Playbook PM: Trump’s radical second-term dream

Presented by Amazon: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington.

Jul 22, 2022 View in browser   By Eli Okun Presented by MASSIVE DEAL — Russia and Ukraine signed deals today, brokered by Turkey and the U.N., to allow Ukrainian grain to resume being exported through the Black Sea — an agreement that could unleash 20 millions tons to calm fears of hunger crises around the world. More details from Camille Gijs BANNON LATEST — Jurors have begun deliberations in STEVE BANNON's contempt of Congress trial after closing arguments wrapped up today. "Bannon's defense leveled a series of brazen, often strained arguments in a bid to win an acquittal or hung jury for their client," report Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein . "Defense lawyer EVAN CORCORAN even displayed a series of letters in an attempt to convince jurors that Committee Chair BENNIE THOMPSON's (D-Miss.) signature on the subpoena to Bannon may have been forged." The planning underway by several groups Donald Trump has blessed is a far cry from his seat-of-the-pants 2017 ascendancy to office. | John Locher, File/AP Photo THE STORY OF THE DAY — Axios' Jonathan Swan has an incredibly exhaustive look at what a Trump presidency in 2025 might entail — with radical implications for American government that have driven plenty of online buzz this morning. The planning underway by several groups DONALD TRUMP has blessed is a far cry from his seat-of-the-pants 2017 ascendancy to office. If Trump becomes a once-and-future president, his second term will kick off with extensive preparations for new policies, new legal strategies and new personnel. The term you're about to hear a lot about: "Schedule F." Resurrecting this executive order would constitute the core of Trump's plan to fundamentally restructure the federal government. It would strip up to 50,000 career civil servants of strong job protections, potentially politicizing a key swath of government bureaucracy and giving Trump a chance to install his allies (or create a chilling effect for others). Trump world sees this as fighting the liberal deep state. But "[s]uch pendulum swings and politicization could threaten the continuity and quality of service to taxpayers, the regulatory protections, the checks on executive power, and other aspects of American democracy," Swan writes. Rep. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-Va.), who's been focused on fighting Schedule F, got the House to pass an amendment to the annual defense bill blocking future presidents from using it. But it could face a fight against Senate Republicans. There's tons more in the story. JEFFREY CLARK — who tried to help overturn the 2020 election — would be a serious contender, again, for A.G. KASH PATEL could be CIA or FBi director. RICHARD GRENELL is tabbed as potential secretary of State pick. Trump loyalists would rule the roost across the board. They envision "a new army of political partisans planted throughout the federal bureaucracy." And it's not just the executive branch: The Conservative Partnership Institute is aiming to put hundreds of America First-approved staffers in congressional offices starting after the midterms. It's the first in a multi-part series — Swan has more coming on Schedule F. Happy Friday afternoon.   A message from Amazon: Out of work and worried he would lose everything, Frank applied for a job at Amazon and got a career. Frank started as a shift assistant in 2017 and steadily worked his way to becoming a senior operations manager at an Amazon Air Hub. Frank is now mentoring others to help advance their career goals and grow at Amazon just like he did.   THE WHITE HOUSE PRESIDENTIAL HEALTH UPDATE — President JOE BIDEN's temperature rose to 99.4 degrees Thursday evening, but Tylenol helped bring it back down and he's otherwise doing fairly well with Covid-19, his doctor KEVIN O'CONNOR wrote in a memo today . Biden has finished his first day of taking Paxlovid. He has a runny nose, fatigue and an occasional cough. O'Connor said his initial expectation that Biden would "respond favorably" hasn't changed. Pic of Biden working masked First lady JILL BIDEN has no symptoms and tested negative this morning, per NBC's Peter Alexander . JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH CLARK IN HOT WATER — The D.C. Bar's Office of Disciplinary Counsel has filed a disciplinary case against Clark, the Trump DOJ official who almost became A.G. after talking about overturning the 2020 election, per Reuters . COMMITTEE LATEST — Rep. ADAM KINZINGER (R-Ill.) told CNN's Jim Sciutto that he does not believe TONY ORNATO and ROBERT ENGEL are still cooperating with the House Jan. 6 committee. ALL POLITICS GEORGIA ON MY MIND — The Cook Political Report today shifted the Georgia gubernatorial race from the toss-up column to lean Republican. QUITE THE TEASE — Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO's (D-Ariz.) reelect is explicitly raising money off the prospect that he might primary Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA in 2024, the Arizona Republic's Gregory Svirnovskiy reports . "Many people are asking Ruben if he will run against Senator Kyrsten Sinema," a Facebook post from his campaign said last month. "We know many of you hope he does and he appreciates that fact. … And anything he doesn't spend in 2022, he can use in 2024 … whatever he decides." THE NEW GOP — Justice SAMUEL ALITO made clear in his decision overturning Roe v. Wade that he didn't see it as an invitation to roll back the legalization of same-sex marriage. But since then, Republicans around the country have become bolder about going after LGBT rights, and not just the T in that acronym, reports NYT's Trip Gabriel : In addition to a wave of anti-transgender legislation, Republican politicians in Michigan, Texas, Utah and elsewhere have voiced support for revisiting same-sex marriage or sodomy laws. "The surge in transgender restrictions reflects a reversal of fortune for social conservatives from just a few years ago." 2024 WATCH — As Republicans continue to enjoy disproportionate structural advantages in the American political system, The Cook Political Report's Amy Walter writes that in the Electoral College, "Republicans are enjoying a stronger advantage than at any point in the 25-year history of the Cook [Partisan Voting Index]." The upshot: "Democrats need to win the popular vote by at least three points (but more realistically 4 points) to feel confident that it will translate to an Electoral College win." NEW FROM NEWSOM — As California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM readies to make law a controversial bill that would allow private citizens to sue sellers of banned guns, his actions on guns reflect a move to adopt a more aggressive national profile as a Democrat who fights back, NYT's Shawn Hubler reports from Sacramento. It's one of several big gun bills he's signing into law, though it will likely end up in court. KNOWING KARI LAKE — From Phoenix, HuffPost's Liz Skalka traces how Lake went from local TV journalist to far-right basher of the media in her Arizona GOP gubernatorial run. "I've always seen that modern-day journalism in America has really pushed to the left, obviously. But I felt that I was a voice of reason in the newsroom," Lake tells her of the moment when she left her old career behind. "Really during COVID is when I went, 'What is going on here?' Things weren't making sense." Others in Lake's orbit say they saw the public lurch to the right emerge "over the latter half of Trump's presidency." — Lake has been locked out of her Twitter account after the platform said a video she posted included a phone number that was "private information," per The Daily Beast .   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 .     AMERICA AND THE WORLD ANNALS OF DIPLOMACY — Michael Schaffer has a fascinating piece about an under-discussed D.C. development: the American prosecution of former Sri Lankan Ambassador JALIYA WICKRAMASURIYA for defrauding his government. The case has become big news in Sri Lanka amid major anti-government protests. In D.C., it's "actually a novel phenomenon, and potentially an important one — a spectacle that's highly unconventional both as a matter of international law and international relations. In addition to offering a rare peek behind embassy walls, the Justice Department's case against the envoy might just represent a cautionary precedent for future would-be diplomatic chislers." TRADE WARS — After the U.S. filed a challenge this week to allegedly protectionist Mexican energy policies, Mexican President ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR is in a difficult position in a case that he could stand a good chance of losing, WSJ's Juan Montes and Yuka Hayashi report . AMLO "will likely have to choose between watering down landmark energy policies, which would be seen as a major political embarrassment domestically, [and facing] punitive measures." CONGRESS MARK YOUR CALENDARS — There will be a classified briefing on Ukraine for all senators Wednesday at 3:45 p.m., per a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER. ROCK-RIBBED REPUBLICAN — Departing Rep. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-Texas) served up what could be the final batch of his famous ribs this week — meat apparently so good that former Rep. LOUISE SLAUGHTER's (D-N.Y.) husband broke his vegetarianism for it, reports the Washington Examiner's Paul Bedard . Gohmert "prefers kettle grills, indirect heat, Kingsford charcoal, and a touch of lemon peel in his rub concoction." POLICY CORNER UP IN THE AIR — "Pete Buttigieg faces crisis and opportunity as airline cancellations mount," by NBC's Jonathan Allen, Henry Gomez, Alex Seitz-Wald and Peter Nicholas DISASTER DIGEST — FEMA updates to the national flood insurance program could lead to 1 million fewer Americans getting the insurance over the course of 10 years, per an internal report obtained by AP's Michael Phillis . That's despite agency officials telling Congress that the number of people signing up for coverage would increase regardless of higher prices. "FEMA downplayed the report obtained by the AP as a pessimistic projection, aimed at forecasting finances, not insurance participation." NEW FROM MERRICK GARLAND — "DOJ investigating city of Houston for alleged discrimination in response to illegal dumping 311 calls," Houston Chronicle   INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY .     PLAYBOOKERS OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Artificial Intelligence Commission's field hearing at the Chamber offices Thursday: Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.), Suzanne Clark, John Delaney, Miriam Vogel, Rachel Gillum, Jordan Crenshaw, Michael Richards and Niki Christoff. — The National Association of Realtors hosted a reception in honor of the House Chiefs of Staff Association at District Winery on Thursday. SPOTTED: Bob Goldberg, Mitchell Rivard, Jonathan Day, Helen Devlin, Nancy Peele, Pat Deveny, Ryan Rusbuldt, Chris Crawford, Nick Coe, Amy Albro, Paige Hutchinson, Rachel Harris, Chris Maneval, Juan Lopez, John Byers, Chloe Hunt and Avery Walker. — We have a couple of photos from the big party Thursday night for Jonathan Lemire's new book, "The Big Lie": Pic … Another pic MEDIA MOVES — Adam O'Neal is joining The Dispatch as executive editor. He previously was an editorial writer for the WSJ in London. … NYT's national team is adding Clyde McGrady to cover race and Amy Qin to cover Asian Americans. McGrady previously was at WaPo. Qin previously covered China for the Times. Announcement … POLITICO is elevating Monica Akhtar to managing producer for video and adding Jackie Padilla as senior video producer and Meiying Wu as video producer. Padilla and Wu will work on POLITICO's new Snapchat Discover show, launching Thursday. Padilla previously was at Grid News and NowThis News. TRANSITIONS — Jay Carney will be global head of policy and comms at Airbnb, per Axios' Mike Allen . He currently is SVP of global corporate affairs at Amazon, and is a former Obama White House press secretary. … Emily Haas is now director for federal government affairs at global oncology company Novocure. She most recently was managing director for government and innovation strategies at Ankura. … … Robin McGahey will be press specialist at Freedom House. She most recently has been press secretary at the Truman Center for National Policy and Truman National Security Project. … Elizabeth Butler Eddowes is now manager of PAC and programs at the American Gas Association. She most recently was deputy finance director at No Labels. ENGAGED — Matt Spence, managing director at Guggenheim Partners, an international security fellow at New America and an Obama NSC and DOD alum, proposed to Audrey Gyr, startup innovation specialist at the Good Food Institute, in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 15. They met in what he calls "the most romantic of places — the security line at the Newark Airport." Pic … Another pic WEDDINGS — Andrew Albertson, executive director for Foreign Policy for America, and Penelope Peralta, an architect at Studios Architecture, got married July 15 in Estes Park, Colo. — Christopher Kirchhoff, senior adviser for the Special Competitive Studies Project and an Obama NSC and DOD alum, and John Tsou, VP for marketing at OpenTable, got married July 9 at Low Camp, the valley on Oahu where "Jurassic Park" was filmed. The couple met on Hinge. NYT announcement with a pic … SPOTTED: Ricki Seidman, Raj Shah, Yll Bajraktari, Hunter Keith, Ed Baker, Sheila Jasanoff, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Sammy Semwangu and Dan Pastor.  WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Jordan Alexandra Bianchi, an associate producer at Fox Nation, and Mario Bianchi, a master electrician, welcomed Luca James Bianchi on July 11. Pic … Another pic — Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor for NBC News and a POLITICO and Reuters alum, and Travis Burk, VP of comms at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, welcomed Lincoln "Lily" Andrea Burk on Wednesday. She came in at 7 lbs, 1 oz, and joins big sister Madison. Pic … Another pic BONUS BIRTHDAY: Alex Pappas   A message from Amazon: Career development matters. That's why Amazon has committed more than $1.2 billion to provide enhanced training to 300,000 employees through 2025.     Follow us on Twitter Rachael Bade @rachaelmbade Eugene Daniels @EugeneDaniels2 Ryan Lizza @RyanLizza Eli Okun @eliokun Garrett Ross @garrett_ross   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

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California Today: New Airbnb restrictions

San Diego, Marin County, San Bernardino County and more have approved rules this year to restrict short-term rentals.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story July 22, 2022 By Soumya Karlamangla California Today, Writer It's Friday. Local officials in California are revisiting Airbnb regulations amid a surge in pandemic tourism. Plus, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants Democrats to more aggressively counter Republicans. A new short-term rental property in Joshua Tree, Calif. Two years ago, Somewhere, a property development company, bought this piece of land for $40,000. The listing is now renting for $1,031 a night.Cody James for The New York Times San Bernardino County officials temporarily stopped issuing permits last month for new Airbnbs and other vacation rentals over concerns that a tourism boom is pricing out locals in trendy desert getaways such as Joshua Tree. Officials in Marin County instated a two-year moratorium this year on new short-term rentals in its western coastal communities. San Diego also approved a cap that is expected to cut vacation rentals in the city by nearly half. Restrictions on home-sharing services in California are nothing new. Santa Monica, Sausalito and San Francisco, where Airbnb is based, have had such regulations for years. But local officials in the Golden State appear to be increasingly revisiting these rules after demand for short-term rentals exploded during the pandemic and Americans chose to rent homes instead of hotels to ensure Covid bubbles or to have more space for remote work and relaxation. Limits on short-term rentals, usually defined as a stay of 30 days or fewer, are often framed as a way to maintain affordable housing in California. It's a worthy cause in a state that has painfully high rents and that is home to more than half of the nation's unsheltered homeless population. "Shortage of long-term housing, particularly on the coast, has reached a critical point," said Dennis Rodoni, a Marin County supervisor who represents coastal Marin, according to CBS News. "More and more working families are being displaced." Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT But the idea that a proliferation of short-term rentals is leading to higher rents for people looking for permanent housing is only partly true, experts told me. In touristy areas, such as Joshua Tree and Venice Beach, some houses and apartments that were previously rented out for a year at a time have likely been converted to short-term rentals. That shift can limit the number of available long-term rentals and make it difficult for locals to stay in communities where they work and where their children go to school. "It's a supply-and-demand story," said Richard K. Green, a professor at the University of Southern California and the director of the school's Lusk Center for Real Estate. But Green warned that it was unclear how many short-term rentals were actually previously leased to local residents. Many short-term rentals listed on sites like Airbnb may have always been vacation rentals, but weren't as easily accessible or centralized before the emergence of these online platforms, he said. Others could be locals making some extra cash by renting out a room in their home or, when they're out of town, the entire space. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Banning home-sharing services could "actually prevent some people from being able to afford living in some places," Green told me. In reality, restrictions on short-term rentals are often less about creating affordable housing and more about preserving the culture of cities, experts say. People don't want their residential streets lined with visitors' cars or tourists changing the vibe of their neighborhoods. In Stinson Beach, one of the communities in Marin where new Airbnbs are now banned, locals worry about "the transition of a once hippieish, beachy town into more of an exclusive seaside playground," The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported. Indeed, the very communities that are strictly limiting short-term rentals are often the same ones that don't want to create more housing in their communities, experts say. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT If their primary concern was affordability for renters, "there's a solution to that: build more housing," said Michael Manville, an associate professor of urban planning at the U.C.L.A. Luskin School of Public Affairs. "If you believe that the available supply influences the price renters face, the surest way to address that is to build apartments," Manville told me. "The most uncertain way is to limit short-term rentals." That may be possible in urban hot spots. But in some affected vacation areas, it's not necessarily easy to build a lot more housing. In Stinson Beach, nestled between the ocean and steep hills, additional development is constrained by coastal protections and a lack of room to build. In Joshua Tree, environmentalists worry that development is threatening the western Joshua trees themselves. They are pushing to permanently protect the trees as an endangered species, which would make construction more difficult. And because tourist demand is so high, investors are seeing bigger returns from building short-term rentals than other types of housing. For more: Airbnb recently announced a permanent ban on parties. The areas where short-term rentals were most profitable in 2021. California's housing crisis and the fight over 20 townhomes. If you read one story, make it this Gov. Gavin Newsom is poised to sign legislation that would provide a minimum award of $10,000 to residents who successfully sue makers of illegal guns. Subscribe Today We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times with this special offer. The rest of the news Big Ten: Gov. Newsom is demanding answers from U.C.L.A. on how the move to the Big Ten Conference will benefit all student-athletes, The Associated Press reports. Crypto campaign donations: Candidates for state and local offices in California will soon be able to accept cryptocurrency campaign donations, The Associated Press reports. Bees: The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has proposed rules that would restrict the use of four pesticides that are harmful to bees, CalMatters reports. Homegrown meat: California became the first state to invest billions in the lab-grown meat industry, The San Francisco Chronicle reports. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Shuttle crash: Two people are in serious condition after a shuttle bus crash at Los Angeles International Airport, The Los Angeles Times reports. One America News: One America News, based in San Diego, is being dropped by another major cable operator, The Los Angeles Times reports. Attempted kidnapping: A woman was arrested on kidnapping and child-stealing charges after she posed as a nurse, gained access to a maternity ward and tried to steal a baby from a patient's room at a hospital in Moreno Valley. CENTRAL CALIFORNIA VR theater: A theater near Yosemite is now home to the first permanent virtual reality cinema in the United States, The Fresno Bee reports. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Diego Rivera: The artist's famous fresco will be closed to the public following the shutdown of the San Francisco Art Institute, The San Francisco Chronicle reports. Transfer: A fourth person has died after being transferred out of Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in San Francisco as part of a federally mandated closure plan, MSN reports. Protest: Truckers protesting a state labor law have effectively shut down cargo operations at the Port of Oakland. Jessica Emily Marx for The New York Times What we're eating Grilled chicken thighs with spicy cashews. Where we're traveling Today's tip comes from Mary Ann Mitchell, who lives in Folsom. Mary Ann recommends Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park in Mendocino: "When you arrive, you can wander the trails along the coastline. My husband and I love watching the various seabirds soar through the sky. The sea lions are sunning on the rocks while the waves crash around them. The gem of this park is the lighthouse. There is a small gift shop and museum to explore, and the people working inside provide lots of history. There are also three former lighthouse keepers' homes on the site. Two can be rented, and one is a museum. It's so interesting to see how the lighthouse keepers lived. There are a few picnic tables near the lighthouse and the entry. Both make great places for a snack or lunch. It's a place to recharge our batteries. It's amazing." Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We'll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter. Tell us As water restrictions take their toll on Southern California, tell us: What's going on with your lawn? Are you trying to keep your grass green? Or did the drought prompt you to rip out your grass? Let us know at CAtoday@nytimes.com. Please include your name and location. And, before you go, some good news When Mark Nicco decided it was time to sell his bar in San Francisco, he wanted to find someone who would keep his family's legacy alive. The property in North Beach, the heart of the city's Italian community, was first purchased by Nicco's grandfather in the 1920s. He opened a dry cleaning business there and, after Prohibition ended, a cafe that served alcohol. Now it's Tony Nik's, a low-key bar that Nicco has run for the past 21 years. He appreciates that his business isn't like the raucous nightclubs and music venues that are common in North Beach, he said. "I think we buck that reputation," Nicco told SFGate. "Once people discover us, they just see how different we are." So Nicco decided to give his bar to someone who would help keep it as is. Earlier this month, he handed over the keys to one of the longtime bartenders. Read the full story in SFGate. Thanks for reading. I'll be back on Monday. — Soumya P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword, and a clue: Pet that enjoys basking in a patch of sunlight (three letters). Isabella Grullón Paz and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. 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