| | | | | |  | | By Tara Palmeri, Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | Presented by |  | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | SCOOP: PALM BEACH MAKES CONTINGENCY PLANS IN CASE TRUMP IS INDICTED — Law enforcement officials in Palm Beach County, Fla., have actively prepared for the possibility that Manhattan District Attorney CY VANCE could indict former President DONALD TRUMP while he's at Mar-a-Lago, according to two high-ranking county officials involved in planning sessions. Among the topics discussed in those meetings: how to handle the thorny extradition issues that could arise if an indictment moves forward. An obscure clause in Florida's statute on interstate extradition gives Gov. RON DESANTIS the ability to intervene and even investigate whether an indicted "person ought to be surrendered" to law enforcement officials from another state — which means that as Mar-a-Lago prepares to close down for the season and Trump relocates to Bedminster, N.J., it isn't just the Florida heat he's leaving behind: He could lose a key piece of political protection. "The statute leaves room for interpretation that the governor has the power to order a review and potentially not comply with the extradition notice," says JOE ABRUZZO, clerk of the Circuit Court of Palm Beach County, the official who would be in charge of opening a potential fugitive-at-large case. One wrinkle to Abruzzo's potential role in all of this: He is a former close associate of President JOE BIDEN'S younger brother, FRANK. Abruzzo tells Playbook that despite his friendship with the Biden family, "the full extent of the law will be followed and carried out appropriately, without bias." If an indictment comes down while Trump is in Bedminster for the summer, this could all play out very differently. New Jersey's extradition statute is similar to Florida's, giving the governor the power to investigate an out-of-state warrant. But its governor is Democrat PHIL MURPHY, who is no fan of Trump's, and would not likely intervene to stop Trump's extradition. In the event of an indictment, Trump's lawyers could also negotiate a condition of surrender, which could cut local law enforcement out. An attorney for Trump declined to comment. With Trump settling down in New Jersey for the next few months, Florida is unlikely to have to sort through this any time soon. But the clock is ticking on the Manhattan D.A.'s investigation: On March 12, Vance said in a statement that he will retire at the end of 2021, and speculation abounds that his office — which is currently investigating whether Trump and his businesses committed banking and tax fraud, among other lines of inquiry — could issue indictments before passing the case along to his successor. And that means that Palm Beach County may yet have to get involved — depending on whether Trump is indicted, of course, and whether that happens after Mar-a-Lago reopens in the fall. Good Thursday morning, and thanks for reading Playbook, where we honor all legitimate extradition requests. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. | | A message from Amazon: Voters of both parties support wage increases.
The most recent elections made it clear: Voters in both political parties support a higher wages. The federal minimum wage hasn't changed in 12 years, despite significant cost-of-living increases. Amazon saw the need to do more for their employees and communities and established a $15 an hour starting wage in 2018. | | | DEAL OR NO DEAL? — How far apart are Biden and congressional Republicans when it comes to striking an agreement on an infrastructure bill? We'll have a better sense later today, after a group of Republican senators sit down with the president at the White House. But we already know this: Wednesday's Big Four meeting accomplished little. The two sides haven't even agreed on basic concepts yet. — Following the White House sit-down, "GOP leaders told reporters that they still had to reach an agreement with Democrats over what exactly meets the definition of infrastructure," as Burgess Everett, Sarah Ferris and Laura Barrón-López note. More on that in their full article — Republican leaders used the event to reiterate that raising taxes — particularly ones reduced by Trump's 2017 overhaul — is a non-starter. — Meanwhile, the White House has repeatedly scoffed at the GOP's proposal to pay for infrastructure with user fees. So, things haven't moved very far at all. If you're bullish on a deal, you could point to the fact that Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL has floated spending as much as $800 billion on infrastructure — a sum that could actually pay for much of what Biden has proposed in terms of concrete-and-steel projects. But, again, there's been little progress on defining a shared set of spending priorities, and there's a complete stalemate on the pay-fors. One obvious way out of this morass would be to work hard on defining those projects, ignoring the taxes vs. user fees debate and simply passing a modest deficit-financed bill. But neither side seems interested in going that route. Instead, the most likely scenario remains weeks more of bipartisan theater, followed by a massive reconciliation bill that the White House sells to moderate Democrats as being simply too big to fail. | | A message from Amazon: Amazon starting wage: $15
Federal minimum wage: $7.25
Amazon employees have seen the impact $15 can make. Learn more. | | | BIDEN'S THURSDAY — The president and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the President's Daily Brief at 10:45 a.m. Biden will deliver remarks on the Colonial Pipeline incident at 11:50 a.m. At 1:30 p.m., Biden and Harris will meet with Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO, Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG and Sens. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-W.Va.), JOHN BARRASSO (R-Wyo.), ROY BLUNT (R-Mo.), MIKE CRAPO (R-Idaho), PAT TOOMEY (R-Pa.) and ROGER WICKER (R-Miss.). — Harris will meet with the Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office at 5:15 p.m. — Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 12:30 p.m. The White House Covid-19 response team and public health officials will brief at 4 p.m. THE SENATE is in session. The Judiciary Committee will vote at 10 a.m. on several DOJ and judicial nominations, including KRISTEN CLARKE and KETANJI BROWN JACKSON. Democratic Louisiana Gov. JOHN BEL EDWARDS will testify before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee at 10 a.m. about offshore energy development. DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS will testify before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee at 10:15 a.m. about unaccompanied minors at the southern border. THE HOUSE will meet at noon to take up a couple of bills, with votes predicted between 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. USTR KATHERINE TAI will testify before the Ways and Means Committee at 10:30 a.m. on trade policy. Speaker NANCY PELOSI will hold her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY will host a "Back The Blue Bike Tour" through the city at 8:15 a.m. — Pelosi will join a Voto Latino conference via Zoom at 4:40 p.m., where she'll discuss what Dems are doing to regain support from Latino voters ahead of the 2022 midterms. The event, hosted by MARIA TERESA KUMAR, features a who's who of the Latino and Democratic-affiliated political world, including Sen. ALEX PADILLA (D-Calif.), DNC Chair JAIME HARRISON, ANA NAVARRO, JOHN ANZALONE, Catalist CEO MICHAEL FRIAS, KAREN FINNEY, TOM PEREZ and Media Matters President ANGELO CARUSONE. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | 
PHOTO OF THE DAY: President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris meet with the "Big Four" congressional leaders in the Oval Office on Wednesday to talk infrastructure. | Doug Mills/Pool via Getty Images | AMERICA AND THE WORLD BIDEN FACES MOUNTING CRISIS IN MIDEAST — "Biden assures Israel's Netanyahu of U.S. support, urges calm as fighting kills dozens," by Nahal Toosi and Nick Niedzwiadek: "After days of staying quiet amid escalating tensions and increasing pressure from even some fellow Democrats, Biden on Wednesday spoke to Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN also spoke to Netanyahu, while Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN spoke to his Israeli counterpart, BENNY GANTZ. Separately, National Security Adviser JAKE SULLIVAN spoke with top Qatari officials in the hopes that they could help de-escalate the situation. "Biden and his three deputies have all said Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas rockets being launched into Israeli territory and other violence. But all have also expressed a desire to see calm prevail." DEATH TOLL RISING — "A Night of Rockets and Airstrikes, and a Morning of Fear," NYT: "Hamas and other militants have been exchanging fire with Israel since Monday. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including at least 16 children as of Wednesday night, officials said; in Israel, at least six civilians have been killed, including one child. "In Gaza, though, some said they had never felt anything as intense as the wave of Israeli strikes that came Wednesday morning. Some said it felt as if blast waves were hitting their face and body, as if their very neighborhood was under attack. Disoriented, they staggered to windows to look outside." THE WHITE HOUSE BUILDING BRIDGES (BUT NOT TO THE GOP) — "'It's a risky strategy': Progressives warn Biden on talks with GOP," by Natasha Korecki: "A raft of influential progressive and environmental groups has a message for the Biden White House on its efforts to cut an infrastructure deal with Republicans: Don't say we didn't warn you. They are sounding the alarms that compromising with Republicans on a scaled-down infrastructure bill — and spending the time that such a deal might require — could make it increasingly difficult to pass the rest of Biden's sweeping agenda." ROCKY DAYS AHEAD FOR JOE — "Economic tremors hit White House at crucial moment for Biden policy agenda," WaPo: "Over the past week, the Biden administration has been met with disappointing economic benchmarks, including lackluster hiring and a surge in consumer prices. Meanwhile, rising gas prices and fuel shortages have hammered the Southeast. These pressures have weighed on the financial markets, as the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 fell sharply for the third day in a row. … The latest economic tremors may try the White House's willingness to aggressively press major new policy changes. "Advisers close to the Biden administration describe the current juncture as a key test of its commitment to major economic policy change in the face of escalating attacks from business groups and the GOP." A (LITERAL) PIPELINE PROBLEM — "Biden orders federal cyber upgrade after barrage of hacks," by Eric Geller: "The executive order, which has been in development for months, addresses federal computer networks — not the critical infrastructure operated by private companies such as Colonial Pipeline, which suffered a major ransomware attack that led to hoarding and gasoline shortages throughout the eastern U.S. But some of the directive's provisions could also influence how the Biden administration works to secure the United States' poorly protected infrastructure facilities. "Biden's order requires agencies to encrypt their data, update plans for securely using cloud hosting services and enable multi-factor authentication, an extra security step that forces users to enter a randomly generated code after typing in their password. It also creates a cyber incident review group, modeled on the National Transportation Safety Board that investigates aviation, railroad and vehicle crashes, to improve the government's response to cyberattacks." BACK UP AND RUNNING — "Colonial Pipeline restarts operations after cyberattack," by Ben Lefebvre … BUT WE'RE STILL RUNNING ON EMPTY — "Gasoline Buying Fever Rages as Pipeline Company Begins Restart," NYT JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH REWRITING HISTORY — "'Normal tourist visit': Republicans recast deadly Jan. 6 attack by pro-Trump mob," WaPo: "The comments by a handful of House Republicans came during a congressional hearing with former acting attorney general JEFFREY ROSEN, former acting defense secretary CHRISTOPHER MILLER and D.C. Police Chief ROBERT J. CONTEE III, focused [on] understanding the security lapses that allowed the Jan. 6 attack to happen. A handful of Republicans used their time to defend the actions of those who stormed past security barricades and broke into the Capitol with the intent of stopping the affirmation of Joe Biden's election victory." — A total head-scratcher from Rep. ANDREW CLYDE (R-Ga.): "Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol and walked through Statuary Hall showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes, taking videos, pictures. … If you didn't know the TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit." — See also: CNN obtained harrowing bodycam footage from police officer MICHAEL FANONE during the insurrection at the Capitol. Watch the video | | | | A message from Amazon:   Watch what happened when Amazon raised their starting wage to $15/hr. | | | POLITICS ROUNDUP PARSCALE TAKES AIM AT DEWINE — "Brad Parscale advising potential primary challenger to Ohio's Republican governor," NBC: " BRAD PARSCALE, former President Donald Trump's one-time campaign manager, has offered his support to a former Republican congressman exploring a primary challenge to Ohio Gov. MIKE DEWINE. Parscale confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday that he is advising Rep. JIM RENACCI, R-Ohio, on an unpaid basis." — Meanwhile: NOT A BAD REELECTION STRATEGY — "A shot at a million: Ohio offers vaccinated adults a chance to win big bucks," by Maria Carrasco: "Ohio will give away $1 million each to five vaccinated adults within the coming weeks as an incentive for residents to get the shot, Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Wednesday. "The first drawing will occur on May 26, with subsequent drawings occurring each Wednesday for five weeks. To win, participants must be 18 or older, an Ohio resident and vaccinated with at least one Covid vaccine dose before the lottery takes place. The five winners will receive $1 million from existing federal coronavirus relief funds, DeWine said." DNC REVIVES '50-STATE STRATEGY' — "Dems reach new fundraising deal, with boost for GOP states," AP: "The agreement, which follows weeks of negotiations, is intended to allow the party's wealthiest backers to contribute up to $875,000 annually to a combined fund that, under federal campaign finance rules, can be distributed to party accounts around the country. "DNC Chair Jaime Harrison touted the deal as a '50-state strategy' that honors President Joe Biden's promise not to abandon down-ballot Democrats heading into the 2022 midterms." CONGRESS WITH COLLEAGUES LIKE THESE — "Rep. Greene aggressively confronts Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, causing New York congresswoman to raise security concerns," WaPo: "Two Washington Post reporters witnessed [ALEXANDRIA] OCASIO-CORTEZ (N.Y.) exit the House chamber late Wednesday afternoon ahead of [MARJORIE TAYLOR] GREENE (Ga.), who shouted 'Hey Alexandria' twice in an effort to get her attention. When Ocasio-Cortez did not stop walking, Greene picked up her pace and began shouting at her and asking why she supports antifa, a loosely knit group of far-left activists, and Black Lives Matter, falsely labeling them 'terrorist' groups. Greene also shouted that Ocasio-Cortez was failing to defend her 'radical socialist' beliefs by declining to publicly debate the freshman from Georgia. "'You don't care about the American people,' Greene shouted. 'Why do you support terrorists and antifa?' "Ocasio-Cortez did not stop to answer Greene, only turning around once and throwing her hands in the air in an exasperated motion. The two reporters were not close enough to hear what the New York congresswoman said, and her office declined to discuss her specific response." DEEP DIVE — "'Death by a thousand cuts': How the House GOP took down Cheney," by Olivia Beavers and Melanie Zanona: "House GOP leaders were preparing to walk on stage for a press conference in Orlando sixteen days ago when one of LIZ CHENEY'S colleagues delivered her a warning. Cheney was bound to get asked about Donald Trump and Jan. 6, her fellow Republican cautioned her, counseling her to pivot away from the question. She didn't take the advice. Cheney buckled down, splitting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on the scope of a commission to probe the Capitol riot and citing 'ongoing criminal investigations' when asked if Trump should be charged for inciting the insurrection. "That dismissal of her colleague's advice, recounted by a Republican source briefed on the conversation, ultimately changed the trajectory of Cheney's political future." — Related viewing: CNN has a vivid photo essay following Cheney behind the scenes Wednesday. See the gallery PROBLEMS FOR S. 1 — "Manchin to support measured voting reform in lieu of sweeping Democratic proposal," ABC: "[Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.)] told ABC News exclusively that he intends to support the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, a more narrowly tailored piece of voting rights legislation that he said he believes could muster bipartisan support even as voting legislation is becoming a flash point between the two parties. … "Manchin's announcement comes following a contentious markup of the Democrat-led voting reform act, the For the People Act, that deadlocked in the Rules Committee Tuesday … Manchin said Tuesday's mark-up made clear to him that the robust Democratic bill, which he has already said he does not support, has no hope of mustering the necessary 60 votes to pass. "'No matter what was brought up it was [a] partisan vote, 9-9,' Manchin said. 'This is one of the most — I think — important things that we can do to try to bring our country back together and if we do it in a partisan way, it's not going to be successful I believe.'" HEADLINE OF THE DAY — "Inhofe tells EPA nominee, 'if you don't behave, I'm going to talk to your daddy,'" by CNN: "The awkward exchange was during RADHIKA FOX'S confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to be the assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Water." OLYMPIC COMMITTEE TO CONGRESS: Please don't boycott the 2022 Games in China, Read the letter here TRUMP CARDS DAILY RUDY — "Rudy Giuliani Hires Harvey Weinstein's Defense Attorneys To Represent Him In Federal Probe," Forbes: "Attorneys ARTHUR AIDALA and BARRY KAMINS said they were appearing on behalf of Giuliani as his attorneys in federal court filings Wednesday in the Southern District of New York related to the search warrant executed on Giuliani's apartment. … "Aidala, a criminal defense attorney, often served as the face of Weinstein's defense team and defended his client to the media … Kamins is a retired justice on the New York State Supreme Court who also served as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn. Giuliani has also hired attorney JOHN M. LEVENTHAL from the same law firm." FOR THE QUEEN'S SAKE — "Buckingham Palace Told a 'Trump Train' Bus to Stop Using the Queen's Image," BuzzFeed: "A Palace spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that they were aware of the fact that [Queen ELIZABETH II'S ] image was being used, saying 'representations asking for [the photo's] removal have been made.' … The bus is owned and operated by a Trump supporter named BUDDY HALL. According to its GoFundMe page, the Trump Train was created as an 'unofficial campaign tour bus to support the 2020 reelection of President Trump.'" | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | AOC BRINGS THE FIRE TO NYT COOKING — Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to call out NYT Cooking's recipe for a so-called "Seis Leches Cake" — a spin on the iconic Latin American "tres leches" sponge cake. Instead of three milks, this one requires six. Yeesh. Read AOC's tweet WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO — Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sat down with the "Staffer" podcast to discuss the current state of politics and bipartisanship in Congress. ("Staffer," hosted by Jim Papa at the Global Strategy Group, features the stories of prominent former Hill staffers-turned-business leaders.) SPOTTED: Former Trump national security adviser Robert O'Brien getting drinks with former U.S. Ambassador to the UAE John Rakolta at Union Pub on Wednesday night. … Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) having dinner on the back patio at Zaytinya on Wednesday night. … Buttigieg having dinner outside at Mr. Henry's on Wednesday night. TRANSITIONS — Jacqueline Thomas is now press secretary for Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas). She previously was deputy press secretary for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. … Alifair Masters is now finance director for Rep. Vicente Gonzalez's (D-Texas) reelect. She previously was VP at HM Consulting. … Brooke Adams is the new movement politics director at People's Action. She was Bernie Sanders' 2020 state director in Pennsylvania and North Carolina and field director in Iowa. … … Kate Beale will be senior policy director at Crowell & Moring and a director with C&M International. She most recently was associate VP for international advocacy at PhRMA, and is a USAID alum. … Planned Parenthood has added Ianthe Metzger as director of state media campaigns, Olivia Cappello as a press officer for state media and Catherine Gonzalez as multicultural comms booker. Metzger most recently was comms director for The Collective PAC and is an EMILY's List alum. Cappello previously was a state policy analyst at the Guttmacher Institute. Gonzalez previously was a lead reporter at La Alianza Noticias. ENGAGED — Rebecca Ballhaus, an investigative reporter at the WSJ, and Zach Long, a data scientist, got engaged recently at Rockefeller Park in New York. They met in college at Brown University. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) … Reps. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Michael Cloud (R-Texas) … Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands) … John Kasich … Stephen Colbert … former Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska) (91) … Amy Grappone of Sen. Todd Young's (R-Ind.) office … Amy Bos … Sarah Gunion … CNN's Brian Fung … Dan Cox of AEI and the Survey Center on American Life … Shaila Manyam of BCW Global … Leela Baggett … Charlyn Stanberry … Phil Musser of NextEra Energy Resources … Mike Lux … NBC's Ken Dilanian … NYT's Mark Mazzetti … Marcia Lee Kelly, senior adviser to Melania Trump … VoteVets' Jon Soltz … David Kessler … Yael Patir ... Adam Weinstein ... National Journal's Jeff DuFour ... Tara Bradshaw ... Robert Aho ... Erica Farage ... Amanda Emmons … Austin Gage … Laura Cox Kaplan … Australian PM Scott Morrison … former Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.) … Mike Schaffer Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. | | A message from Amazon: It's not just Amazon employees who noticed the immediate benefit of increasing their starting wage to at least $15 an hour — a new study from the University of California-Berkeley and Brandeis University found that when Amazon raised its wages, the average hourly wage in the surrounding area rose by 4.7% as other employers followed their lead. Learn more about what else the research found. | | | | | | | 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 | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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