| | | | | |  | | By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun | Presented by |  | | | PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP is attending the Senate GOP lunch today in the Capitol. -- THE NOTICE sent to GOP offices said that the "buffet will open early at noon." Buffet. In the era of Covid-19. Gross. Have they seen this video? TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN and Fed Chairman JAY POWELL testified remotely before the Senate Banking Committee this morning. It was a real-time debate about the fiscal and monetary stimulus meant to rescue the economy as Congress considers what to do next -- if anything. -- MNUCHIN, speaking about credit risk in Federal Reserve facilities: Treasury is "fully prepared to take losses in certain scenarios." -- MNUCHIN said there is "risk of permanent damage" to the economy if the shutdown is extended. He also reiterated that jobs numbers will get worse before they get better, and June will be very difficult. -- MNUCHIN was asked about cyberattacks on financial institutions, and he answered by saying Congress should approve bringing the Secret Service back under Treasury. -- POWELL on what Congress has done in the wake of the economic shock: "This is the biggest shock we've seen in living memory. The question that looms in the air is: Is it enough?" … He did say Congress needs to be ready to act further if needed. -- SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ (D-Hawaii) asked POWELL about what will happen if Congress decides to not pass another bill. POWELL said it "depends on the path of the economy." ONE HEADLINE: POWELL said the Main Street Lending Facility will be ready to start lending money in June. VP MIKE PENCE and MNUCHIN met with House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY and Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL this morning in the Capitol. -- WHY YOU SHOULD NOT EXPECT QUICK ACTION: This meeting does not at all indicate a new bill is close. The House is out this week, the Senate is out next week, and then we're in early June. A meeting is a meeting -- it doesn't necessarily equate progress, or the expectation of progress. MCCARTHY, to WaPo's PAUL KANE, off the House floor, about the need for a new bill: "I don't see the need right now, I mean, their bill was about cannabis." -- IT WASN'T ABOUT CANNABIS. MCCONNELL on the Senate floor embraced TRUMP'S position about the Russia investigation on the Senate floor, via ANDREW DESIDERIO: "You're not crazy or a conspiracy theorist if you see a pattern of institutional unfairness toward this president. You would have to be blind not to see one." CNN'S MANU RAJU: "GOP bets on Trump's handling of crisis in battle to keep Senate majority" THE SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE has approved the nomination of Rep. JOHN RATCLIFFE (R-Texas) to be the DNI on a party-line vote. More from Martin Matishak MICHIGAN GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER told CRAIG MELVIN on the "Today" show that she's been in touch with the JOE BIDEN campaign about the VP slot: "I've had a conversation with some folks. … It was just an opening conversation, and it's not something that I would call a professional formalized vetting. I am making a little bit of time to stay connected to the campaign, but the most important thing that I have to do right now is be the governor of my home state. That's all that matters to me in this moment." BRUTAL FOR REPUBLICANS IN A MUST-WIN STATE FOR TRUMP … AZ REPUBLIC: "[Sen. Martha] McSally now trails Democrat Mark Kelly by 13 points, according to the latest tracking poll by OH Predictive Insights." Good Tuesday afternoon. | | | | A message from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association: Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are working to meet the needs of the healthcare system at this critical time. From family physicians to community clinics and large hospitals, we're providing resources to ensure those on the frontlines are protected and supported during this pandemic, and remain strong beyond it. | | | VOTING UPDATE -- "Appellate court orders New York to hold presidential primary, state will drop appeal," by Bill Mahoney in Albany: "An appellate court has upheld a ruling that will compel New York to hold a Democratic presidential primary on June 23." HMM … PROPUBLICA'S ISAAC ARNSDORF: "Wedding Planner, Caterer, 'Brand Builder': Trump's Food Aid Program Is Paying $100+ Million to Unlicensed Dealers": "The contractors on Friday began delivering boxes containing fresh produce to food banks and other nonprofits. Forty-nine out of the 159 contractors picked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to deliver boxes containing produce don't have a requisite license from the same agency, according to a search of the USDA's database using the information released about the contractors. "Some of the contractors are established companies, and many food banks told ProPublica they're successfully and gratefully receiving shipments. But other contractors have eclectic backgrounds with little track record in food distribution, such as a wedding planner, a caterer and a 'brand builder.' … It's not clear why some offbeat bids were successful. Federal contracts are heavily regulated, but the labyrinthine rules and procedures sometimes lead to curious outcomes. … The contracts also moved much faster than normal. Companies had only a week to submit bids, and the USDA announced winners just a week later." ProPublica DEEP DIVE -- "Why did the CARES Act give more money to hair schools than to a community college?" by NBC's Lisa Riordan Seville and Andrew Lehren: "After $14 billion was set aside for higher education in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, Houston Community College and the Paul Mitchell Schools both got financial relief. The Houston college, a public institution with nearly 60,000 students, received $28.3 million. The for-profit hair and cosmetology schools received $30.5 million, despite serving only 20,000 students. "The CARES Act money was meant to help low-income students and the schools that serve them. An NBC News analysis found, however, that for-profit schools got proportionally more money from the aid package than the nation's community colleges, which serve the majority of the country's low-income students, often at a much lower cost. Almost 9 percent of the coronavirus relief package money for higher education went to for-profit schools, NBC News found, despite the fact that they serve 5.4 percent of students. Community colleges, by contrast, got 22 percent though they serve 32 percent of students." NBC BACK IN ACTION -- "Carrier sidelined by coronavirus heads back to sea this week," by AP's Lolita Baldor: "The USS Theodore Roosevelt will return to sea later this week, nearly two months after the ship was sidelined in Guam with a rapidly growing coronavirus outbreak, U.S. officials said as the crew finished final preparations to depart. "In an interview from the aircraft carrier, Navy Capt. Carlos Sardiello said Monday the ship will sail with a scaled-back crew of about 3,000, leaving about 1,800 sailors on shore who are still in quarantine. Those include up to 14 sailors who recently tested positive again, just days after getting cleared to return to the carrier. The puzzling COVID-19 reappearance in the sailors adds to the difficulty in getting the ship's crew healthy again, and fuels questions about the quality of the testing and just how long sailors may remain infected or contagious." AP FRAME JOB … NBC'S CAROL LEE: "White House portrait ceremony may be the latest casualty of the political divide": "It's been a White House tradition for decades: A first-term president hosts a ceremony in the East Room for the unveiling of the official portrait of his immediate predecessor that will hang in the halls of the White House for posterity. … Yet this modern ritual won't be taking place between Obama and President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. "And if Trump wins a second term in November, it could be 2025 before Obama returns to the White House to see his portrait displayed among every U.S. president from George Washington to Bush. Trump is unconcerned about shunning yet another presidential custom … Obama, for his part, has no interest in participating in the post-presidency rite of passage so long as Trump is in office, the people familiar with the matter said." NBC | | | | HELP THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST: Families in the DMV have been crushed by layoffs, and they are trying to keep kids home from school and are worried about their health. Our neighbors need us now more than ever. You can help. From grab-and-go dinners for kids to boxes of groceries for seniors, your support will help provide millions of meals for people in the greater Washington, D.C., community who need it the most during this crisis. Please support the Capital Area Food Bank's Covid-19 response today. | | | | | FOR YOUR RADAR -- "ACLU Warns Against Fever-Screening Tools for Coronavirus," by NYT's Natasha Singer: "Airports, office buildings, warehouses and restaurant chains are rushing to install new safety measures like fever-scanning cameras and infrared temperature-sensing guns. But the American Civil Liberties Union warned on Tuesday against using the tools to screen people for possible coronavirus symptoms, saying the devices were often inaccurate, ineffective and intrusive. "In a new report, 'Temperature Screening and Civil Liberties During an Epidemic,' the A.C.L.U. said that such technologies could give people a false sense of security, potentially leading them to be less vigilant about health measures like wearing masks or social distancing. The group also cautioned that the push for widespread temperature scans during the pandemic could usher in permanent new forms of surveillance and social control." NYT … The report THE IMPACT -- "Is Anywhere Safe for a Jury Trial During the Covid-19 Pandemic? Try a School Gym," by WSJ's Rebecca Davis O'Brien: "In the remote Kootenai Valley of northwestern Montana, the Libby Middle High School gymnasium has always been the main venue for youth sports and awards ceremonies. Beginning next month, it will become a courtroom. … "State courts handle about 106,000 trials each year, tens of thousands of which have already been delayed because of the coronavirus shutdowns, said Paula Hannaford-Agor, director of the center for jury studies at the National Center for State Courts, a nonprofit organization now leading Covid-19 response groups of judges and court administrators from around the country. … The result will be a patchwork of cautious improvisations, reflecting distinct court rules, local public-health guidance and the varying tolls Covid-19 has taken state to state. The proceedings — whether in gymnasiums or in reconfigured courtrooms or online — will bear little resemblance to the formal trials familiar to most Americans." WSJ BEYOND THE BELTWAY … USA TODAY: "Database: Florida's COVID-19 Deaths": "The USA TODAY Network — Florida and other news sites have obtained the Medical Examiners Commission's data of COVID-19 deaths as part of a public records request. The Florida Department of Health had blocked the commission from releasing the spreadsheet. When the state agreed to release, state officials attempted to redact the narratives with details about each death and the cause of death. The DOH had said they were concerned about privacy. … "The data provide grim insight into the early failures of state officials and the medical system to contain and respond to the virus. FLORIDA TODAY's analysis of the initial 600 deaths found patients denied testing until their second or third hospital visit, deaths from untraceable cases, meaning contact tracing either didn't happen or fell apart immediately, and deadly clusters of infection at nursing homes and cruise ships." USA Today | | | | GO BEYOND OUR BORDERS FROM YOUR HOME: Global Translations, presented by Bank of America, is the only newsletter focused on essential global news, trends and decisions layered with critical contextual analysis from the sharpest minds around the world. From how countries are dealing with economic crisis, to technology advances, trade challenges and climate change, Global Translations offers a unique perspective that cannot be found anywhere else. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | CHINA VS. THE WORLD -- "China's 'Wolf Warrior' Diplomats Are Ready to Fight," by WSJ's Chun Han Wong and Chao Deng: "As China asserts itself globally, its diplomats around the world are taking on foes big and small. The brash new attitude, playing out on social media, in newsprint and across negotiating tables, marks a turn for China's once low-key diplomats. It's part of a deliberate shift within the Foreign Ministry, spurred on by Chinese leaders seeking to claim what they see as their nation's rightful place in the world, in the face of an increasingly inward-looking U.S. "China's state media describe it as a 'Wolf Warrior' ethos — named for a nationalistic Chinese film franchise about a Rambo-like soldier-turned-security contractor who battles American-led mercenary groups. The feuding has escalated as the Foreign Ministry seeks to enforce China's narratives on the coronavirus pandemic, bickering with Western powers and even some friendly countries." WSJ THE LATEST IN VENEZUELA -- "AT&T quits Venezuela as U.S. sanctions force it to defy Maduro," by AP's Joshua Goodman in Miami: "AT&T said Tuesday it will immediately abandon Venezuela's pay TV market as U.S. sanctions prohibit its DirecTV platform from broadcasting channels that it is required to carry by the socialist administration of Nicolas Maduro." ON THE GROUND -- "Afghanistan's civilian casualties rise following U.S.-Taliban peace deal," by WaPo's Susannah George in Islamabad, Pakistan: "Since the signing of a peace deal between the United States and the Taliban, civilian casualties in Afghanistan have increased compared to previous years, according to a new United Nations report. The mounting civilian toll belies U.S. expectations that the peace deal would lead to reduced violence in the war-ravaged country. "Civilian casualties caused by Afghan government and Taliban attacks in April increased by more than a quarter when compared to the same month last year, according to the report by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). That increase was steeper when it came to civilian casualties caused by Afghan government operations. Those operations caused 172 civilian casualties, 38 percent more than the previous year. Taliban attacks caused 208 civilian casualties, 25 percent more than in April 2019. The report did not break down the numbers of dead and injured." WaPo … The report WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Lauren Ehrsam Gorey, director of public affairs at Commerce and a Trump NSC and DOJ alum, and Jason Gorey, VP of NineTwelve Solutions, welcomed Thatcher Elizabeth Gorey on Sunday. Pic -- Alex Mitchell, VP at Vox Global, and Meredith Stradley, patent attorney at Morrison & Foerster, welcomed Mack William Mitchell on Sunday. | | | |   | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
