|
Presented by Meta: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels and Eli Okun | | | IT’S OFFICIAL — BORIS JOHNSON resigned today as British PM, but will stay on until a new leader of the Conservative Party is elected: “I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But them’s the breaks.” More from our colleagues in London JUST POSTED — “Where in the world is Dr. Oz?” by Holly Otterbein: “MEHMET OZ is trailing in polls. A key Republican has yet to endorse him since the celebrity doctor won the GOP nomination for Pennsylvania Senate more than a month ago. And Oz has gone dark on the airwaves since May 21 — even as his Democratic rival JOHN FETTERMAN burnishes his brand on TV as a political outsider, and paints Oz as a carpetbagger from New Jersey. “This is not the general election kickoff in a pivotal Senate race that Republicans were hoping for.” ARNIE MCCLURE, chair of the Huntingdon County GOP: “I don’t have much confidence in their campaign. … [Oz] came in a distant third in my county, so I called them up and said, ‘You need to talk to our people to change their mind and our mind and I’ll help you do that.’ And I don’t even hear back. What the hell?” SEAN PARNELL, former GOP Senate candidate: “A lot of people in the GOP — both the establishment and local Pennsylvania GOP — underestimate Fetterman. … This is a guy that has on the left what DONALD TRUMP has on the right.”
|  Democrats are hoping to land a deal with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on climate/energy provisions as early as next week. | Mariam Zuhaib, File/AP Photo | RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES — For months, Democrats have been working behind the scenes on the Hill to revive a reconciliation bill that would address some of the party’s highest priorities. Today, there are updates on three separate fronts in the talks: — Climate/energy: Democrats are hoping to land a deal with Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) on these provisions as early as next week, though Manchin’s office warns that an agreement isn’t yet close, WaPo’s Maxine Joselow and Tony Romm report. Recent haggling has centered on a methane emissions fee for oil and gas companies and tax credits for electric vehicles and clean energy producers. The latest numbers being mentioned: $300 billion to $350 billion for this plank of the bill (compared to $555 billion in Dems’ failed reconciliation bid last year). SAM RUNYON, a Manchin spox: “Senator Manchin still has serious unresolved concerns and there is a lot of work to be done before it’s conceivable that a deal can be reached he can sign onto.” (We’ve heard that before.) — International tax provisions: They’re at risk of being axed entirely as Manchin has pushed back against Biden administration moves on a global minimum tax, Romm reports. That news comes as Senate Finance Dems released a new report today showing that “President Donald Trump’s signature tax overhaul nearly five years ago allegedly opened the door for the pharmaceutical giant AbbVie to shield much of its U.S. sales from federal taxes.” The AbbVie interim report — Medicare: Shoring up the program’s solvency could be paid for by higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans, closing a pass-through loophole, AP’s Alan Fram reports . Language on Medicare could head to the parliamentarian for review within the next few days. The tax hike would be expected to pull in $203 billion over 10 years, extending the life of a Medicare hospital care trust fund from 2028 to 2031. Manchin seems on board with the move. Romm goes a step further, reporting that Manchin and Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER have finalized the deal on this plank. Good Thursday afternoon.
| | A message from Meta: The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real
What if students studying the Jurassic period could roam with the dinosaurs instead of just reading about them in a textbook?
In the metaverse, a more interactive and engaging education will be possible.
Learn how Meta is helping build the metaverse. | | | SEEKING BETA TESTERS — Were you glued to the election returns in 2020? The POLITICO interactive news team is building the next generation of our results pages, and they want your help making them the best around. Sign up to be a beta tester, and get early access to our work. ALL POLITICS STUNNING READ — HERSCHEL WALKER lied to his own campaign staffers about how many children he has, The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger reports in a story full of jaw-dropping anecdotes about the Georgia Senate GOP nominee. — “Walker’s aides already knew he was lying [in a confrontation this winter]. They had expected him to lie, and had obtained documents in advance of that conversation verifying that Walker did indeed have another child, The Daily Beast has learned. They handed the documents to him, and after some more back and forth, Walker finally admitted it was true.” — “Emails and texts show advisers discussing how they don’t trust Walker — both to tell the truth to them and to handle campaign events properly — and harboring concerns that he isn’t mentally fit for the job. He spouts falsehoods ‘like he’s breathing,’ [one] adviser said — so much so that his own campaign stopped believing him long ago. ‘He’s lied so much that we don’t know what’s true,’ the person said, adding that aides have ‘zero’ trust in the candidate. Three people interviewed for this article independently called him a ‘pathological liar.’” — “In conversations with GOP higher-ups, senior Walker campaign aides have held back on their ongoing struggles with containing, directing, and cleaning up after Walker — even if, internally, they believe he’s a serious liability.” — The campaign has been investigating allegations of another secret Walker child without him knowing. ANOTHER TALKER — In an excerpt from his new book, “Thank You for Your Servitude” ($29), The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich takes no prisoners in his evisceration of Trump-era GOP yes men — especially House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY and Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.). “There was always a breathless, racing quality to both men’s voices when they talked about the thrill ride of being one of Trump’s ‘guys,’” Leibovich sneers. “What would you do to stay relevant? That’s always been a definitional question for D.C.’s prime movers, especially the super-thirsty likes of McCarthy and Graham. If they’d never stooped this low before, maybe it’s just because no one ever asked them to.” ENDORSEMENT WATCH — Arizona Gov. DOUG DUCEY today backed KARRIN TAYLOR ROBSON as his successor in the GOP gubernatorial primary, setting up another crucial intra-Republican battle against Trump-supported election denier KARI LAKE. More from the Arizona Republic ON THE ROAD — McCarthy will be the keynote speaker/headliner at the South Carolina GOP’s big fundraising gala later this month, Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser scooped. The July 29 bash in Columbia will kick off a packed midterms travel itinerary for McCarthy as he tries to flip the House.
| | | | 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. | | | | | TRUMP CARDS RAKING IT IN — Trump’s “American Freedom Tour” of big events that feel like political rallies is actually a set of for-profit shows that “benefit Trump personally as part of a multimillion dollar deal,” WaPo’s Josh Dawsey, Isaac Arnsdorf and Sarah Fowler report. It’s “the work of a longtime motivational-speaker promoter with a trail of bankruptcy filings and business disputes across the country. A Trump adviser said very little vetting was done on the organizers.” Though paid post-presidency speeches are nothing novel, these are unusual in that individual attendees are shelling out for what seems like a campaign event but is actually just a Trump donation. TRUMP INC. — Trump removed himself, DONALD TRUMP JR., KASH PATEL and others from the board of Trump Media and Technology Group on June 8, less than three weeks before the SEC and a New York grand jury hit the company with federal subpoenas, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s Chris Anderson scoops. Now only DEVIN NUNES and PHILLIP JUHAN are listed as board members. When Anderson visited the company’s office June 27, there was no Trump branding to be found. POLICY CORNER INFRASTRUCTURE YEAR — The FAA will dole out almost $1 billion in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law to upgrade 85 airports’ terminals around the U.S., the Biden administration announced today. The money is the first round of a five-year effort, which the government is touting as a relatively unusual federal investment in airport terminals. More from The Hill BEYOND THE BELTWAY CLIMATE FILES — One major obstacle to reducing America’s reliance on fossil fuels is the pivotal role they play in many state and local budgets, NYT’s Brad Plumer reports. Even in California, some municipalities depend heavily on tax money from oil and gas to fund schools, libraries, firefighters and more.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | THE ECONOMY THE UNEMPLOYMENT PICTURE — New jobless claims increased last week to 235,000, a still low figure but the highest in half a year. Layoffs ticking up may be another sign of a labor market starting to slow. More from CNBC STAT OF THE DAY — The U.S. trade deficit plunged by the most in almost a decade in April, per new Commerce data released today, with exports hitting an all-time high. That’s “putting trade on course to contribute to economic growth this quarter,” per Reuters’ Lucia Mutikani. AMERICA AND THE WORLD GRINER LATEST — WNBA star BRITTNEY GRINER pleaded guilty today in Russia to drug crimes that she said were accidental. More from ESPN — U.S. Embassy officials gave Griner a letter from President JOE BIDEN at her trial today, Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN tweeted. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson today called the U.S. “the biggest threat to world peace, stability and development” while standing alongside a top MI5 official in London, per the AP. His comments came in response to American and British warnings Wednesday about Chinese technology theft. WAR IN UKRAINE MAKING A VISIT — Sen. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-Conn.) and Graham met with Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY in Kyiv today and stopped in Bucha and Borodyanka. More from WaPo AFTERNOON READ — Ukrainian first lady OLENA ZELENSKA is on the cover of Time, with an interview by Simon Shuster : “After more than two months in hiding, she is making up for lost time. Her days are packed with speeches, meetings, panel discussions, and interviews. … She and her husband still live apart, and Zelenska understands that her family has little hope of returning to normal while the war rages.” VIDEO INVESTIGATION — The WSJ uncovers Russia’s “secretive smuggling network” that “has quietly institutionalized the theft of hundreds of thousands of metric tons of [grain] out of newly occupied areas of Ukraine and into Russian-allied countries in the Middle East.”
| | | | INTRODUCING 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 OUT AND ABOUT — At a Semafor event this morning at Gallup’s office in D.C., Ben Smith separately interviewed Tucker Carlson, Taylor Lorenz and John Harris, and Gina Chua interviewed Jerry Seib, Wes Lowery and Femi Oke. SPOTTED: Justin Smith, Steve Clemons, Jim Brady, Melissa Moss, Holly Page, Kevin Cirilli, Jeff Dufour, Tina Nguyen, David Wessel, Sam Feist, Erin McPike and Alan Fleischmann. MEDIA MOVES — Katherine Miller is joining NYT’s opinion desk as a writer/editor covering elections and democracy. She previously spent eight years at BuzzFeed and is a Washington Free Beacon alum. Quoctrung Bui is also joining NYT opinion as deputy graphics editor, moving over from The Upshot. Announcement WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Arjun Puri is now special assistant to the associate EPA administrator for policy. He most recently was a staff assistant for White House personnel within the Office of Management and Administration. TRANSITIONS — Laurie Rubiner is now senior government relations counsel at Kelley Drye & Warren. She most recently was EVP for domestic programs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and is a Richard Blumenthal and Planned Parenthood alum. … Maggi McClanahan is starting as press secretary for Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas). She previously was a press assistant for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). … Stephen Chang is now senior director for federal government affairs at Ameriprise Financial Services. He most recently was manager for federal government affairs at AIG. … … Jason Peña is now project manager of the Manhattan Institute’s policing and public safety and legal policy departments. He previously was a researcher at the Federation for American Immigration Reform. … Remy Golla is joining Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán’s (D-Calif.) office as a legislative assistant covering defense, education and foreign affairs. He previously was an Asian Pacific American Institute Congressional Fellow in Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s (D-Wash.) office. … Larissa Rydin is now VP for corporate alliances at the USO. She most recently was VP for strategic partnerships at Tiltify. WEDDING — Alicyn York, a Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander alum, and Garnett Decosimo, a Bob Corker, Mike Enzi and Bill Lee alum, got married June 15 at Villa Cicchi in Ascoli Piceno, Italy. The two were joined by several of their colleagues from Corker’s office, where they met. Pic
| | | | Sponsored Survey WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Please take a short, 1 minute survey about one of our advertising partners. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
