10 Things in Politics: Mike Pence plots his return
Good morning! Welcome back to 10 Things in Politics, your look at the biggest stories in DC and beyond. Sign up here to receive this newsletter.
I'm the Insider politics reporter Oma Seddiq, filling in today for Brent Griffiths. Send tips, comments, or dog pics to oseddiq@insider.com or tweet me @omaseddiq.
Here's what we're talking about:
- Pence tests whether there's any room left for him in a Trump Republican Party
- Cities anticipate logistical and security nightmare if Trump gets prosecuted
- The CDC loosened outdoor mask guidelines for fully vaccinated people
With Jordan Erb.
One thing to look out for today: President Joe Biden's first joint address to Congress is set for 9 p.m. ET.
1. MIKE PENCE PLOTS HIS RETURN: Former Vice President Mike Pence and his team aren't winding down. Instead, they're gearing up to test whether he has a future in politics. For weeks, Pence has been plotting a return to public prominence.
Pence's comeback begins: In February, Pence teased that he was joining two top conservative organizations. Then he launched a new political group and nabbed a lucrative book deal. And soon, on Thursday, Pence is set to make his clearest move yet that he's ready to reclaim his political future: headlining a fundraiser for a conservative Christian group.
- One Pence advisor told my colleague: "He's reminding everyone he's returning from where he came, and honestly I think that's going to be a pretty bold speech."
One thing not to expect this week? Any announcement of a presidential run. But the speech should be considered an effort to carve out a lane for himself in 2024 ... if former President Donald Trump doesn't run. What's next for Pence's political future.
2. Bracing for possible Trump trials: Officials in three major cities where Trump is facing legal jeopardy - Atlanta, New York, and Washington, DC - are worried any trials would attract violent crowds and a massive media presence.
- If Trump gets charged and his case goes to trial, he'd have to appear personally in court. A former deputy assistant director of the Secret Service told Insider the agency would "work hand in glove with the local law enforcement and other federal agencies to protect him."
- New York has had experience with high-profile court cases, but Trump is "a different order of magnitude because he was the president of the United States," said Daniel Alonso, a former second-in-command for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
- In Atlanta, it could take weeks or months for the courthouse to prepare for a trial.
- A trial at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC, steps away from where the Capitol insurrection unfolded, may spark an even greater level of intensity and public interest.
Here's how the cities are gearing up for the possibility of a Trump trial.
3. The CDC loosened mask guidance for fully vaccinated people: On Tuesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave recommendations for what immunized people could do, including going maskless outside to exercise, dine, or socialize.
4. Biden boosts minimum wage for government contractors: President Joe Biden on Tuesday issued an executive order that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractors. White House officials estimate that the action will benefit "hundreds of thousands" of workers. More on the executive order.
- Sanders calls on Congress: Biden's order prompted Sen. Bernie Sanders to say: "Congress should follow his lead and end starvation wages for the rest of the nation. Let's get it done." Yet garnering support on Capitol Hill will be no easy task.
5. Biden's plan to raise taxes on the wealthy: Biden hopes to pay for more than $4 trillion in spending - including $1.8 trillion for childcare, education, and healthcare he's expected to discuss in Wednesday night's address - with taxes on corporations and wealthy investors, Axios reports.
- The ultrarich are scrambling: Biden has proposed raising capital-gains taxes for individuals making over $1 million a year. Experts say the move won't have a lasting impact on the stock market - yet the possible tax hike has panicked America's wealthy, and some are already moving their money.
6. Right-wing media's false narratives: Over the past week, right-wing media - most prominently Fox News - has promoted three major false stories.
- There was the New York Post's cover story claiming Vice President Kamala Harris' children's book was being gifted to migrant children. That was quickly debunked.
- Fox News falsely claimed the Biden admin would require Americans to radically reduce their consumption of red meat. In reality, there is no such plan.
- Outlets ran stories inaccurately claiming the Virginia Department of Education was moving to eliminate advanced math classes in high schools.
7. Stolen money from Google's PAC goes unrecovered: Google's political action committee told federal regulators that its bank had ended efforts to recoup stolen money. The PAC reported in December that thieves stole about $2,500, joining dozens of other political committees that lost about $2.7 million during the 2020 election. More details of the theft here.
8. Some politicians have been renting their supporters' data to earn money: Christy Smith, a Democrat running for a House seat in California's 25th District, raked in nearly $55,000 from January through March by renting out supporters' personal information to a digital consulting firm. That's more than she made from her actual backers' campaign contributions.
This kind of data-for-dollars transaction highlights a political open secret of sorts: that candidates often treat their supporters' personal information as a commodity to be monetized. It also raises questions about supporters' privacy.
A look at the "Wild West" of political data sales.
9. The Trump Organization charged taxpayers for undisclosed stays and luxury-car rentals at Trump's foreign golf resorts: In 2017, US taxpayers paid Donald Trump's resorts in Ireland and Scotland for previously undisclosed visits by the Trump family and the Secret Service, The Scotsman found.
Documents obtained by American Oversight, an ethics watchdog in Washington, DC., showed about $7,000, from Trump's Turnberry resort in Scotland.
- "No one objects to the Trump family receiving Secret Service protection, but every time they charge their security detail to stay at a Trump hotel, thousands of taxpayer dollars line their pockets," Austin Evers, the executive director of American Oversight, told The Scotsman.
10. Epicurious is leaving beef behind: The food and recipe website announced that it's cutting out beef entirely and that beef-related information would not appear in recipes, articles, newsletters, or on social media. It cited sustainability for the change.
One last thing.
Today's trivia question: Can you name two US politicians who had cameos in the TV show "Parks and Recreation"?
- Yesterday's answer: The only president not to have his face fully depicted in his official White House portrait was JFK.