| | | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | |  The House passed a rule this morning to tee up a contempt vote for AG Merrick Garland. | AP | House Republicans are moving forward with a vote this afternoon to hold AG MERRICK GARLAND in contempt of Congress for withholding audio of President JOE BIDEN’s special counsel interviews. As expected, the House passed a rule this morning to tee up the vote, along with consideration of the sprawling National Defense Authorization Act package. But despite the procedural step forward, the latest contempt push may still be in trouble as “lingering skepticism” remains among some Republicans, Jordain Carney writes. House Judiciary Chairman JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio) told reporters after this morning’s GOP conference meeting that he’s confident they’ll have the votes. “We assume this is going to wind up in court,” he said. “But we think our case is strong and we think that we will prevail.” And though the White House has asserted executive privilege to block the House from obtaining the audio, Jordan argued that, in effect, that “has already been waived” due to the fact that transcripts of the conversations in question have already been released. About that executive privilege … Former Rep. KEN BUCK (R-Colo.) writes in an op-ed for The Washington Examiner that the AG faces a “Catch-22”: Garland must either “respect the president’s decision to assert executive privilege or turn over the audio.” Criticizing the contempt push as “not a clear case,” Buck suggested an alternative path forward that could catch traction: “[House Republicans] should file a motion in federal court challenging the president’s use of executive privilege and seeking a court order to compel the attorney general to produce the audio recording.” DEAL OR NO DEAL — With cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas plagued by a series of stops and starts, Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN maintained an optimistic tone despite the militant group’s proposed changes to the latest Western-backed deal, AP’s Bassem Mroue and Jack Jeffery report: “I believe that they [the differences] are bridgeable, but that doesn’t mean they will be bridged because ultimately Hamas has to decide.” Blinken said. Blinken also criticized Hamas for dragging its feet on a response, per Axios’ Barak Ravid: “Hamas could have answered with a single word: ‘Yes,’” Blinken said. “Instead, they waited almost two weeks and then proposed more changes, a number of which go beyond positions it has previously presented and agreed to. As a result, the war will go on and more people will suffer.” The view from Israel … “While the U.S. says Israel has accepted the proposal, Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU has given conflicting statements, saying Israel is still intent on its war goal of destroying Hamas,” Mrouu and Jeffery write. And from the West Wing … White House national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN: “The time for haggling is over. It is time for the cease-fire to begin and for the hostages to come home." HAPPENING SOON —The Federal Reserve is expected to release its monthly policy summary in a few hours, with Fed Chair JEROME POWELL scheduled to speak to reporters at 2:30 p.m. Economists predict that the Fed will hold interest rates steady, Reuters’ Howard Schneider reports. “With strong job growth allaying concerns of a weakening economy, analysts expect the central bank to maintain its ‘no-rush’ attitude towards rate cuts … policymakers are not ready to commit to any cuts until they've seen more progress.” COMING ATTRACTIONS — “Supreme Court has a lot of work to do and little time to do it with a sizable case backlog,” by AP’s Mark Sherman And Lindsay Whitehurst Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Comcast: Did you know that most of the data on your smartphone travels over WiFi, not cellular? Thanks to WiFi innovation by Comcast, our customers connect over a billion devices to our network each year. Unlicensed spectrum is key to a fast and secure WiFi experience at home and on the go. Comcast leads the way by developing cutting-edge WiFi gateways that maximize our multi-gig broadband network and spectrum made available by the FCC. Learn more. | | | | | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  A U.S. Army landing craft is beached in Ashdod after being swept from the temporary humanitarian pier in the Gaza Strip on May 26, 2024. | Tsafrir Abayov/AP | 1. PIER PRESSURE: The Biden administration’s grand plan to install a $230 million floating pier to provide critical aid to Gazans is — quite literally — falling apart. “[T]he hastily constructed pier was never designed to handle the Mediterranean Sea’s rough waters, which are expected to worsen over summer,” WSJ’s Nancy Youseff reports. Critically, the pier “can’t operate in conditions beyond sea state 3, or short and moderate waves … the Mediterranean Sea is often at sea state 4.” The outlook: “The life and near death of the pier reflect the Biden administration’s larger struggle to deal with the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. … While the Pentagon has allotted enough money to pay for the pier to receive aid for three months, those familiar with its operations say they don’t expect it to last that long, at least not without multiple repairs.” 2. UKRAINE LATEST: With President Biden en route to Italy for this week’s G-7 summit, NYT’s Erica Green and David Sanger report that the group is expected to approve a $50 billion loan to Ukraine to rebuild the country’s devastated infrastructure — money that will be paid back using the proceeds from Russian financial assets seized by the West. Though the Biden administration hopes the assets could provide an immediate infusion of cash to Ukraine, “finance ministers … have been trying to hash out the complicated details of how such a loan would work,” while “officials have been trying to determine how the money would actually be transmitted to Ukraine.” Latest on the ground: “Ukraine Says It Shot Down Most of a Russian Missile and Drone Barrage,” by NYT’s Andrew Kramer Speaking of the G-7 … Among the many global issues expected to be discussed at the summit, the potential return of DONALD TRUMP to the White House is also looming over this week’s discussions, as “European leaders contemplate a future in which they may be unable to rely as much on American support and must stand more on their own,” WaPo’s Tyler Pager, Anthony Faiola and Matt Viser report from Bari, Italy. 3. GARDEN STATE UPDATE: “New Jersey’s political machine is teetering. This Democrat wants to topple it,” by Dustin Racioppi: “[Jersey City Mayor STEVEN FULOP] is battling the state’s unique and highly influential county party system, which gives local party leaders the power to effectively select candidates of their choosing in primaries. If he’s successful, it could be the death knell for the once-legendary political machinery that has dictated New Jersey’s political future for decades.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | 4. THE NEW EVANGELICALISM: CHARLIE KIRK “has become perhaps one of the nation’s most prominent voices calling on Christians to view conservative political activism as central to Jesus’ calling for their lives,” NBC’s Mike Hixenbaugh and Allan Smith write in a new profile. “Kirk’s political and spiritual metamorphosis was followed by a surge in donations and media attention that helped turn him into a leading GOP power broker. … Kirk’s message is resonating with voters who believe Christian values are under attack and that Trump will protect them.” 5. LOAN LURCH: Though the Biden administration is scrambling to roll out new payment decreases for some student borrowers next month, the Education Department has hit a snag that is expected to force a major administrative delay for up to eight million borrowers, NYT’s Stacy Cowley reports. “To buy time, the department instructed its servicers to place borrowers with payments due in early July into an administrative forbearance for the month … Many received notices this month saying that their account had been placed into forbearance, sparking widespread surprise and confusion.” 6. NO PLACE LIKE HOME: “People are pissed off about high housing costs. What 6 governors are doing about it,” by POLITICO Staff: “The issue is increasingly critical for Americans across demographic and partisan lines, with a recent poll showing three-quarters of voters citing housing affordability as a significant problem. … Governors are responsible for guiding a broad strategy for building more houses, and they must navigate cumbersome laws and regulations that hike up construction costs and delay ribbon cuttings for new developments.”
| | | | JOIN US ON 6/13 FOR A TALK ON THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE: As Congress and the White House work to strengthen health care affordability and access, innovative technologies and treatments are increasingly important for patient health and lower costs. What barriers are appearing as new tech emerges? Is the Medicare payment process keeping up with new technologies and procedures? Join us on June 13 as POLITICO convenes a panel of lawmakers, officials and experts to discuss what policy solutions could expand access to innovative therapies and tech. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Usher visited the Capitol today. Mike Johnson said he expects a “very good meeting” with Donald Trump tomorrow. Ben Carson isn’t out of the running yet for Trump’s VP spot. OUT AND ABOUT — Everytown for Gun Safety President John Feinblatt hosted a reception, with speakers including Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Angela Ferrell-Zabala and Virginia state Del. Laura Jane Cohen. SPOTTED: Reps. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Anita Dunn, Daniel Koh, Sydney Harvey, Rob Wilcox, Melissa Alexander, Jason Winston George, Jonathan Capehart, Maggie O’Neill, Steve Elmendorf, Eric Schultz, Michael Moroney, Ashley Etienne, James Davis and Stacey Radnor. — SPOTTED at a party last night at Ellē for Shefali Luthra’s new book, “Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America” ($29): hosts Terri Rupar, Michelle Hackman, Sydney Lupkin and Grace Segers; Kendra Barkoff Lamy, Karen Travers, Caroline Kitchener, Sarah Kaplan, Margot Sanger-Katz, Julie Rovner, Grace Panetta and Madeline Conway. — SPOTTED last night at The Greenhouse at The Jefferson Hotel for the launch of Bruce Ratner’s new book “Early Detection: Catching Cancer When It’s Curable” ($27): Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), Joel Achenbach, Jane Adams, Bryan Bender, Josh Bernstein, Wolf Blitzer, Marcus Brauchli, Barbara Comstock, Jeff DeBoer, Ilyse Hogue, Juleanna Glover, Linda Johnson, Mara Liasson, Chris Lynch, Carol Melton, Ashley Parker, Heather Podesta, Debby Ratner Salzberg, Jesse Rodriguez, Viet Shelton, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Karen Tumulty, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon and Bina Venkataraman. WEEKEND WEDDING — Kelsey Daniels, a professional staff member on the Senate Appropriations Transportation-HUD Subcommittee, and Michael Ciamarra, a senior federal affairs director at Southwest Airlines and Senate Appropriations alum, got married this weekend at Belmont Country Club in Ashburn, Virginia. They met at a house party on Capitol Hill. Pic — Michael Feldman, director for strategic comms at the NSC, and Wendy Schiffman, associate director at KPMG, got married this weekend at Stone Tower Winery in Leesburg, Virginia. The couple met in 2020 and they have been together in DC ever since. Pic … Another pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Sean Ruberg, managing director of marketing strategy at Stand Together, and Hope Hurley, a director at FGS Global, welcomed Harlow Heather Ruberg on Monday. Pic 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.
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