| Welcome to The Daily 202 newsletter! Tell your friends to sign up here. On this day in 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first president to ride in a helicopter. President Biden, who has picked a major Democratic donor to be ambassador to France, has become the latest link in a bipartisan chain of American leaders rewarding prominent political fundraisers with plum overseas jobs. As I wrote earlier this year, it's a unique process that "produced the soap opera producer deemed qualified to serve in Hungary partly because she spoke 'conversational Spanish,' and the former Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner pronounced worthy of the top posting in Paris in part because she wrote a cookbook. There was also the hotel magnate described as a 'counterintelligence risk' with an 'abominable lack of knowledge' about his posting." In announcing Denise Campbell Bauer's nomination to be ambassador to France and Monaco, the White House highlighted her years-long tenure as envoy to Belgium, but made no secret of her past in scooping up campaign cash, either for President Barack Obama or as an early Biden supporter. Based on the announcement, Bauer at least speaks French.  President Biden departs the Eisenhower Executive Office Building's South Court Auditorium last month after giving an update on his administration's coronavirus response. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) | How presidents balance nominating career diplomats with picking the politically connected can send a message to the State Department as well as the countries to which they're being sent about the kind of partner America plans to be. White House aides underline that the overwhelming majority of Biden's diplomatic picks so far have been career diplomats, including the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who was brought back from retirement. During the campaign, Biden refused to rule out embracing the tradition of naming what I've called "ambassadonors," but promised in December 2019 "nobody, in fact, will be appointed by me based on anything they contributed." "I'm going to appoint the best people possible," Biden told reporters aboard his campaign bus. But people who "may or may not have contributed" could turn out to be the most qualified for the job, he said. That put him at odds with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who promised in a June 2019 "Medium" post and at the fifth Democratic debate in November 2019 she would not nominate big donors. "I won't give ambassadorial posts to wealthy donors or bundlers — period," Warren wrote. About 31.8 percent of President George W. Bush's ambassadorial nominees were "political," according to the American Foreign Service Association. Obama drew from that world for 30 percent of his choices. President Donald Trump went with connected over career for about 43.5 percent of his nominees — the highest in decades. To be clear: "Politicals" can turn out great. They arrive with at least the implicit promise they have a personal relationship with the president. They aren't necessarily as hidebound as bureaucrats. Those from corporate America sometimes connect better with local business leaders (and finance ministers) than career diplomats might. Consider "Yo Gabba Gabba" executive producer Charles Rivkin, who served so capably as ambassador to France, the Senate later confirmed him, 92-6, to a more senior role: Assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs. And "politicals" tend to end up in locales like London, Paris, Rome (and the Vatican), places with longstanding relationships and sprawling embassies where veteran career diplomats do the work of managing U.S. interests day to day. But they can also be vehicles for embarrassment, or even damage bilateral relations. As I wrote in February: "the major French daily Le Monde recently criticized the Trump era's record, highlighting the case of dermatologist Jeffrey Gunter. He was the ambassador to Iceland who reportedly went through seven deputies in two years and caused a stir when he sought special permission to carry a firearm, among other unusual requests tied to unspecified threats to his security. The small country is safe enough that police don't regularly carry guns." In London, New York Jets owner and Trump backer Robert "Woody Johnson" reportedly raised the possibility of steering the British Open golf tournament to Trump's Turnberry resort in Scotland and made disparaging remarks based on "religion, sex or color." (He denied doing either). Cynthia Stroum may have paved her way to being an ambassador to Luxembourg in part by raising $500,000 for Obama, but once there she "was a disaster," according to an internal State Department investigation that faulted her "abusive management style." At the Associated Press, my friend Matthew Lee reported: "According to an internal State Department report released Thursday, less than a week after she quit, Stroum's management of the U.S. Embassy in the tiny country was abysmal. The report says her tenure of about one year was fraught with personality conflicts, verbal abuse and questionable expenditures on travel, wine and liquor." Biden also announced Friday he had picked Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti — one of his national campaign co-chairs — to the difficult diplomatic post of ambassador to India. (Disclosure: Garcetti and I were undergrads together.) The president had previously tapped Thomas R. Nides, a prominent Democratic donor who served in a senior State Department job under Obama, to be ambassador to Israel. Biden is unlikely to run into significant opposition among Democrats to the nominees he has announced so far. In 2014, the president's party gave the green light to two Obama donors whose lack of qualifications had kicked up controversy. Warren voted yes to both. | | | What's happening now Pfizer will meet with top U.S. health officials today to discuss a potential booster shot. "The company said it was scheduled to have the meeting with the Food and Drug Administration and other officials Monday, days after Pfizer asserted that booster shots would be needed within 12 months," the AP reports. "Pfizer's Dr. Mikael Dolsten told The Associated Press last week that early data from the company's booster study suggests people's antibody levels jump five- to 10-fold after a third dose, compared to their second dose months earlier — evidence it believes supports the need for a booster." Israel already started administering a third dose of Pfizer to at-risk adults, Shira Rubin reports. To start your day with a full political briefing, sign up for our Power Up newsletter. | | | Lunchtime reads from The Post - "Derision, misogyny, sexual assault: Virginia Military Institute women face attacks on campus and online," by Ian Shapira: "On a sunny Friday in May, the corps was poised to mark a first in the 182-year history of the nation's oldest state-supported military college: anointing a female student as their top military commander. Kasey Meredith, a rising senior from Pennsylvania, strode past photographers and positioned herself next to the college's superintendent, retired Army Maj. General Cedric Wins, the institute's first Black leader. Then, Wins handed her VMI's white battle flag and the two clasped the colors, signifying the corps' change of command. ... But the stirring image of Meredith becoming VMI's first female regimental commander belied the misogyny she and other female cadets have endured since women were first admitted to the school in 1997 after a legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court. In the six weeks since her appointment was announced, Meredith, an international studies major with plans to commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps next year, had been the object of derision by VMI students on Jodel, a widely used anonymous social media app where female cadets are routinely dismissed as 'shedets' or 'sheeds.'"
- " 'The real damage,' " by Hannah Dreier: "More than a third of Black-owned land in the South is passed down informally, rather than through deeds and wills, according to land use experts. It's a custom that dates to the Jim Crow era, when Black people were excluded from the Southern legal system. When land is handed down like this, it becomes heirs' property, a form of ownership in which families hold property collectively, without clear title. People believed this protected their land, but the Department of Agriculture has found that heirs' property is 'the leading cause of Black involuntary land loss.' Without formal deeds, families are cut off from federal loans and grants, including from FEMA, which requires that disaster survivors prove they own their property before they can get help rebuilding."
- "A teen was accused of abuse inside Vatican City. Powerful church figures helped him become a priest," by Chico Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli: "For a church trying to better contend with abuse and coverup across its empire, the warnings about Gabriele Martinelli were a direct institutional test. The events described in the anonymous letter, as well as in accounts from the alleged victim and a witness, were said to have taken place right under the church's nose. By 2013, the complaints about Martinelli had been communicated to the pope and a who's who of cardinals and bishops. The next year, the Vatican's third-ranking official wrote a letter that referred to the accusations and asserted that the pope 'knows the case well.' And yet, in 2017, Martinelli was ordained a priest."
| | | … and beyond - "The battle for the U.S. Senate will be on display during baseball's All-Star game," by NPR's Becky Sullivan: "As baseball's All-Star festivities begin tonight in Denver, a new political attack ad is hoping to remind viewers that the game was once supposed to be held in Georgia. The commercial, paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, hearkens back to the spring, when outcry mounted over a new restrictive voting law engineered by Republican lawmakers in Georgia. Corporations — including Major League Baseball — came under intense pressure to speak out against it. ... The new ad focuses on the economic impact of the move, blaming 'the radical left woke crowd,' and specifically Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat. ... The ad is part of the Senate Republicans' campaign to take back Georgia's Senate seats."
| | | The Biden agenda The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is stepping down, marking a symbolic end to 20 years of war. - "Army Gen. Austin 'Scott' Miller, who has overseen the war effort for nearly three years, relinquished responsibility in a ceremony at the top U.S. military headquarters. President Biden said last week that the military withdrawal he ordered will be complete Aug. 31, but Miller's departure is among the only pieces left. Virtually all other troops, contractors and equipment already have exited, defense officials said on the condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity," Dan Lamothe reports.
- "Miller departs Afghanistan as the war's longest-serving senior U.S. officer. A former commander of the elite Delta Force, he oversaw a tumultuous period that included the Trump administration's 2020 deal with the Taliban that set the stage for withdrawal, and the final call by Biden in April to remove all troops."
- "Marine Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie, the chief of U.S. Central Command, arrived Monday morning in Kabul to assume command of the remaining mission. He is expected to oversee the small-scale operation from his headquarters in Tampa, with a two-star Navy SEAL, Rear Adm. Peter Vasely, leading about 650 troops tasked with protecting the U.S. Embassy."
Biden will meet with Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, to discuss curbing gun violence. - "Adams, a former New York Police Department officer who claimed the Democratic nomination for mayor last week, made public safety the centerpiece of his campaign. The Biden administration is working to counter rising crime in many cities as the nation reopens from the pandemic," the Wall Street Journal's Ken Thomas reports. "The boost in crime has generated criticism from Republicans who contend that Mr. Biden and Democrats have failed to respond sufficiently. Republicans have sought to tie it to a push by activists and some Democratic lawmakers to defund police departments in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer last year."
- "The White House said the meeting Monday would include Attorney General Merrick Garland along with local leaders, law-enforcement officials and a community violence intervention advocate to discuss the president's strategies to reduce violent crime. A White House official said Mr. Adams will attend the meeting in his capacity as Brooklyn borough president."
| | | Quote of the day "I have been of this opinion, and I remain of that opinion, that I do believe at the local level, there should be more mandates. There really should be," Anthony S. Fauci told CNN when Jake Tapper asked whether he thought it would be a good idea for businesses and schools to require coronavirus vaccinations. Fauci, however, continued to insist the federal government will not mandate them. | | | Future of the GOP CPAC showcased the resonance of Trump's attacks on the 2020 election. - "Trump ticked through his grievances Sunday as he spoke to a conservative gathering here: his media coverage, his ban by social media companies, the Republican lawmakers who have broken ranks to criticize him," Hannah Knowles reports from Dallas. "But over and over again, Trump came back to one enduring complaint: his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen."
- "'The entire system was rigged against the American people and rigged against a fair, decent and honest election,' he said before a roaring crowd that filled the better part of a 3,300-seat ballroom and welcomed Trump with 'Make America Great Again' hats waved in the air."
- "In between sessions on school board activism and Big Tech, speakers stoked doubts about the vote, with Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.) suggesting Republicans need to notch overwhelming wins so that cheaters 'won't be able to do what they did last time.' Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) declared from the main stage that he was suspicious that congressional security officials resisted an early request to station National Guard troops at the Capitol for the Jan. 6 proceedings."
- "Attendees spoke of election 'audits' that are about to uncover the truth, and some blamed the police response or leftist agitators for the destruction and violence on Jan. 6... Throughout the halls of the Dallas hotel conference center, there were signs that Trump's false claim that the election was rigged is a central animating force on the right — one fueling extreme views."
- "CPAC leaders said the conference is not defined by Trump and dismissed some of the baseless theories circulated during the gathering as fringe views unrepresentative of their movement, echoing attendees who said they should not be judged by others' words and actions. They said they were focused on fighting the political left, standing up to 'cancel culture' and enacting a conservative agenda."
Trump easily won the 2024 straw poll over the weekend at the conservative conclave. - Trump captured 70 percent of the ballots cast in the anonymous straw poll, Fox News reports.
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in a distant second, at 21 percent.
Texas Republicans advanced voting restrictions in their legislature's special session. - "New voting restrictions in Texas moved a step closer to becoming law this weekend after two committees advanced the legislation in a special session, setting up a floor vote in the coming days on a GOP proposal that civil rights leaders say would hurt communities of color," Eva Ruth Moravec and Amy B Wang report. "It was the second effort by Texas Republicans to pass such voting restrictions, after Democrats foiled a first attempt by staging a dramatic walkout in May."
- "On Sunday afternoon, Texas senators voted along party lines, 6-3, to advance Senate Bill 1 out of committee. It's expected to reach the floor for a full chamber vote Tuesday. Early Sunday morning, House committee members voted 9-5 along party lines to advance House Bill 3 after a hearing that lasted all Saturday and overnight into Sunday."
| | | The new world order Cubans took to the streets for the biggest anti-government protests in decades. - "Communist Cuba erupted in its largest-scale demonstrations in decades on Sunday as thousands of people chanting 'freedom' and 'yes, we can' took to the streets from Havana to Santiago de Cuba in a major new challenge to an authoritarian government struggling to cope with increasingly severe blackouts, food shortages and a spiking coronavirus outbreak," Anthony Faiola reports.
The Sunday protests "appear to have started in the city of San Antonio de los Baños and spread rapidly as demonstrators shared protests on Facebook Live. The demonstrations were so large that President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who succeeded Raúl Castro this year as first secretary of the Communist Party, called on Cuba's 'revolutionary' citizens to take to the streets." - "On social media, images appeared of Cuban citizens confronting officials in the authoritarian state, standing on what appeared to be overturned police cars and talking into cameras, bloodied and defiant after melees with government loyalists and police."
Mystery surrounds the suspected mastermind of Haiti's presidential assassination plot. - "A Haitian man arrested under suspicion of playing a leading role in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse appears to have presented himself as a potential leader of the impoverished Caribbean nation for as long as a decade," Rachel Pannett, Widlore Merancourt and Samantha Schmidt report. "Police said Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 63, planned to assume the presidency and hire some of the men involved in the attack on Moïse as his security team. Sanon, who reportedly has lived on-and-off in Florida for about two decades, landed in Haiti on a private plane in early June with 'political objectives,' Haiti's police chief, Léon Charles, told reporters Sunday."
- "He recruited the team through a Venezuelan security firm based in the United States, but its mission changed when one member was presented with an arrest warrant for Moïse."
Hundreds of Thai medical workers who were fully inoculated with the Sinovac vaccine were infected by the coronavirus. - "The 618 cases were among the 677,348 medical staff who had received two doses of the Chinese-developed coronavirus vaccine between April to July, government data show. Among those infected are a nurse who died and a health-care worker in critical condition," Bryan Pietsch reports. "A Thai health official said Sunday that an expert panel has recommended administering a third dose to at-risk medical workers, adding that the booster shot would be either one from Oxford-AstraZeneca or a messenger RNA vaccine made by either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna."
| | | Hot on the left It was a big weekend for statue removals in Charlottesville. "Shortly after the city carted away a monument to Confederate general Stonewall Jackson and a statue of Robert E. Lee that triggered a deadly weekend of violence in 2017, workers carried off two more statues that critics said depicted Native Americans in a racist and disparaging manner," Teo Armus and Hannah Natanson report. | | | Hot on the right "Trumpworld wants distance from QAnon even as the ex-president winks at it," by Politico's Tina Nguyen and Meridith McGraw: "Trump and his aides have made efforts to keep QAnon from becoming a prominent feature of Trump events for years. There had been a longstanding (though not always successfully executed) policy at Trump rallies to remove any signs or slogans relating to non-Trump causes, and QAnon merchandising fell into that blanket policy. But as the web of QAnon falsehoods and supporters continues to grow, Trump allies have increasingly viewed the movement, which holds that a satanic sect of pedophiles is secretly controlling the government, as toxic. 'If we let in one Q shirt out of hundreds of shirts,' the negative press would be astounding, said one person close to Trump. ... Trump associates also told POLITICO that they had attempted to weed out any QAnon influences — both adherents and postings — getting close to him. ... The attempts at creating distance from QAnon have been complicated, however, by the former president, who has refused to disavow the movement even when described to him as a conspiracy." Over the weekend, Trump described participants of the Jan. 6 insurrection as "great people" during a Fox News interview, Politico's David Cohen reports. "Echoing his rhetoric about the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Trump said, 'These were peaceful people, these were great people. … Trump said those at the events of Jan. 6 were loving people who wanted to save the nation. 'The crowd was unbelievable and I mentioned the word 'love,' the love in the air, I've never seen anything like it,' he said of his rally on the Ellipse." | | | Biden's delayed confirmations, visualized Vacancies remain in key Biden administration positions, including a permanent leader for the FDA, a solicitor general to argue before the Supreme Court and a White House budget director. Each role is key to Biden administration priorities. The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service are tracking Biden's appointees, including Cabinet secretaries, chief financial officers, general counsels, ambassadors and other critical leadership positions. | | | Today in Washington Biden will at 1:15. p.m. meet with Garland, a community violence intervention expert and local leaders, including law enforcement officials, to discuss his administration's plan to reduce gun crimes. Vice President Harris will travel to Detroit today where at 2 p.m. she will hold a listening session on voting rights. At 3:25 p.m., she will deliver remarks at a vaccine mobilization event, and at 5:25 p.m. she will deliver remarks at a Whitmer for Michigan finance event. | | | In closing | John Oliver raved about octopuses:  | | | | | | |
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