| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | Happy Friday morning. It’s Adam Wren here for the first time in Friday's driver's seat. Welcome me with tips and scoops. In today’s Playbook … — Donald Trump’s tour of the Middle East wraps up. — How Joe Biden’s mental acuity is fast becoming a litmus test for Democrats. — House Republicans aim to get their mega-bill back on track this morning.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Questions about former President Joe Biden’s age and mental acuity are fast becoming the first real litmus test of the nascent 2028 campaign. | Nam Y. Huh/AP | TODAY: President Donald Trump’s Middle East trip comes to a close. Already this morning, he’s visited a church, mosque and synagogue at the Abrahamic Family House, and said that he intends to meet with Vladimir Putin “as soon as we can set it up.” And within the next few minutes, Air Force One will be “wheels up” in Abu Dhabi. Trump is expected back at the White House at 10:45 p.m. A city of two tales: He’ll arrive in a Washington dominated by two big stories, both about the limits of party unity. For the Republicans: The House GOP’s mega-bill teetering as hard-line conservatives force Speaker Mike Johnson to entertain potentially major changes to the package, which risks both alienating moderates in swing districts and blue states. (Much more on that in a little bit.) For the Democrats: Questions about former President Joe Biden’s age and mental acuity continue to drive not only media headlines — especially as Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book rollout steamrolls through the news cycle — but is fast becoming the first real litmus test of the nascent 2028 campaign. Put simply: “How are some of these national frontrunners or people who are already barnstorming states like South Carolina or Iowa expected to look voters in the eyes with a straight face and say, ‘Trust me, even though I got the 2024 election so terribly wrong’?” asks former Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.). The reality they face: On some basic level, this is about credibility and authenticity. Biden’s decline while in office was apparent to most voters; the public was upfront from very early on in the 2024 cycle with their doubts about his age and acuity. And so the ability to acknowledge what is plain in most voters’ eyes risks becoming a basic test of candor and honesty. In a nutshell: If Biden’s catastrophic candidacy for reelection may have cost Dems the White House in 2024, their inability to admit that, some Dems fear, could hobble the party in 2028, as your Playbook author reports with Holly Otterbein this morning. Which may be why so many people are now eager to talk about it. The challenge they face is that so many Democrats with 2028 ambitions were defending him at the time — and are now being forced to answer for what they knew and when. Shapiro: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro put some distance between himself and Biden yesterday, insisting that he privately raised concerns with the former president during the 2024 cycle. “I can tell you that I was very frank with the president during his campaign about what I saw were some of the shortcomings,” Shapiro told POLITICO. “I was very honest with him in a private setting about that.” But but but: Asked by POLITICO in August 2024 if he had any concerns that Biden had slipped, Shapiro said, “Not at all, and I’ve been in regular contact with the president.” Murphy: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said this week that there was “no doubt” about Biden’s cognitive decline. But but but: That prompted GOP operatives to throw months-old comments in face. “This you??” said an aide to Speaker Mike Johnson on X, pointing to when Murphy vouched for Biden in the wake of a damning WSJ report on the subject. Khanna: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) similarly said “Democrats must be honest … Joe Biden should not have run for reelection.” But but but: After Biden’s disastrous debate, Khanna compared Biden to the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa, saying the latter was a “fighter” even if he “wasn’t the most eloquent.” Buttigieg: Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg conceded the party “maybe” would have done better without Biden, but that “every time I needed something from him, from the West Wing, I got it.” Whitmer: Asked on CNN yesterday what she saw of Biden’s decline, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer replied that “as a governor in a state halfway across the country ... I was busy working.” Pressed, she said “I didn't see the president frequently.” First in Playbook — Newsom: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who attended a White House meeting with other Democratic governors on July 3 following Biden’s debate, did some “rah-rahing for Biden” there as other attendees questioned Biden seriously, according to a copy of “Original Sin” viewed by POLITICO. The next day, at an event in Holland, Michigan, Newsom told Democrats that he had friends accusing him of “gaslighting.” “I spent a lot of time with Biden over the years,” Newsom said. “I’ve never seen him like that debate night.” But but but: The book reports that Newsom attended a June 2023 fundraiser with Biden in Kentfield, California that “went awry,” with attendees “shaken by Biden’s meandering remarks.” “I remember leaving that fundraiser thinking, Fuck,” one attendee told the book’s authors. A Biden spokesperson declined to comment to Playbook.
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Learn more at VaporTechnology.org. | | | | ON THE HILL RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: Will House Republicans get their reconciliation bill back on track at the 9 a.m. Budget Committee meeting, or is the GOP mega-bill about to spin off the rails? The confidence: “[W]e will have the votes” to approve the bill today, House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) averred yesterday evening. This panel would normally be just a fairly perfunctory step on the way to the House floor. The concerns: But Arrington’s statement came as a revolt from conservative hard-liners threatened to derail today’s vote. Multiple committee members — Chip Roy (Texas), Ralph Norman (S.C.), Andrew Clyde (Ga.), Josh Brecheen (Okla.), Glenn Grothman (Wis.) — said they’d vote no or wouldn’t commit to yes, POLITICO’s Ben Leonard and colleagues report. That forced leaders to scramble to assuage their concerns, possibly by speeding up the start of new Medicaid work requirements, which would drive up savings but also coverage losses. The holdouts also wanted speedier ends to clean-energy tax credits. And they’re frustrated that the CBO hasn’t yet cost-scored the Energy and Commerce Committee’s part of the bill. And not just the right flank: Moderate members told GOP leaders they wanted changes to the Medicaid and food aid costs due to be foisted onto states — and the removal of a ban on legal immigrants getting food aid. Then there’s the ongoing debate over the state and local tax deduction, which will likely extend through the weekend, Bloomberg’s Jarrell Dillard and colleagues report.
| | | | Did you know Playbook goes beyond the newsletter—with powerhouse new co-hosts at the mic? Tune in to The Playbook Podcast every weekday for exclusive intel and sharp analysis on Trump’s Washington, straight from Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns. Start listening now. | | | | | The new GOP: Underlying the SALT debate is the growing paucity of congressional Republicans from coastal districts and higher-tax blue states, POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin reports. The House GOP has its own version of geographical siloing and “raw class fissures,” JMart writes. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), doesn’t hold back, saying GOP leaders’ approach on SALT was “no way to run a two-car parade let alone the House of Representatives.” Other concerns abound: Grothman told the Washington Examiner’s Joseph Lawler and Zach Halaschak that he has a problem with greater tax credits for low-income housing. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) decried $150 billion in extra military spending as money for “war pimps at the Pentagon,” NBC’s Sahil Kapur reports. And GOP climate advocates will have to decide whether they can swallow the bill’s serious sledgehammer to the green-energy revolution, POLITICO’s Kelsey Brugger and colleagues report. It’ll be a tough call, for instance, for Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), who could be faced with whether to torpedo an industrial boom in his own district, POLITICO’s James Bikales reports from Casa Grande. The solution? Putting expanded Medicaid work requirements in place earlier could give Johnson more money to raise the SALT limit, a potential compromise to satisfy both camps, NBC’s Scott Wong and colleagues report. … But that could also be a political vulnerability: Dems would surely blast Republicans for changes that will lead to low-income people losing health coverage as mostly wealthy people reap SALT rewards. Indeed, Democrats see Medicaid cuts as key to their midterm messaging attacking the GOP on health care, Semafor’s Burgess Everett and Eleanor Mueller report. The details you missed: POLITICO’s Brian Faler helpfully breaks down some of the many new specialized tax breaks tucked into the legislation — a far cry from the simplified tax code Republicans used to call for. Democrats have especially seized on a break for gun silencers. COMING UP IN THE SENATE: “Crypto Bill Poised for Resurrection After Democrats Hail Changes,” by Bloomberg’s Teresa Xie and Steven Dennis
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Learn more at VaporTechnology.org. | | | | BEST OF THE REST COURT IN THE ACT: The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today will hear oral arguments over two controversial planks of Trump’s effort to bend the executive branch to his will. At 9:30 a.m., judges will take up challenges by Cathy Harris and Gwynne Wilcox to their firings from the Merit Systems Protection Board and National Labor Relations Board, respectively. (The Supreme Court has allowed their removals to take place for now.) At 2 p.m. is a case centered on Trump’s dismantling of the CFPB. On the media: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, another independent organization Trump has sought to take over, took new steps to prevent him firing directors without broad support, per NYT’s Ben Mullin. … Meanwhile, Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez delivered a broadside against its direction under Chair Brendan Carr, saying the agency was being weaponized to censor the press and free speech, per CNN’s Liam Reilly. In the DOGE house: A striking report from Nextgov/FCW’s Natalie Alms finds that the Social Security Administration’s new anti-fraud system for phone claims has turned up just two cases of probable fraud out of 110,000. But the new fraud checks, which came after Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency asserted widespread fraud, have made the SSA’s services more inefficient. Leadership is now weighing undoing the checks. VAX NOT: In the coming days, HHS plans to announce that it will remove or soften its recommendations of regular Covid-19 vaccinations for minors and pregnant women, WSJ’s Liz Essley Whyte scooped. (POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn reported this was in the works last month.) IMMIGRATION FILES: Nearly 12,000 refugees with pre-Trump plans to arrive in the U.S. will now face a more arduous process to be admitted, after a federal judge undid his order to allow them, per the AP. In the wake of an appellate court ruling, the judge said all but 160 will now have to be reviewed individually. In other court news, a judge has tossed out trespassing charges against almost 100 immigrants brought in Trump’s new militarized border zone, per the NYT. And a judge allowed the high-profile case against Harvard researcher Kseniia Petrova to be moved to Boston — even as federal prosecutors took the unusual step of adding felony smuggling charges, NYT’s Ellen Barry reports. The Trump approach: In addition to white South Africans (read more about them here), the Trump administration may have found another group of immigrants it can love: reality TV stars. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is reportedly supportive of a pitch for a new show, “The American,” that would see immigrants compete in challenges to win citizenship, per the Daily Mail’s Shawn Cohen. SCHOOL DAZE: As Trump keeps targeting Harvard, the Justice Department has opened a probe under the False Claims Act to examine whether the school is complying with the Supreme Court’s ban on race-based affirmative action, NYT’s Michael Bender and Michael Schmidt scooped.
| | | | A message from The Vapor Technology Association:  
| | | | PETE HEGSETH’S WARS: “Military commanders will be told to send transgender troops to medical checks to oust them,” by AP’s Lolita Baldor: “[T]ransgender troops who do not voluntarily come forward could be outed by commanders or others aware of their medical status.” GOOD GOP NUMBERS: In blue New Jersey, Trump has a 47 percent approval rating — equal to his disapproval, and better than Gov. Phil Murphy, per the latest Emerson poll. And voters back the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka at an ICE facility by 6 points. In next month’s gubernatorial primaries, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli have fairly strong leads. STAT OF THE DAY: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced she wouldn’t run for Senate after Trump’s team showed her polling from Tony Fabrizio that had her losing to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff by 18 points, WSJ’s Josh Dawsey and colleagues scooped. HOT ON THE RIGHT: After former FBI Director James Comey posted a picture of seashells spelling out “8647,” Republican leaders decried him as calling for Trump’s assassination. Noem said the Secret Service was investigating. DNI Tulsi Gabbard called for him to be imprisoned. Comey took the post down and said he didn’t know people would tie the number “86” to violence. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Mike Rogers, the former Michigan Republican representative who is running for Senate, will attend a reception honoring him on June 17 in Washington with some big GOP names as he staves off a potential primary challenge on his right flank. Attending the event, according to an invitation obtained by Playbook: Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). Also slated to be there: Senate Majority Leader John Thune and NRSC Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.).
| | | | Policy moves fast—stay ahead with POLITICO’s Policy Intelligence Assistant. Effortlessly search POLITICO's archive of 1M+ news articles, analysis documents, and legislative text. Track legislation, showcase your impact, and generate custom reports in seconds. Designed for POLITICO Pro subscribers, this tool helps you make faster, smarter decisions. Start exploring now. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Donald Trump is a grandfather for the 11th time as Tiffany Trump welcomed a son, Alexander. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a model father, in a sense: His daughter Kyra, a model, attended Italian Fashion Week. George Clooney plans to do a live broadcast of his theatrical version of “Good Night, and Good Luck” on CNN, along with a conversation about today’s state of journalism. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — DRIVE FAST, TURN … RIGHT? On Memorial Day weekend, Donald Trump could make history as the first sitting president to attend the Indy 500 race — that is, if he accepts a surprising invitation he received. Playbook has learned that in January, Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) invited Trump to the race — part of his efforts to build a productive working relationship with the president after not endorsing him in 2024. If Trump says yes … it would be the latest in a series of major sporting events Trump has attended this year (the Daytona 500, the Super Bowl, multiple UFC fights). But it would have special salience at the Brickyard: In April 2011, ahead of the race’s 100th anniversary, Trump was asked to serve in the ceremonial role of pace car driver. At the time, he had been trafficking in birtherism, the unfounded conspiracy that then-President Barack Obama wasn’t born in America. A revolt against the decision to make Trump the pace car driver ensued, and this role was effectively cancelled. (“To avoid being unwanted, he elected to say he was too busy,” his former consiglieri Michael Cohen, told your Playbook author in a 2022 retrospective.) Now? Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), a MAGA stalwart who is often not far from Trump, is expected to attend the race, according to a person familiar with his plans. And there is notable bipartisan support for a Trump visit to Speedway. “I’m obviously not a huge Trump fan, but it would be great to have any president attend the 500,” Former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain, a lifelong race fan who has attended the event more than 20 times, told POLITICO. An Indianapolis Motor Speedway official declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. MEDIAWATCH — “Can C-SPAN Pull Off ‘Crossfire,’ but With Civility?” by NYT’s Michael Grynbaum: “Envisioned as a respectful conversation between lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle, ‘Ceasefire,’ which is expected to debut in the fall, will be C-SPAN’s first new weekly program in two decades.” PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “Kennedy Center employees announce plans to unionize,” by WaPo’s Travis Andrews: “[W]orkers described Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center … as the impetus for unionization.” OUT AND ABOUT — At a “Welcome to D.C.” party for new British Ambassador Peter Mandelson and Reinaldo Avila da Silva, hosted by Geoff and Ann Morrell, guests enjoyed roast beef canapés on Union Jack-embossed napkins in the evening sun, as Mandelson told tales of his first months in D.C. Janna and Paul Ryan presented Mandelson with two selection boxes of Wisconsin’s finest cheeses after hearing the selection at the British Embassy was not up to scratch. SPOTTED: Elena and Robert Allbritton, Ryan McCarthy, Josh Bolten, Rob Portman, Gwen and Stuart Holliday, Kevin Fromer, Mark Shriver, Cathy Merrill, Kristen Silverberg, Laura Cox Kaplan, Cathie and Kevin Martin, Tim McBride, Larry Di Rita, Mary Streett, Molly Levinson, Dylan Glenn, Jonathan Martin, Anna Palmer, Mark Isakowitz, Rochelle and Alex Gray, Alice and Mike Leiter, Michael Allen, Meredith Whitney, and Mary Claire and Robin Murphy. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Tyler Staker will be executive director of a soon-to-be-launched independent conservative super PAC in Kentucky. He most recently was deputy chief of staff and comms director for Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), who is running to replace Mitch McConnell in the Senate. Alex Bellizzi, a former Barr staffer who most recently worked at FTI Consulting, is returning to lead comms across Barr’s official office and campaign operation. MEDIA MOVES — Sudeep Reddy will be the first Washington bureau chief at MSNBC, leading a major expansion of its D.C. journalism, per the NYT. He currently is senior managing editor at POLITICO. … Nomaan Merchant is joining CNN as supervising editor for politics. He previously was U.S. politics editor at the AP. TRANSITIONS — Kiersten Pels is now national press secretary for the RNC. She previously was comms director for Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). … Sofia Chavez is joining the Center for Strategic and International Studies as media relations manager for external relations. She previously was deputy press secretary for Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). … Matt Sturges is now VP of federal affairs at LA28, opening and leading the organizing committee’s office in D.C. He previously was a senior adviser at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and is a Transportation Department alum. … … Jason Mashburn is launching Mash Dynamo, where he will be president. He previously was a VP at Creative Direct and is a Brian Kemp and Karen Handel alum. … The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has added Leah Frazier as director of its digital justice initiative, Maya Raghu as national director of its protecting and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion initiative, and Len Kamdang as director of its criminal justice project. Frazier previously was at the FTC, and Raghu previously was at the EEOC. … Jack Fleming is joining ACT | The App Association as director of global comms. He previously was chief comms officer at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. WEEKEND WEDDING — Grant Fox, deputy press secretary for New York AG Letitia James, and Vanessa Torrice, pediatrics resident at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, got married Saturday in West Park, New York. They met in college. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) and Dwight Evans (D-Pa.) … Tucker Carlson … Dan Coats … Minyon Moore … FTI Consulting’s Jeff Bechdel … Bobby Frederick … Elias Law Group’s Kate Keane … Andrew Mamo … PBS’ Sara Just … Bradley Bottoms … Emily Aden … Snap’s Jodi Seth … JoDee Winterhof … former Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) (8-0) … Jay Perron … Brookings’ Michael O’Hanlon … Jake Sticka … Andie Pivarunas … Marissa Lorenzetti of the Madison Group … Patrick Delaney … Olivia Kelley Delgado … CBS’ Rob Legare … Michael Wear … Adán Serna of Sen. Ben Ray Luján’s (D-N.M.) office … Christine Delargy … David Meadvin … Susan Ariel Aaronson … Danny Goldberg … Fallon Moore of Trident GMG Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misstated the name of a committee on which Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) serves. It is the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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Learn more at VaporTechnology.org. | | | | | | | | Follow us on X | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Canada Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
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