| Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. The announcement this morning from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that he will seek reelection reminds me that he used to run one of the niftier efforts at diplomatic/commercial outreach. Grassley would invite scores of D.C.-based foreign diplomats to Iowa for a guided tour of the state — an invitation to buy Iowan products and invest there. He discontinued it before I could ever convince my Agence France-Presse editors to let me cover one of those trips. | | |  | The big idea | | At a fiercely partisan moment, the bipartisan BBQ is back | | "Barbecue isn't magic …" Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) knows yesterday's bipartisan Senate BBQ isn't going to transform a Congress fighting over policing reforms, voting rights, and whether to allow the U.S. to default on its debt, possibly triggering global economic chaos. "Look, Barbecue isn't magic," Coons told The Daily 202. "But it sure is powerful. It brings people together. It puts them in a good mood. It gives them something nice to talk about." | | @chriscoons | "Look, Barbecue isn't magic. But it sure is powerful. It brings people together. It puts them in a good mood. It gives them something nice to talk about." | | | | | | | | The BBQ rules are simple. "Sit near, or with, someone you don't spend time with, or who you don't know. Don't just sit with the same party." the Delaware Democrat said. "Have a conversation. Really talk to someone, get to know them." | | Former senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) began the yearly tradition 13 years ago. When he retired at the end of 2019, citing declining health (he suffers from Parkinson's disease) its fate was unclear. The pandemic cancelled the meal in 2020. This year, Coons and Sens. Raphael G. Warnock (D-Ga.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) played co-hosts. It's an eat-well, feel-good event at a toxic time in American politics. Former president Donald Trump keeps saying he was cheated out of a second term, a false claim Republicans have used to justify passing slates of laws rolling back voting practices they blame for President Biden's victory. And 147 Republicans voted to overthrow the election results based on false claims of fraud, just hours after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, forcing an interruption in the certification of Biden's win. "No one would argue that the divisions have become less. If anything, they've become worse," Coons said by telephone. "And so I thought it was a tradition certainly worth continuing." The feast drew scores of senators to the Kennedy Caucus Room, a stately space named for three Kennedys — John, Robert, Ted — in the Russell Senate Office Building, with marbled walls and columns. A second meal, for staff, was "widely and enthusiastically attended," Coons said with a laugh. | | "A day and a half spent hauling the wood-burning barbecue pits from Georgia to Capitol Hill led to another day of prep work. And then they grilled the meat overnight: 150 pounds of pork, 150 pounds of beef brisket and 120 pounds of St. Louis ribs. The pitmasters, Dale Thornton of South 40 Smokehouse in Marietta and William 'Bubba' Latimer of Bub-Ba-Q in Woodstock and Jasper, said the trip was exhausting but worth it." In a back corner of the room, the organizers set up a camera for guests who wanted to record a message for Isakson, said Coons, who was given the Georgia lawmaker as his mentor upon arriving in the Senate. The two hit it off, traveling extensively together when the Democrat chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy and Isakson was its ranking member. Later, they founded the Senate Chicken Caucus – Georgia and Delaware both produce copious poultry exports. Were lawmakers who deny Biden's election invited? "We invited every member of the Senate," said Coons. "We have lots of things that we can fight about, that we do fight about. But one thing that always brought us together in the years that he served was Johnny's kindness and decency," he said. "And one of the things that brought us together today was a common love of barbecue." |  Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) organized the bipartisan BBQ. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) | | | "A day and a half spent hauling the wood-burning barbecue pits from Georgia to Capitol Hill led to another day of prep work. And then they grilled the meat overnight: 150 pounds of pork, 150 pounds of beef brisket and 120 pounds of St. Louis ribs. The pitmasters, Dale Thornton of South 40 Smokehouse in Marietta and William 'Bubba' Latimer of Bub-Ba-Q in Woodstock and Jasper, said the trip was exhausting but worth it." In a back corner of the room, the organizers set up a camera for guests who wanted to record a message for Isakson, said Coons, who was given the Georgia lawmaker as his mentor upon arriving in the Senate. The two hit it off, traveling extensively together when the Democrat chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy and Isakson was its ranking member. Later, they founded the Senate Chicken Caucus – Georgia and Delaware both produce copious poultry exports. Were lawmakers who deny Biden's election invited? "We invited every member of the Senate," said Coons. "We have lots of things that we can fight about, that we do fight about. But one thing that always brought us together in the years that he served was Johnny's kindness and decency," he said. "And one of the things that brought us together today was a common love of barbecue." | | One prominent politician acted for a time like he believed breaking bread could break legislative logjams. That was President Barack Obama. According to a 2014 piece in The Daily Beast, Obama "began his first term by breaking bread (and presumably, popping corks) with conservative writers David Brooks, Charles Krauthammer and Bill Kristol over at George Will's house. Brooks later joked of Obama, '[The President] said, David, which sort of wine would you like me to turn your water into?'" In March 2013, Obama shared a lobster lunch with Senate Republicans, who largely praised him as a mealtime companion but were generally noncommittal on the political front. That same month, Obama treated 12 Republican senators to some fancy dining at Plume restaurant in the Jefferson Hotel a few blocks from the White House. They were at the table for two hours and 20 minutes. There were no breakthroughs. The tab, which Obama picked up, was never disclosed. A month later, Obama was done. In a riff at the April 2013 White House Correspondents' Association dinner, the president channeled his exasperation with pundits suggesting more socializing would mean more legislative cooperation. "Some folks still don't think I spend enough time with Congress. 'Why don't you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?' they ask," he said. "Really?!? Why don't YOU get a drink with Mitch McConnell?" Barbecue isn't always a bipartisan glue. Back in 2018, facing an unexpectedly tough challenge from Democrat Beto O'Rourke, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) pointed to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protesting at his campaign events. "If Beto wins, BBQ will be illegal!" he joked on Twitter. | | |  | What's happening now | | Biden to Americans: Let's boost |  Biden takes off his face mask as he arrives to deliver remarks on his administration's COVID-19 response and vaccination program. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) | | | Biden, in an address this morning, promoted booster shots for front-line workers, those over 65 and those with underlying health conditions who got the Pfizer vaccine. "Biden said people who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines 'still have a high degree of protection' and will be able to get booster shots later," Andrew Jeong, Adela Suliman and Marisa Iati report. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) plans to announce a 2022 run for Los Angeles mayor, Sean Sullivan and Tyler Pager report. | | |  | Lunchtime reads from The Post | | - Trump's election challenges distracted from the coronavirus response, a White House adviser told colleagues, according to emails obtained by a House select committee probing the government's response, Dan Diamond reports.
- What to expect about a potential government shutdown: Amber Phillips has the explainer for you.
|  Mohammad Sadeed holds up his young son after being united after his family arrived back home from Afghanistan at Dulles International Airport. (Michael Blackshire/The Washington Post) | | - China banned all cryptocurrency transactions. "The clampdown comes as China's central bank has been testing its own digital currency, the electronic Chinese yuan. The price of Bitcoin fell as much as 7 percent on the news," the New York Times's Amy Qin and Ephrat Livni report.
- A coalition of more than 30 companies pledged to hire or create economic opportunities for Afghan refugees, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution's Kelly Yamanouchi reports.
- The anti-vaccine movement is escalating its rhetoric against doctors and nurses. "Consumed by conspiracy theories claiming that doctors are preventing unvaccinated patients from receiving miracle cures or are even killing them on purpose, some people in anti-vaccine and pro-ivermectin Facebook groups are telling those with Covid-19 to stay away from hospitals and instead try increasingly dangerous at-home treatments," NBC News's Ben Collins reports.
| | |  | The Biden agenda | |  Biden meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office. (Evan Vucci/AP) | | | The U.S. could run out of cash to pay its bills as early as Oct. 15 | - That's according to new analysis from the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Times's Alan Rappeport reports.
- The analysis "showed a narrower window during which the United States could default on its debt if the limit on what the United States can borrow is not raised."
- "The policy center said that if the true deadline for breaching the debt limit was Oct. 15, the earliest end of its projected range, the Treasury Department would be about $265 billion short of paying all its bills through mid-November. About 40 percent of the money that is owed would go unpaid."
| | Biden is hosting his first Quad summit at the White House. India has some concerns. | - "When President Biden and the leaders of Japan, Australia and India convene at the White House on Friday, they'll be meeting in person for the first time to cement an emerging partnership of four Indo-Pacific countries, known as the Quad, united in their misgivings about China," Gerry Shih reports.
- "But one crucial leg of the bloc — India — also has lingering concerns about the United States. A month after U.S. forces departed from Afghanistan and the Taliban swept into power, the United States' commitment to allies from London to Brussels to Beijing has been questioned. One quiet critic has been India, which argued against a hasty U.S. withdrawal."
- What's in Modi's mind: "As he heads to the White House on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bring enthusiastic support for Biden's Pacific project, but also convey a set of apprehensions, according to Indian and Western officials and analysts."
| | Black Democrats are outraged with Biden over Haiti deportations | - "Biden's relationship with Black leaders and activists has rapidly deteriorated, as many have condemned his treatment of Haitian migrants and grown angry with his failure to overhaul policing and enact sweeping laws protecting voting rights," Sean Sullivan and Tyler Pager report. "White House officials are scrambling to try to repair" the damage, holding meetings with Black congressional leaders and civil rights leaders.
- Cedric L. Richmond, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement … "pinned blame on Congress for legislative inaction on policing reform, and said that he will continue to listen to concerns from activists … But the Biden administration has given no indication it is preparing to stop invoking the health order, known as Title 42, to expel many migrants arriving at the border during the pandemic.
| | |  | On Capitol Hill | | | Mitch McConnell is warming up to some of Trump's Senate candidates | - Earlier this year, McConnell vowed to tangle with Trump if necessary to nominate electable candidates, but he's seemingly backing down, Politico's Burgess Everett reports. The Senate minority leader "is tacitly blessing many of Trump's endorsements. As McConnell surveys Trump's picks in Senate battlegrounds, he's concluded that 'I don't believe they're troubling.'"
- "McConnell even sees a path to victory for [Herschel] Walker, the former NFL star who is dogged by allegations of past erratic behavior, including threats to his ex-wife. Trump essentially recruited Walker in Georgia, making him the instant favorite to win the GOP nomination."
| | The House is poised to pass legislation creating a statutory right to abortion as the battle over the Texas law heats up | - "H.R. 3755, the Women's Health Protection Act, is expected to pass the Democratic-controlled House but faces tough odds in the evenly divided Senate," Felicia Sonmez and Ann Marimow report. "It states that health-care providers have a statutory right to provide, and patients have a right to receive, abortion services without any number of a raft of limitations that states and opponents of the procedure have sought to impose."
| | Sen. Chuck Grassley, the oldest GOP senator at 88, announces he will seek another term | - "The decision by Grassley, who has served in the U.S. Congress since Jimmy Carter's presidency, boosts Republican prospects for holding the seat next year, when control of the chamber will be at stake. Recent polling has shown Grassley with a sizable lead over Democratic challenger Abby Finkenauer," Eugene Scott reports.
| | |  | America's hospitalization and vaccination divide, visualized | | | |  | Hot on the right | | | Trump asked for an audit of Texas's 2020 election results, and the state is giving him one. "The Texas secretary of state's office announced late Thursday it will audit the results of the 2020 election in the state's four largest counties, hours after Trump called on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to conduct one," Amy B Wang reports. "Biden won Dallas, Harris and Tarrant counties in 2020, while Trump won Collin County. GOP lawmakers in Texas have been pushing legislation that would require an audit of the 2020 results in Texas's largest counties, most of which went for Biden." | | Reaction from conservatives was all over the spectrum: |  | | | | | From an Arizona state senator: |  | | | | | |  | Hot on the left | | | By the way, Biden won Arizona — again. A draft report of the Republican audit in the state's Maricopa County confirmed Biden's win, Rosalind S. Helderman reports. "After nearly six months and almost $6 million — most of it given by groups that cast doubt on the election results — the draft report shows that the review concluded that 45,469 more ballots were cast for Biden in Maricopa County than for Trump, widening Biden's margin by 360 more votes than certified results." | | |  | Today in Washington | | | Biden is meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi At 2 p.m., he will host the first-ever-in-person Quad Leaders Summit with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. At 4:10 p.m., he will meet with Suga again. At 6 p.m., the president will head to Camp David. | | |  | In closing | | | "The Daily Show's" Jordan Klepper went to schools and parents to better understand the war on masks, vaccines and teaching critical race theory:  | | | | | Thanks for reading. See you Monday. | | |
