| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | On Monday, just hours after a federal judge struck down the nationwide public transportation mask mandate, major airlines (and even President JOE BIDEN's beloved Amtrak) began telling their passengers they could stop wearing the protective face coverings — sometimes while they had already boarded and taken their assigned seats. The surprise ruling seems to have caught the White House flat-footed on the question of whether or not to appeal the ruling.
- Officially: White House press secretary JEN PSAKI told reporters the administration was "reviewing the decision, and, of course, the Department of Justice would be making any determinations about any litigation."
- Unofficially: The White House is still figuring out what to do next, weighing two very big factors: credibility and politics.
Just last week, the Biden administration extended the mandate to May 3 — a move made "in the face of increasing opposition from the airline industry as well as Republicans and some Democrats in Congress," as our Alex Daughtery and Erin Banco report. "White House officials have repeatedly stressed that any further extension of the mask mandate would be made by the CDC," Alex and Erin write. And that suggests a few interesting options for the administration: If the administration doesn't appeal:
- As a matter of credibility, it risks hurting the institutional authority of the CDC, which they said would be central to the decision-making process. It also raises the question of why the administration just re-upped the mandate if this was really the policy it wanted.
- But politically, it takes a tough issue off the White House's plate. Democrats have already been moving away from mask mandates for months, saying it's time for folks to get back to normal. The move by the court makes that decision for them.
If the administration does appeal:
- As a matter of credibility, it reiterates the CDC's central role in setting health-related pandemic policies.
- But politically, the administration would risk political blowback on a hot political topic heading into the summer travel season. And it would give voters a clear target of who to blame for mask mandates despite prominent Democrats' efforts to distance themselves from the unpopular (if scientifically sound) policy.
JUST POSTED: FORECASTING 2022 — This morning, POLITICO came out with its first election forecasts of the 2022 cycle. Here's how it looks right now … The House: likely Republican. The Senate: leans Republican.
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| Steve Shepard and our campaigns team break it all down at The Election Forecast, POLITICO's just-launched hub to get you up to speed on 2022's marquee races across the country — the ones every political nerd will be talking about for the next 200 or so days. Click through to learn about the 21 races to keep an eye on Speaking of 2022 … NEW POLL — At this point, the outcome of the midterms is (surprise!) a crapshoot. In a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, voters are almost equally split between Democrats and Republicans on the generic congressional ballot: Forty-three percent of voters would go for the generic Dem, and 42% for the generic Republican. And another 16% of voters say they still haven't made up their minds. Toplines … Crosstabs
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| Good Tuesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels , Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from The American Beverage Association: At America's beverage companies, we are committed to reducing our plastic footprint. That's why we're carefully designing our plastic bottles to be 100% recyclable, including the caps. Our goal is for every bottle to become a new one, so they don't end up in our oceans, rivers and landfills. This Earth Week, visit EveryBottleBack.org and learn more about how our bottles are made to be remade. | | | WHO IS JANE DOE? — Josh Gerstein writes in: Rulings in Freedom of Information Act suits rarely capture much attention in Washington, but an intriguing decision released Monday allowing a woman to anonymously file such a case against the FBI is prompting curiosity about just who is the "JANE DOE" behind the suit. The order from U.S. District Court Chief Judge BERYL HOWELL said the case stems from an FBI investigation into allegations that the plaintiff's "then-husband … physically and verbally assaulted" her and their children while they were traveling on board a private plane "several years ago." The facts Howell outlined — including a statement from the FBI confirming an inquiry into the claims and another statement that the inquiry had been concluded without action — track closely with accusations Hollywood star ANGELINA JOLIE leveled at her then-husband BRAD PITT as she filed for divorce from him in 2016. The mystery plaintiff also has an unusually high-powered attorney for a FOIA case: Covington & Burling partner AMANDA KRAMER, the former human trafficking coordinator at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan. "I'm unable to comment on the identity of Jane Doe, who has sought to preserve the family's privacy," Kramer told POLITICO. "Our position is that victims and survivors should be able to access federal agency records of crimes they experienced or reported, as is common at the state level, so they can advocate for help and trauma care and legal protection for their children and themselves. Our client has been seeking such records for years and has been stonewalled and has had to resort to court action to receive those much-needed records. Legislative remedies are necessary." Jolie has been a frequent presence on Capitol Hill over the past year, lobbying as recently as February for reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Biden signed the extension measure in March, an event that Jolie attended. Kramer asked to put the whole FOIA lawsuit under seal, citing the potential impact on the privacy of her client's minor children. But Howell declined that request, saying that allowing the suit to be filed anonymously would be sufficient to protect the children's privacy. A lawyer representing Jolie in the divorce case did not respond to a message seeking comment. A spokesperson for Pitt declined to comment, but pointed POLITICO to the FBI's statement saying it was closing its inquiry without pursuing charges.
| | | | A message from The American Beverage Association:   Not all plastic is the same. At America's beverage companies, we're designing our bottles to be 100% recyclable – including the caps. And we're making investments in communities across the country to help improve recycling infrastructure so we can get #EveryBottleBack. | | | BIDEN'S TUESDAY: — 9 a.m.: The president will receive the President's Daily Brief. — 9:45 a.m.: Biden will hold a video call with allies to discuss the war in Ukraine. — 11:40 a.m.: Biden will depart the White House en route to Portsmouth, N.H., where he is scheduled to arrive at 1:25 p.m. — 1:55 p.m.: Biden will visit the New Hampshire Port Authority, where he will deliver remarks on infrastructure at 2:45 p.m. — 3:30 p.m.: The president will depart Portsmouth to return to the White House, where he is scheduled to arrive at 5:30 p.m. Psaki will gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Portsmouth. THE HOUSE and THE SENATE are out.
| | | | 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
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President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden watch a race during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn on Monday. | AP | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | THE ECONOMY A HEADLINE THE WHITE HOUSE WON'T LIKE — "Hot Economy, Rising Inflation: The Fed Has Never Successfully Fixed a Problem Like This," by WSJ's Jon Hilsenrath and Nick Timiraos: "Central bank says it is possible, but many factors are out of its control; 'they are strikingly behind'" JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH TRAIL OF TEXTS — A trove of text messages released Monday showed that "top members of the Oath Keepers now facing seditious conspiracy charges chatted for days about providing security for some of the highest-profile figures associated with DONALD TRUMP's effort to overturn the election," Kyle Cheney reports. "Oath Keepers founder STEWART RHODES and top allies like Florida Oath Keeper KELLY MEGGS discussed plans to provide security for figures like ROGER STONE, ALEX JONES, ALI ALEXANDER and MICHAEL FLYNN on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, describing potential partnerships with other groups and security details." The texts INSIDE THE CAPITOL POLICE — Some U.S. Capitol Police alumni are criticizing the department's intelligence-gathering activities as going so far as to raise possible First Amendment concerns, Betsy Woodruff Swan and Daniel Lippman report this morning. Among the allegations: "Capitol Police intelligence analysts were directed to scrutinize a religious leader who officiated a funeral that a member of Congress attended. Analysts were also directed to 'conduct research' on the relatives of members of Congress as part of their security work, according to his statement. And they didn't like it." A Capitol Police statement responded, "These old accusations continue to be misleading." COMMITTEE LATEST — KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE met with the Jan. 6 committee in person for several hours Monday, CNN's Ryan Nobles, Annie Grayer and Zachary Cohen report. — Retired Army Col. PHIL WALDRON sued Monday to try to block AT&T from giving his phone records to the committee, Kyle reports. He was one of the players who promulgated Trump's false election fraud claims. — And JOHN EASTMAN's claims of attorney-client privilege to try to shield his documents cover 37,000 pages of emails — every one of which the committee has contested, Kyle reports. The review is before a judge now. TRUMP CARDS WHERE 2020 NEVER ENDED — Some of the same lawyers behind Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election are still at it, focusing on a legally laughable effort to "decertify" the election results in swing states a year and a half later, NYT's Maggie Haberman, Alexandra Berzon and Michael Schmidt write in a step-back summation. The push from MIKE LINDELL, STEVE BANNON, BORIS EPSHTEYN, Eastman, Flynn and others has essentially no shot at succeeding, but it is "fueling a false narrative that has resonated with Mr. Trump's supporters and stoked their grievances, … keeping alive the same combustible stew of conspiracy theory and misinformation that threatens to undermine faith in democracy." "This is the clearest and most present danger to our democracy," conservative lawyer J. MICHAEL LUTTIG tells the Times. POLICY CORNER AD ASTRA — VP KAMALA HARRIS announced Monday that the U.S. is ending tests of anti-satellite weapons, as NBC's Ken Dilanian and Courtney Kube reported. The move is partially aimed at addressing the dangerous creation of space junk from a recent Russian test, but Republicans criticized the change as unilateral disarmament in a competition with Russia and China. The administration thinks the "tests undermine the long-term stability of space and imperil space exploration," they write. DEJOY OF WAITING — The U.S. Postal Service is elongating delivery times for some first-class packages by a day or two as it tries to cut costs and use ground transport more than air, per the WSJ. ALL POLITICS DEM HOPEFULS VS. BIDEN ON TITLE 42 — Six more Democratic Senate candidates have broken with the Biden administration on its lifting of the Title 42 border policy. Burgess Everett and Holly Otterbein report that Pennsylvania's JOHN FETTERMAN, North Carolina's CHERI BEASLEY, Wisconsin's SARAH GODLEWSKI, ALEX LASRY and MANDELA BARNES, and Florida Rep. VAL DEMINGS disagree with the administration's handling of the change or oppose it outright. Worth noting: DSCC Chair GARY PETERS (D-Mich.) signaled support for their skepticism, even as the criticism has angered liberals and immigrant advocates. — Useful context for the immigration debate: Migrants were stopped more than 221,000 times at the U.S.-Mexico border in March, making for more than a million in the past half-year as border crossings spike to "the highest level in two decades," AP's Ben Fox reports. (And it will likely yet go higher.) ON WISCONSIN — Despite representing a swing state, Sen. RON JOHNSON's (R-Wis.) hard break to the right has actually made him more difficult to defeat. The senator has become the face of conspiracy theories about Covid-19 and the 2020 election in the Senate, but Holly Otterbein reports that "GOP strategists and officials say his unfiltered remarks are generating enthusiasm among a party base conditioned by Donald Trump, and appealing to independents who loathe Washington." WHO'S BACKING MANCHIN? — Democratic Sen. JOE MANCHIN has previously said that he isn't keen to switch parties, but that isn't stopping an eager set of spenders from trying to flip him as the West Virginian courts deep-pocketed donors. "Wall Street veteran NELSON PELTZ hosted a $5,000 a plate fundraiser for Sen. Joe Manchin at the billionaire's sprawling Florida estate last month, where several top executives said they privately hoped the conservative Democrat would switch parties and run against President Joe Biden in the 2024 elections," CNBC's Brian Schwartz scoops. "Manchin told the crowd of donors that he plans to run for reelection in 2024, according to the attendee. Manchin has previously said that he'll make a decision about running for reelection after the 2022 midterm elections." Who else attended: "Blackstone CEO STEVE SCHWARZMAN, along with Home Depot co-founders KEN LANGONE and BERNARD MARCUS, who generally support Republicans, were among executives at the fundraiser."
| | | | A message from The American Beverage Association:   Our plastic bottles are made to be remade. Please help us get Every Bottle Back. EveryBottleBack.org | | | CONGRESS PROGRESSIVES' NEW TRUMPIAN COVID AID GAMBIT — With pandemic funding still tied up in complicated negotiations on the Hill, some progressives are urging the Biden White House to just declare a national emergency and take money from the Pentagon — like Trump did for his border wall, The Atlantic's Russell Berman reports. It was one of Trump's most controversial flouting of norms, but the Supreme Court declined to block him. Reps. BARBARA LEE (D-Calif.) and MARK POCAN (D-Wis.) are among those telling the administration to go bold. But don't hold your breath: "as a committed institutionalist, it would be supremely out of character for him to do so," Berman writes. HEADS UP — A fired staffer for Rep. MADISON CAWTHORN (R-N.C.) has filed an employment complaint against him, the Smoky Mountain News' Cory Vaillancourt reports . "She also said that Cawthorn had closed all of his district offices except for the Hendersonville office, and was using call forwarding to consolidate constituent service calls." A Cawthorn spokesman said the staffer's allegations were "verifiably false." BEYOND THE BELTWAY MUSIC TO MANCHIN'S EARS — New Mexico Democrats have adopted an all-of-the-above energy strategy that promotes renewables without dimming oil and gas — and they say it's an approach that could be successful for the party nationwide, Ben Lefebvre and Josh Siegel report. "New Mexican officials are urging the administration to avoid the sort of assertions that White House Climate Envoy JOHN KERRY made last year that oil workers can simply leave their jobs for new ones at solar power companies. And they recommend putting some distance between the party and activists calling for an immediate end to fossil fuel production." JUDICIARY SQUARE SALT IN THE WOUND — The state and local tax deduction cap in the 2017 tax reform will stay in place after the Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Connecticut on Monday. The tax change, which hurt wealthier homeowners concentrated in the states, has become a frequent political football and often divided Democrats in the years since it was enacted. Some of them vowed Monday to keep pushing for a reversal in Congress. But SCOTUS allowed an appeals court ruling rejecting the states' arguments to stand. More from Bloomberg THOMAS RETURNS — Justice CLARENCE THOMAS was back on the bench Monday after being hospitalized last month, per the N.Y. Daily News. VALLEY TALK RACIAL RECKONING? — Former A.G. LORETTA LYNCH will lead an independent audit of racial equity at Amazon, an increasingly common analysis in corporate America. More from Time WAR IN UKRAINE AND SO IT BEGINS — The massive Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine took off Monday with attacks that "stretched along nearly the entire front line, from the northern Kharkiv region south to the besieged port of Mariupol," per NYT's Jane Arraf, Ivan Nechepurenko and Mark Landler. — But, but, but: Some analysts said moves are just preludes "to a much larger assault," NYT's Michael Schwirtz, Ivan Nechepurenko, Eric Schmitt and Thomas Gibbons-Neff add. ZELENSKYY PUSHES BACK — Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY says his troops can quickly get trained to use advanced weaponry from the West, dismissing concerns that they're not ready for such donations in his interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. "We are prepared to use any type of equipment, but it needs to be delivered very quickly. And we have the ability to learn how to use new equipment. But it needs to come fast." — And the U.S. said it will start training Ukrainians on the howitzer artillery systems in the coming days. More from The Hill — Ukraine will ask the U.S. and Western allies for $50 billion to plug its budget shortfalls from the war, Kate Davidson reports .
| | | | INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Kyrsten Sinema completed the Boston Marathon. Jack Dorsey snarkily responded to Brian Stelter's tweet about Tucker Carlson. Wrote Stelter, quoting Philip Bump's article on the Fox host: "He's selling doubt…" Wrote Dorsey: "and you all are selling hope?" Added Bump: "In this context, that is not the alternative." Jen Psaki sat down with Jessica Yellin in the latest episode of her "News Not Noise" podcast out this morning to discuss life in the West Wing, the topics du jour and, of course, everyone's favorite Psaki topic: her working relationship with Fox News' Peter Doocy. Listen to the full podcast here Malcolm Nance revealed that he's deployed with the international legion in Ukraine. J.D. Vance will campaign this week with Donald Trump Jr. Chris Licht said he will get off Twitter as he joins CNN. CNN's Samira Jafari saved the life of her colleague Richard Roth, the network's only remaining original employee, with a kidney transplant. Bethesda Bagels' Dupont Circle location is officially closing. IN MEMORIAM — Earl Devaney has died, per a note from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency: "Devaney was confirmed as the Department of the Interior Inspector General in 1999, where he oversaw some of the most significant and high-profile matters in that office's history. In 2009, President Obama and then-Vice President Biden personally asked him to lead the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, which was established to oversee the spending of the $787 billion appropriated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." Devaney also helped investigate the Jack Abramoff scandal. MEDIA MOVE — Christopher Miller is joining POLITICO to cover the war in Ukraine. He previously was a reporter for BuzzFeed, where he has been covering the war. He will continue to report on the ground in Ukraine. The newsroom memo FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Matt Raymer is moving up to be chief counsel for the RNC. He most recently was a senior legal adviser, and is an RSLC and NRSC alum. He is replacing Justin Riemer, who is stepping down to open his own law firm, Riemer Law LLC, which "will focus on supporting the Republican Party's election integrity legal efforts." He will also serve as outside counsel to the RNC. WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Kevin Johnstun has been detailed to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as a research analyst, where he will be on the team supporting the president's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He most recently was a program specialist at the Department of Education. TRANSITIONS — Sophie Delquié is now a senior digital strategist for the Senate Republican Conference. She previously was creative director for the House GOP Conference. … Blake Kernen will be deputy press secretary for Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.). She is graduating from University of Pennsylvania and is a David Perdue alum. … … Ernie Jolly is now SVP for government relations at Truist Financial. He most recently was chief of staff for Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.). … Michael Zhadanovsky is now comms director for Rob Menendez's New Jersey congressional campaign. He most recently was deputy press secretary for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Alleigh Marré of Free to Learn ... NBC's Sheinelle Jones ... Mark Rusthoven ... CNN's Emily Kuhn … POLITICO's Kareem Payne … Bloomberg's Felix Gillette ... Sarah Flaim ... Jonathan Battaglia ... Ally Schmeiser … Peter Tarnoff … MPA's Kathy Grant … Louie Agnello, celebrating with his wife, Khrissy, and the recently born Harper … Katie Delzell of Beacon Consulting … Woolf Strategy's Courtney Sieloff … Caitlin Hayden of BAE Systems … Tory Brown … Stateline's Sophie Quinton … Ron Kaufman of Dentons … Laura Lee Burkett … Vic Beck of Northrop Grumman … Claire Murray … Anya van Wagtendonk … AARP's Mary Liz Burns … Orde Kittrie … Prime Transatlantic's John P. Schmitz … Ron Pearson … Ryan Nabil Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Bethany Irvine, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross.
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