| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | NEW THIS MORNING — First lady JILL BIDEN made an unannounced trip to war-torn Ukraine earlier today. "Inside Ukraine, she met with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, who has not previously appeared in public since the Feb. 24 Russian invasion of her country," WaPo's Tyler Pager reports from Uzhhorod, Ukraine. "'I wanted to come on Mother's Day,' Biden said before the start of a closed-door meeting between the two first ladies. 'I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.'" ABORTION FALLOUT — A handful of stories up today provide a good picture of the state of play on the abortion debate — how we got here and where things may be headed next: — The lead-up: WaPo's Michael Scherer, Josh Dawsey, Caroline Kitchener and Rachel Roubein write in a big retrospective piece about the journey for the anti-abortion rights movement since the initial landmark Roe ruling. "[T]he sudden turnabout is nearly as shocking [to them] as [DONALD] TRUMP's election was for [MITCH] MCCONNELL . Interviews with more than two dozen movement leaders, Republican officials and operatives describe a half-century journey that began to settle only over the last decade, as the politics of abortion finally polarized itself as a partisan issue and emerged as a top-tier Republican priority." "With almost no change in national public opinion over the past five decades, and as a majority of Americans remain opposed to overturning Roe, the movement succeeded by mobilizing a determined minority of Americans and adopting the protest tactics and sometimes the language of the left. They transformed religious interpretations of prenatal life, embraced medical advancements that gave new understanding of the fetus and helped to build an academic legal movement in the Ivy League universities that railed against the evolution of American jurisprudence. Most importantly, they nurtured a generation of political and legal leaders who saw in the setbacks of the 1970s to 1990s a defining cause." — What's next: "The sprawling anti-abortion grass-roots campaign is rapidly approaching an entirely new era," NYT's Elizabeth Dias and Ruth Graham write, "For many activists, overturning Roe would mark what they see as not the end, but a new beginning to limit abortion access even further. It also would present a test, as those who have long backed incremental change could clash with those who increasingly push to end legal abortion altogether." "'If a dog catches a car, it doesn't know what to do,' said CAROL TOBIAS, president of the National Right to Life Committee. 'We do.'" — How it's playing politically: In top Senate battlegrounds, Democrats are "buying up television time and sounding off at every opportunity about Republican plans to curtail abortion rights," Natalie Allison and Holly Otterbein report. "Many Republicans, though, are shrugging. Among those in the most competitive contests, reaction to the news that the Supreme Court was poised to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision has been muted, marked by statements in support of overturning Roe and great caution to avoid placing abortion at the center of their campaigns." — A big bump: Ben Leonard reports that telemedicine abortion providers are seeing a significant spike in people requesting abortion pills or seeking information on consultations for the drugs. — AP's Calvin Woodward and Hannah Fingerhut ask, "Is there a new American motto: In nothing we trust?" as the high court joins a growing list of large institutions that the American public lacks confidence in. — AP also rounds up the Saturday rallies by abortion rights protesters in cities around the U.S. Good Sunday morning, and Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms out there! As the team's resident Kentucky-raised product, I've gotta give a shoutout to Rich Strike, the historic longshot Kentucky Derby winner! What a run. If you picked that upset, send me tomorrow's lottery numbers. Thanks for reading Playbook. Get in touch with the rest of the team: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Amazon: Lack of access to paid leave means 25% of new moms in the U.S. are back to work within 10 days. Amazon's paid leave policy provides up to 20 weeks for new parents like Victoria to bond with their families. | | | SUNDAY BEST … — Sen. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-Minn.) on what Democrats will do if the Senate vote to codify Roe fails this week, on ABC's "This Week": "We march straight to the ballot box and the women of this country and the men who stand with them will vote like they've never voted before. Because this is 50 years of rights in a leaked opinion where Justice [SAMUEL] ALITO is literally not just taking us back to the 1950s, he's taking us back to the 1850s." — Michigan A.G. DANA NESSEL on Republicans' support for banning abortion, on NBC's "Meet the Press": "The radical and extremist position of the Republicans in our state and all around the country completely contradicts what the public wants. And it really does place the lives of women in jeopardy. Let's be clear: Women in my state and in states all over America are going to die because of this position." — Mississippi GOP Gov. TATE REEVES on whether contraception and birth control will be banned in his state, on "Meet the Press": "I don't think that it is going to apply to those that choose to use birth control. I believe that clearly a life begins at conception, and I am trying very hard to make sure that everyone in America knows that the overturning of Roe certainly puts the decision-making on abortion policy back in the elected representatives in each of the 50 states." — U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD on where the U.S.' red line is on sharing intel with Ukraine, on "State of the Union": "The line is where the Russians started. The Russian government invaded Ukraine. They started this war. They are attacking the Ukrainian people. And we have been consistent since the start that we will support Ukraine, we will provide them with the wherewithal to fight this war. And they are on the ground, and they are pushing back the Russians. So, we will continue to provide the kinds of support that they need."
| | | | A message from Amazon: Amazon's parental leave policy helps employees navigate the challenges of parenthood and offers options to ease back to work on their own terms. | | | BIDEN'S SUNDAY — The president is in Wilmington, Del., and is taking part in a virtual G-7 leaders' meeting, which Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY is joining. VP KAMALA HARRIS' SUNDAY — The VP has nothing on her public schedule.
| | | | 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. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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First lady Jill Biden greets Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska outside of a school in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, on Sunday, May 8. | Susan Walsh, Pool/ AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 8 THINGS YOU SHOULD BE READING TODAY … 1. LATEST IN UKRAINE: "Dozens of Ukrainians were feared dead Sunday after a Russian bomb flattened a school sheltering about 90 people in its basement, while Ukrainian troops refused to surrender at a besieged steel plant that Moscow's invading forces sped to seize before Russia's Victory Day holiday," AP's Elena Becatoros and Jon Gambrell report. — Sanctions talk: "Seizing an Oligarch's Assets Is One Thing. Giving Them to Ukraine Is Another," by NYT's Matthew Goldstein: "It could take years for Russian assets seized by the United States to be permanently confiscated and sold to benefit the Ukrainian people. The Biden administration wants to speed up the process." 2. TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Biden came into office hoping to chart a third way on trade — away from the economic nationalism of DONALD TRUMP and the free-wheeling globalization that preceded him. But by the start of 2022, that agenda was on life support, our colleague Gavin Bade writes in a deep dive on Biden's approach to trade policy. 3. DIGITAL DIVIDE: Biden wants to dramatically expand access to high-speed internet across the country through last year's infrastructure legislation.The problem: "The people who need it most are the hardest to reach because they aren't online," WSJ's Joshua Jamerson writes from Homer, La. "FCC officials acknowledged there has been limited outreach for both the temporary subsidy and the new one, citing 'unique circumstances' of the Covid-19 pandemic." Biden and VP KAMALA HARRIS will be speaking about the issue on Monday. 4. 2024 WATCH: The Ohio Senate primary last week provided some strong early clues about the potential contours of the 2024 GOP presidential primary, David Siders writes. The takeaway: Establishment Republicans again look screwed.
| | | | A message from Amazon:   Amazon's paid leave policy gives employees like Victoria up to 20 weeks to bond with their families. | | | 5. KFILE STRIKES AGAIN: An Ohio GOP congressional candidate who won a primary on Tuesday has some alarming ties, CNN's Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck report. "J.R. MAJEWSKI , the Air Force veteran who won the GOP primary for Ohio's new 9th Congressional District, was a January 6 rally participant and has repeatedly shared pro-QAnon material -- including a video showing him painting his lawn to say Trump 2020 with 'Q' replacing the zeros. … CNN's KFile reviewed since-deleted and public tweets that show Majewski with a group of people who attended the January 6, 2021, 'Stop the Steal' rally throughout the day in various places outside the Capitol -- including a video in which a member of the group leads them in repeating the slogan of QAnon. The camera moves past Majewski in the crowd just before the slogan is repeated, so he is not visible as other members in the group are seen saying the slogan. Majewski has denied being a QAnon follower." 6. CHINA CHALLENGE: Climate officials in the White House are "exasperated" by the effects a Commerce Department investigation into alleged tariff-dodging by China are having on the U.S. solar industry and trying to figure out what to do, WaPo's Evan Halper and Jeff Stein report . "The impact of the probe puts the administration in a bind as it tries to balance Biden's ambitious climate agenda with his pledge to restore the integrity of federal agencies and his promises to stand up for American manufacturing." 8. ED KOCH'S SAD SECRET: NYT's Matt Flegenheimer and Rosa Goldensohn have a moving story about the late former NYC Mayor ED KOCH, who labored throughout his career to remain closeted. "The New York Times has assembled a portrait of the life Mr. Koch lived, the secrets he carried and the city he helped shape as he carried them. While both friends and antagonists over the years have referenced his sexuality in stray remarks and published commentaries, this account draws on more than a dozen interviews with people who knew Mr. Koch and are in several cases speaking extensively on the record for the first time — filling out a chapter that they say belongs, at last, to the sweep of history. "It is a story that might otherwise fade, with many of Mr. Koch's contemporaries now in the twilight of their lives. The people who described Mr. Koch's trials as a closeted gay man span the last 40 years of his life, covering disparate social circles and political allegiances. Most are gay men themselves, in whom Mr. Koch placed his trust while keeping some others closest to him in the dark. They include associates who had kept his confidence since the 1970s and late-in-life intimates whom he asked for dating help, a friend who assisted in furtive setups for Mr. Koch when he was mayor and a fleeting romantic companion from well after his time in office."
| | | | DON'T MISS 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 | | Pete Buttigieg and his mother took in the Kentucky Derby. SPOTTED: Henry Kissinger talking to Tina Brown in the speaker green room at the FTWeekend Festival at the Kennedy Center on Saturday afternoon. Pic SPOTTED at a viewing party for the debut of Symone Sanders' new MSNBC show "Symone" on Saturday afternoon at The Park at 14th: Shawn Townsend, Vince Evans, Tammy Haddad, John McCarthy, Vinoda Basnayake, John Falcicchio, Crystal Carson, Sinceré Harris, Spencer Thibodeau, Opal Vadhan, Tyler Smith, Kirsten Allen, Erica Loewe, Rykia Dorsey Craig and Dennis Craig, Alivia Roberts and Faith McKie. Pic SPOTTED at Mike and Shannon Dubke's annual Kentucky Derby party on Saturday night at their house in Alexandria, which featured a band playing in their outside tent: Reince and Sally Priebus, Sean Spicer, Stuart Roy, Raj Shah, Ory Rinat, Marc Lotter, Tom Bossert , Jessica Ditto Michael, Natalie Short, Mike and Jill Sommers, George and Adriana Sifakis, Sean Cairncross, Charlie and Lisa Spies, Sam Dubke and Anna Pusey. TRANSITIONS — Cheryl Cotterell is now senior director of government relations for aerospace at Honeywell. She most recently was director of legislative affairs at BAE Systems. … Courtney Klein is now an executive assistant at Raytheon Technologies. She most recently was scheduler for Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). … Lauren Henson is joining ACM Strategies as director of client services. She previously was a senior associate at New Heights Communications and is a DSCC alum. WEEKEND WEDDINGS —Emma Levin, a Democratic political consultant, and Eli Simon-Mishel, a director for corporate development and M&A at Environmental Resources Management, got married on Saturday night at the Bowery Hotel in New York City, where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). delivered a toast to the couple. The two met at a houseparty and had their first date at Wonderland Ballroom. Pic … SPOTTED: Amy Soenksen, Adam Blackwell, Teresa Skala, Taylor Booth, Corey Miller, Amanda Bailey and Alex Smith. — Jay Newton-Small, founder of Memory Well and a contributor to Time magazine, and James Bailey , of the U.S. National Forest Service, got married in New Mexico on Saturday, with Dana Milbank officiating and Karen Finney serving as master of ceremonies. SPOTTED: Rebecca Cooper Dupin, Christina Sevilla and Steve Rochlin, Ashley and Ben Chang, Christina Bellantoni and Patrick Khoo, Brian Bennett, Anu Rangappa, Elise Labott, Garance Franke-Ruta, Polson Kanneth, Anna Greenberg, Kimball Stroud, Jayne Sandman, Jeff Dufour, Margaret Talev and Jon Garcia, Rodell Mollineau, Mark Paustenbach, Emily Haas and Meghan Stone. Pic — Lauren Dezenski, a breaking news editor at Bloomberg and a POLITICO alum, and Michael Heifetz, director of client success at First Due Size Up, got married on Saturday in White Plains, N.Y. SPOTTED: Mike Deehan, Gin Dumcius and Amy Derjue, Kelly Smith, Bill and Linda Forry, Josh Gee, Garrett Quinn and Erin Little, Danny Heifetz and Jackie Sirc, Maddie Kilgannon, Jenn Smith and Chloe Gotsis. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) … White House's Ami Fields-Meyer … AP's Chris Megerian … John Martin … McClatchy's Dave Catanese … CNN's Ed Meagher … John Stirrup … Herald Group's Ashley Pratte Oates … Melissa Moss of Moss Advisors, celebrating with husband Jonathan in Austin … Stephen Peters … Anheuser-Busch's Meghan DiMuzio … Qorvis' Grace Fenstermaker … GMMB's Anson Kaye … Miranda Peterson … Hamilton Place Strategies' André Bransford … Guidehouse's Cooper Smith … Tom McCuin … former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio … Amy Little Thomas … former Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.) Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Bethany Irvine, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross.
| | | | A message from Amazon: Only 23% of American workers have access to paid family leave. They face an unfair choice: focus on new parenthood or continue to earn a paycheck. Amazon's paid leave policy allows parents to do both.
"Amazon makes it a priority to ensure that parents have had the time that they need," said Amazon employee Victoria. Amazon offers up to 20 weeks of fully paid leave for hourly employees. | | | | | | | 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 | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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