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Presented by Amazon: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | The massive news that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has drafted an opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade continued to shake the foundations of American politics today, as Chief Justice JOHN ROBERTS confirmed the authenticity of Josh Gerstein and Alex Ward’s mega-scoop. The Supreme Court said in a statement that the draft opinion from Justice SAMUEL ALITO is “authentic,” though it doesn’t constitute a final decision and could still change. Roberts declared that the court’s marshal would investigate the source of the breach, which has quickly become a focal point for conservatives upset at the near-unprecedented disclosure of a draft opinion. Several Republican lawmakers went further, calling for a DOJ investigation. Roberts called it a “betrayal of the confidences of the Court,” an “affront” and “singular and egregious.” He added that it wouldn’t influence the court’s work. President JOE BIDEN issued a statement this morning decrying the draft, pledging that his administration was ready to respond and urging voters to elect leaders who support abortion rights. Before he boarded Air Force One, the president said the opinion would mark a “fundamental shift in American jurisprudence,” and warned that its rationale could threaten other rights. “I’m not prepared to leave that to the whims of the public at the moment in local areas.” More reactions across the political spectrum … Outrage on the right (in multiple directions):
- Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL: “Last night’s stunning breach was an attack on the independence of the Supreme Court. By every indication, this was yet another escalation in the radical left’s ongoing campaign to bully and intimidate federal judges and substitute mob rule for the rule of law.”
- Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine), who supports abortion rights but voted to confirm two of DONALD TRUMP’s Supreme Court picks: “If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice [NEIL] GORSUCH and Justice [BRETT] KAVANAUGH said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office.” She declined to say explicitly whether she’d been misled.
- Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-Alaska), who supports abortion rights, on the content of the opinion: “It rocks my confidence in the court right now.”
- Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) on the breach: “Whether you are a liberal, conservative or moderate, the integrity of the Court has been compromised by this outrageous act — an affront to the Rule of Law.”
Outrage on the left (in multiple directions):
- Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER said he would push forward legislation in the chamber to codify the right to abortion. “A vote on this legislation is not an abstract exercise,” he said. (Without the support necessary to eliminate the filibuster, it is not going to happen.) More from Marianne LeVine and Sarah Ferris
- Sen. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-Mass.) told CNN’s Manu Raju that the focus should not be on the breach: “This is about five extremist justices … at least two of them swore up and down that they cared about the rule of law and Roe v Wade is settled law.”
- Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.): “The filibuster is the only protection we have of democracy right now.”
The stakes for the court: NYT’s Adam Liptak takes a step back on the massive breach, which he writes is “raising questions about whether the court is capable of functioning in an orderly way” after a period of increasing dysfunction and threats to the high court’s legitimacy.
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| Further reading: “Republicans rage about breach of draft Roe opinion,” by Kyle Cheney and Andrew Desiderio … “Roe v. Wade Abortion Case Takes Center Stage on Capitol Hill, Campaign Trail,” WSJ … “Court that rarely leaks does so now in biggest case in years,” AP … “Majority of Americans say Supreme Court should uphold Roe, Post-ABC poll finds,” WaPo Good Tuesday afternoon.
| | | | A message from Amazon: Only 23% of working Americans have access to paid parental leave. They face an unfair choice: spend time with their babies or continue to earn a paycheck. Amazon’s paid leave policy allows parents to do both. | | | ALL POLITICS NEW NO. 2 — Democratic Rep. ANTONIO DELGADO will be New York’s next lieutenant governor, filling the vacancy left by BRIAN BENJAMIN, Gov. KATHY HOCHUL announced today. Delgado’s selection leaves the state’s leadership in the unusual position of comprising two upstate New York politicians. He’ll appear on the primary ballot next month after Democrats in the legislature passed a new bill to allow a replacement pick. The national implications: Delgado’s departure from Congress could damage Democrats in a tough year, as he represents a swing district and was facing a strong bid from Republican MARC MOLINARO. More from The Buffalo News ALL SUNSHINE FOR THE GOP — Taking down Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS is looking like an increasingly remote possibility for Democrats in the state, who are stressing about lack of donor interest, a “perceived weak slate of candidates, [and] DeSantis’ brand of bully politics,” Matt Dixon reports from Tallahassee. DeSantis’ national profile and bulldozing leadership have scared off plenty of opponents, and his latest move to force a more extreme GOP congressional gerrymander will give Democrats even less incentive to invest in the state. “DeSantis seems unstoppable,” one Florida Dem fundraiser tells Matt. “He has $100 million in the bank, and we have three Tier B candidates I think a lot of people lack confidence in.” CONGRESS PELOSI VS. BIDEN — The latest revelation from Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns’ new book, “This Will Not Pass” (out today), comes via SFGate’s Eric Ting: “The relationship between President Joe Biden and House Speaker NANCY PELOSI has frayed to the point where the San Francisco Democrat has grown ‘increasingly open’ about her frustrations with the president.” Pelosi is reportedly fed up with Biden’s handling of Build Back Better and voting rights. FOR YOUR RADAR — “A Capitol Police officer accidentally discharged their firearm Tuesday morning in the Cannon House Office Building,” Roll Call’s Chris Marquette reports . The force has temporarily suspended the officer over the break-room incident. TRUMP CARDS KISSING THE RING — House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY saw Trump on Monday, per NYT’s Maggie Haberman. TRUMP INC. — D.C. settled with the Trump Organization and inaugural committee today, with the entities agreeing to pay $750,000 over allegations that the inaugural committee overpaid to use the Trump Hotel in 2017. D.C. A.G. KARL “RACINE’s office identified two D.C. nonprofit, youth oriented organizations — Mikva Challenge DC and DC Action — that will each receive $375,000 via the settlement,” WaPo’s Keith Alexander reports. POLL OF THE DAY — A slight majority of Americans (52%) — including 56% of independents — say Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in inciting the Capitol insurrection in the latest WaPo-ABC poll, Jackie Alemany and Scott Clement report. That’s largely unchanged from public opinion on the matter in January 2021. On the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation, voters are more split: Forty percent say it’s fair and impartial, 40% say it’s not, and 20% have no opinion.
| | | | INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | WAR IN UKRAINE LATEST ON THE GROUND … — Evacuations continued today from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, bringing more civilians to safety after months under siege. But no sooner had some of them departed than Russian bombardments of Azovstal began again, per NYT’s Michael Schwirtz, Cora Engelbrecht and Matthew Mpoke Bigg. WSJ’s Matthew Luxmoore talks to some of the evacuees about their frightening experiences. — No peace deal yet: Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN didn’t sound ready to come to an agreement anytime soon in a new Kremlin readout of his call with French President EMMANUEL MACRON, saying the West’s military support to Ukraine was fomenting “atrocities” as Ukraine showed an “unwillingness” in negotiations. — More Russian attacks killed several people in eastern Ukraine today. THE ECONOMY THE GREAT RESIGNATION — Ongoing turmoil in the U.S. labor market continued in March as the number of job openings and the number of people quitting their jobs both hit record levels, per new Labor Department data today. There were 11.55 million job postings and 4.54 million quits last month, writes CNBC’s Jeff Cox.
| | | | A message from Amazon:   Amazon’s parental leave policy allows parents to be there for the little things. | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD CIA + MBS — In an effort to mend diplomatic fences, CIA Director WILLIAM BURNS met with Saudi Crown Prince MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN last month in Jeddah, WSJ’s Stephen Kalin, Summer Said and Warren Strobel scoop. “It was a good conversation, better tone than prior U.S. government engagements,” a U.S. official tells them. DEMOCRACY WATCH — The U.S. ranks 42nd in the world in Reporters Without Borders’ latest world press freedom index. That’s actually up from 44th last year, but the country’s overall score declined, and the ranking still places America behind locales including Burkina Faso, Moldova and Timor-Leste. “[M]any of the underlying, chronic issues impacting journalists remain unaddressed by the authorities – including the disappearance of local news, the polarisation of the media or the weakening of journalism and democracy caused by digital platforms and social networks,” the organization writes. Several Scandinavian countries top the list. OTHER RUSSIA NEWS — The U.S. has now determined that Russia has wrongfully detained WNBA player BRITTNEY GRINER, who was taken into custody in February, AP’s Eric Tucker and Matthew Lee report. The finding means that “the United States will more aggressively work to secure her release even as the legal case against her plays out.” POLICY CORNER IMMIGRATION FILES — “Most immigrants with recently expired or soon-to-expire work permits will be able to continue working on those documents for up to a year and a half after they expire under a new policy announced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Tuesday,” WSJ’s Michelle Hackman reports. The policy is aimed at helping plug U.S. labor shortages and sorting through a backlog of immigrants’ applications. VALLEY TALK THE MUSK EFFECT — The prospect of an ELON MUSK takeover of Twitter — and potential attendant policy changes on the platform — is prompting right-wing figures who’ve been banned from Twitter to consider a return, NYT’s Charles Homans reports. Among the group that’s feeling excited is BILL MITCHELL — remember him? — while others like STEVE BANNON have yet to be convinced. MIKE LINDELL is considering it.
| | | | HAPPENING NOW - MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: Go inside the 25th annual Milken Institute Global Conference with our special edition Global Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive coverage and insights from one of the world’s most influential gatherings. Stay up to speed with the latest from #MIGlobal, which brings together 3,000 of the world’s most powerful leaders and features 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. Don’t miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS OUT AND ABOUT — A dinner was held for Esther Coopersmith at Cafe Milano on Monday night, hosted by Janet Donovan and Franco Nuschese.David Adler presented each guest with the 1979 issue of Dossier's cover story on Coopersmith. Ann Hand presented Coopersmith with her Soar Like an Eagle Pin. And Susan Blumenthal brought copies of lyrics she wrote to wrap up the evening. The song: “Esther, our favorite thing,” to the tune of “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music.” SPOTTED: Janet Pitt, Lloyd Hand, Connie Coopersmith, Aniko Gaal Schott, Lynda Webster, William Webster, Anita McBride, Jeffrey Coopersmith, Pat Harrison and Ed and Marie Royce. Pic MEDIA MOVES — Francesca Chambers will be a White House correspondent at USA Today. She most recently has been senior White House correspondent at McClatchy. Announcement … Jessica Calefati will be an education enterprise reporter at The Baltimore Banner. She currently covers education for POLITICO. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — New Politics is announcing several new hires: Alicia Washkevich as COO, Chris Costa, Steven Craven and Lucy Arthur-Paratley as campaign advisers, Phoebe Nassar as digital comms specialist and Devon Myers as recruitment manager. TRANSITION — Carrie Hebert is joining Think Big as a VP of business development. She previously was director of international business development at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ENGAGED — Terra Davis of Terra Davis Consulting and Arthur Bryant, comms director for Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), got engaged Sunday in front of the Capitol. The couple met at Hill Country Barbecue karaoke and have been together for six years. Pic
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