10 Things in Politics: Dems worry Biden's blowing it

September 29, 2021

10 Things in Politics: Dems worry Biden's blowing it

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Here's what we're talking about:

With Phil Rosen.

Joe Biden sad — President Joe Biden.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

1. WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE: The honeymoon is over. Some Democrats are increasingly worried about their prospects next year as Joe Biden navigates a critical week for his presidency. His struggles come as progressive lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders, who praised Biden's early leadership, are threatening a key part of his domestic agenda.

Here's what people are saying about it all:

A top Democrat says his party is fearing the future: "The bed-wetters, nervous Nellies - they're out in force," said Jim Manley, a longtime Senate aide. "It's probably hard to find a Democrat on Capitol Hill that isn't dissatisfied with the administration for some reason right now."

Pollsters are cautioning that it's too early for any sweeping conclusions: "My advice to my clients is, 'Yeah, it's worrisome that Biden's job rating has declined, but we've still got 14 months to go before the midterms,'" the Democratic pollster Brad Bannon said.
Biden has been counted out before: You only have to go back to early 2020 to find some party elites wondering whether he could win the party's nomination let alone the general election.

This week will show where a lot of things stand: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pressing forward on a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan that Biden considers a crucial part of his domestic agenda. But for now, intraparty disputes mean its passage is in question. The government could also shut down Thursday night, and without action the US is thought to be weeks away from a debt default.

The latest on where things stand on the Hill: Sanders urged House progressives to tank the legislation unless Congress passed the Democrats' massive $3.5 trillion overhaul of social programs. But centrist Democrats like Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema continue to have major concerns about the $3.5 trillion package, meaning the chance of progress this week seems slim.

2. Some services will freeze if the government shuts down: Social Security checks should keep coming. The Department of Health and Human Services plans to continue any pandemic-related activities if government funding runs out Thursday night, but within two days it would be forced to furlough more than 36,000 employees - about 43% of its staff. National Parks, many of which are experiencing record demand, could shut down, though it's unclear which ones would be affected. Read more about how the federal government is preparing for a shutdown.

Gens. Mark Milley and Kenneth McKenzie and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. — **Gen. Mark Milley, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testifying before Congress on Tuesday.**
**Alex Wong/Getty Images**

3. Top generals say they asked to keep troops in Afghanistan: Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other top commanders testified to senators that they had recommended maintaining 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan. Their answers raise questions about Biden's claim to ABC News that he did not recall his military advisors recommending that number. But neither Milley nor US Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie would say whether they directly told Biden about their concerns. They also refused to blame Biden for his decision. More from what top commanders told lawmakers.

4. Former aide says Trump acted tough on Putin only for the cameras: The former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham's forthcoming book is said to describe Donald Trump as only pretending to be tough on Russian President Vladimir Putin during a 2019 meeting. The Washington Post, which obtained an early copy, reported that Grisham also wrote that Trump once called her to confirm that his penis wasn't small or shaped like a toadstool. A different aide was said to be called "The Music Man" because he was tasked with playing Trump's favorite show tunes to calm him down.

There even may be an answer to Trump's bizarre 2019 trip to Walter Reed: Apparently, he was getting a routine colonoscopy. But Grisham reportedly wrote that Trump refused to get anesthesia so he wouldn't have to temporarily make Vice President Mike Pence president during the procedure.

5. A major problem could be looming for news on the climate crisis: Publisher sources told Insider that some advertisers were seeking to keep their ads from appearing next to climate-related news articles. This could become a bigger problem in the coming months as newsrooms invest more resources into covering the climate crisis. Read more about how advertisers are avoiding stories that mention innocuous terms such as "carbon footprint," "greenhouse gas," and even "climate change."

6. Stocks continue to tumble: The Nasdaq 100 plunged more than 2% on Tuesday, extending its two-day loss to more than 3%. Interest rates are surging amid a rise in inflation, and that's fueling a rotation out of high-growth tech stocks and into more cyclical stocks in the financials and energy sectors. More on what's behind the slide.

7. China is working behind the scenes to save Evergrande: The debt-saddled property developer Evergrande is poised to get some relief from Chinese state-backed firms as Beijing pressures government-affiliated companies and developers to buy its assets. Sources told Reuters it was a sign China may not directly bail out Evergrande. More on what's next for the world's most indebted company.

8. Experts aren't sure why evictions didn't spike: Many saw a national crisis in the making when the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on evictions, but a month later major cities are seeing little or no change in the number of evictions, The Washington Post reports. Eviction filings in Cleveland, Memphis, Charleston, and Indianapolis are well below pre-pandemic levels. Tenant advocates say some renters could be choosing not to fight evictions in court, which would affect the data. Here's where things stand nationally for renters.

9. Elon Musk has taken his trolling of Jeff Bezos to another level: Musk said he'd remind Bezos where each of them stood on Forbes' billionaires list by sending the former Amazon CEO a "giant statue of the digit '2'" and a "silver medal." Per Forbes, Musk has once again topped Bezos as the world's richest person. Take a look back at the 15-year feud between the world's two richest people.

10. Netflix says "Squid Game" could become its biggest hit of all time. The new Korean-language series will "definitely" be Netflix's most popular non-English series, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said. The show has gained global popularity, with data from Parrot Analytics indicating "Squid Game" was the second-most in-demand series in the world, just behind "Sex Education." Plus, the upstart series already has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Need a break? Try your luck at today's Insider Crossword.

Today's trivia question: Former President Barack Obama just broke ground on his presidential library in Chicago. Presidential centers can have some pretty cool artifacts in their collections. Some aren't even related specifically to the presidents. In fact, some of the Hoover library's most requested items are related to a beloved children's book series. Can you guess which one? Email your answer and a suggested question to me at bgriffiths@insider.com.