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The new 988 suicide prevention hotline is set go live nationwide

Beginning Saturday, any American experiencing a mental health crisis can call or text 988, the new National Suicide Prevention Hotline that’s been years in the making. The federal government has invested millions of dollars in preparation for 988’s launch and is relying on states to help make the new service a success. 

Over 200 locally operated and funded crisis centers across the country will begin operating 24/7, responding to 988 calls and text messages in an attempt to reimagine crisis response in the U.S. Callers will first be routed to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and then connected to a local crisis counselor where they can receive counseling, resources and referrals.  

Where locally available, there will also be mobile crisis units on deck for dispatch.  

Anyone can use 988 that needs support for a suicidal, mental health and/or substance use crisis by either calling or texting the new three-digit lifeline. An online chat will also be available through the Lifeline’s website. 

The new three-digit line is attempting a person-centered approach to mental health care, offering live assistance through a trained crisis counselor who can promote stabilization and care in the least restrictive setting possible. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Agency (SAMHSA) says that currently fewer than 2 percent of Lifeline calls require emergency services like 911. 

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. 

988 is also an effort aimed to reign in the country’s mental health crisis, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the US experienced one death by suicide every 11 minutes in 2020, making it the second leading cause of death for young people.  

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) also calculated that as of 2009, the number of suicides occurring in the U.S. outnumbered those caused by motor vehicle accidents.  

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline experienced the crisis firsthand, receiving 3.6 million phone calls, chats and texts combined in 2021 — and that number is expected to at least double within the first full year after the 988 transition. 

The federal government has signaled it’s serious about investing in Americans’ mental health care, with HHS investing $432 million in mental health outreach — with $105 million going to states and territories to use towards scaling up 988, like increasing staffing at local crisis call centers.  

The success of 988 is contingent on the strong engagement and participation of states and local partners, with HHS officials telling Changing America that the July 16 launch date is only the beginning and that a lot of work remains to be done to strengthen the service and truly transform the crisis care continuum in the U.S. 

“988 is more than a number, it is a message: we’re there for you. Through this and other actions, we are treating mental health as a priority and putting crisis care in reach for more Americans,” said Secretary Becerra, in a statement. 

“There is still much work to do. But what matters is that we’re launching, 988 will be live. We are looking to every governor and every state in the nation to do their part to make this a long-term success.” 

However, the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), which has been tracking local legislation related to 988, found that so far only 21 states have enacted legislation necessary for implementation — like instating telecommunication charges, funding schemas and integrating existing crisis call systems with 988. 

Like Washington state, which enacted legislation last year that added a 24-cent fee per line to residents’ monthly phone bill in order to fund 988. The fee is expected to bring in about $46 million annually to cover the cost of expanding the state’s suicide call center. 

That still leaves over two dozen states that have not introduced any legislation that addresses 988, despite a federal mandate. 

Yet, HHS officials remain hopeful, reiterating that it took the U.S. over five decades to grow 911 into the effective emergency response process it is today and that 988 is poised for a much faster transformation. 

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988.lifeline.org. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Jesse Jackson endorses 24-year-old progressive in race to replace Demings

Florida congressional candidate Maxwell Frost on Friday received a key endorsement from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, marking another big-name backing the Gen-Z gun control activist. 

“It’s time that we pass the baton to the new generation of Civil rights leaders like Maxwell who are fighting for the future that we all deserve,” Jackson said in a statement to The Hill. “

“He played a major role in getting voter rights restored to 1.6 million Floridians and in the fight to end gun violence at March for Our Lives where he led thousands of young people across the country in the effort to pass gun reform legislation,” he continued. “Maxwell is what we need in Congress and I’m going to do everything I can to help him win.” 

The Hill was the first national outlet to report on the endorsement. 

Jackson, a veteran civil rights leader, has been involved in politics for decades. He was a Democratic presidential candidate in 1984 and 1988 and served as the shadow center for the District of Columbia in the 1990s. In 2020, he served as a campaign adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) presidential campaign. 

Frost, 24, is running in the Democratic primary in Florida’s 10th Congressional District, which is located in the greater Orlando area. Rep. Val Demings (D) currently represents the district but is running for Senate in November.

Jackson is the latest high-profile figure to put their support behind Frost. In May, Frost received endorsements from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), former NAACP President Ben Jealous and labor and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta.

Frost has also received the backing of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s campaign arm, the Communication Workers of America, and the League of Conservation Voters. 

As of May, Frost had raised nearly a million dollars, beating out his closest competitor by a 2-to-1 margin at this point in the campaign.

The district is considered solidly Democratic, but Frost will face seven other primary opponents in the Aug. 23 primary, including state Sen. Randolph Bracy (D), attorney Natalie Jackson and the Rev. Terence Gray.

Republicans running for the district include retired Army Col. Cal Wimbish and nonprofit executive Willie Montague.

Source: TEST FEED1

Stop saying war has changed

In a recent opinion piece, Jonathan Sweet and Mark Toth claim a revolution in military affairs may be unfolding in Ukraine. Their argument hinges on the supposed marginalization of armor (tanks and tracked combat vehicles) and an influx of drones. This contention fails to consider the context within which Russia’s war is occurring, ignores the fundamental role that armor plays on the battlefield, and makes overzealous assertions about the effectiveness of drones. Concluding that war has changed fundamentally is wrong.

Much has been made of the destruction of Russian armor by man portable anti-tank guided missiles. To be sure, the extent of Russia’s losses is impressive. Depending upon which source you consult, Russian tank losses are in the high hundreds to thousands. But are tanks being marginalized? No. People have chiseled a date onto the tank’s gravestone since its invention, and to date they have been wrong.

Of course, armor is vulnerable to anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). Man-portable anti-tank weapons have existed as long as armor. That’s one reason that armor has evolved: an eternal race between armor and the anti-tank weapon. Russian armor isn’t failing because it’s fundamentally inferior to the anti-tank missiles; it is failing because of poor employment.

Armor provides militaries with fast, protected, long-range, heavy firepower that is effective against vehicles and individuals. Man-portable ATGMs provide slow-moving, unprotected, long-range firepower, which is primarily effective against vehicles. However, they are only as survivable as the individual carrying them. All it takes to stop a man-portable ATGM is a pistol, whereas you need a rocket, missile or shell to destroy armor. Anti-tank weapons in Ukraine have been so effective because the Ukrainians have been defending. They don’t need to move fast; they can fight from prepared defensive positions and they know the routes Russians must use, so they can prepare and choose where to fight. 

Anti-tank weapons will not be nearly as effective in the offense, to which Ukraine must transition to achieve its political goals. The Ukrainians know this and have requested tanks themselves.

The ways Russia has lost armor are both avoidable and somewhat inherent, not harbingers of any revolution in military affairs. Russia has failed to conduct combined arms maneuver — synchronizing infantry, armor, artillery, aviation, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, etc. to achieve greater effects than if each were used separately. Russia repeatedly has employed armor without infantry, and frequently has utilized armor in slow-moving, tightly packed columns, which violate multiple tactical principles. These failures of employment have contributed to their losses significantly. 

If Russia used the concept of combined arms, it is likely there would be fewer Russian casualties. This calls to mind the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in which it seemed that the Sagger ATGM completely nullified Israeli armor. However, the effectiveness of the Saggers was negated when Israelis began conducting combined arms maneuvers by integrating infantry and artillery suppression into their armored assaults. New technology was countered by a return to the basics.

Furthermore, claiming that armor is unable to defend against ATGMs is tenuous. The Ukrainian military assesses that the reactive armor on T80 tanks is 90 percent effective against direct attack ATGMs. Of course, this doesn’t account for top-attack ATGMs such as the Javelin or NLAW. But if armor-protection technology can evolve to be 90 percent effective against direct attack ATGMs, surely it can do so against top-attack weapons. What’s more, claims that current Russian countermeasure suites have been ineffective against ATGMs are simply not backed by substantive evidence. There has been no published study on the effectiveness of ATGMs or countermeasures, only occasionally suspect videos posted online. Additionally, if the Russians are apparently struggling to maintain basic equipment such as tires, can we be confident that far more sophisticated equipment like countermeasure suites are functioning as intended?

Finally, it is a general rule among military professionals that attackers need a force ratio of 3 to 1 to be successful. This ratio acknowledges that the attacker will suffer more casualties than the defender and therefore must bring more troops. We must view the disproportionate Russian casualty figures in that context: The attacker suffers more casualties than the defender.

Drones, too, have not fundamentally changed warfare. The belief that drones are revolutionary has increased in the past 15 years, usually in reference to the conflicts in Libya, Syria and the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Academic study of drone use in these conflicts demonstrates that, like any weapon, drones are effective when an opponent is not prepared or does not possess the technical capability to counter them. Even when effective, they do not replace conventional ground combat, and when an opponent is prepared, drones simply become another average tool in the box of combined arms.

In Syria, drones have not achieved any decisive results and all parties have become adept at destroying or jamming them. The situation in Libya was similar: Drones were ineffective in areas with well-established air-defense systems, and drone use in more permissive areas did not significantly alter the balance of power. Additionally, combat with infantry, armor and artillery was still common and necessary for either side to achieve progress. More recently, the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war saw Azerbaijan use drones to great effect, but those drones were mostly the same types that were being shot down in Libya and Syria. They were effective because the Armenian military lacked the technical capability and training to counter them.  

Ukrainian defenders enjoyed much success employing drones early in the invasion. However, this was again because of Russia’s failure to conduct combined arms maneuver by not integrating electronic warfare and anti-air assets with their armor and infantry. As the war has progressed, Russia has recognized this mistake and is better synchronizing its assets to negate Ukrainian drones.

Warfare hasn’t fundamentally changed. It revolves around using all technology and capabilities in coordination. This is not to say that new technology isn’t important. However, no single technology has yet to outweigh all others, and claiming so creates the danger that policymakers will make ill-informed decisions about the future composition of our military. It is good that current leaders in NATO militaries understand this and still publicly endorse combined arms maneuver, and not technology-centric warfare.

Micah Neidorfler is a U.S. Army captain with six years’ experience as an infantry officer. His past positions include rifle platoon leader, infantry weapons company executive officer, and battalion assistant operations officer. He is a student in the Maneuver Captains Career Course at the Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, or U.S. government.

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden hails opening of Saudi airspace ahead of historic flight

Biden on Friday called Saudi Arabia’s decision to lift a ban on Israeli flights a step toward a more stable Middle East region, just hours ahead of his planned flight from Israel to Jeddah.

“Saudi Arabia’s historic decision to open its airspace for all civilian planes, including those flying to and from Israel, is an important step towards building a more integrated and stable Middle East region,” he said.

Biden, who will be the first U.S. leader to fly directly from Israel to the kingdom, touted his administration’s work to get to the airspace opening.

“While this opening has long been discussed, now, thanks to months of steady diplomacy between my Administration and Saudi Arabia, it is finally a reality,” he said.

Saudi Arabia’s decision signaled an end to its longstanding prohibition on commercial flights to and from Israel flying over the country, which is a step toward normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

“As we mark this important moment, Saudi Arabia’s decision can help build momentum toward Israel’s further integration into the region, including with Saudi Arabia. I will do all that I can, through direct diplomacy and leader-to-leader engagement, to keep advancing this groundbreaking process,” the president said.

On Thursday, Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid discussed the importance of the president’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia, which Lapid called “extremely important to Israel.”

And, the two leaders discussed integrating Israel into the Middle East. Later on Thursday, Biden said he strongly supports the Abraham Accords, promoting the Trump-era declarations as a way to integrate Israel into the Middle East.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan also hailed the opening of Saudi Arabi airspace as a victory from the administration’s diplomacy.

“This decision is the result of the President’s persistent and principled diplomacy with Saudi Arabia over many months, culminating in his visit today,” Sullivan said in a statement. “This decision paves the way for a more integrated, stable, and secure Middle East region, which is vital for the security and prosperity of the United States and the American people, and for the security and prosperity of Israel.”

Source: TEST FEED1

The Hill's Morning Report – Abortion battles intensify across the country

The fight over reproductive rights continued to play out in Washington and across the country on Thursday as lawmakers battle over the right to seek abortions across state lines while state governments push for greater autonomy from President Biden’s administration and the courts

The House today is set to vote on a pair of bills as part of the Democratic response to the Supreme Court’s striking down of Roe v. Wade. One would restore the right to an abortion as previously protected by Roe, a similar piece of legislation that House Democrats passed in September to codify the 1973 ruling into law. The second bill would block states from interfering with the right to travel to obtain an abortion (CBS News). 

Both proposals are expected to pass the House. However, they will fall short in the Senate, which was the site of Thursday’s war of words on the topic as Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) blocked an effort by Senate Democrats to pass legislation that would protect interstate travel for abortion.

“Does that child in the womb have the right to travel in their future?” Lankford said on the Senate floor after blocking a unanimous consent request by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) “Do they get to live? … There’s a child in this conversation as well” (The Hill).

Cortez Masto, who is up for reelection in November, argued the bill is needed to shield abortion providers even in states where abortion remains legal, noting that some are concerned over the possibility of being sued if they provide care to out-of-state patients. Some Democrats, however, believe the right to travel for abortion is constitutionally protected.

“Anyone telling you this is not a threat is not paying attention,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a member of Democratic leadership who is running for reelection, said on the Senate floor.

The Associated Press: ​​House making 1st attempt to protect abortion in post-Roe era.

At the state level, Texas filed suit against the Biden administration, challenging its recent guidance reminding hospitals and physicians that federal law requires them to provide abortions if there is a medical emergency and the health or life of the patient is at risk.

The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Texas, claimed that the administration “seeks to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic,” and is “flouting the Supreme Court’s ruling before the ink is dry.” The Lone Star State also argued that the guidance stretches further than what the administration maintains is a reminder to hospitals of current law (The Hill). 

The Texas Tribune: Texas sues after Biden administration issues guidance saying doctors can perform abortions in emergencies.

Indiana on Thursday pushed the Supreme Court to fast-track its order to an appellate court to effectively allow a state law to go into effect that would stiffen parental notice requirements in cases where a minor seeks an abortion (CNN). 

“Delay would only serve to prevent enforcement of a duly enacted state law designed to protect minors, families, and the unborn,” Thomas Fisher, the state’s solicitor general, told the justices in court papers (The Hill).

▪ The Associated Press: Abortion access coordinated across Illinois-Wisconsin line. 

▪ Politico: Confirmation of Ohio rape victim’s abortion story forces retreat from some conservative doubters.

▪ The Hill: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) pours water on Supreme Court expansion but favors filibuster reform.

▪ The Associated Press: Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) asks court to unblock abortion ban.

Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) struck again on Thursday night when he told Democratic leaders that he will not support the climate or new tax increases proposed in the party’s reconciliation bill, dealing a major blow to the Biden agenda.

Instead, the West Virginia centrist and his staff reportedly told leadership that he is only willing to back a package that can be passed with only Democratic votes that lowers prescription drug costs and extends tax subsidies to help lower the cost of healthcare for those who are covered through the Affordable Care Act (NBC News).

Effectively, this is the second time Manchin has driven a stake in the wishes of top Democrats and progressives who pine for action on climate change and fear this could be the last chance for action in years. In December, Manchin effectively killed off the Build Back Better package, a $2 billion social spending proposal. 

“I’m not going to sugarcoat my disappointment here, especially since nearly all issues in the climate and energy space had been resolved,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told The Washington Post. “This is our last chance to prevent the most catastrophic — and costly — effects of climate change. We can’t come back in another decade and forestall hundreds of billions—if not trillions — in economic damage and undo the inevitable human toll.”

The news comes shortly after Manchin tossed fresh doubt on a future bill following Wednesday’s report that inflation surged 9.1 percent over the last year, the highest annual rate since 1981. Manchin subsequently suggested he was only sold on a proposal to reduce prescription drug prices (The Hill).

Related Articles

▪ The Hill: Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday grilled IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig behind closed doors about audits of former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, both fired by Trump. Republicans questioned Rettig about a 2021 leak to the news media about billionaires’ tax filings.   

▪ Politico: Democrats’ tax-increase dreams meet election-year reality.

▪ The Hill: Schumer to move on long-awaited, slimmed-down bill that would boost the U.S. semiconductor industry by $52 billion to $54 billion.

▪ The Hill: The annual defense spending bill became a battleground for partisan combat over political issues including abortion. … The House passed its version on Thursday (The Hill).

 LEADING THE DAY

➤ ADMINISTRATION

Controversy and curiosity leading up to Biden’s meeting today with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah has lingered for weeks. Once a “pariah,” in Biden’s words as a presidential candidate, Saudi Arabia is now viewed in the White House as a constructive monarchy in the Middle East, one with critical petroleum supplies at a time of global inflationary price pressures and worries about ominous goals in Moscow, Beijing and Tehran.

“There are so many issues at stake, I want to make sure that we can continue to lead in the region and not create a vacuum, a vacuum that is filled by both Russia and China,” the president said on Thursday at a press conference with Prime Minister Yair Lapid in Israel.

Biden flies today to Saudi Arabia to attend a regional Arab summit in Jeddah where he’ll meet the Saudi leader along with leaders from Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt.

“The reason I’m going to Saudi Arabia is to promote U.S. interests in a way that I think we have an opportunity to reassert our influence in the Middle East,” Biden told reporters while in Israel (The Washington Post).

Lapid minimized diplomacy with Tehran as an option, while Biden insisted it was still the best path. Biden, saying his administration would not wait “forever,” appeared to accept that an international push to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran had stalled.

▪ The New York Times: Biden, Lapid reveal a dividing line over Iran. 

▪ The New York Times: Biden, Lapid push for Israeli ties with Saudi Arabia.

▪ The New York Times: Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has known Biden for four decades, met with the president and offered praise despite their political differences. He also repeated his frequent warning about Iran. “We need one thing,” Netanyahu said. “A credible offensive military option is needed.”

▪ Haaretz and The Associated Press: This morning ET, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Biden delivered separate statements in Bethlehem (their representatives couldn’t agree on a shared summary statement).

In Jeddah, the president will announce an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Egypt that will see Riyadh take steps toward normalization with Israel (The Times of Israel and Axios). The White House confirmed the agreement in a Thursday statement. Saudi Arabia will agree to open its airspace to Israeli flights to the Far East in addition to rolling out direct flights between Israel and Saudi Arabia for Muslim pilgrims.

U.S. inflation: The Hill’s Sylvan Lane and Alex Gangitano analyze Biden’s mixed messages about U.S. consumer prices, which rose a staggering 9.1 percent in the 12 months that ended in June, according to a report released on Wednesday. … Democratic candidates face deepening peril as Republicans seize on inflation fears in ads and commentary (The New York Times). 

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ POLITICS

Former President Trump is eyeing a September announcement of a 2024 presidential bid, according to some allies who have urged him to heed his instincts as a way to shore up his standing in the party and drive midterm turnout to help the GOP take over the House and Senate next year, The Washington Post reports.

“If Trump is going to run, the sooner he gets in and talks about winning the next election, the better,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who recently golfed with Trump in New Jersey. “It will refocus his attention — less grievance, more about the future.” 

“I’ve already made that decision,” Trump said during an interview with New York magazine (The Hill), adding that his quandary was an announcement before or after the midterm contests.

Other Republicans interviewed by the Post were not enthused about a 2022 Trump bid for the GOP nomination in 2024.

“Of all the selfish things he does every minute of every day, it would probably be the most,” said one prominent Republican strategist, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Everything we are doing that is not talking about the economy is going to be a disaster.”

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Jan. 6 committee considers seeking testimony from Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence.

▪ Axios: Trump to return to Washington on July 26 for an America First Policy Institute event.

🗳️ A new report authored by prominent conservatives and released on Thursday concluded there was no election fraud in 2020 that would have changed the results. Among those who signed off on the 72-page report are retired federal appeals court judges Thomas Griffith, J. Michael Luttig and Michael McConnell; former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, who served under former President George W. Bush; former senators John Danforth and Gordon Smith; longtime Republican election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg; and veteran Republican congressional chief of staff David Hoppe. The group includes men elected or appointed by Republicans or otherwise associated with the Republican Party (CNN and MarketWatch). 

From the former White House occupant to the current one, Biden, faced with poor approval ratings, is facing increasing questions about his 2024 viability from a key Democratic bloc of support: young voters.

A survey by The New York Times and Siena College this week showed that 94 percent of Democratic primary voters aged 18-29 believe the party in power should nominate someone else come the 2024 cycle, tossing a fresh dose of skepticism on another Biden presidential bid in two years. 

As The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Morgan Chalfant note, the lack of support not only is harmful to the president, but also to a party that is struggling to maintain grip on its control of Congress, which could lead to midterm doom later this year. 

▪ Niall Stanage: The Memo: Democrats cast around for 2024 alternatives to Biden.

▪ The Hill: Sen. Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) lead in respective Georgia races: poll.

RIP: Ivana Trump, the ex-president’s first wife and mother of three of his five children — Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric Trump — died suddenly at her home in New York City on Thursday at age 73. “Our mother was an incredible woman — a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend,” the Trump family said in a statement. 

The former president, who was divorced from Ivana in 1992, described her in a statement on his social media platform as a “wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life” (ABC News).

📝 Introducing NotedDC, The Hill’s curated commentary on the beat of the Beltway. Click here to subscribe to our latest newsletter. 

OPINION

■ The Republican who wants to end the Trump era — without taking on Trump, by John F. Harris, founding editor, Politico. https://politi.co/3yJ06lW 

■ The BA.5 wave is what COVID normal looks like, by Katherine J. Wu, staff writer, The Atlantic. https://bit.ly/3OctJ4S

WHERE AND WHEN

The House will meet at 9 a.m.

The Senate convenes on Monday at 3 p.m. to resume consideration of the nomination of Nina Y. Wang to be a district judge with the U.S. District Court in Colorado.

The president is in the Middle East. Biden will speak at Augusta Victoria Hospital, part of the East Jerusalem Hospital Network. He will meet Abbas of the Palestinian Authority in Bethlehem, West Bank, and each will make a statement. The president will visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank. Biden will fly from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Saudi Arabia where he will meet with bin Salman at 6:15 p.m. local time at Al Salam Royal Palace. Their meeting is closed to the press. Later, Biden and U.S. officials will participate in a working session with bin Salman and Saudi ministers at 6:45 p.m. local time.

Vice President Harris has no public events scheduled.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is with the president in the Middle East.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in Bali, Indonesia, for the Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers. Early this morning ET, she spoke at the G20 seminar about tackling food insecurity, calling for global financial assistance to address needs. She also delivered a keynote address early today at a G20 seminar on “macroeconomic policy mix for stability and economic recovery.” Her remarks were livestreamed. Ukraine’s plight is dominating G20 discussions (Reuters).

First lady Jill Biden is in Boston where she will speak at the American Federation of Teachers Convention at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. She will visit Eversource Station 99, an electrical substation servicing the Seaport District of Boston, at 11:45 a.m. for an event about job training opportunities for college students. The first lady will be accompanied by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to meet with students participating in Eversource’s paid summer internships.

Economic indicator: The Census Bureau reports at 8:30 a.m. on retail sales in June.

🖥  Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features news and interviews at http://thehill.com/hilltv, on YouTube and on Facebook at 10:30 a.m. ET. Also, check out the “Rising” podcast here.

ELSEWHERE  

➤ INTERNATIONAL

In Italy on Thursday, President Sergio Mattarella declined to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi after a day of political drama that threatened to bring down a national unity government that has been in office less than 18 months (Reuters). Draghi told his Cabinet he would offer his resignation to Mattarella following the refusal of a coalition ally to support a government bill, but the president refused to accept, saying, “No, Mario,” while urging the prime minister to rethink. Draghi had said in a statement that “the majority of national unity that has sustained this government from its creation doesn’t exist anymore” (The Associated Press). Reuters reported that Draghi is expected to appear in parliament on Wednesday.

In Sri Lanka on Friday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as interim president until parliament elects a successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned after mass protests over the country’s economic collapse forced him from office (The Associated Press). Demonstrators retreated on Thursday as Rajapaksa, who fled the country this week, emailed a resignation that was routed through Singapore. Sri Lanka on Thursday remained a powder keg, and the military warned it had powers to respond in case of chaos — a message some found concerning (The Associated Press). 

➤  PANDEMIC & POX

California is in virus-focused headlines this morning. 

Rising COVID-19 infections threaten to bring back mask requirements to Los Angeles (The Associated Press), and a state senator worries that San Francisco is heading for a public health crisis because of the spread of monkeypox and the crush of demand for vaccine doses, which are in short supply (The Hill).  

Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (trackers all vary slightly): 1,023,258. Current average U.S. COVID-19 daily deaths are 351, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

➤  HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT 

The canvas has two faces. An unknown self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh has been unveiled behind another known painting by the famed artist, according to the National Galleries of Scotland. The unearthed portrait of Van Gogh in a brimmed hat, hidden for more than a century, is like a ghost on the reverse side of his “Head of a Peasant Woman.” It has been known that the Dutch artist sometimes painted on both sides of canvases to save money (The Associated Press).

THE CLOSER

And finally … 👏👏👏 Congratulations to our Morning Report Quiz winners! 

With Saturday’s anniversary of Joe DiMaggio hitting safely in his record 56th straight game, we wanted to see how much our fabulous quizzers knew about some unbreakable sports records.

Here’s everyone who went 4/4 and deserves a big Friday standing ovation: Stephen Delano, Richard Baznik, Harry Strulovici, Lou Tisler, John Donato, Terry Pflaumer and Jack Barshay.

They knew that Lou Gehrig — who played in 2,130 consecutive games, only to have that record broken by Cal Ripken Jr. (2,632 games) — was nicknamed “The Iron Horse.”

The Boston Celtics were buoyed to eight straight NBA championships from 1959-66 by 10 Basketball Hall of Famers who were inducted as players (not coaches or contributors).

Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 points per game in the 1986-87 season, the highest single season per-game average of any player not named Wilt Chamberlain (who averaged 50.4 points per game in 1961-62).

Finally, the seven no-hitters tossed by Nolan Ryan are only approached by the four thrown by the legendary Sandy Koufax. 

Stay Engaged

We want to hear from you! Email: Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. Follow us on Twitter (@alweaver22 & @asimendinger) and suggest this newsletter to friends!

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Why Biden's inflation message is out of touch with Americans

President Biden’s message downplaying the latest inflation numbers is out-of-touch, according to experts who warn that his remarks make the administration appear unrelatable to most Americans.

Annual inflation hit 9.1 percent in June, the highest rate of price growth since November 1981, despite recent interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Consumer prices rose 1.3 percent last month alone, driving up the costs Americans face to get groceries and fill up their gas tanks.

Biden acknowledged in a statement after the report’s release that inflation remained “unacceptably high” but then downplayed the significance of the new data, calling it “out-of-date” because it does not reflect the decline in gas prices not captured in the June report.

Experts warned that Biden’s message may prove ineffective to most of the public.

“Biden’s response to the inflation report this morning might have been a little tone deaf,” said Derek Tang, co-founder of Monetary Policy Analytics, in a Wednesday interview.

“Telling them this release is out of date because it doesn’t have the latest data is not really going to be well received as a message,” he continued.

Gas prices have come down since the spike in the price of oil last month, which was responsible for almost half of the total June inflation surge. Biden in his message highlighted those savings as “providing room for American families” while also noting the price of wheat had also come down and was not reflected in the report.

Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the out-of-date messaging strategy from the White House doesn’t get to the real issue.

“Whether it’s 8 percent or 9 percent, both are too high and the real issue isn’t the time frame of the data,” he said. “The real issue is that we have intense inflationary pressures and while the Fed is doing their part on the demand side, we really need policymakers to do their part on the supply side and frankly that just isn’t happening.”

Oil and wheat prices were not the only forces pinching American households in June. Prices for almost everything other than airplane fares and hotel rooms rose at faster rates in June, too, and have shown few signs of slowing down.

Inflation outside of the food and energy sectors hit 0.7 percent in June and 5.9 percent over the past 12 months, according to the CPI report, and shelter prices rose 0.6 percent last month. Motor vehicle repairs, dental service fees, health and auto insurance prices all rose roughly 2 percent each.

“The June CPI numbers were horrible. The next question is whether they will be repeated over the next few months,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a Thursday analysis.

Biden has few easy options to tame high inflation, a global problem driven only in part by the trillions of dollars of fiscal stimulus he deployed in March 2021. A series of supply shocks due to the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine also forced prices higher, catching the Federal Reserve largely off-guard, which pushed the bank into a series of rapid rate hikes.

“Voters want to see proactive and not reactive leadership. They want to know what policy makers are doing to help them better afford their next trip to the grocery store or afford their trip home from work,” said Rachel Snyderman, senior associate director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

She also argued that because high inflation started last fall, a decline will be incremental so inflationary pressures are going to be felt for months. That won’t bode well for Biden in a pivotal midterm election for Democrats in November.

Biden’s sinking approval rating has also recently showed that a plurality of voters – 42 percent – blame him for the current state of the economy. And this week, support for Biden’s reelection in 2024 reached record-lows even among Democrats.

Economists also see the risks of recession growing as the Fed ramps up its rate hikes to slow price growth.

Biden has called on Congress to help combat inflation by passing legislation this month intended to lower the cost of prescription drugs and health insurance. That legislation, which the White House is now deeming the “anti-inflation reconciliation bill” is a slice of the president’s signature Build Back Better agenda that failed in the Senate earlier this year.

Bradley at the Chamber criticized the legislation as the same Build Back Better agenda, which largely failed due to concerns over its impact on inflation.

“This is the same agenda, the original defense for this agenda had nothing to do with inflation so it really is an attempt to basically bolt a new reason onto a preexisting agenda,” he said. 

Republicans are meanwhile leaning into the impact on everyday consumers and that inflation is showing no signs of slowing down.

“Inflation is raging for Main Street businesses, and that means higher prices ahead for consumers,” the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas) said this week, adding that months of high inflation “translates into higher prices and no relief anytime soon for consumers.”

Biden and Democrats counter that inflation is high across the world, but few nations have recovered as quickly as the U.S. The American economy has recovered all of the roughly 21 million jobs lost to the onset of the pandemic and gained 2.7 million jobs in 2022 alone. The unemployment rate is also 3.6 percent, just 0.1 percentage points above its level before the onset of the pandemic.

Economists say the resilience of the U.S. economy is a mixed bag for the fight against inflation.

Job growth and consumer spending still rising in the face of high inflation is a sign the U.S. may be well equipped to handle rising interest rates. But the steady spending and intense need for labor that have propelled job gains is also adding more fuel to inflation.

Snyderman said in terms of the economic toolbox, it comes down mostly to the Federal Reserve. Biden has consistently said he will give the Fed the room it needs to help it combat inflation.

“We’re still going to be looking to the Federal Reserve and future interest rate hikes to see how those will affect the broader macro economy,” Snyderman said. 

“When it comes to other policy issues that are going to generate voter turnout, it’s hard to predict right now where inflation will rank among those. I think it’s very safe to say it will remain a top issue in the next few months.”

Source: TEST FEED1

White House faces disaster with young voters

President Biden is facing a disaster with young voters, increasing fears among Democrats that they are in danger of losing a generation if he doesn’t improve his standing with Generation Z.

Biden’s approval rating has declined across the board among Democrats, but the figures with people under 30 years old is cratering.

A New York Times/Siena College poll this week found 94 percent of Democratic primary voters ages 18-29 saying the party should nominate someone other than Biden in 2024. 

Biden, 79, has never been the candidate for younger Democrats, though they did rally to help him win the White House in 2020 as the president endorsed key progressive policy initiatives to address climate change and other issues.

Now the polls suggest they could abandon him altogether amid frustration with a lack of progress in Washington on everything from climate change to abortion rights.

“A lot of the young people that I’m talking to in particular right now are asking what the point is of having a Democratic trifecta if our rights are still being ripped away,” said Ellen Sciales, communications director at the youth climate activist group the Sunrise Movement.

“Like, what’s the point of voting? And obviously we’re pushing people to vote but it’s going to make it so much harder for us to do our jobs,” she said.

Biden received high marks from young voters at the start of his presidency. However, a Gallup poll released in April found that Biden’s approval rating had dropped 21 percentage points among Americans belonging to Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2004 – and 19 percentage points among Millennials – those born between 1981 and 1996 – between the start of his presidency and this past March.

A big focus when it comes to Biden and young voters is the president’s age. He would be 81 at the beginning of a second term in office, should he be reelected.

Yet Biden’s job performance, not his age, is the dominant issue driving young Democrats to prefer someone different than Biden in 2024, according to the New York Times/Siena College poll.

Young Democrats in the poll were the least likely to cite Biden’s age as the main reason for wanting new blood.

“I think it’s about issues rather than age,” said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale.

He and other Democrats note that Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), two progressives, were popular in 2020 with many young Democratic voters.

“Remember when loving [the late Sen.] Robert Byrd when he opposed the war was hot? And Bernie obviously isn’t a spring chicken. But young people are dealing with the same overall economic issues that everyone is, but are worse for them because they don’t have savings, a home, career stability, etc.,” Vale said.

He and others argue that Biden could improve his standing among younger Americans by taking more tangible steps to protect access to abortion following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

Biden announced an executive order last week designed to protect access to abortion medication, contraception and emergency care and to shield women who travel out-of-state for an abortion from lawsuits. 

Ashley Aylward, a research manager at the public opinion firm HIT strategies, said she conducted a focus group last week – before Biden’s executive order – during which young Democratic voters said they were looking for more tangible action on abortion.

“They’re really just searching for reasons to feel some relief that people in power are actually fighting for them,” Aylward said. 

In general, Aylward observed that young Democrats are seeking more diversity in their representatives in government. 

“Young voters – since we’ve been talking to them even in 2020 – they want to see people running who look like them,” she said.

The Democratic National Committee has pointed to several programs geared toward attracting the youth vote ahead of the 2022 midterms. The DNC said it launched a “social ambassador program” to train young volunteers on social media and plans to host a summer youth voter training beginning at the end of July with the inaugural event featuring Warren as a guest speaker. The party apparatus is also organizing on college campuses across battleground states like Pennsylvania, Arizona and Wisconsin.

And the DNC joined TikTok earlier this year in a bid to reach more young voters through new forms of media.

Some say worries about Biden and young voters are overstated and not a sign of disengagement ahead of the midterms.  

“His numbers overall are a reflection of the mood of the country and that can certainly change,” said Democratic strategist Rodell Mollineau, who served as an aide to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “I think it can and will change.” 

A poll by the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School in April concluded that 2022 midterm youth turnout was on track to match the surge in turnout during the 2018 midterms. 

“Biden was under the water with young voters in 2020 and we had the highest youth turnout in American history,” said Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, who serves as the president of the youth mobilization group NextGen America. 

But that was a different kind of election, when Democrats were motivated to unseat President Trump, who like Biden won’t be on the ballot this fall.

“During the election, even if these folks weren’t crazy about Biden, they hated Trump and that was their reason for voting. But it’s different now. They’re hurting financially. They want things to be better,” said one Democratic strategist. 

Outside mobilization groups will also be critical in the midterms. Tzintzún Ramirez said that NexGen America is organizing on more than 180 college campuses and running a “micro-influencer program” to leverage young leaders with large platforms to help mobilize the Democratic base.

Some like Sciales argue it is critical for Democrats to pass some version of the climate and social policy legislation – formerly known as “Build Back Better” – that Biden ran on but Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) torpedoed last December. Biden needs each Democratic senator on board with the bill in order to pass it through a process known as budget reconciliation that allows Democrats to bypass the GOP filibuster. 

Democrats have renewed talks on a scaled-back version of the bill, but it’s unclear whether the efforts will ultimately bear fruit.

Biden is also facing a decision on whether to announce more student debt relief, a policy that is popular among voters and on the left. The Institute of Politics poll found that 85 percent of young Americans favor some government action on student loan debt, though only 38 percent approve of complete debt cancellation.

“Young voters are overwhelmingly progressive. They want to see bold structural change on climate change, on the economy and looking at things like canceling student debt, raising the minimum wage and taxing the rich their fair share,” said Tzintzún Ramirez. “And young voters care about racial justice.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Five questions as Biden heads to Saudi Arabia

President Biden will land in Saudi Arabia on Friday, the final leg of his trip to the Middle East.

Biden will meet with Saudi leaders, including Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on Friday, an engagement that is drenched in controversy. 

The decision to meet with the crown prince, or MBS, has drawn intense criticism due to the U.S. intelligence community conclusion he likely approved the brutal 2018 murder of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the government in Riyadh. 

Biden defended plans for the stop on Thursday, saying his goal is to promote American interests and reassert U.S. leadership in the Middle East. High gas prices are also viewed as an overriding motivation for the trip.

Here are five questions looming over Biden’s visit. 

Will Biden raise Khashoggi’s murder with MBS?

Biden has been an outspoken critic of Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi’s murder, going so far as to pledge to make the country a “pariah” while campaigning for president. 

That’s a big part of the reason Biden’s decision to meet with the crown prince raised eyebrows and triggered criticism. 

Now, Biden faces a tricky choice of whether and how to raise Khashoggi’s murder in his meeting with MBS and other Saudi officials, which could complicate his administration’s efforts to extract commitments from the Saudis on energy production and other issues.

Biden wouldn’t commit to explicitly raising Khashoggi’s murder in the meeting with the crown prince when asked about it on Thursday, saying only that he never shies away from talking about human rights. 

“I always bring up human rights,” Biden told reporters. “But my position on Khashoggi has been so clear. If anyone doesn’t understand it in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else, then they haven’t been around for a while.” 

Meanwhile, Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Elatr, told Spectrum News in an interview this week that White House officials assured her that Biden would bring her late husband’s case up in the meeting with MBS. 

Will Biden and MBS shake hands?

There will be plenty of attention on how Biden greets the crown prince during their meeting. 

A photo op of the two leaders shaking hands would give a legitimacy boost to the Saudi leader, something the White House is likely keen to avoid. 

The White House said going into Biden’s Middle East trip that he would seek to “minimize contact” with other officials due to the rise in COVID-19 variants. 

Some speculated that the decision, which the White House cast as a recommendation from Biden’s doctor, would allow the president to avoid shaking hands with MBS. 

But almost immediately upon landing in Israel, Biden found it difficult to adhere to the plans. While some like Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid received fist bumps, the president was photographed shaking hands with others, like former prime minister and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu. 

A senior administration official told reporters Wednesday that the White House never put out guidance that there would be no handshakes on the trip and insisted that officials were not focused on the “particular form of greeting” Biden gives to other leaders. 

Will Biden make progress on oil?

With high fuel prices, the Biden administration is expected to try to encourage the Saudis to pump more oil and bring the prices lower. 

Officials have said that Biden is expected to advance conversations on the trip abroad about oil production, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent prices spiking.  

But it’s not entirely clear whether they will have any success, as the Saudis are likely to pursue an oil policy that remains in their best interest regardless of what the Biden administration wants. 

Experts told The Hill this week that they expect the visit could bring positive signals or prod the kingdom toward more oil, but is unlikely to result in any major shifts. 

Instead, it’s expected to more likely be a jumping off point for dialogue between the world’s two largest oil producers. And, if the Saudis were planning to increase their production anyway, Biden could try to claim credit, as high gasoline prices have been a political liability for months. 

What are the prospects of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel?

Biden will arrive in Jeddah having already succeeded in carrying out groundbreaking achievements on advancing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia — the inclusion of “Saudi Arabia” in a joint declaration for relations between the U.S. and Israel that was announced on Thursday, and the direct flight from Tel Aviv to Jeddah that will transport him.

And in a major announcement, ahead of Biden’s flight, Saudi Arabia announced it would open up its airspace to all commercial carriers, ending a prohibition on commercial flights to and from Israel flying over the country. 

“This decision is the result of the President’s persistent and principled diplomacy with Saudi Arabia over many months, culminating in his visit today,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. “This decision paves the way for a more integrated, stable, and secure Middle East region, which is vital for the security and prosperity of the United States and the American people, and for the security and prosperity of Israel.” 

Biden administration officials have noted it will take time for full normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but nevertheless see Thursday’s announcement on flights as a significant step forward.

The formal inclusion of Saudi Arabia in a bilateral document between the U.S. and Israel and open talk in the international media by Israel’s prime minister would not be possible without blessings from Riyadh, signaling the close communication between U.S., Israeli and Saudi officials on the choreography of Biden’s visit.

Iran closely watching U.S. and Saudi meeting

Iran’s threatening behavior and nuclear ambitions were a leading topic of discussion in Biden’s meetings in Israel and the focus on Iran is expected to continue in Saudi Arabia.

Both Israel and Saudi Arabia are foes of Iran and have deepened ties, while quiet, over the shared threats they face from Tehran. 

Biden on his stop in Israel vowed to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, reiterating his administration’s desire to see a return to the Iran nuclear deal but warning that he wouldn’t “wait forever.” 

A joint declaration signed by Biden and Lapid said the U.S. “is prepared to use all elements of its national power” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.  

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a speech on Thursday warned the U.S. and its allies against committing a “mistake” that would prompt a “harsh and regrettable response” from the Islamic Republic, the Associated Press reported. 

“The great nation of Iran will not accept any insecurity or crisis in the region and Washington and its allies should know that any mistake will be met by a harsh and regrettable response from Iran,” Raisi said.

Iranian-backed proxies have targeted U.S. forces in Iraq and have carried out attacks against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their positions on opposite sides of regional conflicts, namely support on the side of the Yemeni government amid that country’s civil war. 

Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly warned in June that a high threat remains over Iran’s intent to assassinate current and former American officials, according to Yahoo News. 

Former secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook maintain federal security from ongoing threats to their lives from Iran, singled out for the Trump administration’s killing of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020. 

Source: TEST FEED1

The Memo: Democrats cast around for 2024 alternatives to Biden

Democratic gloom is deepening as the party looks toward November’s midterms and beyond. 

The bleak outlook is engendered in part by a grim political environment marked by historically high inflation, elevated gas prices and pandemic fatigue. 

But the Democratic depression is sharpened by concerns over whether President Biden is really the man for the moment, given his advancing age — he turns 80 in November — and his preference for consensus-building over the frontal political combat many in his party would prefer.

Yet, for all that, Biden has one sizable factor weighing in his favor. There’s no clear-cut rival who could steal the 2024 mantle away from him.

The appetite for change is obvious. A New York Times/Siena College poll released this week found just 26 percent of Democrats wanted Biden to carry the party’s banner again in 2024. Sixty-four percent would prefer someone else to be the party’s nominee. 

There’s just no agreement on who that someone might be. 

Many Democrats are reluctant to speak ill of an incumbent president on the record. But there is no mistaking the black mood.

“Biden should not be and cannot be the nominee in 2024,” said one Democratic strategist who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “It’s as obvious as day to anyone who is being objective and honest that the president is too old to be president. It’s that simple.”

Yet the same strategist lamented that “there is no bench. That’s the catastrophic thing.”

It’s not as if there is a shortage of Democrats who might see themselves in the top job — even if some of them need Biden to step aside first.

The clearest example is Vice President Harris. The first woman and the first Black person to serve in her role, she would be the obvious option if Biden opted against running for a second term.

But Harris is beset by her own problems, including approval ratings that are not appreciably better than her boss’s, an indifferent performance in office, and memories of an underwhelming 2020 presidential campaign.

Other high-profile options include a raft of figures who also contested the 2020 nomination, such as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), as well as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Sanders’ 2020 campaign manager put out a memo in April underlining that the Vermonter had not ruled out another run for presidency, though he was equally clear that he would not subject Biden to a primary.

But Sanders is older than Biden, would be running for the presidency for a third time, and faces the perennial questions about the electability of a self-proclaimed democratic socialist.

Warren, Klobuchar and Buttigieg all have their fervent supporters, but they all also have vulnerabilities. The arguments against each can be boiled down as too far left, too uninspiring and too inexperienced, respectively.

Some Democrats are casting an eye toward governors and other figures who have not yet become national figures.

Murshed Zaheed, a former senior aide to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), argued it is “imperative” for Democrats to have a 2024 nominee who is “not tethered to the Biden administration.”

Asked if he would favor a primary challenge to Biden, Zaheed was emphatic. 

“Absolutely,” he said, predicting that the appetite for such a challenge was so keen that an insurgent could raise vast sums of campaign cash.

Zaheed remains enthusiastic about Warren, whom he backed in 2020, but he also talked up the chances of a trio of governors: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Newsom set tongues wagging over the Independence Day holiday when he ran TV ads in Florida attacking the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis. There’s no obvious reason for the California governor to spend money on the other side of the country unless to put his name in the 2024 frame.

Newsom amplified the speculation further with a high-profile visit to Washington this week.

Even so, there are plenty of Democrats who wonder whether a wealthy Californian is really their ticket to victory in the key states that decide a presidential election.

The list of 2024 possibilities grows longer by the day, including other governors like Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and North Carolina’s Roy Cooper.

Then there are exciting, but apparently fanciful, ideas like a bid by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). 

Ocasio-Cortez is perhaps the single most charismatic figure in the party and has enormous appeal to young progressives. But she would also face big questions about her national electability and her youth. The New York congresswoman is, however, eligible for the presidency for the first time at the next election — she turns 35, the minimum age, in October 2024.

Even so, some on the left are arguing that their movement should focus more on shifting Biden’s administration in a more progressive direction than on a 2024 primary challenge.

“I know he intends running for re-election and I think it is less than likely that a super-viable progressive challenger emerges,” said Vincent Vertuccio, an organizer who works at the intersection of electoral politics and progressive movements.

“It’s really a question of whether the White House is going to make the shifts to make him a viable candidate again,” Vertuccio added. 

He pointed to Biden’s failure to take more expansive action on student loans, his selling of new oil and gas leases, and his response to the striking down of Roe v. Wade as among the actions that have sapped his approval ratings among young voters, in particular.

Of course, there are others who argue just the opposite — that Biden became too identified with the left early on in his time in office, disappointing independent voters who believed they were electing a reassuring, centrist figure after four years of former President Trump’s tumult.

For now, Biden repeats that he intends to run again. A proud man, he bristles at suggestions that his party might cast him aside.

But others look at his performance, and the polls, and think the party could be ready to do something drastic.

According to Zaheed, “There is this anti-D.C. establishment energy and it is there for somebody to take it — especially if the Democrats and Biden continue to sputter, and it looks like there is no way out.”

The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage.

Source: TEST FEED1