| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | WHERE’S CORY? — “Norcross indictment mutes Booker’s usual moral certainty,” by Mia McCarthy and Dustin Racioppi: “Sen. CORY BOOKER (D-N.J.) cuts an image as a moral authority in the Capitol, using his large social media platform and cable news appearances to condemn Republicans. … He’s a little more muddled when it comes to New Jersey — a state lately in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.” PARTYGATE IN THE U.S.A. — The so-called Partygate scandal helped lead to the downfall of then-British PM BORIS JOHNSON’s government. Could it also hasten the end of WILL LEWIS’ reign at the Washington Post? Yesterday, The Guardian’s Anna Isaac and Stephanie Kirchgaessner detonated the latest bombshell in the ongoing WaPo saga, reporting that in December 2021 and January 2022, while working as an adviser to the PM, Lewis “advised Boris Johnson and senior officials at 10 Downing Street to ‘clean up’ their phones … as top officials were under scrutiny for potential violations of pandemic restrictions.’ The claims suggest Lewis’s advice contradicted an email sent to staff at No 10 in December 2021 which instructed them not to destroy any material that could be relevant to an investigation into the flagrant breaking of Covid lockdown rules by Johnson and officials who worked for him.” (Reps for Lewis and Johnson denied the account.) Now, some of the Post’s biggest names are calling for a change in leadership atop the newsroom. “I don't know a single person at the Post who thinks the current situation with the publisher and supposed new editor can stand,” DAVID MARANISS, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and legendary WaPo mandarin, wrote in a Facebook post last night. “There might be a few, but very very few. JEFF BEZOS owns the Post but he is not of and for the Post or he would understand. The issue is one of integrity not resistance to change.” Added Post investigative reporter SCOTT HIGHAM, a five-time Pulitzer finalist and two-time winner, in the comments below: “Will Lewis needs to step down for the good of The Post and the public. He has lost the newsroom and will never win it back.” Related read: “The Crisis at The Washington Post Is Not About British Media Ethics,” by James Ball for POLITICO Magazine
| 
Several upcoming Supreme Court opinions stand out for their potential to affect American life and law. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo | JUDGMENT DAYS — Today and tomorrow, the Supreme Court will announce opinions in what is traditionally the home stretch of its yearly term. In the high court’s old days, this period would be defined by one or two big cases that could upend the political or cultural moment. But those days are gone. By our count, there are still 22 cases left to be decided — an unusually high number for this late in the calendar. And while, by their very nature, any case that makes it to the highest court in the land is one of consequence, there are several that stand out for their potential to affect American life and law. THE TRUMP-RELATED CASES … Trump v. United States: When it comes to presidential power, this could be one of the most important decisions in American history. The question is pretty simple: The Supreme Court will determine whether former President DONALD TRUMP has immunity from criminal prosecution for his attempt at overturning the 2020 election results. There are essentially three outcomes on the table: (1) Trump’s claim is rejected, which could clear the way for a criminal trial on the charges, although whether that would be before the election is unclear; (2) The court finds that Trump has complete immunity, and the federal case headed up by special counsel JACK SMITH is dead — dramatically expanding the scope of executive powers in the process; or (3) The justices make a split decision, requiring Judge TANYA CHUTKAN to separate the actions Trump took in his official capacity as president from those he took as a political candidate — which would almost certainly push the case’s start past the election. Chutkan has signaled that if the case gets back on her docket, she’ll give Trump’s legal team at least close to three months to prepare. That could still leave runway for the case to get started before the November election, which would upend Trump’s ability to travel in the final weeks of the campaign. Fischer v. United States: At the heart of this case is a 2002 felony obstruction provision that has been used in hundreds of cases against people who rioted on Jan. 6, 2021. The question is whether the law — which prohibits obstruction of official congressional inquiries and investigations — prohibits acts unrelated to investigations and evidence, even if it is a constitutionally required duty. Two of Trump’s four felony charges in the election subversion case involve this statute, so it is likely to affect his case, as well. If the justices were to narrow the statute’s application, dozens of Jan. 6 cases would likely have to be dropped and several convicts’ sentences would need to be adjusted. (The court isn’t being asked to strike down the statute, but limit what cases can actually be brought under it.) THE ABORTION CASE … Moyle v. United States: This is the term’s final case dealing with reproductive access; it is also the justices’ first case on a lone state’s post-Dobbs abortion ban. The question at hand is whether or not an Idaho law that prohibits abortion supersedes a federal law that requires hospitals to provide an abortion to patients during an emergency who need one. Though the ruling would likely only apply to Idaho if state House Speaker MIKE MOYLE wins, it would create precedent for other states who want to avoid the federal law and would be a huge blow to federal authority writ large.
| | | | A message from U.S. Travel Association: Nearly 3 million passengers fly safely every day in the U.S. Our industry is committed to a safe and secure traveler experience, from point A to point B. With record-setting air travel on the summer horizon, TSA’s secure screening technologies, along with the expertise of the U.S. airline industry, will get you to your destination safely and seamlessly. Learn more. | | | THE REGULATORY CASES … Relentless Inc. v. Department of Commerce and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo: These two cases are focused on the same issue: “Chevron deference.” The Chevron doctrine, adopted 40 years ago, empowered federal agencies by forcing judges to defer to their reading of statutes whose wording is ambiguous and subject to interpretation. Conservatives have targeted the doctrine for years, saying that it keeps the judiciary from having a final answer on the constitutionality of a law. If the court throws out Chevron, not only would it remake federal agencies’ ability to enact regulations, it would also effectively require Congress to be more specific when writing laws to cut down on ambiguity. And, well … that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. NetChoice LLC v. Paxton and NetChoice LLC v. Moody: This is all about content moderation on social media sites. Two state laws (Florida and Texas) were meant to stop what they alleged was censorship of right-wing voices on social media, essentially mandating that the platforms keep all views online. Both states’ laws are currently blocked, and the opponents say that if they are allowed to go back into effect, then (1) platforms’ ability to police all types of vile online content would be impossible, and (2) the First Amendment rights of those platforms would be infringed. Proponents, meanwhile, argue to flip side: that content moderation by platforms — even if they’re owned by companies, rather than the government — itself infringes on the First Amendment rights of Americans. Murthy v. Missouri: This lawsuit, brought by Missouri, Louisiana and multiple individual plaintiffs, holds that the Biden administration — including Surgeon General VIVEK MURTHY — violated the First Amendment by asking social media sites to delete disinformation and misinformation about election fraud and Covid-19. The federal government is accused of essentially coercing Facebook, Google and Twitter/X into muzzling conservatives when federal officials emailed and flagged posts that contained wrong or objectionable information. (During oral arguments, it seemed pretty clear that the case was going in the administration’s direction, with the minority vocally led by Justice SAMUEL ALITO.) THE GUN CASE … United States v. Rahimi: The final gun case of the term (SCOTUS already struck down a bump stock ban last week) challenges the federal law that keeps people with domestic violence restraining orders from having guns. The law has been on the books since Congress passed it in 1994. Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. NRSC MAKES MONEY MOVES — “Senate GOP plans $100 million ad blitz as it fights to retake chamber,” by Ally Mutnick: “While the committee shared few details, its broad strategy is clear: Rely on wealthy recruits to self-fund and draw big donors, take advantage of JOE BIDEN’s unpopularity to save money in key battleground states, and use independent expenditures to complement those efforts.”
|  House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner's (R-Ohio) speech today may have you deciding it’s time to stockpile canned goods. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: TURNER’S WARNING ON RUSSIAN SPACE NUKES — As Russia seeks to launch nuclear weapons well above Earth’s surface, the Biden administration is “sleepwalking” into a potentially catastrophic, modern-day “Cuban Missile Crisis in space,” House Intelligence Chair MIKE TURNER will warn during a speech today at 11 a.m. at the Center for Strategic and International Studies — an address that may have you deciding it’s time to stockpile canned goods. The Ohio Republican who led the charge pressuring the administration to declassify the existence of Russia’s nuclear anti-satellite program will now take his concerns a step further: He’ll call today on the administration to declassify all information about this threat so the world knows just how bad the situation could be — and addresses it before it’s too late. If it sounds like a freakish doomsday scenario, that’s because it really could be, Turner argues. Should Russia detonate such a weapon in what’s known as low earth orbit, it coul;d effectively destroy the satellites that undergird much of the modern economy. In other words, it would be lights out for global communications for at least a year, Turner warns, citing the former assistant secretary of Defense for space policy. Cellphones? Inoperable. GPS? Gone. The world as we know it would change. “This threat would mean that our economic, international security and social systems come to a grinding halt,” Turner will warn, according to remarks shared exclusively with Playbook. “This would be a catastrophic and devastating attack upon western economic, and democratic systems. VLADIMIR PUTIN knows this — checkmate.” Just as worrisome to Turner is the lack of public information about it (“Putin thrives in secrecy,” he’ll say today), and the lack of plan to stop it (“the administration is failing,” he’ll add). “The administration is not taking this as seriously as it should,” Turner told Playbook last night on the phone, previewing his speech. “[President JOHN F.] KENNEDY took more seriously nukes in Cuba, which have a shorter launch time, than this administration is taking nukes in space.” The backdrop: Tucked into Russia and North Korea’s new partnership agreement is a provision that “requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event of war,” AP’s Kim Tong-Hyung reports from Seoul.
| | | | A message from U.S. Travel Association:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate is in. The House is out. 3 things to watch …
- Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill are getting a head start on his latest pet policy proposal: tax-free tips. Reps. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.), MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) and THOMAS MASSIE (R-Ky.) told Breitbart this week they are planning to push the issue in the House after Trump got behind it at a Las Vegas rally earlier this month, and Sen. STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.), a Finance Committee member, said he’d do the same in the Senate. Some issues they’ll have to overcome: the $150 billion-plus hole it would blow in the budget and Americans’ aversion to more tipping, which the proposal would undoubtedly encourage. More from HuffPost’s Arthur Delaney
- If you’re planning to watch TV in the NYC media market over the next five days, our sincere condolences: The race between Rep. JAMAAL BOWMAN and Westchester County Executive GEORGE LATIMER for the Democratic nomination in New York’s 16th Congressional District is already the most expensive House primary in history. Our friends at New York Playbook report that overall broadcast spending has reached $23 million; with its latest $2.85 million buy opposing Bowman and backing Latimer, AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project is responsible for $14.5 million of that.
- Monday’s bombshell indictment of GEORGE NORCROSS, the South Jersey political boss, has put a spotlight on his older brother, Rep. DONALD NORCROSS (D-N.J.), who has been a fairly nondescript and leadership-friendly presence during his decade in the House Democratic Caucus. But Rep. Norcross looks to be fairly insulated, at least for now. He won renomination in New Jersey’s June 4 primary in a district Biden won by 24 points in 2020. And any further family scrutiny might be limited: As Nick Wu and Daniella Diaz report, the elder Norcross didn’t play all that much in national politics.
At the White House Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief in the morning before departing Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, en route to Camp David.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH
|  A new Fox News poll has some rosier news for President Joe Biden, but he's generally underperforming other Democrats. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo | RUNNING THEM DOWN — It’s a nagging sign of trouble for the president: “Even as other Democrats are running strong, the party’s down-ballot successes aren’t translating into momentum at the top of the ticket. Biden trails Trump in many of the states he needs to win to keep the White House. His job approval is underwater. And the coalition of voters that ushered him into office four years ago is fraying,” Lisa Kashinsky, Madison Fernandez and Mia McCarthy write. “Interviews with Democratic lawmakers, strategists and former party officials in Washington and the states found Democrats increasingly willing to acknowledge that the president’s political difficulties are anchored in Biden’s individual vulnerabilities — including his age, his inconsistent messaging and his dismal support among young people.” On the other hand: A new Fox News poll has some rosier news for Biden as we enter the final stretch before the first presidential debate of the cycle. “President Biden is the frontrunner in a hypothetical matchup against former President Trump for the first time since October, as positive views of the economy inch up — hitting their highest level thus far in the Biden presidency,” Fox News’ Dana Blanton writes. “Since May, there was a 3-point change in the presidential race. Trump was ahead by 1 point last month, while Biden is up by 2 points today: 50%-48%.” And though Fox notes that Biden’s lead is within the margin of error, his number also marks “his best this election cycle; he hasn’t been ahead of Trump since October 2023 and that was by just 1 point (49%-48%).” More top reads:
- In a campaign stop in Racine, Wisconsin, Trump continued to outline the very low bar that his camp has set for Biden’s performance at next week’s debate, only to follow up his own comments to prepare his base for the event that the president does in fact meet or surpass expectations. “In Racine, some of Mr. Trump’s supporters took a more nuanced view of the videos of Mr. Biden, the age factor and how it all played into expectations for the debate,” NYT’s Shawn McCreesh reports.
- ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.’s campaign “spent two and a half times more than it raised in May,” Jessica Piper writes. It reported “just $6.4 million cash on hand at the end of the month, down from $10 million the previous month.”
MORE POLITICS THE WAITING GAME — Virginia’s closely watched GOP primary in the 5th Congressional District between Rep. BOB GOOD and JOHN McGUIRE is still too close to call — and it could be that way for a bit. “Starting with a tally of provisional ballots and Election Day-postmarked mail-ins that straggle in by Friday, the effort is likely to expand to a full recount that could take weeks,” WaPo’s Laura Vozzella and Gregory Schneider write. McGuire leads by 321 votes.
| | | | A message from U.S. Travel Association:   | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD
| 
As President Joe Biden goes negative, British PM Rishi Sunak has also mounted a nearly all-negative campaign across the pond. | Leon Neal/Getty Images | THREE’S COMPANY — Biden, British PM RISHI SUNAK and French President EMMANUEL MACRON are all turning to brutally negative campaign tactics in an effort to overcome their own unpopularity, Eli Stokols, Giorgio Leali, John Johnston and Elena Schneider write in a transatlantic teamup. The trio is “telling voters in dystopian terms about how bad things could get if their challengers win. In France, Macron has warned that far-right and far-left candidates would inflict ‘an impoverishment of the country.’ Across the channel in Britain, Sunak has mounted a nearly all-negative campaign against the ascendant Labour Party. “The three leaders represent different ideologies, cultures and generations. But they have one thing in common: all three are unpopular. Their caustic campaigns match a political atmosphere defined by frustration and fear.” The global immigration shift: “As elections loom in the U.S., the U.K. and France, the fraught politics of migration are a key issue animating voters on both sides of the Atlantic and fueling far-right parties that promise to put an end to migration driven by asylum — just as climate change and global conflicts have propelled the number of displaced people to record highs,” James Angelos, Myah Ward and Emily Schultheis write. As for the White House’s view, Biden’s immigration stance can essentially be summed up as such: “He will help immigrants who are already here, but try to keep the border shut to those trying to get in,” NYT’s Zolan Kanno-Youngs writes. “The strategy, described by one former White House official as a ‘border-in vs. border-out’ approach, is a reflection of the political complexity of immigration, a top concern for voters of both parties in the 2024 presidential campaign.” More top reads:
- Top Biden administration officials are increasingly doubtful that Israel and Hamas will reach a comprehensive cease-fire deal under the current framework, Erin Banco and Alex Ward report.
- A top Russian official said yesterday that they are “awaiting a response from Washington to its proposals for a possible exchange of prisoners, an apparent reference to U.S. citizens detained in Russia such as Wall Street Journal reporter EVAN GERSHKOVICH,” though details of the proposal were not provided, WSJ’s Ann Simmons reports.
THE WHITE HOUSE THE GOLD STANDARD — “After CNN report, White House bringing back program for Gold Star families to honor service members buried abroad,” by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Kirsten Appleton BEYOND THE BELTWAY WHERE CHURCH MEETS STATE — “New law requires all Louisiana public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments,” by AP’s Sara Cline in Baton Rouge
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | George Santos is starting an OnlyFans. Jill Stein wants a spot on the debate stage. Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and others remembered Willie Mays. Elon Musk wants advertisers back on X after telling them to “F” off. PROGRAM NOTE — Our own Eugene Daniels is headlining a panel with pollsters focused on health care on the first day of the Aspen Ideas Festival, kicking off today. See the full agenda OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) Great Opportunity Policy Summit in D.C. yesterday evening: Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Reps. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) and Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), Winsome Sears, John Ratcliffe, Kevin McCarthy, Cory Gardner, Tim Dunn, Bill Ackman, Marc Andreessen, Curt Bradbury, Jim Brown, John Childs, Vlad Coric, Brian Hook, Mikee Johnson, David Krone, Ben Navarro, Kurt Palmer, Todd Ricketts, Vu Ritchie, John Rogers, Marc Rowan, Alex Slusky, Greg Wendt, Norm Brownstein, Andy Sabin, Johnny DeStefano, Jennifer DeCasper, Nathan Brand, Brittney Godoy, Sydney Groves, Parker Poling, Steven Law, Martin Gillespie and Kellyanne Conway. — SPOTTED at the Forge Advisors rooftop summer happy hour: Mary Landrieu, Zach Butterworth, Leandra English, Kate Berner, Joelle Gamble, Sameera Fazili, Trey Baker, Pam Thiessen, Sudafi Henry, Darrel Thompson, Chris Slevin, Jim Secreto, David Kieve, Aliya Haq, Cristina Shoffner, Meghan Hays, Jana Plat, Albert Gore and Mariel Sáez. TRANSITIONS — Kristin Wilson is joining Rokk Solutions as SVP. She most recently was a supervising producer at CNN. … Robert Joyce is now senior policy adviser for the CHIPS Program Office in the Commerce Department. He previously was appropriations director and economic policy adviser for Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro … Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) … Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Deborah Ross (D-N.C.) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) … Adrienne Elrod … POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Mackenzie Wilkes … Ian Prior … CNN’s Janie Boschma … Jeremy Wiggins … Brandon Arnold of the National Taxpayers Union … Tom Zigo of the MPA … Brad Howard of Corcoran Street Group … Ryan Walker of Heritage Action … Kristin White … Leon Rodriguez of Seyfarth Shaw … Ginger Loper … former Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) … Gisselle Reynolds of Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart’s (R-Fla.) office … Sara Pearl Kenigsberg … Emma Tenery of Speaker Mike Johnson’s office … Chris Grieco … Susan O’Neill 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 U.S. Travel Association: Nearly 3 million passengers fly safely every day in the U.S. Our industry is committed to a safe and secure traveler experience, from point A to point B. With record-setting air travel on the summer horizon, TSA’s secure screening technologies, along with the expertise of the U.S. airline industry, will get you to your destination safely and seamlessly.
This level of robust travel is indispensable to our nation’s economic growth and job creation. In 2023, travelers in the United States directly spent $1.3 trillion, producing an economic footprint of $2.8 trillion and supporting more than 15 million American jobs. Learn more. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
