| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | | 
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pushing forward with abortion rights legislation. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo | MARK YOUR CALENDARS — Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER said his chamber will vote Wednesday on a bill to codify abortion rights into law. It is unlikely to have the support necessary to break a filibuster (or even to pass without it). But the high-profile vote will be followed May 14 by coordinated marches planned for D.C., Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, per Vice's Elizabeth Landers. A variety of groups, including the Women's March and Planned Parenthood, expect that the protests could draw hundreds of thousands of demonstrators. The ripple effects of the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade are continuing to surge across American politics, policy and the judiciary. — The news yielded the best fundraising day of the year for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which pulled in $650,000 across two days, NYT's Blake Hounshell reports. Democrats see the development as an opportunity to boost voters' and donors' focus on key state legislative contests if power over abortion policy is devolved to the states. Run for Something says they've seen "a meaningful spike in candidate recruitment" this week. Michigan is at the top of Dems' list for flipping a state legislative chamber in what could be a trying year. — Regulators and pharmaceutical companies are under heightened pressure to make over-the-counter birth control a reality, Lauren Gardner reports. After six years of back and forth, one company is expected to ask for OTC approval later this year. "Democratic lawmakers are pressuring the FDA to move quickly once the applications are submitted. … Meanwhile, some conservative lawmakers are working to restrict access to contraception." — AP's Jessica Gresko, writing in an outlet not given to hyperbole, opens her story about the chief justice thusly: "JOHN ROBERTS is heading a Supreme Court in crisis." Roberts now presides over a court whose invigorated conservative majority doesn't need him anymore for key votes, a leader who no longer has as much control. On President JOE BIDEN's evolution on abortion rights: — NYT's Peter Baker has a sweeping look at Biden's history both on the substance of the issue and his comfort in talking about it. One bit of historical context that caught our eye: "Biden was first sworn into the Senate in January 1973, just 17 days before the Supreme Court issued Roe." — AP's Chris Megerian notes that as a freshman senator, Biden hedged on abortion, stating his personal opposition to it even as he opposed overturning Roe. "That's a tough position, kid," Sen. ABE RIBICOFF told him before offering advice Biden recalled years later in a memoir: "Pick a side. You'll be much better off politically."
| | | | A message from Amazon: Lack of access to paid leave means 25% of new moms in the U.S. are back to work within 10 days. Amazon's paid leave policy provides up to 20 weeks for new parents like Victoria to bond with their family. | | | DAILY CAWTHORN — A new investigation from The Daily Beast's Roger Sollenberger turns up what he calls "a cut-and-dried ethics violation" in Rep. MADISON CAWTHORN's (R-N.C.) pay for his chief of staff, BLAKE HARP. The story reports that Harp made more than he would have been allowed to if he'd been properly classified as "senior staff." "The team also appears to have gone out of its way to try and blur the recipient of some payments, creating a shell LLC to obscure that Harp was the one getting the money. That company has also received tens of thousands of dollars from a PAC belonging to Harp's mom." Good Thursday afternoon. Happy Cinco de Mayo! UPDATE ON THE VANCE OPPO BOOK — This morning, we reported on the details of the 177-page opposition research book on J.D. VANCE that the pro-Vance Super PAC, Protect Ohio Values, produced. The "vulnerability study" offered a rare glimpse into the closely held oppo that campaigns conduct on their own candidates. (You can read the whole thing here.) In a response to Playbook after the item was published, the Vance campaign said that "most" of the information in the book "has already been reported by other outlets during the primary campaign." ALL POLITICS THE NEW GOP — Arizona may be a swing state, but its Republicans are breaking hard right, centering their campaigns on lies about the 2020 election, NYT's Jennifer Medina reports from Sierra Vista. Gubernatorial frontrunner KARI LAKE and dozens of other Republicans running for office are pushing the false conspiracy theories, fueled by a base that believes them, the broadly ridiculed "audit" of the state's 2020 vote and DONALD TRUMP's continued attacks on Gov. DOUG DUCEY. The big question is whether the GOP's extremism will turn off moderate voters and/or animate enough Republican turnout to make up for their loss.
| | | | INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | THE WHITE HOUSE TEACH ME HOW TO DOUGIE — Second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF has become a top fundraising draw for Democrats, appearing more often for the DNC than anyone other than VP KAMALA HARRIS, McClatchy's Francesca Chambers reports . Emhoff usually pulls in about $100,000 an event, and he's made himself an affable road warrior on behalf of the administration, making connections with donors and serving as a White House surrogate instead of taking on a specific policy focus. "Being a lawyer, being in Hollywood, being a trial lawyer, and being used to standing up and being able to answer questions, it all turns out to be great skills for second gentleman," Emhoff tells her. "But also just being authentic, being myself." UP IN THE AIR — The new presidential helicopter is years behind schedule, but the White House Military Office is now finally conducting reviews of the VH-92 choppers before commissioning them into service, Bloomberg's Anthony Capaccio reports. The forthcoming Marine Ones from Lockheed Martin now have enough staff and equipment from the Marines to move forward. But, but, but: Some concerns still remain, including this eye-popping one: "the helicopter's tendency to scorch the White House lawn when landing under certain circumstances." THE ECONOMY PRE-JOBS REPORT READING — One of the squeezes on the labor market through the pandemic has been a wave of early retirements by older workers. But new data shows many of them finally emerging from retirement to reenter the workforce — about 1.5 million in the past year, WaPo's Abha Bhattarai reports. "Many retirees are being pulled back to jobs by a combination of diminishing covid concerns and more flexible work arrangements at a time when employers are desperate for workers. In some cases, workers say rising costs — and the inability to keep up while on a fixed income — are factoring heavily into their decisions as well." POLICY CORNER LEND ME A HAND — The Biden administration today is rolling out changes to rules for banks' lending in low-income areas, following their move in December to trash a Trump-era policy change, WSJ's Andrew Ackerman reports. The proposal "aims to ensure lending to lower-income individuals and small businesses is distributed more evenly where banks do business." PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — Boeing is planning to announce as soon as next week that it will move its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Va., "a shift that would place the aerospace company's senior executives closer to key government decision makers," scoop WSJ's Andrew Tangel and Doug Cameron.
| | | | A message from Amazon:   Amazon's paid leave policy gives employees like Victoria up to 20 weeks to bond and recover. | | | WAR IN UKRAINE MAJOR INVESTIGATION — From three weeks of reporting, Reuters' Mari Saito is out with a blockbuster new story indicating the Russian military units and people who were in Bucha, the site of horrific possible war crimes. "Among them: An elite paramilitary force that reports up to a former bodyguard of President VLADIMIR PUTIN. A paratroop division decorated for its role in Moscow's long secret war in east Ukraine. Chechen troops linked to the strongman leader of the Russian region. And a paratrooper who was traced thanks to a love letter found in the ruins." LATEST FROM THE U.S. … — First lady JILL BIDEN will go to the Ukraine border with Slovakia as part of her Eastern Europe Mother's Day swing, NBC's Mike Memoli reports. "Biden will survey a checkpoint where Ukrainian refugees receive basic assistance from humanitarian and Slovakian government workers." She'll also meet with Ukrainian refugees and Slovaks elsewhere in the country. The first lady's trip will take her to Romania as well. — Biden had a half-hour call with German Chancellor OLAF SCHOLZ this morning, the White House said. — The U.S. and Fiji seized a Russian oligarch's giant yacht, valued at more than $300 million, per CBS. Notable comment from NBC's Ken Dilanian: "What's so interesting about all these seizures is that they are not based on new law. Only … one thing has changed: political will." LATEST ON THE GROUND … — Azovstal's last stand: Russia has reportedly breached the final Ukrainian defenses at the sprawling steel plant in Mariupol. More from NBC — For the first time in a month, Russian attacks hit residential areas in the city of Kramatorsk, reportedly injuring dozens. More from CNN
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS SPOTTED: Barbadian PM Mia Mottley at Jackie American Bistro in Navy Yard on Wednesday night for a dinner featuring Barbadian chefs, mixologists and cuisine. The menu OUT AND ABOUT — The John W. Foley Legacy Foundation gave out its annual Freedom Awards at the National Press Club on Wednesday night. Hosted by Abby Phillip, the evening honored reporters and family members of hostages abroad. Awards went to Mohamed Soltan, Eliza Griswold and Dexter Filkins, and more than a dozen legislators and staffers who helped pass the Robert A. Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage Accountability Act received the inaugural Excellence in Government Service Award. SPOTTED: Diane and John Foley, Reps. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) and Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Kyra Phillips, John Roberts, David Bradley, Andrew Keller, Bethany Poulos, Jason Rezaian, Sarah (Levinson) Moriarty, Amy Coyne and Marcus Richardson. MEDIA MOVE — Nick Baumann will be deputy Washington bureau chief for enterprise at the L.A. Times. He currently is politics editor at The Atlantic. Announcement WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Lindsey Zuluaga is now special adviser for global economic issues to VP Kamala Harris. She comes from the State Department, where she's been a foreign service officer for almost 14 years. WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Kartik Sheth has returned to NASA to be a program scientist in the science mission directorate. He most recently was assistant director for research infrastructures and science equity at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. TRANSITION — Claire Bienvenu is now executive assistant at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She most recently was scheduler for Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.). BONUS BIRTHDAY: White House's Terry Moynihan
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