| | | | | |  | | By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | Presented by |  | | | SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI said "what we saw in Georgia" the other day -- long lines for voting -- was "shameful." "It was either a disgrace of incompetence, or disgrace of intention to suppress the vote. … It is also a prelude to what could happen in November." -- PELOSI said she's deferring to the Congressional Black Caucus and Judiciary Committee on police reform legislation, and added they have been talking to Republicans. "I hope that they are real. And I hope that they are statutory or that they will be the law of the land." This seems like a brushback on the TRUMP administration's idea to issue an executive order. -- ON BASES named for Confederate generals: "The American people know these names have to go." PELOSI said it's a "perfect time for us to move … statues" of Confederate figures like Alexander Stephens and Jefferson Davis from the Capitol. PELOSI suggested she would move the statues to a less prominent place in the building if she could not get agreement in a bill. EYES EMOJI … HOUSE MINORITY LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY said he supports banning chokeholds, and declined to name a single provision in the House Democrats' police bill that he opposes. "What I'm saying is, let's sit together, find about where we're able to agree, and I think there's a lot of concepts that we agree upon." -- MCCARTHY SAID THIS to people who lost family members "senselessly" to police violence: "Your families deserve justice, and we will not stop until we get to a solution that gets America on a path to a more united and peaceful future." -- MCCARTHY said he is "not opposed" to renaming bases named for Confederate generals. SIREN … JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN MARK MILLEY in a graduation address to National Defense University, on his appearance in Lafayette Park: "I should not have been there. My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics." More from Lara Seligman -- CAN MILLEY SURVIVE THIS? President DONALD TRUMP held back on firing Defense Secretary MARK ESPER when he made similar comments about regretting taking part in the photo-op. BTW, are we still sure ESPER makes it through this? JOBS DATA … REBECCA RAINEY: "Workers filed another 1.5 million claims for jobless benefits last week, the Labor Department reported, suggesting that some Americans are still being pushed out of work nearly three months into the pandemic. "Additionally, nearly 706,000 people applied for benefits under the new temporary Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program created for people who are ineligible for traditional unemployment benefits. With those workers added, the number of new claims filed last week could be higher than 2.5 million, despite every state loosening stay-at-home orders and allowing businesses to reopen in recent weeks." POLITICO THIS MORNING'S EDITION of Playbook discussed the president's handling of the protest movement around race and policing in America, and we used some shorthand that glided over the reality of systemic racism in this country. We wrote: "TRUMP SEEMS SINGULARLY FOCUSED on economic indicators like the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the unemployment rate, and seems to have difficulty grappling with intangibles like whether people of color in this country feel valued and included." We deeply regret this wording. OF COURSE, reams of statistics document discrimination in everything from housing to employment to law enforcement practices, incarceration rates and beyond. Racism also destroys basic ideas that can't be put into numbers, like the desire and right of every human to be treated with dignity. Trump doesn't speak to any of that -- he seems to think that if African American employment ticks up by a percentage point, then he deserves accolades. He's shown much less interest in addressing racial disparities that are woven into most aspects of American life. SOME ALSO flagged our comparison to former President BARACK OBAMA. We were trying to say that while Trump focuses intently on job numbers and statistics, Obama focused much more on the human element in his public comments. This is what Obama said in his June 2015 speech in Charleston , "By recognizing our common humanity by treating every child as important, regardless of the color of their skin or the station into which they were born, and to do what's necessary to make opportunity real for every American -- by doing that, we express God's grace." Good Thursday afternoon. | | | | A message from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association: Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are committing $3 billion to support the fight against COVID-19 by: Removing patient costs, supporting health care workers and aiding local communities. More about how BCBS companies are enhancing access to care. | | | ANDREW DESIDERIO: "Senate Republicans authorize subpoenas in probe targeting former Obama officials": "The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday authorized dozens of subpoenas as part of a Republican-led investigation into the origins of the Russia probe and the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel. "In a party-line vote, the committee authorized Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to issue a broad range of subpoenas to a slew of former Obama administration officials who opened the counterintelligence investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. … The subpoena targets include former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Graham has said he plans to seek testimony from Mueller himself, 'or an appropriate designee.'" POLITICO DAN DIAMOND: "U.S. surgeon general: George Floyd 'could have been me'": "U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams told POLITICO that he sees parallels between himself and George Floyd in his most extensive comments about the death of the unarmed black man that launched a wave of national protests. "Floyd was 'the same age that I am,' Adams told POLITICO's 'Pulse Check' podcast, reflecting on the 46-year-old's death at the hands of Minneapolis police last month, which was captured on video and immediately shared around the globe. 'And I look at him, and I really do think that could have been me.' "Adams, who's served as the nation's top doctor since 2017 and is among the most prominent African Americans in the Trump administration, said he's been repeatedly detained by police and security guards in grocery stores and shopping centers, where he was accused of things he did not do. Those and other experiences of likely racial profiling helped Adams empathize with how Floyd's detainment by police rapidly spiraled toward a tragic conclusion, the surgeon general said." POLITICO … Listen to the full episode TIM SCOTT PROFILE … WAPO'S MIKE DEBONIS and SEUNG MIN KIM: "Tim Scott, only black GOP senator, seeks to answer national call to fix racist policing" HOPEFUL NEWS -- "Surgeons perform first known U.S. lung transplant for covid-19 patient," by WaPo's Lenny Bernstein and Martine Powers : "Northwestern Medicine in Chicago said the recipient, a woman in her 20s who would not have survived without the transplant, is in intensive care recovering from the operation and from two previous months on lung and heart assistance devices. "Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery and surgical director of Northwestern's lung transplant program, said organ transplantation may become more frequent for victims of the most severe forms of covid-19. … The woman, who is now breathing through a tube inserted in her trachea, is awake, eating and communicating with family via a cellphone, he said. Her other organs have recovered, and her long-term prognosis is good, Bharat said, but she faces a long rehabilitation." WaPo | | | | WINNERS PLAY THE LONG GAME: Interested in building a sustainable future for generations to come? "The Long Game" is designed for executives, investors and policymakers leading the conversation about how 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. Subscribe today for a nuanced look at these issues and possible solutions. | | | | | YIKES -- "Nursing Homes Say Some Protective Gear Sent by FEMA Is Unusable," by WSJ's Anna Mathews: "The shipments, coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are ultimately supposed to provide two weeks' worth of gloves, gowns, surgical masks and eye protection for each of approximately 15,000 facilities. A FEMA spokeswoman said that as of Tuesday, 13,654 packages have been sent, with more slated for the coming weeks. … "Noah Marco, chief medical officer of the Los Angeles Jewish Home, a nonprofit that owns four nursing homes, said the blue plastic gowns were likely to increase the risk of infection for the wearer, calling them "embarrassingly unusable.' The blue gowns were large and not fitted, requiring tape to secure them, nursing-home executives said. … Genesis Healthcare Inc., the biggest U.S. operator of nursing homes, said two of its facilities had received gowns from FEMA that lacked hand holes." WSJ AP: "Thousands sick from COVID-19 in homes for the disabled," by Holbrook Mohr, Mitch Weiss and Reese Dunklin: "While nursing homes have come under the spotlight, little attention has gone toward facilities nationwide that experts have estimated house more than 275,000 people with conditions such as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism. Many residents have severe underlying medical issues that leave them vulnerable to the coronavirus. "At least 5,800 residents in such facilities nationwide have already contracted COVID-19, and more than 680 have died, The Associated Press found in a survey of every state. The true number is almost certainly much higher because about a dozen states did not respond or disclose comprehensive information, including two of the biggest, California and Texas." HUNT FOR A VACCINE -- "Hit Hard by Coronavirus, Russia Joins Global Race for a Vaccine," by WSJ's Georgi Kantchev and Drew Hinshaw in Moscow: "From state-run Siberian labs where scientists are experimenting on rats to military garrisons where servicemen are isolating ahead of participation in a clinical trial, Russia's top scientists are racing to answer a daunting demand from President Vladimir Putin: Develop a coronavirus vaccine by the fall. … "To meet the deadline, Russia has employed the armed forces, shortened trial approval times and sped up clinical evaluations in its quest to win a vaccine race that could provide economic and political leverage to the victor. The result is a country whose government—after initially wavering over whether to impose lockdowns against the spread of the virus—is now rushing to inoculate its population first." WSJ | | | | Protect Yourself and Others From Coronavirus: Even if you don't have symptoms, you could spread the coronavirus. Practice these physical distancing and hygiene tips to keep yourself and your loved ones safe: Stay 6 feet away from others in public; wash your hands often for 20+ seconds; disinfect frequently touched surfaces like cellphones and light switches; and wear a cloth face covering when out in public. Together, we can slow the spread. Visit coronavirus.gov to learn more. | | | | | THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- "Solicitor General Noel Francisco Expected to Step Down," by NYT's Katie Benner: "Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco, the Justice Department official responsible for defending the Trump administration before the Supreme Court, has told the department that he plans to leave, a person familiar with his decision said late Wednesday. "Mr. Francisco's top deputy, Jeff Wall, will most likely step in as acting solicitor general as the White House searches for a replacement. While it is not unusual for solicitors general to leave as the Supreme Court winds down its term, Mr. Francisco would be the second high-ranking official to depart in the coming months." NYT -- HALLEY TOOSI: "White House authorizes sanctions against the International Criminal Court": "President Donald Trump on Thursday moved to further punish officials of the International Criminal Court, authorizing economic sanctions against them as well as the expansion of visa restrictions on the officials and their families. … The efforts come amid Trump administration anger over the ICC's efforts to look into alleged war crimes by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. … "In an accompanying executive order, Trump stated that 'any attempt by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any United States personnel without the consent of the United States … constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.'" POLITICO WHO'S GOT BIDEN'S EAR -- "Biden's Brain Trust on the Economy: Liberal and Sworn to Silence," by NYT's Jim Tankersley and Thomas Kaplan: "Few aspects of Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s presidential campaign are shrouded in as much secrecy as the counsel he receives on the economy: which advisers have the most sway with the presumptive Democratic nominee, what ideas have the greatest currency, and what new policies Mr. Biden will ultimately embrace to address the racial inequities now animating protests nationwide. ... "Mr. Biden plays down concerns about the deficit during this recession, aides say, and he has begun soliciting ambitious plans to bridge the gap in earnings and wealth between black and white Americans. His regular briefings are by a small group of liberal economists and others with roots in the Obama White House and Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. And he sees the economic recovery as his foremost duty if he wins the presidency. Yet the details of the policymaking process are closely held. Mr. Biden is now seeking input from more than 100 left-leaning economists and other researchers, but there is little clarity on who has true influence." NYT HMM … JOSH GERSTEIN: "Ex-DEA public affairs chief pleads guilty to brazen scam": "A former head of public affairs for the Drug Enforcement Administration who later worked as a producer for TMZ has admitted to a fraud scheme that involved posing as an undercover CIA operative in order to swindle government contractors out of over $4 million. "Details of the complex scam carried out by Garrison Courtney, 44, became public Thursday morning after he pleaded guilty to a felony wire fraud charge Thursday morning in Alexandria, Va., before U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady. In the scheme, Courtney informed various businesses that the CIA or other agencies needed to place individuals on the companies' payroll as part of an undercover operation — an arrangement sometimes called non-official cover — O'Grady explained as he read from an agreed statement of facts in the case." POLITICO VALLEY TALK -- "Amazon to Face Antitrust Charges From EU Over Treatment of Third-Party Sellers," by WSJ's Valentina Pop in Brussels and Sam Schechner in Paris: "The European Union plans to file formal antitrust charges against Amazon.com Inc. over the e-commerce company's treatment of third-party sellers, according to people familiar with the matter. The charges could be officially filed as early as next week or the week after, one of the people said. The European Commission, the bloc's top antitrust regulator, has been honing its case, and the case team has been circulating a draft of the charge sheet for a couple of months, another person said." WSJ BONUS BIRTHDAY: Marty Kearns, executive director of Netcentric Campaigns (h/t Patrick Mellody) | | | | A message from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association:   Removing patient costs, supporting health care workers and aiding local communities. More on how we're responding to the COVID-19 crisis. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
