| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
This morning, VP Kamala Harris wakes up with enough delegate commitments to win the Democratic nomination for president. | Stephen Voss for POLITICO | Forty-eight hours ago, VP KAMALA HARRIS was focused on preparing for an upcoming debate with the Republican who wants her job. This morning, she wakes up with enough delegate commitments to win the Democratic nomination for president. In the end, the handoff from JOE BIDEN to Harris lasted all of 32 hours. The transition was clinched at about 9:30 p.m. yesterday when former Speaker NANCY PELOSI, who worked behind the scenes to persuade Biden to leave the race, moved to deliver California’s 300-plus convention delegates on an emergency Zoom call. “I am proud that my home state’s delegation helped put our campaign over the top,” Harris said soon after. “I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon.” Democrats are treating the moment with a sense of exuberance leavened by the understanding that the swap comes with incredible risks. As one Biden-now-Harris aide texted us last night, “Everyone is clear eyed — this is going to be a really tough campaign, it's going to be really close. But at least now we can all feel confident that we have every ability and tool at our disposal to win this election.” That certainly includes money: The Harris campaign said its first-24-hour haul exceeded $100 million coming from 1.1 million unique donors, with 62 percent donating for the first time. Some 58,000 signed up to volunteer for the campaign in that period. Now, over the next few days, Harris faces a new whirlwind of challenges: RESHAPING A CAMPAIGN: The name on the door has gone from “Biden for President” to “Harris for President,” but a more profound transformation is now underway, as Eugene, Elena Schneider and Chris Cadelago report. Harris made a quick trip to the campaign’s Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters yesterday that included comments from a still-ailing-from-Covid Biden, delivered by phone, as well as her husband DOUG EMHOFF and campaign manager (and former senior Harris aide) JULIE CHAVEZ RODRIGUEZ. The pivot underway involves personnel: Harris announced she’d asking Rodriguez and campaign chair JEN O’MALLEY DILLON to stay on, while Biden’s chief strategist and close confident MIKE DONILON is retreating to a less central role, according to a person familiar with the new campaign structure. Harris’ allies, meanwhile, are hoping to bring in Obama vet DAVID PLOUFFE for a top role in the campaign as a trusted voice from outside the Biden and Harris orbits. Veteran California strategist ACE SMITH is also the subject of internal chatter about a possible role. Harris’s emerging brain trust is also starting to rethink how the fundamentals of the race against DONALD TRUMP have changed. They believe Harris’ relative strength with young, Black and Brown voters will put more states in play than a weakened Biden could credibly contest. “The Midwest is not where the opportunity is for her,” one veteran Democratic operative close to Harris world told Playbook. “The opportunity with her … is going to be Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania. And however those four states go, the rest of the country will follow.” CHOOSING A RUNNING MATE: Where the rubber of those strategic concerns most immediately hits the road is in choosing a partner for the ticket. That, as our colleague Elena Schneider writes, could happen sooner than you think. “Delegates … could begin voting on the party’s presidential and vice presidential nominees as early as next week, under a draft plan released Monday by the Democratic National Committee,” she writes. “Such a timeline, if it were implemented, could result in [Harris] selecting her running mate by the middle of next week.” Already a shortlist is emerging: Arizona Sen. MARK KELLY, North Carolina Gov. ROY COOPER and Pennsylvania Gov. JOSH SHAPIRO are among those who have been asked to submit to formal vetting, as CNN’s Jeff Zeleny first reported. Others, including Kentucky Gov. ANDY BESHEAR and Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ, are in the mix. The strategic concerns about swing states are important, but so is this: “Some of this is chemistry,” said a Harris ally who is in touch with her team. “She knows, having been VP, what it feels like. … Some will require more [vetting] than others.” EMERGING ONTO THE PUBLIC STAGE: Harris will hit the stage in Milwaukee later today for her first event as a presidential candidate since December 2019. She’ll be joined by a host of Wisconsin Democrats, including Gov. TONY EVERS and Sen. TAMMY BALDWIN. Her remarks yesterday in Wilmington offered a taste of what to expect. For one, unlike 2019, she is showing no hesitation about leaning into her past life as a prosecutor and attorney general (a decision that Ankush Khardori unpacks in POLITICO Magazine this morning). “In those roles I took on perpetrators of all kinds,” she said. “Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump's type.” Also expect to hear plenty about abortion — an issue Harris is comfortable and practiced at discussing — and about Project 2025, the unofficial policy agenda-setting effort for a possible second Trump administration that has been a staple of Harris’s recent public remarks. Expect a pivot to foreign affairs later in the week, when she is likely to meet with Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU in what will be a closely watched bilateral meeting. There, according to a Harris aide, she plans to reiterate a commitment to Israel’s security but also push for an end to the Hamas war “in a way where Israel is secure, all hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can enjoy their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination.” Related reads: “Trump campaign began preparing for Biden exit in May, confidential memo shows,” by Alex Isenstadt … “Black voters feel excitement, hope and a lot of worry as Harris takes center stage in campaign,” by AP’s Matt Brown and Sharon Johnson … “‘We need to defend our sister everywhere’: Inside the organizing call for Harris,” by Sally Goldenberg and Jason Beeferman Good Tuesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | A message from Capital One: Capital One recently announced our historic, five-year, $265 billion community benefits plan in connection with our proposed acquisition of Discover to advance economic opportunity and financial well-being. This plan is twice as large as any other community commitment developed in connection with a bank acquisition and demonstrates that the combined Capital One and Discover will create an opportunity to provide more lending, investment, and services for underserved communities than the institutions would undertake on a stand-alone basis. | | | CAN THE GOP LET JOE GO? — Republican candidates up and down the ballot have been giddily preparing for months to run against an unpopular incumbent president they can readily tie to their Democratic opponents. Now that Biden has ended his pursuit of a second term, they’re having some trouble letting go. In the immediate aftermath of Biden’s shocking announcement, Republicans have shown signs that they are torn between dropping their well-calibrated anti-Biden attack lines — or digging in deeper. The Trump campaign and Republican Party organs, to be sure, are pivoting hard to Harris. The NRSC, for instance, sent around a messaging memo on the VP and her “extreme agenda” yesterday and, we’re told, is now in the field polling lines of attack against the likely Democratic nominee. But we spent some time yesterday talking to House Republicans, many of whom insist it’s their prerogative and their duty to keep the spotlight on Biden’s fitness for office — revised presidential ticket be damned. “For me it was never fully about the ticket — it was about the fact that he’s very clearly not all there,” said Rep. CHIP ROY (R-Texas), who’s pushing Republicans to take up his resolution calling on the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment against Biden. The House shouldn’t stop there, Roy continued: “What did JILL [BIDEN] know and when did she know it? What did the staff know? What did the vice president know and when did she know what she knew? “He is the sitting president,” he added. “This is still important.” House Oversight Chair JAMES COMER (R-Ky.) is of a similar mind. Having subpoenaed Biden’s close staff and doctor, Comer said he has no plans to abandon his probe of the president’s mental acuity just because Biden is now a lame duck. “Was there a shadow government operation?” Comer asked. “I don't think there’s any question whether or not Joe Biden was able to be running the day-to-day operations. He was not. Now, who was making the decisions? Who was calling the shots?” Other Hill Republicans aren’t so sure this is a productive line of inquiry. Some view it as a distraction from focusing on Harris, and some even think aggressively targeting Biden will backfire — making it look like Republicans are beating up on “grandpa,” as one GOP aide we spoke to put it. While Speaker MIKE JOHNSON and other top Republicans have called on Biden to resign, arguing he’s not fit to serve if he’s not fit to run, we’re told that they’re not particularly keen on pressing the issue. Instead they are teeing up a vote Thursday on a resolution slamming Harris for her handling of the southern border, as Olivia Beavers, Sarah Ferris and Jordain Carney scooped. The resolution, introduced by House Republican Conference Chair ELISE STEFANIK (R-N.Y.), “strongly condemns” Harris as the Biden administration’s “border Czar” for her “failure to secure the United States border.” (Harris’ role was a focus on root causes of immigration from Northern Triangle countries, not the border.) But that’s not enough for Roy, who argued to Playbook that “Democrats ought to have to vote” on Biden’s fitness for office. He argued the House can do both: probe the president’s mental fitness while also softening up Harris. “Let’s remind people of the cover-up and remind people what Vice President Harris knew and when she knew it,” Roy said. “It’s massively damaging to her and her credibility.” Related read: “Congressional Dems go from panic to wary relief: Is the chaos over?” by Ally Mutnick and Sarah Ferris
| | | | A message from Capital One:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The House will meet at 9 a.m. Johnson and other GOP leaders will hold a media availability at 10 a.m. The Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing with family members of Americans held hostage by Hamas at 10 a.m. The Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on the Trump assassination attempt at 10 a.m. The Senate will meet at 3 p.m. to take up KASHI WAY’s nomination as a judge on the U.S. Tax Court, and it will vote at 5:30 p.m. on COLLEEN KIKO’s nomination as a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority. 3 things to watch …
- Turns out the Senate might just do some summer legislating: Later today, Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER will start the process of bringing a bipartisan package of Big Tech regulations to the floor this week. The combined Kids Online Safety Act and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act could get a procedural vote as soon as Thursday, according to a Schumer aide. The bills, aka KOSA and COPPA 2.0, are both aimed at protecting minors online. Said Schumer in a statement: “It has been a long and daunting road to get this bill passed, which can change and save lives, but today, we are one monumental step closer to success.”
- Sen. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.) is now both a sitting senator and a convicted felon. Don’t expect that situation to last. The leaders of the Senate Ethics Committee said yesterday they would “promptly” finish a review of Menendez’s recently concluded bribery case and “move expeditiously to submit a written report to the Senate” with recommendations for action. If Menendez doesn’t resign first, you can expect an expulsion referral — and for attention to then turn to Gov. PHIL MURPHY’s appointment plans.
- The House’s quest to pass all 12 fiscal 2025 spending bills appears to be petering out halfway through. GOP leaders yesterday abandoned plans to pass the Agriculture-FDA and Financial Services bills due to internal dustups over spending and abortion, Caitlin Emma and Jennifer Scholtes report. Energy-Water and Interior-Environment are still teed up for action this week, but it will be a tough slog to get any of the six remaining unpassed GOP-written bills passed due to intraconference divides. The real drama now is whether the House even comes back next week to try.
At the White House Biden will return to the White House in the afternoon from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. On the trail Harris will travel to the Milwaukee area for her first presidential campaign rally, before returning to Washington later in the day.
| | | | Breaking News Briefing: How Kamala Harris’ Policies Could Differ from Joe Biden’s — Where does Vice President Kamala Harris stand on key policy issues? Where does she differ from President Biden? Join POLITICO Pro’s specialist reporters for a detailed discussion of what her track record as vice president, U.S. senator and attorney general of California tells us about her policy instincts and allies. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | CONGRESS
|  Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle responds to questions as she testifies during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Monday. | Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP Photo | SECRET SERVICE IN THE HOT SEAT — Secret Service Director KIMBERLY CHEATLE’s appearance yesterday before the House Oversight Committee ended with some lawmakers of both parties calling for her to resign and extremely frustrated over a lack of answers. NYT’s David Fahrenthold and Adam Goldman run down some of the outstanding questions, from why the warehouse wasn’t covered when Trump was shot in an attempted assassination to even just how many Secret Service agents were at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. Ranking member JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) became the latest prominent lawmaker to say Cheatle should lose her job, per Jordain Carney, though she defended herself (while apologizing) and said she wouldn’t step down. And last night, Rep. NANCY MACE (R-S.C.) filed a privileged resolution on the floor to impeach Cheatle over the Butler failure, per Punchbowl’s Melanie Zanona. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of lawmakers went to Butler yesterday to tour the site for themselves, saying they were baffled why Secret Service agents weren’t on the roof from which THOMAS MATTHEW CROOKS fired, Josh Gerstein reports. And that may not be the Secret Service’s only headache: Betsy Woodruff Swan reports that a DHS IG report about Jan. 6 is coming soon, with potentially damaging information about security failures around the Capitol insurrection. NEXT UP IN THE HOT SEAT — “House committee calls on CrowdStrike CEO to testify on global outage,” by WaPo’s Cristiano Lima-Strong AMERICA AND THE WORLD FOR YOUR RADAR — Though it has received comparatively little attention in the U.S., the conflict in Sudan has become one of the world’s most lethal wars over the past year-plus — and the Biden administration is revving up a new peace effort, Foreign Policy’s Robbie Gramer scooped. After negotiations that have been quietly ongoing for months, the U.S. now hopes to lay the groundwork for new senior-level peace talks in August. HANDLING THE HOUTHIS — The U.S. is starting to talk more seriously about upgrading its terrorist designation for the Houthi rebels to a more severe level, as the Yemeni group escalates its Red Sea and regional attacks, ABC’s Chris Boccia reports. U.S. Special Envoy to Yemen TIM LENDERKING said Houthi aggression is forcing the U.S. to reconsider, though it has to weigh how changing the designation could hamper humanitarian efforts in Yemen. IMMIGRATION FILES — “Hundreds of migrants leave southern Mexico on foot in a new caravan headed for the US border,” by AP’s Edgar Clemente in Ciudad Hidalgo CLOSING TIME — “Iraq eyes drawdown of US-led forces starting September, sources say,” by Reuters’ Timour Azhari and Ahmed Rasheed GETTING GOING IN GITMO — “Trial in Bombing of U.S. Warship Set to Start 25 Years After Attack,” by NYT’s Carol Rosenberg 2024 WATCH THE STAKES FOR NOVEMBER — WaPo’s Scott Dance digs into different conservative proposals for privatizing federal weather forecasters or making the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration an independent agency, which could gain steam if Trump returns to the White House. Some Republicans, including the authors of Project 2025, want to take aim at NOAA because of its climate science/research, and they argue that private companies predict the weather better. But “meteorologists and climate scientists are voicing concern over what these proposals would mean for the millions of people they are working to inform and protect.”
| | A message from Capital One: Developed in partnership with a coalition of leading community groups, our five-year community benefits plan includes significant financial and programmatic commitments through community development, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), philanthropy and pro bono, consumer card and auto lending, small business and supplier diversity, and bank access. These commitments will aim to expand economic opportunity for underserved consumers, including those in low- and moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods, rural areas, and communities of color. It will also support increased access to best-in-class products and services for unbanked or underbanked consumers as well as consumers across the credit spectrum and expand access to capital and opportunity. | | | THE WHITE HOUSE
|  Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has a tricky tightrope to walk with both VP Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. | Nir Elias/Pool/AFP via Getty Images | BIBI COMES TO TOWN — Ahead of his big address to Congress tomorrow, Netanyahu arrived yesterday in Washington, where he has a tricky tightrope to walk with both Harris and Biden, as NYT’s Patrick Kingsley captures: Though he could get a longer leash if Trump takes the White House, he still has to deal with Democrats the rest of the year (or beyond). Biden said yesterday that he views ending the Israel-Hamas war and getting Israeli hostages home as a big goal for his remaining time in office, per Axios’ Barak Ravid. He’s also meeting with families of American hostages this week, AP’s Aamer Madhani, Chris Megerian and Seung Min Kim report. Though Harris has been seen as more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than Biden, Nahal Toosi cautions that she remains a strong supporter of Israel (if no Netanyahu admirer). Netanyahu has also asked to meet with Trump in the U.S., Erin Banco reports, though it’s not clear yet if that will come together. Ahead of tomorrow’s Hill speech — and expected protests — the Capitol is already starting to hunker down with security measures, Roll Call’s Justin Papp reports. Multiple sites like the Visitor Center and Botanic Garden will close for tourists. Of note: Sen. BEN CARDIN (D-Md.) will be presiding for the Senate tomorrow after Harris and Senate President Pro Tempore PATTY MURRAY (D-Wash.) both demurred, NBC’s Kate Santaliz reports. POLICY CORNER ACCOUNTABILITY READ — “The Biden Administration Says Its Trade Policy Puts People Over Corporations. Documents on Baby Formula Show Otherwise,” by ProPublica’s Heather Vogell: “U.S. officials have challenged baby formula regulations in more than half a dozen countries, sometimes after manufacturers complained. Critics say the efforts are undermining public health.” TRUMP CARDS THE TRUMP TRIALS — Trump’s legal team yesterday filed arguments with an appeals court making the case for his massive civil business fraud judgment to be overturned, AP’s Michael Sisak and Jennifer Peltz report. Oral arguments are due in September; if Trump’s lawyers lose their contention that the case should have been dismissed, he’ll be on the hook for half a billion dollars. BEYOND THE BELTWAY HE’S BACK — “Former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa makes another run for California governor,” by Christopher Cadelago and Melanie Mason
| | | | 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 | | Kamala Harris has a whole-branzino type of appetite. Josh Hawley backed Andrew Bailey in the Missouri AG race. Maya Rudolph, clear your schedule. Donald Trump will be on Bryson DeChambeau’s YouTube channel today. Joe Biden is almost over Covid, Kevin O’Connor said. Alsu Kurmasheva was sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison in Russia. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — NBC’s Jonathan Allen and The Hill’s Amie Parnes have struck a deal for their third campaign book, a 2024 election autopsy a la “Shattered” and “Lucky.” “We weren’t going to do a book this year, and then the last month happened,” they said in a statement. Bridget Wagner Matzie of Aevitas Creative Management negotiated the deal with Mauro DiPreta at William Morrow. — Navin Girishankar is joining the Center for Strategic and International Studies as president of its new economic security and technology department. He most recently was senior counselor to the deputy secretary of Commerce, and is a Bridgewater Associates and World Bank alum. TRANSITIONS — Darren Walker will leave his role as president of the Ford Foundation at the end of 2025 after 12 years in the influential job, NYT’s Robin Pogrebin reports. … Zachary Radford is joining the National Safety Council as VP of government affairs. He previously was VP of congressional affairs at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. … Yael Sheinfeld is now press secretary for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). She previously was comms director for Accountable.US’ democracy team, and is a Lori Trahan and Jake Auchincloss alum. … … Kyle Robertson is joining BrabenderCox as senior director of client services. He most recently was chief of staff to Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.). … Michael Blume is now a senior specialist for government relations for the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. He previously was senior adviser for government relations for Syensqo. … Jason Downs is now a partner at Hogan Lovells. He previously was with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. ENGAGED — Anthony O’Boyle, director of public affairs at the National Italian American Foundation, and Katie Johnson, who works in public affairs at the Justice Department, got engaged in Jersey City, New Jersey, earlier this month. They met working at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) … Monica Lewinsky … DOT’s Aaron Moore … Eric Werwa … Fritz Brogan of the Mission Group … Melissa Braid … Dean Aguillen of Ogilvy Government Relations … David Brock … Matt Jeanneret of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association … Mary Crane of Targeted Victory … Will Mesinger of Meraki Communications Group … POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky and Erin Banco … Judy Lichtman … FGS Global’s Craig James and Josh Gross ... Edelman’s Courtney Gray Haupt … Tracie Pough … former Justice Anthony Kennedy … Stephanie Grisham … former Rep. John Hall (D-N.Y.) … State’s Kenya James … White House’s Gabriel Barnett … Jane Rayburn of EMC Research … Newsmax’s Jon Glasgow … Monica Venzke of American Bridge 21st Century 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. | | | | 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 | | | | |
