| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
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Kevin McCarthy played hardball with his critics as they sought to derail the deal yesterday. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | IOWA MAN — “Ron DeSantis starts throwing some uppercuts at Trump,” by Natalie Allison in Clive, Iowa: “The Florida governor didn’t actually mention his chief rival by name. But he didn’t have to. The contrasts were big and small, and mainly implicit. He talked about closing the border, spoke about how he would have fired ANTHONY FAUCI during the Covid pandemic, and made note — in his speech’s crescendo — that no conservative wish could come true if their candidate doesn’t actually win. “‘Leadership is not about entertainment. It’s not about building a brand. It’s not about virtue signaling,’ [RON] DeSANTIS said. ‘It is about results.’” More from the Des Moines Register ON THE CLOCK — “How TikTok Beat the Ban (For Now),” by N.Y. Mag’s Andrew Rice: “This spring, Democrats and Republicans united to call for a crackdown on the app. It was never going to be that easy.” DEBT DEAL COMES IN FOR A LANDING — During a closed-door House GOP conference meeting last night, Rep. RANDY WEBER (R-Texas) stood up and delivered a message to some of his fellow conservative hard-liners. “Cut it out,” he said, according to two people in the room. It was a message directed squarely at a small group on the far right — members, like Weber, of the House Freedom Caucus — who earlier in the day had let their anger over the pending debt-ceiling deal morph into public threats against the man who had negotiated it, Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY. They included Rep. DAN BISHOP (R-N.C.), who told our Olivia Beavers that a move to oust McCarthy had become “inescapable,” and Rep. CHIP ROY (R-Texas), who in a morning radio interview with GLENN BECK suggested that Republicans would have to “figure out the whole leadership arrangement again” if the deal weren’t changed. The chatter generated headlines about a possible revolt against McCarthy brewing in the House GOP ranks, and by the time members had gathered inside the Capitol last night, Weber — one of the longest-tenured Freedom Caucus members — felt compelled to make clear that he found all of it exceedingly unhelpful. The message was echoed inside and outside the room by other influential conservatives — including Rep. JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio), the Freedom Caucus co-founder and godfather of the hard right. Ousting McCarthy over the debt deal, Jordan told reporters, was “a terrible idea.” It appeared to get through to the rabble-rousers: Bishop left the meeting and refused to discuss McCarthy’s future with reporters. “I’m not getting into that,” Roy told us as he jumped into an elevator. Another hard-liner who had joined in the saber-rattling, Rep. RALPH NORMAN (R-S.C.), told our Sarah Ferris that McCarthy was not actually at risk.
| | | | A message from Altria: The future of Tobacco Harm Reduction. More than 70% of U.S. adults 21+ surveyed support Tobacco Harm Reduction as the right path forward for tobacco regulation. And two out of three believe the FDA should focus its efforts on Tobacco Harm Reduction. See the poll results here. | | | NUMBERS GAME: That roller coaster of a day left House Republican leaders exceedingly confident they will not only be able to muscle the Fiscal Responsibility Act through the House tonight, but that they’ll do so in convincing enough fashion to put to rest any doubts about McCarthy’s leadership. McCarthy, for his part, played hardball with his critics as they sought to derail the deal yesterday. When Roy and Norman, the two Freedom Caucus members on the Rules Committee, pushed for floor votes on amendments to the bill, he instead worked around them — winning the backing of a third hard-liner on the panel, Rep. THOMAS MASSIE (R-Ky.). And he closed the day with a swaggering pitch to his members: “If you think I failed you, I'm sorry,” he told them at the conference meeting. “But if you think I failed, I think you're wrong.” One member of McCarthy’s leadership team told Playbook that the bill will easily garner a “majority of the majority” — and maybe even more than the 150 votes McCarthy told Democrats he’d be able to bring along. Most of the time in politics, winning means getting just one more vote than the other side. But when it comes to managing the raucous House GOP, the margins matter. McCarthy’s team is pushing for an overwhelming Republican vote today for the deal he negotiated, knowing that the more GOP yeas he can put on the board, the more the small crop of conservatives talking about mutiny will be isolated — strengthening McCarthy’s hand as he heads into new governing challenges, not to mention the 2024 elections. The hard-liners know it, too. When Olivia asked Rep. KEN BUCK (R-Colo.), another dismayed conservative, whether McCarthy had lost the confidence of his members, he replied, “You’ll find out tomorrow when you see the vote totals.” WHAT TO WATCH TODAY: Not everything is hunky-dory in the House. A CBO score on the deal released last night threw a last-minute curveball into Republican messaging, finding that new work requirement changes would actually expand spending on federal nutrition programs. Leadership allies rejected the CBO’s analysis, but it opened a new front for critics to attack the deal: “The gang can’t shoot straight, folks,” tweeted former Trump OMB director RUSS VOUGHT. “Work requirements are supposed to save money.” And before they vote on the bill, lawmakers will have to adopt the “rule” governing the floor process — a key test vote for McCarthy. Typically the majority is expected to put up the votes to pass a rule, even on bipartisan bills. One senior Republican aide laughed in our faces last night when we asked whether the GOP could carry the rule on its own. That means Republicans will likely need to count on Democratic votes to get the rule through the chamber — not an ideal situation for McCarthy. While we’re told Democratic leaders have not been whipping their rank-and-file to support the rule, per standard operating procedure for the minority, they aren’t whipping against it, either. So expect a handful of Democrats to cross over — setting up a big, bipartisan final vote around 8 p.m. this evening. Good Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Altria:   Altria is leading the way in transitioning millions of adult smokers from cigarettes to a smoke-free future. | | | More debt limit reads …
- “Senate braces for last-minute conservative demands on debt deal,” by Burgess Everett and Daniella Diaz: “Due to the quirks of the upper chamber, individual senators can drag out a bill for roughly a week, as all 100 members must agree in order to fast-track legislation. … But if conservatives get what they want, namely roll call votes on altering the bill, they may acquiesce and give the country plenty of breathing room before June 5.”
- “Why the nation’s banks will lose even if Biden avoids default,” by Victoria Guida: “Financial institutions, already reeling from the stunning failure of three regional lenders since March, are likely to face a drain on deposits and less cash in the banking system as a whole as [JANET] YELLEN’s Treasury suddenly cranks up borrowing.”
| | PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN’S WEDNESDAY:
10 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief.
Noon: Biden will meet with leaders of his federal emergency preparedness and response team to receive the annual briefing on extreme weather preparedness.
4:15 p.m.: Biden will depart the White House en route to Colorado Springs, Colo.
Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE and NSC spokesperson JOHN KIRBY will brief at 1:30 p.m.
VP KAMALA HARRIS’ WEDNESDAY: The VP has nothing on her public schedule.
THE HOUSE will meet at 2 p.m. to take up the Fiscal Responsibility Act, with first votes expected at 3:30 p.m. and last votes expected at 8:30 p.m.
THE SENATE will meet at 10 a.m. and at 2:30 p.m. will vote on the motion to the House-passed legislation that would overturn Biden’s student debt relief plan and nullify the pause on monthly student loan payments and interest. More on the bill from Michael Stratford | | | | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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Ron DeSantis and wife Casey DeSantis arrive for a campaign event in Clive, Iowa, on Tuesday, May 30. | Scott Olson/Getty Images | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH FOLLOW THE MONEY — The DeSantis administration “has quietly changed state guidelines, essentially giving its blessing for a state-level political committee he previously ran to move millions of dollars to a super PAC helping his presidential campaign,” NBC’s Matt Dixon reports. “For years, elections officials said such a transfer to federal super PACs would not be allowed. But in March — just months before DeSantis formally launched his bid for president — officials at the Florida State Department, the DeSantis administration entity that regulates state elections, changed its handbook to assert that such moves are allowed.” ON THE TRAIL — NIKKI HALEY is headlining the Connecticut Republican Party’s Prescott Bush dinner tonight in Stamford, where she’ll be introduced by state party chair BEN PROTO. The sold-out dinner will spill into an overflow room; according to the campaign, it’s the state party’s largest event in a decade. More details TEEING OFF — “Ramaswamy fires consultants who worked simultaneously for LIV golf,” by Caitlin Oprysko and Hailey Fuchs FAKE IT ’TIL YOU MAKE IT — “Deepfaking it: America’s 2024 election collides with AI boom,” by Reuters’ Alexandra Ulmer and Anna Tong MORE POLITICS WHAT THE NRCC IS READING — “Republican candidate accused of lying about military record ends comeback bid,” by Olivia Beavers and Ally Mutnick: JR MAJEWSKI, “an Air Force veteran who launched a second run against veteran Democratic Rep. MARCY KAPTUR in April, sent an email to supporters on Tuesday announcing his decision to withdraw from the race, according to a letter obtained by POLITICO. He explained that his mother had to undergo triple bypass surgery later this month and that he wanted time to help with her recovery, especially because he lost his father during the last campaign cycle.” THE WHITE HOUSE NOMINATION NEWS — Biden is “expected to nominate the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. ERIC SMITH, to lead the service as commandant, selecting a senior officer who has led troops in combat and served more recently in a key role as the service attempts to transform itself after two decades of counterinsurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” WaPo’s Dan Lamothe writes. CONGRESS ON THE WAY OUT — Rep. CHRIS STEWART (R-Utah) is planning to resign his seat in Congress, the Salt Lake Tribune’s Bryan Schott reports. “Multiple sources have confirmed to The Salt Lake Tribune that Stewart announced his plan to resign, citing ongoing health issues with his wife. It was unclear what those health issues may be.” EXIT INTERVIEW — Retiring Rep. DAVID CICILLINE (D-R.I.) sits down with Nancy Scola for POLITICO Magazine for a dish on why Congress can’t actually legislate when it comes to tech and antitrust. “I think this is one of those examples where Congress is not especially well-suited to take on really complicated stuff that’s changing very fast,” Cicilline told Nancy. Read the full interview TRUMP CARDS MILKING IT — Trump lashed out at KAYLEIGH McENANY, his former press secretary, for using what he claimed were “wrong” poll numbers on Fox News yesterday. Referring to her as “Kayleigh ‘Milktoast’McEnany” [sic], Trump went on to say that “The RINOS & Globalists can have her. FoxNews should only use REAL Stars!!!” Read Trump’s Truth Social post THE MAR-A-LAGO MESS — The latest turn of the screw in special counsel JACK SMITH’s probe into Trump’s possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago compound came yesterday, as an employee at the club “who helped move boxes of documents last June has been questioned about his conduct weeks later related to a government demand for surveillance footage” from the property, WaPo’s Spencer Hsu, Josh Dawsey and Devlin Barrett report. JUST POSTED — “Trump White House Aides Subpoenaed in Firing of Election Security Expert,” by NYT’s By Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan: “The team led by the special counsel, Jack Smith, has been asking witnesses about the events surrounding the firing of CHRISTOPHER KREBS, who was the Trump administration’s top cybersecurity official during the 2020 election. Mr. Krebs’s assessment that the election was secure was at odds with Mr. Trump’s baseless assertions that it was a “fraud on the American public.” BRAGG-ADOCIO — “Manhattan prosecutors fight to keep Donald Trump’s historic criminal case in state court,” by AP’s Michael Sisak
| | | | A message from Altria:   Altria is leading the way in transitioning millions of adult smokers from cigarettes to a smoke-free future. | | | JUDICIARY SQUARE SCOTUS WATCH — AP’s Mark Sherman examines how the ethical questions swirling around the Supreme Court are not subsiding. Earlier this year, the justices agreed to provide a summary of any recusals by one or more justices. While Justice ELENA KAGAN issued a disclosure last week for her recusal from a case involving a death row inmate from Florida, Justice SAMUEL ALITO recused himself yesterday from an appeal from energy companies without explanation. Though Alito’s financial disclosures point to a reason for the recusal, the differing approaches “shows how difficult forging consensus over even small steps on ethics can be at the Supreme Court,” Sherman writes. OPIOID FILES — “Sacklers Can Be Shielded From Opioid Liability, Appeals Court Rules,” by NYT’s Jan Hoffman POLICY CORNER FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Airports, chambers of commerce, businesses and community organizations from around the country are joining together in launching the Coalition to Protect America’s Regional Airports. The formation of the coalition comes on the heels of a new FAA report on operations at DCA, the forthcoming Senate Commerce Committee markup of the FAA reauthorization bill and Delta/CAA’s efforts to increase slots that would affect DCA. The coalition is opposing any changes to DCA’s High Density (“slot”) and perimeter rules. (h/t Daniel Lippman) BORDER CHIEF SAYS GOODBYE — U.S. Border Patrol Chief RAUL ORTIZ will retire at the end of June after 32 years on the job, the AP’s Colleen Long reports, coming just weeks after the end of Title 42 with the agency under the spotlight. WAR IN UKRAINE FOR YOUR RADAR — “Ukraine and Allies Plan Peace Summit Without Russia,” by WSJ’s Bojan Pancevski, Laurence Norman and James Marson: “Plans for a gathering, while preliminary, have strong support from European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron who are lobbying for participation by countries that have sided with Russia or declined to take a position on the war.” AMERICA AND THE WORLD BUZZ CUT — A Chinese fighter jet conducted “an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” by darting in front of an American surveillance plane over the South China Sea on Friday, the Pentagon said yesterday. “The incident, which was captured on video and released by the U.S on Monday, came as the U.S. Air Force RC-135 surveillance plane was flying in international airspace. The maneuver by the Chinese J-16 forced the U.S. plane to fly through the jet’s turbulence,” Paul McLeary writes. Watch the video MORE AID ON THE WAY — “New U.S. aid package for Ukraine will total about $300 million and include munitions for drones,” by AP’s Lolita Baldor and Matthew Lee FAILURE TO LAUNCH — “North Korea says its attempt to launch 1st spy satellite ends in failure,” by AP’s Hyung-jin Kim BEYOND THE BELTWAY ONE-ON-ONE — “He prosecuted George Floyd’s killer — and he’s still searching for answers,” by Shia Kapos: “Minnesota Attorney General KEITH ELLISON discusses policing, politics and how to prevent cops from killing more people.” WHAT AMTRAK JOE IS READING — “Amtrak’s New $2 Billion High-Speed Acela Fleet Slowed by Century-Old Tracks,” by WSJ’s Ted Mann MEDIAWATCH FOX IN THE DOG HOUSE — “Fox News, backed by Trump White House lawyer, fights subpoena in leak lawsuit,” by Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein: “Notably, Fox News and [CATHERINE] HERRIDGE are being represented by PATRICK PHILBIN, a former top lawyer from Donald Trump’s White House.” VALLEY TALK LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST — “Twitter Is Now Worth Just 33% of Elon Musk’s Purchase Price, Fidelity Says,” by Bloomberg’s Aisha Counts and Tom Maloney
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Rosalynn Carter has been diagnosed with dementia. Ron DeSantis used Hulk Hogan’s old walkout music in Iowa. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has an impersonator on Twitter. John Cornyn apparently looks like a politician. If Scott Kelly went to the Senate floor to take a vote for his twin brother Mark Kelly, would anyone know? Joni Ernst and Jeanne Shaheen will participate in Fox News’ The Senate Project forum series, moderated by Bret Baier. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Hannah Goss is joining Rep. Ruben Gallego’s (D-Ariz.) Senate campaign as comms director. She most recently was senior comms adviser and director of rapid response for the Arizona Democratic Party. TRANSITIONS — Bill Doerrer will be deputy chief of staff for the White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director. He currently is White House liaison at the Treasury Department, where he will be succeeded by Raymond Pham. Pham most recently was national coalitions finance director at the DNC. … Jess Wysocky is now legislative director for Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D- Mass.). He most recently was senior legislative assistant for Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) and is an Alex Padilla, Harley Rouda and Mike Thompson alum. … … Rob Todaro is now comms director for Data for Progress. He previously was a senior comms manager for the Trevor Project. … Dina Powell McCormick will be vice chair and president of client services at BDT & MSD Partners, WSJ’s Miriam Gottfried and AnnaMaria Andriotis scooped. She currently is global head of sustainability and inclusive growth and global head of the sovereign business at Goldman Sachs and is a Trump and Bush administration alum. WEEKEND WEDDINGS — Doug Molof, director for government affairs at Center for American Progress and a Lloyd Doggett alum, and Elizabeth Fassbender, assistant director for economic and regulatory affairs at the College of American Pathologists, got married Saturday at the Birkby House in Leesburg, Va. They met on Bumble in September 2020. Pic … Another pic — Thomas Winslow, special assistant to the president and senior adviser to deputy chief of staff at the White House, and Brenna Williams, an NPR, NBC, C-SPAN and CNN alum, got married Sunday at Autoshop in Union Market. They met during a study abroad program at Oxford. SPOTTED: Don Winslow, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Patrick Bonsignore, Rob Flaherty, Aleigha Cavalier, Andy Oare, Sean Hoey, Rob Friedlander, Caitlin Mitchell, Patrick Stevenson, Julie Zuckerbrod, Madeline Twomey, John Schueler and Danielle Kantor. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Kelsey Bolar, director of storytelling at Independent Women’s Forum, and Luke Bolar, chief external affairs officer at ClearPath, welcomed Walker Lucas Bolar on Sunday. He joins big siblings Scarlett and Riley. Pics — Caroline Champion, digital strategist at FlexPoint Media, and Mason Champion, legislative assistant for Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), on May 18 welcomed “May Clare” Monroe Champion, who came in at 8 lbs, 6 oz. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) … White House’s Jennifer Berlin … Commerce’s Charlie Meisch ... Debra DeShong … NPR’s Deirdre Walsh … Ali Noorani … Julie Moos of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs … Clark Judge ... Elizabeth Dos Santos of Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart’s (R-Fla.) office … Matt Berman … Amy Pfeiffer of Rep. Andy Kim’s (D-N.J.) office … Michael O’Connor of Williams & Connolly … Marilyn Tavenner … CNN’s Sara Sidner … former Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) … former Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) (9-0) … Dan Pino … Al From (8-0) … DCI Group’s Maegan Rosenberg … Erik Telford … Sara Carter … HSGAC’s Allison Tinsey … Newsbusters’ P.J. Gladnick Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
| | | | A message from Altria: Moving beyond smoking. More than 20 million adult smokers are looking to transition from cigarettes to smoke-free choices. And they are three times as likely to make that change when they have information on Tobacco Harm Reduction.
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