Biden set to square off with party's left: The Note
The TAKE with Rick Klein
The alliance has never been an easy one, and long-ago history and current realities have conspired to keep it that way.
Still, there are fresh pitfalls and opportunities emerging for President Joe Biden to have to -- or perhaps even want to -- square off with his party's progressive wing.
In Eastern Europe, Biden is mobilizing U.S. forces for the kind of possible military actions the left has long stood against. The collapse of Build Back Better negotiations leaves the White House potentially restarting negotiations with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., or left with nothing at all.
One of the president's most influential allies, House Minority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., is publicly urging Biden to elevate Judge J. Michelle Childs to the Supreme Court. A few Republicans are signaling they would support her, too -- but early reaction has focused on Childs' private sector work for employers viewed as hostile to labor unions.
Now come new issues of crime and policing, with Biden making a public show of appearing alongside New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer who is staking his mayoralty on cracking down on crime.
"The answer is not to defund the police," the president said alongside Adams on Thursday.
If there's a course correction afoot, it may be one that puts Biden more squarely where he has long found his policy home. But it's also going to test the patience of a whole lot of allies who claim a piece of credit for landing him in the White House.
The RUNDOWN with Averi Harper
The government funding deadline is fast approaching, and signs point to another short-term continuing resolution to keep the government running.
With only two weeks until the Feb. 18 deadline, negotiations on spending are ongoing. On the status of those negotiations, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said there is still much to iron out.
"We haven't resolved anything yet," Shelby said.
Shelby indicated Thursday that when it comes to a continuing resolution, the committee was "probably headed that direction." The length of any potential stopgap measure would be determined by Senate leadership.
The patchwork of continuing resolutions that have kept government going during the entirety of Biden's first year is a barrier to carrying out major pieces of the president's agenda.
The TIP with Alisa Wiersema
Texas Republican Gov. Abbott's toughest hurdle as an incumbent is overcoming the aftermath of last year's deadly storm that claimed more than 200 lives and left thousands of Texans without power for days or weeks. Abbott vowed there wouldn't be a repeat breakdown of the state's electrical grid in 2022, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas that is responsible for managing the grid backs that assessment.
Meanwhile, his high-profile Democratic challenger, Beto O'Rourke, effectively launched his campaign on the criticism Abbott received for his handling of the storm. Since then, O'Rourke has been hammering Abbott over what will happen if there's another weather emergency.
The two are now engaged in dueling information campaigns about storm preparedness. And while Abbott's role as governor gives him the power to address statewide issues, it also leaves him with the risk of having to face another disaster.
On Friday, O'Rourke hits the road for a 12-day campaign swing through Texas as part of his "Keeping the Lights On" road trip. Although the former presidential contender plans to remind voters of the catastrophes caused by the last grid failure, he also faces the political risk of having to pivot his message if the lights do, in fact, end up staying on.
NUMBER OF THE DAY, powered by FiveThirtyEight
18. That's the potential percentage of Black members of Congress from states that constitute the former Confederacy if the Supreme Court rules Alabama's congressional map is a racial gerrymander under the Voting Rights Act. It would be the most Black representation in the region in U.S. history. Under Section 2 of the VRA, it's illegal to deny members of a racial minority equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice, and in Alabama, civil rights advocates have sued, arguing Black voters in the state are entitled to a second district. As Nathaniel Rakich writes for FiveThirtyEight, if the lawsuit is successful, it could have ramifications for other states, including Louisiana and South Carolina.
THE PLAYLIST
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