| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Rachael Bade | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | WHAT DON BEYER IS READING — “FAA investigates after planes almost collide on runway at Reagan National Airport,” by WJLA-TV’s JeanneTyler Moodee Lockman WHERE THINGS STAND — “After 5 hours and 2 cryptic notes, Trump jury fails to reach quick verdict,” by Kyle Cheney and Ben Feuerherd: “The only insight at all into the jury’s thinking came in the form of two jury notes. “The first note provided tea leaves for jury watchers. The panel requested to review testimony from four moments in the trial when key witnesses described events central to the allegation that [DONALD] TRUMP conspired with his former fixer, MICHAEL COHEN, and tabloid publisher DAVID PECKER to bury negative stories during the 2016 campaign. … “In a second note, jurors made another request that served as a Rorschach test for court observers: Could [Justice JUAN] MERCHAN please reread his 55-page jury instructions? At the start of those instructions, Merchan emphasized that the case was now up to the jury. He told them not to inform him of the status of their deliberations or which way the jury or individual jurors are leaning.”
|  The Biden campaign has boasted that its investment in Black voter outreach is the earliest of any campaign in history. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images | BIDEN’S BLACK VOTER PIVOT — When President JOE BIDEN talks about the support Black voters have shown him over the years, he likes to remind them that he remembers “who brung me to the dance.” And if he’s going to be reelected, he knows he’s going to need them to punch that dance card one more time. At a splashy rally in Philly yesterday for the launch of “Black Voters for Biden-Harris,” the campaign made it clear it understands the voting bloc’s importance in 2024 — and that Team Biden needs to more clearly define DONALD TRUMP’s image for Black voters. And though Biden and VP KAMALA HARRIS appearing together for a campaign event at Girard College is itself newsy enough (their joint appearances are rare), the most newsworthy element was Biden’s forceful and concise carpet-bombing of Trump’s record on all sorts of issues affecting Black Americans — and what that tells us about the campaign’s new approach to Black voters. “What would’ve happened if Black Americans had stormed the Capitol? I don’t think [Trump would] be talking about pardons,” Biden said. “This is the same guy who wanted to tear gas you as you peacefully protested GEORGE FLOYD’s murder. It’s the same guy who still calls the ‘Central Park Five’ guilty, even though they were exonerated. He’s that landlord who denies housing applications because of the color of your skin. He’s that guy who won’t say ‘Black Lives Matter’ and invokes neo-Nazi, Third Reich terms. We all remember, Trump is the same guy who unleashed the birtherism lie against BARACK [OBAMA].” Yes, we know: Biden and Trump have traded barbs for years. But even seasoned campaign observers made clear that this time seems different. The Biden campaign is boasting that its investment in Black voter outreach is the earliest of any campaign in history and that over the next few months the camp is planning to invest eight figures into engagement with Black community groups, student groups and faith-based orgs in battleground states. As our Myah Ward and Brakkton Booker report: “Few states embody the steep challenges Biden faces in his rematch against Trump more than Pennsylvania, where he keeps showing up — and where he remains behind.” The backdrop to this push will sound awfully familiar: Prominent Black officials and operatives are echoing concerns with the Biden campaign more generally: that the president’s policy wins aren’t resonating with voters. But the anxieties about Black voters have been especially dire, Eugene and Lauren Egan write this morning. “I’m in a battleground state. I know what has and hasn’t been done,” said Rep. STEVEN HORSFORD (D-Nev.), the Congressional Black Caucus chair who was on the road with Biden in Philly. “I felt a level of disconnection earlier on the message, on the messengers and on mobilization.” (For him, they have addressed some of his biggest issues as they’ve ramped up their Black voter outreach.) “I think that the way that we communicate has changed in such a way that, if you don’t invest earlier, it’s going to be a problem,” said Texas Rep. JASMINE CROCKETT, who also traveled with Biden. “I’m not saying that it’s the last minute, but we are in crunch time.” ZOOMING OUT: A pretty clear encapsulation of the campaign’s problem is a recent focus group of Black voters done by the group BlackPAC in North Carolina. The participants — middle-class and low-propensity voters — had all voted for Biden in 2020 but were anticipating staying home or voting third party this time around. At the root of their dissatisfaction was a feeling that the Biden administration had not made good on any of his policy promises to Black Americans, said ADRIANNE SHROPSHIRE, the executive director of BlackPAC. But what was most alarming to Shropshire was that the voters said they weren’t hearing anything about Biden’s record. “When you tell people, ‘here’s what the Biden administration has done, particularly related to issues the Black communities care about,’ people are really surprised. They say, ‘I can't believe that I did not know this,’” Shropshire said, describing the results of the focus group. Driving frustration among some Black Democrats is the feeling that Biden has accomplished a lot — including investments in HBCUs, student loan debt cancellation and record low unemployment for Black Americans. “This is blasphemy for me as, as an Obama guy, [but] I would argue, [Biden’s] got a better story to tell,” said CORNELL BELCHER, who has conducted the focus groups for BlackPAC and was Obama’s pollster. “They’ve got to do a better job of telling this story. And they got to tell this story in new and untraditional ways, because it’s not reaching them.” The campaign has gotten the message. They’ve invested seven figures in paid Black media this month, invited the leaders of the “Divine Nine” sororities and fraternities to the White House, spoke at NAACP events in Detroit and Washington, and delivered the commencement address at the storied Morehouse College in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Biden has done 12 interviews with Black journalists or radio hosts this year alone. (Just last night, they gave an exclusive on the White House’s Juneteenth event to The Shade Room.) Harris, meanwhile, is currently on an “Economic Opportunity Tour” specifically tailored to Black men. More from theGrio’s Gerren Keith Gaynor Or as CEDRIC RICHMOND, former CBC chair, senior Biden administration aide and campaign co-chair put it this way to Playbook last night: "In a media environment where young African Americans digest information from more sources that ever, President Biden and his campaign are doing the hard work: on Black media, in Black neighborhoods, with community and faith leaders, and in other ways — so Black voters know exactly how this Administration has delivered for them.” Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: The 340B drug pricing program is supposed to help vulnerable patients access medicines at qualifying hospitals and clinics. It’s meant to be a safety net for those who really need it. So why is the 340B program padding profits for large hospitals, PBMs and chain pharmacies? Let’s fix 340B so it can help the patients that need it most. Let’s fix 340B. | | | ELSEWHERE IN MANHATTAN TODAY — “Exclusive: US to boycott UN tribute to Iran leader killed in helicopter crash,” by Reuters’ Michelle Nichols HORRIBLE BOSSES, D.C. EDITION — “What We Can Learn From the FDIC Fiasco,” by Victoria Guida: “How much should presidents and senators consider a person’s management qualities before putting them in charge of an agency? I don’t know the exact answer. But one I would suggest is: more than they do now. … Take MARTIN GRUENBERG.” Related read: “The FDIC Chairman Is Resigning Under a Cloud. He’s Still in Charge,” by WSJ’s Andrew Ackerman and Rebecca Ballhaus: “Some top officials are skeptical that the Senate will have time to confirm a successor before the presidential election, the people said.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: INSIDE ‘THE FALL OF ROE’ — Two months before the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision was first reported, the White House was warned that the court would gut Roe v. Wade, the New York Times’ Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer reveal in a new book, “The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America” ($32.99). According to a passage obtained by Playbook, in March 2022, NANCY NORTHRUP, the head of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told top White House officials — including chief of staff RON KLAIN — that they were going to lose the case. Northrup’s group argued the case before the high court, along with the solicitor general. “[Northrup] did not know how to be clearer,” Lerer and Dias write. “There was no path to victory. … ‘I am going to say something I have never said in twenty years running the center,’ she said. ‘We are going to lose this case,’ she blurted out. A heavy silence settled over the room. “Klain and the other administration aides in the room offered promises. They were working on plans. … The administration had created a task force to draft plans to advance access to reproductive health. They wanted to keep in close contact, the aides said. We’ll stay in touch, they promised.” Despite the promises, two months later — when the decision was first revealed by POLITICO reporters Alex Ward and Josh Gerstein — Democrats scrambled to respond.
| | | | A message from PhRMA:   Let’s fix 340B so it can help the patients that need it most. | | | |  | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate and the House are out. What we’re watching … Senate Democrats are moving to seize on a bread-and-butter campaign issue — high gas prices and Big Oil malfeasance — in a new letter sent this morning to the Justice Department demanding it investigate allegations, made in a recent FTC investigation, that a prominent oil exec worked hand in hand with OPEC to raise consumer gas prices by billions of dollars in the aggregate. Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER and 22 other senators want an industry-wide antitrust investigation prompted by allegations that former Pioneer Natural Resources CEO SCOTT SHEFFIELD colluded to limit U.S. oil production and raise gas prices. Sheffield has denied the charges; Pioneer recently merged with ExxonMobil. At the White House Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief in the morning and later he and first lady JILL BIDEN will travel to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
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|  Secretary of State Antony Blinken signaled openness yesterday to letting Ukraine strike Russia with U.S. weapons. | Vadim Ghirda/Pool via AP Photo | WEAPONS OF MASS DISRUPTION — Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and NSC spox JOHN KIRBY yesterday “opened the door to allowing Ukraine to use American-donated weapons to strike inside Russia,” Matt Berg, Alex Ward and Nahal Toosi report. What Blinken said: “Blinken signaled the possible change during a visit to Moldova when pressed by reporters. A ‘hallmark’ of the Biden administration’s approach toward Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion two years ago ‘has been to adapt as the conditions have changed, as the battlefield has changed, as what Russia does has changed.’ He continued: ‘We’ve adapted and adjusted, too, and we’ll continue to do that.’” “The move, if made, would come as European allies, lawmakers and Ukrainian officials exert pressure on the White House to lift the restrictions, and as Russia has made major advances on the battlefield. It also suggests that President Joe Biden and his team are increasingly worried about Kyiv’s ability to fend off Russia’s attacks, especially its latest advance in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv.” NYT’s David Sanger breaks down the debate: “Some of his advisers — refusing to speak on the record about a debate inside the White House — say they believe a reversal of his position is inevitable. But if the president does change his view, it will most likely come with severe restrictions on how the Ukrainians could use American-provided arms, limiting them to military targets, just inside Russia’s borders, that are involved in attacks on Ukraine." Adding to the fraught decision are growing fears among U.S. officials that “recent Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian nuclear early-warning systems could dangerously unsettle Moscow,” WaPo’s Ellen Nakashima and Isabelle Khurshudyan report. “Washington has conveyed its concerns to Kyiv about two attempted attacks over the last week against radar stations that provide conventional air defense as well as warning of nuclear launches by the West.” Related read: “Pentagon Opens Ammunition Factory to Keep Arms Flowing to Ukraine,” by John Ismay in Mesquite, Texas: “The factory will soon turn out about 30,000 steel shells every month for the 155-millimeter howitzers that have become crucial to Kyiv’s war effort.” More top reads:
2024 WATCH
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Trump pollsters are arguing they can spin the verdict in his hush money case in his favor. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO | TEFLON DON — Trump’s polling team has been tapped in to the moving needle as the cascade of legal woes mounts for the former president, and with the criminal hush money trial nearing its conclusion, the pollsters are already “arguing that regardless of the verdict in the New York hush-money case, they can spin it in his favor,” Adam Wren writes. “In the campaign’s internal polling, two-thirds of respondents say politics played a role in his criminal indictments. That is at odds with public polling, which has found that somewhere between a plurality and a majority of Americans believe the case has been handled fairly, with a sharp partisan split. Some 60 percent of voters have said they think the charges are very or somewhat serious. Even 6 percent of Trump voters say they would be less likely to back him if convicted. “But the Trump campaign’s interpretation of its own polling suggests what its strategy might be for dealing with a guilty verdict. Trump’s advisers and allies say the public, which has largely tuned out the trial, may have already factored the possibility of a conviction into how it sees Trump. And as Trump has before, he’ll use the case to bolster the grievance narrative he’s been cultivating for years.” More top reads:
- As the parlor game of who Trump will select as his running mate swirls on, the open jockeying among contenders might backfire, CNN’s Kristen Holmes and Steve Contorno write. “Many around the campaign believe the lack of secrecy surrounding the open audition raises the possibility Trump ultimately picks someone off the public’s radar. ‘Historically, the more he says a name, the less likely it is to be that person,’ one adviser told CNN, but noted that they too were speculating.”
JUDICIARY SQUARE
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Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito declined calls for his recusal from Jan. 6-related cases yesterday. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | RECUSAL REFUSAL — Supreme Court Justice SAMUEL ALITO declined calls for his recusal from Jan. 6-related cases that are slated to come before the high court soon, saying that the flag incidents were decisions made by his wife, MARTHA-ANN, due to a “very nasty neighborhood dispute” and that he wasn’t involved. “As soon as I saw it, I asked my wife to take it down, but for several days, she refused,” Alito wrote in a letter sent to Congress. From Alito’s letter: “My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not,” the justice wrote. “I was not aware of any connection between this flag and the ‘Stop the Steal Movement,’ and neither was my wife. She did not fly it to associate herself with that or any other group.” Read the letter Alito’s statement seemed to delight Trump, who posted a message of “congratulations” on Truth Social, commending Alito for “showing the INTELLIGENCE, COURAGE, and ‘GUTS’” to spurn the calls. Later, in an appearance on DAN BONGINO’s show, Trump called Alito “a tough guy” and “strong and very, very smart.” “Trump also offered effusive praise for Justice CLARENCE THOMAS, who was appointed by President GEORGE H.W. BUSH, during his interview with Bongino on Wednesday night, but he was less animated about the three justices he put on the court,” Meridith McGraw and Josh Gerstein write. “Alito’s great. Thomas is great,” Trump said. “The three that I put in, I mean, it’s a little early, but, uh, people are starting to warm up to them, I will say this.” As for alternative avenues to pressure Alito and Thomas to step aside, Rep. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) has a theory of the case, penning an op-ed for NYT: “How to Force Justices Alito and Thomas to Recuse Themselves in the Jan. 6 Cases” The one neat trick: “The U.S. Department of Justice — including the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, an appointed U.S. special counsel and the solicitor general, all of whom were involved in different ways in the criminal prosecutions underlying these cases and are opposing Mr. Trump’s constitutional and statutory claims — can petition the other seven justices to require Justices Alito and Thomas to recuse themselves not as a matter of grace but as a matter of law.” Related read: “How the Supreme Court Could Use the Pardon Power to Create an Imperial Presidency,” by Kimberly Wehle for POLITICO Magazine CONGRESS MAGA MIKE MAKES MOVES — Speaker MIKE JOHNSON is previewing his conference’s first priority should they retain the majority in the chamber and Trump make a return to the White House. “Johnson has been talking with GOP members about taking a ‘whole of government’ approach to their first big bill since their retreat in March, with up to nine committee chairs involved in preparing ‘transformational’ wish lists early on and coordinating their efforts across the conference. He promised that ‘there’ll be a lot of development of those policies in the coming weeks,’” Semafor’s Kadia Goba reports. WHAT ABOUT BOB? — “‘Menendez is asking’: Prosecutors show jurors cache of texts, emails in bribery trial,” by Daniel Han
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S ENERGY SUMMIT: The future of energy faces a crossroads in 2024 as policymakers and industry leaders shape new rules, investments and technologies. Join POLITICO’s Energy Summit on June 5 as we convene top voices to examine the shifting global policy environment in a year of major elections in the U.S. and around the world. POLITICO will examine how governments are writing and rewriting new rules for the energy future and America’s own role as a major exporter. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Shri Thanedar’s path to reelection just got a tad more complicated. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a complaint with the FEC accusing Joe Biden, Donald Trump and CNN of illegally colluding to exclude him from the first presidential debate. Henry Cuellar is the subject of a new House Ethics Committee investigation. SPOTTED: Robert O’Brien visiting Peter Navarro in prison at FCI Miami on Wednesday. It was a “purely personal visit to a friend going through a rough time,” a person close to O’Brien told our colleague Daniel Lippman. SPOTTED: Paul Ryan and Chuck Todd talking on the front porch of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. IN MEMORIAM – The memorial service for Jack Quinn, the former Clinton White House counsel who died May 8, was held yesterday at the Washington National Cathedral with eulogies from Bill Clinton, widow Susanna Quinn, daughter Megan Quinn, Joe Crowley and readings from several of Jack’s grandchildren. Among those in attendance: Hillary Clinton, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Hunter Biden, Roy and Abby Blunt, Jeh Johnson, Terry McAuliffe, Ed Gillespie, Evan Ryan, Dan Koh, Sheila Nix, Nicole Elkon, Adrienne Elrod, Rachel Levitan, Kellyanne Conway, Patrick Steel and Lee Satterfield, Carlos Elizondo, Rickie Niceta, Jim Sciutto and Gloria Rivera, Dana Bash and Spencer Garrett, Nancy Cordes, Doug Heye, April Delaney, Geoff Morrell, Ed O'Keefe, Sean Spicer, Rob Tappan, Stephanie Cutter, Soroush Shehabi, Ron Bonjean, Mark Leibovich, Andrew and Alixe Peek, Chris Matthews, Kelly Love, Peter Kadzik and Amy Weiss, Rick Powell, Jennifer Griffin, Jessica Yellin, Ed Henry, Kate Bennett, Robert Hoopes and Virginia Coyne. — “Jonathan Blake, communications lawyer, dies at 85,” WaPo: “Blake, a communications lawyer at the forefront of helping shape legislation, licenses and treaty provisions related to satellite communications, cellular phone service and broadband technologies, died May 21 at a hospital in Arlington, Va. He was 85. The cause was complications from Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, a rare type of blood cancer, said his wife, Elizabeth Shriver.” — “It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of William (Bill) Ferguson, Jr., the visionary founder, chairman, and former CEO of TFG. Bill has left a legacy of unwavering commitment to build stronger and more vibrant communities across the nation. Bill founded TFG in 1982 with specialties in local government, land use, and water resources. Under his leadership, the firm became one of the top lobbying firms in Washington devoted to serving local communities.” Read the full tribute FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Olivier Knox is joining U.S. News & World Report as senior national correspondent and anchor of Decision Points. He previously was a national political correspondent and anchor of The Daily 202 newsletter at WaPo. — Damara Catlett is now an SVP at Bryson Gillette. She previously was a principal at The Raben Group. WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE —- Sophie Friedman joined the White House on Monday as deputy director of presidential production. She previously managed special projects and board relations for Bloomberg Philanthropies and is a Hillary Clinton 2016 and Mike Bloomberg 2020 alum. TRANSITIONS — Jim Secreto has started as deputy chief of staff at the Commerce Department. He most recently was a counselor at the Treasury Department and is a Biden White House alum. … Alia Awadallah is now director of the executive secretariat at the Commerce Department. She most recently was senior adviser and speechwriter to the deputy under secretary of the Army. … Ashling Kelly Preston is now associate director of public policy for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. She previously was education policy adviser to Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). … … Shawn Ferguson is now the chief global government relations officer for Special Olympics International. He previously was chief of staff for Special Olympics Chair Tim Shriver and is a Kent Conrad alum. … Bradley Saull has formed Saull Strategies and is affiliating with the Madison Services Group. He previously was VP for civilian agencies at the Professional Services Council. ENGAGED — Drew Hinzman, senior UX researcher at Navy Federal Credit Union, and Stacey Berger, senior director for comms operations at the Motion Picture Association, got engaged on Monday at Quiet Waters Dog Beach in Annapolis, where they took their dog Jasper to go swimming, after a weekend of record store hopping and cooking their favorite pasta bake. The couple met in February 2021 for to-go drinks from Colada Shop and a walk around D.C. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NBC’s Frank Thorp … Reema Dodin … Holly Page … Miryam Lipper … Thomas Cluderay … NYT’s Michelle Cottle and Kirsten Danis … Stratton Kirton … Loren Duggan … Daily Wire’s Ashe Schow … Lauren Nevin … Nicholas Ballasy … CNN’s Eric Levenson … Victoria Buchanan … POLITICO’s Maggie Miller, Pratyusha Sankuratri, James Bambara, Nicholas King and Stephen Shapanka … Rob Noel … Lisa Stark … PhRMA’s Nicole Longo … Jeff Freeland … Ashley Bender Spirn … Get Out the Vote’s Steve Kramer (55) … Jenna Lee … Rusty Pickens … former Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) … Chris Gowen … Holland & Knight’s Scott Mason … Paul Frieser … Victoria Buchanan Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: Hospitals that participate in the 340B program contract with more than 33,000 pharmacies to dispense the program’s drug prescriptions. More than 40% of these pharmacies have financial ties to one of the three largest PBMs – CVS Health, Express Scripts and OptumRx. 340B hospitals and the PBM-owned pharmacies they contract with are profiting off discounted medicines while uninsured patients are left paying full price for their medicines. Let’s fix 340B so it better helps patients. | | | | | | | 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 political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
