theintercept--2020-11-18--On Arms Sales to Dictators and the Yemen War, Progressives See a Way In With Biden

celebrated Joe Biden ’ s victory in the presidential election , with contractors saying they expected their companies to continue flourishing under his administration as they have under Donald Trump .
But while Biden is no peacenik — waging wars has long been an area of bipartisan consensus in Washington — he has already signaled that he ’ ll take a radically different approach from Trump — particularly when it comes to making overseas arms sales .
Foreign policy was not a top campaign issue during the presidential election , especially as the news cycle was dominated by the health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and racial injustice , and Trump ’ s efforts to sow doubt in the legitimacy of U.S. voting systems .
But within a week of the election , Trump pushed through a $ 23 billion weapons deal with the United Arab Emirates .
It was the latest manifestation of Trump ’ s cozy relationships with Gulf dictatorships that have become anathema to U.S. progressives .
Biden , meanwhile , ran on ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen , a position that gained bipartisan support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progressive activists and lawmakers — until Trump vetoed a 2019 resolution that would have accomplished that goal .
The former vice president said last month that his administration would “ reassess ” the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia , which he called a “ pariah ” during a primary debate last year .
He has also said the U.S. would not sell more weapons to the country , deviating from the position taken by his former boss , Barack Obama .
Biden has also expressed opposition to the Trump administration ’ s security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peace deal with Armenia last week after a decadeslong conflict broke into clashes in late September .
Progressive activists and lawmakers have welcomed Biden ’ s positioning thus far and are hoping that foreign policy is an area they may have influence with in the incoming administration .
In July , more than 30 progressive groups sent a letter to Biden urging him to select foreign policy personnel in a manner that would “ challenge the institutions and groupthink that have led to a disastrous , overly-militarized , unilateral approach to foreign affairs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , policy director for Win Without War , a progressive foreign policy organization that signed the letter , said the recent UAE arms sale is a good place to start .
“ President-elect Biden has promised to chart a different path than Trump , and we ’ re hopeful that he starts by immediately undoing as many of the just-notified sales to the UAE as possible , and by putting the breaks on transfers that Congress has previously tried to reject under Trump.
” The president-elect “ should leverage the renewed bipartisan commitment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weapons transfers , as well as accountability for past misuse of weapons , ” Kizer continued .
“ We expect both Congress and President-elect Biden to really fix this broken arms sale status quo next year and finally end the decadeslong practice of arming human rights abusers and using weapon sales to achieve misperceived , often militarized national interests.
” The Trump administration brokered an agreement between Israel and the UAE this summer , with the UAE agreeing to normalize diplomatic relations in exchange for Israel stopping a planned annexation of parts of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden ’ s top foreign policy adviser Tony Blinken , who has praised the controversial agreement , cautioned that the sale appeared to be part of a “ quid pro quo ” related to the normalization agreement , the Times of Israel reported .
Blinken said a Biden administration would need to review the sale in order to preserve Israel ’ s edge in the region .
Michèle Flournoy , Obama ’ s undersecretary for defense policy and a top contender for defense secretary in the Biden administration , signaled opposition to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during talks on Yemen during a biannual meeting last January for the liberal think tank Foreign Policy for America , The American Prospect reported .
She suggested instead a policy of conditional use , which the defense industry wouldn ’ t lobby against , according to TAP .
But as Politico reported last week , Flournoy convened a call with top progressive foreign policy groups several days before the election to assuage their concerns about her position on arms sales to Saudi Arabia , saying that she opposed the sale of offensive weapons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Biden campaign declined to comment for this story , but pointed to Biden ’ s past comments on Saudi Arabia and Blinken ’ s comments on the UAE deal .
Alex McCoy , political director at the veterans group Common Defense , said Biden ’ s transition team has reached out to his group and a number of other progressive foreign policy organizations and engaged their critiques in good faith — even though there ’ s not yet much progressive representation on transition teams for national security agencies .
Common Defense ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ end forever wars , ” which Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris did not officially sign on to , though similar language appears in Biden ’ s platform .
But when it comes to arms sales , McCoy said he expects it will be an area of agreement with the new administration .
It helps that the middle of the party is broadly in agreement that the U.S. shouldn ’ t sell arms to authoritarian countries , McCoy explained .
“ I think this is a clear area where public opinion has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so I am seeing commensurate movement by those policymakers.
” has made it a priority to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen , which has devastated the country and pushed it to the edge of famine .
The Democratic National Committee included it in its platform , and Biden has called to end U.S. support for the Saudi coalition in Yemen .
Biden came out in opposition to U.S. support for the war in Yemen last May , shortly after Trump had vetoed the War Powers Resolution .
In a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Foreign Relations last August , Biden criticized Trump for giving Saudi Arabia a “ dangerous blank check ” to extend the war in Yemen .
Progressives intend to hold Biden to that promise .
The joint War Powers Resolution to halt U.S. activity in the ongoing war , which was shepherded by Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt. , and Rep. Ro Khanna , D-Calif. , gives them a road map .
It was passed in both chambers last year , with support from 23 Republicans .
“ Progressives are really interested in encouraging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quickly on the commitment to end the Yemen war , for starters , ” said Matt Duss , foreign policy adviser to Sanders .
“ It ’ s not just a progressive priority , it ’ s a bipartisan issue at this point .
You have a number of conservative groups that were part of the coalition , and this could be a good early bipartisan win.
” Speaking to The Intercept , Khanna expressed confidence that Congress would pass another War Powers Resolution ending involvement in Yemen and “ that Biden would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two of his presidency.
” He added : “ We need to have much greater restraint in terms of intervention , not be getting into more confrontations overseas and those would be the places I would love .
… I think that a good place to see where we could get progress is to ban any arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
” Kizer , of Win Without War , said Biden could “ unilaterally cut off further intelligence-sharing and security cooperation ” with Saudi Arabia and the UAE .
“ These immediate steps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold the Saudi and Emirati governments accountable for their abuses in Yemen — in the civil war and counterterrorism operations — not only by banning weapons to these countries for the foreseeable future and putting other security cooperation under review , but also by supporting multilateral efforts to create justice for the countless victims of this six-year conflict in an effort push for sustainable peace.
” In addition to Saudi Arabia , Biden has called to restrict the flow of weapons to Azerbaijan .
As of October , the U.S. was just behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In a press release last month , Biden called on the Trump administration to stop sending equipment to Azerbaijan and to push Turkey and Russia to stop fueling conflict in Armenia .
“ The administration must fully implement and not waive requirements under Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act to stop the flow of military equipment to Azerbaijan , and call on Turkey and Russia to stop fueling the conflict with the supply of weapons and , in the case of Turkey , mercenaries , ” Biden said .
Instead , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leading the effort to end fighting and push for international humanitarian assistance .
“ Under my administration that is exactly what we will do.
” other foreign policy issues that are important to progressives , stating that he wants to rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement .
Progressives are also hoping he can be pushed to roll back crippling sanctions in countries like Venezuela , Syria , and Iran , said a congressional aide who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to comment publicly on the Biden transition .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a case hopefully that we can make as a progressive movement that providing real economic relief , and sanctions relief , and humanitarian assistance , and so on is going to be vital to bolstering the U.S. economy , which rightly should be the early focus of a Biden administration.
” Biden called last year in a CFR questionnaire for maintaining U.S. sanctions and implementing tougher multilateral sanctions in Venezuela .
His advisers have hinted that sanctions are still on the table in Syria , according to one report , although he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Biden has also said his administration would maintain sanctions on Iran , but has not outlined a plan on how they might shift under a return to the nuclear agreement .
In April , he said that humanitarian exceptions should be made to allow the country to receive adequate supplies and equipment to respond to the ongoing pandemic .
Biden has also signaled that he might be open to using sanctions against Russia .
Congressional progressives hoping to secure foreign policy wins will have to contend with a much slimmer majority in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 11 seats to Republicans so far from their 35-seat majority , with some congressional races yet to be called .
The upshot is that the Squad has expanded to include Jamaal Bowman , who unseated foreign policy hawk Rep. Eliot Engel , the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee , and the Congressional Progressive Caucus is restructuring in a way that will allow it to leverage its growing power .
Progressives have their eyes on proposals like one advocated for by Sanders and Rep. Ilhan Omar , D-Minn. , that would allow the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stimulus package to boost countries most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent global economic downturn .
“ There ’ s kind of a global poverty aspect to this , ” the aide said , “ and I think that under a Biden administration , we ’ re gon na be able to see a lot more of that .
”

The defense industry celebrated Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, with contractors saying they expected their companies to continue flourishing under his administration as they have under Donald Trump. But while Biden is no peacenik — waging wars has long been an area of bipartisan consensus in Washington — he has already signaled that he’ll take a radically different approach from Trump — particularly when it comes to making overseas arms sales.
Foreign policy was not a top campaign issue during the presidential election, especially as the news cycle was dominated by the health and economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and racial injustice, and Trump’s efforts to sow doubt in the legitimacy of U.S. voting systems. But within a week of the election, Trump pushed through a $23 billion weapons deal with the United Arab Emirates. It was the latest manifestation of Trump’s cozy relationships with Gulf dictatorships that have become anathema to U.S. progressives.
President Donald Trump shows a chart highlighting arms sales to Saudi Arabia during a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 2018. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP
Biden, meanwhile, ran on ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, a position that gained bipartisan support in Congress because of the efforts of progressive activists and lawmakers — until Trump vetoed a 2019 resolution that would have accomplished that goal. The former vice president said last month that his administration would “reassess” the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, which he called a “pariah” during a primary debate last year. He has also said the U.S. would not sell more weapons to the country, deviating from the position taken by his former boss, Barack Obama. Biden has also expressed opposition to the Trump administration’s security assistance to Azerbaijan, which signed a peace deal with Armenia last week after a decadeslong conflict broke into clashes in late September.
Progressive activists and lawmakers have welcomed Biden’s positioning thus far and are hoping that foreign policy is an area they may have influence with in the incoming administration.
In July, more than 30 progressive groups sent a letter to Biden urging him to select foreign policy personnel in a manner that would “challenge the institutions and groupthink that have led to a disastrous, overly-militarized, unilateral approach to foreign affairs” of past administrations.
Kate Kizer, policy director for Win Without War, a progressive foreign policy organization that signed the letter, said the recent UAE arms sale is a good place to start. “President-elect Biden has promised to chart a different path than Trump, and we’re hopeful that he starts by immediately undoing as many of the just-notified sales to the UAE as possible, and by putting the breaks on transfers that Congress has previously tried to reject under Trump.”
The president-elect “should leverage the renewed bipartisan commitment to recentering human rights concerns in U.S. weapons transfers, as well as accountability for past misuse of weapons,” Kizer continued. “We expect both Congress and President-elect Biden to really fix this broken arms sale status quo next year and finally end the decadeslong practice of arming human rights abusers and using weapon sales to achieve misperceived, often militarized national interests.”
An F-35 fighter jet pilot and crew prepare for a mission at Al-Dhafra Air Base in the UAE on Aug. 5, 2019. Photo: Staff Sgt. Chris Thornbury/U.S. Air Force/AP
The Trump administration brokered an agreement between Israel and the UAE this summer, with the UAE agreeing to normalize diplomatic relations in exchange for Israel stopping a planned annexation of parts of occupied settlements in the West Bank. Biden’s top foreign policy adviser Tony Blinken, who has praised the controversial agreement, cautioned that the sale appeared to be part of a “quid pro quo” related to the normalization agreement, the Times of Israel reported. Blinken said a Biden administration would need to review the sale in order to preserve Israel’s edge in the region.
Michèle Flournoy, Obama’s undersecretary for defense policy and a top contender for defense secretary in the Biden administration, signaled opposition to a ban on arms sales to Saudi Arabia during talks on Yemen during a biannual meeting last January for the liberal think tank Foreign Policy for America, The American Prospect reported. She suggested instead a policy of conditional use, which the defense industry wouldn’t lobby against, according to TAP. But as Politico reported last week, Flournoy convened a call with top progressive foreign policy groups several days before the election to assuage their concerns about her position on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, saying that she opposed the sale of offensive weapons that could be used in Yemen. The Biden campaign declined to comment for this story, but pointed to Biden’s past comments on Saudi Arabia and Blinken’s comments on the UAE deal.
Read our Complete Coverage Making a Killing
Alex McCoy, political director at the veterans group Common Defense, said Biden’s transition team has reached out to his group and a number of other progressive foreign policy organizations and engaged their critiques in good faith — even though there’s not yet much progressive representation on transition teams for national security agencies. Common Defense’s signature issue is a pledge to “end forever wars,” which Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris did not officially sign on to, though similar language appears in Biden’s platform.
But when it comes to arms sales, McCoy said he expects it will be an area of agreement with the new administration. It helps that the middle of the party is broadly in agreement that the U.S. shouldn’t sell arms to authoritarian countries, McCoy explained. “I think this is a clear area where public opinion has become more evident to policymakers. And so I am seeing commensurate movement by those policymakers.”
The Democratic Party has made it a priority to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which has devastated the country and pushed it to the edge of famine. The Democratic National Committee included it in its platform, and Biden has called to end U.S. support for the Saudi coalition in Yemen. Biden came out in opposition to U.S. support for the war in Yemen last May, shortly after Trump had vetoed the War Powers Resolution. In a Q&A with the Council on Foreign Relations last August, Biden criticized Trump for giving Saudi Arabia a “dangerous blank check” to extend the war in Yemen.
Progressives intend to hold Biden to that promise. The joint War Powers Resolution to halt U.S. activity in the ongoing war, which was shepherded by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., gives them a road map. It was passed in both chambers last year, with support from 23 Republicans.
“Progressives are really interested in encouraging the Biden administration to follow through very quickly on the commitment to end the Yemen war, for starters,” said Matt Duss, foreign policy adviser to Sanders. “It’s not just a progressive priority, it’s a bipartisan issue at this point. You have a number of conservative groups that were part of the coalition, and this could be a good early bipartisan win.”
Speaking to The Intercept, Khanna expressed confidence that Congress would pass another War Powers Resolution ending involvement in Yemen and “that Biden would sign that in the first month or two of his presidency.” He added: “We need to have much greater restraint in terms of intervention, not be getting into more confrontations overseas. … I think that a good place to see where we could get progress is to ban any arms sales to Saudi Arabia.”
Kizer, of Win Without War, said Biden could “unilaterally cut off further intelligence-sharing and security cooperation” with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “These immediate steps must be followed by concrete steps to hold the Saudi and Emirati governments accountable for their abuses in Yemen — in the civil war and counterterrorism operations — not only by banning weapons to these countries for the foreseeable future and putting other security cooperation under review, but also by supporting multilateral efforts to create justice for the countless victims of this six-year conflict in an effort push for sustainable peace.”
Vice President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Kamil Khasyev during a meeting of non-NATO ISAF partners at the U.S. Mission in Brussels, on March 10, 2009. Photo: Virginia Mayo/AP
In addition to Saudi Arabia, Biden has called to restrict the flow of weapons to Azerbaijan. As of October, the U.S. was just behind Turkey in arms sales to the country. In a press release last month, Biden called on the Trump administration to stop sending equipment to Azerbaijan and to push Turkey and Russia to stop fueling conflict in Armenia. “The administration must fully implement and not waive requirements under Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act to stop the flow of military equipment to Azerbaijan, and call on Turkey and Russia to stop fueling the conflict with the supply of weapons and, in the case of Turkey, mercenaries,” Biden said. Instead, he added, the U.S. should be leading the effort to end fighting and push for international humanitarian assistance. “Under my administration that is exactly what we will do.”
Biden has addressed other foreign policy issues that are important to progressives, stating that he wants to rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement. Progressives are also hoping he can be pushed to roll back crippling sanctions in countries like Venezuela, Syria, and Iran, said a congressional aide who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to comment publicly on the Biden transition. “I think there’s going to be a case hopefully that we can make as a progressive movement that providing real economic relief, and sanctions relief, and humanitarian assistance, and so on is going to be vital to bolstering the U.S. economy, which rightly should be the early focus of a Biden administration.”
Biden called last year in a CFR questionnaire for maintaining U.S. sanctions and implementing tougher multilateral sanctions in Venezuela. His advisers have hinted that sanctions are still on the table in Syria, according to one report, although he has not spoken publicly about the matter. Biden has also said his administration would maintain sanctions on Iran, but has not outlined a plan on how they might shift under a return to the nuclear agreement. In April, he said that humanitarian exceptions should be made to allow the country to receive adequate supplies and equipment to respond to the ongoing pandemic. Biden has also signaled that he might be open to using sanctions against Russia.
Congressional progressives hoping to secure foreign policy wins will have to contend with a much slimmer majority in the House next session, having lost 11 seats to Republicans so far from their 35-seat majority, with some congressional races yet to be called. The upshot is that the Squad has expanded to include Jamaal Bowman, who unseated foreign policy hawk Rep. Eliot Engel, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus is restructuring in a way that will allow it to leverage its growing power. Progressives have their eyes on proposals like one advocated for by Sanders and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., that would allow the International Monetary Fund to dispense a global stimulus package to boost countries most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent global economic downturn. “There’s kind of a global poverty aspect to this,” the aide said, “and I think that under a Biden administration, we’re gonna be able to see a lot more of that.”


theintercept--2020-11-18--Obama Book: Rahm Emanuel Cooked Up Deal to Promise Larry Summers Fed Chair

promised Larry Summers the chair of the Federal Reserve if the economist would agree to serve as a White House adviser in a role other than treasury secretary , Obama confirmed in the first volume of his new memoir , “ A Promised Land.
” The suggestion of a deal between Summers and Obama had been previously reported , but Obama had not confirmed it on the record .
In his memoir , Obama writes that the idea came from his chief of staff , Rahm Emanuel , as a carrot to persuade Summers to accept an appointment as director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ step down from the position he wanted and had previously held under President Bill Clinton : head of the Treasury Department .
Obama , in his memoir , said he assured Summers he would have an equal standing with Tim Geithner , a Summers protege who was head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York during the financial crisis — and whom Obama preferred for the treasury secretary post .
Summers never got the promised prize , however .
In 2009 , Obama reappointed Ben Bernanke for another term at the Fed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2013 , rumors circulated that Summers was Obama ’ s preferred pick to replace him , sparking heated opposition from the progressive wing of the party , which pushed instead for economist Janet Yellen .
At a private meeting of House Democrats , Obama swung back , warning members to “ not to believe everything you read in The Huffington Post , ” referencing a progressive publication that had been particularly outspoken in its criticism of Summers .
Obama complained that the outlet had made Summers a “ progressive whipping boy.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ book , “ We ’ ve Got People , ” it was Summers ’ s performance during his quid that undermined his quo .
Summers had promised Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley that in exchange for supporting the second round of the Wall Street bailout , the administration would put $ 50 to $ 100 billion toward foreclosure relief and would lobby on behalf of cramdown : a law that would empower bankruptcy judges to reduce underwater mortgages and let people stay in their homes .
Neither happened , and instead Summers later lobbied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ position to anybody who was in touch with the pain felt by the people whose lives were being destroyed by the crash .
Merkley , not coincidentally , was the first senator to express public reservations about a Summers nomination , and the strategy to block him quickly zeroed in on the Senate Banking Committee .
The committee also included Sens .
Elizabeth Warren , D-Mass.
, and Sherrod Brown , D-Ohio , which made three votes against Summers .
Yet the Summers opponents needed two more to take him down , assuming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( along with anybody else Obama would nominate ) .
Merkley took the lead in organizing the effort behind the scenes , with Warren cultivating outside groups and labor unions in opposition .
Merkley worked hard on Sens .
Jon Tester , D-Mont .
; Heidi Heitkamp , D-N.D. ; and Joe Manchin , D-W.Va. ; all three of them had populist streaks , with Tester ’ s the most pronounced .
For Heitkamp , outside groups active in the effort deployed an unusual strategy .
Heitkamp ’ s voters back home were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between Yellen and Summers , unlike plugged-in , wealthy liberals in New York , Chicago , and California .
But much of Heitkamp ’ s fundraising base was made up of wealthy progressive women in those cities — and those women got organized .
All of a sudden , Heitkamp ’ s phone was blowing up , with her donors letting her know how important it was to them that she not vote to confirm the erratic , sexist Summers and instead get behind Yellen .
UltraViolet , an online women ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Women played pivotal roles , identifying top donors and mobilizing women on the ground .
Merkley continued to press his case over recess in August 2013 .
When the Senate returned after Labor Day , he and Warren went in for the kill .
Had Summers not opposed naming Warren to permanently head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , she may not have been in the Senate at all .
But that wasn ’ t her or Summers ’ s fate .
“ I don ’ t think it ’ s any secret @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Warren said on MSNBC ’ s “ Morning Joe ” the first Monday back from recess .
Merkley then spoke to Democratic senators on the committee during caucus meetings and made Summers ’ s affinity for Wall Street and prior support for deregulation the key element of his pitch .
He homed in on Summers ’ s backing for the Glass–Steagall repeal , which allowed banks to grow much larger and take on more risk , fueling the bubble that crashed into the Great Recession .
He also highlighted Summers ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ key factor in the crisis — in a battle with then-Commodity Futures Trading Commission head Brooksley Born .
To make the point that Summers had not revised his approach , Merkley noted his intense behind-the-scenes opposition to the Volcker Rule , an attempt to reinstate some of Glass–Steagall ’ s restrictions that was added to the Dodd–Frank Wall Street reform law by Merkley and Brown .
Both Heitkamp and Tester told Merkley they ’ d oppose Summers in committee , and on a Friday in mid-September , Merkley laid his cards on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sen. Tim Johnson , D-S.D.
, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev. , and the White House that he had the five votes needed to sink the nomination — which had still not been made publicly .
That Sunday , Summers withdrew his name from consideration .
The first volume of Obama ’ s memoir stops at the end of his first term , so the world will have to wait for his version of how the deal with Summers fell apart .

President Barack Obama promised Larry Summers the chair of the Federal Reserve if the economist would agree to serve as a White House adviser in a role other than treasury secretary, Obama confirmed in the first volume of his new memoir, “A Promised Land.”
The suggestion of a deal between Summers and Obama had been previously reported, but Obama had not confirmed it on the record. In his memoir, Obama writes that the idea came from his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, as a carrot to persuade Summers to accept an appointment as director of the National Economic Council — a step down from the position he wanted and had previously held under President Bill Clinton: head of the Treasury Department.
In his memoir, Obama writes that the idea came from his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, as a carrot to persuade Summers to accept a lesser appointment.
Obama, in his memoir, said he assured Summers he would have an equal standing with Tim Geithner, a Summers protege who was head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York during the financial crisis — and whom Obama preferred for the treasury secretary post.
Summers never got the promised prize, however. In 2009, Obama reappointed Ben Bernanke for another term at the Fed. As that term was winding down in 2013, rumors circulated that Summers was Obama’s preferred pick to replace him, sparking heated opposition from the progressive wing of the party, which pushed instead for economist Janet Yellen. At a private meeting of House Democrats, Obama swung back, warning members to “not to believe everything you read in The Huffington Post,” referencing a progressive publication that had been particularly outspoken in its criticism of Summers. Obama complained that the outlet had made Summers a “progressive whipping boy.”
Janet Yellen, President Barack Obama’s nominee to succeed Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve chair, finishes testifying at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 14, 2013. Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Ironically, as I reported in my book, “We’ve Got People,” it was Summers’s performance during his quid that undermined his quo. Summers had promised Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley that in exchange for supporting the second round of the Wall Street bailout, the administration would put $50 to $100 billion toward foreclosure relief and would lobby on behalf of cramdown: a law that would empower bankruptcy judges to reduce underwater mortgages and let people stay in their homes. Neither happened, and instead Summers later lobbied against cramdown.
It was an infuriating position to anybody who was in touch with the pain felt by the people whose lives were being destroyed by the crash. Merkley, not coincidentally, was the first senator to express public reservations about a Summers nomination, and the strategy to block him quickly zeroed in on the Senate Banking Committee.
The committee also included Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, which made three votes against Summers. Yet the Summers opponents needed two more to take him down, assuming that all Republicans would also oppose him (along with anybody else Obama would nominate). Merkley took the lead in organizing the effort behind the scenes, with Warren cultivating outside groups and labor unions in opposition. Merkley worked hard on Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont.; Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.; and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; all three of them had populist streaks, with Tester’s the most pronounced.
For Heitkamp, outside groups active in the effort deployed an unusual strategy. Heitkamp’s voters back home were not particularly engaged in a backroom contest between Yellen and Summers, unlike plugged-in, wealthy liberals in New York, Chicago, and California. But much of Heitkamp’s fundraising base was made up of wealthy progressive women in those cities — and those women got organized. All of a sudden, Heitkamp’s phone was blowing up, with her donors letting her know how important it was to them that she not vote to confirm the erratic, sexist Summers and instead get behind Yellen.
UltraViolet, an online women’s group, and the National Organization for Women played pivotal roles, identifying top donors and mobilizing women on the ground. Merkley continued to press his case over recess in August 2013. When the Senate returned after Labor Day, he and Warren went in for the kill. Had Summers not opposed naming Warren to permanently head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, she may not have been in the Senate at all. But that wasn’t her or Summers’s fate. “I don’t think it’s any secret that Larry was not my first choice,” Warren said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” the first Monday back from recess.
Merkley then spoke to Democratic senators on the committee during caucus meetings and made Summers’s affinity for Wall Street and prior support for deregulation the key element of his pitch. He homed in on Summers’s backing for the Glass–Steagall repeal, which allowed banks to grow much larger and take on more risk, fueling the bubble that crashed into the Great Recession. He also highlighted Summers’s opposition to regulating derivatives — another key factor in the crisis — in a battle with then-Commodity Futures Trading Commission head Brooksley Born.
To make the point that Summers had not revised his approach, Merkley noted his intense behind-the-scenes opposition to the Volcker Rule, an attempt to reinstate some of Glass–Steagall’s restrictions that was added to the Dodd–Frank Wall Street reform law by Merkley and Brown.
Both Heitkamp and Tester told Merkley they’d oppose Summers in committee, and on a Friday in mid-September, Merkley laid his cards on the table, telling the committee chair, Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the White House that he had the five votes needed to sink the nomination — which had still not been made publicly. That Sunday, Summers withdrew his name from consideration.
The first volume of Obama’s memoir stops at the end of his first term, so the world will have to wait for his version of how the deal with Summers fell apart.


theintercept--2020-11-18--Defeated Trump Campaign Tells Supporters "The Left HATES YOU" in Fundraising Emails

post-election fundraising emails from the campaign of President Donald Trump crossed into dangerous territory this week with messages that made the inflammatory claim , “ The Left HATES YOU.
” That phrase was used in emails sent on Monday and Tuesday that also characterized violence at a pro-Trump march in Washington on Saturday as “ Radical Left ANTIFA SCUM assaulting Trump supporters who are proudly ( and peacefully ! )
showing support for their favorite President.
” The text of the emails echoed the president ’ s Twitter feed , where he wrote on Saturday that “ ANTIFA SCUM ran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attacking the people at the Trump Rally , because those people aggressively fought back.
” The emails , which were part of a series of messages urging Trump supporters to keep sending money to the defeated president , seem designed to also nurture a sense of victimhood among the vocal minority of over 73 million Americans who voted for him .
The messages also falsely claimed that the media had failed to report the violence on Saturday , which the Trump campaign blamed on the imaginary coalition of “ Joe Biden and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responsible for starting some of the skirmishes on the streets of Washington , none of them appeared to have ties to Biden , and there is video evidence that at least some of the violence was initiated by Trump supporters , including members of the Proud Boys who assaulted a photographer as a Voice of America reporter filmed them .
Perhaps the clearest example is a viral clip , viewed more than 5.6 million times , that was shared by the president on Twitter with the comment , “ Human Radical Left garbage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ posted by Andy Ngo , a right-wing activist who uses selectively edited video and false captions to create misleading propaganda about protesters .
The images Trump was so outraged by show part of a fist fight on Saturday afternoon at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and I Street , which ended with a Trump supporter bleeding on the ground , after being knocked down by a man carrying a “ Trump/Pence Out Now ” sign .
That edited clip , which was recorded by a right-wing videographer , begins with the Trump supporter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Roma jacket , surrounded by a crowd of protesters .
As he turns to leave , he is punched from behind , and then kicked twice while on the ground before being helped to his feet with a bloody face .
On Sunday , Trump retweeted another video edit of the incident , shot from a slightly different angle by a cameraman for the right-wing Daily Caller and produced by the Republican propagandist filmmaker Dinesh D ’ Souza .
D ’ Souza ’ s caption falsely suggested that Biden , who has denounced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would hesitate to condemn the incident .
D ’ Souza also mocked Biden ’ s plea for post-election unity , which is exactly what the inflammatory emails from Trump ’ s campaign that reference this video are trying to make impossible .
While the violence inflicted on the Trump supporter is undeniably disturbing , both edits shared by the president were carefully constructed to leave out what happened in the 40 or so seconds before the punch was thrown .
The raw footage the two clips were made from , which were both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump supporter initiated the fight in the intersection , which began when he and another pro-Trump marcher converged on a protester with a megaphone , who told them to “ Get the fuck out ” of the liberal city .
The uncut videos show that after the other Trump supporter ripped the megaphone from the protester ’ s hands , the man in the AS Roma jacket shoved him to the ground and stumbled over him into the intersection .
After two protesters responded to his aggression by shoving him , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fist and threatening protesters .
After one small woman moved toward him , he knocked her to the ground and shouted , “ None of you want to fucking do that !
” As the shoving continued , the man cocked his fist at one protester and ordered him to “ Keep fucking walking !
” He then pushed and slapped two women and fended off blows from a young man before turning to leave .
It was then that he was punched from behind and fell face first to the street .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ video , along with news photographs shot minutes earlier , show that the melee at the intersection came just after an earlier incident in which another Trump supporter with a flag and a blue MAGA cap was doused with liquid , jeered and slapped by anti-Trump protesters just around the corner from Black Lives Matter Plaza .
That man , and some of the protesters who harassed him , had just reached the intersection of Connecticut and I when the man in the AS Roma jacket assaulted the protester with the megaphone .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ afternoon near the same intersection by one of the cameramen who captured the fight shows that some of the same protesters had also harassed two leading members of the far-right Patriot Prayer group , Joey Gibson and Chandler Pappas , who had traveled to the city from the Pacific Northwest .
Pappas wore a cap commemorating another member of the group , Aaron “ Jay ” Danielson , who was killed by an antifascist activist after a pro-Trump caravan of trucks drove into Portland , Oregon in August .
The march in Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from late summer in that both demonstrations were designed to bring thousands of Trump supporters from rural and exurban areas to rally in the heart of liberal cities where support for racial justice protests was strong .
While the participants in the melee that led to the Trump supporter ’ s injuries have not spoken publicly about what triggered it , there seems to be no evidence that enthusiasm for Biden played any role in their anger at the Trump supporters .
The anti-Trump poster held by the man who threw the punch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group that was formed in December , 2016 to respond to the emergency of Trump ’ s election by activists with politics considerably to the left of Biden .
Refuse Fascism activists had gathered to oppose the pro-Trump march , rejecting pleas from mainstream Democrats to simply ignore the gathering .
Four of the protesters who engaged in the fight with the Trump supporter were arrested by DC ’ s Metropolitan Police Department within minutes and accused of being “ involved in a collaborative effort to incite violence during first amendment assemblies.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents of DC .
( The police are also seeking to arrest two Black women who kicked the Trump supporter and one Black man who punched him . )
The man who can be seen on video initiating the physical confrontation was apparently not detained or charged with any offense .
Since the Trump supporters from out of town made it clear that night that they oppose the Black Lives Matter movement , by gleefully pulling down and destroying signs with that racial justice slogan from a building on Black Lives Matter Plaza @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their visit , to a city where their favorite president got just 5.4 percent of the vote , was not welcome .

A barrage of post-election fundraising emails from the campaign of President Donald Trump crossed into dangerous territory this week with messages that made the inflammatory claim, “The Left HATES YOU.”
That phrase was used in emails sent on Monday and Tuesday that also characterized violence at a pro-Trump march in Washington on Saturday as “Radical Left ANTIFA SCUM assaulting Trump supporters who are proudly (and peacefully!) showing support for their favorite President.”
Photo: @TrumpEmail via Twitter
The text of the emails echoed the president’s Twitter feed, where he wrote on Saturday that “ANTIFA SCUM ran for the hills today when they tried attacking the people at the Trump Rally, because those people aggressively fought back.”
The emails, which were part of a series of messages urging Trump supporters to keep sending money to the defeated president, seem designed to also nurture a sense of victimhood among the vocal minority of over 73 million Americans who voted for him.
The Trump bait-and-switch con continues. Says he wants your money for the Georgia recount. Spoiler: GA taxpayers are paying for the recount. Solicitation fine print makes clear first $5,000 any donor gives goes to Trump’s new slush fund Save America PAC, NOT to his recount fund. pic.twitter.com/mXtH6NjShE — Paul Seamus Ryan (he/him) (@ThePaulSRyan) November 15, 2020
The messages also falsely claimed that the media had failed to report the violence on Saturday, which the Trump campaign blamed on the imaginary coalition of “Joe Biden and his ANTIFA allies.”
While anti-Trump protesters were responsible for starting some of the skirmishes on the streets of Washington, none of them appeared to have ties to Biden, and there is video evidence that at least some of the violence was initiated by Trump supporters, including members of the Proud Boys who assaulted a photographer as a Voice of America reporter filmed them.
After chanting "The media sucks", one of the Proud Boys attacked an independent journalist who was filming the march. He was standing just next to me. Watch the video ??#MarchForTrump #MillionMAGAMarch2020 #ProudBoys #MAGAMillionMarch #DC pic.twitter.com/Yo7N6NEOUA — Ostap Yarysh (@OstapYarysh) November 15, 2020
Before a group of Proud Boys appeared to start a brawl with antifascist activists later that night at H Street and 11th, a Washington Post reporter heard one Trump supporter yell, “I came here to fight!”
https://twitter.com/blackhousenew/status/1327790515329396737
But by sharing selectively edited video of the day’s violence, Republicans, including the president and his daughter Ivanka, falsely portrayed the Trump supporters as peaceful, blameless victims, creating new martyrs to the lost cause of Trumpism.
The media’s near total silence about the physical violence being perpetrated against conservatives is shameful & dangerous. Just image the outrage and indignation if this went the other way. Violence is never the answer and instigators must be condemned and prosecuted. — Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) November 15, 2020
Perhaps the clearest example is a viral clip, viewed more than 5.6 million times, that was shared by the president on Twitter with the comment, “Human Radical Left garbage did this.” The edited video was posted by Andy Ngo, a right-wing activist who uses selectively edited video and false captions to create misleading propaganda about protesters.
The images Trump was so outraged by show part of a fist fight on Saturday afternoon at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and I Street, which ended with a Trump supporter bleeding on the ground, after being knocked down by a man carrying a “Trump/Pence Out Now” sign.
Graphic: A close-up angle of BLM rioters knocking a man unconscious who was leaving the #MillionMAGAMarch in DC earlier today. They also steal his phone when he’s on the ground. Video by @FromKalen. https://t.co/cf7bnkpsCf — Andy Ngô ???? (@MrAndyNgo) November 15, 2020
That edited clip, which was recorded by a right-wing videographer, begins with the Trump supporter, a white man wearing an AS Roma jacket, surrounded by a crowd of protesters. As he turns to leave, he is punched from behind, and then kicked twice while on the ground before being helped to his feet with a bloody face.
On Sunday, Trump retweeted another video edit of the incident, shot from a slightly different angle by a cameraman for the right-wing Daily Caller and produced by the Republican propagandist filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza.
D’Souza’s caption falsely suggested that Biden, who has denounced all forms of violence at protests, would hesitate to condemn the incident. D’Souza also mocked Biden’s plea for post-election unity, which is exactly what the inflammatory emails from Trump’s campaign that reference this video are trying to make impossible.
While the violence inflicted on the Trump supporter is undeniably disturbing, both edits shared by the president were carefully constructed to leave out what happened in the 40 or so seconds before the punch was thrown.
The raw footage the two clips were made from, which were both recorded by conservative videographers, show that the Trump supporter initiated the fight in the intersection, which began when he and another pro-Trump marcher converged on a protester with a megaphone, who told them to “Get the fuck out” of the liberal city.
https://twitter.com/FromKalen/status/1327754319437946882
BREAKING – Multiple Trump supporters assaulted by pro-BLM supporters in Washington D.C. One of the supporters assaulted was brutally knocked out. The scene is chaotic right now #MillionMAGAMarch pic.twitter.com/2Gjl8WC8Z0 — Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) November 14, 2020
The uncut videos show that after the other Trump supporter ripped the megaphone from the protester’s hands, the man in the AS Roma jacket shoved him to the ground and stumbled over him into the intersection.
After two protesters responded to his aggression by shoving him, he charged around the intersection, cocking his fist and threatening protesters. After one small woman moved toward him, he knocked her to the ground and shouted, “None of you want to fucking do that!” As the shoving continued, the man cocked his fist at one protester and ordered him to “Keep fucking walking!” He then pushed and slapped two women and fended off blows from a young man before turning to leave. It was then that he was punched from behind and fell face first to the street.
The first images of the Daily Caller video, along with news photographs shot minutes earlier, show that the melee at the intersection came just after an earlier incident in which another Trump supporter with a flag and a blue MAGA cap was doused with liquid, jeered and slapped by anti-Trump protesters just around the corner from Black Lives Matter Plaza.
Photo: Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
Photo: Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images
That man, and some of the protesters who harassed him, had just reached the intersection of Connecticut and I when the man in the AS Roma jacket assaulted the protester with the megaphone.
Another video clip shot earlier in the afternoon near the same intersection by one of the cameramen who captured the fight shows that some of the same protesters had also harassed two leading members of the far-right Patriot Prayer group, Joey Gibson and Chandler Pappas, who had traveled to the city from the Pacific Northwest.
https://twitter.com/FromKalen/status/1327755108428505091
Pappas wore a cap commemorating another member of the group, Aaron “Jay” Danielson, who was killed by an antifascist activist after a pro-Trump caravan of trucks drove into Portland, Oregon in August. The march in Washington on Saturday seemed to echo that event from late summer in that both demonstrations were designed to bring thousands of Trump supporters from rural and exurban areas to rally in the heart of liberal cities where support for racial justice protests was strong.
While the participants in the melee that led to the Trump supporter’s injuries have not spoken publicly about what triggered it, there seems to be no evidence that enthusiasm for Biden played any role in their anger at the Trump supporters. The anti-Trump poster held by the man who threw the punch was produced by RefuseFascism.org, a protest group that was formed in December, 2016 to respond to the emergency of Trump’s election by activists with politics considerably to the left of Biden. Refuse Fascism activists had gathered to oppose the pro-Trump march, rejecting pleas from mainstream Democrats to simply ignore the gathering.
Part of why MAGa was so big today was because of you who insisted people not oppose them. You conceded the public square to the same people who would have lynched Black people & had picnics at their hangings. Shameful #MillionMAGAMarch pic.twitter.com/QxCh5nSTSQ — Refuse Fascism (@RefuseFascism) November 14, 2020
Four of the protesters who engaged in the fight with the Trump supporter were arrested by DC’s Metropolitan Police Department within minutes and accused of being “involved in a collaborative effort to incite violence during first amendment assemblies.” All four of those detained are Black residents of DC. (The police are also seeking to arrest two Black women who kicked the Trump supporter and one Black man who punched him.) The man who can be seen on video initiating the physical confrontation was apparently not detained or charged with any offense.
Since the Trump supporters from out of town made it clear that night that they oppose the Black Lives Matter movement, by gleefully pulling down and destroying signs with that racial justice slogan from a building on Black Lives Matter Plaza, its not hard to imagine why their visit, to a city where their favorite president got just 5.4 percent of the vote, was not welcome.
Trump supporters are smashing the Black Lives Matter boards put up on the buildings here in DC #MillionMAGAMarch #MarchForTrump #DC pic.twitter.com/QFiet6pgvI — Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) November 15, 2020
Updated: Wednesday, Nov. 18, 12:25 p.m. PDT
This article was updated to add video of anti-Trump protesters harassing members of the pro-Trump Patriot Prayer group in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.