| | | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | Presented by Facebook | BIDEN TO SURFSIDE — The Bidens are heading to the site of the Florida building collapse Thursday, the White House announced. They'll thank first responders and search and rescue teams, and meet with families. BIDEN'S FUZZY MATH: Close readers know that we have been repeatedly pointing out that a big danger to the bipartisan infrastructure framework is that the pay-fors seem to use some creative math. Now as President JOE BIDEN heads to Wisconsin this afternoon to start selling this plan — watch live here at 2 p.m. — WaPo's Jeff Stein takes a closer look at what he calls "fuzzy math" and what Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center calls the "daydream" of how the bipartisan gang finances their trillion-dollar proposal. Some of the details about the "hodgepodge of measures that are unlikely to create actual revenue that pays for the spending plan": — The gang says it can squeeze $70 billion out of unemployment benefits, but the number seems closer to $35 billion. Stein: "Budget experts do not believe it is credible that lawmakers could cut unemployment spending by as much as 20 percent, as the plan suggests, with no impact on beneficiaries." — There's $80 billion of "coronavirus relief funding that nobody has yet identified or agreed to." — "Lawmakers say they will raise $6 billion from sales of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve — but the oil will have to be repurchased at a later date, making the actual savings unclear." — One pay-for is a "mandatory sequester," which Stein notes is a kind of automatic cut that Congress frequently waives. — Then there's $60 billion via "dynamic scoring," which is a guess about future revenues that might result from the infrastructure investments in the plan. — There are also good reasons to doubt that the "public-private partnerships" will produce $100 billion in revenue, as the White House and its Senate allies believe. Tax Policy Center's Gleckman: "It's full of stuff that isn't a tax increase and isn't a spending cut and is just wishful and fanciful." THE INFRASTRUCTURE TWO-STEP — The White House is dancing back and forth these days between reassuring Republicans that a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a bigger budget reconciliation package aren't a package deal, and reassuring progressives that they're both going to happen anyway. This morning, Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG and Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM tried to walk the line: — "We want to get both through, because we view them as — in people's lives, these things are linked," Buttigieg said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." … "We've been talking about it for quite a while as two tracks. I guess, not to kill a transportation reporter, but two tracks are linked in some way, but they're different." "I'm not exactly sure what it means, but it was used perfectly by the secretary of Transportation," JOE SCARBOROUGH responded. The interview — Granholm was a little more decisive: ""No," she said when asked if the two bills were tied. "He wants both bills, as he said, and he's going to campaign for both bills. But he did not issue — or he wanted to make clear — he wasn't issuing a veto threat." The interview | | A message from Facebook: The internet has changed a lot since 1996 - internet regulations should too
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– Reforming Section 230 | | | THE LATEST MANEUVERING — "Top Dems hustle to satisfy their fractious party on spending strategy," by Sarah Ferris and Nicholas Wu: "White House officials will head to the Hill on Tuesday to meet with small groups of Democrats, including leaders of the centrist New Democrat Coalition. And House Budget Committee Chair Rep. JOHN YARMUTH (D-Ky.) is set to meet Tuesday afternoon with leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus … "[Rep. ILHAN] OMAR noted that in a recent poll of the group, 60 percent of members who responded said they would be willing to withhold their votes for a bipartisan infrastructure bill without that broader legislation." Good Tuesday afternoon. MEANWHILE IN MAGA COUNTRY — Don't miss this great dispatch from Meridith McGraw in POLITICO Magazine: "A New Darkness Falls on the Trump Movement": "Where once his supporters were hopeful, they now seemed aggrieved. The crowds are more frenzied, the conspiracies more fantastical, the cast of characters more outlandish. … "[O]n our chat home, [Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE] explained just how central she is set to become in the [DONALD] TRUMP comeback narrative. The former president, she said, had personally invited her to the rally and, schedule permitting, she planned to attend his upcoming events across the country this summer." ON THE COVER OF VOGUE — "A First Lady for All of Us: On the Road with Dr. Jill Biden," by Jonathan Van Meter, with photos by Annie Leibovitz: "The role she's fulfilling on these visits is, in many ways, neither first lady nor professor but a key player in her husband's administration, a West Wing surrogate and policy advocate. … Which is not to say that Dr. Biden, who is constitutionally shy, doesn't take special delight in these visits. She becomes looser, goofier, and more expansive. You generally hear her before you see her because she is often laughing. She is, quite simply, a joy multiplier." HEADS UP — The Supreme Court said its next and last day of opinions this term will be Thursday. That will include what could be a major decision on voting rights. DAILY RUDY — "Rudy Giuliani Facing Inquiry Into Whether He Lobbied Trump for Turkey," by Bloomberg's Christian Berthelsen, Greg Farrell and Chris Strohm: "RUDY GIULIANI is the subject of a Justice Department inquiry into possible foreign lobbying for Turkish interests separate from a criminal probe of his activities in Ukraine … The Turkey inquiry, which has not been previously reported, is not criminal, in contrast to the Ukraine investigation … "Though both matters focus on whether Giuliani lobbied the Trump administration on behalf of foreign interests, the Justice Department usually takes a softer approach when it thinks failure to register wasn't intentional. Giuliani has denied lobbying for either Turkish or Ukrainian interests, and the government has not accused him of wrongdoing in either matter." | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | WAPO'S ELIZABETH DWOSKIN has an illuminating read this morning from Santa Ana, Calif., where she charts the intersections of the new GOP, social media platforms and the post-Trump conservative media landscape: "For years, social media companies have sought and failed to limit the reach of misinformation and other harmful material spread on their sites. That failure culminated in January … But six months later, a right-wing movement is reconstituting itself across the United States, and once again, it is fueled by social media. "Researchers say that's because the combination of the pandemic and the election radicalized people and enabled right-leaning groups that were not previously aligned to find one another — creating a mega-network that was fueled by outrage and misinformation. … That has helped them to rack up significant advancements for their movement, whether it's pushing followers to take up local fights over vaccine passports or pushing attacks on the teaching of critical race theory to the forefront of the national conversation." SHARING THE VACCINE — Press secretary JEN PSAKI said this morning that the White House is sending 2.5 million Moderna doses to Bangladesh starting today. THE SALES PITCH — "Democrats launch new 'coming back' push to tout Biden agenda," by NBC's Mike Memoli: "[T]he White House and the Democratic National Committee are launching a campaign-style blitz as Americans get set to celebrate Independence Day, aiming to ensure the president sees a political boost for the nation's return to pre-pandemic life. The DNC is premiering a new television ad Tuesday that declares America is 'coming back' after a year of lockdowns and economic hardship. … "The DNC says the spot will air in targeted states and on national cable. On the ground, the party will play off the president's favorite dessert with an Ice Cream Truck tour along the East Coast … The DNC is also planning to fly planes over beaches in Wisconsin, Georgia, South Carolina and parts of Florida with a banner saying: 'America's back together thanks to Biden and Democrats.'" The TV ad REALITY CHECK — "Biden's big climate puzzle: How to turn the heartland into a carbon sponge," by Helena Bottemiller Evich and Ryan McCrimmon: "President Joe Biden's goal of paying farmers and ranchers to help battle climate change is running into the reality of how complicated and costly it will be. Six months into the administration, officials have yet to unveil their plan. "That's in part because it's logistically complex and difficult to make the economics work: While corporations are eager to buy credits that pay farmers to pull carbon dioxide out of the air and into their soil, the credits aren't yet lucrative enough to entice enough farmers to rethink how they grow crops to maximize capturing carbon. … Despite talk about positioning farms to save the planet, the number of acres engaged in these efforts is minuscule … There are also numerous technical challenges to scaling up." ANTITRUST THE PROCESS — "Boom Times for Lawyers as Washington Pursues Big Tech," by NYT's Cecilia Kang and David McCabe: "Not since the government sued to break up Microsoft in the late 1990s has there been greater demand for people who know the ins and outs of corporate competition law." BIG WAPO INVESTIGATION — "The land was worth millions. A Big Ag corporation sold it to Sonny Perdue's company for $250,000," by Desmond Butler: "In February 2017, weeks after President Donald Trump selected him to be agriculture secretary, Perdue's company bought a small grain plant in South Carolina from one of the biggest agricultural corporations in America. Had anyone noticed, it would have prompted questions ahead of his confirmation … "An examination of public records by The Washington Post has found that the agricultural company, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), sold the land at a small fraction of its estimated value just as it stood to benefit from a friendly secretary of agriculture. … The timing of the sale just as Perdue was about to become the most powerful man in U.S. agriculture raises legal and ethics concerns, from the narrow question of whether the secretary followed federal financial disclosure requirements to whether the transaction could have been an attempt to influence an incoming government official, in violation of bribery statutes, ethics lawyers say." | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WOMEN RULE : The Women Rule newsletter explores how women, in Washington and beyond, shape the world, and how the news — from the pandemic to the latest laws coming out of statehouses — impacts women. With expert policy analysis, incisive interviews and revelatory recommendations on what to read and whom to watch, this is a must-read for executives, professionals and rising leaders to understand how what happens today affects the future for women and girls. Subscribe to the Women Rule newsletter today. | | | | | THE BRAVE NEW WORLD — "Members of Congress Are Spending More Than Ever on Security," by Mother Jones' Russ Choma and Sinduja Rangarajan: "Republican and Democratic lawmakers in both chambers—especially those vilified by Trump and his allies—have started hiring security consultants and bodyguards, upgrading their home security systems with cameras, and, in some cases, employing firms that specialize in fortifying residences with reinforced doors, bulletproof glass, and other high-end protective features. "An analysis of campaign finance records by Mother Jones found that in the three months after the Capitol attack, security spending jumped 176 percent from the same period last year. Such spending is up 233 percent from the first quarter of 2019." With numbers for Liz Cheney, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Raphael Warnock, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more SCOTUS WATCH — "Supreme Court says no right to hearing for some immigrants," AP: "The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the government can indefinitely detain certain immigrants who say they will face persecution or torture if they are deported to their native countries. Over the dissent of three liberal justices, the court held 6-3 that the immigrants are not entitled to a hearing about whether they should be released while the government evaluates their claims." 2024 WATCH — Forbes' @AndrewSolender: "South Dakota Gov. KRISTI NOEM says she's sending up to 50 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border for 1-2 months 'in response to Texas Governor Greg Abbott's request for help.'" WHO AUDITS THE AUDITORS — "Arizona ballot audit shows signs of backfiring on GOP," by Marc Caputo: "[A] new Bendixen & Amandi International poll … shows roughly half of Arizona voters oppose the recount effort. In addition, a narrow majority favors President Biden in a 2024 rematch against Trump. The news isn't entirely promising for Democrats, however: A majority of voters don't think Biden should run for a second term. … "[T]he intensity of opposition to the audit exceeded the intensity of support … And while Democrats and Republicans broke along familiar partisan lines, independent voters upon whom the state pivots in close elections opposed the audit by 18 percentage points." The poll SPOTTED: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) having breakfast at the Four Seasons this morning. … Bob Woodward at Cafe Milano on Monday night. TRANSITIONS — Raychel Renna will be political director for House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik's (N.Y.) operation out of D.C. She currently is press secretary for Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio). … Niambé Tomlinson is now senior director of comms, external affairs and advocacy at the National Urban League. She previously was comms manager for the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion and is a Kirsten Gillibrand alum. … Alexis Moch is joining Prologis as director of government affairs. She previously was federal legislative director at the National Association of Home Builders. … … Seven Letter is adding Elizabeth-Burton Jones as a director and Zeina Muhtadi as a content specialist. Jones most recently was press secretary for Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio). Muhtadi will work on the firm's in-house design team. … Robert VerBruggen is now a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He's a former deputy managing editor of National Review and longtime policy writer. BONUS BIRTHDAY: Andy Duberstein of Sard Verbinnen | | | |   | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
