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Presented by Amazon: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | Presented by |  | | | BREAKING INVESTIGATIONS NEWS — “Prosecutors Seek Cooperation of Trump Confidante, Subpoena Manhattan Private School,” WSJ … “Gaetz associate signals he will plead guilty in federal case, a worrisome development for the congressman,” WaPo The guiding philosophy of President JOE BIDEN is simple: prioritization. “As you’ve all observed,” Biden said in March, “successful presidents — better than me — have been successful, in large part, because they know how to time what they’re doing — order it, decide and prioritize what needs to be done.” Call it the Biden Doctrine. In the White House, on a day-to-day basis, it means ignoring a lot of the conflagrations that burn bright but that don’t have obvious presidential remedies. On Capitol Hill, it means that even seemingly urgent problems — the crisis at the border, gun violence — get deemphasized because Biden has chosen pandemic relief, climate, infrastructure and a series of social welfare policies as this year’s agenda. At its best, this kind of discipline ensures that a president is spending political capital wisely. At its worst, it can make him seem divorced from what everyone else is concerned about. There were two big news fires burning today: the conflict in Israel and the restoration of the Colonial Pipeline. In remarks from the White House this afternoon, Biden took the rare step of talking about something other than Covid-19 or the economic recovery, and addressed the pipeline. WHAT HE SAID — Biden announced that the FBI does not believe the Russian government is behind the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline, but it does believe that there are people living in Russia who are culpable, and said that U.S. officials have talked directly with Moscow about it. He did not rule out retaliatory cyberattacks against the criminals. Biden also reiterated his call for investing in infrastructure. He said gas price normalcy will resume this weekend and into next week, but “we’ll not feel the effects at the pump immediately. … It’s going to take some time, and there may be some hiccups.” He urged Americans not to panic-buy, and warned gas stations not to price-gouge. — “Biden administration struggles to limit political damage from gas shortage,” WaPo — “Colonial Pipeline says deliveries will reach all markets by midday,” by Ben Lefebvre: “Colonial Pipeline said Thursday it has restarted much of its pipeline with deliveries expected in regions in the southeastern U.S. that had experienced gasoline shortages although one analyst said fuel supplies will remain tight for up to two weeks in states where pumps had run dry.” — “Colonial Pipeline Paid Hackers Nearly $5 Million in Ransom,” Bloomberg: “Colonial Pipeline Co. paid nearly $5 million to Eastern European hackers on Friday, contradicting reports earlier this week that the company had no intention of paying an extortion fee … The company paid the hefty ransom in untraceable cryptocurrency within hours after the attack … “U.S. government officials are aware that Colonial made the payment. Once they received the payment, the hackers provided the operator with a decrypting tool to restore its disabled computer network. The tool was so slow that the company continued using its own backups to help restore the system.” Good Thursday afternoon. The White House Covid-19 briefing has been moved to 2 p.m. NEWS YOU CAN USE — AP/Washington: “AP Source: CDC to issue guidance Thursday allowing fully vaccinated people to ditch masks indoors in many instances.” | | A message from Amazon: Since 2009:
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Amazon’s $15 an hour starting wage helps employees provide for their families and boosts local economies. Learn more. | | | CHENEY UNCHAINED — On Wednesday, we told you that booting Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) from House GOP leadership would not silence her criticism of former President DONALD TRUMP — it might even amplify it. This morning, we saw what Cheney can do with her new megaphone. In an attention-grabbing “Today Show“ interview with SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, Cheney said she isn’t leaving the GOP, plans to run for reelection in 2022, thinks she can win, is still opposed to Biden’s policies — and had a lot to say about today’s GOP. The spiciest moments: — On House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY: “He is not leading with principle right now. And I think that it’s sad, and I think it’s dangerous. … Leader McCarthy’s visit to the former president at Mar-a-Lago was really stunning, given what the former president did. … I can’t understand why you would want to go rehabilitate him.” — On GOP fears of a 9/11 Commission-style investigation into the insurrection: “There is real concern among a number of members of my own party about a Jan. 6 commission. … That kind of intense, narrow focus threatens people in my party who may have been playing a role they should not have been playing.” — On whether she’d run against Trump in 2024: “Right now, I am very focused on making sure that our party becomes again a party that stands for truth and stands for fundamental principles that are conservative and mostly stands for the Constitution. And I won’t let a former president or anybody else unravel the democracy.” Guthrie: “Whatever it takes?” Cheney: “Whatever it takes.” — On the battle for the soul of the GOP: “This is the, I think, opening salvo.” The full interview — This could be interesting: On Friday morning, Cheney will make an appearance on “New Hampshire Today,” an influential morning show in the Granite State — and a news hit that will inevitably stoke speculation about her plans for 2024. NH Today’s announcement For the history books: CNN gets a bunch of Republicans — even from swing districts — on record promoting the “Big Lie,” or waffling or winking about it: “House GOP rebuffs Cheney’s demands to call out Trump’s election lies” INFRASTRUCTURE YEAR — At her weekly presser this morning, Speaker NANCY PELOSI sounded committed to seeking out a bipartisan deal on infrastructure, even as she praised Biden for delivering proposals that she said seemed like the “promised land.” Pelosi said she wants a package “as bipartisan as possible, as green as possible and as soon as possible.” Other choice moments: — On Wednesday’s Big Four meeting at the White House: Pelosi said it was “polite, courteous, pleasant almost,” involving “pretty standard fare” from GOP leaders. — On the fallout from the insurrection: Pelosi said the Capitol security supplemental funding bill could come to the House floor by next week — though she said McCarthy wanted to do it at the end of the year. And she took special umbrage at the lies about the insurrection aired during a Wednesday hearing, particularly Rep. ANDREW CLYDE’S (R-Ga.) attempt to claim that rioters were basically tourists. “It was beyond denial. It fell into the range of sick,” Pelosi said. — On MTG’s aggression toward AOC: Following Wednesday night’s strange encounter where Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) confronted Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.) in the Capitol, Pelosi said the ordeal is “probably … a matter for the Ethics Committee,” and said she would not get leadership involved in Ethics Committee decisions. Read the backstory at WaPo RARE FLASH OF BIPARTISAN ACTION — “Military Justice Overhaul Gains Bipartisan Backing in Senate,” WSJ: “A sweeping overhaul of the military justice system has earned the backing of 61 senators from both parties, clearing a critical threshold needed to advance the legislation after years of resistance from the Pentagon. The bill would change the way the U.S. military prosecutes sexual assault and other serious crimes by stripping commanders of their authority to decide whether to send such cases to trial. Instead, independent military prosecutors would make those calls. “Forty-one Democrats, two independents and 18 Republicans — including the majority of Senate Armed Services Committee members — have now signed on as co-sponsors of the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act, coauthored by Sens. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-N.Y.) and JONI ERNST (R-Iowa).” | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | BIG SCOTUS READ — “Is Brett Kavanaugh Out for Revenge?” The Atlantic: “While Kavanaugh’s allies insist that those [‘what goes around comes around’] comments were misinterpreted, they also say that he still privately seethes over the ‘smear campaign’ he believes he endured. ‘He’s made an effort to say, “Look, I’m not bitter about this. I’m moving forward,”’ one friend told me. ‘But I assume, when he’s lying in bed at night, it’s hard not to think about it.’ Another friend put it more bluntly: ‘He was really angry at Democrats for what they did to him and his family.’ And yet, those same friends also describe a competing impulse in Kavanaugh—a burning desire to gain readmission into polite society and enjoy all the perks associated with one of the world’s most prestigious jobs. “The Court is poised to tackle a range of consequential issues in the near future—from the regulatory power of federal agencies to voting rights to the fate of Roe v. Wade. And for all of America’s illustrious constitutional scaffolding and its ideals about the rule of law, a generation of jurisprudence could come down to an unnerving question: Is Justice Kavanaugh out for revenge?” ENCOURAGING UNEMPLOYMENT NEWS — “U.S. unemployment claims drop to 473,000, a new pandemic low,” AP: “Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that applications declined 34,000 from a revised 507,000 a week earlier. The number of weekly jobless claims — a rough measure of the pace of layoffs — has fallen significantly from a peak of 900,000 in January. Instead of cutting jobs, many employers are struggling to attract enough applicants for open positions.” BEYOND THE BELTWAY — “Roughly 900,000 people could see severe cuts in unemployment aid as Republicans seek to curb assistance,” WaPo: “Americans in Alabama, Mississippi and 11 other Republican-led states are set to see their unemployment checks slashed dramatically starting in June, as GOP governors seek to restrict jobless benefits in an effort to force more people to return to work. The cuts are likely to fall hardest on more than half a million people who benefit from stimulus programs adopted by Congress at the height of the pandemic.” INFLATION WATCH — “Inflation Is Here. What Now?” NYT/Upshot: “Higher prices and the other problems that result from an economy that reboots itself are frustrating, but should be temporary. Still, the longer that the surges in prices continue and the more parts of the economy that they encompass, the greater the chances that Americans’ psychology about prices and inflation could shift in ways that become self-sustaining.” LATEST PANDEMIC MOVE — “Feds provide $7.4B for public health; school nurses in plan,” AP: “The government will provide $7.4 billion to expand the nation’s public health capacity by hiring school nurses to vaccinate kids and creating a service corps around health care as well as bolstering traditional disease detection efforts, White House officials said Thursday. … “The money was authorized by Congress in President Joe Biden’s coronavirus response law. Officials are now acting to pump it out to states and communities through the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About $4.4 billion will go to immediate priorities in fighting the pandemic.” IMMIGRATION FILES — “Biden meeting with DACA recipients to highlight immigration priorities,” NBC: “President Joe Biden plans to welcome six recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to the Oval Office on Friday as his administration signals his immigration reform plan remains a legislative priority.” A KEY 2021 DYNAMIC — “‘A Perpetual Motion Machine’: How Disinformation Drives Voting Laws,” NYT: “The bills demonstrate how disinformation can take on a life of its own, forming a feedback loop that shapes policy for years to come. When promoted with sufficient intensity, falsehoods — whether about election security or the coronavirus or other topics — can shape voters’ attitudes toward policies, and lawmakers can cite those attitudes as the basis for major changes. … “Lawmakers in at least 33 states have cited low public confidence in election integrity in their public comments as a justification for bills to restrict voting.” HOW D.C. STATEHOOD COULD CHANGE ELECTORAL MATH — “White House Is Said to Quietly Push Change to D.C. Statehood Bill,” NYT: “The Biden administration has quietly approached congressional Democrats about a potential change to their high-profile but long-shot effort to transform most of the District of Columbia into the nation’s 51st state … The bill, which passed the House last month but faces steep odds in the Senate, would admit the residential and commercial areas of the District of Columbia as a new state and leave behind a rump federal enclave encompassing the seat of government, including the Capitol, White House, Supreme Court, other federal buildings and monuments. “The deliberations center on the Constitution’s 23rd Amendment, which gives three Electoral College votes in presidential elections to the seat of government. If it is not repealed after any statehood, the bill would try to block the appointment of the three presidential electors. But the administration is said to have proposed instead giving them to the winner of the popular vote. … “Democrats are said to generally agree that two legal objections Republicans have raised to the bill … are less serious threats. They see those arguments as not supported by the explicit text of the relevant portions of the Constitution. But how best to navigate the 23rd Amendment if it is not repealed gave the administration legal team greater pause.” | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. 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Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | THE REOPENING — “Teachers union president calls for a return to full-time school in fall,” WaPo CLIMATE FILES — “Biden Administration to Repeal Trump Rule Aimed at Curbing E.P.A.’s Power,” NYT: “Critics said the regulation distorted the costs of reducing air pollution while diminishing the associated benefits. … Finalized at the end of the Trump administration, the so-called cost-benefit rule was designed to change how the E.P.A. calculated the economic costs and benefits of new clean-air and climate-change rules.” — “The green schism threatening Biden’s climate plan,” by Michael Grunwald: “Many prominent environmental groups have hailed Biden’s proposed clean electricity standard … But a rift that has opened inside the climate movement could make its uphill climb in Congress even steeper, as an insistent coalition of harder-edged grass-roots groups has begun blasting the CES as a lackluster half-measure that would sell out disadvantaged communities and waste a unique opportunity to attack the climate crisis.” PULLOUT FALLOUT — “Blame game begins as Afghanistan situation worsens,” by Bryan Bender: “New battlefield gains by the Taliban and a spate of terrorist attacks, including the weekend bombing that killed at least 50 girls, are renewing calls for President Joe Biden to consider leaving some forces behind, ensure the Pentagon first secures agreements to use other bases in the region, and take additional steps to back up the Afghan government to prevent a Taliban takeover and the reemergence of terrorist groups. “Biden’s allies are also sharpening their argument that the Trump administration is most responsible for the current mess. … But whatever the political fallout in the coming months, it won’t simply be laid on Biden and the Democrats, given the bipartisan nature of the opposing blocs: hawkish members of both parties who insist on sticking it out, and noninterventionists on both sides who say it is time for the U.S. to end its longest foreign war.” — “A City Under Siege: What the War Looks Like on Afghanistan’s Front Line,” NYT: “This may be the closest the Taliban have ever gotten to taking Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand Province, which is the Taliban’s heartland and a volatile swath of territory that has become synonymous with the U.S. and British military’s failures in Afghanistan over the last 20 years.” WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN — “As Trillions Flow Out the Door, Stimulus Oversight Faces Challenges,” NYT: “The funds are supposed to be tracked by a hodgepodge of overseers, including congressional panels, inspectors general and the White House budget office. But the system has been plagued by disagreements and, until recently, disarray. … “[GENE SPERLING] has been racing to stand up the oversight architecture and is relying heavily on the investigative powers of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, a panel of inspectors general, in addition to the Government Accountability Office and the administration’s Office of Management and Budget.” CENSUS DATA DIVE — “What we know about the high, broad turnout in the 2020 election,” WaPo: “A big breakthrough in youth turnout … Turnout among Asian Americans jumped the most … Rising turnout among Black voters had the clearest impact in Georgia. … Those with ‘some college’ did a lot more voting … Men and women voted more, but the gender gap persisted.” PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “Glen’s Garden Market is Changing Hands, Becoming Dawson’s Market,” Washington City Paper AFTERNOON SNACK — “‘Reassuringly retro’: It may not be formal, but Joe Biden isn’t giving up his favorite sunglasses at official functions,” USA Today WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Meridith Webster will be EVP of global comms and public affairs at the Estée Lauder Companies. She most recently has been special assistant to the president and chief of staff to the Domestic Policy Council. STAFFING UP — “Biden will nominate Catherine Lhamon to lead Education Department’s civil rights office,” NBC: “Lhamon held the same position in the Obama administration. … Lhamon, a former American Civil Liberties Union attorney, is currently a domestic policy adviser at the White House, focusing on racial justice issues, and was chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from 2017 to 2021.” TRANSITIONS — Adrian Zuckerman is now of counsel for DLA Piper’s real estate practice. He previously was U.S. ambassador to Romania. … Sarah Schaffer will be VP of comms at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. She most recently was chief marketing officer at Visit Baltimore. … Tamara Moore is now a senior press officer at NIH’s All of Us research program. She previously was SVP at The Reis Group. WEEKEND WEDDING — Liza Pluto, senior publicity manager at PBS, and Evan Lukaske, comms director for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, got married Saturday in West Bloomfield, Mich., in her parents’ backyard, surrounded by family. They’ll have a party with friends at the end of the month at District Winery. The couple met at a party for D.C. Pride in June 2014 — they realized they both worked in Rayburn, and two days later Evan had a handwritten note delivered to Liza’s desk asking her out. Pic … Another pic | | | | A message from Amazon:   All Amazon employees in the U.S. make at least $15 an hour. | | | | | | | 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 | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
