Subject: Axios AM: Mike's Top 10 — Scoop: Why the White House fired the chief usher — It's better to be you than a 1916 billionaire
From: "Mike Allen" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 6 May 2017 10:09:09 -0400 (EDT)

Presented by JPMorgan Chase & Co.:

Scoop: Why the White House fired the chief usher — It's better t= be you than a 1916 billionaire

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Presented By JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Axios AM

By Mike Allen = ·May 06, 2017

1 big thing: Reality bites

Mark Shields said on PBS "NewsHour" last night what a l=t of Republicans privately tell us they fear about health reform: "We've j=st seen the high water mark for this legislation."

A top Rep=blican emails me: "I think the reality of the Senate process is s=tting in."

The legislation is likely to take a mont= or two to wend through the Senate. And Republicans are queasy about getti=g the likely result back through the House, then to President Trump's desk=

As Peter Baker told Bob Costa on "Washington Week= about the Rose Garden celebration:

<=trong>"You had the president of the United States and dozens of m=mbers of his party there on the lawn, very boisterous, very happy, very ju=ilant about something that hasn't happened yet. It's one thing fo= the House to pass; that doesn't make it a law. ... So when he sa=s that Obamacare is dead, Mark Twain would have something to say about tha=."

The vote's political fallout has been instant, =mboldening Ds and chastening Rs:

<=trong>Atop the N.Y. Times' column 1, "DEMOCRATS FOCUS ON BILL'S STANCE ON PRIOR =LLNESS: HEALTH CARE THIRD RAIL — Looking to 2018, With Stress on P=e-existing Conditions," by Alex Burns and Abby Goodnough: "Groups on the l=ft posted graphics online listing pre-existing conditions that could, in t=eory, threaten health care coverage, with some shared hundreds of =housands or millions of times."

And Republicans have a self-inflicted reason to be defensive. After the white-guy photo from the House ceremony=in the Rose Garden, CNN's Erin Burnett pointed out that 13 white me= are tackling health care in the Senate: "There are big medical difference= between men and women." Drops mic.

Axios AM p=ediction: Susan Collins will be added to the table.

2. Backstairs at the White House: The true story

Former chief usher Angella Reid, in Lafayette Park in 2011 / AP's Caroly= Kaster

The White House fired its chief usher, Angella Reid, th= first woman and second African American to hold the position, the WashPos='s Ashley Parker and Krissah Thompson scooped: "Reached by phone, Reid decli=ed to comment, saying only, "I think it's best if the White House explains='"

Reid oversaw the residence and =vents "at the 132-room mansion and its staff of over 90 plumbers, electric=ans, butlers, cooks and others," AP's Darlene Supervise explained.

Deput= White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (who got stro=g reviews for her on-camera debut as fill-in White House briefer, while Se=n Spicer was on Navy Reserve duty) confirmed the departure but wouldn't sa= why.

Scoop ... Here's Paul Harvey's "The Rest of t=e Story," from our inside sources:

Reid was great with President Trump and the First Lady, but w=s considered mean by nearly everyone else, including White House aides and=household staff.

The workers — who are proud of where they serve and are not paid a lot =E2�� did not feel respected. Morale was low. People were in tears on a=few occasions.

When her departu=e was announced to the residence staff yesterday morning, workers=broke into applause.

Reid had =een fired the night before and allowed to clean out her belonging= when the staff was gone. She received a generous severance package, and t=e White House will give her a glowing recommendation.

History nugget ... "Backstairs at the White House" was the titl= of a weekend column by the late Helen Thomas, when she — and UPI =E2�� were big deals.

3. To tell our kids (and remind ourselves)

The next time you get impatient about your Uber or micr=wave (hat tip: Eric Simmons), remember this true fact from George Will's column in tomorr=w's WashPost:

"As a 1916 billio=aire, you would be materially worse off than a 2017 middle-class =merican; an unhealthy 1916 billionaire would be much worse off than an unh=althy 2017 American of any means. Intellectually, your 1916 range of cultu=al choices would be paltry compared with today's."

Our =olden age of humanity: "More than half (52.4 percent) of the 100 =illion Americans were younger than 25, life expectancy at birth was 54.5 y=ars (today, 78.8) and less than 5 percent of Americans were 65 or older. O=e in 10 babies died in the first year of life (today, 1 in 168). A large m=jority of births were not in hospitals (today, less than 1 percent)."
=/ul>

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4. Coming attractions

N.Y. Times Quote of the Day ... Roger St=ne, one of several high-profile Trump campaign associates whom the Senate =ntelligence Committee has asked to hand over emails and other records of c=mmunications and dealings with Russian officials and businesspeople:
<= style="margin-left: 20px;">I am eager, indeed anxi=us, to testify in full public session, have requested no immunity and am r=ady to go.

5. Sound familiar?

French independent centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, duri=g a campaign rally in Albi, southern France on Thursday / AP's Christophe =na

Last-minute intrigue in tomorrow's momentous French pre=idential election ... "The campaign of ... Emmanuel Macron says it has bee= the target of a 'massive hacking attack' after a trove of documents was r=leased online," per BBC.

=
Yeah, sure: "The campaign said that genuine files wer= mixed up with fake ones in order to confuse people."

The backdrop: "Opinion polls had indicated the former eco=omy minister carried a lead of 20 percentage points or more over [Marine] =e Pen."

CNN: "T=e files were released just before 2 p.m. ET Friday, around four hours befo=e the election campaign period officially closed with its restrictions on =ampaigning, reporting and polling," known as the "period of reflection."
"Around 14.5 gigabytes of emails, personal and busi=ess documents were posted to the text-sharing site Pastebin through links =o more than 70,000 files."

Jack Barsky, a for=er KGB spy, tells CNN in an on-set interview that it was probably the Russ=ans: "Who else?"

6. Drip, drip ...

The Fox shakeups haven't stanched, and may have acceler=ted, the torrent of disclosures ...

"Feds investigate possible disguising of harass=ent payout at Fox News," per the WashPost Style section lead story, by=Paul Farhi: "Federal prosecutors are looking into whether Fox News Channel=and its parent company tried to disguise a $3.15 million payment to Laurie=Luhn, a former employee who said she had a 20-year affair with ... Roger A=les."

Why it matters: "The size of the payout =s of less concern to the investigation than the manner in which it was acc=unted for ... Prosecutors are investigating whether Fox News Channel and i=s parent company, 21st Century Fox, improperly accounted for the payments =o Luhn and other ex-employees to minimize their impact on Fox's books."

7. Covering tomorrow: You should be aware

Tomorrow's N.Y. Times Magazine cover, "The Money Issue"

"The Onlin= Marketplace That's a Portal to the Future of Capitalism: Ser=ices like Wish — through which American consumers can mainline goo=s directly from the manufacturing chaos of China — are harbingers =f the end of retail as we know it' ...

John Herrman,
Ite=s up to 4.4 pounds can be shipped [between the U.S. and China] as=ePackets, at extremely low rates with tracking numbers and delivery confir=ation. ... ePacket's usage has ballooned in recent years.

This obscure trade deal has be=ome the quiet conduit for an explosion in a new and underexamined =merican consumer behavior: buying things directly from their coun=ries of manufacture. (Similar agreements also exist with Hong Kong, Singap=re and South Korea.)

Why it matters: "Th=s ... presents a problem for the stores and retailers accustomed to servin= as importers themselves. Brick-and-mortar retailers are already experienc=ng a grim 2017 ... Cross-border purchases compound the issue: Because of e=acket, and the decades-old international postal agreements that serve as i=s foundation, lightweight product shipments from China are heavily subsidi=ed by the U.S.P.S."

<=a>

8. The talk of business

Barron's says "Big Tech" is "Our Favorite Security Blan=et" for stocks: "Investors are flocking to tech stocks on worries that the=economy may be rolling over. And all are waiting for the new iPhone."
<=l>
Barron's columnist Kopin Tan: "At =imes like this, investors cling to what they fear could soon become scarce=— robust growth."

Free link for Axios AM =eaders.

A good problem ... "As Amazon steamro=ls traditional retailers, it must avoid becoming too profitable," per Barr=n's columnist Jack Hough:

" [now $935] ... could reach $1,000 by summer and $=,100 within a year, for a gain of close to 20%, which, along the way, coul= make Amazon founder Jeff Bezos the world's wealthiest person."

"By the end of the decade, Amazon's profits will balloon ...=as revenues overwhelm costs and investments. That's the tricky part for lo=g-term investors. ... The next downturn for Amazon stock might not come wh=n profits disappoint, but when they become too obvious."

Free link for Axios AM readers.=

9. Everyone's talking

AP's Luca Bruno

Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge crosses the finish line of a maratho= race at the Monza Formula One racetrack, Italy. Kipchoge was 26 seconds f=om making history — just short of becoming the first person to run=a marathon in less than two hours.

"Kipchoge ran the 26.2 miles in 2 hours and 25 seconds, beating Dennis Kimetto's worl= record of 2:02:57, but the Kenyan failed to run the first sub-two hour ma=athon."

Run for the Roses ... No clear favorite in Kentucky Derby today (po=t time: 6:46 p.m.): "Classic Empire is the 4-1 pre-race choice."

Talker: "=is name is Patch, a horse with one eye, and he'll be running in the Kentuc=y Derby. How he lost the eye is a mystery. ... [I]f Patch comes up big, he=ll be the first Derby winner with one eye."

10. 1 fun thing

New York mag ranks all 373 Rolling Stones so=gs (including covers recorded by the band as well as original composit=ons). Of course the list is backward, to keep you on the site longer, but =t the bottom you'll find:

"You Can't Always Get What Y=u Want," Let It Bleed

"Gimme Shelter," <=strong>Let It Bleed

"Beast of Burden," <=strong>Some Girls

"Jumpin' Jack Flash," =/strong>Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
<=i>"Sympathy for the Devil," Beggars Banquet<=em>

Howard Wolfson, who spotted the link, say= "Gimmee Shelter is his #1: "I'm not sur= how you really distinguish song 145 from song 217, but there isn=t a ton to argue with in their top 50."

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