| | | | | |  | | By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | Presented by |  | | | A FEW BITES OF NEWS THIS MORNING: -- N.Y. GOV. ANDREW CUOMO says he's coming to D.C. Wednesday to talk to President DONALD TRUMP about infrastructure spending to "supercharge" the New York economy. WSJ's Jimmy Vielkind's tweet … CUOMO might want to point his plane to Louisville instead and find MITCH MCCONNELL, who has been among the chief opponents to an infrastructure package. -- MCCONNELL, this morning, at home in Kentucky. Via NBC NEWS' @frankthorp: "McConnell in Louisville, KY: 'So many of you are asking, 'What next?' I think there's likely to be another bill, it will not be the $3 trillion that the House passed the other day, but there's still a likelihood that more will be needed.'" -- LARRY KUDLOW told reporters at the White House the president is "very strong" on having a payroll tax cut included in the next stimulus package. He also said on Fox Business this morning that the administration may support a "back-to-work" bonus but the $600 plus up in unemployment benefits would end. More from Eli Okun KUDLOW was not involved in negotiations over the last stimulus bill, which were led by Treasury Secretary STEVE MNUCHIN. Senate Republicans have mostly rejected the payroll tax cut. And the White House has given into Democrat demands during several rounds of legislative wrangling during the Covid crisis. -- THE DOW is up more than 600 points -- or 2.5%. -- D.C. has had 13 consecutive days of decline in coronavirus cases. If all continues to go well, Mayor MURIEL BOWSER says she'll announce steps to reopen on Friday. -- 33 MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE have told the clerk they will not be present for votes, and have designated a proxy. The House is in session Wednesday and Thursday this week. Keep track of the proxies WHO WANTS TO HOST A PARTY CONVENTION? -- Florida has raised its hand, and this morning, Georgia Gov. BRIAN KEMP said: "With world-class facilities, restaurants, hotels, and workforce, Georgia would be honored to safely host the Republican National Convention. We hope you will consider the Peach State, @realDonaldTrump!" … Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says the Sunshine State wants it, as well, via WaPo's Annie Linskey GO FOR IT! … MICK MULVANEY was on CNBC'S "Squawk Box" this morning: "I would be completely comfortable sitting in a center seat on an airplane -- if I knew I had a mask on that worked, and I knew the people sitting next to me had on a mask that worked." SEN. KELLY LOEFFLER'S (R-Ga.) campaign has a new digital ad likening Rep. DOUG COLLINS (R-Ga.) to JOE BIDEN, NANCY PELOSI, BERNIE SANDERS, ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ and STACEY ABRAMS. The 24-second spot IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING … Sen. KAMALA HARRIS (D-Calif.) got a $264,825 advance from Penguin Random House for her book. HEADS UP -- "Pentagon watchdog resigns after being sidelined by Trump," by Connor O'Brien: "Glenn Fine, who was ousted last month as the Pentagon's acting watchdog by President Donald Trump, has resigned from the Defense Department inspector general's office in the latest of a series of departures across the executive branch. "Fine, who was the principal deputy inspector general, announced his resignation in a statement Tuesday extolling the importance of independent watchdogs. … Fine's departure comes after he became embroiled in Trump's incursion into the community of independent federal watchdogs." POLITICO Good Tuesday afternoon. | | A message from Google: Free tools and resources for small businesses from Google To help them navigate uncertainty in the wake of COVID-19, Google is providing free tools and resources for small and medium-sized businesses—from help with remote work to $340 million in Google Ads credits for existing customers. Learn more. | | | DONATE to help freelance photographers who have been hit from a Covid-related work slowdown. The White House News Photographers Association … Buy mugs from NYT's Doug Mills KATIE MILLER -- the VP's press secretary -- is returning to work post-Covid, and announced that she and her husband STEPHEN MILLER are expecting a baby. Katie's announcement TRUMP CAMPAIGN MOVES … NYT'S MAGGIE HABERMAN: "Trump Adds to Staff for Election, Naming New Deputy Campaign Manager": "Bill Stepien, the former White House political director who has been working as a senior political adviser to the campaign, said in a statement that the new role will let him support both Mr. Trump and the campaign manager, Brad Parscale. … The campaign is also promoting Stephanie Alexander, currently the Midwest regional political director, to the campaign chief of staff." NYT -- MORE ON TRUMP LOSING SENIORS … PHILLY INQUIRER: "Some Pa. seniors are turning on Trump. That could be a problem for his reelection," by Julia Terruso THE REOPENING -- "NYSE Trading Floor Reopens as Lockdowns Loosen Further," by WSJ's John Lyons and Sune Rasmussen: "The NYSE's trading floor now features plexiglass barriers to keep traders apart, with the number of traders on the floor limited to a quarter of the usual, and masks required. Traders are also required to avoid public transit." -- WAPO: "'An international example of bad judgment': Local officials stunned by raucous Memorial Day festivities," by WaPo's Meagan Flynn: "At a flashy club in Houston, dozens splashed around the pool and sipped on drinks on the patio. In rural North Carolina, thousands packed the stands shoulder to shoulder at Ace Speedway on its opening night, where face masks were the exception. And in Daytona Beach, Fla., even after an event called "Orlando Invades Daytona" was canceled, hundreds still danced in the street and on top of cars near the boardwalk." WaPo -- REUTERS: "Where U.S. coronavirus cases are on the rise," by Chris Canipe and Lisa Shumaker: "Twenty U.S. states reported an increase in new cases of COVID-19 for the week ended May 24, up from 13 states in the prior week, as the death toll from the novel coronavirus approaches 100,000, according to a Reuters analysis. "South Carolina had the biggest weekly increase at 42%. Alabama's new cases rose 28% from the previous week, Missouri's rose 27% and North Carolina's rose 26%, according to the analysis of data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak. New cases in Georgia, one of the first states to reopen, rose 21% after two weeks of declines." Reuters ACROSS THE POND … CHARLIE COOPER in London: "UK minister resigns over Dominic Cummings' lockdown trip": "Douglas Ross, under secretary of state for Scotland, wrote to [PM Boris] Johnson saying that the public reaction to reports of [aide Dominic] Cummings' 260-mile drive from London to Durham in late March demonstrated that the adviser's 'interpretation of the government guidance was not shared by the vast majority of people who have done what the government asked.'" POLITICO | | | | HAPPENING TOMORROW – GLOBAL BANKING AND INVESTING DURING A PANDEMIC: Join Global Translations author Ryan Heath tomorrow at 9 a.m. EDT for a virtual interview with Suma Chakrabarti, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Why is so much of the Covid-related government spending is inefficient? How did EBRD became the world's first Covid-only bank? Will the push for the private sector to become more sustainable pay off? Don't miss out on this fascinating conversation presented in partnership with The Atlantic Council. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | NBC'S JOSH LEDERMAN (@JoshNBCNews): "New from the IRS: Nearly 4 million people will get their coronavirus relief payment via prepaid debit card rather than direct deposit or check" THE LATEST PPP WOES -- "Landlords Were Never Meant to Get Bailout Funds. Many Got It Anyway," by WSJ's Will Parker and Konrad Putzier: "Real-estate companies are cashing in on the government's emergency-spending program, despite rules meant to bar landlords and other property owners from the funds. Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program to help smaller companies keep workers on payroll during the coronavirus pandemic, but not so-called passive businesses that collect rent and businesses that profit primarily off of price speculation. … "Because most real-estate firms are private, tracking the number of aid recipients or the total amount of funds the industry has received is next to impossible, say real-estate attorneys and accountants. But they are aware of at least dozens of property companies that have received in aggregate tens of millions of dollars or more because of a legal loophole that allows them to apply through related business units, such as management companies or construction companies." WSJ THE 30,000-FOOT VIEW -- "Boeing and Airbus Study How Coronavirus Behaves During Air Travel," by WSJ's Andrew Tangel and Alison Sider: "Boeing said it is developing computer models that simulate the cabin environment and could ultimately inform decisions by airlines, health officials and regulators on how to prevent the virus's spread. … Airbus engineers are also exploring other methods of reducing the spread of the virus including self-cleaning materials, a disinfectant that can last for five days and touchless devices in lavatories, the company said." WSJ STAR TRIBUNE: "FBI, BCA investigating in-custody death of man in south Minneapolis," by Libor Jany: "Federal authorities are investigating a white Minneapolis police officer for possible civil rights violations, after a video surfaced Monday that showed him kneeling on a black man's neck and ignoring his protests that he couldn't breathe. The man later died. "Officials did not identify the officer in question, but two sources familiar with the investigation identified him as Derek Chauvin. In an early morning news conference at City Hall, Minneapolis police Chief Medaria Arradondo said he asked for the federal probe after watching the video from a bystander and receiving "additional information" about the incident involving several officers, who have since been put on paid leave." KARA SWISHER for NYT OPINION: "'Please delete those tweets,' the widower begged in a letter last week to Twitter's chief executive, Jack Dorsey. 'My wife deserves better.' Yes, Twitter, Lori Klausutis certainly does deserve better, nearly two decades after she died in a tragic accident that has morphed into a macabre and continuing nightmare for her husband, Timothy Klausutis. … "'President Trump on Tuesday tweeted to his nearly 80 million followers alluding to the repeatedly debunked falsehood that my wife was murdered by her boss, former U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough. The son of the president followed and more directly attacked my wife by tweeting to his followers as the means of spreading this vicious lie,' wrote Mr. Klausutis, in a letter sent to Mr. Dorsey on Thursday that I obtained over the weekend." NYT … The letter | | | | WINNERS PLAY THE LONG GAME: If there is one thread linking the greatest challenges facing our society, economy and planet, it's the tension between short-term and long-term thinking. "The Long Game," presented by Morgan Stanley, is designed for executives, investors and policymakers who are leading the conversation about how our society can thrive in the future. Engage with the sharpest minds on our biggest challenges, from pandemics to plastics, climate change to land use, inequality and the future of work. Searching for a nuanced look at these issues and possible solutions? Subscribe today. | | | | | IN BRAZIL -- "Death and denial in Brazil's Amazon capital," by AP's Renata Brito in Manaus, Brazil: "Manaus is one of the hardest hit cities in Brazil, which officially has lost more than 23,000 lives to the coronavirus. … As ambulances zip through Manaus with sirens blaring and backhoes dig rows of new graves, the muggy air in this city by the majestic Amazon River feels thicker than usual with such pervasive denial. "Manaus has seen nearly triple the usual number of dead in April and May. Doctors and psychologists say denial at the grassroots stems from a mixture of misinformation, lack of education, insufficient testing and conflicting messages from the country's leaders. Chief among skeptics is President Jair Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly called COVID-19 a "little flu," and argued that concern over the virus is overblown." AP -- AP/RIO: "Pandemic probe: Brazil police raid Rio governor's residence," by Marcelo De Sousa and Diane Jeantet: "Brazil's Federal Police searched the official residence of Rio de Janeiro Gov. Wilson Witzel on Tuesday, part of an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of public resources in the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Police did not say whether Witzel, a former federal judge, was personally targeted by any of the 12 search and seizure warrants in Rio and Sao Paulo states. An ongoing investigation pointed to irregularities in contracts awarded for the construction of emergency field hospitals in Rio, and involved health officials, police said in a statement." AP THE BRAVE NEW WORLD -- "China's Virus Apps May Outlast the Outbreak, Stirring Privacy Fears," by NYT's Raymond Zhong: "At the height of China's coronavirus outbreak, officials made quick use of the fancy tracking devices in everybody's pockets -- their smartphones -- to identify and isolate people who might be spreading the illness. "Months later, China's official statistics suggest that the worst of the epidemic has passed there, but the government's monitoring apps are hardly fading into obsolescence. Instead, they are tiptoeing toward becoming a permanent fixture of everyday life, one with potential to be used in troubling and invasive ways." NYT FOR THOSE KEEPING TRACK -- "Transgender student Gavin Grimm's battle over bathroom access returns to court," by WaPo's Ann Marimow WAR REPORT -- "How the Taliban Outlasted a Superpower: Tenacity and Carnage," by NYT's Mujib Mashal in Alingar, Afghanistan: "It was March, and the Taliban had just signed a peace deal with the United States that now puts the movement on the brink of realizing its most fervent desire — the complete exit of American troops from Afghanistan. They have outlasted a superpower through nearly 19 years of grinding war. … "At the same time, the Taliban have officially changed little of their harsh founding ideology as they prepare to start direct talks about power-sharing with the Afghan government. They have never explicitly renounced their past of harboring international terrorists, nor the oppressive practices toward women and minorities that defined their term in power in the 1990s. And the insurgents remain deeply opposed to the vast majority of the Western-supported changes in the country over the past two decades." NYT | | | | A message from Google:   To help SMBs stay connected with consumers, Google is providing $340 million in Google Ads credits to existing SMB customers. Learn more. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
