| | | |  | | By Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco On the Playbook Podcast this morning, Jack and POLITICO White House correspondent Megan Messerly discuss last night’s dramatic New York City mayoral primary, and look ahead to President Donald Trump’s big NATO press conference later this morning. Listen here Good Wednesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, enjoying another blissfully quiet night of political news. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted Iran is “much further away from a nuclear weapon” thanks to the weekend’s U.S. bomb strikes, as he dismissed a leaked intelligence report suggesting key Iranian nuclear sites were not as badly damaged as Trump has claimed.
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| In an exclusive interview with my Playbook colleague Dasha Burns in the margins of the NATO summit in the Netherlands, Rubio said the report leaked to CNN and other media outlets yesterday was “mischaracterised.” “Very significant, substantial damage was done to a variety of different components,” he said, “and we’re just learning more about it.” Rubio also hailed Trump’s success in getting almost every NATO ally to sign up to his 5 percent spending target on defense — while criticising Spain for refusing to join them. “It’s a big problem,” he said. “It puts [Spain] in a very tough spot with regards to their other allies and partners.” There’s plenty more from that interview — and from The Hague — further down the newsletter. In today’s Playbook … — Bombshell in New York as Zohran Mamdani trounces Andrew Cuomo. — Victory lap, Day 2: Trump hails Iran-Israel deal and NATO spending pledges. — GOP still struggling to make the Medicaid maths add up.
| | | LAST NIGHT IN NEW YORK
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Zohran Mamdani won a closely watched NYC mayoral campaign that neatly mirrored Democrats’ generational and political divide on the national stage. | Heather Khalifa/AP Photo | LET IT BE ZO: New York delivered a true political earthquake last night as Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old state assembly member and democratic socialist, stormed to victory in the city’s Democratic mayoral primary. Mamdani, a rank outsider before his social media-driven campaign gained traction with voters in the final weeks of the race, swept aside former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, earning more than 43 percent of the first-place votes. He should be confirmed as the Dem nominee next week, once ranked-choice votes have been counted. Cuomo crushed: “Tonight was not our night,” said Cuomo, a once-towering figure of New York politics who had led in almost every opinion poll, massively outraised his rivals and racked up a string of high-profile endorsements ahead of Election Day. “I want to applaud [Mamdani] for a really smart, good and impactful campaign. Tonight is his night. He deserves it. He won.” The buzz: Every political chat group and social media feed across America was lit last night, and with good reason — this is a result sending shockwaves through the Democratic establishment and far beyond. It marks a stunning victory for the left flank of a fractured party still searching for direction after last November’s presidential defeat, boosting the voices demanding a more radical policy platform to take on Donald Trump’s GOP. Indeed: This campaign neatly mirrored the Democrats’ generational and political divide so apparent on the national stage, writes POLITICO’s Jeff Coltin. “A young, inexperienced socialist running on a hopeful message with the backing of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, versus a 67-year-old, three-term former New York governor who worked in Bill Clinton’s Cabinet and got the ex-president’s endorsement in the race’s waning days.” And in New York City, at least, there was only one winner. Bring on the hot takes: But for plenty of observers, this wasn’t about identity. Mamdani has promised free buses, free child care, city-run grocery stores, rent freezes, wealth taxes and more. And whatever you think of those kinds of pledges, there’s a running theme that plenty of Dems believe was the real lesson from last night: Mamdani won by focusing relentlessly on the cost of living — the issue poll after poll shows voters care about most. (It’s still the economy, stupid.) You want more hot takes? There are plenty to choose from. Mamdani won by getting out and talking to people — unlike Cuomo, who relied on ads, endorsements and the like. … Mamdani won with social media buzz, Gen Z-friendly Pop Crave videos and so on — unlike Cuomo, who ran as a traditional Democrat and received a convoluted NYT nonendorsement. … Mamdani won by running as an insurgent and being prepared to criticize Israel over Gaza — unlike Cuomo who has defended PM Benjamin Netanayahu to the hilt. How about a centrist Dem hot take? “It is extremely alarming that the only candidates who genuinely excite our voters are the ones making absolutely insane promises on politically toxic positions,” one Dem strategist tells Playbook’s Adam Wren. “Leaving us in the spot of trying to execute on bad policy and losing terribly, or failing to keep our promises and reinforcing the idea that all politics is bullshit.” The bottom line: Of course, one other lesson centrist Dems might like to take away is that choosing dismally flawed establishment candidates to run against outsider populist opponents — whether on the left or the right — really isn’t working out too well for them. (If they need another reminder, the anniversary of that CNN debate is this coming weekend.) Reactions: Mamdani: “Tonight we made history … In the words of Nelson Mandela, it always seems impossible until it is done.” … Brad Lander, who finished third in yesterday’s results after cross-endorsing with Mamdani: “Together, we are sending Andrew Cuomo back to the suburbs … Good fucking riddance.” … Dem activist David Hogg, who went to campaign for (and fund) Mamdani after getting booted by the DNC: “Cuomo. Is. Cooked. … And so is the establishment that brought us here. It’s gonna be a fun next couple years.” … … NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, sounding nervously lukewarm on X: “Today, voters made their voices heard, demanding a more affordable, more livable New York City. I hear them loud and clear.” … And her likely GOP rival next year, Elise Stefanik, also on X: “A radical, Defund-the-Police, Communist, raging Antisemite will most likely win the New York City Democrat Mayoral primary … Voters will say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH next year.” And on that final point: If Mamdani is elected mayor of New York, he will become a flagbearer for the Democratic left — especially as New York is the media capital of the nation and its local politics get broadcast coast to coast. But he will also become the perfect boogeyman for a Republican Party desperate to paint its opponents as radical nutjobs. His social media back catalog is already being shared far and wide. The MAGA far right is already attacking his faith. And if you thought Trump vs. Gavin Newsom in Los Angeles was quite a spectacle, just imagine Trump vs. this guy in New York City next year. It certainly won’t be dull.
| | | | A message from AHIP: Outdated manual processes, such as faxes, are holding back the health care system, adding costs and complexity, and causing frustration for patients. As part of health plans' new series of voluntary actions to support patients and providers, we are committing to real-time responses when routine coverage requests are submitted electronically. Let's work together to modernize the system. Learn more. | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
President Donald Trump meets NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on Wednesday, June 25. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo | NEWS FROM ‘THE TRUMP SUMMIT’: Trump has come out in fierce defense of his Iran bombing campaign this morning after the dramatic leak of U.S. intelligence suggesting key parts of Tehran’s nuclear program were largely unscathed. The president is due to hold a press conference in the Netherlands at around 9 a.m. ET at the conclusion of the annual NATO leaders’ summit — and as my POLITICO colleague Eli Stokols reports, is as keen to talk about Iran as he is about European security. Speaking at the start of the summit shortly after 4 a.m., Trump insisted the Iranian program had been set back “decades” by the U.S. military strikes and that his decision to attack had “ended the war.” He said Iran’s key Fordo nuclear facility was “all collapsed” and hit out at CNN for reporting leaked intelligence suggesting otherwise. But in the next breath, came this: “The intelligence was very inconclusive,” Trump said. “The intelligence says ‘we don’t know — it could have been very severe.’ So I guess that’s correct. But I think we can take [away] the ‘we don't know’ … It was very severe. It was a complete obliteration.” Trump’s language echoed last night’s comments from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and special envoy, Steve Witkoff, both of whom said Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “obliterated.” “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration,” added White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. But it doesn’t matter how many times they say it: The publicly reported early assessment so far does not support that assertion. And it was striking to hear Rubio use far more measured tones when pressed by Dasha this morning. “The bottom line is, they are much further away from a nuclear weapon today than they were before the president took this bold action,” Rubio said. “That’s the most important thing to understand — significant, very significant, substantial damage was done to a variety of different components, and we’re just learning more about it.” He claimed the intel reports in question were “a false story.”
| | | | A message from AHIP: Health plans are making voluntary commitments to support patients and providers. As these commitments take effect, patients will have faster access to evidence-based care and fewer challenges navigating the health system. Providers will have streamlined workflows and reduced administrative burdens. Learn more. | | | | Distraction: The row over Iran has rather clouded the main point of the NATO meeting, which was meant to be a celebration of Trump’s successful drive to get allies in the bloc to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense. “I would call this the Trump summit,” Rubio told Dasha earlier this morning. “The combination of pressure from President Trump in his first administration, and then a full invasion and war in Europe by [Russian President] Vladimir Putin has led now to virtually …every single partner in the NATO alliance pledging to get to that 5 percent mark — with the exception, unfortunately, of Spain.” Watch the full interview Ruh-roh: Playbook noted yesterday that a split might be brewing between Trump and Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez, who has refused to sign up to the pledge. Rubio did little to pour water on the flames. “It’s a big problem,” he told Dasha. “I don’t think that the agreement that Spain has reached is sustainable, and frankly it puts them in a very tough spot with regards to their other allies and partners.” Let’s see if Trump leans into that later today. So far … The president is playing nice. “We’re with them all the way,” he said when asked for a view on his NATO allies and the all-important Article 5 pledge of support. Also on Trump’s schedule: A meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he walked out on at last week’s G7 summit in Canada. Zelenskyy will be pleased to finally get some face time — but nobody seems optimistic of a breakthrough. Rubio told Dasha there’s little enthusiasm on the U.S. side for further sanctions on Russia, despite its nightly bombing of Ukraine’s cities. “If we did what everybody here wants us to do, and that is come in and crush them with more sanctions, we probably lose our ability to talk to them about the ceasefire — and then who’s talking to them?”
| | | | 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. | | | | | MEANWHILE ON THE HILL RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: Senate GOP leaders want to begin voting on Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” as soon as this week, but the July 4 timeline for passage is looking increasingly unrealistic as deep divides persist among Republican lawmakers. The math ain’t mathing: Senate Republicans have “been hit with a mathematical double-whammy,” POLITICO’s Jordain Carney and colleagues report. “Tax writers are proposing a package that’s hundreds of billions of dollars more costly than what House Republicans have proposed, while senators struggle to finalize a larger package of spending cuts to offset it. … Majority Leader John Thune appears ready to call one of Capitol Hill’s best-known plays: daring fiscal hawks to stand in the way of Trump’s top legislative priority.” Meanwhile, several Senate Republicans remain wary of megabill provisions that would cut Medicaid spending and potentially tank the finances of hospitals in their states. Though Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has changed his tune on many of the proposed Medicaid changes, he tells NOTUS’ Helen Huiskes that the provider tax provision remains a major sticking point: “They’ve got to fix this hospital piece of it,” Hawley said. “And if they do that, then I think that’d be fine.” Bringing down the House: Speaker Mike Johnson is warning in private that Senate Republicans could cost the House GOP its majority next year if they try to push through the deep Medicaid cuts, our Inside Congress colleagues report. To quell those and other concerns, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz has “emerged as the administration’s go-to salesman for the sweeping Medicaid overhaul at the center of the GOP’s legislative ambitions,” POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn reports. Oz has privately counseled “Republican senators and governors nervous over the potential fallout for their home states, and publicly promoted the far-reaching changes in a flurry of interviews” as the administration leans on his personal star power, credibility as a doctor and abilities as a communicator. Byrd watching: Several Senate committees are expected to release their updated portions of the bill text as soon as this morning to reflect modifications based on the first round of “Byrd bath” washings, Punchbowl’s Andew Desiderio reports. BENCH PRESS: Emil Bove, who served as a member of Trump’s defense team before becoming his enforcer at DOJ, will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee at 10:15 a.m. as it considers his nomination for a vacancy on a federal appeals court. Expect ferocious questioning from members on both sides of the aisle. Democrats will home in on Bove’s tenure at the DOJ, including his involvement in dropping federal corruption charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams, the DOJ’s termination of staffers working on cases related to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, and a recent whistleblower complaint that he “told subordinates he was willing to ignore court orders to fulfill the president’s aggressive deportation campaign,” as NYT’s Devlin Barrett reports. First in Playbook — Republicans are split over Trump’s decision to forgo the “traditional conservative Federalist Society pipeline in favor of his own brand of loyalist nominee,” as POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs and Daniel Barnes report this morning. “But even amid a schism between Trump and the Federalist Society, the president’s orbit has continued to embrace lawyers and jurists who have ties to the most influential conservative legal group.” ALSO TESTIFYING TODAY: On the other side of the Hill, Kari Lake is set to appear in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee at 10 a.m., where she’ll face questions about the full-blown gutting of the U.S. Agency for Global Media — which oversees Voice of America and other media outlets — and the 85 percent cut in its workforce, POLITICO’s Aaron Pellish and Ben Johansen report this morning.
| | | | A message from AHIP:  
| | | | BEST OF THE REST LAW AND ORDER, PART I: Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) is expected to plead not guilty during her arraignment in federal court this morning on a three-count indictment related to a tussle with law enforcement outside a federal immigration facility last month, POLITICO’s Ry Rivard reports. Some of McIver’s fellow Democrats have “have decried the charges as political and have said she was roughed up by federal agents,” with some going after the federal prosecutor bringing the case, interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba. LAW AND ORDER, PART II: The president is pushing yet again for appeals court judges to overturn their decision in the defamation case of writer E. Jean Carroll, whom Trump owes $83.3 million for defamatory remarks he made about her after she accused him of rape, POLITICO’s Erica Orden reports. LAW AND ORDER, PART III: The DOJ is suing the entire Maryland federal district court bench over its order requiring an automatic two-day stay in cases centered around habeas corpus, POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney reports. The new suit comes after the chief of Maryland’s federal district court formally barred the Trump administration from deporting migrants detained by ICE who have filed for a legal review under habeas corpus. HAIL AND FAREWELL: “‘Big Balls’ No Longer Works for the US Government,” by Wired’s Jake Lahut and colleagues
| | | | Curious how policy pros are staying ahead? Meet our Policy Intelligence Assistant—only available with a POLITICO Pro subscription. It combines POLITICO’s trusted reporting with advanced AI to deliver sharper insights, faster answers, and two powerful new report builders that help you turn intelligence into action. Ready to experience it for yourself? Sign up for a demo and get 30 days free—no strings attached. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Ginger and Matt Gaetz are expecting. Chuck Schumer beat the heat at Van Leeuwen ice cream in Logan Circle. (h/t Nathaniel Reed) OUT AND ABOUT — Semafor’s Justin Smith hosted a reception at his home in Kalorama last night to celebrate the launch of Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) memoir, “Far From Home” ($29), with an Alaskan-inspired menu and a conversation guided by Burgess Everett. SPOTTED: Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, Sens. Angus King (I-Maine), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, Canadian Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, Swiss Ambassador Ralf Heckner, EU Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė, Rwandan Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana, Danish Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, Costa Rican Ambassador Catalina Crespo-Sancho, Bahamian Ambassador Wendall Jones, Icelandic Ambassador Svanhildur Hólm Valsdóttir, Patrick Steel, Katherine Maher, Matt Murray, Bob Woodward, Margaret Carlson, David Weigel, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, Morgan Chalfant, Elana Schor, Sam Feist, Mo Elleithee, Andrew Friedman and Catherine Merrill. — SPOTTED at DSPolitical and Democratic Data Exchange’s Movement Infrastructure Group’s happy hour at Dacha Beer Garden yesterday: Ryan Fanning, Amy Reger, Amanda Coulombe, Camille Torres, Isaac Walker, Louis Levine, Bill Redding, Matt Erickson, Megan Anne Darby, Sam Nitz, Arthur Thompson and Amanda Litman. TRANSITIONS — Rachel Thomas is now senior director of corporate comms at Flagship Pioneering. She most recently was director of strategic comms for implementation in the Biden White House. … Tommy Garcia is now senior comms adviser for the Maine Democratic Party, focused on the 2026 Senate race. He previously was national press secretary at the DSCC. … Keighle Joyce is joining Morrison Foerster as of counsel in the congressional investigations group. She most recently was senior counsel in the Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs, and is a House Homeland Security alum. … … Ellen Hamilton will be executive director for the California Democratic delegation. She previously was chief of staff for Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.). … Tom Clancy is now legislative director for Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.). He most recently was a senior adviser at the EPA, and is a Rashida Tlaib and Mary Gay Scanlon alum. … Na’ilah Amaru is now senior director of mobilization and engagement at the League of Women Voters. She was previously pursuing a PhD in political science at the CUNY Graduate Center. ENGAGED — Claire Williams, a Congress reporter at American Banker, and Brian Taylor, a biomedical engineer at Veterans Affairs hospitals, recently got engaged after a trip to Scotland. The pair met while working in Arkansas. Pic BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): POLITICO’s Tessa Berenson Rogers HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Justice Sonia Sotomayor … U.S. Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta … CNN’s Betsy Klein … Alan McQuinn … POLITICO’s Willa Plank, Emma Anderson and Hank Hoffman … Josh Lahey … Taylor Haulsee of Speaker Mike Johnson’s office … Annika Christensen … Ned Monroe of the Vinyl Institute … Kamran Daravi … John Randall of Burson … Abbie Sorrendino … Narrative Strategies’ Patrick O’Connor … Danielle Doheny … Matthew Felling of Sen. Angus King’s (I-Maine) office … Dan Meyers of Perspective Strategies … Ryan Long … Bully Pulpit International’s Scott Zumwalt … John Fisher … former Reps. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) and Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) (8-0) … Grace Carnathan of Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) office 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 Shelby Wiltz’s name.
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