| | | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | |  The media circus has descended on Miami as Donald Trump prepares to be arraigned on federal charges Tuesday afternoon. | Gerald Herbert/AP Photo | SCENES FROM MIAMI — Former President DONALD TRUMP is set to be arraigned in Florida this afternoon over a host of federal felony charges relating to his possession of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House. Our colleagues Kyle Cheney, Josh Gerstein and Andrew Atterbury have the report from Miami: “In the hours leading up to Trump’s arrival, a familiar tension was in the air, as security forces and police ramped up patrols around the courthouse and warned against street clashes and other potential dangers. The atmosphere was reminiscent of Trump’s other criminal arraignment, just 10 weeks ago in a separate case brought by New York prosecutors who say he falsified business records in connection to hush money payments.”
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Miami Police Department officers secure the area surrounding the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, June 13. | Gerald Herbert/AP Photo | More from Miami …
- “Reporters and TV crews outnumbered supporters of former President Donald Trump outside the courthouse” this morning, reports the Miami Herald.
- “National television networks are teeing up wall-to-wall arraignment coverage. CBS, ABC and NBC will all cut into their afternoon programming and go into special report mode at some point after 2 p.m.,” per the NYT.
- Perhaps sensing the opportunity for free media, GOP hopeful VIVEK RAMASWAMY showed up at the courthouse and “challenged every other GOP presidential candidate to commit to pardoning Donald Trump if elected,” per WaPo.
- Trump’s “fingerprints will be taken digitally — not with ink. But no mugshot will be taken,” CNN reports, citing a “a law enforcement source.” “The US Marshals do not take DNA as part of this process.”
Meanwhile, in New York: “Tish James says she’s received death threats amidst Trump prosecutions,” by Julia Marsh and Kierra Frazier INSIDE THE HOUSE GOP — Drama erupted from a closed door meeting of House Republicans today over GOP hardliners' blockade of floor action last week. Rep. DERRICK VAN ORDEN (R-Wis.) criticized the move in a “heated, expletive-laden speech,” CNN’s Melanie Zanona reports, with Van Orden stating that “his daughter is dying of cancer, and yet he still ‘shows up to work every f*cking day.’” Van Orden added that while he’s been introducing bills to save lives, “it’s not shit that gets on Fox News,” while Rep. CHIP ROY (R-Texas) pushed back, arguing that he came to Washington “to shrink” the government. Others backed up the exchange, with one anonymous member telling Axios’ Juliegrace Brufke: “I left when Van Orden started dropping multiple F bombs about the 11 who are holding people hostage.” Still, Rep. DON BACON (R-Neb.) noted during the meeting that there’s “a little bit of slugging going on” inside, but that “95% of the conference is on the speaker’s side,” per CNN’s Haley Talbot. Meanwhile, Republican Conference Chair ELISE STEFANIK (R-N.Y.) went after the press asking about the party’s internal strife, telling reporters, “The media, every week you guys underestimate us.” Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@politico.com.
| | | | A message from The Coalition to Protect America's Regional Airports: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) agrees with the Coalition to Protect America’s Regional Airports that adding more slots to DCA would be a disaster. DCA is limited by geography, size, and significant FAA flight restrictions and the slot and perimeter rules were carefully designed to promote safety, ease airport congestion, and reduce traffic around the geographically constrained DCA. Simply put, DCA is at capacity. Learn more. | | | THE ECONOMY INFLATION NATION — The latest reading of the consumer price index dropped this morning, showing yet another month in which inflation abated — though the full picture still shows an economy under intense pressure. The topline number: “Measured year over year, inflation slowed to just 4% in May — the lowest 12-month figure in over two years and well below April’s 4.9% annual rise. The pullback was driven by tumbling gas prices, a much smaller rise in grocery prices than in previous months and less expensive furniture, air fares and appliances,” AP’s Christopher Rugaber writes. The less-rosy picture: “Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the picture wasn’t as optimistic. So-called core inflation rose 0.4% on the month and was still up 5.3% from a year ago, indicating that while price pressures have eased somewhat, consumers are still under fire,” CNBC’s Jeff Cox writes. Reminder: The Fed is meeting this week to discuss interest rates, and today’s figures were expected to offer a little bit of wiggle room for officials. 2024 WATCH GREAT SCOTT — NBC’s Peter Nicholas and Alex Seitz-Wald are up with a look at how Sen. TIM SCOTT’s (R-S.C.) presidential bid is playing among the Democratic side of the aisle. Despite Scott’s relative long shot status, “Democrats worry that as a Black man, Scott, who was elected to the Senate in 2012, would peel away voters who are crucial to Biden’s re-election,” Nicholas and Seitz-Wald write. “That, at age 57, Scott’s mere presence on the debate stage would call attention to the inconvenient fact that Biden is the oldest president ever. And that with an upbeat message, Scott might appeal to an electorate disenchanted with the sour state of American politics.” Nice numbers: “In home state flex, Tim Scott shares names of 69 donors on SC finance committee,” by the Post & Courier’s Caitlin Byrd MORE POLITICS THE NEW GOP — The New Republic’s Grace Segers is up with a new profile on Arkansas Gov. SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, whom she tabs as a key part of the future of the Republican Party. “Establishment Republicans and the political commentariat have been wringing their hands over who could possibly lead the party after Donald Trump, wishcasting into the void for a successor capable of appealing to his base. Sanders may be a viable contender to step into that vacuum, as her prominence, knack for partisan warfare and early legislative successes have cemented her as the Republican governor to watch in the not-quite-post-Trump era.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | CONGRESS LIV AND LET DIE — The furor over the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is settling in on the Hill as all corners of D.C. turn their attention to the controversy. “Whether the commotion will amount to anything beyond a few news cycles of fussing — a successful assault on the PGA Tour’s tax-exempt status comes to mind — may not be clear for months. But a week into golf’s latest maelstrom, a deal that could eventually prove lucrative for players and executives is already promising a booming era for lawyers, lobbyists and political sound bites, too,” NYT’s Alan Blinder and Kevin Draper write. Related read: “Congress Prepares to Tee Off on the PGA Tour’s Saudi Deal,” by WSJ’s Louise Radnofsky and Andrew Beaton GUNS IN AMERICA — Reps. LUCY McBATH (D-Ga.), JAMES CLYBURN (D-S.C.) and MIKE THOMPSON (D-Calif.) filed three discharge petitions today that would override Republican objections and force votes on bills bolstering background checks and banning assault weapons, WaPo’s Marianna Sotomayor reports. The long-shot procedural move means that “[i]f all Democrats sign on to each bill, the minority party would only need the support of five Republicans to force a vote,” though “the task of shepherding all these bills through a politically divisive Congress has already proven difficult.” POLICY CORNER FOR YOUR RADAR — As the White House pushes for the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — which is set to expire at the end of the year — it is declassifying and touting the program’s success in catching a range of nefarious actors, from fentanyl trafficking, foreign cyberattacks and Beijing’s persecution of dissidents, our colleague John Sakellariadis writes. “But the disclosures are not likely to sway lawmakers who argue the spy tool presents an unacceptable privacy risk to Americans.” THE FUTURE IS NOW OR NEVER — “The digital dollar’s bipartisan problem,” by Ben Schreckinger: “Though a potential U.S. [Central Bank Digital Currency] remains merely a subject of government study, mainstream Republicans, Silicon Valley libertarians and anti-establishment leftists have all converged in their opposition to the idea, citing concerns over privacy and government control. These domestic political obstacles leave a lane open for other monetary authorities to influence the design of digital money systems.” THE CRYPTO CRISIS CONTINUES — “Binance Emergency Fund Dwindles as SEC Takes Aim at the Crypto Exchange,” by WSJ’s Caitlin Ostroff and Patricia Kowsmann: “The fund was valued at nearly $950 million at the start of the month, according to blockchain addresses that Binance says hold the assets. After the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance last week, it fell to some $840 million.”
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD FOR YOUR RADAR — “U.S. military says helicopter accident in northeastern Syria left 22 American troops injured,” by AP’s Bassem Mroue in Beirut: “The military statement said the service members were receiving treatment and 10 were moved to ‘higher care facilities’ outside the region.” MORE AID ON THE WAY — “U.S. Set to Approve Depleted-Uranium Tank Rounds for Ukraine,” by WSJ’s Michael Gordon and Gordon Lubold: “The Pentagon has urged that the Abrams tanks the U.S. is providing Ukraine be armed with depleted-uranium rounds, which are regularly used by the U.S. Army and are highly effective against Russian tanks. Fired at a high rate of speed, the rounds are capable of penetrating the frontal armor of a Russian tank from a distance.” DOD ON ARRIVAL — “Pentagon Trying to Get Weapons to Allies Faster,” by WSJ’s Gordon Lubold DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “Yuan Under Pressure as U.S., China Rates Set to Diverge Further,” by WSJ’s Weilun Soon and Matthew Thomas: “The Chinese yuan has weakened against the U.S. dollar over the past three months, and went past 7.16 per dollar in mainland China’s tightly controlled currency market on Tuesday.” Related read: “Chinese Businesses Look to New Frontiers in Middle East,” by WSJ’s Stephen Kalin PLAYBOOKERS SPOTTED last night at opening day of the Chamber of Commerce’s 48th Annual General Meeting and India Ideas Summit at the Renwick Gallery: Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Indian Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ned Price, Atul Keshap, Scott Nathan, Anne Neuberger and Ed Knight. MEDIA MOVE — Max Greenwood is joining The Miami Herald to cover Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump and the 2024 GOP primary. He previously was a national politics reporter at The Hill. NAMES TO KNOW — “NBC News Announces Campaign Embeds For 2024 Election Cycle,” by Deadline’s Ted Johnson FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Mela Louise Norman, the current deputy chief of staff for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, is leaving her post at the end of June. Caroline Zier, longtime senior adviser to Austin, will succeed her as deputy chief. TRANSITIONS — Eva Kemp is joining American Bridge 21st Century as VP of campaigns. She most recently was senior VP of paid media at Precision Strategies and is a Biden White House alum. … Sidney Johnson is now press secretary for Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.). She most recently was press assistant for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. … Aaron Guiterman will be executive VP and market leader for Washington, D.C., at BCW. He previously was chair for energy and industrials policy at Edelman Global Advisory. … … Joe Radosevich is now VP of campaigns and outreach at Center for American Progress Action Fund. He was previously chief of staff to then-Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro and is an Amy Klobuchar alum. … LaVontae Brooks will be a foreign service officer with State. He currently is deputy chief of staff for Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and is a Dianne Feinstein and Congressional Black Caucus alum. ENGAGED — Jonah Goldman, a co-founder and director of marketing at the vegan restaurant chain PLNT Burger, and Sara Pearl Kenigsberg, supervising producer for progressive production company HardPin, where she leads up political clients, recently got engaged after they closed on their new house. When they walked in for the first time with their keys, Jonah got down on one knee in the living room. The couple, who grew up in the same area, met the first week PLNT Burger opened in September 2019 and then the two matched a few weeks later on Bumble. Pics by Margaret Wroblewski … Another pic WEEKEND WEDDINGS — Mallory Blount, deputy comms director for the Senate Republican Conference, and Brendan Jaspers, director of campaigns at Club for Growth, got married Saturday in Alpharetta, Ga. They were set up on a blind date by Herschel Walker’s Senate campaign manager Scott Paradise when Blount worked on the campaign. Pic … Another pic — Holly Geffs, policy adviser for emerging capabilities in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Garth Holden, analyst at Brydell Partners, got married Friday at the Riverside Yacht Club in Greenwich, Conn. They met in undergrad at Yale. Pic, via Melani Lust Photography… Another pic Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
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