The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness
The Daily 202

A lunchtime newsletter featuring political analysis on the stories driving the day.

Democratic criticisms of Biden get louder – and broader

Analysis by

with research by Caroline Anders

July 6, 2022 at 11:36 a.m. EDT
The Daily 202

A lunchtime newsletter featuring political analysis on the stories driving the day.

Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. On this day in 1957, American Althea Gibson became the first Black tennis player to win Wimbledon. Gibson beat Darlene Hard, also of the United States, 6-3, 6-2.

The big idea

Does the abortion ruling highlight issues of management at the White House?

The Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion landed June 24. Its broad contours were known since a May 2 leak. President Biden’s tepid initial policy response left liberal Democrats incredulous and angry. He ramped up his attacks on the decision. The Left still wants more action from him.

Now comes CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere, turning what many Democrats see as the administration’s strangely meek counter to a largely foreseen judicial earthquake into a broader tale of Democratic complaints and concerns about Biden’s White House.

Here’s the crux of Isaac’s piece: “Top Democrats complain the President isn't acting with — or perhaps is even capable of — the urgency the moment demands.”

But this is the paragraph that stood out to The Daily 202: “Two dozen leading Democratic politicians and operatives, as well as several within the West Wing, tell CNN they feel this goes deeper than questions of ideology and posture. Instead, they say, it gets to questions of basic management.”

Ideology is one thing. No one expected Biden, who ran as a moderate in 2020, to push for defunding police or Medicare-for-all, positions he repeatedly repudiated. And the razor-thin Democratic majority in the Senate is regularly a viable culprit for stymying liberal priorities the GOP opposes in lockstep.

But questions about competence are dangerous ground for any president to be on, particularly with large majorities of Americans saying the country is on the wrong track, just months before midterm elections. That may be especially true because Biden ran as an affable insider who would use skills honed over decades to defeat covid and restore the economy.

Here — anonymously sourced, to be sure — are some of the missteps Isaac identified in Biden’s response to the abortion ruling:

“White House counsel Dana Remus had assured senior aides the Supreme Court wouldn’t rule on abortion that day. A White House press aide assigned to the issue was walking to get coffee when the alert hit. Several Democratic leaders privately mocked how the President stood in the foyer of the White House, squinting through his remarks from a teleprompter as demonstrators poured into the streets, making only vague promises of action because he and aides hadn't decided on more.

“Then, Biden’s July 1 meeting with governors to talk about their efforts to protect abortion rights was planned so last minute that none of those who attended came in person, and several of those invited declined to rearrange their schedules to appear virtually.

‘We understand that frustration’

White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield and press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not return an email from The Daily 202 asking whether Biden felt he had the right team in the West Wing and was satisfied with the flow of information to his desk.

But in her briefing on Tuesday, Jean-Pierre defended Biden’s handling of gun violence, pointing to the (modest) bipartisan law he recently signed. She also insisted he responded quickly and forcefully to the abortion ruling and teased the possibility of new, unspecified, executive actions. And she reinterpreted a question about Democratic frustration with the White House.

“We understand that frustration,” she said. “What we saw the Court do almost two weeks ago should be frustrating, should be infuriating, and should have everyone angry — not just women, because this is not just about women’s rights.”

Fighting spirit

From a different page in the same hymnal, my colleagues Ashley Parker and Matt Viser reported Tuesday about Democrats fretting at least as much about the size of the fight in the dog as the size of the dog in the fight, and turning to leaders with more bark and bite.

In the view of many distraught Democrats, the country is facing a full-blown crisis on a range of fronts, and Biden seems unable or unwilling to respond with appropriate force. Democracy is under direct attack, they say, as Republicans change election rules and the Supreme Court rapidly rewrites American law. Shooting sprees are routine, abortion rights have ended and Democrats could suffer big losses in the next election,” they wrote.

Ashley and Matt tapped into activist scorn for Biden’s response, which regularly centers on a plea for Americans to vote Democratic while second-guessing other options as potentially unworkable.

“‘There is a leadership vacuum right now, and he’s not filling it,’ said Adam Jentleson, a Democratic consultant and former top adviser to then-Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid of Nevada. I sympathize with the argument that there’s very little they can do legislatively. But in moments of crisis, the president is called upon to be a leader. And when people are feeling scared and angry and outraged, they look to him for that, and they’re not getting much.’”

And that, Ashley and Matt, has led some Democrats to gravitate to the more combative tone they’re hearing from party electeds who may or may not have aspirations to higher office, like J.B. Pritzker, Illinois’ Democratic governor or California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

And their rhetoric, in turn, seems to echo the tone of one Mallory McMorrow.

What’s happening now

Former White House counsel Cipollone to testify before Jan. 6 committee

“Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone will testify Friday morning after receiving a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, according to people familiar with the matter,” Josh Dawsey reports.

  • “It’s unclear what limits there may be on his closed-door testimony, which is scheduled for about half a day, according to one person familiar with the matter. The session will be videotaped, but there will be some limits on what he will testify to regarding direct conversations with former president Donald Trump.

Demand for workers remains strong despite mounting economic gloom

“Employers posted 11.3 million job openings in [May], down from a peak of 11.8 million in March and 11.4 million in April, but still well above pre-pandemic levels, according to a report released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Roughly 4.3 million Americans quit or changed jobs in May, reflecting a job market where workers continue to have the upper hand,” Abha Bhattarai reports.

China accuses U.S. of ‘technological terrorism’ as chip curbs grow

“Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian lashed out at Washington after Bloomberg News reported the US is lobbying allies to stop the sale of mainstream technology essential for making a large chunk of the world’s chips, expanding a years-long campaign to curb the country’s rise. He didn’t say whether China planned any retaliatory measures in response to the move,” Bloomberg News reports.

Highland Park suspect’s father sponsored gun permit application, police say

“The Illinois State Police confirmed on Tuesday that the father of the Highland Park parade shooting suspect sponsored his son’s application for a gun permit months after relatives reported that Robert E. Crimo III had threatened to ‘kill everyone,’ and that authorities had ‘insufficient basis’ to deny the application,” Reis Thebault and Timothy Bella report.

Lunchtime reads from The Post

‘Nothing feels safe:’ Americans are divided, anxious and quick to panic

“In deadly assaults and harmless bursts of celebratory explosives, a divided nation demonstrated this holiday weekend just how anxious and jittery it has become, as the perennial flare of fireworks saluting American freedom reminded all too many people instead of the anger, violence and social isolation of the past few years,” Marc Fisher reports.

… and beyond

Gov. Beshear turns over White House ‘privileged’ emails on Chad Meredith judge nomination

“Gov. Andy Beshear’s office reversed course Tuesday and turned over a June 23 White House email that confirms President Joe Biden intended to nominate an anti-abortion Republican to a lifetime appointment as a federal district judge in Kentucky,” the Louisville Courier Journal's Joe Sonka, Michael Collins and Joey Garrison report.

Gun violence in America: A long list of forgotten victims

“Compared to much of the developed world, America is a murderous country. The United Nations estimates the U.S. homicide rate is three times that of Canada, five of France, 26 of Japan. According to some studies, there are more guns in America today than there are people. But if Americans often see the country’s streets as ever more dangerous scenes of public mass killings, the reality is more complicated,” the Associated Press's Michael Tarm and Brynn Anderson report.

“While mass murders soak up the vast majority of the attention, more than half of America’s roughly 45,000 annual firearm deaths are from suicide. Mass shootings — defined as the deaths of four or more people, not including the shooter — have killed from 85 to 175 people each year over the past decade.”

The Biden agenda

Justice Dept. sues Arizona over requiring proof of citizenship to vote

“Democrats have lambasted House Bill 2492 as another of the state GOP’s long-standing efforts to restrict voting and make it more difficult for some residents, including naturalized immigrants, to take part in elections,” David Nakamura and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez report.

  • What it says: “The bill requires voters to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers, on a federal voter registration form. It also mandates that county officials cross-check voter registration rolls with citizenship records and disqualify those who are not listed as a citizen in the databases.”

Treasury examines climate effect on insurance availability

The Treasury Department is growing increasingly concerned that climate change is making property insurance scarce in disaster-prone areas and is looking at launching the first nationwide assessment of insurers’ financial exposure to climate risk. The Federal Insurance Office sent a preliminary email Thursday to insurance regulators in all 50 states asking what data they have that would show insurance coverage, liabilities and losses for each ZIP code in their state over the past five years,” E&E News's Thomas Frank reports.

‘Be absolutely furious’ — Dems want more from Biden after Highland Park

“Perhaps no issue better encapsulates the Biden administration’s viewpoint and tactics than how it has chosen to tackle the epidemic of gun violence. The president makes no secret of his bolder legislative ambitions … But those efforts have been stymied by Republicans in Congress, and he has had to balance dueling demands: righteous indignation of fellow Democrats and the plodding, incremental progress that comes with bipartisan compromise,” Politico's Christopher Cadelago and Jonathan Lemire report.

G-20 meeting may lead to wider divisions over war in Ukraine

“Unlike in recent leader-level meetings with NATO partners and other like-minded partners, [U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken] will find himself among diplomats from countries wary of the U.S. approach to Ukraine and concerned about its impact on them,” the AP's Matthew Lee reports.

The future of Amtrak, visualized

“Amtrak’s plan for the 140-mile route from New Orleans to Mobile, Ala., is one of 39 new routes the railroad is pursuing as part of its plan announced last year to reach dozens more cities and towns. The aspirations coincide with Washington’s priorities for more rail and alternate modes of transportation, supported by the bipartisan infrastructure law President Biden signed last year. The measure includes $66 billion for the nation’s ailing rail network,” Luz Lazo reports.

Hot on the left

How much will it cost to police abortion?

With states unable to print money, trade-offs would have to ensue. Money spent for the War on Abortion will have to, at some level, come out of other parts of the budget. This means either less money spent on other parts of criminal justice—white-collar crime units, perhaps, or improved conditions in correctional facilities—or other forms of social spending. In addition, forcing pregnant people, particularly low-income ones, to carry children to term could increase safety-net spending, whether they keep the child or send it into the foster care system. Being denied an abortion can also trigger significant physical and mental-health issues that require care. So just as an elaborate abortion surveillance state is funded, potentially taking away from welfare spending, more welfare need could arise,” Toby Jaffe writes for the American Prospect.

Hot on the right

The insurrectionists’ clubhouse: Former Trump aides find a home at a little-known MAGA hub

“Last summer, while most of official Washington was still reeling from the historic assault on the Capitol, a clubhouse for Trump White House exiles hosted a bash that all but toasted the insurrectionists and plotters responsible,” Grid's Maggie Severns, Jason Paladino, Steve Reilly, and Anya van Wagtendonk report.

“‘Hot Gulag Summer,’ held at the nondescript Capitol Hill town house leased by the Conservative Policy Institute, advertised Jan. 6, 2021-themed cocktails, including the ‘Capitol Attaquiri,’ ‘Insurrection on the Beach’ and the ‘Mostly Peaceful Mojito.’”

Today in Washington

Biden will leave for Cleveland at 12:45 p.m. He is expected to arrive at 1:55 p.m.

At 3:15 p.m., he will deliver remarks announcing the final rule implementing the American Rescue Plan’s Special Financial Assistance program.

The president will depart Cleveland at 4:55 p.m. and is scheduled to arrive back at the White House at 6:20 p.m.

In closing

Meet your new anti-corruption czar….*checks notes* Rich Nephew?

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.