| | |  | BY MICHAEL KRUSE | Presented by |  |
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| With help from Michael Grunwald ‘NOBODY LISTENED TO ME’ — Marjorie Taylor Greene, Donald Trump’s outrage-bait heir, is back at it. Just a few weeks after she was stripped of her committee assignments by her colleagues in the House for her lengthy record of bigoted comments and confrontational tactics, the freshman Republican lawmaker from northwest Georgia has reinjected herself into the lowlight limelight. In the wake of debate about the Equality Act, Democratic Rep. Marie Newman of Illinois, who has a transgender daughter, put up a flag expressing transgender pride outside her office. Greene responded by putting an affront of a sign on her wall across the hall from Newman. “There are TWO genders,” it said. “MALE & FEMALE.” Peers from both parties were appalled. And the fray that played out on Twitter quickly and obviously went viral. I’ve spent most of this month reporting on Greene for POLITICO Magazine’s latest Friday Cover, which we’ve published a few hours early for Nightly readers. The reality is that Greene is in Congress not in spite of stunts like this but because of them. A linchpin of her origin story is her yearslong search for affirmation and attention — a roving craving for an audience that found its ultimate outlet in right-wing online commentary and eventually in real-world, face-to-face provocation. What Trump did to get to the White House provided a template for what Greene did to get to Capitol Hill, as if his needy, publicity-greedy political ascent activated in her a smoldering set of latent genes. Greene, like her beloved ex-president, willed herself into the role of a star in 21st-century American politics’ round-the-clock, social-media-shared, ill-tempered, pick-a-side spectacle.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol. | Getty Images | “You can’t look away,” Brian Robinson, an Atlanta-based Republican consultant who worked on last year’s leading primary campaign against Greene, told me. “She’s got presence, and there’s something that draws you to her. You never, never get bored — it’s always something interesting, and you might think it’s absolutely bonkers, but …” Jamie Parrish, who’s a friend, told me Greene is “a really awesome patriot”—and also “a clickbait junkie.” Greene declined to comment for the story, but Nick Dyer, her communications director, responded in an email by saying, “You are a scumbag, Michael.” It’s incredibly unprofessional, but the people who like Greene? They’ll love it. This week’s antics from Greene are simultaneously simply more of the same and also a sure sign of more of what’s to come. Greene, as I say in the piece, literally wears her grievance on her face. And there she was today on the House floor. “The Equality Act is not about stopping discrimination. It’s about causing discrimination — against women and religious freedoms,” she said. “THIS MASK IS AS USELESS AS JOE BIDEN,” blared her black mask. Read “‘Nobody Listened To Me’: The Quest to Be MTG” in POLITICO Magazine. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news and tips at mkruse@politico.com and rrayasam@politico.com, or on Twitter at @michaelkruse and @renurayasam.
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A message from the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA): Our current rebate system is broken. Ensuring discounts are passed on to patients will lower out-of-pocket costs, improve adherence, and address health disparities. The National Hispanic Council on Aging is urging the Biden Administration to support patients and move forward with rebate reform. Learn more. | | | | | THE GLOBAL VACCINE BRAWL — As Western countries pursue “America First” and “Europe First” Covid vaccination plans, other leading nations are looking outwards in search of commercial and political gain, Global Translations author Ryan Heath writes. India has a 49-country vaccine “friendship program,” while China is shipping 1 million doses a week across Africa, and has vaccinated 7 million Turks. Argentina was just one of 50 countries that turned to Russia for help when it was unable to secure contracts with Western producers. But the lead enjoyed by India, China and Russia in “vaccine diplomacy” is set to evaporate in coming weeks. Several Western vaccines pre-ordered by dozens of governments are now close to authorization, including from Johnson & Johnson, Novavax and GSK-CureVac — tilting future global distribution of vaccines toward Western options. The COVAX vaccine facility — which pools financial resources and spreads its bets across vaccine candidates — has handed over the first of 337 million doses it has allocated to around 130 countries for the first half of the year. COVAX receives around 90 percent of its funds from G-7 countries and the EU, but none from China, India or Russia. Though the Biden administration has shot to the top of the COVAX donor list with a $2 billion commitment, the project is still $800 million short of what it needs to reach its goal of vaccinating 2 billion people in 2021. More: Ryan breaks down the tricky world of vaccine diplomacy in the latest POLITICO Dispatch.
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| | NEW - “THE RECAST” NEWSLETTER: Power dynamics are changing. “Influence” is changing. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. “The Recast” is our new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. And POLITICO is recasting how we report on this crucial intersection, bringing you fresh insights, scoops, dispatches from across the country and new voices that challenge “business as usual.” Don’t miss out on this important new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | | | | 
| — Capitol Police chief: Security will remain high due to SOTU threat: The Capitol Police is keeping its security high in response to intelligence that indicates some extremists who joined the Jan. 6 insurrection have discussed plans to attack the building during the State of the Union, Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said today. — Historic LGBTQ rights bill passes: The House passed sweeping legislation today to ban discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity . — U.S. carries out airstrike in Syria: The strike, which was ordered by President Joe Biden, was designed to damage the ability of an Iran-backed militia in Syria to conduct future attacks. — Facebook ‘Supreme Court’ to get new powers: The outside group with the final say on whether Trump can be reinstated on Facebook is expected to be given greater powers in the coming months to decide which content is allowed on the world’s largest social network, according to Thomas Hughes, administrative director of the Oversight Board. — WH planning to forecast vaccine shipments months in advance: The Biden administration is planning to provide states with estimates of their expected vaccine shipments likely months ahead of time rather than weeks, according to multiple sources with knowledge. — U.S. jobless claims fall to 730,000 but layoffs remain high: Applications for benefits declined 111,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department said today. It is the lowest figure since late November. Still, before last March, weekly applications for unemployment benefits had never topped 700,000, even during the Great Recession of 2008-2009.
| | POINT OF ORDER — The Senate parliamentarian ruled tonight that Democrats would be deemed out of order if they include a $15 minimum wage hike in their coronavirus relief package, a major blow to Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders and progressives, Caitlin Emma, Burgess Everett and Marianne LeVine write. Democrats for weeks have argued that the minimum wage hike could be included in the package through the reconciliation process, citing analysis from the Congressional Budget Office that found the boost would increase the deficit by reducing reliance on social services. But Republicans highlight that the same report suggests the increase would result in the loss of 1.4 million jobs and say it’s an extraneous provision. The parliamentarian’s ruling means that any senator could raise a point order against the minimum wage increase, which would force the provision to be axed from the bill.
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| | | | | Nightly asks you: What moment marked the beginning of the pandemic for you? It could be a news event, or a personal recollection. Send your answer through our form , and we will use select responses in our Friday edition.
| | WHAT GENOCIDE REALLY MEANS — POLITICO’s China Watcher newsletter, helmed this week by national and foreign affairs reporter Melissa K. Chan , dives into the global debate over the use of the politically loaded, legally complex word “genocide” — and how different governments are using it to describe China’s treatment of Uighurs. Here’s an excerpt: “Whether China’s systematic repression of the Uighurs is deemed a ‘genocide’ determines policy. It also puts social pressure on corporations — making it that much harder for them to do business with China when they have to engage with that label. Beijing might push back at the U.N., but if more governments decide it is carrying out genocide, it will be an indelible stain on China’s historical record. The question now is how much traction there’ll be in the coming months for other countries to place that label on China’s actions in Xinjiang.”
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| | TUNE IN TO GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS: Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded over the past year amid a global pandemic. This podcast helps to identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe and start listening today. | | | | | | | | |
102,550 The number of airline passenger complaints in 2020, the highest number on record, according to DOT's air travel consumer report. (h/t transportation reporter Sam Mintz) |
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Bam Adebayo (left) and Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat celebrate a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder at American Airlines Arena on Jan. 4 in Miami. | Getty Images | GARBAGE TIME — Michael Grunwald emails: The Miami Heat are the NBA’s Eastern Conference champions, thanks mostly to two All-Stars, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, who hoop with a beautiful combination of ferocity, efficiency and unselfishness on both ends of the court. Wait: Did I say All-Stars? I meant former All-Stars. The NBA just announced this year’s team, and somehow, none of the 12 Eastern Conference All-Stars play for the Eastern Conference champions. As a diehard Heat fan, I’m outraged by the garbage selection process. As a dorky POLITICO writer, I’m intrigued by the implications for democracy. I’ll admit the Heat shouldn’t automatically get two All-Stars, because they had a mediocre start and Butler missed a third of their games for Covid protocols. I’d note the Heat went 3-8 in those games, which is why they had that mediocre start, and the Celtics got two All-Stars even though they have the same mediocre record as the Heat. Still, if only Butler were snubbed, even though he’s been a triple-double machine since his return, I guess I could live with that. But the double-snub of ESPN’s 12th-and-13th-ranked players is ridiculous. Adebayo is a unicorn who has improved dramatically since his All-Star season last year. Yet he was bypassed for Julius Randle and Nikola Vučević, two vastly inferior journeymen from non-playoff teams, even though Randle’s New York Knicks have the same mediocre record as the Heat and Vučević’s Orlando Magic have been even worse. It would be satisfying to dismiss this process as an unfair popularity contest, determined by ignorant fans, the fake news media and the players themselves. But fans, reporters and players voted only for the All-Star starters, and those choices were totally defensible. The NBA’s coaches, who are supposed to be dispassionate experts, chose the reserves, and they blew it. That’s interesting, because there’s been a lot of talk about democracy in American politics lately, and a lot of suggestions that too much of it can be a bad thing. One implicit argument behind efforts to make it harder to vote, occasionally made explicit in we’re-a-republic-not-a-democracy rhetoric, is that the unwashed masses can’t be trusted to exercise the franchise responsibly. But the unwashed masses were right about LeBron James, Steph Curry and even Bradley Beal, who deserves to start even though his Washington Wizards stink, while the coaching technocrats whiffed on Butler and Adebayo. One might even suspect that those supposedly dispassionate experts played a bit of politics. Basketball ain’t beanbag, but this injustice is crying out for a remedy. As a purely dispassionate observer, I’d suggest the NBA should make the Wizards trade Beal to the Heat.
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A message from the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA): The National Hispanic Council on Aging is urging the Biden Administration to move forward with rebate reform. Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by chronic disease but lowering out of pocket costs can increase medication adherence and reduce health care disparities in our system. This is done by ensuring rebate dollars are passed on to patients so they can afford essential medication. We need rebate reform today! Learn more. | | | Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. | |
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