THE CONVENTION CLUSTER … JOE BIDEN is not going to travel to Milwaukee, but will instead accept the nomination in Delaware — due to Covid-19. Bloomberg’s TYLER PAGER had the scoop. NYT’S REID EPSTEIN and LISA LERER: The convention will be “entirely virtual with no one traveling from out of state to participate in events.”
SECRET SERVICE contracted for Covid tests in Wisconsin for the convention. ProPublica’s contract tracker (h/t Derek Willis)
— PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP said he may accept the nomination from the White House lawn. “We are thinking about doing it from the White House because there’s no movement,” TRUMP said in an interview on “Fox and Friends.” “It’s easy, and I think it’s a beautiful setting and we are thinking about that. It’s certainly one of the alternatives. It’s the easiest alternative, I think it’s a beautiful alternative.”
THIS IS ALREADY BEING MET with some skepticism from senior members of the GOP leadership on Capitol Hill.
SEN. JOHN THUNE, the South Dakotan who is the No. 2 GOP senator, told a group of us reporters: “Is that even legal? … I assume that’s not something that you could do. I assume there’s some Hatch Act issues or something. I don’t know the answer to that but I haven’t, and I haven’t heard him say that. But I think anything you do on federal property would seem to be problematic.”
SO, as NYT’s ASTEAD HERNDON points out: “it’s not a convention if no one convenes” …
NOT BY FRIDAY? … SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI on Covid relief efforts, speaking to ANDREA MITCHELL on MSNBC: “I am confident that we will have an agreement, the timing of it I can’t say. Because I don’t know. It just depends.” IT SEEMS AS IF they want to know whether an agreement is possible by Friday.
THE ECONOMIC STAKES — “U.S. hiring slowed dramatically in July as coronavirus cases surged, ADP report says,” by WaPo’s Tony Romm: “U.S. businesses slowed their hiring dramatically in July, adding only 167,000 new workers to their private payrolls — a steep drop from analysts’ expectations that could add new urgency to stalled congressional talks over another round of federal coronavirus relief.
“The numbers reported Wednesday by ADP mark a significant departure from the roughly 1 million jobs that some economists had predicted and a sharp falloff from hiring gains reported just a month prior, with virtually no sector of the U.S. economy untouched by the new slowdown.”
WHAT THE … “Biden hits back at reporter asking if he took a cognitive test: ‘Are you a junkie?’”
A TERRIFIC STORY ABOUT POWER … WAPO’S JONATHAN O’CONNELL and ERICA WERNER: “As Trump’s latest effort for new FBI headquarters falls flat, Shelby moves parts of the bureau to Alabama”: “[T]here is ample financial support and a clear plan for another FBI headquarters project, one in Huntsville, Ala., that will welcome 1,500 of the bureau’s headquarters staff from the Washington region next year and probably thousands more in coming years.
“The principal architect of the flow of FBI staff to Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal complex is Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), the powerful chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee who has shepherded the project through approvals and secured $1.1 billion in funding for it over the past four years.”
Good Wednesday afternoon.
It’s time for updated internet regulations to prevent election interference. We’ve more than tripled our security and safety teams to 35,000 people, added 5-step political ad verification and partnered with security researchers, other tech companies and law enforcement to combat foreign election interference. What’s next? We support updated internet regulations.
THE INVESTIGATIONS — “Yates says Obama, Biden didn’t influence Flynn investigation,” by Kyle Cheney: “‘During the meeting, the president, the vice president, the national security adviser did not attempt to any way to direct or influence any investigation,’ Yates said during sworn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The testimony counters repeated insinuations by President Donald Trump and his top allies … Trump has provided no evidence to support the claim.” POLITICO
WOW — “New York City will set up checkpoints to enforce quarantine for travelers,” by Erin Durkin in New York
BEYOND THE BELTWAY — “Choctaw Indians bear brunt of virus outbreak in Mississippi,” by AP’s Leah Willingham in Philadelphia, Miss.: “As confirmed coronavirus cases skyrocket in Mississippi, the state’s only federally recognized American Indian tribe has been devastated. COVID-19 has ripped through Choctaw families, many of whom live together in multigenerational homes.
“Almost 10% of the tribe’s roughly 11,000 members have tested positive for the virus. More than 75 have died. The once-flourishing Choctaw economy is stagnant, as the tribal government put in place tighter restrictions than those imposed by the state. July brought a glimmer of hope, with some numbers dropping among Choctaws, but health officials worry that with cases rising elsewhere in the state, the reprieve is only temporary. On Friday, Mississippi recorded its highest single-day coronavirus-related fatality count, 52.” AP
MORE IG CHAOS — “State Department watchdog resigns in another shake-up at IG’s office,” by WaPo’s John Hudson: “The internal State Department watchdog, whom President Trump installed after the previous inspector general was abruptly fired, has resigned … Stephen Akard’s departure, which will be effective Friday, was announced to staff members by his deputy, Diana R. Shaw, who told colleagues that she will become the temporary acting inspector general.” WaPo
STORM WATCH — “Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern U.S., killing at least 6,” by AP’s Bryan Anderson and Sarah Blake Morgan in Windsor, N.C.: “Two people died when Isaias spun off a tornado that struck a North Carolina mobile home park. Another person died in Pennsylvania when their vehicle was overtaken by water and swept downstream. Two others were killed by falling trees toppled by the storm in Maryland and New York City, and a sixth person died in Delaware when a tree branch fell on them, authorities said.”
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Census Taskforce is launching a $250,000 ad buy asking Congress to extend the deadline for collecting census data after the Trump administration announced this week that it would be finishing a month early. The buy covers digital and print ads in D.C. and other targeted states, as well as full-page ads in The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. Ad 1 … Ad 2
AD WARS — “Biden Announces $280 Million Fall Ad Buy Across 15 States,” by NYT’s Shane Goldmacher and Katie Glueck: “Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s campaign announced a $280 million fall advertising blitz on Wednesday, outlining plans for $220 million in television and $60 million in digital ads across 15 states … The ad reservation, which will begin on Sept. 1, is by far the biggest of the 2020 race by either campaign …
“[C]ampaign officials promised that Mr. Biden would make his own case through ads that would often be in his own voice. In a memo, the campaign said it would focus heavily on longer and more expensive minute-long ads.” NYT
DEMS COMING TOGETHER — “‘We have to get rid of Trump’: Pro-Bernie group launches effort to boost Biden,” by Holly Otterbein: “A left-wing group that opposed Joe Biden in the primaries is launching a six-figure digital campaign aimed at persuading progressive voters in battleground states … But don’t expect it to air rose-colored ads about Biden: RootsAction.org, POLITICO has learned, has recruited some of the biggest critics of Biden within the Democratic Party to make an unvarnished case for why they’re voting for him despite their disagreements.” POLITICO … Kickoff video with Noam Chomsky
THE BIG QUESTION MARK — “How U.S. Postal Service changes could complicate mail-in voting,” by ABC’s Lucien Bruggeman: “In interviews with ABC News, election experts, state election administrators and postal union leaders expressed concern that the implications of recent reforms at the postal service could undermine confidence in absentee voting — and perhaps even lead to uncounted ballots.”
— “COVID-19 sparks ‘tidal wave’ of mail-in ballots across Minnesota,” by the Star Tribune’s Kim Hyatt: “Voters across the state have requested 10 times as many absentee ballots for the upcoming Aug. 11 primary election as in the primary election four years ago.” Star Tribune
VEEPSTAKES — “Biden confidants see VP choices narrowing to Harris and Rice,” by Axios’ Hans Nichols and Alexi McCammond: “This is a snapshot of the nearly unanimous read that we get from more than a dozen people close to him. Of course, it comes with a giant asterisk: Only Biden knows for sure … In third place is Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), who had a faltering performance on the Sunday shows after revelations about her past views on Cuba and Scientology.
“Biden’s brain trust — Steve Ricchetti, Mike Donilon and Ted Kaufman — skew older and have deep and trusting relationships with many of the Obama and Clinton veterans who are advocating for Harris. It rests in part on her prosecutorial skills … Rice is getting a big bounce from Obama people who claim her presence on the ticket would guarantee the enthusiastic presence of both Barack and Michelle Obama on the campaign trail. If the contest comes down to a popularity contest with Obama alumni, Rice has an edge.” Axios
— “Bass corrects explanation for appearing at Scientology event,” by Chris Cadelago: “Bass had noted in a written statement over the weekend that the new [Scientology headquarters] building was in her state Assembly district. But the headquarters is well outside the boundaries of her district at the time, and Bass removed ‘in my district’ from the statement after POLITICO contacted her office Tuesday about the discrepancy. ‘In drafting a tweet I mistakenly described the event in Los Angeles as being in her district. I regret this error,’ a spokesman told POLITICO.” POLITICO
ABOUT LAST NIGHT — “Tlaib wins rematch with Jones in Michigan’s 13th District,” by The Detroit News’ Melissa Nann Burke
VOTING RIGHTS UPDATE — “Gov. Reynolds to sign executive order on felon voting rights Wednesday,” by WQAD’s Hollie Schlesselman in Des Moines, Iowa: “Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to sign an executive order granting voting rights to felons Wednesday morning.
“The order is just one of the demands listed by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) group in Des Moines. BLM pressured the governor’s administration to pass an order so felons are able to vote by this November. Currently, Iowa is the only state in the United States with a blanket ban prohibiting convicted felons from voting for life. Reynolds, a Republican, committed to changing that on June 15.”
SWAMP READ — “Kodak Spent Big Money Lobbying Trump Before Scoring $765 Million COVID Deal,” by The Daily Beast’s Lachlan Markay: “In the months before it secured a federal financing deal worth $765 million to help produce COVID-19 drugs, camera giant-turned-pharmaceutical company Eastman Kodak jump-started its dormant lobbying operation, spending unprecedented sums to influence D.C. policymakers.
“Kodak’s in-house lobbying team had officially dissolved in early 2019, according to disclosure filings submitted to federal regulators. But on April 1 of this year, the company started it back up, and proceeded to plow $870,000 into its D.C. influence machine. That sum, which went towards influencing both Congress and the administration, was more than twice as much as Kodak had ever spent on lobbying in any quarterly reporting period.” Daily Beast
NOW HIRING … TIKTOK posted multiple openings for federal government affairs roles. Daybook
BOOK CLUB — AP: “Ex-Trump adviser plans book on future of polarized America”: “Fiona Hill, a key witness in President Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry, is going to be sharing her views about the future of a polarized America. The New York-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media announced on Wednesday that it has acquired a book by Hill … Hill’s book, titled ‘There Is Nothing for You Here: Opportunity in an Age of Decline,’ is to be released in the fall of 2021.” AP
MEDIAWATCH — Mark Lima will be West Coast bureau chief for CBS News, based in Los Angeles. He most recently was VP of news for Univision/Fusion.
— “Digital Revenue Exceeds Print for 1st Time for New York Times Company,” by NYT’s Marc Tracy
IN MEMORIAM — “Legendary journalist and writer Pete Hamill dead at 85 after fall,” by the New York Daily News’ Larry McShane: “Pete Hamill, the Brooklyn-born bard of the five boroughs and eloquent voice of his beloved hometown as both newspaper columnist and best-selling author, died Wednesday morning. He was 85. …
“The legendary Hamill worked for three city tabloids, serving as editor for both the Daily News and the New York Post during a newspaper career that covered the last 40 years of the 20th century. … The lifelong New Yorker brought a touch of poetry to the tabloids, a sense of grace, wit and empathy amid the daily dose of crime and corruption. The author of more than 20 novels and more than 100 short stories also wrote long pieces on various subjects for The New Yorker, Esquire, Rolling Stone and New York magazine.” Daily News