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Presented by Blackstone: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | The biggest outstanding question mark from Tuesday’s primaries remains unanswered in the Arizona GOP gubernatorial race: KARI LAKE (the DONALD TRUMP-backed candidate) still leads KARRIN TAYLOR ROBSON (the MIKE PENCE-backed pick) by two percentage points as of publishing time. Click here for the latest numbers:
|  | Two interesting bites following Tuesday night’s results: — @alexburnsNYT : “The side by side of Kansans voting to defend abortion rights by a landslide margin, and Rs nominating supporters of sweeping abortion bans in purple states like Mich. and Ariz., captures why this is such a dangerous issue for the GOP in 2022 and is likely to remain one for years.” — CBS’ Robert Costa ( @costareports ): “Making round of calls this morn and it's clear several veteran GOP leaders are worried post KS. They still believe econ's state of play/inflation will lift GOP to power. But now alarmed voting surge from supporters of abortion rights + early entry of Trump could diminish gains.”
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| HAPPENING TODAY — President JOE BIDEN is planning to sign an executive order to protect traveling between states for women seeking abortions in conjunction with today’s first meeting of the White House’s Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access, per AP’s Seung Min Kim . The deets: “More specifically, one of the directives Biden will issue will allow states that have not outlawed abortion to apply for specific Medicaid waivers that would, in effect, help them treat women who have traveled from out of state. The order will also call on health care providers to comply with federal nondiscrimination laws and streamline the collection of key data and information on maternal health at the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” BTW: Biden is attending the meeting virtually because he is still testing positive for Covid, per the latest note from the White House physician .
|  Biden is set to unveil an executive order protecting access to abortion later today. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo | HAPPENING NEXT WEEK — Biden has set two Rose Garden bill signings: He will sign the PACT Act on Monday and the CHIPS+ bill on Tuesday, the White House announced. CLEANUP … KINDA — On Tuesday night, Rep. CAROLYN MALONEY (D-N.Y.) made some waves with a comment saying she didn’t believe Biden would run for reelection in 2024. But this morning, she spoke to CNN’s MJ Lee and expanded , if only a bit: “If he decides to run, I’m supporting him. I’m supporting him and I don’t have other comment. … I think that he’s done a terrific job and most recently the inflation reduction plan. There are so many good things in it for the economy and for people. And I’m supporting him if he runs.” Note: She still didn’t really say she thinks he will run. AT THE ALEX JONES TRIAL — NBC’s Ben Collins ( @oneunderscore__ ): “Wow. Sandy Hook parents' lawyer is revealing that Alex Jones' lawyers sent him the contents of Jones' phone BY MISTAKE. ‘12 days ago, your attorneys messed up and sent me a digital copy of every text’ Jones has sent for years. ‘You know what perjury is?’ the lawyer asks.” Click through for quite the thread Good Wednesday afternoon.
| | A message from Blackstone: Blackstone's investment approach is focused on the future. We identify companies that are shaping a stronger economy and help them accelerate their growth. We can deliver for our investors by strengthening the communities in which we live and work. Learn more. | | | PELOSI’S PARTING SHOT — Speaker NANCY PELOSI has concluded her historic trip to Taiwan. Here’s some of what she said at a closing news conference:
- “Whether it’s certain insecurities on the part of the president of China as to his own political situation that he’s ratting his saber, I don’t know. … But what matters to us is that we salute the successes of Taiwan, we work together for the security of Taiwan and we just take great lessons from the democracy in Taiwan.”
- “They made a big fuss because I’m the speaker, I guess. I don’t know if that was a reason or an excuse. Because they didn’t say anything when the men came.”
- “Whatever China was going to do, they'll do in their own good time. What excuse they may use to do it is another thing.” More from Kelly Hooper
— The view from China: “‘The U.S. government had the responsibility to prevent her trip. Yet they say one thing and do another. They have no integrity at all,’ the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, said Wednesday in a front-page editorial,” per WaPo’s Lily Kuo, Lyric Li, Yasmeen Abutaleb and Annabelle Timsit . — The global reaction: “While U.S. allies have largely remained mum on the visit so far, there’s a sense among America’s friends that they were left out in the cold to watch as China threatened the United States and Taiwan,” NYT’s Jane Perlez writes . — The reality check, via our colleague Ryan Heath : “The visit comes with risks, but they don’t arise because of a controversial Congressional delegation. The risks to Taiwan’s independence existed before and after Pelosi set foot on the island — and regardless of whether American and other Western audiences spend time thinking about them. Giving into Beijing’s histrionics, and equivocating on fundamental rights, is a losing game.” — The mood in Taiwan: “How Taiwan reacted to Pelosi’s visit, from ‘welcome’ to ‘American witch,’” by WaPo’s Lily Kuo in Taipei: “‘The more unhappy the [Chinese Communist Party] is, the happier I am,’ INGRID HO, 35, a Taipei resident, told The Washington Post on Wednesday. ‘Pelosi coming may mean all kinds of consequences but in the moment, the excitement outweighs reason.’” — Pantsuit politics: “Why Nancy Pelosi's pink suit in Taiwan was about more than power-dressing,” by CNN’s Oscar Holland: “What has commentators really guessing is whether Pelosi intentionally nodded to another of America's great pantsuit aficionados: HILLARY CLINTON. In 1995, the then-first lady wore a remarkably similar outfit to the United Nations' Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, where she famously declared: ‘Women's rights are human rights.’”
| | | | 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 . | | | | | CONGRESS LETTING THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY — NYT’s Ana Swanson pops the hood on the CHIPS+ bill, and speaks with Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO and NEC Director BRIAN DEESE about what it means. “The legislation will hand significant power over the private sector to the Commerce Department, which will choose which companies qualify for the money. Already the department has said it will give preference to companies that invest in research, new facilities and work force training, rather than those that engage in the kind of share buybacks that have been prevalent in recent years.” Raimondo: “This is not a blank check to these companies. … There are a lot of strings attached and a lot of taxpayer protections.” Deese: “The question really needs to move from why do we pursue an industrial strategy to how do we pursue one. … This will allow us to really shape the rules of where the most cutting-edge innovation happens.” CRYPTO BILL UNVEILED — A bipartisan group of senators today rolled out a new bill to regulate the nascent cryptocurrency industry, AP’s Fatima Hussein and Ken Sweet write . “The regulations offered by Senate Agriculture Committee chair DEBBIE STABENOW and top Republican member JOHN BOOZMAN would authorize the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to be the default regulator for cryptocurrencies. That would be in contrast with bills proposed by other members of Congress and consumer advocates, who have suggested giving the authority to the Securities and Exchange Commission.” ALL POLITICS SURVEY SAYS — Three more numbers to watch from the latest POLITICO/Morning Consult poll:
- Biden’s approval rating: 39% approve, 59% disapprove. Net: -20.
- The generic congressional ballot: Dems have a two-point advantage over Republicans, 45%-43%.
- Right track/wrong track: Twenty-six percent of voters say that things in the country are generally going in the right direction, while 74% say they’re on the wrong track.
Crosstabs … Toplines DESANTIS HITS THE AIR — “DeSantis launches first TV ad of his Florida gubernatorial re-election campaign,” by Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser FOR THE RECORD — Pro-Trump operatives are bombarding local authorities with public records requests in order to gather proof for the former president’s stolen-election claims, Reuters' Nathan Layne reports . A surge of records requests for information on voters and voting machines are overwhelming election staff in states like Arizona, North Carolina and Nevada, “fueling baseless voter-fraud allegations and raising concerns about the inadvertent release of information that could be used to hack voting systems.” AD WARS — The fight over online political ads is heating up again, with Facebook squarely in the middle of things. Academics at New York University are gearing up for another battle with the social media giant over how to track digital ads after their first attempt got them banned from the company’s ad database after the 2020 presidential election, Mark Scott reports . “At stake is how transparent Facebook should be about how people are targeted with partisan messages and how much data it should give to outside researchers.” See the NYU scannable database TRUMP CARDS FOR THOSE KEEPING TRACK — The federal investigation into RUDY GIULIANI’s ties to Ukraine and allegations that he illegally lobbied the Trump campaign on behalf of the country “is unlikely to result in charges” after three years of digging, NYT’s William Rashbaum and Ben Protess report . “While prosecutors had enough evidence last year to persuade a judge to order the seizure of Mr. Giuliani’s electronic devices, they did not uncover a smoking gun in the records.”
| | | | 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 . | | | | | THE ECONOMY PLUNGING PRICES — “Gas Prices Have Fallen for 50 Straight Days, Approach $4 a Gallon,” by WSJ’s Joseph De Avila and Lauryn Azu — Meanwhile: “OPEC+ set to approve minuscule oil output rise in rebuff to Biden,” by Reuters’ Maha El Dahan and Ahmad Ghaddar THE DELICATE DANCE — “Recession Risks Are Mounting. Here’s Why Businesses Are Still Hiring,” by WSJ’s Sarah Chaney Cambon and Gwynn Guilford: “The disconnect between the growing job market and otherwise faltering economy boils down to one key point: Despite slowing consumer demand, the supply of workers to make goods and provide services has been considerably below companies’ needs.” AILING AMERICA — “Inflation weighs on back-to-school buying for many families,” by AP’s Anne D'innocenzio and Claire Savage BEYOND THE BELTWAY (S)POT CHECK — “Where cannabis legalization efforts stand across the country,” by Mona Zhang and Paul Demko: “As it stands, 19 states have embraced full legalization, while 19 others have enacted medical marijuana programs. But many of the remaining holdouts are staunchly conservative states where legalization skepticism runs deep among lawmakers.” MEDIAWATCH THE GROWING GRAY LADY — “New York Times Reports a Gain of 180,000 Digital s,” by NYT’s Katie Robertson WHO GETS PAID — “Podcast Guests Are Paying Up to $50,000 to Appear on Popular Shows,” by Bloomberg’s Ashley Carman PLAYBOOKERS FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Richard Chalkey is now deputy chief of staff for Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). He most recently was a senior consultant at Deloitte and is a Trump White House OLA and NEC alum. TRANSITIONS — David McGonigal is now comms and media manager to the CEO of the One Campaign. He previously was comms director for Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.). … Guillermo Christensen is joining K&L Gates as a partner in the antitrust, competition, and trade regulation practice. He previously was D.C. office managing partner at Ice Miller LLP, and is a CIA alum. … Kathy Hollinger will be CEO of the Greater Washington Partnership. She previously was president and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. ENGAGED — Grace Hills, a senior consultant focusing on federal government clients at Booz Allen Hamilton, and Danny Childers, a medical student at Georgetown University, recently got engaged at Fletcher’s Cove. Grace was under the impression they were meeting friends for a picnic dinner, but when said friends were “late,” Grace, Danny and their dog, Pinta, took a stroll along the Potomac River, where Danny dropped down on one knee. The couple met eight years ago on the first day of their freshman year at the University of Notre Dame and immediately became friends. About a year and a half later, they made things official. Pic … Another pic BONUS BIRTHDAY: Ken Nahigian
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