ADD YOUR NAME: Nicole Shanahan: step back from RFK Jr.’s campaign

 

I believe deeply in our democracy and the foundational values that uphold it. And just as I believe every eligible person has the right to vote, I believe that any eligible person has the right to run for public office.   But these are unprecedented times, and, having served my first two terms in Congress under the disastrous presidency of Donald Trump, I am committed to doing everything in my power to make sure that history does not repeat itself. And that is why I am asking Nicole Shanahan to step away from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential ticket and join the broad coalition supporting President Biden.   In March, RFK Jr. announced his running mate, philanthropist and attorney Nicole Shanahan. Shanahan has every right to run on RFK Jr.’s ticket. But let’s be clear—RFK Jr.’s bid for president will not lead to the White House. It could, however, tip the scales in Trump’s favor. And a second Trump presidency would be catastrophic—for our environment, for our economy, and for our democracy.   Will you add your name to my open letter urging Shanahan to step back from RFK Jr.’s presidential ticket and instead help elect President Biden?

This election is a choice between Joe Biden and Donald Trump—there are no other real options. Sign the petition to urge Nicole Shanahan to step back from RFK Jr.’s campaign and help us defeat Donald Trump in November.    Now is not the time to play political games—too much is at stake for our democracy and the lives of everyday Americans.   Click here to sign the open letter urging Shanahan to work with us to elect President Biden. ADD YOUR NAME Thank you for your activism and all that you do.   In solidarity, Ro

Wait! One more thing– Ro doesn't accept a cent from lobbyists or PACs, meaning our work is completely funded by grassroots supporters like you. By donating just $3 today, you’re helping us create a country that works for everyone, not just those at the top. That means a renewed investment in American manufacturing, Medicare for All, student debt relief, and a green future.   If you want to support our people-powered campaign as we continue to fight for progress in Washington, please consider making a donation of $3 or more today. Thank you! DONATE $3 DONATE MORE Ro for Congress P.O Box 3513 Santa Clara, CA 95051 United States Paid for by Ro for Congress

POLITICO Nightly: The issue that’s still firing up Democrats

 

BY PEDER SCHAEFER Private First Class Harry Dunn of the Capitol Police testifies before the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on July 27, 2021. | Pool photo by Jim Lo Scalzo HERO WORSHIP — For Democrats around the country, Jan. 6 remains top of mind, an event that they see as the manifestation of their fears about former President Donald Trump, his supporters and their willingness to subvert the will of American voters. Now, Harry Dunn, a Capitol police officer who defended the Capitol that day and regularly shares how the events of Jan. 6 changed his understanding of America , wants to join Congress himself. Dunn, who later went on to deliver searing testimony before the House Jan. 6 Commission, is leaning heavily into defense of democracy messaging in his upstart campaign to represent Maryland’s open 3rd Congressional District. In doing so, he’s managed to post eye-popping fundraising numbers for a political novice, proving that Democrats nationwide remain highly attuned to — and motivated by — the threat to democracy that the insurrection posed. According to ActBlue reports, Dunn raised $2.75 million in the month of January from over 100,000 donors, a stunning number for a first-time congressional candidate with no prior political experience. The only Democratic committees that raised more from ActBlue in the same time period were for Biden and the Democratic House and Senate campaign arms. And even though full information about Dunn’s first quarter fundraising numbers are not yet public, Dunn’s abbreviated online-only numbers place the political novice in hallowed company. Few Democratic candidates running for open seats in 2024 have raised more in such a short span of time. The money is almost exclusively flowing into Dunn’s campaign from outside of the district in which he is running, showing the extent to which his defense of democracy messaging fires up the Democratic base. According to Dunn’s campaign, as of the end of February only 1,300 of Dunn’s over 100,000 contributions came from within Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, and 4,000 from within the state of Maryland. A video he released on X announcing his campaign and recounting his defense of the Capitol went viral, receiving 6.4 million views. The slick presentation is a reenactment of January 6, showing Dunn walking through the halls of the Capitol as rioters storm the building. “So join me. We’ve got a democracy to protect,” says Dunn at the end of the spot. His first television ad leans into the same theme. After flashing images of the Capitol and the date January 6, the ad leaps into scenes of rioters attacking the complex. “On this day, I didn’t fight against them,” says Dunn. “I fought for all of us.” Dunn faces over 20 candidates in the May 14 Democratic primary for the safely blue seat. But his success in small-donor fundraising and his online presence has placed him in a strong position in the suburban seat south of Baltimore, left empty by the departure of veteran Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes. “I read Dunn’s book. I like his story,” said Walter Ballin, a Democratic voter in the district who is planning to vote in the primary. “He’s an actual working person and I’m upset about January 6.” That doesn’t mean Dunn is on a glide path to Congress. He’s faces local Democratic legislators with deep ties to the district, and some voters at a March meeting of the Columbia Democratic Party — a local Democratic organization — expressed worries that his lack of political experience and policy expertise would make him a weak legislator in Washington. But there’s recent precedent showing the power of defense of democracy messaging — in California, where Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, an impeachment manager, easily outpaced other Democrats in a recent Senate primary. Dunn may not have nearly the same legislative experience, but Schiff’s experience is a reminder that his message remains a powerful one among Democratic voters. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at pschaefer@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @p_s_schaefer .   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW .     WHAT'D I MISS? — Fallen crypto titan Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years: A federal judge today sentenced Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for his leading role in one of the biggest financial scandals in American history, capping the stunning fall of the former cryptocurrency magnate and one-time Washington megadonor. Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York handed down the sentence almost five months after a jury found Bankman-Fried, 32, guilty of orchestrating a massive fraud centered on his crypto empire. Bankman-Fried faced a maximum of 110 years in prison. — South Carolina to use ‘unconstitutional’ congressional map after Supreme Court silence: South Carolina will use a congressional map a federal court ruled was “unconstitutional” in this year’s election , following uncertainty around the timing of the Supreme Court’s review of a district that a lower court deemed was racially gerrymandered. Republican lawmakers shuffled thousands of Black voters out of the state’s 1st District, represented by GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, to make the Charleston-area district more reliably red. The state NAACP sued, arguing that the legislature’s action was unconstitutionally discriminatory. — Pro-Trump fake electors in Arizona have pleaded the Fifth before grand jury: Arizona Republicans who falsely posed as electors for Donald Trump in 2020 have appeared before a grand jury in recent days and invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, as state prosecutors near a decision on potential criminal charges against those who helped Trump try to overturn his loss in the state. The prosecutors’ decision to require these people to appear in person is the latest escalation of the long-running probe by the state’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, into election interference by Trump allies. The tactic is also highly unusual and risks biasing the grand jury against key targets of the probe, according to independent legal experts who have worked as both prosecutors and defense lawyers. NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 IVF CRITIC — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate has been a harsh critic of in vitro fertilization , while funding alternative research on extending women’s reproductive years, POLITICO reports. Nicole Shanahan has for years denounced IVF — calling it “one of the biggest lies that’s being told about women’s health today.” At the same time, she has also been a vocal proponent of and financial backer for unconventional research into the possibility of helping women having children into their 50s and exploring no-cost interventions to help women conceive, such as exposure to sunlight. PAYBACK TIME — The Republican National Committee is weighing whether to restrict NBC’s access to this summer’s convention , following the network’s decision to drop former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel as a contributor, POLITICO reports. Such a move would mark a dramatic escalation in the growing rift between Donald Trump-allies and the TV network — a rift that has stemmed from NBC’s decision to part ways with McDaniel amid a revolt among top on-air talent. “We are taking a hard look at what this means for NBC’s participation at the convention,” said Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the RNC and the Trump campaign. “Our priority is making sure this is a world class event that allows President Trump to feature his message and vision in a fair way.” AROUND THE WORLD Palestinians displaced by the Israel air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip sit next to the border fence with Egypt in Rafah. | Hatem Ali/AP KEEPING THE FUTURE PEACE — Biden administration officials are in preliminary “conversations” about options for stabilizing post-war Gaza , including a proposal for the Pentagon to help fund either a multinational force or a Palestinian peacekeeping team, POLITICO reports. The options being considered would not involve U.S. troops on the ground, according to two Defense Department officials and two other U.S. officials, all granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door diplomatic and military negotiations. Instead, DOD funding would go toward the needs of the security force and complement assistance from other countries. Asked for comment, a senior administration official said “we are working with partners on various scenarios for interim governance and security structures in Gaza once the crisis recedes,” declining to detail specifics. “We’ve had a number of conversations with both the Israelis and our partners about key elements for the day after in Gaza when the time is right.” It could be weeks or months before Washington and its partners approve any plan, especially since regional players want to see a commitment to a two-state solution before seriously engaging with the options. There are also questions about the viability of training a potential Palestinian-led force in time to maintain order in Gaza, which has been decimated after five months of brutal fighting. And Israel is reluctant to have these conversations until it defeats Hamas militarily and secures the release of hostages being held by the group. Some officials within the Israeli government have called for Israel to occupy Gaza after the war, a proposal the U.S. opposes. “Israel is the long pole in the tent,” said one of the DOD officials, noting that Israel “has their hands full with other things.”   Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more .     NIGHTLY NUMBER $25 million The amount that President Joe Biden will raise for his re-election effort at an event featuring former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton tonight, shattering fundraising records for a single event. RADAR SWEEP A NEW FRONTIER — One of the most promising new ways to fight cancer is immunotherapy, mimicking the body’s immune defenses in order to fight the cancer. But there are all sorts of issues with the process, including that it takes forever. Patients spend countless hours in the hospital having it administered. In order to combat this problem, it’s possible to crystallize the proteins in immunotherapy drugs, getting a higher concentration into a smaller volume. The only problem? The best way to do this is in space , where crystallization always comes out perfectly. Even so, a company called BioOrbit is now trying to make this happen, potentially leading to a new generation of cancer drugs being refined in space. Grace Browne reports for WIRED. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1991: A Soviet policeman tries to tear up a poster from a pro-Yeltsin demonstrator in Moscow, as other protesters are being arrested. The protesters defied President Gorbachev's decree which banned all demonstration in Moscow. | Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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POLITICO Nightly: Pete Buttigieg’s biggest test

 

BY ADAM WREN Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg arrives for a news conference near the scene where a container ship collided with a support on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Dundalk, Md. on Tuesday. | Matt Rourke/AP A BRIDGE TO SELL — Pete Buttigieg has faced a consistent stream of infrastructure disasters during his time as Transportation Secretary. The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is his biggest test yet . Unlike in East Palestine, Ohio, when he faced criticism for dithering before showing up at the site of a train derailment last year, a crisis more under the purview of EPA Chief Michael Regan, Buttigieg was on the ground with first responders the day of the collapse. Buttigieg, whose work cell phone buzzed not long after the bridge collapsed at 1:30 a.m, spent time on the phone with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zientz, and the state’s congressional delegation before canceling a planned trip to Wyoming and Montana, briefing President Joe Biden by phone and heading to Baltimore. “It’s definitely one of the most striking and extreme emergency situations that we’ve faced,” Buttigieg told POLITICO in an interview today, not long after briefing Biden in the Oval Office, and then later, the press. “We’ve obviously encountered issues with aviation safety, with rail safety. But to have a major maritime incident, and a major bridge incident, all wrapped up into one is definitely calling on all of the resources that we have at the department. And I’m giving it everything I’ve got.” The Biden administration and its partners face a three-fold challenge: reopen the port, which falls to the U.S. Coast Guard, deal with the supply chain challenge, and rebuild the bridge, Buttigieg said from the podium at the White House press briefing. In part, his response builds on the work his office has already done to alleviate supply chain issues that once threatened to delay the arrival of Christmas presents. And for Buttigieg, it is a political challenge, as well. Though he has said his only current ambition “is to be the best secretary of Transportation that I can,” the failed 2020 presidential candidate may run for political office again. And as with his every move, his management of the crisis will be a closely scrutinized part of his resume. “No question about it: his biggest test yet, and he’s handled it with flying colors,” said former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the former Republican congressman from Illinois who keeps in regular touch with Buttigieg. Buttigieg is not untested. Before the bridge collapse, he had to contend with Covid-induced supply chain snarls, air travel meltdowns and a train derailment in the heart of his native Midwest. At almost every turn, the role has delivered its share of unprecedented opportunities and challenges . And there are signs he learned lessons from the criticism that he wasn’t immediately on site in the aftermath of East Palestine. “Every disaster, emergency or crisis that you face informs how you deal with the next one,” Buttigieg said. In Washington, Buttigieg’s challenge will include outreach to the Hill to cover emergency funding, after Biden said the federal government will pay the costs of rebuilding the bridge. Buttigieg built legislative relationships while pushing the bipartisan infrastructure law to members of Congress in 2021, though the funding path for the bridge reconstruction is unlikely to be as complicated as that was. “The relationships that we’ve built, advocating for the bill, passing it and then implementing it are definitely serving us well in this crisis situation,” Buttigieg said. He’ll have to marshal resources within his department as well. “He’s going to have to pull his whole team together, and all hands on deck, to make this work,” LaHood said. Buttigieg is now working on a response to the state emergency relief request from the Maryland Department of Transportation, and then meeting with shippers and supply chain players. “Now it’s time to really have a more direct conversation about what they think the implications will be,” he said. It is likely they will still be ongoing after Buttigieg leaves the administration. Buttigieg earlier this month said he does not plan to stay in the role longer than five years , and LaHood said efforts to rebuild the bridge will likely outlast Buttigieg’s DOT tenure. “The rebuilding of this bridge is going to take several years,” LaHood said. “Planning is going to take a couple of years, and the rebuild is going to take several years. But he can lay the groundwork and the blueprint. And if he does that, whoever succeeds him will have a good game plan.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at awren@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @adamwren .   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW .     WHAT'D I MISS? — Joe Lieberman, 2000 vice presidential nominee, dies at 82: Lieberman, a longtime senator from Connecticut who became the first Jewish American to be nominated on a major party’s ticket, died today . He was 82. Lieberman’s family stated that he died “due to complications from a fall. He was 82 years old. His beloved wife, Hadassah, and members of his family were with him as he passed.” Halfway through his 24-year Senate career, Lieberman was chosen as Al Gore’s running mate for the 2000 presidential election. The ticket lost one of the closest elections in American history. — Federal appeals court keeps Texas immigration law SB4 temporarily blocked: Texas still cannot temporarily enforce a controversial new law that would authorize police to arrest and detain migrants suspected of illegally crossing the border from Mexico , a federal appeals court ruled late Tuesday. The panel split, 2-1, on the decision for Texas’ request for a stay of a U.S. district judge’s preliminary injunction of the law pending appeal. — The FEC wants to let campaigns pay for security: The Federal Election Commission wants to allow federal candidates to use campaign funds for a wide range of security measures , a significant expansion of what campaign war chests can be used for amid a heated political environment. The proposal from the campaign finance regulator comes amid a spike in threats to politicians; the U.S. Capitol Police said it investigated over 8,000 cases last year — a number the agency expects to grow in 2024. — D.C. bar investigators rest case against Jeffrey Clark: Jeffrey Clark, the former Justice Department official who aided Donald Trump’s last-ditch maneuvers to subvert the 2020 election, pleaded the Fifth today in a disciplinary proceeding that could result in the loss of his law license . Clark’s decision to invoke his constitutional right against self-incrimination underscores the criminal jeopardy he faces in other ongoing legal proceedings. In Atlanta, he’s charged alongside Trump in an alleged racketeering conspiracy to corrupt the 2020 election, and in Washington, D.C., federal prosecutors identified him — but have not charged him — as one of Trump’s alleged co-conspirators in a scheme to seize power. NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 PRESIDENTIAL LINEAGE — When President Joe Biden needs advice, there are two people he can turn to who know what it’s like to sit in his chair. Sometimes he will invite Barack Obama over to the White House for a meal or he will get on the phone with Bill Clinton. The three men share decades of history at the pinnacle of American and Democratic leadership, making them an unusual trio in presidential history. Although there has sometimes been friction as their ambitions and agendas have diverged, they have spent years building toward a similar vision for the country. On Thursday, the Associated Press writes, their partnership will be on display in what has been described as a one-of-a-kind fundraising extravaganza in New York City to help Biden build on his already significant cash advantage in this year’s presidential election. It’s a dramatic show of force intended to rally the Democratic Party faithful to secure a second term for Biden despite his stubbornly low poll numbers and doubts due to his age (81). SILICON VEEP — Nicole Shanahan, RFK Jr’s pick to join his ticket, is a walking manifestation of big tech’s idiosyncratic politics — a blend of “innovation”-minded libertarianism, West Coast institutional skepticism, and an interest in mysticism, alternative lifestyles and medicines, POLITICO reports. RFK Jr., so far, has thrived by connecting all those lines in one celebrity-surname package. His highest-profile supporters so far have been the libertarian-minded Silicon Valley techno-utopianists who once flirted with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ doomed campaign. They defected en masse to Kennedy after a press conference on Twitter last summer. The two names on the RFK Jr. ticket now form a sort of Venn diagram, with Kennedy’s paranoid distrust of the establishment and Shanahan’s crunchy California progressivism joining their circles around a fair number of voters put off by what they see as calcified Republican and Democratic politics. AROUND THE WORLD Ukrainian troops ride atop an armored personnel carrier vehicle in the Zaporizhzhia region on June 11, 2023. | Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images EXECUTION CLAIMS — Russia may have executed more than 30 recently captured Ukrainian prisoners of war over the winter months , according to reports received by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, POLITICO EU reports. The human rights watchdog “verified three of these incidents in which Russian servicemen executed seven Ukrainian servicemen hors de combat,” according to the latest UN report on the subject. From December to February, as President Vladimir Putin’s invading Russian forces were rapidly advancing in Avdiivka, in the Donetsk region, and attempting to recapture Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region, dozens of execution videos were posted on social media. In eight of the reported cases, videos showed Russian servicemen killing Ukrainian POWs who had laid down their weapons or using other captured Ukrainian POWs as human shields. “As of 29 February 2024, OHCHR had obtained corroborating information for one of the videos,” the report reads. “In that video, what appears to be a group of armed Russian soldiers stands 15-20 meters behind three Ukrainian servicemen who are kneeling with their hands behind their heads. After a few seconds, smoke appears from the Russian soldiers’ weapons and the Ukrainian servicemen fall to the ground.” A HUMAN TOUCH — In multiple calls and meetings since Oct. 7, the Netanyahu government told their American counterparts they would open humanitarian aid routes into Gaza — but that they would do so solely because Washington asked, POLITICO reports. “We’re going to say the Americans requested it,” one senior Israeli official said this year, as relayed by a senior Biden administration official. President Joe Biden has been leveraging his decades-long familiarity with Benjamin Netanyahu to move the Israeli leader, who faced his own domestic pressure to appear hawkish, in directions he didn’t necessarily want. In this case, to pry crossings open and boost the amount of food, water and medicine available to Palestinians in Gaza. The limits of that one-on-one strategy are being tested, however. This week, Netanyahu abruptly canceled a planned visit of Israeli officials to D.C. to discuss guardrails for a planned Rafah invasion, backing off a pledge he’d made directly to Biden in a recent phone call. That fed into a growing sense in Washington — even among those who have long backed Biden’s approach — that his reliance on a personal relationship with Netanyahu is no longer enough to navigate the Israel-Gaza crisis. Read more about the complex personal relationship — and its benefits and drawbacks — between the two leaders here .   Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more .     NIGHTLY NUMBER $600,000 The amount of money that former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel still expects to be paid by NBC — the full price of her contract, spanning two years at $300,000 per year — after she was let go by the network just two days after her job began. RADAR SWEEP LEFT IN THE DARK — When New York Jets’ quarterback (and one-time RFK Jr. VP shortlister) Aaron Rodgers talked about spending four days in the dark on ESPN, it was the first that most people in America had heard of the idea of a “darkness retreat.” But tucked away in the New Mexican desert, there’s a couple that runs multiple rooms of darkness like a high-priced and very strange bed and breakfast . It’s a four day program in which guests are under the earth in total darkness — but are provided with ample food, water and a furnished room that you can feel your way around. Proponents suggest that it changes their life, allowing them to unlock a deeper understanding of themselves. For Outside Magazine, Tim Neville set out to see for himself, subjecting himself to the program and coming out with a fascinating story about what it really feels like to be (mostly) alone in the dark. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1979: Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sits in his hotel suite in Washington before going to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress. A day earlier, Begin signed the Egypt-Israel peace treaty along with Egypt's President Anwat Sadat and U.S. President Jimmy Carter that came out of the 1978 Camp David Accords. Begin and Sadat shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. | Nash/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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