| | | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Tara Palmeri | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | PELOSI FACES DOWN THE MODS — Speaker NANCY PELOSI is calling the House back from summer recess Aug. 23 to vote on the party's $3.5 trillion budget, but she has a problem: Six moderate House Democrats, our ace House reporters Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle report, have indicated that they'll oppose the fiscal blueprint unless the speaker puts the Senate-passed BIF up for a vote at the same time. The speaker can lose only three votes. So this sets up another Washington staredown, this time pitting Pelosi against some of her most electorally vulnerable members, whom she often bends over backward to protect. If we know anything from covering Pelosi and the House the past decade, it's that she runs her caucus with "an iron fist in a Gucci glove." Her ability to corral her members — whether with sweeteners like committee posts or by simply scaring them into line — is almost legendary. Cross her at your own peril. Senior Democrats aren't panicking about the moderates' threat — at least not yet. For one, none of them have gone on record with their complaints; typically if a member isn't willing to say these sorts of things out loud, he or she will cave in the end. Even if they do eventually speak out, top Democrats say they're confident in Pelosi's ability to navigate it. But the dynamic will definitely keep things interesting the next few weeks during an otherwise sleepy August recess. IN CASE IT WASN'T CLEAR: Pelosi reiterated her stance during a House Democratic conference call Wednesday: no BIF vote in the House until the Senate passes its reconciliation bill. It's simple math, she explained: She doesn't have the votes to pass one without the other. "I'm not freelancing. This is the consensus of the caucus," Pelosi said on the call. "The votes in the House and Senate depend on us having both bills." | | A message from Amazon: "Amazon has allowed me to live a comfortable life." When Luv-Luv joined Amazon, she was just looking for a job — any job — with health care. What she found was so much more. Thanks to Amazon's starting wage of at least $15 an hour and comprehensive benefits, she is able to live life on her own terms. Watch her story here. | | | SPEAKING OF OUR CONGRESS TEAM … Marianne LeVine and Burgess Everett landed an interview Wednesday with Senate Majority Leader and man-of-the-hour CHUCK SCHUMER. Their piece has quite a colorful lede: "Chuck Schumer got his progressives to swallow a bipartisan deal that tasted about as good to them as wilted spinach. Now he'll need to bring his leery moderates along for the whole meal." (For the record, we love spinach.) It goes on to serve up some good nuggets: While Schumer isn't known for twisting arms — he's quite the opposite from Pelosi in that regard — he hit a wall a few weeks ago and "began to nudge harder than his genial nature suggests." Schumer told Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) that "if you want the moderates to vote with the progressive vision, you can't vote no" on the BIF. "You don't have that luxury." Then, he turned around and told Sens. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) and KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-Ariz.) the same: "If you won't vote yes on the budget resolution, I can't get them to vote yes" on the bipartisan bill. Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. | | A message from Amazon: $15 an hour and benefits give Luv-Luv and Amazon employees like her the freedom to do more — save up for a family vacation, go back to school, or upgrade their homes. | | | PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S THURSDAY: — 10 a.m.: The president will receive the President's Daily Brief. — 11:15 a.m.: Biden will deliver remarks on prescription drug prices in the East Room. — 12:20 p.m.: Biden will depart the White House en route to Wilmington, Del., where he is scheduled to arrive at 1:10 p.m. VP KAMALA HARRIS' THURSDAY: The VP will hold a meeting with businesses to talk about care policies at 2:15 p.m. The White House Covid-19 response team and public health officials will brief at 12:30 p.m. THE HOUSE and THE SENATE are out. | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | 
PHOTO OF THE DAY: Barbara Arnwine, president and founder of the Transformative Justice Coalition, wears a shirt with the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) at a voting rights rally on the steps of the Supreme Court on Wednesday. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo | Our top three reads this morning … 1) The NYT's doyen of Capitol Hill, Carl Hulse, compares Democrats' task of shepherding Biden's $4.5 trillion agenda through Congress to the effort to pass the Affordable Care Act a decade ago. Then as now, success is far from certain. The money quote: "'It's like the 7-10 split in bowling,' Senator EDWARD J. MARKEY, Democrat of Massachusetts and a veteran of the health care fight, said about the precision, persistence and luck that would be required to pull off the legislative two-step. 'It happens, but it happens rarely.'" 2) ProPublica's latest installment of lifestyles of the rich and famous, based on their (non-)payment of taxes: "Secret IRS Files Reveal How Much the Ultrawealthy Gained by Shaping Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Tax Cut,'" by Justin Elliott and Robert Faturechi : "In the first year after [DONALD] TRUMP signed the legislation, just 82 ultrawealthy households collectively walked away with more than $1 billion in total savings, an analysis of confidential tax records shows. "Republican and Democratic tycoons alike saw their tax bills chopped by tens of millions, among them: media magnate and former Democratic presidential candidate MICHAEL BLOOMBERG; the Bechtel family, owners of the engineering firm that bears their name; and the heirs of the late Houston pipeline billionaire DAN DUNCAN." ICYMI: Here's the publication's initial story, about how little the ultra-wealthy pay and how far they go to avoid income tax. 3) And WaPo's Tom Hamburger, Rosalind Helderman and Amy Gardner delivering the alarming/sobering news that many election officials around the country fear for their safety as election conspiracies and denialism gain steam, courtesy of Trump. They write: "'It used to be fun to be an election clerk, but it isn't any more,' [Canton Township, Mich., clerk MICHAEL SIEGRIST said.] "Nine months after the 2020 election, local officials across the country are coping with an ongoing barrage of criticism and personal attacks that many fear could lead to an exodus of veteran election administrators before the next presidential race. … As Trump continues to promote the false notion that the 2020 White House race was tainted by fraud, there is mounting evidence that his attacks are curdling the faith that many Americans once had in their elections — and taking a deep toll on the public servants who work to protect the vote." CONGRESS WHISTLEBLOWER'S ATTORNEY GOES TO WAR WITH HOUSE DEMS — Nearly two years after news of Trump's Ukraine scheme hit the presses, the attorney for the famed whistleblower who started it all is in a contentious standoff with House Democrats. MARK ZAID, the prominent whistleblower attorney, has an op-ed in Insider blasting the House select panel on the Jan. 6 riot for hiring a person he claims has retaliated against whistleblowers. The NYT's story on the skirmish HMM — "Rand Paul discloses 16 months late that his wife bought stock in company behind covid treatment," by WaPo's Isaac Stanley-Becker: "Sen. RAND PAUL revealed Wednesday that his wife bought stock in Gilead Sciences — which makes an antiviral drug used to treat Covid-19 — on Feb. 26, 2020, before the threat from the coronavirus was fully understood by the public and before it was classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. "The disclosure, in a filing with the Senate, came 16 months after the 45-day reporting deadline set forth in the Stock Act, which is designed to combat insider trading. … KELSEY COOPER, a spokeswoman for Paul, said the senator completed a reporting form for his wife's investment last year but learned only recently, while preparing an annual disclosure, that the form had not been transmitted. He sought guidance from the Senate Ethics Committee, she said, and filed the supplemental report along with an annual disclosure Wednesday. She also said Paul's wife, KELLEY, an author and former communications consultant, lost money on the investment, which she made with her own earnings." THE WHITE HOUSE BIDEN'S BULLY PULPIT — "White House seizes an opportunity to whack DeSantis," by Marc Caputo: "For the past two weeks, Biden and his allies have publicly escalated a war of words and with [Florida Gov. RON] DESANTIS on Twitter, in speeches by the president and in White House press briefings. Biden advisers see DeSantis — who has defiantly fought mask mandates as infections and hospitalizations skyrocketed in the battleground state — as a foil to a president whose strength is his empathetic style and safety-first response to coronavirus that helped him defeat DeSantis' benefactor, President Trump, nine months ago. "Amid the Covid explosion, DeSantis' constant criticisms as well as his controversial policies and a barrage of media questions about the governor, White House advisers say Biden and the team had no choice but to take on the Republican. But the president has seldom gone to such lengths to train so much fire on a critic other than Trump." POLITICS ROUNDUP TRUMP VS. CHENEY HEATS UP — "Trump to meet with former Cheney ally about Wyoming primary challenge," by Alex Isenstadt: "Trump is poised to sit down with HARRIET HAGEMAN, a Republican trial attorney who waged an unsuccessful 2018 campaign for governor of Wyoming, according to five people familiar with the matter. The meeting comes as Trump ramps up his effort to unseat [Rep. LIZ] CHENEY in next year's GOP primary; the former president has met with several candidates in recent weeks at his Bedminster, N.J. golf club, with an eye toward making an eventual endorsement. … "Hageman declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday evening. A Trump spokesperson declined to comment. Hageman would be an unconventional candidate should she choose to challenge Cheney. She was a member of Cheney's leadership team during Cheney's short-lived 2014 Senate campaign. She has also contributed to Cheney twice: a $500 check in 2013, and one for $1,500 in 2016." COME TO YOUR CENSUS — "Redistricting sprint begins with major census data drop," by Ally Mutnick and Zach Montellaro: "The Census Bureau's long-awaited release of redistricting data Thursday will unleash a torrent of new state political maps in the weeks and months to come, starting with the handful of states pressed against early fall deadlines to enact new district boundaries. "Altogether, the maps could tilt control of Congress for the next decade, but they'll come out one by one at first. Strategists from both parties predict that some states will finalize maps as soon as September and that roughly half of the states will set their new lines by the end of the year. The rest will follow in the first few months of 2022." CUOMO LATEST — "Trooper harassed by Cuomo quickly became his driver," by Albany Times-Union's Brendan Lyons: "The State Police investigator who said Gov. ANDREW M. CUOMO sexually harassed her had moved up in the ranks of his protective detail quickly, securing a position as the governor's driver in a much shorter timeframe than is normal, according to former senior members of the detail who are familiar with its machinations. "Prominent women's rights attorney GLORIA ALLRED issued a statement on behalf of the investigator, who is not being identified by the Times Union, saying she believes Cuomo 'did the right thing' when he announced his resignation. … It's unclear whether Allred, who has represented other women who accused Cuomo of misconduct, was retained by the investigator in order to initiate a civil sexual harassment complaint against the governor." | | | | A message from Amazon:   Luv-Luv says her co-workers are like family to her. | | | THE PANDEMIC The latest headlines … — "CDC urges COVID vaccines during pregnancy as delta surges," by AP's Lindsey Tanner and Mike Stobbe — "FDA set to authorize extra Covid vaccine doses for immunocompromised patients," by Adam Cancryn and Lauren Gardner — "Texas Hospitals Are Already Overloaded. Doctors Are 'Frightened by What Is Coming,'" by NYT's Edgar Sandoval and Giulia Heyward in San Antonio — "Covid surge prompts one Florida county to ask residents to use 911 sparingly," by NBC's David Li — "Children's hospitals are swamped with Covid patients — and it may only get worse," by Dan Goldberg and Alice Miranda Ollstein — "Gov. Newsom orders school employees to get vaccinated or be tested regularly," by L.A. Times' Howard Blume and John Myers AMERICA AND THE WORLD PULLOUT FALLOUT — "Biden administration tries to mobilize international diplomatic effort to halt Taliban," by WaPo's Karen DeYoung: "In the largest such gathering since U.S.-Taliban talks began nearly two years ago, representatives from Russia, China, Afghanistan's regional neighbors, European powers, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations have converged on Doha, Qatar, for U.S.-led meetings with the militants. "The hope is that sheer numbers and a unified stance — both during the Taliban meetings and in a tough joint statement to be issued after their last session Thursday — will disabuse the militants of any notion that there are cracks in international resolve to cut any Taliban government off from all diplomatic contact and assistance." — "Biden on Afghanistan: Not my problem," by Nahal Toosi, Paul McLeary and Alexander Ward: "Inside the administration, top aides are just trying to keep up with the rapidly changing battlefield. U.S. officials now believe Kabul could be surrounded or fall under Taliban control within weeks, and even the future of the fortress-like U.S. Embassy is increasingly in doubt. "The president, meanwhile, is holding firm to last spring's decision to withdraw U.S. combat troops, calculating that war-weary voters would rather tune out the alarming developments in a conflict they've largely ignored. … A new U.S. military assessment says the national capital, Kabul, could fall to the Taliban in as quickly as a month, a person familiar with the intelligence told POLITICO. … According to three people knowledgeable about the situation, internal administration discussions have broached evacuating the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as a possibility; one person said the mission could be emptied by the end of this month." VALLEY TALK WHAT BEZOS IS CELEBRATING — "NSA quietly awards $10 billion cloud contract to Amazon, drawing protest from Microsoft," by WaPo's Aaron Gregg: "The National Security Agency has quietly awarded a contract worth up to $10 billion to Amazon Web Services, setting off another high-stakes fight among rival tech giants over national security contract dollars. "On July 21 the Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft filed a formal bid protest with the Government Accountability Office, an independent federal agency that handles contract disputes, after Microsoft applied for the opportunity and was rejected. A decision is expected by Oct. 29." MEDIAWATCH QUITE A COLLAB — "Fox Nearing Deal to Buy TMZ," by WSJ's Joe Flint and Drew FitzGerald: "AT&T Inc. is nearing a deal to sell TMZ to Fox Corp., after a year of talks that involved persuading HARVEY LEVIN to sign off on a sale of the gossip news platform he co-founded, according to people familiar with the matter. The terms being negotiated would value TMZ, which includes a popular website and daily television show, at between $100 million and $125 million, the people said. While the on-again, off-again talks have heated up recently, people on both sides stressed there is no guarantee a deal will be reached." PAGING JEN PSAKI — "WH reporters roiled by 'spacing constraints' excuse to limit access to Biden Q&As," by N.Y. Post's Steven Nelson: "President Biden's recent interactions with reporters in the spacious White House East Room have resembled press conferences, but with a twist: his staff selects which reporters attend, citing 'spacing constraints' for why they exclude most White House correspondents. "The nearly 3,000-square foot event space is the largest room in the White House and can fit hundreds of people. But reporters interested in attending one of the semi-regular Biden forums must RSVP electronically and then White House staff pick a small number who are allowed to attend alongside the rotating daily press pool." DESSERT (OR SOMETHING) HEADS UP — "Higher but still slim odds of asteroid Bennu slamming Earth," AP | | | | 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 | | IN MEMORIAM — "Remembering a True Leader through CIA Crisis and Controversy," by Gen. Michael Hayden in the Cipher Brief: "I am contemplating the news that former CIA Acting General Counsel John A. Rizzo is gone, the victim of a heart attack this past weekend, and I'm finding it hard to imagine a world without him. … John found himself at the center of every major national security and intelligence success or failure, victory or defeat, honor or scandal for most of our post-Vietnam, post-Watergate history." — "Donald Kagan, leading neo-conservative historian, dead at 89," by AP's Hillel Italie: "Through his books, speeches and media commentary, Kagan became a leading conservative voice in the otherwise liberal field of history, supporting military action abroad and adherence to the Western canon at home. He backed the wars in Vietnam and Iraq and questioned the patriotism of protesters. He disdained multicultural programs and pushed in vain to establish a special Western Civilization course at Yale." MEDIA MOVES — Ming Li is joining POLITICO's data and graphics team. She most recently was a data visualization reporter for the Financial Times' industry publications. … Tracie Potts, a national correspondent for NBC News, will move on later this year after a more than 20-year career with the company to become executive director of the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College. More TRANSITIONS — Sarah Baron is now campaign director of economy campaigns at the Hub Project. She previously was senior campaigns director at Climate Power 2020. … Rebecca Drago is now deputy comms director for Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). She previously was comms director for Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and is a Joe Cunningham alum. … Jay Boyd is joining Bullpen Strategy Group as director in the strategic comms practice. He previously was a manager at FP1 Strategies. … Jennifer Nord Mallard has been named head of government affairs for Tempus Labs. She most recently was head of the health care practice at the Vogel Group, and is a Mayo Clinic alum. … Jonathan Fera is the new comms and marketing officer for Milwaukee's Department of City Development and the Port Milwaukee. He previously was deputy press secretary for Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.). HAPPY BIRTHDAY: George Soros (91) … Ed Feulner (8-0) … HuffPost's Dave Jamieson … Mike Kelleher of the 2Blades Foundation … Brian Devine … Brianna Puccini of Sen. Deb Fischer's (R-Neb.) office … Matt Sparks of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's office ... Casey Nelson of Rep. Ronny Jackson's (D-Texas) office … Liz Hipple of the Joint Economic Committee … Bob Jensen … Google's Nick Meads … BuzzFeed's Nidhi Prakash … Justin Folsom … Molly French … Brandi Travis … CNN's Kyle Blaine … Angela Kuefler of Global Strategy Group … CBS' Jericka Duncan … Toby Burke … Stand Up America's Kim Hall … Kelley McCormick … Tristan Fitzpatrick … Doris Truong of the Poynter Institute … WaPo's Karen Attiah … Melanie Sheppard of EY … former FHA Administrator Nicole Nason … former Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-Fla.) ... POLITICO's Heather Richards and Julie Lasheski … Karyn Posner-Mullen … Chevron's Trudi Boyd … Lesley Fulop … Molly Pfaffenroth of the National Grocers Association … Tess Crampton ... Stephen Claeys ... Dana Berardi ... Thurgood Marshall Jr. ... Christina Hartman ... Kristin Sheehy ... WilmerHale's Bill McLucas … Audrey Jones … Uber's Tony West 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: Since starting at Amazon, Luv-Luv has been happy with the healthy work environment. She said, "People don't see the love and the kindness that goes on in here. They don't see the financial support and the fact that it's fair."
It's not just employees who noticed the immediate benefit of Amazon increasing their starting wage to at least $15 an hour — a new study from University of California-Berkeley and Brandeis University found that when Amazon raised their wages, the average hourly wage in the surrounding area rose by 4.7% as other employers followed their lead. | | | | | | | 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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