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Presented by Amazon: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | | | HAPPENING NOW: President JOE BIDEN has arrived on Capitol Hill to huddle with Senate Democrats about their proposed $3.5 trillion reconciliation proposal. “We’re going to get this done,” he told reporters as he made his way into lunch a few minutes ago. While we wait, a “Dems in disarray” story … CPC ANTITRUST MEETING DEVOLVES INTO UGLY DISPUTE — When Congressional Progressive Caucus members jumped on the phone Tuesday for their weekly check-in, it was supposed to be a friendly space to ask Rep. DAVID CICILLINE (D-R.I.) about five bipartisan antitrust bills he shepherded through the House Judiciary Committee. It quickly turned into an ugly and personal brawl between the bill’s backers and Rep. ZOE LOFGREN, who represents a large chunk of Silicon Valley. Ryan Grim at The Intercept wrote about it this morning, and we’ve received quite a few calls about the fight, which has dominated watercooler chatter on the Hill. Here’s what happened: After several members expressed support for Cicilline’s antitrust bills during the call, Lofgren asked to be recognized and went on a lengthy diatribe. — Lofgren said she thought Cicilline’s legislation was shoddy work advanced in a hasty, bungled process. She complained that there were only 11 days between the package’s introduction and the marathon 24-hour-plus markup process — which she chided her Judiciary colleagues for continuing into the wee hours of the morning. — Lofgren talked about Big Tech’s financial support for her — and, by proxy, other Dems. “I’m from Silicon Valley. I have received support over the years from these companies,” Lofgren said, according to people on the call. “The last time I actually spent any money on my own campaign was in ’96, when I sent a postcard,” she said. “All the money I raise is for other candidates. … Last Congress, I raised almost $7 million for other candidates. Whatever I’m raising, it’s going to them, not me.” — Multiple members were floored that Lofgren would mention Big Tech’s financial support at all during the discussion, though some took her remarks as a prebuttal of accusations that she’s in the pocket of the industry. Many of the Dems on the call were stunned and angry at Lofgren’s criticism of the process, which ended only after CPC Chair PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.) jumped in to get her to stop talking. (Members typically get only about two minutes each on these all-hands calls, though Lofgren’s office disputes that she was given real time to make her policy points.) Jayapal mentioned that while Amazon is headquartered in her own district in Seattle, she’s not afraid to take on the industry. — Cicilline was furious, and accused Lofgren of spouting “industry talking points” about his antitrust bills and insulting the work and intelligence of Judiciary Committee members. “With all due respect, Zoe, we studied the marketplace for two years,” Cicilline said, noting that tech executives were invited to sit for public hearings and respond. “We listened and consulted with top antitrust experts, including [now-FTC Chair] LINA KHAN. We had hearings. … You can disagree with the bill, but it’s deeply offensive … to suggest our members don’t understand [the legislation].” — Other progressives on the call backed up Cicilline, including Jayapal, House Judiciary Chair JERRY NADLER, House Democratic Conference Chair HAKEEM JEFFRIES and Reps. JOE NEGUSE, JAMIE RASKIN and ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ. WHY THIS MATTERS: Everybody in politics loves a good intraparty brawl. But this fight is particularly timely given Biden’s moves to take on the tech industry, as seen in his appointments of lefty antitrust heroes like Khan to the FTC and TIM WU to the National Economic Council. The CPC fight signals that Silicon Valley still enjoys support in both parties. Though many prominent conservatives have been quick to pick up the anti-Big Tech banner, some Republicans voted against the antitrust bills. Plus, Democratic leaders have signaled they’re not super jazzed about bringing this to the floor anytime soon. The tech industry has lots of money for campaigns, too. LOFGREN ALLIES ARE STILL SMARTING FROM THIS EXCHANGE. We received messages Tuesday night suggesting that Lofgren was the one being attacked by her CPC colleagues, though most people on the call refuted that. Two people said that they suspected the CPC was trying to silence criticism, though CPC leaders did call on Lofgren to talk, knowing full well that she was a critic of the bills. — Rep. RO KHANNA, another progressive from the Silicon Valley area, sent us a statement coming to Lofgren’s defense and shaming his CPC colleagues: “Quite a few members were appalled and offended by the personal attacks on Zoe Lofgren’s integrity. That has no place in our Caucus. Argue the merits, but do not launch ad hominem attacks about a person’s motives. I shared my feelings with Speaker [NANCY] PELOSI, ANNA ESHOO and others who, like me, have known Zoe for decades.” Either way, Lofgren is now under the microscope. Already, oppo is being circulated about her connections to tech companies, noting that her financial disclosure statements reveal her husband’s financial stock trades involving Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Intel. Over the years, Lofgren’s campaign has received $964,816 in employee and PAC contributions from big tech companies (Google, Microsoft, Cisco, Intuit, Oracle and Adobe, etc.), according to the Center for Responsive Politics, as first reported by David Dayen in the American Prospect. Good Wednesday afternoon. Our bad: This morning’s Playbook misstated where Senate Republicans are holding an event about the border today — it’s in D.C. We also got some details about Title 42 wrong. The Trump administration order, which is still in place, invoked public health authority to block all asylum-seekers from entering during the pandemic, not just those with the coronavirus. | | A message from Amazon: Voters of both parties support wage increases. The most recent elections made it clear: Voters in both political parties support a higher wages. The federal minimum wage hasn’t changed in 12 years, despite significant cost-of-living increases. Amazon saw the need to do more for their employees and communities and established a $15 an hour starting wage in 2018. | | | INFRASTRUCTURE YEAR — WaPo’s Jeff Stein and Tony Romm have the latest details on Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending plan announced Tuesday night: “The proposal is expected to lay the groundwork for hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending for elder care, home care, child care, prekindergarten, paid family and medical leave, housing programs, and other education and safety net programs. The plan would also clear the way for hundreds of billions of dollars — and possibly close to $1 trillion — in climate-related legislation, including clean energy tax credits and more funding for electric vehicles … “The emerging plan would also include an at least $300 billion expansion of Medicare … to cover dental, vision, and hearing care … Under the plan, these new benefits would be free for seniors in the program, which could start as soon as next year … To pay for these changes, Congressional Democrats are pursuing a slew of tax hikes on the rich and corporations, as well as major changes to the IRS to close the ‘tax gap’ … Other major new sources of revenue include raising the top marginal tax rate, increasing the corporate tax rate, and changes to the international tax system.” THE ART OF THE DEAL: Those are the policy details, but our colleagues Heather Caygle, Marianne LeVine and Sarah Ferris have the table-setter on the politics of wrangling the whole party into agreement : “Democratic leaders are gaming out several scenarios for muscling through the behemoth one-party spending bill given their razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate. “Among the scenarios under consideration earlier this week was for House Democrats to vote on the party’s budget blueprint first, reasserting the lower chamber’s role in a process that has publicly been seen as more Senate-driven, according to several Democratic aides. By Wednesday, however, that approach seemed less likely. There’s also the question of whether Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER will put the bipartisan infrastructure bill — assuming a deal is reached — up for a vote before the budget blueprint.” More from WaPo on Biden’s sales pitch EARLY REACTIONS … Sen. JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said the $3.5 trillion package “creates a lot of heartburn for our members” and complicates the separate bipartisan negotiations — where “even members of the group are pretty concerned about the pay-fors,” per Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman. — Senate Dem moderates, one of the key groups that will determine the fate of the spending package, sound open to the $3.5 trillion. JON TESTER (D-Mont.) called it a “big amount,” but didn’t rule out supporting it, per CNN’s Manu Raju, while JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) said he was open to Medicare expansion and wanted to review everything. — HuffPost’s @igorbobic: “So to sum up, progressives are falling in line, Manchin is Manchining, Rs are still in a holding pattern, and everyone else is humming OLIVIA RODRIGO tunes.” — House Ways and Means Chair RICHARD NEAL (D-Mass.) put out a release this afternoon vowing to include universal paid leave and access to child care when the infrastructure package comes to the House. POLLS, POLLS, POLLS — There are some really interesting nuggets in the new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. We broke them down into three Cs: — Crime: Ninety-four percent (!) of registered voters believe that violent crime is a major or minor issue in the United States, a number that is more or less consistent across parties. Asked why crime is on the rise, 84% of voters cited a lack of adequate funding for mental health programs as contributing to the increase. Also: Fifty-one percent of voters approve of Biden’s handling of public safety, including 87% of Dems, 41% of independents and 16% of Republicans. — Covid-19: Fifty-four percent of voters approve of the Biden administration’s “door-to-door” program to increase vaccine awareness, though support varies widely across party lines: Ninety-one percent of Dems approve, compared to 47% of independents and 28% of Republicans. — Confederate flag: Even as the ROBERT E. LEE statue is gone from Charlottesville, Va., a deep divide remains over Confederate symbolism nationally. Thirty-six percent of registered voters said they see the Confederate flag primarily as a symbol of racism, while 47% see it as a symbol of “Southern pride.” The breakdown by party affiliation switches things up a bit: Sixty-three percent of Dems say it’s racist, while only 35% of Independents and 9% of Republicans agree. Read the full crosstabs here PULLOUT FALLOUT — The man who originally sent U.S. troops to Afghanistan is not happy with the choice to withdraw them: Former President GEORGE W. BUSH told Deutsche Welle that the Afghanistan pullout is a “mistake.” More from Bush: “I’m afraid Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm,’ he said, adding that he was also concerned for translators and other people who gave support to foreign troops in Afghanistan. “‘They’re just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people, and it breaks my heart.’ … Bush added that he believed German Chancellor ANGELA MERKEL ‘feels the same way’ about the pullout.” — “U.S. Evacuation Flights for Afghan Staff to Begin in Late July,” Bloomberg: “Leading the effort, which the administration is calling Operation Allies Refuge, is a State Department official, TRACEY JACOBSON. Staff from the departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security are assisting. RUSS TRAVERS, Biden’s deputy homeland security adviser, is leading the policy review.” — “Taliban press advances, take key border post with Pakistan,” AP | | | | 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. | | | | | NOT GIVING UP — “Official: U.S. still wants to revive nuclear deal despite Iran kidnap allegations,” by Nahal Toosi: “A U.S. official familiar with the issue told POLITICO in a statement that restricting Iran’s nuclear program remains an ‘important and urgent’ concern of the United States. “The official stressed that the U.S. ‘categorically condemns’ the alleged Iranian plot. But the official also noted that the fact that the United States was able to indict multiple Iranians suspected in the kidnap plot showed that Washington can simultaneously pursue multiple objectives when it comes to dealing with the Islamic Republic.” CUBA LATEST — “Florida Dems to Biden: Don’t blow ‘golden opportunity’ on Cuba,” by Marc Caputo in Miami | 
| WATCH: What’s happening in Cuba, explained: Ryan Heath is filling in for Ryan Lizza this week, and he sits down with POLITICO immigration correspondent Sabrina Rodríguez to talk all things Cuba. The Biden administration finds themselves in another foreign policy bind as historic protests erupted across Cuba this week. The liberation of Cuban people was not high up on their priority list, but the president has been getting pressure from Democrats and Republicans to determine how the U.S. should respond. THE NEXT PANDEMIC FIGHT — “White House prepares to fight back in the Covid vaccine disinformation war,” by CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins and Jeff Zeleny: “President Joe Biden himself could soon take on some of the corrosive messages emanating from the right … And this week, US Surgeon General Dr. VIVEK MURTHY will make a rare appearance in the White House press briefing room … “Officials are wary of taking steps that could alienate Republicans further and generate more skepticism of vaccines that health experts uniformly say is safe. … A senior administration official said a decision had been made to take a harder edge against the disinformation, with plans in the coming days to call out Republican elected officials and specific social media platforms.” — Press secretary JEN PSAKI said the U.S. will begin shipping 1.5 million Moderna doses to Sri Lanka today. INFLATION WATCH — “Powell: Inflation likely to remain high before fading later this year,” The Hill: “In testimony released ahead of [Federal Reserve Chair JEROME] POWELL’S appearance before a House committee, the Fed chief [argued] that it is far too soon to raise interest rates or cut back on monthly bond purchases with ‘a long way to go’ to a full recovery.” AILING AMERICA — “More People Than Ever Died of Drug Overdoses in the U.S. in 2020,” BuzzFeed UP IN SMOKE — “U.S. Senate Democrats roll out draft bill to legalize weed,” Reuters: “The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act floated by Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, Finance Chairman RON WYDEN and New Jersey Senator CORY BOOKER, would expunge federal non-violent marijuana crimes, further medical research and allow cannabis companies access to essential financial services such as bank accounts and loans.” ANTITRUST THE PROCESS — “Facebook asks for FTC Chair Lina Khan to be recused from its antitrust case,” CNBC: “Facebook argued in its petition that Khan ‘has consistently made public statements’ accusing the company of bad conduct that constitutes a violation of antitrust law.” WHAT MARCIA FUDGE IS UP TO — “Biden administration weakens some proposed safety rules for public housing, alarming advocates,” by NBC’s Suzy Khimm: “The Department of Housing and Urban Development has backed away from new health and safety requirements for public housing that would require fire extinguishers, a minimum number of electrical outlets and other measures intended to protect residents from serious and potentially life-threatening hazards, according to the latest draft of the new standards. “Housing industry groups had urged HUD to ease some of these requirements, saying they would be too burdensome for landlords — alarming some tenant advocates who were caught off guard by the recent changes.” | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WOMEN RULE : The Women Rule newsletter explores how women, in Washington and beyond, shape the world, and how the news — from the pandemic to the latest laws coming out of statehouses — impacts women. With expert policy analysis, incisive interviews and revelatory recommendations on what to read and whom to watch, this is a must-read for executives, professionals and rising leaders to understand how what happens today affects the future for women and girls. Subscribe to the Women Rule newsletter today. | | | | | NEW FROM THE VP — “Harris to host Merkel before chancellor’s talks with Biden,” by AP’s Alexandra Jaffe: “In a meeting intended to reflect the importance of U.S.-German ties, KAMALA HARRIS will hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel at the vice president’s residence Thursday, the first time she has hosted a foreign leader at the Naval Observatory since taking office.” ANOTHER HARRIS STORY — “Ex-Kamala Harris staffers have bad memories of a toxic culture in her past offices and are texting each other about it,” by Insider’s Robin Bravender: “The news spread fast around the alumni network of Vice President Kamala Harris’ ex-staffers in California and Washington after a string of unflattering stories were published late last month … Insider interviewed 12 former Harris staffers about the atmosphere in Harris’ [pre-White House] offices … “Some of them said they were thrilled to have worked for a woman they — and many in the public — see as a brilliant politician and cultural icon. … But others described Harris as unpredictable and at times demeaning to her staff over the years. She often hung up on her aides, berated them when she didn’t think they were prepared enough for briefings, and had a reputation for churning through interns and lower-level staff, people told Insider.” MEDIAWATCH — “How Tucker Carlson became the voice of White grievance,” by WaPo’s Michael Kranish: “What emerges is a portrait of an ambitious television personality who came of age in privilege — having grown up in an upper-class enclave and attended private schools — but who, by his own telling, is a victim. [TUCKER] CARLSON, in his writings and commentaries, has described resentment toward liberals as far back as the first grade. “He has frequently ridiculed the notion that America should celebrate diversity and has lashed out repeatedly at the idea that he, as a White person, bears any responsibility for racism against Black people. … Two of the leading conservative activists battling critical race theory, an academic construct in which systemic racism is studied, credit him with the rapid rise of their movement, while Black scholars he frequently targets say he mischaracterizes and manipulates their work to suit his agenda.” Plus: Carlson’s first-grade teacher says he lied about her in his book — “Inside Shepard Smith’s Post-Fox News Crash on CNBC,” by The Daily Beast’s Lachlan Cartwright and Maxwell Tani: “Whether it’s a poor time slot, behind-the-scenes squabbles, an outdated news format, a slower post-Trump news cycle, or just a once-popular anchor taking his frustrations out on staffers, CNBC insiders have a lot of reasons for why SHEPARD SMITH’S show has failed to capture major ratings. But one thing many agree on is that it has not met the bosses’ expectations. … “Smith has put out a slickly produced, no-nonsense evening news show that prizes on-the-ground reporting over the talking-head panel fights that define many of his cable news competitors. But The News with Shepard Smith … has struggled to attract the millions of viewers who watched Smith every day for years at Fox News, or to produce the fiery breakout viral moments that defined the later part of his tenure at the conservative cable-news giant. And those struggles have seemingly fostered some turmoil within the network and the show’s staff.” VALLEY TALK — NYT’s Kevin Roose has a piece up today about Facebook’s internal battles over CrowdTangle, a wonky subject with big implications for politics and media. The takeaway: After Roose and other journalists used the tool to show how right-wing media dominates Facebook engagement, the company got spooked about how it looked — and we could start having a lot less transparency going forward. “On one side were executives … who argued that Facebook should publicly share as much information as possible about what happens on its platform — good, bad or ugly. On the other side were executives … who worried that Facebook was already giving away too much,” Roose writes. “They argued that journalists and researchers were using CrowdTangle … to dig up information they considered unhelpful — showing, for example, that right-wing commentators like BEN SHAPIRO and DAN BONGINO were getting much more engagement on their Facebook pages than mainstream news outlets. These executives argued that Facebook should selectively disclose its own data in the form of carefully curated reports, rather than handing outsiders the tools to discover it themselves. Team Selective Disclosure won, and CrowdTangle and its supporters lost.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Luci Meade is now an advocacy officer at the Freedom Initiative, an NGO that works to free political prisoners in the Middle East. She most recently was a senior program associate for the civil society program at InterAction. TRANSITIONS — Jamie Manning is now director of business development at Applecart. She previously was national advertising sales director at CQ Roll Call. … Brielle Appelbaum is now finance director at the Republican Attorneys General Association. She most recently was managing partner of Inspire Capital, and has been a national fundraiser for various conservative politicians and groups. … … David Krone will be senior partner and global head of public policy at Apollo Global Management. He formerly was chief of staff to then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. … Sasha Moss is now a public policy manager at Coinbase. She previously was a senior director at InSight Public Affairs. … Melissa Murphy is now director of strategic engagement for Duke Energy in Greenville, S.C. She previously was chief of staff for Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.). ENGAGED — Charyssa Parent, press secretary and director of media affairs for the House Republican Conference, and Timothy Johnson, a U.S. Capitol Police officer, got engaged Saturday at the Trump Winery in Charlottesville, Va. They celebrated with friends and family at a surprise engagement party on the Rappahannock River. The couple were originally set up by Timothy’s sister in 2018. Pic … Another pic BIRTHWEEK (was Monday): Kate Childs Graham and Rohini Kosoglu of the VP’s office | | | | A message from Amazon:   Watch what happened when Amazon raised their starting wage to $15/hr in 2018. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
