| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | JUST POSTED — S.F. Chronicle's Tal Kopan and Joe Garofoli have a new piece about one of the most sensitive issues in politics, something often whispered about in Washington but rarely discussed in the open: the ability of DIANNE FEINSTEIN to continue to serve as California's senior senator. Here's the lede: "When a California Democrat in Congress recently engaged in an extended conversation with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, they prepared for a rigorous policy discussion like those they'd had with her many times over the last 15 years. Instead, the lawmaker said, they had to reintroduce themselves to Feinstein multiple times during an interaction that lasted several hours. "Rather than delve into policy, Feinstein, 88, repeated the same small-talk questions, like asking the lawmaker what mattered to voters in their district, they said, with no apparent recognition the two had already had a similar conversation. "The episode was so unnerving that the lawmaker — who spoke to The Chronicle on condition they not be identified because of the sensitivity of the topic — began raising concerns with colleagues to see if some kind of intervention to persuade Feinstein to retire was possible. Feinstein's term runs through the end of 2024. The conversation occurred several weeks before the death of her husband in February. "'I have worked with her for a long time and long enough to know what she was like just a few years ago: always in command, always in charge, on top of the details, basically couldn't resist a conversation where she was driving some bill or some idea. All of that is gone,' the lawmaker said. 'She was an intellectual and political force not that long ago, and that's why my encounter with her was so jarring. Because there was just no trace of that.' "Four U.S. senators, including three Democrats, as well as three former Feinstein staffers and the California Democratic member of Congress told The Chronicle in recent interviews that her memory is rapidly deteriorating. They said it appears she can no longer fulfill her job duties without her staff doing much of the work required to represent the nearly 40 million people of California."
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Learn about our efforts | | | PLAYBOOK ON THE ROAD: NEVADA — In the coming weeks and months, we'll be out covering the key districts and states that will decide the outcome of the midterm elections. This week, Ryan was in Nevada to interview JOHN ANZALONE, who is best known as President JOE BIDEN's pollster, but who is also a top adviser to Gov. STEVE SISOLAK, who is up for reelection this year. (We'll have the full interview with Anzalone on Friday for this week's "Playbook Deep Dive" podcast.) Nevada has one of 2022's most under-covered Senate races. The incumbent, CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, keeps a low profile in Washington and back home, but she's raised a record amount of money and is spending big on TV ads. Nevada has a famously transient population, so she's started with a biographical spot to introduce herself to the hundreds of thousands of potential new voters who weren't around when she was first elected in 2016. Her other messaging is straight from the Dems' generic 2020 strategy for vulnerable senators: reminding voters of all that Covid relief money that kept businesses afloat. Cortez Masto hasn't done much in-person campaigning yet, but that will likely change once the GOP primary is settled. ADAM LAXALT, who lost to Sisolak in the 2018 gubernatorial race, is the consensus pick. He's been endorsed by both DONALD TRUMP, who loves the fact that Laxalt led the effort to overturn Nevada's 2020 presidential election results, and Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL. But Laxalt is facing a surprisingly stiff challenge from SAM BROWN, a West Point grad and Army veteran who was severely injured in Afghanistan in 2008. The political environment for Cortez Masto is brutal. Consider the latest poll, released this week from Suffolk University and the Reno Gazette Journal:
- Biden's approval rating in the state was 35%.
- Cortez Masto would lose to either GOP nominee: 43-40 against the well-known Laxalt, and 40-39 against the relatively unknown Brown.
- 72% of Nevada voters said the economy was just fair or poor.
- Inflation is the top issue for voters — 40% of whom said they are worse off compared to four years ago.
As is often the case in Nevada, political intrigue abounds. Both state parties have been torn apart by byzantine factional fights. The Democratic crack-up pitted loyalists to the late Nevada Sen. HARRY REID against loyalists of Vermont Sen. BERNIE SANDERS, as Holly Otterbein documented. The Republican civil war came "after a pro-Donald Trump insurgency with ties to far-right activists threw the party into chaos," as David Siders reported. But the big story undergirding the Democrats' sinking fortunes is about demographics. It was best framed in a post last week by RUY TEIXEIRA: "What do you get when you combine the Democrats' Hispanic voter problem with the Democrats' working-class voter problem? Something like the Democrats' Nevada problem." Teixeira is the co-author of "The Emerging Democratic Majority," a 2002 book that argued his party would be the long-term beneficiary of America's growing racial and ethnic diversity. The theory rested on the party retaining most of its white working-class base and continuing to run up massive margins in the non-white electorate, especially among Hispanic voters. After the 2008 and 2012 elections, that alliance became known as the "Obama coalition." Nevada should be the poster child for this trend. It's now majority non-white. Dems control the governorship, both Senate seats and three out of four House seats, and they've won the state in four straight presidential elections. But as Teixiera notes, Democrats have actually been losing ground in the state: "Nevada went from three-tenths of percentage more Democratic than the nation as a whole in 2016 to 2 points more Republican in 2020." Nevada Democrats' margin among Hispanics dropped by 8 points between those two elections, and the decline "was driven almost entirely by working-class Hispanics." In other words: Democrats' Hispanic voter problem is their working-class voter problem. JESUS MARQUEZ has watched this change up close. The Las Vegas-based consultant and radio host was a member of the national Latinos for Trump board in 2016, when the idea of such a group was treated as a joke by many political pundits. He now advises the Laxalt campaign. And nobody is laughing at his Latinos for Laxalt events. "We had close to a hundred Latinos at the last one," he told me. "These were all new faces. They were on fire." A March survey from the Democratic firm Blueprint Polling showed that Laxalt and Cortez Masto were tied among Nevada's Hispanic voters. Marquez also hosts a local radio show, just one node in a growing network of pro-Trump media catering to Latinos. When we talked Wednesday night, Marquez had just come off air, where he was discussing a new Trump interview on SiriusXM's Americano Media, which bills itself as the "1st ever nationwide conservative Spanish language network." In that appearance, Trump didn't sand down his views on the border. "Our country is being poisoned," he said. "Our country is under siege. We call it an invasion. We're being invaded just like a foreign army would invade us." The host, MARÍA HERRERA MELLADO, ended her chat by thanking Trump for his July 4, 2020 speech. "The American way of life started with CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, along came Spanish explorers, and the Spanish Monarchy financed it," she said. "We're proud of our history, and we love this country." Marquez insisted that inflation was the key issue for conservative Latinos. But when I pressed him, he made it clear that the same kinds of issues that have pushed working-class whites into the MAGA-fied GOP are also driving Latinos. "This has become a cultural war," he said. "Democrats are so separated from reality that they don't worry about things like the economy and instead pander to different groups based on identity. The Democrats wanted to call Latinos Latinx! They wanted to change the word we use to describe ourselves! Those policies are so 'woke' that they aren't relatable to a lot of working-class Latinos."
| | | |   | | | Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels , Ryan Lizza. BIDEN'S THURSDAY: — 10 a.m.: The president will receive the President's Daily Brief. — 10:40 a.m.: Biden will leave the White House for North Carolina, arriving in Greensboro at 12:20 p.m. — 1:05 p.m.: Biden will visit the Harold L. Martin Sr. Engineering Research & Innovation Complex at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, meeting with faculty and students studying robotics and cybersecurity. He'll deliver remarks about the supply chain, infrastructure and "economic renewal" at 2:15 p.m. — 3:30 p.m.: Biden will leave North Carolina, arriving at Camp David at 5:10 p.m. VP KAMALA HARRIS' THURSDAY — The VP and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will speak at the virtual White House Passover celebration at 6:10 p.m. Principal deputy press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will gaggle on Air Force One on the way to North Carolina. THE SENATE and THE HOUSE 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
|  Suspect Frank James is led by police officers in New York City, on Wednesday, April 13, after being arrested for his connection to the mass shooting at the 36th St. subway station in Brooklyn. | Getty Images | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | ALL POLITICS IOWA'S DAYS ARE (LIKELY) NUMBERED — The DNC officially opened its nominating calendar Tuesday to a massive shakeup of the states' presidential primary order, in a move that would "effectively strip [Iowa Dems] of their coveted first-in-the-nation status" and force them to apply to keep it, the Des Moines Register's Brianne Pfannenstiel reports. — What it means: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina will all lose their early-voting waivers and now have the same opportunity as any other state to obtain them. As many as five states could wind up in the window. — What that application process will look like, via Elena Schneider : "The DNC will require states looking to move up in the calendar to submit a letter of intent by May 6, then a formal application due on June 3. They will also make a presentation to the committee in late June. Then, the rules committee will have six weeks to make its recommendation on the new early-state lineup, which will likely be announced at their meeting in early July. Later this summer, the rules committee's roster of states will go to the full DNC membership for a vote to lock in the calendar for the 2024 presidential cycle." RONNA REDUX — RNC Chair RONNA MCDANIEL is reversing course and planning to seek another term atop the GOP if the party is successful in November, with support from Trump, Alex Isenstadt reports. McDaniel has met with Trump about running for a fourth term next year, though she'd previously said this would be her last. If she does serve two more years, she'd be the longest-tenured RNC chair ever. If she doesn't run, Trump ally DAVID BOSSIE is eyeing the post. INSIDE TRUMPWORLD — Trump and close allies are moving swiftly to contain the blast radius of the backlash sparked by his endorsement of physician MEHMET OZ in the Pennsylvania Senate race, Meridith McGraw and Holly Otterbein report. "People familiar with the campaign's operation said they expect a number of prominent Trumpworld surrogates to soon hit the trail with Oz, demonstrating the depth of his MAGA backing. Among them are BEN CARSON, who headed the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Trump, and JOHN FREDERICKS , a conservative talk radio host, both slated to appear at an Oz event next week." POLL OF THE DAY — The New Republic is out this morning with new polling showing that large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans are worried about the near-term future of American democracy. Four results that jumped out at us:(1) 57% of Republicans say they view Jan. 6 more as an act of patriotism than as an insurrection; (2) 61% of Democrats say "improving border security and restricting illegal immigration" would strengthen democracy; (3) three-fifths of Republicans think mask and vaccine mandates are a serious threat to democracy; and (4) majorities of both parties view "new election laws giving state legislatures more power to determine the winner of the presidential election in their state" as a serious threat to democracy. REDISTRICTING ROUNDUP — Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS unveiled a new congressional map for the state Wednesday, creating four additional Republican-leaning seats, while eliminating "at least two districts now held by Black Democrats in North and Central Florida," reports the Tampa Bay Times' Mary Ellen Klas. TOP-ED — John Harris' Altitude column this morning reflects on Helena Bottemiller Evich's recent blockbuster FDA investigation as a story not just about bureaucracy but about democracy, and the "reality is that even in this country, the muscles of accountability, as exercised by elected representatives and news media, are more atrophied than most people probably realize." THE WHITE HOUSE KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON — The new White House strategy message about Covid is to take a breath. But still, officials view the next few weeks as critical. "Despite increasing Covid caseloads in 31 states, the administration believes there's little evidence that the uptick, driven by the more contagious BA.2 subvariant, will reach the heights of the Omicron and Delta waves that preceded it," Adam Cancryn reports . "More encouragingly, Covid hospitalizations have remained largely flat — a sign that vaccines and treatments are ensuring far fewer people suffer serious symptoms, and a boon to the theory that the U.S. can more safely live with the virus." HARRIS PREVIEWS MIDTERMS ARGUMENT — On Wednesday night, Harris attended her first in-person fundraising event as VP — an intimate gathering on behalf of the DNC at the Forest Hills home of CLAIRE LUCAS, the committee's deputy national finance chair. In front of a crowd of 86 Democratic donors, Harris spoke for about 20 minutes, tying together the administration's recent actions on climate change, workers' rights, infrastructure and the Supreme Court confirmation of KETANJI BROWN JACKSON. But some of her most interesting comments came near the end, as she shifted tones and held something of a strategy session, nodding at the ways the pandemic has changed voters' moods and expectations. "We need to, as Democrats, remind people … what's at stake and why elections matter and what we stand for," Harris said. "And we're going to have to be able to talk with them, understanding where people are right now. … We are dealing with folks who have been through a whole lot in these last couple of years and want — and need, I believe — [for us to] see them for where they are." — Fun nugget from the event: Harris says that lately, when she can't sleep, she's been playing Wordle. (Vice presidents, they're just like us.) CONGRESS ON THE DOCKET — The Senate delivered Donald Trump a bipartisan criminal justice reform deal shortly after the last midterm election. Staging a sequel for Biden this year won't be so easy. "DICK DURBIN and CHUCK GRASSLEY, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, are still in talks over finalizing a package that would serve as a more narrow follow-up to the 2018 prison and sentencing reform bill known as the First Step Act. But both senior senators acknowledge it's not a glide path forward, particularly given the GOP messaging on rising crime ahead of the 2022 midterms — a focus that was on full display during Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court hearings last month," Marianne LeVine reports. CUELLAR BREATHES EASIER — The DOJ has told Rep. HENRY CUELLAR (D-Texas) that he's not a target of the investigation that raided his home and office in January, his lawyer told Fox News' Paul Best and Andrew Murray. Cuellar's primary runoff election against JESSICA CISNEROS is next month. The FBI and DOJ declined to comment.
| | | |   | | | WAR IN UKRAINE IT'S OFFICIAL — The Biden administration announced a new $800 million package of military aid to Ukraine, including Howitzer cannons and artillery, and training to use them, per Time's W.J. Hennigan. — Alex Ward and Quint Forgey report that 11 Mi-17 helicopters were left out of the package until Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY requested them in a phone call with Biden. COMING ATTRACTIONS — The Biden administration is considering sending a top official to Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy, Jonathan Lemire and Alex Ward scoop. Who could it be? Most likely a Cabinet member (Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN or Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN, e.g.). There's a chance it could be Biden or Harris themselves. There's also a chance that the unstable nature of the war could scuttle the trip altogether. TIT FOR TAT — Russia sanctioned 398 members of the U.S. House of Representatives in response to U.S. sanctions on Russian lawmakers. More from The Hill BIDENOLOGY — WaPo's Tyler Pager looks at how Biden's off-the-cuff remarks about the war have frequently gotten ahead of official U.S. policy — including his comments this week labeling Russia's actions a "genocide," which surprised White House officials. Related reads:"Biden Gets Ahead of U.S. Policy Again With 'Genocide' Remark," by Bloomberg's Justin Sink … "When Biden 'speaking from his heart' doesn't speak for U.S.," by AP's Calvin Woodward and Zeke Miller JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH TRIAL WATCH — Jan. 6 defendant DUSTIN THOMPSON became the first person to deploy a "Trump made me do it" defense in front of a jury Wednesday, NYT's Alan Feuer reports. "In an hour on the witness stand, Mr. Thompson blamed Mr. Trump for what eventually occurred, saying that he had been answering the president's call to go to the Capitol and 'fight like hell' when he joined the throng swarming into the building and made off with a bottle of bourbon and a coat rack. 'If the president's giving you almost an order to do something,' he said, 'I felt obligated to do that.'" TRUMP CARDS THE MCCONNELL ANGLE — In 2020, Trump told McConnell that Pennsylvania and Michigan officials could reverse his loss in the election, CNN's Manu Raju writes in new details from JONATHAN MARTIN and ALEXANDER BURNS' new book, "This Will Not Pass" ($29.99). McConnell privately scoffed at Trump's efforts to steal the election, dismissing SIDNEY POWELL and LIN WOOD as "clowns." But he refused to draw public attention to Trump's schemes out of fear that it would damage the GOP's prospects in the Georgia Senate runoffs: "McConnell maintained a strategic silence over Trump's lies in an attempt to prevent him from sabotaging the GOP's chances." HOT ON THE RIGHT — A federal judge on Wednesday rejected former Clinton campaign lawyer MICHAEL SUSSMANN's motion to dismiss the case special counsel JOHN DURHAM brought against him for allegedly lying to the FBI in its Russia investigation, per Insider. The trial will take place next month. POLICY CORNER LAFAYETTE SQUARE FALLOUT — The Park Police and Secret Service reached a settlement of lawsuits over the infamous Lafayette Square protest response in June 2020, agreeing to several protocol changes. Among the new policies, per USA Today's Bart Jansen , are "requirements for Park Police officers to wear visible identification, limit the use of nonlethal force and set new procedures for dispersing crowds." The Secret Service will also change some of its policies regarding responses to demonstrations. BEYOND THE BELTWAY AT THE BORDER — Texas Gov. GREG ABBOTT announced a partial cross-border deal to pull back on some of his newly ordered inspections to try to ease the traffic-protest crisis they've generated at the border. "Abbott previously said the goal of the new inspection program is to seize narcotics and stop undocumented migrants from crossing into Texas," The Texas Tribune's Uriel García and Mitchell Ferman report . "But neither Abbott nor the Texas DPS could point to any drug seizures or encounters with undocumented migrants when asked Wednesday about the success of the initiative." MUCK READ — A top lawyer for California's state government resigned Wednesday, accusing Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM of improper interference in a sexual misconduct/discrimination lawsuit against video game maker Activision Blizzard, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reports. "The Office of the Governor repeatedly demanded advance notice of litigation strategy and of next steps in the litigation," MELANIE PROCTOR wrote in an email to staff. "As we continued to win in state court, this interference increased, mimicking the interests of Activision's counsel." Newsom's office denied any wrongdoing.
| | | | 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 | | Doug Emhoff made matzo. Pete and Chasten Buttigieg are going to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games. The Peabody Awards announced their annual awards nominees. The pieces of impressive journalism recognized are too numerous for us to include here, but check out the full list. SPOTTED at an iftar dinner hosted by Qatari Ambassador Sheikh Meshal Bin Hamad Al-Thani and Eva Al-Thani at their McLean residence Wednesday night: Zalmay Khalilzad and Cheryl Benard, Steve Clemons, Jon Alterman, Simon Henderson, Joe Francescon, John McCarthy, Suhail Khan, Scott Taylor and Lincoln Bloomfield Jr. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Zalmay Khalilzad, the former special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, is writing a book about his time in the Trump and Biden administrations, where he led talks with the Taliban that resulted in the Trump administration agreeing to leave the country, Daniel Lippman has learned. The book will take about a year to complete, and will be Khalilzad's second – he is also the author of the 2016 memoir "The Envoy: From Kabul to the White House, My Journey Through a Turbulent World." TRANSITION — Reid Dagul will be director of government affairs at the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association. He previously was senior legislative assistant for Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.). … Ruby Robles has been promoted to be Press Secretary for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). She most recently was Warren's Deputy Press Secretary and is a Warren for President campaign alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) … acting White House science adviser Francis Collins … Laura Keehner Rigas … NBC's Garrett Haake … Joe Rospars of Blue State Digital … Boeing's Betsy Stewart … Sasha Issenberg … WaPo's Matt Zapotosky … Mike Duncan … Amy Brundage of SKDKnickerbocker … USTR's Adam Hodge … Ellie Hockenbury … CNN's Adam Levine … Keith Appell … Steve Glickman of Develop LLC … Ashok Pinto … Roberta Jacobson … Lumen's Brad Schweer … Stephen Groves … NAM's Erin Streeter … David Medina … Signal Group's Blake Androff (4-0) … Lina Francis … NYT's Eileen Sullivan … Jeff Schogol … Neil Sroka … Nick Merrill … Shari Redstone 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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