| | | | | |  | | By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | Presented by |  | | | A LOOK AROUND OUR WORLD … AFTER A BRIEF HIATUS, the coronavirus is now back as the indisputable fact of life in American politics. Much as everyone would like to wish it away, the virus does not care if you are sick of restrictions, eager to get back to your old habits or anxious to focus on other topics. SOME HEADLINES TODAY: -- JAIR BOLSANARO -- the president of Brazil who has consistently minimized Covid-19 -- tested positive for the virus after appearing in public without a mask. He sat next to the U.S. ambassador to Brazil at an event this weekend. CNN: "'Everyone knew that it would reach a considerable part of the population sooner or later. It was positive for me,' Bolsonaro said, referring to the Covid-19 test he took Monday." -- SOME OF THE SENIOR-MOST members of the Republican Party are refusing to go to the party's convention this summer. Sen. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R-Tenn.) -- a former governor, Cabinet member and longtime senator -- is skipping the event in Florida, as CNN's MANU RAJU reported. Sen. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) -- the president pro tempore of the Senate, and the party's most senior member -- will also stay home, per the DSM Register. -- ARIZONA REPUBLIC: "Arizona reports 3,653 more COVID-19 cases and 117 more deaths as hospitalizations continue to rise" -- MIAMI HERALD: FLORIDA "confirmed 7,347 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 213,794." -- DEMOCRATS -- in the minority in the Senate -- are posting massive fundraising numbers. JAIME HARRISON, the Democrat running against Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.), announced he raised $13.9 million in the second quarter of 2020. STEVE BULLOCK raised $7.7 million in Montana, SARA GIDEON raised $9 million in Maine, and CAL CUNNINGHAM raised $7.4 million in North Carolina. -- MULTIPLE OUTLETS got their hands on MARY L. TRUMP'S book. The NYT write-up, by Maggie Haberman and Alan Feuer CENTENNIAL STATE SHOWDOWN … NEW CORY GARDNER AD on his outdoor bill. 30-second spot … JOHN HICKENLOOPER with a 30-second ad on health care. The spot HOUSE REPUBLICANS are holding a conference call at 1 p.m. Good Tuesday afternoon. | | A message from the American Investment Council: The numbers are in → private equity invests in every state and every congressional district around the country. Last year alone, private equity invested $700 billion in 4,841 businesses around the country. Does your state rank in the top 20? Click here to read the report. | | | CORONAVIRUS RAGING ... AP: "Protective gear for medical workers begins to run low again," by Geoff Mulvihill and Camille Fassett: "The personal protective gear that was in dangerously short supply during the early weeks of the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. is running low again as the virus resumes its rapid spread and the number of hospitalized patients climbs. "A national nursing union is concerned that gear has to be reused. A doctors association warns that physicians' offices are closed because they cannot get masks and other supplies. And Democratic members of Congress are pushing the Trump administration to devise a national strategy to acquire and distribute gear in anticipation of the crisis worsening into the fall." AP -- "Texas sees sharp decline in tax revenue as coronavirus surge unleashes more budget uncertainty," by WaPo's Tony Romm: "A surge in coronavirus cases threatens to arrest the country's early economic recovery, leaving Texas and other hard-hit states staring down another round of massive revenue losses that could imperil their budgets. ... "The stakes have been on display in Texas, which witnessed a $650 million drop in tax revenue collected in June, according to data released Wednesday by state budget officials, which includes sales mostly made in May. ... With its outbreak only worsening, the Lone Star State's struggles may offer a fresh warning sign that even the strongest economies are vulnerable when an uncontrolled pandemic results in prolonged disruption." WaPo -- AP: "Medicare nursing home virus site leaves users 'in the dark,'" by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar: "When the Trump administration required nursing homes to report their COVID-19 cases, it also promised to make the data available to residents, families and the public in a user-friendly way. But some facilities that have had coronavirus cases and deaths turn up as having none on Medicare's COVID-19 nursing home website. "Those data may be incomplete because the reporting requirements don't reach back to the start of the pandemic. Numbers don't necessarily portray the full picture. … Nursing homes are only required to provide CMS with data on coronavirus cases and deaths among residents and staff as of May 8, or more than two months after the first outbreak in a U.S. facility was reported. Nursing homes have the option of full disclosure, but not all have taken it, and there is no penalty for withholding older data that may reflect poorly." HUNT FOR A VACCINE -- "U.S. Commits $2 Billion for Covid-19 Vaccine, Drug Supplies," by WSJ's Peter Loftus and Joseph Walker: "Novavax Inc. said it would receive $1.6 billion from the federal government' to fund clinical studies of its experimental coronavirus vaccine and establish large-scale manufacturing of doses. With the funding, Novavax said it would deliver 100 million doses of its vaccine, possibly by the end of this year. "Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it has received a $450 million federal contract to manufacture thousands of doses of its experimental Covid-19 treatment that the government will distribute at no cost to the public if the drug is authorized for use by regulators. … The Regeneron contract covers an undisclosed volume of drug that Regeneron plans to have by the fall. The exact number of treatment courses covered is uncertain, Regeneron said, in part because clinical trials have yet to show what the most effective dose will be." WSJ ADAM CANCRYN: "Frustrated by President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus response, major public health organizations are mounting a widespread defense of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over worries the administration is sidelining its own experts and undermining trust in public health officials across the country. "The nearly 350 public health organizations, advocacy groups and local health departments are urging Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar — who has fallen in lockstep with the White House on key markers of the coronavirus response — to play a more prominent role in shielding the CDC from political interference." POLITICO … The letter | | | | HAPPENING TOMORROW AT 12 PM EDT - HOW IS MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ APPROACHING THE COVID-19 SPIKE IN MIAMI? A rapid spike in coronavirus cases has forced Miami to scale back reopening plans. What will come next? Join POLITICO Nightly author Renuka Rayasam and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez for a conversation about the next steps, including plans to handle the virus' resurgence, measures that will take shape when schools reopen, and how a city reliant on tourism can recover from the devastation wrought by the pandemic. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | MULVANEY SPEAKS -- "Mulvaney: Trump faces 'real headwinds' if election turns into a 'referendum' on him," by Quint Forgey: "'If the president can go back to drawing those contrasts between him and Joe Biden — that becomes a race between Trump and Biden — I think the president does extraordinarily well,' Mulvaney told Fox Business. 'And he shows people, "Look, if you hire me, this is what you get. If you hire him, you end up with no jobs."' But 'if it ends up being a popularity contest or, worse, a referendum on President Trump, I think he's got some real headwinds to face,' Mulvaney added." POLITICO PAGING DAVE JORGENSON -- "'It's something we're looking at': Pompeo floats ban on TikTok," by Quint Forgey EPSTEIN LATEST -- "Deutsche Bank Settles Over Ignored Red Flags on Jeffrey Epstein," by NYT's Matthew Goldstein: "Payments to his alleged co-conspirators. Money wired to Russian models. A cash withdrawal of $100,000 for 'tips and household expenses.' When Jeffrey Epstein moved his money, Deutsche Bank didn't ask many questions. "In a $150 million settlement to be announced on Tuesday, the New York Department of Financial Services said that Mr. Epstein, a convicted sex offender, engaged in suspicious transactions for years, even though Deutsche Bank had deemed him a 'high risk' client from the moment he became a customer in summer 2013." NYT WAPO'S ALEX HORTON: "'The military's #MeToo': In wake of Vanessa Guillén death, servicewomen bear deep scars": "For some women in uniform, the case is emblematic of a military culture that they say has downplayed or ignored allegations of sexual harassment and assault and created an atmosphere that pressures men and women to keep accusations quiet. ... "In interviews, several service members listed other assault and harassment incidents that have drawn public attention — including the murder of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, and the Tailhook, Aberdeen and Marines United scandals. But they said the Guillén case has galvanized calls for congressional involvement and accountability faster than any other in recent history. The moment, women have said, has been accelerated in the larger reckoning over identity and values in the United States." WaPo | | | | KEEP UP WITH THE GLOBAL CHAOS: The world's tectonic political plates are shifting. 2020 may be the best opportunity in decades to rethink governing, but the window for change is opening just as faith in democracy seems to be declining. How will this dynamic play out on the world stage? Our Global Translations newsletter, presented by Bank of America, layers global news, trends and decisions with contextual analysis from the world's sharpest minds. For a unique perspective that you cannot find anywhere else, SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | STATE OF THE USPS -- "Post Office Delivery Trucks Keep Catching on Fire," by Motherboard's Aaron Gordon: "Since May 2014, at least 407 LLVs have been damaged or destroyed in fires, or approximately one every five days, according to documents obtained by Motherboard via a Freedom of Information Act request. ... Although one engineering report found occasional lax maintenance practices that may have resulted in an increase in the number of fires, the most likely explanation for the fires is that the trucks are simply too old and are deteriorating on the road. "The LLVs were purchased between 1987 and 1994 and manufactured by Northrop Grumman to last for approximately 24 years on average, according to a 2015 USPS presentation. That means the LLVs still in service range from 26 to 33 years old, well past their useful lives. ... The desperate need to replace these decrepit vehicles has coincided with a manufactured budget crisis for the Post Office." NO GO IN NOKO -- "North Korea rejects talks as U.S. envoy arrives in Seoul," by AP's Kim Tong-Hyung in Seoul, South Korea: "North Korea on Tuesday said it has no immediate intent to resume a dialogue with the United States as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun arrived in South Korea for discussions on stalled nuclear diplomacy. "In a statement released through the North's official Korean Central News Agency, senior North Korean foreign ministry official Kwon Jong Gun also ridiculed 'nonsensical' calls by South Korea for revived negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea, saying it has lost its relevance as a mediator. The State Department said Biegun, who is also President Donald Trump's special representative for North Korea, will discuss cooperation on a range of issues in meetings this week with officials in South Korea and Japan, including the 'final, fully verified denuclearization' of North Korea." AP HUAWEI OR THE HIGHWAY -- "The hole in the Trump administration's emerging anti-Huawei strategy," by John Hendel: "The emerging strategy, championed by White House aides like economic adviser Larry Kudlow, aims to blunt the reality that the best 5G gear comes from overseas companies like Chinese-based Huawei and ZTE. Their proposal: Replace much of that hardware with software. Skip some of the expensive physical infrastructure and put more of its functions in the cloud, which advocates say would both make it more secure and enable many more companies to compete in the 5G market. "Dozens of American tech and telecom players — from Facebook to IBM, AT&T to DISH Network, Cisco to Google — are rallying around the idea. So are senators of both parties, who in January proposed spending $1 billion to help develop the software-based 5G networks as a counter to China and now seek to secure funding in the annual defense bill. But a Japanese company that pioneered the strategy in its home country says the U.S. needs to invest a similar amount of cash into incentives for producing the silicon chips that the new approach requires." POLITICO -- "How U.S. restrictions drove Deutsche Telekom and Huawei closer together," by Laurens Cerulus: "Global telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom strengthened its strategic partnership with Huawei last year despite growing defiance toward the dominant Chinese 5G vendor, documents reviewed by POLITICO show. "The internal company records describe how Deutsche Telekom and Huawei agreed on a deal in mid-2019 that said the Chinese supplier would take measures to avoid supply chain disruption caused by U.S. measures, as well as cover the costs of potential damages and delays." POLITICO FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- BUSH ALUMNI: Former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez is launching Empath, a new tech startup that uses machine learning to identify employee skills. He'll be executive chair, along with his other co-founders Felix Ortiz and Adam Blum. He currently is a co-chair at Albright Stonebridge, which he'll leave July 15. TRANSITIONS -- Matt Fried is now comms director for Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). He previously was comms director for Dan McCready's special-election congressional campaign, and is a Josh Gottheimer alum. … Patricia Rojas-Ungar is now a VP at Strategic Marketing Innovations. She most recently was VP of government affairs at the Outdoor Industry Association, and is a U.S. Travel Association and Capitol Hill alum. | | | | A message from the American Investment Council:   This is big → private equity invested in 4,841 American companies last year alone. See where your community ranks. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
