| | | |  | | By Adam Wren with Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun and Bethany Irvine On this morning’s Playbook Podcast, Adam and Jake Traylor discuss the implications of Israel’s attacks across Iran, the handcuffing of a sitting U.S. senator and the latest legal back-and-forth over Trump’s troop deployments in Los Angeles.
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| It’s Friday the 13th. This is Adam Wren. Let’s go straight to the news. In today’s Playbook … — Israel launches a massive military assault on Iran’s nuclear capabilities — and in the process, exposes fault lines in President Donald Trump’s MAGA coalition. — A federal appeals court rules Trump can keep the California National Guard in Los Angeles … at least until Tuesday. — Richard Grenell tells Dasha Burns that he spoke with Trump this week about a potential run for California governor — and that Kamala Harris will be a deciding factor.
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Smoke rises up after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, on Friday, June 13. | Vahid Salemi/AP Photo | About 12 hours ago, we expected to lead this morning’s Playbook with the fallout from the handcuffing of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) by law enforcement after he tried to ask a question at a news conference for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Then, starting around 8 p.m., there was a cascade of major news. … Israel attacked Iran. … a U.S. district judge said that Trump’s deployment of the California National Guard to Los Angeles was illegal. … California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared victory. … The administration appealed. … The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the district judge’s ruling. … And Iran launched 100 drones back at Israel. Taken together, it all feels like the fuse was lit on a powder keg with the potential to reshape this already-precarious political moment. We’ll get to Padilla and California shortly. But first, let’s start with the story that’s going to drive the conversation today across official Washington. ISRAEL ATTACKS IRAN: Last night, Israel launched what it billed as a “preemptive” attack on Iran’s nuclear program, with 200 Israeli warplanes striking at more than 100 targets, according to a spokesperson for the Israeli military. The attack is the largest on Iran’s homeland “since the Iran-Iraq war of 1980 to 1988,” per the WSJ. The targets: In a speech after the first wave of the attack launched, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the offensive “struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program,” as well as its weaponization program, main enrichment facility, ballistic missile program and leading Iranian nuclear scientists. At least six military bases were hit, per the NYT. The casualties: Among those killed in the attacks were three of Iran’s top military officials, according to state media: Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces and nation’s second-highest commander; Gen. Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps; and Gen. Gholamali Rashid, the deputy commander of Iran’s armed forces. The timeline: Netanyahu said that Israel’s military “operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.” Trump weighs in: In a post on Truth Social at 5:56 a.m., Trump said he “gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal” and that he told Iran that any strikes “would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come.” He continued: “There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
| | A message from PhRMA: Let's address the real reasons Americans pay more for medicines.
The U.S. is the only country in the world with 340B hospital markups and PBM middlemen fees driving up costs for patients. Americans also foot the bill for the research and development of new treatments and cures, while other countries don't pay their fair share. It's time to lower drug prices by cracking down on middlemen and foreign free riders. Learn more. | | | | THREE BIG QUESTIONS THIS MORNING IN WASHINGTON … 1. Are we about to see major fault lines in the MAGA coalition? The administration’s first response came around 8:43 p.m. in the form of a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who unmistakably distanced the U.S. from Israel’s actions. “Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran,” Rubio said. “We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.” A Trump administration official tells Dasha that the White House drove the message put out by Rubio, an ardent foreign policy hawk who has been sharply critical of Iran in the past. Behind the scenes, a MAGA vs. neocon debate unfolded over the wording of the statement in the lead-up to its release, the administration official added. It also has a real chance to divide the MAGA coalition against itself. Trump campaigned “on ending what his base has long derided as U.S. foreign adventurism, leading the rebellion against an establishment that long favored international interventions,” POLITICO’s Rachael Bade writes. “Now some of his most vocal supporters fear Israel may have trampled his ability to make good on that promise.” “What the president does from here could end up defining his presidency,” Breitbart’s Matt Boyle told Rachael just after news of the strikes. “He has to balance protecting America’s greatest ally in the region in Israel with avoiding getting the USA drawn into war.” “[Y]ou guys … are not thrilled with this situation at all,” Charlie Kirk said of his audience’s reaction in a livestream moments after the strikes, while describing himself as “very pro-Israel.” “How does the America First foreign policy doctrine and foreign policy agenda … stay consistent with this right now?” 2. What does this mean for the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks? The view from the Oval Office: Trump spoke with Fox News’ Bret Baier late last night. “Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table,” Trump said. “We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back.” (The president appeared to be referencing his negotiating partners’ sustained casualties.) Trump will meet with the National Security Council in the Situation Room today at 11 a.m. The view from the administration: “The administration is completely sincere in its desire to see conflicts come to an end and stable peace get achieved,” a senior Trump administration official tells Dasha. “But if hostile governments won’t engage in good faith, they can’t expect the White House to get strung along.” (Even so, the White House strongly denies green-lighting Israel’s strikes.) For his part, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff still intends to do the sixth round of U.S.-Iran talks on Sunday, officials told CBS’ Jennifer Jacobs. 3. Just what is Israel’s plan here? “The Israelis have never trusted the Iranian government to uphold any nuclear deal, and they weren't sure the deal President Trump is negotiating would be particularly good. They also see Iran as unusually vulnerable right now because its proxy militias are in disarray,” POLITICO foreign affairs columnist Nahal Toosi writes in. “The question is, how far is Israel willing to take these strikes? Netanyahu says the attacks could go on for a while, and they’ve not only targeted Iranian facilities — they reportedly assassinated some high-ranking Iranian military officials. Is this an attempt at regime change? I ask because for many Israeli leaders, the threat from Iran isn't simply its nuclear program, it’s the regime itself. If this operation helps topple Iran’s government — a big unknown — I wouldn’t be surprised if the U.S. happily goes along with it. But does anyone have a serious ‘day after’ plan for Iran? The Israelis don’t even have one for Gaza.”
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| | | | THE LEFT COAST
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Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) is pushed out of the room at a news conference on Thursday, June 12. | Etienne Laurent/AP | Nearly any other day, footage of a sitting U.S. senator getting handcuffed amid a confrontation with a Cabinet secretary would dominate the news. Not so this morning. It may not even rank as the most consequential thing that happened yesterday in Padilla’s home state. In California yesterday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer not only cast doubt on the legality of Trump’s deployment of the California National Guard in Los Angeles, but also gave a kind of this-isn’t-hyperbole legitimacy to Saturday’s planned nationwide anti-Trump “No Kings” protests. In court, Breyer warned that the Trump administration’s argument that the president’s position cannot be second-guessed — even by the courts — evoked the founders’ fear of a monarchy, POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and colleagues report. “That’s the difference between a Constitutional government and King George,” Breyer said. “It’s not that a leader can simply say something and it becomes it.” More from Breyer: “That’s not where we live. … This country was founded in response to a monarch,” Breyer said. “The Constitution is a document of limitations.” Hours later, Breyer issued a 36-page opinion ordering Trump to relinquish control of California’s National Guard troops to Newsom and finding that their deployment to Los Angeles was illegal and unconstitutional. He put his ruling on hold until today at noon Pacific in order to give the administration enough time to appeal. They didn’t wait. Almost immediately, they filed one. And within hours of Breyer’s ruling in Newsom v. Trump, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked his order. The three-judge panel — which includes two judges appointed by Trump and one by former President Joe Biden — set a hearing on the matter for Tuesday, June 17. POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Kyle write that the “sweeping nature of Breyer’s decision could make it vulnerable on appeal.” Either way, this seems likely headed to the Supreme Court. Before all of that … cable news was endlessly replaying the still-fresh footage of Padilla lying prone on the floor with his arms pulled behind his back to be handcuffed after he crashed a news conference that Noem was holding in California. It was a remarkable moment. And the explanations for his treatment — that Padilla was being disruptive by trying to ask a question of Noem, and that neither Noem nor law enforcement knew who he was — don’t quite pass the smell test. “Protestors, reporters and assorted bozos crash and disrupt press conferences all the time,” as Puck’s Peter Hamby noted. “They never get handcuffed.” And Padilla identifies himself shortly after officers begin attempting to restrain him. It is, as POLITICO’s Melanie Mason and Lisa Kashinsky wrote, “the latest symbol of an overheated political system approaching its boiling point.” Turning up the heat: Remarkable as the whole episode was, what Noem said right before the altercation is worth pausing to note. “We are not going away,” she said of the federal presence in Los Angeles. “We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city.” Thought experiment: Try to envision the (understandable!) reaction on the right if a Democratic Cabinet secretary said something similar about a conservative area in Texas, followed by federal agents handcuffing a Republican Texas senator. But back to Padilla: On Capitol Hill, reactions to the entire scene played out with typical partisanship, rendering it all into a political Rorschach test. Notable exceptions, as usual: Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who said it was “shocking at every level,” and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who said it was “hard to imagine a justification” for Padilla’s treatment. On the right: Many Republicans saw this as a liberal senator with main-character energy looking to insert himself into the news cycle. They say he lunged at Noem. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) went so far as to claim that Padilla “assaulted people who were defending a member of the President’s cabinet.” Speaker Mike Johnson called for Padilla to be officially censured. On the left: Democrats see the “reddest of red lines” crossed, as former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had it on Instagram. Padilla himself posted a direct-to-camera video shortly before midnight: “If they’re willing to do that to me — a United States senator with a question … what are they doing to a lot of the folks that are out there when the cameras are not on?” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Padilla’s treatment “unpatriotic.” Speaking of patriotism … FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Capture the flag: Democrats’ newest approach to win back voters is a fresh embrace of one of the nation’s oldest symbols. Ahead of Flag Day tomorrow — when anti-Trump protests are scheduled while the president’s military parade will run through the streets of Washington — Reps. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) and Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) fanned out yesterday afternoon to offer a gift to their colleagues: 4-by-6-inch American flags. Unbeknownst to them, Padilla was being handcuffed at almost the exact same moment. The goal: As Democrats look for a message to rebut the MAGA right, one thing some have homed in on is the notion that the party must embody a robust patriotism. And they see the military display taking place tomorrow in D.C. — ostensibly for the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday, which happens to coincide with Trump’s 79th birthday — as a chance to argue that the president is putting his personal well-being over that of the country. No time like the present: “The timing is very apt, because we’ve now had a senator handcuffed; we’ve had one of my House colleagues [Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.)] charged and now indicted; we’ve had not just the National Guard federalized, but active duty troops deployed against U.S. citizens; and increasingly, Trump — who really is the Republican Party now — their definition of patriotism, is, ‘do you support Trump and MAGA?’” Ryan told Playbook. “And if you don’t, then you’re not patriotic.” Read the full story We’ll be watching tomorrow to see just how widespread the on-the-sleeve patriotism is among the anti-Trump demonstrations — and for the split-screen with Trump’s parade in Washington. It all has the potential to be another powder keg.
| | | | Playbook, the unofficial guide to official Washington, isn’t just a newsletter — it’s a podcast, too. With new co-hosts who bring unmatched Trump world reporting and analysis, The Playbook Podcast dives deeper into the power plays shaping Washington. Get the insider edge—start listening now. | | | | | BEST OF THE REST FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Grenell for governor? In an exclusive early clip from this Sunday’s episode of “The Conversation with Dasha Burns,” Richard Grenell — Trump’s special presidential envoy and hand-picked head of the Kennedy Center — revealed that he spoke about potentially running for California governor with the president this week. What will help Grenell decide: “I want to see if Kamala [Harris] runs,” Grenell told Dasha. “If Kamala runs, I think there's a whole bunch of Republicans who are going to have to take a look at it, not just me. … If she runs, it is going to make me have to take a look at it. Right now, I'm not running for governor.” Watch the clip on YouTube … More from Grenell on the mix of protests and support that met Trump at “Les Mis” this week … Subscribe to “The Conversation” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Moore on the move: First, it was a trip to South Carolina. Now, it's another early Democratic primary state: Michigan. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — who has said he is not running for president — will speak at the storied Detroit NAACP Dinner on June 29, Playbook has learned and Moore's office confirmed. What he’ll say: “The theme of the speech is going to be the work of repair, and it’s really highlighting some of the work we are doing here in the state of Maryland that we’re really proud of,” Moore told Playbook in an interview. “There is no state that has moved with a sense of urgency to be able to do the work of repair like the state of Maryland the past two years.” Why these states? “I think one, it’s in recognition that I am the only Black governor in the country, and only the third African American ever elected governor in the history of the United States,” Moore told Playbook when asked how a Democratic Maryland governor who is ostensibly not running for president ends up in South Carolina and Michigan in a matter of weeks. “But also, I think it’s a recognition of the work that we’ve done.” RECONCILIABLE DIFFERENCES: POLITICO’s Jordain Carney, with a strong contender for lede of the day: “The Senate’s conservative hard-liners vowed to wage holy war against the ‘big, beautiful bill.’ Now they appear to be coming to Jesus.” Whither the right?: “The recent rhetorical downshift from some of the loudest GOP critics of the pending megabill underscores the political reality for conservatives: As much as they want to rail publicly about the legislation and the need to address any number of pressing national emergencies in it, very few are willing to buck President Donald Trump on his biggest priority,” Jordain writes. THE GREAT CLAWBACK: The Republican-led House voted 214-212 yesterday to claw back $9.4 billion in spending that lawmakers have already approved, POLITICO’s Katherine Tully-McManus and Jennifer Scholtes report. The package repeals $8.3 billion in previously approved foreign aid and $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting, including NPR and PBS. Flipping Bacon: Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), was featured in a NYT profile just days ago butting against Trump’s cuts to PBS and PEPFAR. But after he flipped yesterday to support the measure, Bacon explained to reporters that he was “assured PBS will be funded in [the] next [appropriations] bill,” and that he “had discussions” with Johnson about PEPFAR. THE TAXMAN COMETH: The Senate confirmed former Rep. Billy Long to head up the IRS in a 53-44 vote. The Missouri Republican will now take on the troubled tax agency which he once sought to eliminate entirely. “The IRS faces an uncertain future under Long,” AP’s Fatima Hussein reports.
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| | | | THE WEEKEND AHEAD SUNDAY SO FAR … POLITICO “The Conversation with Dasha Burns”: Richard Grenell. CBS “Face the Nation”: Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) … Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). Joint interview: Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). ABC “This Week”: CENTCOM Commander Gen. Joseph Votel (Ret.) … Gen. Robert Abrams (Ret.). Panel: Rachel Scott, Donna Brazile, Sarah Isgur and Nancy Youssef. NBC “Meet the Press”: Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) … Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Panel: Kimberly Atkins Stohr, Stephen Hayes, Ryan Nobles and Amy Walter. CNN “State of Union”: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Panel: Andy Levin, Shermichael Singleton, Karen Finney and Brad Todd. FOX “FOX News Sunday”: Senate Majority Leader John Thune … Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). Panel: Francesca Chambers, Mollie Hemingway, Jeremy Hunt and Dan Koh. Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) … Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.) … Alex Marlow. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) … Kori Schake. Panel: George Will, Yoni Appelbaum, Andrew Desiderio and Julie Mason.
| | | | Cut through policy complexity and turn intelligence into action with POLITICO’s Policy Intelligence Assistant—a new suite of tools designed to save you time and demonstrate your impact more easily than ever—available only to Pro subscribers. Save hours, uncover critical insights instantly, and stay ahead of the next big shift. Power your strategy today—learn more. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | PLAYBOOK RESTAURANT GUIDE: “Stephen Starr's Revival of the Occidental Is Certainly Chic — but Is it Delicious?,” by The Washingtonian’s Ann Limpert: “Restaurateur Stephen Starr’s most ambitious and expensive area restaurant is this chic dining room with icy martinis and Don Draper-era dishes. It does best with bookends to a meal: cocktails, appetizers and desserts.” OUT AND ABOUT — The American Sugar Alliance, along with Ducks Unlimited, National Cotton Council, U.S. Rice Producers Association, U.S. Peanuts Federation, and Farm Credit Council, hosted their annual Congressional Baseball Game event on Wednesday at Tap99. SPOTTED: Reps. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas), Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), David Rouzer (R-N.C.), Troy Carter (D-La.), Dave Taylor (R-Ohio), John Joyce (R-Pa.), Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.) and Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.). — Goldman Sachs hosted a dinner for its current and former management committee members at La Tete d’Or on Park Ave South in New York City. SPOTTED: Steven Mnuchin, Hank Paulson, Bob Rubin, Gary Cohn, Steve Friedman, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Jon Corzine, Alan Cohen, Russell Horwitz, Rob Kaplan, Dina Powell McCormick, John Rogers, Kathy Ruemmler and Robert Steel. — SPOTTED at a BGR Group reception last night welcoming former Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) to its advisory board: Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), Dan Meuser (R-Pa.), Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.), Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) and William Timmons (R-S.C.), Ed Rogers, Erskine Wells, Andy Lewin and Matt Hoffmann. MEDIA MOVE — Kate Santaliz will be a congressional reporter at Axios. She previously was a Capitol Hill associate producer at NBC News. TRANSITIONS — Patrick McGill is now director of client services at StackAdapt. He previously was lead associate account director at Trade Desk. … Joe Grogan and John Czwartacki have launched Public Policy Solutions. Grogan is a Trump OMB and Domestic Policy Council alum. Czwartacki is a Trump OMB and CFPB alum. … Jesse Binnall and former Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) have launched King Street Solutions, a boutique government affairs firm. Binnall currently is a partner at Binnall Law Group. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) … Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) … … former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper … L.A. Times’ Seema Mehta … William Lewallen … Morton Halperin … POLITICO’s Eli Stokols, Mark Schlager and Justice Fears … Carnegie Mellon’s Margaret Harding McGill … Patrick Cuff … Jim Fellinger of ICLE … Kirtan Mehta … Mara Liasson … Andrew Lavigne … Society for Vascular Surgery’s Dylan Lopez … Genger Charles … Michelle Korsmo … National Journal’s Casey Wooten … former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon … John Del Cecato of AKPD Message and Media … Abbey Nichols of C + K … CNN’s Jamie Zahn-Liebes … Victoria Maloch … Jo Eckert … Jessica Ek of American Cleaning Institute … Sarah Lovenheim … Georgetown’s Callum Stewart … Landy Wade of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y. ) office … Eric Sutton of Plus Communications … WaPo’s Michelle Ye Hee Lee … Trent Allen … Patrick McGill … Camaryn Kerns … Will King of the House Natural Resources Committee 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, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misspelled Leland Vittert’s name.
| | A message from PhRMA: Foreign-first pricing is a bad deal for American patients.
Government price setting policies like foreign reference pricing are bad for American patients, especially over the long term. These "foreign-first pricing" schemes don't guarantee lower costs. Instead, they take away dollars that could be invested in American manufacturing and undermine biopharma R&D. Most importantly, foreign reference pricing fails to address the real reasons Americans pay more for medicines than other countries: PBM middleman fees, 340B hospital markups and foreign governments not paying their fair share for innovative medicines. We must address these issues to support American patients in accessing and affording the medicines they need, while ensuring the United States remains the global leader in biopharmaceutical innovation. Learn more. | | | | | | | | 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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