TRUMP OFFICIALS PREP FOR BATTLE OVER COVID LEGACY — A small group of top Trump health officials have been meeting to organize their accounts and shape the narrative of the administration’s rocky Covid response, amid fears they’ll be publicly scapegoated by old colleagues — including former HHS Secretary Alex Azar, POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn reports. —The battle lines: Former FDA chief Stephen Hahn, former CDC Director Robert Redfield, former CMS head Seema Verma and former White House Covid coordinator Deborah Birx have swapped notes and compared recollections, continuing an alliance that stood in the way of Trump's attempts to reopen the country without first controlling the virus. Most of the members of that group also feuded with Azar at various points, and they have also discussed how to counter efforts by Azar to orchestrate coverage that pins blame on them. — Case in point: Sunday's CNN special. The two-hour program will feature extensive interviews with Hahn, Redfield, Birx and three others, and HHS alumni have been speculating about it will reveal — and who will be blamed for the administration’s missteps. — Among the other projects in the works: Former senior HHS official Paul Mango, an Azar ally, is mulling writing a tell-all book. Trump’s first FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, is releasing a book in July. And Andy Slavitt, who’s now on President Joe Biden’s Covid response team, interviewed a range of top officials for his own play-by-play of the pandemic response that's due out in July. WHY ABORTION RIGHTS GROUPS ARE SITTING OUT THE FILIBUSTER FIGHT— Progressives have mostly closed ranks around the push to abolish the Senate filibuster — but not abortion rights advocates, who instead fear the maneuver could backfire when Republicans are back in charge of Congress, POLITICO's Alice Miranda Ollstein reports. — A 'double-edged sword': That’s how Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) describes the dilemma for groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL. Without the filibuster, such groups might have a shot at getting abortion guarantees on the books under unified Democratic government — but they know Republicans could also impose new bans when it’s their turn. It’s a practical calculation, experts say, even if it puts them at odds with unions and social justice groups eager to get their priorities through the 50-50 Senate. “If you’re Planned Parenthood or another progressive group, the possibility of getting federal pro-choice legislation passed is fairly remote," said Florida State University College law professor Mary Ziegler. "Keeping the filibuster for a rainy day when Republicans are controlling Congress makes sense for them.” — Abortion foes are also doing all they can to preserve the filibuster, for much the same reason as abortion rights proponents. They’ve ramped up advocacy with radio ads, billboards and rallies urging anti-abortion Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to hold the line. PULSE thought bubble: Now that the filibuster is topping the hot Beltway news, a reminder: There’s ALWAYS a health care angle. SENATE COALESCES TO KEEP THE FREEZE ON MEDICARE CUTS — The Senate's extension of Congress’ temporary pandemic-era freeze on Medicare cuts is a major win for hospitals, guaranteeing them billions of dollars through the end of the year. The 2 percent cut is technically due to resume next week, but the House likely won’t take up the measure until after recess, according to a senior Democratic aide. Still, hospitals are breathing easy now the Senate's work is done. Republicans in the upper chamber had rejected the House Democrats’ original version of the extension bill, which also waived “pay-as-you-go” rules. In a statement welcoming the Senate's action, American Hospital Association CEO Rick Pollack stressed that the Covid pandemic isn't over yet and said that "it is in everyone’s interest to keep hospitals strong." | 
