| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
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Special counsel Jack has brought three new felony charges against former President Donald Trump. | Charlie Riedel, File/AP Photo | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | SPOTTED: Italian PM GIORGIA MELONI at Cafe Milano. NEW CHARGES — Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report: “Special counsel JACK SMITH has brought three new felony charges against former President DONALD TRUMP, including explosive claims that he asked an employee of his Mar-a-Lago club to delete security camera footage sought by investigators probing his handling of classified documents. “In a 60-page superseding indictment unveiled Thursday, prosecutors also accused Trump of possessing a highly classified war plan that he shared with people lacking security clearances months after his presidency ended. And prosecutors added a third defendant: CARLOS DE OLIVEIRA, a worker at Mar-a-Lago who is accused of joining Trump and aide WALT NAUTA to seek the destruction of the security footage.” Read the superseding indictment Meanwhile, the wait continues for an expected indictment of Trump in Smith’s Jan. 6 case. Trump has revealed that he has received a target letter related to that case, and his lawyers met with Smith’s team at DOJ yesterday to discuss it. (Normally, the grand jury in that case does not meet on Fridays, but all eyes will be on the federal courthouse in Washington today.) MUST READ — “A four-way race?: The 2024 presidential contest is anything but settled,” by Jonathan Martin: “Rep. DEAN PHILLIPS, a Minnesota moderate, has been receiving inquiries about his willingness to challenge [President JOE] BIDEN and is going to New York City next week to meet with Democratic donors about such a race, I’m told. … “Phillips is highly unlikely to mount a primary challenge unless Biden’s health worsens or his political standing drops precipitously, I’m told, and does not want to further weaken the president. Yet he remains convinced that Democrats need a robust conversation about who to nominate and recognizes that the more obvious would-be challengers in the party will not get in unless somebody else first breaks the political ice.” McCONNELL TO GOP SENATORS: I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE — “McConnell seeks to silence GOP speculation about his future,” by Burgess Everett THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: ARNOLD PUNARO — Last night, the Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, 86-11. The Senate version of the annual defense bill — and the big, bipartisan vote — was starkly different from what happened in the House, where the NDAA was loaded up with social policy amendments backed by the right on issues including abortion, a prohibition against funding for surgeries and hormone therapy for transgender troops, alleged rampant “wokeism” at the Pentagon and climate change. As the bill moves to a conference committee, all eyes will be on KEVIN McCARTHY to see what kind of a deal the speaker can secure that moves a final version of the legislation to passage in both chambers. But there remains the possibility that Congress can’t find an agreement and fails to clear the NDAA for the first time in more than six decades.
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| On Playbook Deep Dive this week, we sat down with Punaro, a retired two-star general in the U.S. Marine Corps and former longtime staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and nerded out on the politics and policy of the bill. You can listen to the full conversation here. What follows are some key excerpts … — On Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE’s (R-Ala.) blockade of military promotions to protest abortion policy: “It has everything to do with people’s base and fundraising and things of that nature, which I think is pathetic, because we shouldn’t subject our national security to that. … I have a huge problem with what Sen. Tuberville is doing. He’s a coward, in my book. He won’t even bring an amendment to the floor and get it voted on to change the policy. … “It is having an impact. And unfortunately, the only way you can ever prove it to somebody like Sen. Tuberville — who’s never served … [and] doesn’t understand our military, despite the fact that [he’s] in Alabama, one of our greatest states for supporting our military and military bases — is you’re not going to really be able to prove it to anybody till young Marines and young soldiers die in combat because they’re not as well led.” — On one effect of Tuberville’s hold: “A good example of what’s happening in the Marine Corps is you have ERIC SMITH, who’s the assistant commandant — that’s still his billet because he didn’t get confirmed. He’s doing the equivalent of two full-time four-star jobs right now. It’d be like asking the Auburn quarterback to play offensive tackle and quarterback at the same time. … I don’t think people really understand how detrimental this really is on a day-to-day basis.” — On people blaming “social engineering” for recruiting difficulties: “First of all, the target population is the 18-to-24-year-olds: The propensity to enlist is way down. We’ve seen this before. Eighty-five percent of that target population that wants a job could get another job somewhere. … The sons and daughters of the military aren’t joining at the rate they used to. … There may be some kids that think it is too ‘woke’ … [but] the major reasons they don’t want to go in the military are the ones that the detailed surveys that we’ve done show.” — On the notion that the military is too focused on climate change: “As someone that had to operate in monsoons and had to operate in the mountains of Vietnam: Weather is a big deal. … When GEORGE PATTON and his Seventh Army was racing to free our troops that were surrounded in Bastogne — and this is a fact — he had the chaplain pray for good weather so he could get air cover. … In Norfolk, Va., we’re having to spend $2 billion to raise the piers so our sailors can get on the ships because of climate change. So I’m not an expert on what’s causing it, and I don’t get into that argument. … “The fact that the ice pack is melting in the Arctic is not a good thing, because the Russians can — and the Chinese can — now get places a lot quicker because they don’t have to worry about that. We had an advantage because we had submarines that can operate under the ice. … Weather and climate patterns impact military operations.” — On the prospects for the NDAA passing this year: “It’s going to boil down to McCarthy. If he’s not willing to allow these defense [authorizing and appropriating] bills to pass with bipartisan votes, then we’re headed for a [government] shutdown.” Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Do you think we’re headed for a shutdown? Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Meta: Augmented reality will help neighborhoods recover from power outages.
Augmented reality will help electrical lineworkers spot and repair problems in the power grid more quickly, helping communities get their lights back on faster after power outages.
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Explore more possibilities with the metaverse. | | | WATCH THIS SPACE — “Facebook Bowed to White House Pressure, Removed Covid Posts,” by WSJ’s Ryan Tracy: “The emails show Facebook executives discussing how they managed users’ posts about the origins of a pandemic that the administration was seeking to control. ‘Can someone quickly remind me why we were removing — rather than demoting/labeling — claims that Covid is man made,’ asked NICK CLEGG, the company’s president of global affairs, in a July 2021 email to colleagues. ‘We were under pressure from the administration and others to do more,’ responded a Facebook vice president in charge of content policy, speaking of the Biden administration. ‘We shouldn’t have done it.’” TALK OF THIS TOWN — Michael Schaffer this morning for POLITICO Mag: “Manifestos! Policy Books! Zombies! Inside the Conservative Argument About Capitalism.” UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE DAY — “Running against the measles vaccine is not a platform that will excite suburban America,” the WSJ editorial board writes of Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS’ suggestion that he’d pick conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine activist ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. to lead the FDA or CDC.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | | | BIDEN’S FRIDAY:
9 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Briefing.
10:10 a.m.: Biden will leave the White House for Auburn, Maine, where he’ll arrive at 12:20 p.m.
1:15 p.m.: Biden will speak about “Bidenomics” and the manufacturing boom at Auburn Manufacturing Inc.
4 p.m.: Biden will take part in a campaign reception in Freeport, Maine.
5:25 p.m.: Biden will leave Maine for Rehoboth Beach, Del., arriving at 7:30 p.m.
Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will gaggle on Air Force One on the way to Maine.
VP KAMALA HARRIS’ FRIDAY (all times Eastern):
9:50 a.m.: The VP will leave D.C. for Des Moines, Iowa, arriving at 12:30 p.m.
1:10 p.m.: Harris will take part in a moderated conversation on abortion rights at Drake University.
3:40 p.m.: Harris will depart Iowa, arriving back at Joint Base Andrews at 5:45 p.m.
THE HOUSE and THE SENATE are out. | | | | | | STOP SCROLLING (for just a minute!). Introducing a revamped California Playbook newsletter with an all-new team and a sharpened mission! Join Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner as they take you on an extraordinary journey through California's political landscape. From inside the Capitol in Sacramento to the mayor’s office in Los Angeles, and from the tech hub of Silicon Valley to even further beyond, we're your front-row ticket to the action. Subscribe for access to exclusive news, buzzworthy scoops and never-before-revealed behind-the-scenes details straight from the heart of California's political arena. Don't miss out — SUBSCRIBE TODAY and stay in the know! | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
|  Contrasting groups of supporters for the incumbent Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and Democrat Brandon Presley wave their respective candidates' signs at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., Thursday, July 27, 2023. | Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH REBOOT ON THE ROCKS — “Gov. Ron DeSantis’s reboot of his struggling presidential campaign began in the spartan basement of a hotel in a rural Iowa town” in front of a crowd of roughly 65, NYT’s Nicholas Nehamas reports from Chariton, Iowa. (Given the choice of venue, his stump speech standby about “send[ing] Joe Biden back to his basement in Delaware” played a bit differently.) That trademark DeSantis charm: “But his attempts [at small talk] didn’t always seem to land, as when he told a young girl enjoying an Icee, ‘That’s probably a lot of sugar, huh?’ before shaking hands with another small child and greeting her with a surprisingly formal ‘Good to see you.’” Video of the “Icee” exchange Good news for DeSantis: “Ron DeSantis unveils sheriffs’ endorsements as he looks to jumpstart Iowa campaign,” by Des Moines Register’s Brianne Pfannenstiel Bad news for DeSantis: All of the above was overshadowed by his choice to ensure yet more coverage for the controversy surrounding Florida’s new and widely panned teaching standards around slavery. In Iowa, the governor jabbed at Rep. BYRON DONALDS, the lone Black Republican in Florida’s congressional delegation — who, for the record, was broadly supportive of the new curriculum guidelines, but mildly critical of its requirement that students be taught that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” “[A]t the end of the day, you’ve got to choose,” DeSantis said of Donalds yesterday. “Are you going to side with Kamala Harris and liberal media outlets, or are you going to side with the state of Florida?” More from Gary Fineout Elsewhere in Iowa, Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.), the only Black Republican in the Senate, criticized DeSantis on the issue — and effectively guaranteed that the Florida governor would see it figure into his coverage for several more days. “There’s no silver lining in slavery,” Scott said, responding to a question from our own Natalie Allison. “Slavery was really about separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. It was devastating. … I would hope that every person in our country — and certainly running for president — would appreciate that. And listen: People have bad days. Sometimes, they regret what they say. And we should ask them again to clarify their positions.” Video of Scott’s remarks What DeSantis would prefer to discuss: He’s set to unveil his economic proposals on Monday in New Hampshire, Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser scooped. Expect it “to be heavily focused on ‘strategically decoupling the American economy from China and the globalist elites that have been wreaking havoc on the American Dream.’” MORE POLITICS JUST POSTED — “Democrats plot middle-class message to retake economic high ground,” by WaPo’s Michael Scherer and Marianne LeVine: “Many in the party are alarmed at polling showing that most voters trust Republicans more than Biden and the Democrats on the economy.” THE ABORTION LANDSCAPE — “Ohio’s special election has become a proxy war over abortion rights,” by Madison Fernandez: “One Person One Vote raised $14.8 million as part of its effort to oppose Issue 1 … Protect Our Constitution, the group in support of Issue 1, raised $4.9 million. Money is not the only factor in a successful campaign, but the influx of financial support is a reassuring sign for the opposition campaign. Both sides received substantial funds from out-of-state donors. Most of Protect Our Constitution’s funds — $4 million — came from Illinois-based GOP megadonor RICHARD UIHLEIN.” CONGRESS TURN THE PAGE — Freshman Rep. DERRICK VAN ORDEN (R-Wis.) came under fire yesterday after he reportedly cursed at a group of Senate pages who were laying in the rotunda late Wednesday night, admiring the frescoes, Punchbowl scooped. (It is not uncommon for members of Congress to do this with tour groups.) The high school-aged pages, who come to Washington for their junior years and work long hours in the Capitol while attending classes in the morning, were in their final week on the job. What Van Orden said, per The Hill’s Al Weaver, citing “a transcript” written by one of the pages shortly after the incident: “Wake the f‑‑‑ up, you little s‑‑‑‑. … What the f‑‑‑ are you all doing? Get the f‑‑‑ out of here. You are defiling the space you [pieces of s‑‑‑]. … I don’t give a f‑‑‑ who you are, get out.” Van Orden, in a statement, cited the “history of the United States Capitol Rotunda, that during the Civil War it was used as a field hospital and countless Union soldiers died on that floor, and they died because they were fighting the Civil War to end slavery. And I think that place should be treated with a tremendous amount of respect for the dead.” On the Senate floor last night, Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER addressed Van Orden’s outburst and paid tribute to the pages: “I understand that late last night, a member of the House majority thought it appropriate to curse at some of these young people, these teenagers in the Rotunda. I was shocked when I heard about it. And I am further shocked at his refusal to apologize to these young people.” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell concurred: “I want to associate myself with the remarks of the majority leader. Everybody on this side of the aisle feels exactly the same way.” JUST ASKING — “Vance sends a ‘wokeness’ questionnaire to State nominees,” by Joe Gould and Nahal Toosi BIPARTISAN BLIP — “A new bipartisan bill aims to increase access to fentanyl test strips amid overdose deaths,” by NBC News’ Julie Tsirkin reports | | | | A message from Meta:   | | | THE WHITE HOUSE PARDON MOI? — “No chance of Biden pardoning his son, White House says,” by Lucy Hodgman NEW THIS MORNING — “Biden orders changes to the military code of justice for sexual assault victims,” by AP’s Tara Copp: “The order formally implements legislation passed by Congress in 2022 aimed at strengthening protections for service members, who were often at the mercy of their commanders to decide whether to take their assault claims seriously.” ONE EXPLANATION FOR THE BORDER SLOWDOWN — “Biden administration ramps up deportations,” by NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez in Harlingen, Texas: “The number of migrants arriving in the U.S. is still high, multiple law enforcement sources said. And the Biden administration has been ramping up deportations. … [A]bout 85,000 migrants have been ‘repatriated’ since Title 42 was lifted. That’s up 65% since the same period last year.” WHAT DETROIT IS READING — “Biden Set to Tighten Fuel-Efficiency Standards for Automakers,” by Bloomberg’s Ari Natter and David Welch: “The proposed rule, expected to be made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [as soon as today], will be applicable for model years 2027 and beyond.” HAPPENING TODAY — “Biden to Overhaul Military Justice Code, Seeking to Curb Sexual Assault,” by NYT’s Michael Shear AMERICA AND THE WORLD DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “Biden, testing Xi, will bar Hong Kong’s leader from economic summit,” by WaPo’s Ellen Nakashima and Shibani Mahtani in San Diego and Singapore: “China hawks in Congress had pressed the administration to block Hong Kong Chief Executive JOHN LEE from joining a gathering of Asian leaders in San Francisco this fall.” VALLEY TALK AGAINST THE GRAIN — “How Facebook does (and doesn’t) shape our political views,” by Platformer’s Casey Newton: “By themselves, the findings fail to confirm the arguments of Meta’s worst critics, who hold that the company’s products have played a leading role in the polarization of the United States, putting the democracy at risk. But nor do they suggest that altering the feed in ways some lawmakers have called for — making it chronological rather than ranking posts according to other signals — would have a positive effect.” TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week,” guest-moderated by William Brangham: Peter Baker, Devlin Barrett, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Anita Kumar. SUNDAY SO FAR … ABC “This Week”: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. Panel: Donna Brazile, Sarah Isgur, Asma Khalid and Jonathan Martin. NBC “Meet the Press”: Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) … Will Hurd. Panel: Leigh Ann Caldwell, Stephen Hayes, Faiz Shakir and Amy Walter. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum … Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) … Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). Panel: Marie Harf, Julia Manchester, Susan Page and Karl Rove. Legal panel: Jonathan Turley and Tom Dupree. MSNBC “The Sunday Show”: Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.). MSNBC “Inside with Jen Psaki”: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) … Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) … Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. CBS “Face the Nation”: Nikki Haley … Neel Kashkari.
| | | | HITTING YOUR INBOX AUGUST 14—CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Nancy Pelosi unfavorably compared Donald Trump to a pig: “At least a pig has bacon.” Nancy Mace said she’d speak to her pastor about her racy prayer breakfast repartee. James Comer and Eleanor Holmes Norton are moving to get the RFK Stadium site redeveloped. OUT AND ABOUT — Joe Crowley, Jeff Denham, Matthew Cutts and the Dentons federal policy team held a summer bash at the Royal Sands Social Club yesterday evening. SPOTTED: Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), House Deputy Majority Whip Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.), Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Rob Menendez Jr. (D-N.J.), Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), David Kustoff (R-Tenn.), Russell Fry (R-S.C.), Sam Graves (R-Mo.), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Julia Letlow (R-La.), Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), David Valadao (R-Calif.) and Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), Cheri Bustos and Terry McAuliffe. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Tricia Engle is now a partner at FGS Global. She previously was assistant secretary for the majority in the Senate and is a 26-year veteran of the Senate floor. — The National Pharmaceutical Council is adding Jon Campbell as chief science officer and Michael Pratt as chief comms officer. Campbell previously was SVP for health economics at the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. Pratt previously was at Real Chemistry, and is an HHS/Operation Warp Speed alum. TRANSITIONS — Chris Stangl is now a managing director in Berkeley Research Group’s cybersecurity and investigations practice. He previously was a senior executive in the FBI’s science and technology branch. … Jim Lake is now a partner at Portland Communications. He previously was president of JLA Strategic Communications. … … Christopher Weaver is joining the Rockefeller Foundation to lead its Economic Opportunity Coalition. He previously was senior fellow for Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). … Meghan Thurlow has been named global head of public affairs for GE Aerospace, building its public affairs function. She’s an Obama administration alum. WEDDING — Amalia Halikias, a Heritage Foundation government relations director and Jeb Bush alum, and Bijan Aboutorabi, who recently completed a clerkship for Justice Clarence Thomas, got married yesterday in an Episcopal ceremony at the Cosmos Club. They met as students at Yale University and started dating after reuniting in D.C. in 2022. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Alicia Pardo, a fundraiser with Pardo Consulting Group and a Biden 2020 alum, and Mark McCullough, strategic comms specialist for AFSCME, welcomed Gianna Danielle McCullough, their second daughter, early yesterday morning. She came in at 6 lbs, 12 oz. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Huma Abedin … WaPo’s Ruby Cramer and Beth Reinhard … Mark Meadows … CNN’s Kate Bolduan and Annette Choi … Richard Haass (72) … Scott Pelley … Kathy Dedrick … NBC’s Courtney Kube … Josh Bell of Rep. Ron Estes’ (R-Kan.) office … Abigail Kane … Patrick Boland … POLITICO’s Tanya Snyder and Mandy Snapp … Steve Deace … Kirsten Fedewa of Kirsten Fedewa & Associates … former AG Michael Mukasey … Stacey Finkel … former Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.) … former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) … Telisha Bryan of Crain’s New York Business 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. Corrections: Yesterday’s Playbook misspelled the name of Patrick Gilman and incorrectly described the signers of a lost White House engraving owned by historian Carl Sferrazza Anthony.
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Students learning about prehistoric eras will use virtual reality to take field trips to the Ice Age and visit the woolly mammoths. As a result, students will not only learn their history lessons - they’ll experience them.
The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real.
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