| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
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President Joe Biden and his Cabinet are readying to fan out around the country over the next 72 hours, touting “Bidenomics” as he gears up for reelection. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | WE SHOULD’VE LISTENED — “Why everything is the worst when July 4 is on a Tuesday,” by Tampa Bay Times’ Christopher Spata THREE BUZZY BITES … 1. HOUSE GOP BOOSTS SCHIFF’S SENATE BID: When it comes to fundraising, we all knew Rep. ADAM SCHIFF was a money-making machine. But thanks in part to House Republicans’ efforts to punish the longtime DONALD TRUMP critic — culminating in a party-line censure vote last month — the California Democrat appears to have broken the record for a non-election-year Q2 haul. The total? $8.1 million, our colleague Christopher Cadelago scoops this morning. That beats the previous record-holder, Sen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-Ga.), by almost $1 million and leaves Schiff with a whopping $29.5 million in cash on hand. (Rivals, including Reps. KATIE PORTER and BARBARA LEE, will report their own hauls ahead of a July 15 FEC reporting deadline.) 2. WHITE LINES AT THE WHITE HOUSE: While you were stuffing your face with hot dogs and watching fireworks, news broke that the mysterious substance that the Secret Service discovered in a West Wing work area was not anthrax but cocaine. Expect to hear plenty more about this in the coming days. More from NYT’s Katie Rogers 3. CNN’S EXILE CLUB: The Daily Mail spotted JEFF ZUCKER, ALLISON GOLLUST and DON LEMON — who have all received the boot from the CNN, the network they long called home — wining and dining on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. As noted by the gossip columns that scrutinized a photo of the gathering (first posted on Lemon’s Instagram account), the power huddle comes as Zucker has emerged as a possible CNN buyer amid rumors that Warner Bros. Discovery may be looking to sell. FULL-COURT PRESS ON ‘BIDENOMICS’ — While much of the political attention yesterday focused on 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls barnstorming July Fourth parades and wooing early-state voters, President JOE BIDEN and his Cabinet were readying to fan out around the country over the next 72 hours, touting “Bidenomics” as he gears up for reelection. — Today: According to a schedule shared by the White House last night, EPA Administrator MICHAEL REGAN will kick things off today, traveling to Grand Rapids, Mich. — home of a U.S. House seat Dems flipped in 2020 — to tout federal investments in replacing lead pipes. — Tomorrow: POTUS himself heads to South Carolina to unveil investments in clean energy manufacturing that the administration says will create “hundreds of good-paying jobs.” — Also tomorrow: VP KAMALA HARRIS and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will be in the critical swing state of Arizona, where they’ll visit the Gila River Indian Community to tout the bipartisan infrastructure law’s water investments in tribal areas. As for the rest of the gang:
- Interior Secretary DEB HAALAND is in Albany, N.Y., to talk about offshore wind energy commitments.
- HHS Secretary XAVIER BECERRA is in Akron and Cleveland, Ohio, preaching about how Biden has reduced health care costs for seniors.
- Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG is in Washington state highlighting infrastructure grants.
- Small Business Administrator ISABELLA GUZMAN is in Sacramento, Calif., talking about the administration’s efforts to help small businesses.
- And senior adviser MITCH LANDRIEU and National Telecommunications and Information Administrator ALAN DAVIDSON are in New Mexico, touting improvements to high-speed internet.
BUT, BUT, BUT — Biden’s sales pitch continues on Friday, when POTUS will pivot to a focus on his work lowering prescription drug prices for seniors and cracking down on junk fees. The real question is: Are voters even buying what he’s selling? So far, not so much. Despite low unemployment, a rebounding stock market and wage growth, voters still limping from inflation aren’t exactly happy with Biden’s economic policies: Only a third of those surveyed in a recent AP-NORC Center poll approved of his leadership on the economy. That’s precisely why, in recent weeks, Republicans — from 2024 hopefuls to congressional leaders — have been positively giddy over the White House’s embrace of the one-word catchall phrase “Bidenomics.” Their goal? To ensure “Bidenomics” is defined by all the negative feelings voters have about the economy. And the GOP is betting that the administration’s “Mission Accomplished” sentiment will only repel voters who are still struggling, making Biden seem out of touch. “Highest inflation in 40 years. 24 straight months of pay cuts. 37.2% increase in energy prices. That’s Bidenomics in action!” Sen. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-Tenn.) cheekily tweeted last week — a perfect encapsulation of how Republicans are mocking the White House. Let the messaging wars begin. WHAT MIGHT CHANGE THOSE PERCEPTIONS — “Americans haven’t bought Biden’s economic message. Wall Street might,” by Sam Sutton: “Leading economists at big banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have lowered their odds of an imminent recession, pointing to a resilient labor market and steady household finances as signs that the U.S. can weather the storm as the Federal Reserve continues to drive up borrowing costs. ‘The most anticipated recession in modern history may not come,’ JAMIE COX, a managing partner at the advisory firm Harris Financial Group, said in an interview.” Good Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Meta: The metaverse will help students gain more hands-on experience.
Students will use augmented reality to look inside the circulatory system and see how it powers the human body—helping them gain a deeper understanding of how our bodies work.
The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real.
Explore more possibilities with the metaverse. | | | JUST POSTED — “Bill de Blasio and Chirlane McCray Are Separating,” by NYT’s Matt Flegenheimer: “They are not planning to divorce, they said, but will date other people. They will continue to share the Park Slope townhouse where they raised their two children, now in their 20s — the vinyl-sided hub of a thoroughly modern political family whose mixed-race symbolism helped send a spindly progressive long shot to City Hall.” DEFUNDING THE POLICE — Jordain Carney today takes a wide view of House conservatives’ plan to target DOJ and the FBI this year, turbocharged by their claims — so far, without firm evidence — that recent Trump and HUNTER BIDEN legal decisions were politicized. The policy possibilities run the gamut and will be a key part of how House Republicans legislate for the rest of the year. Among the options:
- Impeaching AG MERRICK GARLAND or voting to recommend removing FBI Director CHRISTOPHER WRAY;
- Budget cuts for the law enforcement agencies in the annual spending processes;
- Heating up ongoing investigations into law enforcement’s decisions around Hunter Biden and Trump;
- Digging in against the reauthorization of the Section 702 warrantless surveillance program;
- And blasting Wray and Garland at oversight hearings in the coming days and months. (This one’s a certainty.)
But it’s not clear how far they’ll get if there’s a backlash from moderate or establishment Republicans, who still by and large support funding federal law enforcement. TOP-ED — In a striking open letter in POLITICO Magazine this morning, 46 prominent foreign policy experts from FRANCIS FUKUYAMA to TOM MALINOWSKI declare that NATO needs to provide Ukraine with a pathway to membership in the alliance at its summit next week. “Leaving Ukraine in a gray zone of ambiguity invites Russian aggression,” they warn. “In Vilnius, NATO heads of state and government should offer an unequivocal statement of alliance support for Ukraine and for Kyiv’s aim of regaining sovereignty and territorial integrity within its 1991 borders.” Also among the names signing the letter: KURT VOLKER, ALEXANDER VINDMAN, MARIE YOVANOVITCH, MICHAEL McFAUL and LARRY DIAMOND.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | | | BIDEN’S WEDNESDAY:
10 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief.
2 p.m.: Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with Swedish PM ULF KRISTERSSON in the Oval Office.
HARRIS' WEDNESDAY: The VP has nothing on her public schedule.
Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 2:15 p.m.
THE SENATE and THE HOUSE are out. | | | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, hug as Hunter Biden, his son Beau Biden and wife Melissa Cohen watch a fireworks show during a Fourth of July celebration at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, July 4, 2023. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH FOURTH OF JULY ON THE TRAIL — Many of the Republican presidential candidates were out in force across early-voting states for the holiday yesterday, Trump notably not among them. In New Hampshire, Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS, Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) and others got drenched in a rainstorm (Daily Mail pics). The recent homophobic video from the DeSantis campaign drew some criticism from parade attendees in Merrimack, Trent Spiner and Nicole Gaudiano report for The Messenger, though others said they like the governor. Across the campaign stops, the specter of Trump hung heavy as the main focal point to which other candidates reacted and were being judged, NYT’s Jazmine Ulloa and Jonathan Weisman report. So did the question of how much campaigning at Fourth of July parades really matters these days, in our increasingly nationalized and digitized politics. But the rivals trying to wrest the lead from Trump did find plenty of voters dissatisfied with the former president’s scandals and behavior. Though most candidates were in New Hampshire, MIKE PENCE had media attention to himself in Iowa, where he encountered a warm reception — and some criticism — during a two-mile route that he partially ran or jogged, the Des Moines Register’s Stephen Gruber-Miller reports. MORE POLITICS PRIMARY COLORS — In what could be one of the highest-profile Republican House primaries next year, DARREN BAILEY filed yesterday to challenge Rep. MIKE BOST (R-Ill.), Shia Kapos reports from Chicago. Bailey, the failed GOP gubernatorial nominee in Illinois last year, will square off against Bost in the heavily Republican downstate district; both are very conservative Trump allies. Shia writes that a Trump endorsement for either man could prove critical. FIRST PERSON — “DeSantis, Furries, and Trump Merch: I Went to the Moms for Liberty Summit,” by The Daily Beast’s Kate Briquelet: “Conservative parents, Bible thumpers, and atheist moles all gathered in Philly over the weekend to court GOP candidates and thunder against the woke.” SOUNDS LIKE 2022 — “Democrats are already running on abortion rights in battleground states,” by NBC’s Adam Edelman: “The issue will be particularly hard for Republicans to run from in the perennial battleground of Wisconsin.” JUDICIARY SQUARE HOT ON THE RIGHT — A Trump-appointed federal judge issued a major ruling yesterday preventing certain Biden administration officials from communicating with social media companies, WaPo’s Cat Zakrzewski reports. It’s “an extraordinary preliminary injunction in an ongoing case that could have profound effects on the First Amendment,” as Republican state attorneys general press their contention that social media platforms have excessively censored conservative viewpoints in conjunction with government officials. The injunction, which isn’t final but indicates a likely ruling in the GOP AGs’ favor, “could undo years of efforts to enhance coordination between the government and social media companies” across a range of priorities, from terrorism to child sexual abuse, though it included certain exemptions. It stems from Republican complaints that the feds overstepped by seeking to limit vaccine and election misinformation. The order applies to multiple agencies and some specific people, including DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency head JEN EASTERLY.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | THE WHITE HOUSE KEEP DREAMING — “Biden faces renewed pressure to embrace Supreme Court overhaul,” by WaPo’s Tyler Pager: “In Congress, most of the support for court expansion rests with liberal lawmakers. But a growing number of more centrist Democrats have started to ratchet up their rhetoric as well.” POLICY CORNER NEWS THE WHITE HOUSE WILL LOVE — “Biden’s hydrogen bombshell leaves Europe in the dust,” by Gabriel Gavin and Ben Lefebvre: “European leaders have devoted tens of billions of dollars toward encouraging production of hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel that advocates say will create jobs and help fight climate change. But now, many of those jobs will be going to the United States instead. The clean energy subsidies that undergird President Joe Biden’s climate agenda have just prompted one Norwegian manufacturer to choose Michigan, not Europe, as the site of a nearly $500 million factory … [a]nd other European-based companies are being tempted to follow suit.” STUDY HALL — “US citizenship test changes are coming, raising concerns for those with low English skills,” by AP’s Trisha Ahmed BEYOND THE BELTWAY UP IN SMOKE — “The push for legal weed faces hostile ground in red states,” by Mona Zhang, Paul Demko and Natalie Fertig: “Weed legalization advocates are running out of friendly territory. … And there are increasing signs of a legalization backlash in deep red America: Voters in four states — Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota — have rejected adult-use referendums in the last nine months.” GETTING DARKER — “DeSantis is squeezing the sunshine out of Florida’s public records law, critics say,” by NBC’s Lewis Kamb: “In the four years since DeSantis took office, his administration has routinely stonewalled the release of public records, approved a slew of new legal exceptions aimed at keeping more information out of the public eye, and waged legal battles against open government advocates, the press and other watchdogs.” MORE TRAGEDY AT THE BORDER — “Infant girl among four found dead in Rio Grande,” by The Texas Tribune’s Jayme Lozano Carver MEDIAWATCH HMM … “The Mysterious Disappearance from GQ Magazine Website of Controversial Warner Discovery Chief David Zaslav Profile,” by Showbiz411’s Roger Friedman: “In the last two days, New York Times Culture writer JASON BAILEY published a profile of controversial Warner Discovery owner DAVID ZASLAV. The story appeared on gq.com and was titled ‘How Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav Became Public Enemy Number One in Hollywood.’ … But now the piece is gone. It’s been wiped clean from the GQ website. Vanished into thin air. A revised piece, 500 words shorter, has taken its place but not on the GQ website.”
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Tiffany Justice said Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was “bullied out of speaking” at the Moms for Liberty summit. Michael Vickers’ new book tackles U.S. support for Ukraine. The Brian Kemp presidential rumor mill still hasn’t quite died down. Ed Markey and Karen Pierce sang along to “Sweet Caroline” during PBS’ “A Capitol Fourth.” ENGAGED — Will Carbaugh, project manager at Hoar Construction, proposed to Reade Pickert, U.S. economy reporter and editor at Bloomberg News, on Saturday during the fireworks at the Fourth of July celebration in St. Michael’s, Md. They met at a tailgate in college in 2015. — Emily Carlin, comms director for Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), and Matt Ellis of the Maryland National Guard, got engaged Saturday at her family house in Northern Michigan. They met when Emily got lost going through the checkpoints after Jan. 6. WEEKEND WEDDING — DJ Eckert, co-founder of Matchstick Media Strategies and an RSLC and Mike DeWine alum, and Colby Jones, financial adviser at Raymond James, got married Saturday in Highlands, N.C. They fell in love due to a glitter bomb. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) … Reps. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) and Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) … former Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) … NYT’s David Sanger … Mike Stranz … Michael LaRosa … Laura Peavey of the House Financial Services GOP … Kerry Picket … Mike Manatos of Manatos & Manatos … Walt Cronkite of Latham and Watkins … POLITICO’s Zack Colman and Jade Cuevas … Hannah MacInnis … CBS’ Alisa Wiersema … Steve McMillin … Beverly Kirk … NBC’s Julie Shapiro … Qualcomm’s Angela Baker … former Reps. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and David Dreier (R-Calif.) … Steve Rattner of Willett Advisors … John Lawrence … Barb Barrett of Pew’s Stateline … Julie Nixon Eisenhower … David Mortlock of Willkie Farr & Gallagher … Mira Ricardel … Ben Ray BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Cassie Ballard of Chime Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misspelled Meridith McGraw’s name.
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