| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | DEVELOPING OVERNIGHT — “Hamas leader ISMAIL HANIYEH was assassinated in the early hours of the morning in Iran, the Palestinian militant group said on Wednesday, drawing fears of wider escalation in a region shaken by Israel's war in Gaza and a worsening conflict in Lebanon,” Reuters reports. “The news, which came less than 24 hours after Israel claimed to have killed the Hezbollah commander it said was behind a deadly strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, appears to set back chances of any imminent ceasefire agreement in Gaza.” Latest reactions, via AP … “Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah ALI KHAMENEI responded to Haniyeh’s assassination and said that Iran considers revenge as its duty, according to his official website.” … “‘I don’t think that war is inevitable,’ [Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN] told reporters in Manila, Philippines. ‘I maintain that. I think there’s always room and opportunity for diplomacy, and I’d like to see parties pursue those opportunities.’” … “Israel has not commented directly on the assassination, nor claimed responsibility for it.” More live updates EYES EMOJI — After he returned to the White House from Texas around 1:20 a.m. yesterday morning, President JOE BIDEN made his way over to the press pool, where he was asked about his “legacy for LGBTQ Americans.” “Well, I’m really proud of my position,” Biden replied. “I was the first guy to come out for gay marriage.” And then he added this: “Remember that little problem with the Obama administration?” Biden is referring, of course, to the time in 2012 when, as VP, he announced on “Meet the Press” that he supported same-sex marriage, catching President BARACK OBAMA off guard and essentially forcing him to publicly adopt the same policy a few days later. Are we reading too much into Biden’s language here to detect some subtle shade thrown at the former president who just helped lead a party-wide effort to force Biden to drop his own reelection campaign?
|  VP Kamala Harris is extending her streak looking nimble and sure-footed in all of the ways that her processor came up short. | AP | ‘MISUNDERESTIMATED’ ALL OVER AGAIN — One of the biggest complaints during the months of hand-wringing about Biden’s ineffectiveness was that he wasn’t really campaigning. He wasn’t driving a message or picking fights that gained any traction or breaking through with the public at all. It may have made DONALD TRUMP complacent. Suddenly faced with a candidate who is adept at the basics, Trump appears knocked back on his heels and uncertain. VP KAMALA HARRIS is extending her streak looking nimble and sure-footed in all of the ways that her processor came up short. Just over a month ago in Atlanta, Biden sputtered for 90 minutes in a studio, triggering the end of his campaign. Last night, Harris returned to the city in a show of force, hosting 2024’s largest Democratic rally, one that is garnering Obama-like coverage in the press today. The NYT noted that her event “dwarfed Mr. Biden’s 2024 campaign events in both scale and enthusiasm, rivaling the types of crowds Mr. Trump regularly draws for his rallies in similar spaces.” (We’ll know for sure on Saturday when Trump hosts a rally at the same arena.) WaPo called it “boisterous and energetic in ways the Democratic Party has arguably not seen for years,” while WSJ wrote it up as “Harris inject[ing] fresh energy into the presidential campaign” and “offering a high-octane blast of dancing and music.” As CBS’s Bob Costa said this week, “We were in [JON] MEACHAM summer. Now we’re in brat summer.” The good vibes in Atlanta are directly related to the Democrats’ brightened political prospects. A new Bloomberg-Morning Consult poll “found Harris erasing Trump’s lead among voters in seven battleground states likely to determine the election.” Her strength with Black, Hispanic, and young voters — which powered Biden’s victory in Georgia in 2020 — has made this a race again. On stage, Harris seemed to find some targets that hit the mark against Trump in a way that Biden struggled to do. When he’s on message, Trump attacks Harris as “weak.” But over the last few days he has cast doubt on whether he will debate her, undercutting preferred image of fearlessness. In what was the signature riff of the rally, Harris teased her opponent for his hesitance: “Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider, to meet me on the debate stage. Because as the saying goes, ‘If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.’” Trump, meanwhile, started the day making news with bizarre remarks about Harris and Jewish Democrats, claiming she “doesn’t like Israel” and “doesn’t like Jewish people” despite being married to one, before going on to call Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER, the country’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official, a “Palestinian.” On TV, the Trump campaign is being more disciplined, attacking Harris on immigration. Given how large portions of the Democratic Party were deeply uneasy with Biden’s late 2023 shift to the right on the issue, it was fair to wonder whether she would get caught up in trying to appease multiple constituencies. Harris is sticking with the Biden playbook instead: “As president, I will bring back the border security bill that Donald Trump killed and I will sign it into law and show Donald Trump what real leadership looks like,” she said in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Trump’s running mate choice isn’t looking much better. The JD VANCE cat-lady storyline continued yesterday with this HuffPost piece: “JD Vance In 2021: 'We Have To Go To War' Against The Idea That Women Don't Have To Have Kids.” And news that the leader of Project 2025 is stepping down helped keep the Harris campaign’s second-favorite story chugging along, even as it afforded the Trump campaign a chance to continue separating itself from the controversial Heritage Foundation policy and personnel effort. Trump recently described the project’s manifesto as “a document that many of the points are fine” and “many of the points are absolutely ridiculous” but that he has “nothing to do with.” That is a more difficult case for Vance to make, given his praise in the foreword he wrote to Heritage CEO KEVIN ROBERTS’ forthcoming book: “The Heritage Foundation isn’t some random outpost on Capitol Hill; it is and has been the most influential engine of ideas for Republicans from RONALD REAGAN to Donald Trump.” Good Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo is proud of the role we play for our customers, communities and the U.S. economy. We serve 1 in 3 U.S. households and more than 10% of small businesses in the nation. We serve customers digitally and in-person, with 4,000 locations across the country, operating in 24 of the 30 largest markets. We cover more rural markets than many large banks, and nearly 30% of our branches are in low- or moderate-income census tracts. See how. | | | LETTER FROM SAN FRANCISCO — “Willie Brown on Kamala Harris: ‘She’ll deport my ass,’” by Jonathan Martin: “At 90, Harris’s mentor and former boyfriend is basking in her rise to power — along with those of his many other proteges.” ABOUT LAST NIGHT — Arizonans decided a handful of interesting primary races last night, while a few contests still remain too close to call this morning. The Senate race is set: KARI LAKE clinched the GOP nomination to take on Democratic Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO to replace retiring Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA (I-Ariz.). And though this race has been trending toward the general election for weeks (if not months), it’s just getting started. Gallego had already dropped more than $15 million on advertisements in the lead-up to the primary, with an additional $18 million booked through November, according to ad tracker AdImpact, Madison Fernandez reports. Gallego’s ads have primarily been biographical, focusing on his story of growing up in a single-parent immigrant household and becoming a Marine. Lake, meanwhile, went in with the NRSC on most of her primary ad spending — $2 million — and the campaign has $6 million booked in future reservations. On the airwaves, she has gone aggressively after Gallego on immigration, typically seen as a weak spot for Democrats. Trump’s double down: In Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, where about 80% of votes are counted, ABE HAMADEH leads BLAKE MASTERS by roughly 4,000 votes in a nasty race marked by Trump’s dual endorsement of the two men and Hamadeh’s racially tinged attacks on Masters. Other results: In the 1st District race to take on GOP Rep. DAVID SCHWEIKERT, Democrat AMISH SHAH has a roughly 1,600-vote lead on ANDREI CHERNY, with MARLENE GALAN-WOODS not far behind. … YASSAMIN ANSARI has about a 1,200-vote advantage over RAQUEL TERAN for the Democratic nomination to succeed Gallego in the 3rd District. … And Maricopa County Recorder STEPHEN RICHER, who angered fellow Republicans by standing by Biden’s 2020 win in the state, lost his bid for renomination to JUSTIN HEAP. He will face Democrat TIM STRINGHAM in November.
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo:   Wells Fargo is proud of the role we play for our customers, communities and the U.S. economy. What we say, we do. See how. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate will meet at 11 a.m. to take up various nominations. The House is out. 3 things to watch …
- Expect a lot more wrangling and posturing today about Thursday’s big Senate tax vote. Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL is calling it part of “show-vote summer,” but Republicans aren’t having an easy time coalescing around a position. A few are steadfastly behind the House-passed deal, such as Sen. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-Okla.), while Rep. THOM TILLIS (R-N.C.) is warning colleagues that passage of the bill could “give Harris a win before the election” by delivering child tax credit checks to families in the coming months. (He even printed up fake checks to drive the point home, per Bloomberg Government’s Zack C. Cohen.)
- The Senate might have some extra appropriations work to do before leaving town Friday, Caitlin Emma reports: Senators are eyeing a $3.3 billion emergency cash infusion into the Department of Veterans Affairs to cover a shortfall that is estimated at nearly $15 billion through the end of the next fiscal year. The VA says Congress has until Sept. 20 to act before benefits and services are affected; some senators are pushing to deal with it now and not wait until they return in September, when continuing resolution talks will take precedence.
- Ta-ta to TikTok: House staffers have only about two more weeks to enjoy the video app on their work phones before the chamber’s chief administrative officer starts blocking and removing all apps from Chinese-owned ByteDance, according to a notice sent to staffers yesterday. Congress, of course, moved earlier this year to force ByteDance to divest TikTok, though the short-term effect of the House’s latest move is mostly to force staffers (and possibly some members) to do their swiping and posting from their personal devices.
At the White House Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief and a briefing on the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act in the morning. Biden and Harris will have lunch in the afternoon. Later, the president will receive a briefing on drug trafficking and the global opioid epidemic and he will also meet with U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery PENNY PRITZKER. Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 1:30 p.m. On the trail Harris will be in Houston for a rally. She is also set to speak at Sigma Gamma Rho’s 60th International Biennial Boulé afterward. Trump will be in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for a rally at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex. Vance will be in Glendale, Arizona, for a rally at the Arizona Christian University Event Center
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|  VP Kamala Harris will hold her first rally with her running mate pick in Philadelphia next Tuesday. | Heather Khalifa for POLITICO | THE VEEPSTAKES — Harris is nearing a decision on who will join her on the Democratic presidential ticket — and now we have a date to put on a countdown. Harris will hold her first rally with her pick in Philadelphia next Tuesday, Holly Otterbein and Eugene scooped. The duo is then set to barnstorm cities in seven swing states in four days, hitting western Wisconsin, Detroit, Raleigh, Savannah, Phoenix and Las Vegas. The first location, in the all-important state of Pennsylvania is sure to set off more speculation that JOSH SHAPIRO, the governor in the Keystone State, is the frontrunner for the pick. But a Harris campaign aide cautioned against reading too much into the first city chosen for the tour. (Indeed, there’s a long history of running mate rollouts not matching up to the states where they hail from, as Kevin Madden points out.) The Pete push: On a call with his top donors after Biden dropped out, Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG said he would be interested in serving as VP if approached, which set off a scramble by his supporters to make that happen, NYT’s Teddy Schleifer reports. Buttigieg “has not been coordinating this effort,” and while he’s viewed as something of a long shot for the pick, “if the race to be Ms. Harris’s running mate were decided by major Democratic donors and MSNBC viewers, Mr. Buttigieg might win in a landslide.” Policy position: “The fate of Biden’s Supreme Court proposal may lie with Kamala Harris,” by Josh Gerstein and Samantha Latson: “There are small signs that, if elected president, Harris would prioritize the issue more forcefully than Biden ever has.” The new battleground: “Kamala Harris Faces a Faster, Uglier Version of the Internet,” by NYT’s Tiffany Hsu, Stuart Thompson and Steven Lee Myers: “Ms. Harris is being attacked on more platforms, with new technologies and in front of bigger audiences than BARACK OBAMA and HILLARY CLINTON were.” More top reads:
- Biden is slated to headline the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in a few weeks, CNN’s Kayla Tausche and Jeff Zeleny report. The programming for that Monday will emphasize “Biden’s legacy and achievements.”
- In the endorsement race, Harris has locked down the support of the United Auto Workers, which is planning to roll out a formal endorsement in the coming days, Adam Cancryn and Sarah Ferris report. The backing comes amid recent tensions between UAW President SHAWN FAIN and Biden over the past month.
POLICY CORNER
|  Fed Chair Jerome Powell appears ready to start easing off on the economy before November. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo | FED UP — Ahead of today’s interest rate meeting, Federal Reserve Chair JEROME POWELL appears ready to start easing off on the economy before November after a year of holding interest rates at punishing levels. “But it’s the optics — not the Fed’s take on inflation or the job market — that could draw the most backlash if he does,”our colleague Victoria Guida writes. Trump recently said that cutting rates just weeks ahead of the November vote is something Fed officials “know they shouldn’t be doing.” Some Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, have been demanding rate cuts for months. “Against that precarious backdrop, Powell will reinforce the message at his press conference after Fed officials meet on Wednesday that the central bank is being guided solely by economic considerations in its decision.” What you can expect: “The Fed is not expected to cut rates at this meeting, but markets were pricing in a nearly 100 percent chance of a cut in September as of Tuesday, according to CME’s FedWatch. That would be the first reduction in borrowing costs since the pandemic struck in March 2020. More top reads:
- One of Biden’s marquee civil rights priorities is at risk of falling by the wayside as schools agonize over how to implement a federal anti-discrimination law to bolster protections for transgender and pregnant students, Bianca Quilantan reports.
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Some members of NABJ say Donald Trump's interview invitation to this week's annual convention should be rescinded. | Alex Brandon/AP | NOT SO BLACK AND WHITE — Trump’s scheduled appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual convention later this week has set off a sharp scuffle as some members say the interview invitation is inappropriate and should be rescinded. The organization has a history of hosting presidential candidates for interviews, but the announcement of Trump's appearance quickly raised the alarm for some Black journalists who “said they were ‘disgusted’ and expressed concerns over Trump’s rhetoric toward Black people,” NBC’s Char Adams writes. WaPo columnist KAREN ATTIAH said she was stepping down from her post as a co-chair of this year’s convention. “To the journalists interviewing Trump, I wish them the best of luck,” she wrote in a post on X. “While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format.” But NABJ President KEN LEMON stood by the decision, telling the student-run NABJ Monitor that the interview with Trump provides a “great opportunity for us to vet the candidate right here on our ground.” Efforts to interview Harris, too, failed due to the VP’s travel schedule, and the campaign’s requests for a virtual interview or postponed “fireside chat” were denied by NABJ leadership, The Grio’s April Ryan reports. (Ryan also stated her opposition to Trump’s appearance in a post on X.) More top reads:
- NORAH O’DONNELL is stepping down as CBS Evening News anchor after the election this fall, taking on a new role as a senior correspondent at the network, telling colleagues yesterday that she signed a new “long-term commitment” that includes a role conducting “big interviews” for the network, NYT’s John Koblin reports.
THE WHITE HOUSE DUNN DEAL — ANITA DUNN is leaving the White House to move into an advisory role with Future Forward, the largest super PAC supporting Harris’ campaign, Eugene reports. Following her out the door is JORDAN FINKELSTEIN, a veteran of Biden’s 2020 campaign and senior member of the White House comms shop, who Eli Stokols reports will also move into an advisory role at Future Forward. CONGRESS SENATE CLEARS ONLINE SAFETY BILLS — The Senate yesterday overwhelmingly cleared a package of kids online safety bills, voting 91-3 to pass the legislation “over the objections of the tech industry, privacy advocates and digital rights groups, who are hoping to block the measure when the House returns in September,” Roll Call’s Gopal Ratnam writes. It’s unclear when, or if, the House will take up the package when members return from their recess. AMERICA AND THE WORLD VENEZUELA LATEST — The confusion and concern over the legitimacy of Venezuelan President NICOLÁS MADURO’s reelection, which opposition leader EDMUNDO GONZÁLEZ claims was illegitimate, continues as supporters of both sides took to the streets in the country yesterday, resulting in deadly clashes, NYT’s Frances Robles and Isayen Herrera in Caracas. “At least 16 people — including one soldier — have died and about 750 more have been arrested as a result of protests in Venezuela, following the highly contentious presidential election over the weekend, according to rights groups, government officials and relatives of the victims.”
| | | | DID YOU MISS IT? On Tuesday, POLITICO and McKinsey convened three conversations in D.C. with policymakers and space experts, including NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. The discussions also featured a panel of experts, an interview with Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) and an executive conversation with McKinsey's Ryan Brukardt.
The conversations focused on the next great innovation frontier – the space industry, including deeper discussion around which sectors of the global economy see their growth arc in space and what the role of government leaders is in expanding and regulating the growing number of orbital ideas. CATCH UP AND WATCH HIGHLIGHTS HERE | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Cris Comerford, the White House’s longtime executive chef, has retired. Brian Schatz likes the internet again. Lisa Murkowski isn’t a fan of JD Vance’s “childless cat ladies” comment. Ben Cardin claimed victory over Chris Coons in the great Orange Crush debate. Josh Shapiro’s got game. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a book talk and reception for Anita McBride’s book, “Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America's History-Making Women,” ($29.95) hosted by Dan Meyers and Margery Kraus at APCO's global HQ last night: Kevin Cirilli, Lisa Allen, Safiya Gloria-Ahmad, Peter Morris, Chris Edwards, Jeanie Mammo, Matthew Wendel and Sal Scrimenti. — SPOTTED at a law student happy hour hosted by the American Economic Liberties Project yesterday evening at Residents in Dupont: FTC Chair Lina Khan and DOJ’s Jonathan Kanter. — Lyndon Boozer and Matt Gelman co-hosted their annual Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) fundraiser at La Bise last night. SPOTTED: Mignon Clyburn, William Clyburn, Yebbie Watkins, De’Ana Dow, Fred Humphries, Steve Hartell, Katreice Banks, Laurie Knight, Lakecia Stickney, James Assey, Lance Mangum, Michael Hutton, Mike Hacker, Larry Duncan, Gerry Harrington, Cherie Wilson and Ashok Bajaj. — Welcome Party & Welcome PAC hosted WelcomeFest, a gathering for the center left to support Democratic candidates who can draw independents and moderate Republicans, at Hamilton Hotel in D.C. yesterday evening. SPOTTED: Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Michael Bennett (D-Colo.), Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), John Avlon, Sarah Longwell, Janelle Stelson, Will Rollins, Matt Yglesias, Jamal Simmons, Lauren Harper Pope, Liam Kerr, William He, Olivia Julianna and Rachel Janfaza. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Olivia Perez-Cubas is now a director of corporate comms in the D.C. office of the Walt Disney Company. She most recently was managing director of strategic comms for Bullpen Strategy Group and is a Nikki Haley and Marco Rubio alum. TRANSITIONS — Jamie Geller is now VP of corporate comms at Invenergy. She previously was senior director at Purple Strategies and is a Chris Murphy and Joaquin Castro alum. … Lucas Agnew has joined Van Ness Feldman as policy counsel. He previously served as staff on the Senate Appropriations Committee. … Tesia Williams is now EVP for public affairs and comms at The Personal Care Products Council. She previously was SVP of crisis and reputation management at Edelman. … … Josh Zumbrun is joining Mercer Advisors, a wealth manager and financial planning firm, as director of external comms. He previously was an economics reporter and “The Numbers” columnist at WSJ. … Jesse Roach is now SVP of government relations at the National Kidney Foundation. He previously was chief medical officer for CVS Kidney Care and is a CMS alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) … Bill Bennett … POLITICO’s Bill Duryea, Julia Margalit and Kayla McCloud … Nelson Garcia … Gray Television’s Kevin Latek … Todd Novascone of Ogilvy GR … Brian McNeill … Cory Bythrow … PhRMA’s Lexi Branson … Carolyn Weems of McUlsky Health Force … Matthew Ballard of Burson … Micah Spangler … Ben Ostrower … Lauren Allen … Dan McFaul … James Floyd of Sen. Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) office … Terry Schilling … Denis Dison … former Massachusetts Govs. Bill Weld (79) and Deval Patrick … Jessica Lautz … former Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) (5-0) … Sean Eldridge of Stand Up America … Dan Schnur … Mark Cuban … Marjorie Clifton … Ryan Fanning … Alana Peisner of Rep. Mike Levin’s (D-Calif.) office … Jacqueline Chen … Joe Novotny of Husch Blackwell Strategies … Erica Knight 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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