| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | | 
Anthony Fauci's decision to forgo the White House Correspondents' Association dinner came hours after VP Kamala Harris tested positive for the coronavirus. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | Late Tuesday night, CNN's Oliver Darcy and Kaitlan Collins scooped that ANTHONY FAUCI is dropping out of this weekend's White House Correspondents' Association dinner over concerns about Covid-19. The question on our minds now: Will President JOE BIDEN go forward with his own plans to attend the dinner — disagreeing with his chief medical adviser in the process? Fauci's decision to forgo Washington's biggest night came hours after VP KAMALA HARRIS tested positive for the coronavirus and press secretary JEN PSAKI announced that the president still intends to attend the dinner. "[J]ust like many Americans, he makes risk assessments," Psaki told reporters. "It's possible the president could test positive."
- The view inside the White House is pretty simple: They feel like they have the tools necessary to keep Biden safe. Covid-19 isn't over, but they've clearly calculated that if the administration is telling the American people that we're turning a corner, Biden's behavior should reflect that.
- That helps explain why Biden's public schedule is so busy these next few days. Today, he plans to attend the funeral for former Secretary of State MADELEINE ALBRIGHT. (Sources tell Playbook that her family has asked all attendees to wear masks.) On Saturday, he has the WHCD, which is currently clocking in at 2,620 attendees. And Sunday, he's headed to Minnesota for the memorial service for former VP WALTER MONDALE. All three gatherings are indoors.
What happens if Biden gets Covid this weekend while Harris is also positive? theGrio's April Ryan asked that in Tuesday's briefing. Psaki said that "because of all of the precautions and steps we have taken … he would be able to continue his duties." By the way: If you're heading to a WHCD-related party this week, help us out! Send us spotteds of big names, good gossip or funny moments: You can email tips to us at playbook@politico.com, or just text us: Save 202-556-3307 as "Playbook" in your contacts now, and when you see something interesting, shoot us a text. (And don't worry, we'll keep you anonymous.)
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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's meeting with the GOP Conference comes just after the release of one of the most damaging clips yet. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo | MCCARTHY TO FACE GOP MEMBERS TODAY — Embattled House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY will face his rank and file in a GOP Conference meeting this morning. It's their first time gathering since a slew of book excerpts and audio recordings landed McCarthy in hot water with MAGA world over what he said in private about both DONALD TRUMP and Trump's congressional allies in the days following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The meeting comes just after the release of one of the most damaging clips yet: On Tuesday, NYT's Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin published another explosive piece of audio in which McCarthy (1) said he wished Twitter would ban some of his own members from the platform, and (2) expressed concerns that his rank and file could incite more violence in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack — yet chose to do nothing about it. — First, let's unpack some of the latest news, per the report based on the pair's new book, "This Will Not Pass": "In [a] phone call with other Republican leaders on Jan. 10, Mr. McCarthy referred chiefly to two representatives, MATT GAETZ of Florida and MO BROOKS of Alabama, as endangering the security of other lawmakers and the Capitol complex. But he and his allies discussed several other representatives who made comments they saw as offensive or dangerous, including LAUREN BOEBERT of Colorado and BARRY MOORE of Alabama. The country was 'too crazy,' Mr. McCarthy said, for members to be talking and tweeting recklessly at such a volatile moment … "Mr. McCarthy expressed a wish that the big social media companies would ban some members of the Republican conference, as they had done with Mr. Trump after the insurrection. 'Can't they take their Twitter accounts away, too?' Mr. McCarthy asked." THE BIG QUESTION TODAY: How will this play within the GOP Conference? Not well — at least with some from the party's right flank. As we mentioned last week when we first started following McCarthy's ordeal, multiple House GOP sources told us that the remarks McCarthy made about his own members would likely be the most problematic in his race for speaker. And today, we're bound to hear more from Trump allies who are unhappy about what they've heard. Already, they're making their displeasure known. Just take a look at some of these remarks:
- Gaetz tweeted Tuesday evening that McCarthy's words were "the behavior of weak men, not leaders." "While I was protecting President Trump from impeachment, they were protecting LIZ CHENEY from criticism," Gaetz wrote of McCarthy and Minority Whip STEVE SCALISE (R-La.).
- Rep. ANDY BIGGS (R-Ariz.) said that McCarthy's comments were "incredibly undermining. We have our leader that's basically negotiating with Liz Cheney on whether he should encourage President Trump to resign or not. It becomes a huge trust issue for me." WaPo's Felicia Sonmez has more
- And don't forget Fox News host TUCKER CARLSON, who's never been a McCarthy fan, and ripped him on his show Tuesday night, suggesting he "sounds in private like an MSNBC contributor." He continued: "Unless conservatives get their act together right away, Kevin McCarthy or one of his highly liberal allies like ELISE STEFANIK is very likely to be speaker of the House in January. That would mean we would have a Republican Congress led by a puppet of the Democratic Party."
So how bad will this get today? As our Olivia Beavers and Sarah Ferris report, McCarthy's allies from across the party's ideological spectrum were already lining up Tuesday afternoon to rally around the GOP leader. Even some of the lawmakers McCarthy named in the audio that dropped Tuesday held their fire, at least for now.
- "Nobody cares about that," said NRCC Chair TOM EMMER (R-Minn.). "Nobody but the media and journalists."
- "I'm for Donald Trump being the next president and Kevin McCarthy being the next speaker," said Rep. JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio).
- "It's all inside baseball. Not a single constituent brought up that issue to me," added Rep. RODNEY DAVIS (R-Ill.). "Nobody's talking about it. And frankly, I can't wait till Speaker McCarthy is sworn in."
- Boebert said, "I haven't heard anything like that, goodness."
- "The RINOs engineering this story to promote their own selfish agenda won't be around next year to prop up the Democrats' destructive Big Government scheme," said Moore.
And as CNN's Mel Zanona points out, other members of the House Freedom Caucus were much more coy:
- Rep. SCOTT PERRY (R-Pa.): "Everybody is accountable for what they say and do."
- Rep. RANDY WEBER (R-Texas): "This needs to be a discussion we have as a family."
Good Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. TOP-ED — WaPo's David Ignatius catalogs the enormous losses Russia has suffered and asks whether Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN might be searching for a way out of his disastrous war in Ukraine. "The Russian army has been mauled, so far," he notes, citing U.K. estimates of 15,000 killed, 2,000 armored vehicles and 60 aircraft destroyed. The "economic strangulation" has been equally devastating, kneecapping Russia's influence around the world. "The exit ramp surely must look more attractive to Putin now than it did several months ago," Ignatius concludes. JUST POSTED — "The Republican blueprint to steal the 2024 election," by J. Michael Luttig for CNN THE NEW NO. 1? — New Hampshire is in prime position to supplant Iowa as the first state on the Democratic presidential calendar — that's the takeaway that our colleagues Elena Schneider and Lisa Kashinsky found in more than a dozen recent interviews with party power brokers driving the decision. "If the committee dumps caucuses, as it has hinted, then the calendar order pops open — and the only other serious challenger for the lead-off slot is Nevada, which is leaning on its diversity to make the jump from third to first. New Hampshire, though, fits well on two criteria that the party's rules committee wants to prioritize for its early primaries: general election competitiveness and regional diversity." SURVEY SAYS — It's been just more than a week since a federal judge shot down the CDC's attempt to extend a federal mask mandate for travel, and we have new numbers about how voters feel about it.
- In a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, 57% of U.S. voters support the CDC's extension of the mandate — down two points since the order was lifted.
- On the timing: Forty-five percent say it's too early to end the mask mandate; 20% say it's the right time; 16% say it should have already ended; and 12% say there never should've been a mandate. Toplines … Crosstabs
BIDEN'S WEDNESDAY: — 9:30 a.m.: The president will receive the President's Daily Brief. — 11 a.m.: Biden will attend Albright's funeral, where he will deliver remarks. — 4 p.m.: Biden and first lady JILL BIDEN will host the Council of Chief State School Officers' 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year. The president, the first lady, Education Secretary MIGUEL CARDONA and 2022 National Teacher of the Year KURT RUSSELL will all deliver remarks. Psaki will brief at 3 p.m. THE SENATE will meet at 2 p.m. to take up SHERILYN PEACE GARNETT's judicial nomination, with a cloture vote at 3:30 p.m. Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO will testify before the Commerce Committee at 9:30 a.m. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN will testify before an Appropriations subcommittee at 2 p.m. SBA Administrator ISABEL GUZMAN will testify before the Small Business Committee at 2:30 p.m. THE HOUSE will meet at 10 a.m. and take up several bills at noon. Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS will testify before an Appropriations subcommittee at 10 a.m. and the Homeland Security Committee at 2 p.m. CFPB Director ROHIT CHOPRA will testify before the Financial Services Committee at 10 a.m. Guzman will testify before the Small Business Committee at 10 a.m. HHS Secretary XAVIER BECERRA will testify before an Energy and Commerce subcommittee at 10:15 a.m. The Rules Committee will meet at 2 p.m. to formulate rules on a lend-lease program for Ukraine and a domestic terrorism prevention bill.
| | | | DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM THE 2022 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from the 25th annual Global Conference. This year's event, May 1-4, brings together more than 3,000 of the world's most influential leaders, including 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. "Celebrating the Power of Connection" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect influencers with the resources to change the world with leading experts and thinkers whose insight and creativity can implement that change. Whether you're attending in person or following along from somewhere else in the world, keep up with this year's conference with POLITICO's special edition "Global Insider" so you don't miss a beat. Subscribe today. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
|  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton talks to reporters with Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone in front of the U.S. Supreme Court after arguments in their case about Title 42 on Monday. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | ALL POLITICS POLL POSITIONS — Two interesting polls published Tuesday tell a lot about the direction that key Senate GOP primaries are heading. — First, in Ohio: "Support for author J.D. VANCE has doubled in the Ohio Republican Senate primary race, catapulting him ahead of earlier frontrunners former Ohio Treasurer JOSH MANDEL and businessman MIKE GIBBONS — although many voters remain undecided or uncertain about their vote," Fox News' Dana Blanton writes. The breakdown:
- Vance: 23%
- Mandel: 18%
- Gibbons: 13%
- MATT DOLAN: 11%
- Undecided: 25%
— Second, in Georgia: HERSCHEL WALKER has pulled out to a massive lead and may leave his opponents in the dust if the numbers hold ahead of the May 24 primary, according to a new poll published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Walker "leads the GOP primary field with 66% of support. His closest competitor, Agriculture Commissioner GARY BLACK, was at 7%." CONGRESS BERN NOTICE — Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) is cranking up the heat on Biden in Amazon's union battle. On Tuesday, Sanders sent the president a letter asking him "to cut off federal contracts to Amazon until the massive company stops what he calls its 'illegal anti-union activity,'" Burgess Everett and Eleanor Mueller scoop . "As the Senate Budget Committee chair, Sanders will also hold a hearing next week dedicated to calculating how many federal contracts go to companies that are fighting back against unionization efforts, with a focus on Amazon." — *Wide-eye emoji*: "Asked if Biden has fallen short in his union support thus far as president, Sanders said bluntly in an interview: 'Yes, he has.'" Sanders' letter THE WHITE HOUSE IMMIGRATION FILES — The Biden administration said Tuesday "it will comply with an expected court order from a Louisiana judge that would block the lifting of Title 42, a Trump-era deportation policy used to expel more than one million migrants at the Southern border," Eugene and Laura Barrón-López report. In a call with reporters, admin officials "outlined the administration's six-point plan for the aftermath of the Title 42 order being lifted at the end of next month. The plan includes more resources to deal with an expected surge of migrants at the border, which the administration says would allow them to process 18,000 migrants in custody 'at any given time.'" TAKING LEAVE — DALEEP SINGH, who has been the administration's lead Russian sanctions coordinator, will temporarily leave his post next month for "family reasons," WaPo's Tyler Pager scoops. Among the names being considered to fill the role in his absence: MIKE PYLE, the VP's chief economic adviser. THE PANDEMIC STAT OF THE DAY — Citing new data, the CDC said Tuesday that it estimates the coronavirus has now infected roughly 60% of the U.S. population at least once, WaPo's Lena Sun, Dan Keating and Joel Achenbach report. VALLEY TALK CAN'T STOP, WON'T STOP — No matter how insistent some people are that they'll leave Twitter if ELON MUSK's purchase goes through, the reality is that it'll be hard to get people to flee the platform in large numbers. That's especially true of politicians: "Democrats with a policy, bill or agenda to push need the site as much as the Republicans who have been complaining for years about what they consider the platform's censorship of conservatives. That even involves, for some in Congress, making the call well before they know what Twitter will look like under Musk," Rebecca Kern writes. "Asked how a Musk takeover of Twitter might affect his use of the platform, Sen. BRIAN SCHATZ (D-Hawaii) said: 'Won't change my habits, and I have no idea what to make of it.'" JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH DRIP, DRIP, DRIP — The trove of text messages from MARK MEADOWS' phone that CNN uncovered this week have revealed a new twist in the saga of the Trump White House's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The texts "show Rep. SCOTT PERRY (R-Pa.) pushing to have the nation's top intelligence official investigate baseless conspiracy theories and working to replace the U.S. acting attorney general with an acolyte willing to do Trump's bidding," CNN's Zachary Cohen, Ryan Nobles, Annie Grayer and Jamie Gangel report. Perry was not in the mood to respond to Nobles when the reporter caught up with him at the Capitol on Tuesday to inquire about the texts. WAR IN UKRAINE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS … — "Russia is cutting off natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after they refused to pay in rubles, dramatically escalating tensions with the West," CNN's Sugam Pokharel writes. — "The United States marshaled 40 allies on Tuesday to furnish Ukraine with long-term military aid in what could become a protracted battle against the Russian invasion," NYT's John Ismay, Christopher Schuetze and Michael Levenson report.
| | | | JOIN US ON 4/29 FOR A WOMEN RULE DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN TECH : Women, particularly women of color and women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, have historically been locked out of the tech world. But this new tech revolution could be an opportunity for women to get in on the ground floor of a new chapter. Join POLITICO for an in-depth panel discussion on the future of women in tech and how to make sure women are both participating in this fast-moving era and have access to all it offers. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Kamala Harris is taking Paxlovid to treat her case of Covid. Susan Collins said Twitter should reinstate Donald Trump's account. Trump described "throwing pineapples, tomatoes, bananas" as "dangerous stuff" in a 2021 deposition that was filed in court Tuesday. Trump attacked Ohio Senate hopeful Matt Dolan for his family's ownership of Cleveland's professional baseball team. "Anybody who changes the name of the 'stories' [sic] Cleveland Indians … to the Cleveland Guardians is not fit to serve in the United States Senate," Trump said in a statement. Marianne Williamson is not ruling out a 2024 presidential run. Chuck Schumer called Twitter "a dark, dark place" that he hopes "doesn't get any darker" with Elon Musk at the helm, while Jim Jordan called Musk's purchase of the platform "a great day for freedom and the First Amendment." Bill Clinton responded to arguments that his policies in the 1990s sowed the seeds of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it "the biggest load of bull you'll ever hear." Rand Paul had a heated back-and-forth with Antony Blinken about the roots of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Deputy Cabinet Secretary Cristóbal Alex is leaving the White House next month, an official familiar with the move said. Alex has been with Joe Biden since early 2019 before the campaign launched and is one of the most senior Latino officials in the White House. He's expected to leave for a job outside the administration. He declined to comment. — DHS is standing up a new Disinformation Governance Board to coordinate countering misinformation related to homeland security, focused specifically on irregular migration and Russia. Nina Jankowicz will head the board as executive director. She previously was a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, advised the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry as part of the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship and oversaw Russia and Belarus programs at the National Democratic Institute. (h/t Daniel Lippman) — Amanda Howe will be COO at the Center for American Progress. She most recently was a nominee to be an assistant EPA administrator (just withdrawn), and is a DNC and Kamala Harris campaign alum. MEDIA MOVES — POLITICO is adding Andrew Milligan as a senior news apps developer and promoting Allan James Vestal to election projects editor. Milligan previously was a news apps developer and data journalist at the AP. TRANSITIONS — Precision has added Kristin Avery as an SVP on the campaign management and mobilization team and Julia Larson as VP and human resources director. Avery most recently was White House liaison at HHS, and is a DNC alum. Larson most recently founded Maple Grove HR Consulting. … Tom Wharton has launched Inlet Strategies, where he will be president. He previously was an SVP at Capitol Hill Consulting Group, and is a Joe Biden Senate, DSCC, Dan Boren and Joe Lieberman alum. … … Sara Aviel will be president and CEO of the Inter-American Foundation. She most recently was founder and principal of Margalit Strategies. … Grayson Westmoreland is now legislative director for Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.). He previously was defense policy adviser and senior professional staff member for the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. … Jessica Cahill is now director of media relations and comms for the Global Business Alliance. She previously was press liaison for the National Fraternal Order of Police. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a party for Tina Brown's new book, "The Palace Papers" ($35), at Michael's in Manhattan on Tuesday: David Haskell, Gayle King, Radhika Jones, Gay Talese, Jeff Toobin, Thomas Chatterton Williams, Shawn McCreesh, Nate Freeman, Michael Grynbaum, Katie Rosman, Katie Couric, Audrey Gelman, Jane Sarkin, Mike Barnicle, Bill Bratton, Ben Smith, Justin Smith, Sheila Nevins, Fareed Zakaria, Richard Haass, Arianna Huffington and Hendrik Hertzberg. The scene, according to one attendee: "packed and maskless." — SPOTTED at Tosca on Tuesday to celebrate the birthday of Tina Flournoy, the outgoing chief of staff to VP Kamala Harris: former President Bill Clinton, Jay Dunn, Peter O'Keefe, Kevin Varney, Tim Keating, Terry McAuliffe and Michael Whouley. — SPOTTED at a Latinas for Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) fundraiser at dLeña on Tuesday night: Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Catherine Pino, Ingrid Duran, Angela Arboleda, Anais Carmona, Mayra Macías, Carissa Faña, Lucia Alonzo and Amalia Chamorro. We're told it was "tequila-fueled." — SPOTTED on Tuesday night at a reception hosted by Albright Stonebridge Group to commemorate the life of Madeleine Albright ahead of her memorial service at the National Cathedral: Susan Rice, John Podesta, Carol Browner, Joschka Fischer, Par Nuder, Carla Hills, Roberta Jacobson, Terry McAuliffe, Michèle Flournoy, Ed Reilly, Anthony Harrington, Luca Bader, Patrick Steel, David Leavy and Don Gips. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Rina Shah, principal and founder of Rilax Strategies, and Niteesh Bharara, director of regenerative medicine at the Virginia Spine Institute, on Tuesday welcomed Avisha Parvati Bharara, who came in at 6 lbs, 13 oz. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) … Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) and Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) … White House's Christopher Garcia … West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice … The Intercept's James Risen … WaPo's Dana Milbank … Bruce Mehlman … POLITICO's Aubree Weaver … Erica Elliott Richardson … Michael Crittenden of Mercury Public Affairs … Will Marshall of the Progressive Policy Institute … Bloomberg's Mike Shepard … BP's Downey Magallanes … Sean Dugan of America's Health Insurance Plans … The Economist's Jon Fasman … Hannah Kim … Global Situation Room's Brett Bruen …DNC's Mansoor Abdul Khadir … Alexandra De Luca … Goldman Sachs' Lee Brenner … Norberto Salinas … David Hudson of the Motion Picture Association … EMILY's List's Christina Reynolds and Callie Fines … Dan Lindner … Connor Walsh of Build Digital … Bryan Denton … U.S. News & World Report's Lauren Camera … Alicia "Lisa" Shepard … Will Brown of the U.S. Travel Association … Doug Rediker … Mary-Kate Fisher … Dan Gerstein … House Oversight GOP's Austin Hacker … BGR's Dan Farmer … GZERO Media's Alexsandra Sanford … Meta's Shannon Mattingly Nathanson Did someone forward this email to you? 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