United States of America eSeries: Washington keeps talking while America waits

Washington keeps talking while America waits

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Sunday 06.06.21

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by Zachary B. Wolf

: The Latest

The Senate returns Monday for a key three-week stretch before the July Fourth recess as negotiations over President Joe Biden's key agenda items reach a critical stage.

Infrastructure. Talks between Biden and Republicans, led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, on infrastructure continue but it remains very unclear if they can reach an agreement on size, scope and how to pay for them.

Police reform. Negotiations over police reform also continue with both sides indicating a deal during the month of June is a goal, with qualified immunity remaining the main sticking point.

Voting rights. West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin may have finally torpedoed his own party's hopes of sweeping voting rights legislation with an op-ed that definitively ended any speculation he'd vote to end the Senate filibuster to advance Biden's agenda.

"We now are witnessing that the fundamental right to vote has itself become overtly politicized," Manchin wrote in a Charleston Gazette-Mail opinion essay. "Today's debate about how to best protect our right to vote and to hold elections, however, is not about finding common ground, but seeking partisan advantage."

CNN's Dan Merica traveled to West Virginia to see what Manchin's constituents think of his efforts at bipartisanship. Key quote: "I am not a tremendous fan just because he doesn't know which way he is playing," said Lucinda Powell, a former Democrat and bail bonds manager in Fairmont. "One minute he goes with the Democrats, one minute he goes with the Republicans. Pick a side and go with it." Read the whole thing here.

Action beyond the Senate. Vice President Kamala Harris departed Washington Sunday for Guatemala and Mexico, her first major international trip, with the administration under intense political pressure to stem the flow of migrants to the US. Read more from CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, Maeve Reston and Jasmine Wright.

And a federal judge's Friday ruling striking down California's assault weapons ban -- with an opinion that included a striking line comparing the AR-15 to a Swiss Army knife -- may add pressure on gun legislation, too.

And Biden leaves later this week on his own first overseas trip, with stops in the UK for the G7 summit and a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II followed by his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.

: Trump's comeback effort begins

Former President Donald Trump returned to the public stage Saturday in North Carolina, where he dashed the hopes of Republicans who spent the weeks leading up to his public reemergence encouraging him to keep his focus on policy and Democratic shortcomings, rather than re-litigating his 2020 election loss once again.

Trump baselessly claimed that his defeat last November was "the crime of the century" and likened the 2020 presidential contest to a "third-world" election.

"Remember," Trump told the crowd after repeating numerous falsehoods about widespread election fraud, "I am not the one who is trying to undermine American democracy, I am the one who is trying to save it."

"What happened to this country in that last election is a disgrace," he continued, noting that he has been pleased with Republican-led efforts in Florida and Texas to impose new legislative restrictions on voting. "I would like to see Georgia be much tougher," he noted.

It was the first stop on a tour that is expected to feature campaign-style rallies, high-dollar fundraisers and an overall uptick in his public appearances after months of quietly plotting the next chapter of his political career with aides and longtime advisers. It was also a major test of his ability to be an instrumental surrogate for Republicans as the party approaches a grueling midterm cycle. Read more from CNN's Gabby Orr and Michael Warren.

Trump's speech continued his dangerous disinformation campaign, writes CNN's Maeve Reston -- but it also showed how he's attempting to present himself as the GOP's kingmaker. He endorsed Republican Rep. Ted Budd for North Carolina's key US Senate race -- though he noted that he had waited for his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to decide against a run for the seat.

Reston writes: Budd, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, won Trump's loyalty in part by being one of the 147 House Republicans who voted against certifying the outcome of the 2020 election on January 6.

Farther south, in Georgia, Republicans who split with Trump's allies over his ongoing election lies continued to be punished by the boisterous GOP base. Attendees at that state's GOP convention booed Gov. Brian Kemp, who refused to help Trump overturn the election results. They also censured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for standing up to Trump, with members calling it a "dereliction of his constitutional duty," according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Trump has already endorsed GOP Rep. Jody Hice, who's embraced his election falsehoods, to run against Raffensperger.

Democrats will have to defy history to win in 2022. CNN's Harry Enten writes: This week's special election in New Mexico's 1st congressional district is part of a larger trend that shows us that if President Joe Biden remains as popular as he is now, Democrats have a fighting chance to maintain House control.

Democrat Melanie Stansbury beat Republican Mark Moores by 26 points in the special election to replace Deb Haaland, who represented the district until she joined the Biden administration as interior secretary earlier this year. She did so in a district that Biden won by 23 points in 2020, Haaland took it by 16 points that same year and Hillary Clinton won by 17 points in 2016. In other words, Stansbury didn't just match but slightly exceeded the baseline Democratic performance in the district.

Of course, this was just one special election. But there have been a slew of special elections, mostly on the state legislative level since Biden became president, that seem to indicate something similar. Read the whole thing here.