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Presented by Amazon: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | MASSIVE DEAL — Russia and Ukraine signed deals today, brokered by Turkey and the U.N., to allow Ukrainian grain to resume being exported through the Black Sea — an agreement that could unleash 20 millions tons to calm fears of hunger crises around the world. More details from Camille Gijs BANNON LATEST — Jurors have begun deliberations in STEVE BANNON’s contempt of Congress trial after closing arguments wrapped up today. “Bannon’s defense leveled a series of brazen, often strained arguments in a bid to win an acquittal or hung jury for their client,” report Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein . “Defense lawyer EVAN CORCORAN even displayed a series of letters in an attempt to convince jurors that Committee Chair BENNIE THOMPSON’s (D-Miss.) signature on the subpoena to Bannon may have been forged.”
|  The planning underway by several groups Donald Trump has blessed is a far cry from his seat-of-the-pants 2017 ascendancy to office. | John Locher, File/AP Photo | THE STORY OF THE DAY — Axios’ Jonathan Swan has an incredibly exhaustive look at what a Trump presidency in 2025 might entail — with radical implications for American government that have driven plenty of online buzz this morning. The planning underway by several groups DONALD TRUMP has blessed is a far cry from his seat-of-the-pants 2017 ascendancy to office. If Trump becomes a once-and-future president, his second term will kick off with extensive preparations for new policies, new legal strategies and new personnel. The term you’re about to hear a lot about: “Schedule F.” Resurrecting this executive order would constitute the core of Trump’s plan to fundamentally restructure the federal government. It would strip up to 50,000 career civil servants of strong job protections, potentially politicizing a key swath of government bureaucracy and giving Trump a chance to install his allies (or create a chilling effect for others). Trump world sees this as fighting the liberal deep state. But “[s]uch pendulum swings and politicization could threaten the continuity and quality of service to taxpayers, the regulatory protections, the checks on executive power, and other aspects of American democracy,” Swan writes. Rep. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-Va.), who’s been focused on fighting Schedule F, got the House to pass an amendment to the annual defense bill blocking future presidents from using it. But it could face a fight against Senate Republicans. There’s tons more in the story. JEFFREY CLARK — who tried to help overturn the 2020 election — would be a serious contender, again, for A.G. KASH PATEL could be CIA or FBi director. RICHARD GRENELL is tabbed as potential secretary of State pick. Trump loyalists would rule the roost across the board. They envision “a new army of political partisans planted throughout the federal bureaucracy.” And it’s not just the executive branch: The Conservative Partnership Institute is aiming to put hundreds of America First-approved staffers in congressional offices starting after the midterms. It’s the first in a multi-part series — Swan has more coming on Schedule F. Happy Friday afternoon.
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Frank started as a shift assistant in 2017 and steadily worked his way to becoming a senior operations manager at an Amazon Air Hub. Frank is now mentoring others to help advance their career goals and grow at Amazon just like he did. | | | THE WHITE HOUSE PRESIDENTIAL HEALTH UPDATE — President JOE BIDEN’s temperature rose to 99.4 degrees Thursday evening, but Tylenol helped bring it back down and he’s otherwise doing fairly well with Covid-19, his doctor KEVIN O’CONNOR wrote in a memo today . Biden has finished his first day of taking Paxlovid. He has a runny nose, fatigue and an occasional cough. O’Connor said his initial expectation that Biden would “respond favorably” hasn’t changed. Pic of Biden working masked First lady JILL BIDEN has no symptoms and tested negative this morning, per NBC’s Peter Alexander . JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH CLARK IN HOT WATER — The D.C. Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel has filed a disciplinary case against Clark, the Trump DOJ official who almost became A.G. after talking about overturning the 2020 election, per Reuters . COMMITTEE LATEST — Rep. ADAM KINZINGER (R-Ill.) told CNN’s Jim Sciutto that he does not believe TONY ORNATO and ROBERT ENGEL are still cooperating with the House Jan. 6 committee. ALL POLITICS GEORGIA ON MY MIND — The Cook Political Report today shifted the Georgia gubernatorial race from the toss-up column to lean Republican. QUITE THE TEASE — Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO’s (D-Ariz.) reelect is explicitly raising money off the prospect that he might primary Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA in 2024, the Arizona Republic’s Gregory Svirnovskiy reports . “Many people are asking Ruben if he will run against Senator Kyrsten Sinema,” a Facebook post from his campaign said last month. “We know many of you hope he does and he appreciates that fact. … And anything he doesn’t spend in 2022, he can use in 2024 … whatever he decides.” THE NEW GOP — Justice SAMUEL ALITO made clear in his decision overturning Roe v. Wade that he didn’t see it as an invitation to roll back the legalization of same-sex marriage. But since then, Republicans around the country have become bolder about going after LGBT rights, and not just the T in that acronym, reports NYT’s Trip Gabriel : In addition to a wave of anti-transgender legislation, Republican politicians in Michigan, Texas, Utah and elsewhere have voiced support for revisiting same-sex marriage or sodomy laws. “The surge in transgender restrictions reflects a reversal of fortune for social conservatives from just a few years ago.” 2024 WATCH — As Republicans continue to enjoy disproportionate structural advantages in the American political system, The Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter writes that in the Electoral College, “Republicans are enjoying a stronger advantage than at any point in the 25-year history of the Cook [Partisan Voting Index].” The upshot: “Democrats need to win the popular vote by at least three points (but more realistically 4 points) to feel confident that it will translate to an Electoral College win.” NEW FROM NEWSOM — As California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM readies to make law a controversial bill that would allow private citizens to sue sellers of banned guns, his actions on guns reflect a move to adopt a more aggressive national profile as a Democrat who fights back, NYT’s Shawn Hubler reports from Sacramento. It’s one of several big gun bills he’s signing into law, though it will likely end up in court. KNOWING KARI LAKE — From Phoenix, HuffPost’s Liz Skalka traces how Lake went from local TV journalist to far-right basher of the media in her Arizona GOP gubernatorial run. “I’ve always seen that modern-day journalism in America has really pushed to the left, obviously. But I felt that I was a voice of reason in the newsroom,” Lake tells her of the moment when she left her old career behind. “Really during COVID is when I went, ‘What is going on here?’ Things weren’t making sense.” Others in Lake’s orbit say they saw the public lurch to the right emerge “over the latter half of Trump’s presidency.” — Lake has been locked out of her Twitter account after the platform said a video she posted included a phone number that was “private information,” per The Daily Beast .
| | | | 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 . | | | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD ANNALS OF DIPLOMACY — Michael Schaffer has a fascinating piece about an under-discussed D.C. development: the American prosecution of former Sri Lankan Ambassador JALIYA WICKRAMASURIYA for defrauding his government. The case has become big news in Sri Lanka amid major anti-government protests. In D.C., it’s “actually a novel phenomenon, and potentially an important one — a spectacle that’s highly unconventional both as a matter of international law and international relations. In addition to offering a rare peek behind embassy walls, the Justice Department’s case against the envoy might just represent a cautionary precedent for future would-be diplomatic chislers.” TRADE WARS — After the U.S. filed a challenge this week to allegedly protectionist Mexican energy policies, Mexican President ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR is in a difficult position in a case that he could stand a good chance of losing, WSJ’s Juan Montes and Yuka Hayashi report . AMLO “will likely have to choose between watering down landmark energy policies, which would be seen as a major political embarrassment domestically, [and facing] punitive measures.” CONGRESS MARK YOUR CALENDARS — There will be a classified briefing on Ukraine for all senators Wednesday at 3:45 p.m., per a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER. ROCK-RIBBED REPUBLICAN — Departing Rep. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-Texas) served up what could be the final batch of his famous ribs this week — meat apparently so good that former Rep. LOUISE SLAUGHTER’s (D-N.Y.) husband broke his vegetarianism for it, reports the Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard . Gohmert “prefers kettle grills, indirect heat, Kingsford charcoal, and a touch of lemon peel in his rub concoction.” POLICY CORNER UP IN THE AIR — “Pete Buttigieg faces crisis and opportunity as airline cancellations mount,” by NBC’s Jonathan Allen, Henry Gomez, Alex Seitz-Wald and Peter Nicholas DISASTER DIGEST — FEMA updates to the national flood insurance program could lead to 1 million fewer Americans getting the insurance over the course of 10 years, per an internal report obtained by AP’s Michael Phillis . That’s despite agency officials telling Congress that the number of people signing up for coverage would increase regardless of higher prices. “FEMA downplayed the report obtained by the AP as a pessimistic projection, aimed at forecasting finances, not insurance participation.” NEW FROM MERRICK GARLAND — “DOJ investigating city of Houston for alleged discrimination in response to illegal dumping 311 calls,” Houston Chronicle
| | | | 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 — SPOTTED at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Artificial Intelligence Commission’s field hearing at the Chamber offices Thursday: Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.), Suzanne Clark, John Delaney, Miriam Vogel, Rachel Gillum, Jordan Crenshaw, Michael Richards and Niki Christoff. — The National Association of Realtors hosted a reception in honor of the House Chiefs of Staff Association at District Winery on Thursday. SPOTTED: Bob Goldberg, Mitchell Rivard, Jonathan Day, Helen Devlin, Nancy Peele, Pat Deveny, Ryan Rusbuldt, Chris Crawford, Nick Coe, Amy Albro, Paige Hutchinson, Rachel Harris, Chris Maneval, Juan Lopez, John Byers, Chloe Hunt and Avery Walker. — We have a couple of photos from the big party Thursday night for Jonathan Lemire’s new book, “The Big Lie”: Pic … Another pic MEDIA MOVES — Adam O’Neal is joining The Dispatch as executive editor. He previously was an editorial writer for the WSJ in London. … NYT’s national team is adding Clyde McGrady to cover race and Amy Qin to cover Asian Americans. McGrady previously was at WaPo. Qin previously covered China for the Times. Announcement … POLITICO is elevating Monica Akhtar to managing producer for video and adding Jackie Padilla as senior video producer and Meiying Wu as video producer. Padilla and Wu will work on POLITICO’s new Snapchat Discover show, launching Thursday. Padilla previously was at Grid News and NowThis News. TRANSITIONS — Jay Carney will be global head of policy and comms at Airbnb, per Axios’ Mike Allen . He currently is SVP of global corporate affairs at Amazon, and is a former Obama White House press secretary. … Emily Haas is now director for federal government affairs at global oncology company Novocure. She most recently was managing director for government and innovation strategies at Ankura. … … Robin McGahey will be press specialist at Freedom House. She most recently has been press secretary at the Truman Center for National Policy and Truman National Security Project. … Elizabeth Butler Eddowes is now manager of PAC and programs at the American Gas Association. She most recently was deputy finance director at No Labels. ENGAGED — Matt Spence, managing director at Guggenheim Partners, an international security fellow at New America and an Obama NSC and DOD alum, proposed to Audrey Gyr, startup innovation specialist at the Good Food Institute, in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 15. They met in what he calls “the most romantic of places — the security line at the Newark Airport.” Pic … Another pic WEDDINGS — Andrew Albertson, executive director for Foreign Policy for America, and Penelope Peralta, an architect at Studios Architecture, got married July 15 in Estes Park, Colo. — Christopher Kirchhoff, senior adviser for the Special Competitive Studies Project and an Obama NSC and DOD alum, and John Tsou, VP for marketing at OpenTable, got married July 9 at Low Camp, the valley on Oahu where “Jurassic Park” was filmed. The couple met on Hinge. NYT announcement with a pic … SPOTTED: Ricki Seidman, Raj Shah, Yll Bajraktari, Hunter Keith, Ed Baker, Sheila Jasanoff, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Sammy Semwangu and Dan Pastor. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Jordan Alexandra Bianchi, an associate producer at Fox Nation, and Mario Bianchi, a master electrician, welcomed Luca James Bianchi on July 11. Pic … Another pic — Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor for NBC News and a POLITICO and Reuters alum, and Travis Burk, VP of comms at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, welcomed Lincoln “Lily” Andrea Burk on Wednesday. She came in at 7 lbs, 1 oz, and joins big sister Madison. Pic … Another pic BONUS BIRTHDAY: Alex Pappas
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