| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | | 
Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered words of support for DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney on Thursday, while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) blasted her fellow New York member as "hypocritical." | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo | The intraparty tangle over DCCC Chair SEAN PATRICK MALONEY's choice to take on fellow Democratic Rep. MONDAIRE JONES in a newly drawn New York district grew wider this morning, drawing in two of the most public Democratic figures in the House. — BACKING SPM: Speaker NANCY PELOSI. At her weekly news conference today, Pelosi at first demurred on addressing the specifics of the scuttle ("I'm not getting involved in the politics of New York," she said), but eventually offered her support for Maloney. When pressed about whether the drama has an impact on the party overall, Pelosi pushed back. "Not at all," she said. "Why not?" Fox News' Chad Pergram asked. "Because it doesn't," Pelosi said. "We have a great chairman of the DCCC." She also noted that Maloney was not appointed to that post by her , but rather elected by his fellow members. Later, speaking generally about Dems' prospects in the midterms, Pelosi acknowledged voters' concerns about Covid and inflation, but projected an air of confidence. "People really want us to win," Pelosi said. "We feel pretty confident." And her closing words as she walked off: "And we're very proud of Sean Patrick Maloney." — CALLING ON SPM TO STEP DOWN: Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.). This morning, AOC called Maloney's move "terrible" and "hypocritical," per Ally Mutnick . She continued: "It's also particularly shameful as a member of Dem leadership, especially as the leadership of the DCCC, who asks all of us to make sacrifices … who cannot seem to take his redistricting on the chin." Asked whether he should step down as DCCC chair, she said yes. Via NBC's Sahil Kapur : "Given the resources that he has at his helm, it creates a conflict of interest. … I believe that if he's going to enter in a primary and challenge another Democratic member, then he should step aside from his responsibilities of the DCCC." Stay tuned. THE NEW NATO — Across town at the White House, President JOE BIDEN met this morning with Swedish PM MAGDALENA ANDERSSON and Finland President SAULI NIINISTÖ to discuss the two countries' new applications to join NATO, spurred in part by Russia's war in Ukraine. The three leaders emerged from the West Wing to deliver remarks marking the "historic" day. What Biden said:
- Finland and Sweden "have the full, total complete backing of the United States," he said. "The bottom line is simple, quite straightforward: Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger. Not just because of their capacity, but because of their strong, strong democracies."
- Biden said the trio had a "good discussion about NATO accession, about the war in Ukraine and strengthening trans-atlantic security," and he also revealed that discussions with Finland about joining NATO began in December, prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The view from Finland and Sweden:
- Both Niinistö and Andersson said they were open to discussing objections raised by Turkey over their applications.
- And the two leaders were eager to praise Biden for his support. Niinistö: "Finland, together with the EU and the United States, stands firmly behind Ukraine. So, Mr. President, once again, I want to thank you for making history with us." Andersson: "Mr. President, I want to thank you for your leadership and our joint efforts to promote democracy throughout the world. Because democracy requires constant work and safeguarding."
HEADS UP — The Senate passed a $40 billion aid package to provide Ukraine with additional weapons and other military help. The vote was 86-11. Read more here Good Thursday afternoon.
| | A message from Facebook: Facebook has invested $16 billion to keep you safe on our platform
Facebook invested $16B in safety and security over 6 years. The impact?
•Quadrupled safety and security teams
•Developed industry-leading AI that detects harmful content and reacts as it evolves
•Addressed millions of harmful posts and removed 1.7B fake accounts in the last few months
Learn what's next. | | | THE WHITE HOUSE NOKO'S WELCOME WAGON — North Korea is "preparing to conduct a nuclear test or a long-range ballistic missile test around the time of President Biden's trip to the region this week, according to intelligence from Washington and Seoul," WaPo's Min Joo Kim reports in Seoul. HUNTER'S BUSINESS — "From 2013 through 2018, HUNTER BIDEN and his company brought in about $11 million via his roles as an attorney and a board member with a Ukrainian firm accused of bribery and his work with a Chinese businessman now accused of fraud, according to an NBC News analysis of a copy of Biden's hard drive and iCloud account and documents released by Republicans on two Senate committees," NBC's Tom Winter, Sarah Fitzpatrick, Chloe Atkins and Laura Strickler report . "The documents and the analysis, which don't show what he did to earn millions from his Chinese partners, raise questions about national security, business ethics and potential legal exposure." CONGRESS FORMULA FUROR — The FDA is appointing JANET WOODCOCK to take the agency lead on addressing the infant formula crisis that is plaguing the nation. "There's just one problem: Food industry leaders, consumer advocates and state groups alike are outraged by the move," Helena Bottemiller Evich writes. "Food groups … say Woodcock is not the right choice for the role, citing her oversight record and lack of food policy experience." — And it's not just outside groups who are upset. At a hearing this morning on the issue with FDA Commissioner ROBERT CALIFF, Rep. ROSA DELAURO (D-Conn.) blasted the selection of Woodcock, who was in charge when the agency received a whistleblower report last October: "That is the fox in the hen house!" DeLauro said.
| | | | DON'T MISS 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. | | | | | ALL POLITICS MUSK-READ — Despite his public criticism of Biden and his pledge to vote Republican in future elections, billionaire tech mogul and would-be Twitter owner ELON MUSK told CNBC's Brian Schwartz that he "has no current plans to fund a Republican super PAC in the upcoming U.S. elections, including any that oppose President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential race." MOVE FAST AND BREAK THINGS — The midterms may be six months away, but in reality, election season is already well upon us. And election watchers and critics of Facebook say that the social media behemoth is already falling behind in combating misinformation on its platform. "Facebook has not yet released a new public policy strategy for the November midterms to refresh and update its rules and tools to protect the elections, something it traditionally touts," WaPo's Naomi Nix reports . "And former employees, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said they worry that the social media company is already lagging far behind where it needs to be to prevent the spread of misinformation from hurting voters' understanding and behavior in the primaries and general election." ON THE HUNT — In Texas, WESLEY HUNT is expected to win a newly drawn congressional district around Houston that was largely carved out with him in mind. Now, Hunt, a Black Republican, is calling on the GOP to step up its diversity efforts or risk losing the next generation, writes NYT's J. David Goodman from Cibolo, Texas. "Mr. Hunt has been traveling far beyond his Texas district, raising money and giving support to conservative Black and Hispanic candidates, and talking frankly about the need for Republican officeholders to better reflect the nation's changing demographics. He is part of a growing Republican effort to diversify its roster of candidates and undercut Democrats among voters they have long counted on." HEY SIRI, PLAY FRANK SINATRA — MADISON CAWTHORN tweets: "The best is yet to come." WAR IN UKRAINE — "As hundreds more Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol surrendered to Russia on Thursday, Moscow was also seeking to project control over southeastern Ukraine, where a high-ranking official declared that seized parts of the region would 'take a worthy place in our Russian family.' The visit this week by a deputy Russian prime minister, Marat Khusnullin, to the occupied city of Melitopol suggested that the Kremlin was trying to lay the groundwork for annexing the region — even without having announced such plans outright," NYT's Marc Santora, Anton Troianovski and Dan Bilefsky report.
| | | | A message from Facebook:   | | | THE ECONOMY RECESSION FEARS RISE — There are growing fears among economists that the U.S. could be on course for a recession in the coming year, WaPo's Abha Bhattarai reports. The concerns come as "a sudden bout of economic pessimism hammers financial markets that had been counting on sustained economic momentum." And that's not all: "Even if the United States staves off a recession in the short-term, some economists say the sheer pace of inflation, with prices up 8.3 percent in the past year, and the persistent supply and demand imbalances caused by the pandemic, and the policy responses to it, could snowball into an even more severe crisis down the line." WHO'S IN THE WORKFORCE — A surprising trend in the economy's post-pandemic recovery is finding more and more older workers returning to the workforce. "Nearly 64 percent of adults between the ages of 55 and 64 were working in April, essentially the same rate as in February 2020. That's a more complete recovery than among most younger age groups," writes NYT's Ben Casselman . "The rapid rebound has surprised many economists, who thought that fear of the virus — which is far deadlier for older people — would contribute to a wave of early retirements, especially because many people's savings had been fattened by years of market gains." THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RACIAL RECKONING — America's spy agencies for years have tried to combat racial inequality within their buildings behind closed doors. And the efforts are ongoing. "Publicly available data, published studies of its diversity programs, and interviews with retired officers indicate spy agencies have not lived up to years of commitments made by their top leaders, who often say diversity is a national security imperative," AP's Nomaan Merchant writes . "People of color remain underrepresented across the intelligence community and are less likely to be promoted. Retired officers who spoke to The Associated Press described examples of explicit and implicit bias."
| | | | 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 END OF AN ERA — Pete Williams will retire from NBC, where he has worked since 1993 covering the Justice Department and Supreme Court, at the end of July. "His departure will mark the end of an unusual Washington career trajectory. Williams, a former local TV news reporter, first came to national prominence as a Pentagon spokesman under President George H.W. Bush — the rare journalist to join the administration and then return to hard-news reporting," WaPo's Jeremy Barr writes. Read NBC's memo on Williams' retirement, via Brian Stelter OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a reception for the Economic Innovation Group celebrating its seventh anniversary at the Eaton Hotel Rooftop on Wednesday night: Chris Slevin, John Lettieri, DJ Nordquist, Kristen Soltis Anderson, Steve Benjamin, Kate Bonner, Neil Irwin, Erin Trowbridge, Chris Rugaber, Chad Maisel, Tom Reed, Charles Cogar, Gbenga Ajilore, Eli Lehrer, Scott Winship, Andrew Olmem, Kyle Pomerleau, Alex Tanzi, Alec Stapp, Caleb Watney and Brian McGuire. — SPOTTED at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on Tuesday evening, where British Ambassador Dame Karen Pierce, Comcast NBCUniversal and Focus Features hosted a reception and advance screening of "Downton Abbey: A New Era." Guests, filmmakers and cast members mingled over fish and chips and English-inspired passed hors d'oeuvres and were given plaid Downton Abbey-themed umbrellas as party favors: Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Garrett Haake, Philip Rucker, Irish Ambassador Dan Mulhall and Greta Mulhall, Francesca Craig, Storm Horncastle, Thomas Reid and Eamonn Cooney. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — David Tafuri, chair of the emerging democracies practice at ArentFox Schiff law firm, and Anastasia Vakula, a model represented by CGM agency in Miami and Kingsley Models in D.C., on Monday welcomed Torian "Tor" Tafuri. Pics TRANSITION — Tigran Agdaian is joining Breathe SoCal as their manager of advocacy and public policy. He previously was a legislative assistant in Rep. John Garamendi's (D-Calif.) office. BONUS BIRTHDAYS: Former Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) … Destine Hicks
| | | | Sponsored Survey WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Please take a short, 1 minute survey about one of our advertising partners | | | | | | | 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 | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
