Biden set to square off with party's left: The Note

"The answer is not to defund the police," the president said Thursday.

February 4, 2022, 6:01 AM

The TAKE with Rick Klein

The alliance has never been an easy one, and long-ago history and current realities have conspired to keep it that way.

Still, there are fresh pitfalls and opportunities emerging for President Joe Biden to have to -- or perhaps even want to -- square off with his party's progressive wing.

In Eastern Europe, Biden is mobilizing U.S. forces for the kind of possible military actions the left has long stood against. The collapse of Build Back Better negotiations leaves the White House potentially restarting negotiations with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., or left with nothing at all.

In this Dec. 17, 2021, file photo, Representative Jim Clyburn, with President Joe Biden, receives his history diploma from Interim South Carolina State University President Alexander Conyers during a commencement ceremony in Orangeburg, S.C.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

One of the president's most influential allies, House Minority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., is publicly urging Biden to elevate Judge J. Michelle Childs to the Supreme Court. A few Republicans are signaling they would support her, too -- but early reaction has focused on Childs' private sector work for employers viewed as hostile to labor unions.

Now come new issues of crime and policing, with Biden making a public show of appearing alongside New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer who is staking his mayoralty on cracking down on crime.

"The answer is not to defund the police," the president said alongside Adams on Thursday.

If there's a course correction afoot, it may be one that puts Biden more squarely where he has long found his policy home. But it's also going to test the patience of a whole lot of allies who claim a piece of credit for landing him in the White House.

The RUNDOWN with Averi Harper

The government funding deadline is fast approaching, and signs point to another short-term continuing resolution to keep the government running.

With only two weeks until the Feb. 18 deadline, negotiations on spending are ongoing. On the status of those negotiations, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said there is still much to iron out.

"We haven't resolved anything yet," Shelby said.

In this June 8, 2021, file photo, Sen. Richard Shelby listens as Secretary of State Anthony Blinken testifies during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images, FILE

Shelby indicated Thursday that when it comes to a continuing resolution, the committee was "probably headed that direction." The length of any potential stopgap measure would be determined by Senate leadership.

The patchwork of continuing resolutions that have kept government going during the entirety of Biden's first year is a barrier to carrying out major pieces of the president's agenda.

The TIP with Alisa Wiersema

Texas Republican Gov. Abbott's toughest hurdle as an incumbent is overcoming the aftermath of last year's deadly storm that claimed more than 200 lives and left thousands of Texans without power for days or weeks. Abbott vowed there wouldn't be a repeat breakdown of the state's electrical grid in 2022, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas that is responsible for managing the grid backs that assessment.

Meanwhile, his high-profile Democratic challenger, Beto O'Rourke, effectively launched his campaign on the criticism Abbott received for his handling of the storm. Since then, O'Rourke has been hammering Abbott over what will happen if there's another weather emergency.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott attends former President Donald Trump's rally, in Conroe, Texas, Jan. 29, 2022.
Go Nakamura/Reuters

The two are now engaged in dueling information campaigns about storm preparedness. And while Abbott's role as governor gives him the power to address statewide issues, it also leaves him with the risk of having to face another disaster.

On Friday, O'Rourke hits the road for a 12-day campaign swing through Texas as part of his "Keeping the Lights On" road trip. Although the former presidential contender plans to remind voters of the catastrophes caused by the last grid failure, he also faces the political risk of having to pivot his message if the lights do, in fact, end up staying on.

NUMBER OF THE DAY, powered by FiveThirtyEight

18. That's the potential percentage of Black members of Congress from states that constitute the former Confederacy if the Supreme Court rules Alabama's congressional map is a racial gerrymander under the Voting Rights Act. It would be the most Black representation in the region in U.S. history. Under Section 2 of the VRA, it's illegal to deny members of a racial minority equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice, and in Alabama, civil rights advocates have sued, arguing Black voters in the state are entitled to a second district. As Nathaniel Rakich writes for FiveThirtyEight, if the lawsuit is successful, it could have ramifications for other states, including Louisiana and South Carolina.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. Start Here begins Friday morning with ABC's Martha Raddatz detailing the dramatic U.S. raid in Syria that ended with the death of the leader of ISIS. Then, ABC's Ginger Zee talks about how fake snow is impacting the Beijing Olympics and the climate. And, ABC's Devin Dwyer explains the experimental new way Michigan is deciding congressional districts. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

  • President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the January jobs report at 10:45 a.m. before heading to Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to visit Ironworkers Local 5, where he delivers remarks and signs an executive order to "improve timeliness, lower costs and increase quality in federal construction projects" at 2 p.m. Vice President Kamala Harris and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh also speak.
  • White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a briefing at 11:45 a.m.
  • Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Federalist Society's Eighth Annual Florida Chapters Conference at 3:15 p.m., Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers remarks at 5 p.m. and Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch speaks at 7 p.m.
  • Sunday on ABC's "This Week": Co-anchor Martha Raddatz goes one-on-one exclusively with Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). Plus, Raddatz travels to battleground Arizona to examine how election integrity has become a central campaign issue in critical midterm races. And the Powerhouse Roundtable discusses all the week's politics with ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent and "This Week" Co-Anchor Jonathan Karl, ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce, host of the New York Times podcast, "The Argument" and ABC News Contributor Jane Coaston and The New Yorker Staff Writer Susan Glasser.
  • Download the ABC News app and select "The Note" as an item of interest to receive the day's sharpest political analysis.

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