The Beltway & Beyond

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation on Tuesday, a week after State AG Tish James issued a scathing report detailing accusations of sexual harassment and one day after state lawmakers convened for impeachment proceedings. Underscoring both the tarnished brand of her soon-to-be predecessor and the public’s desire for a reset, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is signaling the start of a new era in Albany politics as she prepares to become the Empire State’s first female governor and the first governor since Grover Cleveland to represent Western New York.

Public Strategies’ NY team, including Ken Fisher, Stuart Shorenstein, Katie Schwab, Rose Christ, and Jamie Ansorge, discuss Ms. Hochul’s experience and leadership style, how it stands in sharp contrast to Cuomo’s, and what the transition may mean for the future of New York City and State.

A partisan stalemate is poised to drag out Senate efforts to advance the infrastructure bill for days, with GOP Sen. Hagerty (TN) vowing he will block attempts to speed up passage of the legislation. But the Senate still remains on track to conclude its work on proposed revisions, potentially by early next week, putting Democrats one step closer to delivering on President Biden’s economic policy priorities.

Ahead of the August recess, Public Strategies’ Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin break down the current status of the bipartisan measure and discuss other key political events of the week, including the questions about the fate of NY Governor Cuomo raised by the damning report released by New York AG.

On Wednesday, just days before the House left for its August recess, Senate Democrats and Republicans banded together to advance an infrastructure proposal - including $550 billion in new spending, to improve the country’s aging infrastructure, overcoming months of political deadlock on one of President Biden’s signature economic policy priorities.

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin break down the related developments, and discuss other key issues in Washington last week.

What happens in New York, the country’s largest and most diverse city, has national ramifications.

What is the projected mayoral race winner Eric Adams’ relationship with NY Governor Cuomo, whose investigation by state attorney general’s office has upended his national reputation as he gears up to run for a fourth term next year? What about Adams’ rapport with President Biden, whose ambitious legislative agenda depends on his ability to hold onto Democrats’ slim majorities in the House and the Senate? How does Hakeem Jeffries, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus and has AOC in his backyard, and his fellow Brooklynite Chuck Schumer, help Biden pursue his plans?

· In a special edition of Beltway Briefing, moderated by Ken Fisher, New York Public Strategies’ Katie Schwab, Stuart Shorenstein, Jamie Ansorge, and Rose Christ discuss what the NYC mayoral race means and provide other updates on New York’s political direction.

The Supreme Court on Thursday, by a 7-2 vote, left “Obamacare” intact and showed that the conservative majority doesn’t fall along partisan lines as much as the left thinks it does. In other big news this week, antitrust scholar and Big Tech critic Lina Khan – a prominent figure in the “New Brandeis Movement” - which espouses a 21st century version of the populist competition policies once championed by Justice Brandeis, was sworn in as FTC chairwoman, after President Biden elevated her to the agency’s top post.

Is Biden, in his early policy moves, developing an answer to Trumpist populism? Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin debate this week’s events inside the Beltway and ponder whether Biden is developing a new policy synthesis that is as an antidote to conservative populism.

President Biden is in Cornwall, England, where the G-7 annual economic summit began on Friday with a sense of new unity among the group and an endorsement of the theme that a renewed global alliance and commitment to multilateralism were ready to prove themselves capable.

Yet, in an odd dynamic, it was the former president who was in the headlines of all top publications, an acknowledgment he is still the GOP’s engine — even as his actual voice has been diminished - and thus very much still a factor in their news cycle and political coverage. Are we are then really in the post-Trump era?

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, and Towner French discuss Trump's continued importance in Republican politics and underscore the intensity of current crises around the globe, noting it extends beyond the former president and his efforts to undermine election results.

The U.S. appears to be trying to close the curtain on the pandemic, as COVID-19 cases continue to fall and increasing numbers of Americans are getting vaccinated. Combined with the latest jobs report, with the economy knocking the unemployment rate below 6 percent, many analysts are hoping for an economic boom this summer as a full “reopening” draws nearer. But is it really that simple, or are there signs that a broader shift might be remaking the economy in ways that make it harder to see the road ahead?

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss the impact of the jobs report on the biggest questions shaping the partisan debate, including Biden’s multitrillion-dollar spending push, and ponder whether we are seeing long-term behavioral shifts or short-term alterations on the road to economic recovery.

Mask-wearing in the U.S. has become another flashpoint in the partisan culture wars. As a result, despite the recent change in CDC mask guidelines, which signaled a welcome shift toward pre-pandemic social norms yet left people across the country scrambling to make sense of the abrupt change, the debate about masks will almost surely continue.

On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider a controversial Mississippi abortion law. It will be a blockbuster case, which will thrust the court -- with a 6-3 conservative majority -- into the 2022 midterm election debate.

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss the cultural aspect of the rapidly changing mask rules and ponder the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision to revisit an issue that still deeply divides the country.

A president who prides himself on choreography and planning faced a string of unexpected events last week that showcased the need for political agility: from the Colonial Pipeline shutdown and the resulting surge in gas prices to a rapid escalation of violence in the Middle East, a spike in the costs of consumer goods, and new CDC mask guidance which, although welcome by most Americans, caught the President’s aides off guard and prompted a confusing rush in states to update their rules.

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss the simultaneous foreign and domestic crises that amounted to a reality check for a president who has placed nearly all of his political capital in resolving longer-term issues, such as ending the pandemic and served as a reminder that any manner of crises can intervene to throw the trajectory off course.

A months-long dispute over Republican principles among House leaders and across the broader GOP landscape is expected to culminate this week with a vote to remove Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney from her position as the third-ranking House Republican. Meanwhile, Friday’s mediocre jobs report for April puzzled many analysts who expected hundreds of thousands of more new jobs and added fuel to arguments that no more government spending should be approved until the effects of the last package can be understood.

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss the GOP leadership fracas and its impact on Biden’s agenda and address major questions about the economic recovery raised by the jobs report.