|
|
| |
 |
By Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns |
Presented by |
 |
|
|
With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray Good Monday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, bracing for the hottest day of the year in D.C. Thanks for all your great tips on father-daughter camping in Shenandoah — we swam the river, toasted (and burnt) marshmallows and saw Jupiter and Venus ascendant in the western sky. I’m happy to report that she wants to go again. Get in touch. In today’s Playbook … — Thomas Massie confronts new political forces in Kentucky. — What Donald Trump got out of his summit with Xi Jinping. — The Boldfaces: Pete Hegseth, Ed Gallrein, Lindsey Graham, Mike Johnson, JD Vance, Chris Coons, Mark Kelly, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Nicki Minaj, Mickey Mouse and more.
|
 |
DRIVING THE DAY |
|
FINAL COUNTDOWN: It’s the last day of campaigning in the most-expensive House primary in history. Cabinet secretaries are hitting the campaign trail, Trump is hammering away on Truth Social, long-suffering residents are besieged by a blitz of TV ads. For the next 48 hours, Kentucky's 4th Congressional District will be the center of the political world. Polls open at 6 a.m. tomorrow, and we’ll get the results early tomorrow night. Massie’s moment of truth: As a seven-term member of Congress, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has faced primary battles before, but nothing like this. More than $30 million has been lavished on this extraordinary campaign, as Trump marshals the full force of the MAGA machine to oust another one of his political enemies from the Republican conference. Power test: After a near clean-sweep of the Indiana state senators who opposed him on redistricting, and then Saturday’s resounding defeat of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) — who finished a distant third and didn’t even make the runoff — Trump is now looking to go three for three. And given recent results, the mood in the White House is buoyant. “Looking forward to another RINO going down!” one official gleefully texted Dasha last night. The case for the defense: Entering the fray with 24 hours to go is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who in an unprecedented move will fly into Kentucky today to campaign alongside Massie’s MAGA-endorsed challenger, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein. The pair will be on stage at an America First Works event in Hebron at 1 p.m. This is a big deal: Even by Hegseth’s standards, it's nakedly political — the Pentagon chief taking time out from an actual war to campaign for the ouster of a member of Congress. POLITICO’s Pentagon reporter Paul McLeary tells Playbook he's never seen a serving Defense secretary hit the campaign trail. But Hegseth's team rejects any suggestion of impropriety. What they told us: “Secretary Hegseth is attending this event in his personal capacity,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told Playbook in a statement. “No taxpayer dollars will be used to facilitate his visit. His participation has been thoroughly vetted and cleared by lawyers, including the Department of War Office of General Counsel, and does not violate the Hatch Act or any other applicable federal statute.” Hegseth’s critics likely won’t agree. Truth bombs: Trump meanwhile is campaigning as only he can — via a torrent of messages on Truth Social. In the past 36 hours the president called Massie “a disloyal, ungracious, and sanctimonious FOOL,” “the worst and most unreliable Republican Congressman in the history of our Country,” and ”a totally ineffective LOSER.” Expect more today, including at Trump’s White House event on cutting health care costs this afternoon.
|
| |
A message from Vapor Technology Association: The science is clear: Vaping saves lives, and youth vaping is at historic lows. Now Acting FDA Commissioner Diamantas must fix the broken system to save vaping: establish predictable scientific guidelines for PMTA review, enforce against illicit products that fail those standards, and protect adult Americans relying on flavored vapes to quit smoking. FDA policy must change to catch up to its own data. The window is open — act now. |
| |
|
The bigger story in Kentucky is the sheer volume of cash that’s been spent — not just from MAGA-affiliated sources, but also from several pro-Israel groups. As POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky reports, AIPAC and other pro-Israel interest groups have poured more than $9 million into this race, sensing their chance to pick off one of the GOP’s most persistent critics of the Israeli government. “He’s the most anti-Israel Republican in the House,” United Democracy Project spokesperson Patrick Dorton said of Massie. “We think there’s an opportunity here.” Judo throw: Massie is trying to use the force of his opponents’ attacks against them, telling ABC’s “This Week” that Hegseth’s eleventh-hour trip shows his opponents are “panicked” and “haven't been able to gain a lead.” Trump’s social media posts actually turn people off, Massie claimed, and trigger extra donations to his own campaign — while the millions rolling in from pro-Israel groups will only make this primary “a referendum on foreign policy.” He added: “You can tell that I’m ahead in the polls and they’re desperate.” Really? The polls we’ve seen so far paint an opaque picture, with some showing Massie marginally ahead and others showing him behind. Trump’s recent record with endorsements certainly make Gallrein the favorite — as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said yesterday, “this is the party of Donald Trump.” Polymarket also fancies Gallrein's chances — for whatever that’s worth. THE POLITICO POLL — Just one problem with these endorsements: Massie’s district has voted Republican for more than 20 years. But in swingier seats, Trump’s backing quickly switches from a net positive to a net negative in a general election campaign, new data from The POLITICO Poll suggests. “That’s because Trump’s endorsement moves the other side, too,” POLITICO’s Jessica Piper writes — and in great numbers. “Across all voters, a Trump endorsement was more detrimental than helpful,” she notes, “a warning sign for the president’s potential involvement as Republicans look to hold on to the House and Senate this fall.” On today’s Playbook Podcast: Jack and Dasha discuss Massie’s chances in the Bluegrass State.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE DOWNLOAD |
|
THE HOME STRETCH: This will be a crucial week for lawmakers trying to advance key policy priorities before Memorial Day and the advent of campaign season, POLITICO’s Kelsey Brugger reports. Republicans will try to move their immigration enforcement and college sports bills, plus potential action on housing, energy permitting and cryptocurrency taxation. There’s “genuine interest in making progress on long-stalled measures,” but there’s also Trump’s bombast — and Speaker Mike Johnson’s negotiations with the hard right — to contend with. VP ON THE ROAD: VP JD Vance will head to Missouri today for a manufacturing-focused event at a Kansas City facility. THE AFFORDABILITY PUSH: Trump will hold an event focused on health care affordability at the White House at 4:30 p.m. as Republicans seek to show progress on a top voter concern. Behind the scenes in Washington, the pharma and insurance lobbies are working to steer lawmakers’ ire toward hospitals — painting them as the chief culprit for high costs, POLITICO’s Amanda Chu reports.
|
| |
POLITICO Live Event Join the POLITICO California Agenda: Los Angeles event on May 20 for an exclusive gathering of policymakers, business leaders and key decision-makers shaping the city’s future. The program will feature timely on-stage conversations, followed by networking over drinks and bites. Request to attend here. |
| |
| |
|
|
THE FRONT PAGE |
|
CHINA FALLOUT: The White House put some meat on the bones of agreements from Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, POLITICO’s Ari Hawkins reports. Beijing committed to annual purchases of at least $17 billion in farm goods for the next few years and is taking steps to improve access for U.S. beef and poultry. Meanwhile, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te urged Trump to maintain his approach to Taiwan, POLITICO’s Phelim Kine reports. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Delaware Sen. Chris Coons is the latest to wade into Michigan's blockbuster Senate Democratic primary, backing Rep. Haley Stevens over state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed. Coons joins Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) and Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) in backing Stevens. Watch the clip 2028 WATCH: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) swung through South Carolina on Saturday to speak to more than 250 people in Hartsville for a luncheon hosted by Davita Malloy and the Democratic Women’s Council of Darlington County, and was introduced by former state Sen. Gerald Malloy. Kelly also visited Mullins for a meet-and-greet hosted by Edla Vaughn, Marion County’s NAN president, who he met at the NAN conference in New York in April.
|
|
|
|
|
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW |
|
1. WAR REPORT: Though the ceasefire is holding, a U.S.-Iran deal to make peace and reopen the Strait of Hormuz looks distant, per Bloomberg. Trump lobbed another existential threat on Truth Social: “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them.” Iranian news agencies indicated that Washington’s latest demands wouldn’t go anywhere. He’ll be back in the Situation Room tomorrow to consider strike options. 2. HEADS UP: The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has exposed multiple Americans, with at least one possibly symptomatic, Stat’s Helen Branswell reports. The U.S. is considering plans to get citizens out of the country quickly to be quarantined — though the separate hantavirus response at some of the same facilities may complicate things. Trump critics pinned the weekslong spread in part on USAID and CDC cuts. 3. WHAT HAVANA IS READING: Classified U.S. intelligence says Cuba considered using a stash of hundreds of military drones to attack Guantánamo Bay or even Florida, Axios’ Marc Caputo scooped. He notes this “could become a pretext for U.S. military action” as a Raúl Castro indictment looms Wednesday. 4. GERRYMANDERING DEEP DIVE: An analysis from NYT’s Nate Cohn and Eve Washington shows the weakening of the Voting Rights Act wouldn’t have to mean the end of Black and Hispanic political power in the South — if the U.S. stopped partisan gerrymandering. Simulations of congressional district lines using simple compactness standards show Democrats winning just one fewer seat across the region than they did in 2024. 5. THE NEXT BEST BET? CBS’ “60 Minutes” last night reported on another possible case of Polymarket insider trading connected to U.S. military actions. Per Jon Wertheim and colleagues, an analysis from Bubblemaps tabbed nine linked accounts that placed correct bets on key surprise moments in the Iran war — netting more than $2.4 million.
|
| |
POLITICO Pro Policy challenges are evolving — and the stakes keep rising. POLITICO Pro delivers authoritative reporting, expert analysis, and powerful tools to help professionals understand and anticipate the business of government, in Washington and beyond. Learn More about POLITICO Pro. |
| |
| |
|
|
TALK OF THE TOWN |
|
PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — The next D.C. Democratic mayoral debate takes place at 7 p.m. via Georgetown’s Institute of Politics and Public Service and FOX 5 DC. And it’s crunch time for the race to succeed Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) — in which the primary presages a major generational shift in the role, POLITICO’s Riley Rogerson reports. D.C. Council Members Robert White and Brooke Pinto, among other candidates, would likely ramp up the publicity to draw more national attention to D.C. Statehood remains the dream. ANOTHER RENOVATION — Trump is now eyeing a potential helipad on the South Lawn to protect the grass from Marine One helicopters, WSJ’s Meridith McGraw and Marcus Weisgerber scooped. YESTERDAY IN D.C. — “Trump-backed faith event features conservative Christians as critics decry blurring of church-state lines,” by Reuters’ David Hood-Nuño and Julio-Cesar Chavez: “Thousands of people attended the nine-hour program, called ‘Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving,’ for a mixture of popular worship music and speakers from evangelical Christianity and conservative Catholic traditions. … Sunday’s events included video messages from members of the Trump administration.” WHAT THE BARBZ ARE READING — WSJ’s Erich Schwartzel and colleagues trace how Nicki Minaj became a big Trump supporter: She quietly called him to tell him she was a fan during the 2024 election, but didn’t go public with her backing until later, aided by Alex Bruesewitz. And her political evolution began with vaccine skepticism during the pandemic. GOING VIRAL — “7News cameras capture brawl, chairs thrown inside Navy Yard Chipotle,” by Christian Flores: “Saturday night’s fracas inside the Chipotle took place just one day after U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said she would prosecute parents of juveniles taking part in so-called ‘teen takeovers.’” OUT AND ABOUT — Blue Star Families, Disney and the Library of Congress hosted the 25th Blue Star Books event for military children and their families yesterday — the largest such gathering ever, for the semiquincentennial. Kids got free Disney and National Geographic books and took part in story readings and activities alongside characters like Belle, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and Sofia the First. SPOTTED: Kathy Roth-Douquet, Bill Bailey and Carlos Del Toro. TRANSITIONS — Erin Maguire is joining Perspective Strategies as a partner. She is a GOP strategist and co-host of the “Party Lines” podcast and “Rising” on The Hill. … Zach Gaumer will be VP of health policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. He previously worked at Health Management Associates. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Matthew Yglesias … former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) … Josh Lederman … Ernesto Apreza of Amazon … Seven Letter’s Erik Smith … Tim Chapman … Libby Nelson … POLITICO’s Melanie Mason, Chelsea Harvey and Angel Yamini … Simona Lightfoot … Cristiano Lima-Strong … Anduril Industries’ Sofia Rose Gross … Gabrielle Shea of Wells Fargo … Laura Morgan-Kessler of Carpi & Clay … AP’s Meg Kinnard … Farah Melendez … Pete Boogaard … Eric Trager … Jonathan Glickman … BBC’s Felicia Figueiredo … Ezra Cohen … Robin Winchell … Clyde Haberman … former Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) … Javier LLano … Bryan Bender … Ryan Hofmann … Lance West … Querry Robinson … Alex Witt … Matt Gorman … Joseph Davis … Maddie Sugg … Allison Lees of the Herald Group 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 Giuseppe Macri and deputy editor Garrett Ross.
|
| |
A message from Vapor Technology Association: Youth vaping is at its lowest level in over twelve years — a direct result of common-sense restrictions that the vapor industry championed. The FDA's own data tells a clear story. Yet policy has failed to keep pace with science.
With new leadership now in place, Acting Commissioner Diamantas has a narrow and consequential window to deliver real reform built on three pillars: transparent, evidence-based scientific standards for PMTA review so e-cigarette manufacturers know exactly what is required; consistent enforcement against bad actors failing those standards— the actual source of the problem; and surgical enforcement criteria that target predatory design and youth-facing marketing, not the compliant products millions of American smokers depend on.
Protecting youth and preserving adult consumer access are not competing goals. A real and well-designed regulatory framework achieves both. The science is clear. The leadership is in place. It's time to fix the system and save vaping. |
| |
|
|
| |
Follow us on X
|
| |
Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Canada Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters |
Follow us
|
| |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment