meet later today in the Oval Office with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, some of whom are former mayors and governors. Meanwhile, Vice President Harris will head to North Carolina touting the plan as she delivers her first major speech on the economy. However, the more talks continue around the plan, the more it becomes apparent that some major roadblocks remain.
Here's a look at where things stand:
A GOP counterproposal is moving forward: Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said he's working with Democrats on an $800 billion package. Republicans and some business groups have pressured the White House to narrow its definition of infrastructure by cutting items like $400 billion for home care workers. Biden has defended a broader definition of infrastructure that goes beyond roads, bridges, ports, and airports.
A deal is said to be forming around corporate taxes: Biden and Democrats, Axios reports, are increasingly prepared to accept a 25% rate rather than the 28% currently in the plan. Trump and the GOP's 2017 tax law lowered the overall corporate rate from 35% to 21%.
- More Democrats getting SALTy: Rep. Thomas Suozzi of New York told The Washington Post that he would oppose the president's plan if it doesn't undo the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions created by the 2017 law. Other Democrats have also signaled a fight over the provision, though not everyone in the party agrees.
Time remains a factor: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has privately told lawmakers that she wants House passage before July 4, a speedy timeline in an institution that moves notoriously slow. Unlike Biden's $1.9 trillion rescue plan, the White House expects the infrastructure plan to move through a more normal process of hearings and mark-ups.
2. Fauci expects a decision on Johnson & Johnson this week: Dr. Anthony Fauci hopes there will be a call on the paused COVID-19 shot by Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a meeting that day to discuss what to do about the vaccine that was paused after six women developed rare blood clots.
- Half of US adults have had at least 1 dose of a vaccine: Some 84 million people are fully vaccinated from coronavirus, about 32.5% of the population, the AP reports. But vaccine hesitancy continues to be an issue. The New York Times found that the least-vaccinated counties on average were more likely to have voted for Trump.
3. These are the stocks lawmakers are trading: Rep. Seth Moulton, Democrat from Massachusetts, is one of the newest investors in Swedish company Oura, the maker of a high-tech wearable ring that measures all sorts of biometrics. Moulton invested up to $250,000 in the private company. He told Insider that he's recused himself from decisions related to his or his wife's investments. Here's a peek at our exclusive look at the portfolios of the powerful.
Dogecoin is in the halls of Congress. Rep. Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee, purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of the cryptocurrency. And Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, and one of the wealthiest members of Congress, sold off his investment in Revival, a custom window company. He netted between $1 million and $5 million from the sale, which his office said was managed by a private trustee like all of his other investments.
Read the rest of our latest round-up here.
4. Poll shows McConaughey with a double-digit lead over Gov. Greg Abbott: Texans favor Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey over Abbott, the Republican governor, according to a poll released by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler. Respondents back McConaughey (45%) over Abbott (33%) while 22% would support someone else. McConaughey has said he's considering a run but has yet to make a decision.
5. Closing arguments in Derek Chauvin's murder trial are due today: Minneapolis and cities throughout the country are preparing for unrest as the jury is expected to begin deliberations later today. CNN reports that Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco are readying extra officers in anticipation of the verdict. More on the preparations here.
- Republicans accuse Rep. Maxine Waters of inciting violence: Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas accused the Democratic congresswoman of "actively encouraging riots" after she said people should "get more confrontational" during a visit to Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
The top House Republican warned Pelosi about Waters' comments:
6. The top things for your calendar, all times Eastern:
- 10:00 a.m.: Chauvin's trial resumes for closing arguments
- 11:50 a.m.: Harris speaks at the Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina.
- 12:15 p.m.: Jen Psaki holds the White House daily news briefing
- 1:15 p.m.: Biden meets with a group of bipartisan lawmakers in the Oval Office
7. Bush shares a big regret: Former President George W. Bush said his failure to get comprehensive immigration reform passed is one of the "biggest disappointments" of his presidency. Bush said he would still support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently residing in the US. More comments from a rare interview.
8. Authorities are searching for the suspect in a deadly Austin shooting: Police are searching for a former Travis County deputy who is suspected of killing three people in a domestic violence incident, the Austin American-Statesman reports. The man in question is also facing charges for sexually assaulting a child. The manhunt is still ongoing as of just after 5 a.m. ET.
9. Biden aide warns Russia of "consequences" if Alexei Navalny dies: National security advisor Jake Sullivan warned Moscow that it "will be held accountable by the international community" if Putin's top critic dies in custody. Navalny's doctors have warned that he could "die any minute" unless he receives medical treatment. Navalny previously started a hunger strike to protest his lack of medical treatment.
10. European soccer teams caused international uproar: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the creation of a continental "super league" with six English, three Spanish, and three Italian clubs forming a breakaway organization. Liverpool, Manchester United, AC Milan, and Real Madrid are all part of the planned new league. FIFA and other soccer organizations have threatened bans and sanctions for teams that join.
One last thing.
Today's trivia question: Speaking of soccer, who is the only president who played college soccer? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at [email protected].
- Friday's answer: There were just four positions in President Washington's original cabinet.