“IT’S NOT JUST CONGRESS” — that was the email we got from a senior official at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office Wednesday.
WE’RE HEARING FROM ALL CORNERS of the United States government that workers feel unsafe. They feel like they can’t wear masks — because President DONALD TRUMP spent months not wearing one. And they feel like they are forced to come into the office to work in unsafe, crowded conditions during a pandemic that never went away.
HERE IS A SENIOR AIDE AT USTR, which is located across the street from the White House, describing U.S. Trade Representative ROBERT LIGHTHIZER’S behavior:
— “IT’S NOT JUST CONGRESS. At my agency within the Executive Office of the President, my cabinet official, Amb. Robert Lighthizer, has been on at least four flights to/from Palm Beach in the last 10 days and yet does not wear a mask in the office. Nor does his staff. And yet Lighthizer wants career staff to come to the office in order to report to the White House that our operations are getting back to normal and is furious that we are refusing.”
USTR’S JEFFREY EMERSON: “It is untrue to suggest that USTR staff are being forced to come into the office during the pandemic. Our agency remains in a state of ‘maximum telework’ and has since mid-March. In fact, all career staff are working from home and only a very few come into the office on occasion when necessary. In addition, Ambassador Lighthizer is regularly tested for the coronavirus.”
HERE’S THE PROBLEM for many in government: No one wants to quit a job amid a pandemic and an imploding economy. And Washington is a small town where jobs come to those with good reputations. If your boss tells you to not wear a mask or to come into the office, you’re going to obey — because you likely have no choice.
NO MASKS, NO PROBLEM! … THE SENATE SERGEANT AT ARMS sent an email Tuesday reminding staffers they DIDN’T NEED TO WEAR MASKS: “On July 22, 2020, the Mayor of the District of Columbia issued Order 2020-80 requiring individuals to wear facial masks when in public settings or in common areas. However, there are several exceptions, including that federal employees are exempt from this requirement while on duty.” The full email
WILL THE HILL INSTITUTE TESTING? … THE WHITE HOUSE tells us they are willing to send Abbott’s rapid testing machine to Capitol Hill to ensure the safety of lawmakers, aides and workers.
NEW … THE HOUSE INVESTIGATED starting its own testing mechanisms, but ultimately it never came to pass. BACK IN MAY, GOP aides on the House Administration Committee met with WILL ROPER, the assistant secretary of the AIR FORCE for acquisition, technology and logistics. They were told a Covid testing laboratory could be set up at GW in one week and could immediately process 2,000 tests a week, and would be able to ramp up to 6,000 at no cost to the House. They met with roughly 10 companies who offered testing. Speaker NANCY PELOSI and Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL made the choice to forgo testing for people in the Capitol. The three documents they reviewed
WE’RE GOING TO KEEP ON THIS STORY, so keep your tips coming. We’re working hard to keep up with the flood of emails, DMs and messages we’ve gotten. Thank you.
Good Thursday afternoon.
THE RELIEF TALKS … JAKE and MARIANNE LEVINE: “Senate Republicans are temporarily abandoning their hopes for a large-scale coronavirus relief package, but will try to pass a standalone extension of federal unemployment insurance, according to multiple sources familiar with the strategy.
“A proposal that is gaining steam comes from Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson: renew enhanced unemployment at 66 percent of lost wages, or $200 per week. The strategy has general backing from the White House, which is eager to extend the bulked up unemployment insurance.
“Republicans view this as a way to put pressure on Senate Democrats one day before a federal $600 enhanced unemployment is scheduled to expire. But Senate Democrats are already dismissing the proposal. The Senate is set to leave for the weekend without reaching an agreement on extending enhanced federal unemployment benefits.” POLITICO
— WATCH MARK MEADOWS this afternoon. Embracing a stand-alone extension of enhanced UI is a big concession for the GOP — and also shows how badly they need this policy. This, perhaps, will spur a discussion on enhanced UI as a stand-alone discussion.
MCCONNELL will meet with MEADOWS at 2 p.m. this afternoon.
— THE STAKES, via JEFF STEIN (@JStein_WaPo): “Just a reminder as we head over the cliff: If unemployment benefits go away completely, more than 30 million Americans will see an income cut of between 50 percent and 75 percent — virtually overnight.”
It’s time for updated internet regulations to prevent election interference. We’ve more than tripled our security and safety teams to 35,000 people, added 5-step political ad verification and partnered with security researchers, other tech companies and law enforcement to combat foreign election interference. What’s next? We support updated internet regulations.
AMERICA IN FREE FALL …
— BEN WHITE: “U.S. suffered worst quarterly contraction on record as virus ravages economy”: “‘This is obviously the ugliest quarter we’ve ever seen in our history,’ Edward Moya, senior analyst at currency trading firm OANDA, said of the Commerce Department’s initial estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product, which showed the economy contracting 32.9 percent on an annualized basis, the biggest drop in more than seven decades of records.” POLITICO
— NBC MIAMI: “Florida Breaks Single-Day Record for Coronavirus Deaths for 3rd Straight Day With More Than 250” by Tony Pipitone
— TODAY’S SQUIRREL … @realDonaldTrump at 8:46 a.m.: “With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
A REALITY CHECK: THE PRESIDENT cannot legally postpone the election by himself. His threat drew quick, bipartisan condemnation this morning. (Also, your regular reminder that mail-in voting is the same as absentee voting.) BuzzFeed’s Dominic Holden in March: “What Happens If Trump Tries To Cancel The Election Because Of The Coronavirus?” … Andrew Desiderio on the Hill reaction
REMEMBERING JOHN LEWIS — via the AJC LIVE BLOG (BARACK OBAMA still to come):
— GEORGE W. BUSH: “‘Listen, John and I had our disagreements of course. But in the America John Lewis fought for and the America I believe in, difference of opinion are inevitable elements and evidence of democracy in action,’ Bush said to applause. ‘We the people, including congressmen and presidents, can have different views on how to effect our union, while sharing the conviction that our nation, however flawed, is a good and noble one. We live in a better and nobler country today because of John Lewis.’”
— BILL CLINTON: “John always kept walking to reach the beloved community. He got into a lot of good trouble along the way but let’s not forget – he also developed along the way an uncanny ability to heal troubled waters. When he could have been angry, and cancel his adversaries, he tried to get converts instead. He thought his open hand was better than the clenched fist.”
NEWSMAX: “Herman Cain Dies From Coronavirus at 74,” by Bill Hoffmann: “Herman Cain — the maverick American business czar and Republican presidential candidate who campaigned for a sweeping tax reform plan called 9-9-9 — died Thursday morning after a monthlong battle with the coronavirus. He was 74. Cain, who recently joined Newsmax TV and was set to launch a weekly show, died in an Atlanta-area hospital where he had been critically ill for several weeks. …
“Cain was a self-made man with an extraordinary backstory — one that made him a towering example of hard work paying off. … In 14 months, he returned Godfather’s [Pizza] to profitability and led his management team to a buyout of the company. … Cain, who long held an interest in public policy, became chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 1995, serving in the position for 20 months. In 2019, Trump nominated Cain to [the] Federal Reserve Board. But the nomination drew serious flak from Congress and Cain’s detractors.”
TA TA, TATA? — “Senate hearing for controversial Pentagon nominee Anthony Tata canceled just before it was set to begin,” by WaPo’s Dan Lamothe and Seung Min Kim: “The nomination of a retired general for a senior civilian position in the Trump administration was cast into doubt Thursday morning when his confirmation hearing was canceled just before it was scheduled to begin amid signs that he did not have enough Republican votes, according to three congressional officials and an internal email obtained by The Washington Post.” WaPo
INSIDER’S DARREN SAMUELSOHN (@dsamuelsohn): “NEWS: The full DC Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to rehear the Michael Flynn case. Oral arguments for the en banc review are scheduled for Aug. 11. Today’s order also vacates an earlier 3-judge panel ruling from the DC circuit directing a lower court judge to accept the DOJ’s request to toss out the former Trump national security adviser’s guilty plea.”
ON THE HILL — “Pompeo claims he didn’t interact significantly with ousted Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch,” by Halley Toosi and Max Cohen: “Pompeo also defended the Trump administration’s approach to Russia … Pompeo listed an array of moves the administration has taken, including imposing sanctions on prominent Russians, in protecting the United States against Kremlin disinformation efforts and other measures. However, citing classification concerns, Pompeo would not specifically say whether he’s pressed his Russian counterparts on allegations that Moscow is offering bounties to the Afghan Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers.” POLITICO
ICYMI — BIG SWING … ANDREW DESIDERIO and NATASHA BERTRAND: “Intelligence disputes fuel rare public acrimony among Gang of Eight”: “The group of congressional leaders responsible for reviewing the nation’s most closely held secrets is engaged in an unusual and bitter partisan fight over how much information to share with the public about election interference — all while lawmakers and administration officials seek to prevent 2016-style meddling from foreign countries.
“The public spat between the Democratic and Republican sides of the so-called Gang of Eight, less than 100 days before Americans go to the polls, is highly unusual for the group, whose obligations normally rise above the political fray and rarely descend publicly into the partisan squabbles that define Capitol Hill.”
HUNT FOR A VACCINE — “Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine performs well in early tests,” by FT’s Donato Paolo Mancini in Rome and Hannah Kuchler: “A single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s experimental coronavirus vaccine elicited ‘robust’ protection against Covid-19 when tested on animals, with clinical human trials now under way in the US and Belgium.” FT … The Nature study
— WSJ: “Drugmakers Race to Build Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Chains: Supply shortages, specialized handling and tight transportation capacity will make it harder to distribute hundreds of millions of vaccine doses,” by Elaine Chen
PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — D.C. SCHOOLS will be all virtual through Nov. 6., the city announced.
THE REOPENING … BIANCA QUILANTAN: “‘It’s too late’: Stimulus can’t save schools from a chaotic start”: “Lawmakers are still haggling over the details of the package that would deliver a historic sum for education, as districts throughout the country prepare to kick off the school year. Education leaders are already spending money on stockpiles of face masks, computers kids can use to connect to classes at home and training for educators still learning how to make the most of teaching from afar.
“But districts have no certainty from Congress about how much cash they can expect to rain down from a final stimulus deal or what rules will be attached to that money. … In many public school districts, the fall semester starts in less than two weeks. Classes are already underway in others. … No matter the final total, the stimulus in the works is on track to shower U.S. schools and colleges with the biggest chunk of cash the federal government has ever spent on education.” POLITICO
— RYAN HEATH: “Open schools are the exception, not the rule, around the world”: “Only a few countries have opened schools nationwide in the manner the Trump administration is pushing. They include Norway, France and New Zealand, as well as Nicaragua, Taiwan and Vietnam. On the other hand, 143 countries have instituted country-wide closures.”
LOOK WHO’S BACK — “Obama Unleashes on Trump Privately as He Raises $24 Million for Biden,” by NYT’s Shane Goldmacher and Glenn Thrush: “With less than 100 days until the presidential election, Mr. Obama has laid out the stakes of 2020 in forceful fashion. He has urged support for Mr. Biden, his former vice president, while worrying about the state of American democracy itself, even making an oblique reference to Nazi Germany” NYT
AD WARS — “Biden campaign launches first TV ads in Ohio,” by NBC’s Mike Memoli: “[T]he Biden campaign is adding a new, seven-figure campaign focused exclusively on the Buckeye State. Airing in the Toledo and Youngstown markets through the Democratic National Convention next month, Biden’s new advertisement actually spotlights his hometown of Scranton. … The ad then promotes Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ plan, unveiled over the course of this month, to help ‘the backbone of this nation: working families.’” NBC
CASH DASH — “DeSantis raises funds for Trump in advance of Florida events,” by Gary Fineout in Tallahassee: “The money effort is a show of loyalty by the governor … DeSantis has shut down his own fundraising efforts, in one case even returning a $25,000 check his political committee received. Donors who have asked about giving financial support to the governor have been told to wait.
“But the Republican governor, whose 2018 victory was boosted by Trump’s endorsement ahead of the Republican primary, has been calling donors in the last week to 10 days to ask them to donate to the president’s reelection campaign.” POLITICO
THE WINTER WHITE HOUSE — “‘It’s just nukes. Sing us a song.’ New book examines Trump’s surreal Mar-a-Lago schmoozefest,” by Sarah Blaskey, Nicholas Nehamas, Caitlin Ostroff and Jay Weaver in the Miami Herald, excerpted from their new book, “The Grifter’s Club” ($21.49 on Amazon): “Mar-a-Lago was bustling on the second night of President Donald Trump’s Southern White House summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Feb. 11, 2017. … Dawn Basham, one of Trump’s favorite lounge singers, was the evening’s entertainment. …
“As Abe listened, Trump requested four songs and told Basham what a great job she was doing. Then the president asked Basham to twirl around for the men … Almost precisely at mid-twirl, things began to change. A flurry of activity began at the president’s table. Something had happened. Something with North Korea. Basham tried to make her exit. ‘Mr. President, I shouldn’t know this,’ someone heard the performer say. Trump shrugged. ‘It’s just nukes,’ the president said. ‘Sing us a song.’” Miami Herald
BEYOND THE BELTWAY — “Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder indicted in federal bribery case,” by the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Jessie Balmert: “The announcement came less than an hour before Householder was removed from his position as speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives.”
DOJ WATCH — “Why Barr’s Pick for Brooklyn Prosecutor Faces Scrutiny From All Sides,” by NYT’s Nicole Hong: “When Attorney General William P. Barr announced a new top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn this month, it was a promotion for one of his closest advisers in Washington. … [Seth] DuCharme, 49, is stepping into the position at a fraught time for any U.S. attorney whose office has the jurisdiction to investigate President Trump’s associates. …
“Mr. DuCharme seemed keenly aware of the appearances surrounding his promotion. But he said that using the office to advance an inappropriate political agenda would be ‘inconsistent with every fiber of my being.’ … Longtime colleagues and even courtroom adversaries of Mr. DuCharme said he had a lengthy track record of pursuing cases without partisan motivation.” NYT
SCOTUS WATCH … CNN’S JOAN BISKUPIC: “Inside the Supreme Court’s internal deliberations over Trump’s taxes”: “Chief Justice John Roberts had the majority on his side after the Supreme Court heard arguments … But the vote among the justices was close, and the narrow margin did not satisfy Roberts — or his colleagues. They wanted a coalition of liberal and conservative justices — as much ideological unity as possible — for the decisions regarding presidential power … It would take nearly two months to produce the two 7-2 rulings.” CNN
FOR YOUR RADAR — “Homeland Security seized $2 billion from travelers, but most were never charged with a crime, report says,” by WaPo’s Justin Jouvenal: “[In] nearly 70 percent of such cases … no arrest accompanies a seizure. Critics argue federal agencies are abusing civil forfeiture to fatten budgets, since the cash flows into government coffers and is redistributed. The report found DHS airport seizures have exploded over the decade-and-a-half studied.” WaPo … The Institute for Justice report
HEADS UP — “Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed Handed Nine-Year Prison Sentence By Moscow Court,” by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: “[T]he case against Reed has been marred by inconsistencies. … Reed is one of several American citizens to face trial in Russia in recent years on charges that their families, supporters, and in some cases the U.S. government have said appear trumped up.”
AD ASTRA — “NASA successfully launches its Mars 2020 Perseverance rover using an Atlas V rocket,” by TechCrunch’s Darrell Etherington: “This rover, a successor to the Curiosity robotic explorer, is equipped with sensors specifically designed to help it hopefully fund evidence of ancient, microbiotic life on Mars.” TechCrunch
AFTERNOON READ — “A warning from Wisconsin: Wisconsin sells more paper, employs more people and has more paper mills than any other state. The industry was already in decline, but the coronavirus delivered a death blow,” by WaPo’s Peter Kendall in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
IN MEMORIAM — “A Rolling Tribute to New York’s John Homans (1958–2020),” by New York’s Christopher Bonanos: “He edited features at New York for not quite twenty years, from 1994 to 2014, and because he was not a celebrity editor, he was not particularly well-known outside the publishing universe. But let us assure you, because we saw it firsthand: There was nobody quite like him. A disproportionate number of the best things you ever read in New York came through his hands. The shape and sound and worldview and talent pool of this place would be immeasurably lessened without him.” N.Y. Mag
— TAIWAN NEWS: “Taiwan’s first directly elected president, Lee Teng-hui, oversaw liberalization,” by Matthew Strong
FOGGY BOTTOM ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Tricia McClaughlin is now at the State Department as chief of staff for Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea. She previously was acting deputy assistant Treasury secretary for public affairs.
BONUS BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Emily Barson, executive director of United States of Care. A trend she thinks doesn’t get enough attention: “The female heads of state who are leading the world in successful response to the Covid-19 crisis don’t get as much credit as they should. It really demonstrates that those who look down on so-called feminine traits like cooperation and compassion may need to rethink their macho attitudes.” Playbook Q&A
BONUS BIRTHDAY: Detroit Jewish News editor Andrew Lapin is 31 (h/t Daniel Strauss)
CLARIFICATION: This Playbook PM has been updated to reflect that GOP aides on the House Administration Committee met with the Air Force’s Will Roper about Covid testing in May.