|
Presented by Blackstone: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza and Eli Okun | | | |  A man was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh's home who allegedly had a gun, a knife and pepper spray. | Andrew Harnik, Pool, File/AP Photo | QUOTE OF THE DAY: “[WILLIE] BROWN said too many Democrats do not want to talk about ‘what cops do’ for fear of crossing the party’s activist class and offending ‘A.O.S. or A.O.C. or whatever that woman’s name is,’ he said dismissively of Representative ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ of New York,” via NYT’s Shane Goldmacher in a look at the California results. POLITICAL VIOLENCE WATCH — He “came in from out of state with the intent to kill [BRETT] KAVANAUGH.” That was the chilling assessment from Maryland police early this morning after they arrested a 26-year-old California man with a gun, a knife, pepper spray and “burglary tools” on a street one block from the Supreme Court justice’s home in Chevy Chase, according to reports from WaPo’s Devlin Barrett, Dan Morse and Ellie Silverman and NBC’s Pete Williams, Jonathan Dienst and Dareh Gregorian. The Post, which broke the story, adds that “the initial evidence indicates that the man was angry about the leaked draft of an opinion by the Supreme Court signaling that the court is preparing to overturn Roe. v. Wade,” as well as recent mass shootings. The FBI is now investigating, per CBS’ Scott MacFarlane. This is the third incident in a week involving potential or actual political violence. On Friday, U.S Capitol Police arrested a 56-year-old retired police officer from Flint, Mich., who showed them a fake badge. They searched his car and found “a BB gun, two ballistic vests, several high capacity magazines, and other ammunition.” On Friday, a 56-year-old man killed retired Juneau County Judge JOHN ROEMER in New Lisbon, Wis. According to the AP, “Roemer was found zip-tied to a chair in his home and had been fatally shot.” The killer died by suicide after police tried to negotiate with him. In his vehicle, they found what they believe to be a kill list of political targets “that included Michigan Gov. GRETCHEN WHITMER, Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL and Wisconsin Gov. TONY EVERS.” This morning’s incident near Kavanaugh’s home follows weeks of concern from politicians and law enforcement officials that the disclosure of the draft opinion in the high-profile abortion case could trigger unrest or violence. Last month, the Senate unanimously passed a bill to provide police protection to Supreme Court justices’ families. Sen. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.), one of the bill’s co-authors, told CNN’s Manu Raju this morning that he’s working with House Democrats on a compromise version, and wants the lower chamber to move quickly. On the Senate floor, McConnell pilloried House Democrats: “This is where we are. If these reports are correct, an assassination attempt against a sitting justice, or something close to it: This is exactly, exactly the kind of event that many feared that the terrible breach of the court’s rules and norms could fuel. This is exactly the kind of event that many worried the unhinged, reckless, apocalyptic rhetoric from prominent figures toward the court, going back many months and especially in recent weeks, could make more likely.” On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security warned, “In the coming months, we expect the threat environment to become more dynamic as several high-profile events could be exploited to justify acts of violence against a range of possible targets.” On their list of “potential triggers,” per the AP: the potential Supreme Court decision on overturning Roe, a surge in migration at the U.S.-Mexican border and the midterm elections. The AP adds that these regular DHS bulletins no longer spend much time on of foreign terrorists and instead warn that “[d]omestic violent extremists” now “present the most pressing and potentially violent threat.” THE SCOTUS STEP BACK — The fallout from the draft ruling’s disclosure hasn’t just reverberated in the public; it’s tearing the court apart inside, too, reports NPR’s Nina Totenberg this morning. The justices mistrust each other. Clerks can’t act as emissaries to each other as they normally do, because they’re fearful of the court’s internal investigation. “The place sounds like it’s imploding” behind closed doors, one source tells her. “I don’t know how on earth the court is going to finish up its work this term,” says another. ABOUT LAST NIGHT — Here’s where things stand in some of Tuesday’s primary results that weren’t settled as of this morning: — FRANK PALLOTTA, a New Jersey Republican who had the backing of DONALD TRUMP but not the GOP establishment, pulled out a primary win to take on Democratic Rep. JOSH GOTTHEIMER in the fall. More from The (Bergen) Record — As votes trickle in … RYAN ZINKE is up by 1.4 points over AL OLSZEWSKI in a Montana GOP House primary. … Rep. DAVID VALADAO (R-Calif.) is leading GOP challenger CHRIS MATHYS by 6.3 points as he seeks to make it into the runoff with Dem RUDY SALAS. … RICK CARUSO is ahead of Rep. KAREN BASS (D-Calif.) by 5.1 points in the Los Angeles mayoral race, though barely a third of the results are in. — The view from the White House: “The voters sent a clear message last night,” President JOE BIDEN told reporters as he headed to California. “Both parties have to step up and do something about crime as well as gun violence.” Good Wednesday afternoon.
| | A message from Blackstone: Blackstone is bringing two of its companies together to install solar panels onto empty warehouse rooftops and power New Jersey homes. By expanding access to solar power, Blackstone can accelerate value for its investors. See how. | | | GUNS IN AMERICA THE LATEST HILL NEGOTIATIONS — NBC’s Sahil Kapur takes a look at Sen. JOHN CORNYN’s (R-Texas) key role in gun reform negotiations. Cornyn world tells him that they’re watching the reactions from the rest of the GOP conference and the so-far muted response from conservative activists — and ultimately hope to win over about half of the chamber’s Republicans. — Sens. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa) and LISA MURKOWSKI (R-Alaska) both said this morning that they would consider supporting legislation to raise the age for purchasing certain weapons to 21, per the Hill pool. But Cornyn has already all but ruled that out, and Sen. THOM TILLIS (R-N.C.) said the discussions have moved away from the idea. Sen. JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.) said he’d rather leave it up to the states. BLOCKBUSTER HEARING — Wrenching testimony from the survivors and victims’ families of the Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, N.Y., massacres gripped the House Oversight Committee today, a heartbreaking testimonial to the devastation of gun violence. An Uvalde pediatrician described children “decapitated” by bullets. Parents pleaded for stricter gun laws and congressional action. A fuller accounting via CBS NEW DOJ ACTION — A.G. MERRICK GARLAND today announced a slate of nine officials and experts who will review the law enforcement response in Uvalde. Plans for the “critical incident review” were first announced last month. More from CNBC CONGRESS DEEP DIVE — The Arizona Republic’s Ronald Hansen is out with a big investigation into GOP Rep. DEBBIE LESKO’s past, during a period when she’s said she experienced domestic violence. “The fuller story reveals a decade spent alongside a career criminal, with their lives cycling between temporary comfort in a new location to a hasty exit ahead of creditors or police. … New details uncovered by The Republic include her status as a key witness to her then-husband’s felonies in Scottsdale, financial problems in New Mexico, more than a dozen payouts to her business customers from an Arizona fund to cover derelict contractors, and multiple pleas to judges for mercy for her then-husband and business partner.” Lesko’s statement: “The events in question happened nearly 40 years ago and are part of a dark time in my past when I was married to an abusive, con-artist ex-husband who often threatened to kill me and steal our young daughter … I cannot believe that the Arizona Republic continues to revictimize me by bringing up this terrible situation.” THE WHITE HOUSE BIDEN SIREN — The latest POLITICO/Morning Consult poll finds Biden’s approval rating sinking to 39%, an all-time low and similar to where Trump stood at his June 2020 nadir, Eli Yokley reports. The generic congressional ballot, meanwhile, finds Republicans and Democrats tied (bad news for Dems, who usually need a significant advantage here to break even). POTUS ABROAD — The White House announced this morning that Biden will travel to Schloss Elmau, Germany, for the G-7 Leaders’ Summit on June 25, and then Madrid for the 2022 NATO Summit on June 28.
| | | | WIN A VIP TICKET TO JOIN POLITICO’s CONGRESS TEAM FOR COCKTAILS AND CONVERSATION: Our reporters spend each day firing off questions to elected officials and their staff – so we figured it’s time to return the favor and give lawmakers a chance to turn the tables on us with a (short!) reverse press conference, featuring Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) and Representative Julia Letlow (R-LA) followed by cocktails & conversation. Enter for a chance to join newsmakers at this exclusive event on June 15th at The Observatory at America’s Square on Capitol Hill. Winners will be notified by June 10th (travel and accommodations not provided, this is a widely attended event pursuant to House & Senate ethics rules). ENTER HERE. | | | | | TRUMP CARDS THE INVESTIGATIONS — Democrats are worried that an early move by Trump to jump into the 2024 presidential race could preempt any potential criminal charges from DOJ over his actions around Jan. 6 and the 2020 election, making any prosecutions from Garland look more political, CNN’s Isaac Dovere reports . “Two dozen leading Democrats in Washington and across the country tell CNN that Garland may have missed his moment to bring criminal charges against top Trump administration officials,” he writes. DOJ, with White House backing, maintains that it won’t bring politics into its decisions. “And Justice officials say they still have plenty of time.” House Majority Whip JIM CLYBURN (D-S.C.): “None of it makes sense to me … You can’t take politics out of politics.” ALL POLITICS THE STEVE SCHMIDT SAGA — In the wake of the longtime GOP operative’s very public unburdening of issues with the MCCAIN family, N.Y. Mag’s Olivia Nuzzi has a new profile out this morning. Having gone hiking with Schmidt in Utah, she describes a man who “believed the wanton attempt to destroy his reputation had occurred in tandem with the decline of the Republic. His enemies, guilty as they were of committing acts of terror against him through what felt like a million petty, personal slights, were guilty, too, of precisely the sort of deceit and political corruption that was destroying America.” EYEBROW-RAISER — “DeSantis spokeswoman belatedly registers as agent of foreign politician,” by WaPo’s Isaac Stanley-Becker ABORTION FALLOUT PRESSURE FROM THE LEFT — Sens. PATTY MURRAY (D-Wash.) and ELIZABETH WARREN (D-Mass.) spearheaded a letter from more than 20 Senate Dems pushing Biden to take executive action on abortion, NBC’s Ali Vitali scooped. Their asks include expanding access to medication abortion, helping people pay for travel across state lines to get abortions and adding an HHS reproductive health ombudsman. The letter THE PANDEMIC THE VACCINE PICTURE — Moderna’s latest formulation of a vaccine worked better as a booster against the Omicron variant than the current vaccine, the company said today. Moderna said it would seek FDA authorization for the new booster, with hopes to get shots in arms by late summer or fall. More from Stat
| | | | 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. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS OUT AND ABOUT — The National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation held its Celebration of Service to America Awards gala at The Anthem on Tuesday night. Awards were presented to broadcast stations and companies in eight categories for outstanding community service, as well as to chef José Andrés and entertainer Patti LaBelle for their humanitarian work. SPOTTED: Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) and Robert McDowell. — Tracy’s Kids, which helps children with cancer cope with the emotional toll imposed by the disease, hosted an event at the Comcast office near the Capitol on Tuesday night to celebrate the renaming of its program at Children’s National Hospital, “The Marcelle and Patrick Leahy Art Therapy Program.” Founder Matt Gerson thanked the Leahys, who he said have been involved with the charity for 24 years, with Marcelle on the board for over a decade. They also celebrated surpassing $8 million in programming since the charity’s inception. SPOTTED: Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Marcelle Leahy, Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Annette Shelby, Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Larry Rosen and Mark Warner (D-Va.), Kent Conrad and Lucy Calautti, Kurt Newman, Melissa Maxfield, Mitch Rose, Luke Albee, Ed Pagano, Gary Slaiman and Lyndon Boozer. — The Meridian International Center hosted its Culturefix celebration honoring the power of arts and culture as a tool for diplomacy. SPOTTED: Meridian Cultural Diplomacy awardees Shigeru Ban, Juanma Barrientos, Joel Bergner and Jenny Holzer; chairs Soledad and Bob Hurst and Luke Frazier and Robert Pullen; U.S. Ambassador to Portugal Randi Levine, Singaporean Ambassador Ashok Mirpuri, Estonian Ambassador Kristjan Prikk, Lee Satterfield, Stuart and Gwen Holliday, Adrienne Arsht, Kaywin Feldman, Kim Sajet, Kevin Young and Renee Fleming. — The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute hosted the grand opening Tuesday of their new D.C. offices, where Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova accepted the Reagan Freedom Award on behalf of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. SPOTTED: Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Elaine Luria (D-Va.), Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Paul Ryan, Mac Thornberry, Eric Edelman, Tom Korologos, Gordon Sondland, Ann Korologos, Elaine Chao, Fred Ryan, Peggy Noonan, John Heubusch, Janet Tran, retired Gen. Jack Keane, Roger Zakheim, Heather Podesta, Heather Hopkins, James Talent, Gloria Dittus, Anita McBride and Bill McBride. — Former Rep. Gabby Giffords’ (D-Ariz.) gun control organization held a memorial on the National Mall on Tuesday for victims of gun violence. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and other lawmakers spoke at the event, with Murphy telling the crowd, “We are only going to move forward with legislation that saves lives.” SPOTTED: Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Reps. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Greg Jackson, Kris Brown , Angela Farrell-Zabala and Mariah Cooley. — SPOTTED at Philotimo on Tuesday night to celebrate Jonathan Capehart’s 15 years at WaPo and recent promotion to associate editor: Nick Schmit, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Jen Psaki, Karen Finney, Patrick Steel, Jane Harman, Drew Hammill, Adrienne Elrod, Chris and Kathleen Matthews, Eugene Scott, Art Collins, Tracy Bernstein, Jeremy and Robyn Bash, Andrea Mitchell, Eric Schultz, Stephanie Cutter, John McCarthy, Jack and Susanna Quinn, Kimball Stroud and Rachel Pearson. MEDIA MOVES — Juana Summers has been named the newest host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” replacing Audie Cornish. She’s currently an NPR correspondent covering race, justice and politics, and is a POLITICO alum. Announcement … Afra Abdullah is joining POLITICO as a new associate audio producer of Audio, working mainly on our own “Playbook Deep Dive” podcast. She previously was a producer on a SiriusXM daily sports program. … … Natalia Contreras is joining Votebeat as its new Texas reporter, in partnership with The Texas Tribune. She most recently was communities enterprise reporter at the Austin American-Statesman. … Madeline Marshall is now a senior video journalist at WSJ on the video explainers team. She most recently was a video news producer at Vox. … Danielle Allen is returning to WaPo as a contributing columnist after a run for Massachusetts governor. Announcement TRANSITIONS — Molly Ahearn Allen has been named senior director and head of the D.C. office for 7-Eleven. She previously was a partner at American Continental Group, where 7-Eleven was a client, and is a Chuck Schumer alum. … James Tyrrell is now a member at Dickinson Wright. He most recently was a partner at Venable, and is an RNC and FEC alum. … … Jackie Sobol is now scheduler/legislative aide for Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.). She most recently was senior scheduler/operations manager for Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). … Jack Fencl is now an associate at the Herald Group. He previously was a state affairs associate at Americans for Tax Reform. WEDDINGS — Catherine Hicks, a Trump White House and Brunswick Group alum who is an incoming MBA candidate at Columbia Business School, and Rick Cosgrove, a principal at Veritas Capital and a Goldman Sachs alum, got married May 14 at Skibo Castle in Dornoch, Scotland. They met at a bar in New York six years ago. Pic … Another pic — Anna Louisa Brooks, deputy general counsel of the NRSC and a Wiley Rein alum, and Shawn McCoy , principal of Blue Zone Partners, got married Friday at the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, Ariz. They originally were introduced by their friends Lauren Stockwell and Samantha Clark. Pic BONUS BIRTHDAY: Joshua Matz of Kaplan Hecker & Fink (37)
| | A message from Blackstone:   Blackstone is driving value by advancing New Jersey’s ambitious clean energy plans and expanding access to solar power. | | | | | | | 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 | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
