News: How the White House found out about the new mask guidance

Saturday, May 15, 2021

How the White House found out about the new mask guidance

May 15, 2021

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By Eugene Daniels

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DRIVING THE DAY

Happy Saturday — the first one when those of us who are vaccinated can gallivant around, mask-free, (almost) anywhere our hearts desire.

HOW THE WHITE HOUSE FOUND OUT — The CDC's surprise decision this week to drop its recommendation that vaccinated Americans wear masks in public spaces was the best news some of us have received in months.

And it turns out the White House barely got any notice.

On Wednesday evening, a small huddle of senior White House aides were told about the CDC's decision. President JOE BIDEN was informed on Thursday morning that the announcement was coming — just hours ahead of time — according to a senior White House source.

But most staffers found out on Thursday, after a scoop from the AP, according to White House sources, and didn't receive an official WH email about it until after the CDC's Covid-19 briefing. That email, which a source read me over the phone, announced that masks were no longer required on White House grounds for fully vaccinated people, and promised that "[o]ther changes will follow as implemented by the CDC."

"The information wasn't widely shared before the CDC announcement because it was their decision to make, not ours," an administration official told me.

For a White House that prides itself on its discipline in sticking to a schedule and message, the speed of the turnaround was head-spinning. CDC Director ROCHELLE WALENSKY told the public she was "scared" about rising cases and alluded to a sense of "impending doom" less than two months ago; the updated guidance that fully vaccinated Americans were free to walk outside, sans mask, came less than three weeks ago.

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While jarring, the change is obviously welcome. If you talk to administration officials, they say this will serve as an incentive for the unvaccinated to run out and get their shots.

— But not every health expert agrees that the new mask guidelines are helpful. On Friday, WaPo interviewed "more than a dozen physicians" who "expressed concern that the decision was premature, coming only days after regulators cleared a vaccine for 12-to-15-year-olds and while so many are still unprotected. They feared the guidelines could undercut two of the simplest and most effective tools — masks and physical distancing — for stopping the spread of [the] virus." More on that from WaPo

— Even so, mask mandates are getting dropped, as Ben Leonard reports: "Virginia Gov. RALPH NORTHAM, a Democrat, lifted his state's indoor mask mandate for fully vaccinated people effective Saturday at 12 a.m. Maryland Gov. LARRY HOGAN , a Republican, announced he was lifting the mandate for everyone effective Saturday, though masks are still 'strongly recommended' for unvaccinated people. … D.C. Mayor MURIEL BOWSER said Thursday that 'we are immediately reviewing the CDC guidance and will update DC Health guidance accordingly.'" More on that from Ben

— Other experts caution that the U.S.'s recent pandemic success is a lot of good luck. From the NYT: " Experts point to a combination of factors — masks, social distancing and other restrictions, and perhaps a seasonal wane of infections — that bought crucial time for tens of millions of Americans to get vaccinated. They also credit a good dose of serendipity, as B.1.1.7, unlike some [other variants], is powerless against the vaccines." More on that from the NYT

Maybe we're lucky, but we'll take it.

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Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.

BIDEN'S SATURDAY — The president and first lady JILL BIDEN will depart the White House at 6 p.m. en route Wilmington, Del., where they are scheduled to arrive at 6:55 p.m. VP KAMALA HARRIS has nothing on her public schedule.

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PLAYBOOK READS

Two moviegoers attend a nearly empty film showing at the Kiggins Theatre on May 14, 2021 in Vancouver, Washington.

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Two moviegoers attend a nearly empty film showing on Friday, May 14, in Vancouver, Wash., after Gov. Jay Inslee dropped the statewide mask mandate for fully vaccinated adults. | Nathan Howard/Getty Images

THE WHITE HOUSE

TANDEN JOINS WHITE HOUSE — "Neera Tanden lands in the White House, after all," by Natasha Korecki: "A contentious nomination process kept NEERA TANDEN out of President Joe Biden's Cabinet, but she still landed in the White House. The White House confirmed on Friday that Biden had appointed Tanden to be a senior adviser. She will start on Monday. …

"[H]er focus will be handling any potential fallout from Republican lawsuits challenging the Affordable Care Act at the Supreme Court. Tanden will also be tasked with reviewing the United States Digital Service, a program that aims to make government accessible online."

FOLLOW THE MONEY — "We Found Joe Biden's Secret Venmo. Here's Why That's A Privacy Nightmare For Everyone," BuzzFeed News: "On Friday, following a passing mention in the New York Times that the president had sent his grandchildren money on Venmo, BuzzFeed News searched for the president's account using only a combination of the app's built-in search tool and public friends feature. In the process, BuzzFeed News found nearly a dozen Biden family members and mapped out a social web that encompasses not only the first family, but a wide network of people around them, including the president's children, grandchildren, senior White House officials, and all of their contacts on Venmo.

"The president's transactions are not public, and BuzzFeed News is not identifying the usernames for the accounts mentioned in this story due to national security concerns. After BuzzFeed News reached out to the White House for this story, all the friends on the president's Venmo account were removed."

BYE-BYE, SCULPTURE GARDEN — "Biden cancels Trump's planned 'Garden of American Heroes,'" AP: "President Joe Biden on Friday put the kibosh on his predecessor's planned 'National Garden of American Heroes' and revoked former President DONALD TRUMP's executive orders aimed at social media companies' moderation policies and branding American foreign aid."

CONGRESS

PIPELINE PROBLEM PROMPTS MOVEMENT ON HILL — "Congress eyes hack-reporting law after pipeline disruption," by Eric Geller and Martin Matishak: "The Colonial Pipeline cyberattack, which led to hoarding and fuel shortages across the East Coast, is spurring new efforts in Congress to require critical companies to tell the government when they've been hacked. Even leading Republicans are expressing support for regulations after this week's chaos — a sharp change from past high-profile efforts that failed due to GOP opposition. …

"The vast majority of private companies don't have to report cyberattacks to any government entity — not even those, like Colonial, whose disruptions can wreak havoc on U.S. economic and national security. And often, they choose to keep quiet."

GAETZ-GATE GROWS MORE SALACIOUS — "Rep. Matt Gaetz Snorted Cocaine With Escort Who Had 'No Show' Gov't Job," Daily Beast: "When Rep. MATT GAETZ attended a 2019 GOP fundraiser in Orlando, his date that night was someone he knew well: a paid escort and amateur Instagram model who led a cocaine-fueled party after the event, according to two witnesses.

"The Florida congressman's one-time wingman, JOEL GREENBERG, will identify that escort to investigators as one of more than 15 young women Gaetz paid for sex, according to a source familiar with the investigation. But what distinguishes this woman, MEGAN ZALONKA, is that she turned her relationship with Greenberg into a taxpayer-funded no-show job that earned her an estimated $7,000 to $17,500, according to three sources and corresponding government records obtained by The Daily Beast."

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

HILL DEMS SHIFT ON ISRAEL — "Dems embrace a tougher tack toward Israel as violence flares," by Andrew Desiderio: "The prospect of forced evictions of Palestinians in east Jerusalem and a sustained rocket campaign against Israel this week have laid bare the increasingly thorny political dynamic facing congressional Democrats, more of whom are beginning to question the lockstep bipartisan support for Israel that has existed across Washington.

"While not abandoning America's historically strong ties to Israel , Democrats aren't flinching this week in their calls for a tougher posture against aggression toward Palestinians. … While Biden's top deputies have privately relayed their concerns about the settlements and possible evictions, the administration has simultaneously tried to keep Israel at bay as the president seeks to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal, which Israel vehemently opposes. That posture is no longer tenable, Democrats say, as the prospects of a full-blown war increase, and tensions between Arab and Jewish Israelis rise sharply."

— Meanwhile, at the White House: "Still buddies? Mideast violence tests Biden and Netanyahu's friendship," by Nahal Toosi: "For now, Biden is standing firm with his buddy, and arguably boosting him politically. He spoke to [Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN] NETANYAHU on Wednesday, assuring him of steadfast U.S. support for Israel as it fends off hundreds of Hamas-fired rockets and retaliates with airstrikes in Gaza. …

"If the conflict drags on, and Palestinian civilian casualties keep mounting, however, Biden may find himself under increased pressure to rein in Israel. Some of that pressure is likely to come from his fellow Democrats, an increasing number of whom have abandoned the party's once-reflexive support for Israel."

THE SPACE RACE — "China has landed on Mars," The Verge: "China landed its first pair of robots on the surface of Mars on Friday, state-affiliated media confirmed on social media, becoming the second country to do so successfully … Only NASA has successfully managed to land and operate rovers on the planet in the past."

PIPELINE PROBLEMS

STILL RUNNING ON EMPTY — "Gas shortages persist as operations resume at downed pipeline," WaPo: "A day after Colonial Pipeline announced that its massive network had been fully reactivated after a six-day outage, consumers were still feeling the pinch. Nearly 9 in 10 gasoline stations in Washington were out of fuel as of 12:30 p.m. Friday, according to tracking service GasBuddy, while in North Carolina it was 7 in 10. In seven other states, including Maryland, Virginia and Tennessee, roughly a third of the gas stations were dry. The scarcity left consumers hunting for fill-ups as officials sought to tamp down panic buying."

— "Granholm: Normal service at gas pump likely by late Sunday," AP: "Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM says the nation is 'over the hump' on gas shortages following a ransomware cyberattack that forced a shutdown of the nation's largest gasoline pipeline. Problems peaked Thursday night, and service should return to normal in most areas by the end of the weekend, Granholm said Friday."

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POLITICS ROUNDUP

TODAY'S THE DAY FOR S.C. GOP — "Stolen election myth rattles key GOP race," by Marc Caputo: "To get an idea of how deeply the myth of a stolen election has taken root within the GOP, one need only look to South Carolina. … [T]he contest to lead the state party presents a choice between an incumbent chair who qualifies his answer when asked if Joe Biden is a legitimately elected president and a challenger who insists Trump won in a landslide.

"The current GOP chair, DREW McKISSICK, is widely expected to win reelection Saturday against LIN WOOD , one of the nation's top defamation attorneys who transformed himself into a leading disseminator of Trump-related conspiracy theories. Insiders say McKissick's internal support is too strong to overcome, that the vagaries of party rules favor him and that Wood started his campaign too late to win. But Wood — who only moved to South Carolina from Georgia this year — is drawing unusually large crowds as he campaigns on the baseless claim that the election was stolen from Trump, and that GOP officials need to keep fighting to prove it."

AOC SETS A TREND — "A.O.C. Had a Catchy Logo. Now Progressives Everywhere Are Copying It.," NYT: "The slanted text in ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ's logo, and its break from the traditional red, white and blue color palette, has formed a new graphical language for progressivism. Imitators abound."

CHENEY MEDIA BLITZ CONTINUES — Liz Cheney Says She Now Regrets Her Vote for Trump in 2020, Bloomberg

TAX TROUBLE FOR MTG — "Investigation: Marjorie Taylor Greene filed homestead exemptions on 2 homes, violating state law," WSB-TV: "A Channel 2 Action News investigation has found that Georgia Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE and her husband have two active homestead exemptions, which is against Georgia law. A homestead exemption is a big tax break any Georgia homeowner is entitled to for their primary residence. It is against the law to file for more than one. …

"In a statement, Greene's office told [Channel 2 investigative reporter Justin Gray] to mind his own business and called it a 'pathetic smear' when he asked them about the homestead exemptions."

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

BREAKING UP THE A.Z. PARTY — "Arizona audit divides wobbling state GOP," by James Arkin: "The GOP-controlled state Senate subpoenaed ballots from Maricopa County, where more than half of Arizona's voters live, and hired a previously unknown private firm to conduct the audit. Republican supporters say the effort is necessary to ease concerns of voters about the 2020 vote count.

"But other Republicans are speaking out to warn that the amateurish conduct of the audit and the conspiracy theories it has amplified could cause lasting damage to the party. Next year they must defend an open governor's seat and try to flip back one of the two Senate seats Democrats took in the last two elections."

A POTENTIAL MIGRAINE FOR NEWSOM — "Newsom's looming threat: Summer blackouts," by Debra Kahn and Colby Bermel: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom is on track to beat the recall this fall — if he can just get through the summer. A deepening drought and potential for heat waves threaten to unleash a new political nightmare for Newsom: widespread power outages. The state's grid operator is already warning of the possibility of rolling blackouts in August and September, not long before voters will decide his fate in a Republican-driven recall election.

"State officials … know well that a second straight year of blackouts could be damaging to Newsom, especially so close to the election. A hot summer with low hydropower supplies could send them scrambling for more electricity to stave off the worst-case scenario."

UP IN SMOKE — "Mississippi Supreme Court overturns voter-approved medical marijuana Initiative," WLOX

DIVISIONS OVER RACE AND REMEMBRANCE — "Oklahoma's Governor Kicked Off the Tulsa Massacre Commission for Signing a Bill Banning Critical Race Theory In Schools," BuzzFeed News: "Oklahoma Gov. KEVIN STITT was kicked off a commission established to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa massacre on Friday, just one week after he signed a bill banning the teaching of some issues surrounding race and racism in public schools."

MEDIAWATCH

FORGOING THE FIGHT — "Former CBS CEO Les Moonves drops legal pursuit to get $120 million in severance pay," CNBC: "Moonves, who left the media company in 2018 amid sexual harassment and assault allegations, has dropped an attempt to claim a $120 million severance award. The money, which has been held in a grantor trust, will revert back to the company, which is now ViacomCBS after its 2019 merger with Viacom."

GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza:

— "The First Rule of Bite Club? Talk About It," by Haley Cohen Gilliland for Outside: "The odds of being attacked by a shark are less than one in 11 million, which makes it nearly impossible to find people to turn to when you become that one. Enter a support group of survivors called the Bite Club — the most exclusive club nobody wants to join."

— "Noah Syndergaard Thinks Baseball Has Gotten Soft — and Humans Have, Too," by Clay Skipper for GQ: "The Mets pitcher talks cold plunges, hyperbaric chambers, his book club, and the state of baseball."

— "The Real-Life Gangster's Wife from 'Casino,'" by Nicholas Pileggi for Esquire: "Geri McGee married one of the most powerful men in Las Vegas. Their fairytale turned into a nightmare of drugs, guns, a car bomb, and lots of jewelry."

— "'I Feel Like I'm Just Drowning': Sophomore Year in a Pandemic," by Susan Dominus for NYT Magazine: "A group of high school students try desperately to make it through an isolated and dire year."

— "The Magnificent Nancy Reagan," by Alvin S. Felzenberg for National Review

— "How Inconsistent Policies and Enforcement Have Created False Hope for Migrants at the Border," by Lomi Kriel for ProPublica: "The Biden administration and the Mexican government have made the situation at the border so confusing that even seasoned experts can't always determine who is allowed in and who isn't. That may be contributing to the high number of border crossings."

— "Stacey Abrams, Hillary Clinton and Why Politicians Write Fiction," by Mark Yarm for WSJ Magazine: "Writing a novel can provide escapism, control and a dash of positive publicity for politicos like Abrams and Clinton, who this year join Newt Gingrich, Jimmy Carter and other politician-novelists."

— From the archives: "The Prisoner of Seventh Avenue," by Lisa Belkin for NYT Magazine: "How Halston lost the right to his own name." (h/t Shawn McCreesh)

INTERESTING TWITTER THREADS

— The surprising history of Sheikh Jarrah, by SOAS's Yair Wallach

— Why missile interceptors don't travel in straight lines, by Ankit Panda

— How caste-based discrimination follows people in the Indian diaspora, by Audrey Truschke

— A brief history of drag, from Shakespeare to RuPaul, by Openly

— Why scientists were slow to to affirm that Covid spread via airborne transmission, by Jose-Luis Jimenez

CLICKER — "The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics," edited by Matt Wuerker — 16 funnies

JOIN WEDNESDAY - "THE RECAST" LIVE CONVERSATION: Earlier this year, we launched "The Recast" newsletter breaking down the changing power dynamics in America and how race and identity shape politics, policy and power. We are recasting how we report on this crucial intersection by bringing you fresh insights, scoops, dispatches from across the country and new voices that challenge "business as usual." Join Brakkton Booker, "The Recast" newsletter author and national political correspondent at POLITICO, for a live conversation with Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.); Malika Redmond, co-founder, president and CEO of Women Engaged; Sonal Shah, founding president, The Asian American Foundation; and Lauren Williams, co-founder, CEO and editor in chief of Capital B, about redefining power in America. REGISTER HERE.

PLAYBOOKERS

SPOTTED: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on a flight from Dulles to Traverse City, Mich., on Friday afternoon. Pic … Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) at Barrel on Friday night. Pic

MEDIAWATCH — Kadia Goba will rejoin BuzzFeed as a national political reporter, covering the GOP. She currently covers Congress for Axios.

TRANSITIONS — Chris Crawford is now a policy advocate at Protect Democracy. He previously was a senior program associate at Democracy Fund. … Kyle Gerron is now associate director of federal policy at the Council for a Strong America. He previously was VP at DDC Public Affairs. … Lisa Hershman has joined the board of directors of satellite company Echostar, where she will chair the compensation committee. She most recently was the chief management officer at DoD. …

… Hamilton Place Strategies has added as directors Cailin Schmeer (previously at the Trump Treasury Department), Patrice Smith (previously with Rep. Scott Franklin (R-Fla.)) and Michael Sargent (previously at Madrus LLC). … Mike Rosenbaum's Maryland gubernatorial campaign added a slate of senior staff: Travis Tazelaar will be campaign manager, Punya Krishnappa will be senior strategist, Erica Bernstein will be finance director, Gina Kim will be operations director and Kyle Morse will be comms director.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NYT's Elisabeth Bumiller and Nick Confessore … WaPo's Eli Saslow and Ruth Marcus … Jen Stout … Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet … Rob Simms … Anne Marie Malecha … Nick Papas of Airbnb … Jacqueline Cortese … Scott Montgomery … Varun Krovi of Invariant … James Glueck … Walter Dellinger of O'Melveny & Myers (8-0) … Kristine Simmons … the Herald Group's CC Jaeger … Philo Hall … Rachel Kelly of Rep. Derek Kilmer's (D-Wash.) office … Aaron Morrissey … Billy Brawner of Brawner Communications … Jennifer Jose … Diane Cullo … former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright … POLITICO's Annie Scalambrino and Tara Clinton … former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius … Katrina Chan … David Watts … Mimi Castaldi … Linda Hall Daschle … Dan Rothschild of GMU's Mercatus Center … Cam Henderson … Donna Leinwand Leger

THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here):

ABC	"This Week": Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) … CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. Panel: Cecilia Vega, Pierre Thomas, Mary Bruce and Rachel Scott.
FOX	"Fox News Sunday": CDC Director Rochelle Walensky … Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.). Panel: Steve Hayes, Catherine Lucey and Juan Williams. Power Player: Edwin Fountain.
CBS	"Face the Nation": Anthony Fauci … Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) … Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) … Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) … Chris Krebs … Scott Gottlieb.
MSNBC	"The Sunday Show": Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) … Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) … Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) … Jane Harman … Jon Meacham … Jeh Johnson.
Gray TV	"Full Court Press": Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) … Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).
CNN	"State of the Union": CDC Director Rochelle Walensky … Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan … Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) … Jane Harman.
CNN	"Inside Politics": Panel: Michael Shear, Jackie Kucinich, Manu Raju, Melanie Zanona and Leana Wen.
NBC	"Meet the Press": CDC Director Rochelle Walensky … Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) … Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas). Panel: Peter Baker, Brendan Buck, Donna Edwards and Kristen Welker.

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.

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