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By Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns |
Presented by |
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With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner Good Wednesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, bleary-eyed but buzzing after another compelling night of primaries. Who needs sleep anyway? Drop me a line. In today’s Playbook … — Trump makes his first 2026 fumble … while establishment Dems win across the map. — Sam Altman hits D.C. to talk AI. — The Boldfaces: The Boldfaces: Josh Turek, Zach Lahn, Xavier Becerra, Karen Bass, Scott Bessent, Bill Pulte, Steve Bannon, Todd Blanche, Pete Hegseth, Dan Sullivan, Jill Biden, Gianni Infantino and more.
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DRIVING THE DAY |
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THE SPLIT SCREEN: The Democratic establishment maintained power across the map last night with outright wins or strong leads from New Jersey to Iowa and California, while President Donald Trump suffered his first big defeat of the 2026 primary season. Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot who had institutional support from New Jersey Democrats, will face MIA Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in November. Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s preferred pick, beat his progressive rival state Sen. Zach Wahls, who’d run on an “Iowans over Insiders” pitch. And in California, former Biden HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra was up on billionaire-running-as-progressive-populist Tom Steyer, while incumbent Karen Bass advanced in LA’s mayoral contest. The strong establishment-Dem showing in three states was in stark contrast to Trump’s flop in Iowa, where Rep. Randy Feenstra, who Trump endorsed last Friday, was narrowly defeated by MAHA-backed rival, farmer and businessman Zach Lahn. The end of the streak: The president’s endorsement looked unassailable after a month in which he forced out two serving senators, John Cornyn in Texas and Bill Cassidy in Louisiana, as well as Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, his House bête noire. The president was boasting of his “38-0” run of wins just this week. But this matters beyond a bruised presidential ego. While Trump clearly backed the wrong horse — local activists heavily criticized Feenstra as a weak campaigner who failed to show up for a single gubernatorial debate — the rival Republican endorsements Lahn managed to gather look significant in the wake of his success. Most importantly, Lahn was the first politician of the 2026 cycle to secure an official Make America Healthy Again endorsement, and his win last night signals the growing power of the MAHA base among Republican voters — especially in a farm-heavy state like Iowa. Republican Kremlinologists will also note Lahn was backed by Turning Point Action, the influential advocacy group founded by the late Charlie Kirk, and supported by longtime Vance World strategist Luke Thompson. All will be emboldened by Lahn’s success. (Footnote: Lahn even won the endorsement of the controversial former Iowa Rep. Steve King. It was Feenstra who ousted King from his House seat back in 2020.)
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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. |
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Enjoying all this Republican squabbling are Iowa Democrats, who believe they have a genuine chance of winning a statewide ticket this fall for the first time since Barack Obama carried Iowa in 2012. Their gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand — a bow-hunting, God-fearing fiscal conservative — secured the Dem nomination unopposed. The Iowa Senate race also looks competitive after Schumer’s (unofficial) pick Turek crushed rival Wahls in the Democratic primary. Turek has quite the backstory — a two-time gold-medal winning Paralympian, born with spina bifida after his war veteran father was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He’ll face off against Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson for retiring Sen. Joni Ernst’s seat. Plenty of Dems view it as a real pickup opportunity, ahead of other stretch targets like Texas. Red to purple? Turek told Playbook’s Adam Wren after his victory last night that Dems have a historic opportunity in Iowa. “It’s the first time since 1968 you’ve got an open Senate race, open governor’s race, and two open congressional races,” Turek said. “And this is in a state that is not quite as red as what people realize. In Trump’s last midterm, we won three of the four congressional races, [and] we were only three points away from winning all four … This is a common sense state, not a red state.” Counterpoint: Iowa still poses an enormous challenge for Democrats, given how far they’ve trailed in recent elections, as POLITICO’s Samuel Benson and colleagues write this morning. “I think it’s a huge hill to climb for Dems,” said David Kochel, a longtime Republican strategist who’s done extensive work in the state. “Yes, a lot of things are breaking towards them, but we’re talking about a state where Trump won by 13.” Regardless of how things play this fall, Turek’s win offers an immediate and much-needed boost for Schumer, who’s seen candidates around the country secure nominations after heavily criticizing his leadership. Wahls followed that trend, telling voters on the campaign trail: “I don’t owe Chuck Schumer or anybody else in Washington D.C. a damn thing.” And Washington Democrats more broadly can take solace in the Golden State, where POLITICO’s Liam Dillon, Alex Nieves and Daniel Miller write that last night’s outcomes suggest the limits of anti-establishment currents that threatened for months to upend the party apparatus in the solidly blue state. But it’s not all bright spots: Schumer spent much of yesterday locked in awkward talks with the Dems’ presumptive Senate nominee in Maine, Graham Platner. Schumer wasted significant time and political capital wooing Maine Gov. Janet Mills into the race — only for her to suspend her campaign in April as polling showed Platner pulling far ahead. Platner has since become embroiled in multiple scandals, including weekend reporting that he sent “sexually explicit” messages to multiple women while married. It was a difficult afternoon. First Platner had to shift the meeting with Senate Dems to DSCC headquarters from the Capitol Hill bistro where Playbook previously reported it would be held, Playbook’s Irie Sentner writes in from the scene. Dozens of protesters — at least some of whom appeared to be employed by the NRSC — turned up anyway, and heckled senators who entered and exited the building. They used a megaphone to chant “hey hey, ho ho, Phustle's got to go” — a reference to Platner’s Kik user ID, Phustle0331 — and handed out copies of a photo he’d allegedly sent of himself with a towel wrapped around his waist. After about two hours of talks with Senate Democrats, Platner ran to a waiting car without taking questions. On today’s Playbook Podcast: Jack and Dasha discuss Trump’s first primary miss in Iowa and the loyalist who just landed a big Cabinet promotion.
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THE DOWNLOAD |
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BRAVE NEW WORLD: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is in D.C. today for meetings at the White House and on the Hill, POLITICO’s Cheyenne Haslett scooped. He’ll meet with admin officials on their AI policy just a day after Trump signed an executive order creating a voluntary framework for AI models to get a government review before they’re released publicly, POLITICO scooped.
- Speaking of that AI order: It “represents a sea change in Washington’s willingness to tighten oversight of the technology,” advocates for tougher AI rules told POLITICO’s Brendan Bordelon and colleagues. “And they say it could soon pave the way for mandatory vetting, federal pre-approval of advanced AI systems and other regulations.”
IT’S TAXING: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is back on the Hill today to testify on the Treasury's budget request before the Senate Finance Committee at 10 a.m. There’ll be way more than the budget on the agenda: Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), the lead Democrat on the IRS subpanel, penned a letter to Bessent and IRS Chief Frank Bisignano about the DOJ settlement that precludes further audits on Trump’s tax returns, Playbook’s Ali Bianco writes in.
- The letter calls it a “grant of retrospective immunity” and inquires if Bessent himself played any role in the settlement, according to a copy shared with Playbook. It’s co-signed by ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and other Democrats on Senate Finance. Expect Bennet to press on this today.
- Also up to bat: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has back-to-back hearings in the House at 10 a.m. and the Senate at 3 p.m. And DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, this time in the House at 10 a.m.
ONE TO WATCH: The House is back today and set to take up another Iran war powers resolution. But House GOP leaders don’t think they have the votes to kill it again, per POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill. Speaker Mike Johnson told POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy “we’ll see” if the resolution will pass. Adding insult to injury, the House may also consider a Democrat-led push for Ukraine aid, which may garner a few GOP defections as well.
- From 30,000 feet: The House is working way less than the Senate — 43 fewer days, to be exact — with a growing gap as the midterms approach, Meredith and Calen Razor report. “That 43-day gap is looming extra large as Hill Republicans face a massive time crunch ahead of the midterms, with hopes of passing several major pieces of legislation ranging from a GOP-only immigration enforcement funding package to bipartisan transportation and housing bills and key extension of government surveillance powers.”
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POLITICO Live June 10: POLITICO's Energy Summit will convene administration officials, lawmakers, industry executives and more for urgent conversations on what’s next for the nation's energy agenda – including energy investments, climate goals, and more. Register to attend now. |
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THE FRONT PAGE |
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REDISTRICTING RODEO: After an extensive legal back-and-forth on the redrawn congressional maps Alabama adopted three years ago, the Supreme Court gave the green-light last night to use the 6-1 map favoring Republicans, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Andrew Howard report. The emergency order will allow the state to leave only one majority-Black Democratic district. It also came just hours after Gov. Kay Ivey reopened the qualifying deadline for the special Aug. 11 election, spurring confusion among candidates. MEET THE NEW BOSS: Bill Pulte has had an unusually high profile for a financial regulator — but the fierce Trump loyalist is now taking the perch atop the intelligence community. He’s known “as an undisciplined and disruptive operator” in the White House and faces skepticism on the Hill, POLITICO’s Cassandra Dumay writes. “The president has so many smart people at the White House, trusted people, that he could be listening to,” one former Trump official said. “And he listens to Pulte, who just continually f--ks things up.”
- How it’s playing: While the intelligence community may be shocked, MAGA is thrilled, POLITICO’s Daniella Cheslow reports. “It’s a middle finger to the Senate. A f--k you to the Deep State,” Steve Bannon told POLITICO. “The White House staff hates him because they can’t control him.”
MUST-READ: “The Florida woman catfishing America’s political class,” by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: “Over months of texting, [Rob] Field came to believe that the woman who identified herself as Leah Andrews might be his ‘forever person.’ But just over five months after they first met, surreptitiously recorded videos of their dates and calls were posted online by conservative influencer Steven Crowder. … She was not Leah Andrews, according to a lawsuit filed this week by Field, but a Florida woman named Alysia Gamble. According to public records and online videos we have reviewed, Gamble — who is married with kids — was a former QAnon organizer.”
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5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW |
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1. WAR REPORT: Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu started the war in Iran aligned, but the pressure on Israel to continue its standoff against Hezbollah is straining that relationship, WSJ’s Alexander Ward and colleagues report. Netanyahu’s operation this week in Lebanon could derail the peace talks, a reality that led to two tense phone calls between Trump and Bibi on Monday. The ceasefire remains fragile, with the U.S. military saying Iranian attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain were thwarted, per Reuters. 2. WEAPONIZATION WATCH: Acting AG Todd Blanche declared yesterday the DOJ would drop its “Anti-Weaponization Fund” after pushback from Republicans and stalled efforts to pass immigration enforcement funding. But his declaration still left many questions unanswered, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney write. Among them: whether Jan. 6 rioters could still be paid, if other aspects of the controversial DOJ deal remain in place, what happens with the lawsuits against the fund and more. Read the full rundown 3. E-RING READING: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked the appointment of nine Air Force colonels and delayed two dozen other promotions, raising eyebrows in the Pentagon and on the Hill about whether officers are being singled out over gender or race, WSJ’s Lara Seligman scoops. Similar promotions were denied in the Army and Navy. And in other hiring news, the Pentagon hired Elias Irizarry, a Jan. 6 rioter who later said he regretted his participation, to work in the special operations office with top-secret clearance, WaPo’s Tara Copp and Salvador Rizzo scoop. 4. TALE OF TWO DANS: Sen. Dan Sullivan — the Republican incumbent — is not happy about Dan Sullivan’s entry into the Alaska Senate race, accusing Democrats of purposefully recruiting a candidate with his same name to confuse voters, per NBC’s Rebecca Shabad. The other Sullivan is also a registered Republican, has a similar logo to the incumbent senator and the only distinguishable feature in either name is their middle initial. Democrat Mary Peltola’s camp denied her campaign is involved “with either Sullivan campaign.” 5. THIS AGAIN: “DOJ is investigating former congressman George Santos for insider trading on Kalshi,” by NPR’s Bobby Allyn: “[Sources] say Santos misled the public and turned a profit based on that deception in the tens of thousands of dollars. Kalshi detected Santos' trades, froze his account and referred the case to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Department of Justice, which both opened investigations into Santos. … Reached by NPR, Santos said, ‘Well, that's news to me,’ when asked about the insider trading probe underway into his activity on Kalshi.”
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Catch up on Season 1 of On the Road with Jonathan Martin POLITICO Politics Bureau Chief Jonathan Martin hits the road for candid conversations with key political players in the places they call home. Watch Season 1 for conversations with Govs. Josh Shapiro, Wes Moore, JB Pritzker and more on the issues shaping American politics — with plenty of local flavor along the way. Watch Season 1 now. |
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TALK OF THE TOWN |
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REFLECTION TOUR — Former first lady Jill Biden is bringing her book tour to D.C. today — on her birthday! — with a discussion at Politics and Prose at 7 p.m. — where in-person tickets (going for up to $212) appear to be sold out. STAR WARS — “News Site NOTUS Blocked from Rebranding as The Star for Now,” by City Cast DC’s Emma Uber: “A federal judge has blocked political news site NOTUS from rebranding as The Star on the eve of its launch. Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. granted a temporary restraining order in a trademark lawsuit brought by The Washington Star against NOTUS, finding that readers are likely to be confused by the similar names.” MEDIAWATCH — “‘60 Minutes’ Correspondent Scott Pelley Fired by CBS News,” by WSJ’s Isabella Simonetti: “Veteran ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent Scott Pelley was fired by CBS News, a day after taking aim at Editor in Chief Bari Weiss’s leadership during a staff meeting for the show. Executive Producer Nick Bilton sent a note to Pelley on Tuesday night saying he was being terminated for cause, effective immediately.” COURSE CORRECTION — After putting a homophobic post on his X account that drew sharp criticism from other Republicans, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) said on X that a member of his comms team made the post, which was later deleted. “The post was stupid, hurtful and a complete distraction from my America First focus. The employee has been reprimanded.” OUT AND ABOUT — FIFA President Gianni Infantino hosted a FIFA World Cup 2026 kick-off party at Cafe Milano last night. SPOTTED: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and his daughter Tara Hagerty, Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), Alexi Lalas, Stu Holden, Monica Crowley, Deborah Lehr, Aquila Powell, Daniel Tapia, Jaime Gillespie, Christina Kolbjornsen, Miguel Franco, Tham Kannalikham, Ilan Goldfajn, Chris Manzo, Alex Sopko, Danny Marin, Paris Dennard, UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, Argentine Ambassador Alejandro Oxenford, Portuguese Ambassador Francisco Duarte Lopes, Moroccan Ambassador Youssef Amrani, Rob Place, Brittany Baldwin, Hannah Nine, Hayden Coons, James Littlefair, Johanna Persing, John Hiller, Karen Hiller, John Rauber, Nezly Silva and Jose Leoncio. — The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition hosted its 2026 Impact Forum yesterday at the Westin Downtown, bringing together hundreds of business, nonprofit, farmer, faith, military and bipartisan political leaders from around the country. SPOTTED: Gina Raimondo, Joseph Votel, David Beasley, Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), David Miliband, Michelle Bekkering, Adrienne Elrod, Erick Erickson, Rob Placek, Norm Coleman, Alice Albright, Bill Steiger, Sasha Baker, Heather Kulp, Dan Glickman, John “Fozzie” Miller, Michael Nagata, Bonnie Glick, Sam Kwon, Andrea Thompson, Sean Callahan, Jenelle Krishnamoorthy, Maggie Dougherty, Thomas Flahive, Jonathan Papoulidis, Suzanne Ehlers, Mark Lagon, Matt Mowers, Beverly Bashor, Matt Nims, Bethany Aquilina Brez, Jim Richardson, Richard Parker and Liz Schrayer. — Trending Up hosted a gala last night for politicos and content creators at the Renwick Gallery, sponsored by the Hub Project. SPOTTED: Jess Floyd, Mariana Castro, Ruiyong Chen, Allyson Marcus, Skye Perryman, Cole Leiter, Garrison Hayes, Adam Mockler, V Spehar, Haley Lickstein, Maria Comstock, Hope Walz, Jessica Craven, Lisandra Vazquez, Arielle Farber, Tony Vara, A.B. Burns-Tucker, Elizabeth Booker Houston and Vanessa Diosdado. — Brunswick Group hosted the Senate Press Secretaries Association for a “Life After the Hill” panel and rooftop happy hour last night. SPOTTED: Sharon Soderstrom, Jim Bognet, Kate Bedingfield, Dave Brown, Kaily Grabemann, Stephanie Penn, David Popp, Hunter Hawkins, Elisabeth St Onge, Eric Fejer, Rachel Dumke, Stephen DeLeo, Blake Kernen, Igor Bobic, Sahil Kapur, Bryn McCarthy, Ninio Fetalvo and Doug Andres. TRANSITIONS — Noah Sadlier is now a VP at P2 Public Affairs. He most recently worked for Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and is a John James and Mike Garcia alum. … Sadanand Dhume is now a senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia in the Council on Foreign Relations’ David Rockefeller Studies Program. He most recently worked at the American Enterprise Institute. … Brad Middleton is joining McAllister & Quinn to support higher education clients on federal policy, appropriations and regulatory matters. He previously worked for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and is an Education Department alum. … … Robert (Bob) Sharp is joining Windward as its chief maritime intelligence officer. He previously led the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office. … Ginger Faulk has joined Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner in the firm’s regulation and investigations practice. She previously worked at Eversheds Sutherland. … Michelle Lopes Maldonado is now associate director of AI policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. She previously served three terms in the Virginia House of Delegates. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Former first lady Jill Biden … John Kirby … Anderson Cooper … WSJ’s Michelle Hackman … Erick Erickson … Amy McGrath … David Planning of Cornerstone … Evan Medeiros … Defend the Vote’s Brian Lemek … Gina Foote of FGS Global … POLITICO’s Ahmed Routher and Braeden Arthur … Edelman’s Rob Rehg … Avoq’s Josette Barrans and Bryce Harlow … Lilia Horder of Monument Advocacy … former Reps. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas) and Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.) … Michael Fleischer of DDC Public Affairs … Patrick Martin of Cozen O’Connor … Kellee Lanza-Bolen … Nick Troiano … Justin Clark … Manisha Sunil of New Heights Communications … Sophia Sokolowski … HBS’ Tom Alexander 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.
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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. |
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