| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
|  Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) spoke at a "Time for Choosing" event at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on Wednesday, tying her work on the Jan. 6 committee directly to the library's goal of forging a new identity for the GOP. | AP | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | TODAY AT NOON — KETANJI BROWN JACKSON will officially be sworn in as the latest Supreme Court justice at noon today as Justice STEPHEN BREYER retires. Chief Justice JOHN ROBERTS will administer the constitutional oath, and Breyer will administer the judicial oath. More from WaPo SOME NEW 2024 TWISTS FOR BOTH PARTIES — First the Dems… VP KAMALA HARRIS did something unusual on Wednesday afternoon: Before taking off from D.C. to California, where she will headline three fundraisers today, she went to the back of the plane to talk to the press. White House aides told the pool reporter that Harris wanted to clarify some comments she made to CNN's Dana Bash on Monday. "JOE BIDEN is running for reelection, and I will be his ticket mate," Harris told Bash. "Full stop." Not quite. "The president intends to run, and if he does, I will be his ticket mate," Harris said in her Air Force Two clarification. "We will run together." This could be what White House aides claim it is: a technical correction because Harris's initial unambiguous present tense declaration about Biden running could trigger FEC fundraising rules. But Biden will be 80 in November, and prominent Democrats are on a hair trigger for any evidence that he might not run. And on cue, NBC News reports that one person who has been trying to make the case that Joe Biden is Dems' best shot in 2024 is … Joe Biden. "Biden will argue he's the only one who can beat [DONALD] TRUMP, sometimes ticking through the names of potential Democratic candidates if he stepped aside — BERNIE SANDERS, ELIZABETH WARREN, PETE BUTTIGIEG, even Vice President Kamala Harris," report Mike Memoli, Carol E. Lee, Peter Nicholas and Peter Alexander. "Then rhetorically asks: Can any of them beat his 2020 rival?" This has been a consistent message from Bidenworld for a long time. In April, JOHN ANZALONE, Biden's 2020 campaign pollster, told us something similar when we asked if Biden would run again. "A lot of us feel that if Trump runs, there's no one else that could beat Trump [other] than Joe Biden." All the way back in 2019, his advisers were already saying something similar when debating whether Biden should commit to making a one-term pledge. "He's going into this thinking, 'I want to find a running mate I can turn things over to after four years but if that's not possible or doesn't happen then I'll run for reelection,'" a top Biden adviser told us back then. That seems to be the current plan. NBC says to look for Biden "filing paperwork for re-election shortly after the new year," which is a fairly typical timeline. (BARACK OBAMA and Biden filed on April 4, 2011.) Nothing in the NBC story will stop the chatter about potential Biden rivals. HILLARY CLINTON declined to offer a Shermaneesque statement about running in 2024 in an interview with CBS' Gayle King on Tuesday. In Aspen on Wednesday, Clinton offered her views on a range of issues in an interview with Yamiche Alcindor:
- Clinton called the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs "a results-oriented decision," and the "most arrogant misreading of history and law you could ever find."
- Clinton didn't have much patience for Democratic frustration with the Biden administration. "I don't understand the criticism," she said. "The strategy is 'elect more Democrats.'"
- But Clinton did give voice to one idea floated by those same critics: "Democrats should take a great big breath and lift the filibuster for constitutional issues. Two that come to mind are a woman's right to privacy and voting rights."
The Republicans… Meanwhile, the 2024 conversation on the Republican side is being fueled by three recent Trump developments:
- His spotty record in GOP primaries this year.
- The rise of Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS.
- The devastating details about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election unearthed by the Jan. 6 committee.
Last night in California, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute hosted the latest event in its "Time for Choosing Speaker Series," which has brought big-name Republicans to southern California to "address critical questions facing the future of the Republican Party." Previous speakers are mostly 2024 presidential aspirants, including former VP MIKE PENCE, former Secretary of State MIKE POMPEO, former New Jersey Gov. CHRIS CHRISTIE, South Dakota Gov. KRISTI NOEM, Maryland Gov. LARRY HOGAN, former UN Ambassador NIKKI HALEY, and Sens. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) and BEN SASSE (R-Neb.). One name not on the Reagan Library's guest list: Donald Trump. "Trump has not been invited because he's a former president, and we're looking to hear from leading voices that haven't held that level of office," a spokesman for the Reagan Library told me. Last night's guest was Wyoming Rep. LIZ CHENEY, who tied her work on the Jan. 6 committee directly to the library's goal of forging a new identity for the GOP. She did not hold back: "At this moment, we are confronting a domestic threat that we have never faced before. And that is a former president who is attempting to unravel the foundations of our Constitutional Republic. And he is aided by Republican leaders and elected officials who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man. "Now, some in my party are embracing former President Trump. And even after all we've seen, they're enabling his lies. Many others are urging that we not confront Donald Trump, that we look away. And that is certainly the easier path. One need only look at the threats that are facing the witnesses who've come before the January 6th Committee to understand the nature and the magnitude of that threat. "But to argue that the threat posed by Donald Trump can be ignored is to cast aside the responsibility that every citizen — every one of us — bears to perpetuate the Republic. We must not do that, and we cannot do that." More from the L.A. Times Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line and tell us who you think the two party's presidential nominees will be in 2024: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
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Learn how Meta is helping build the metaverse. | | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Before her speech, Cheney sat down with ABC News's Jonathan Karl for her first interview since the start of the Jan. 6 committee hearings. Some of the interview will appear on Good Morning America today, and the bulk of it will be broadcast Sunday on "This Week." We have an exclusive excerpt in which Karl presses Cheney about CASSIDY HUTCHINSON's vivid account of what happened in the presidential SUV after DONALD TRUMP finished speaking at his rally on Jan. 6 and learned he was being driven back to the White House rather than to the Capitol. To recap: Cassidy testified that Trump reached for the steering wheel, and when his lead secret service agent, ROBERT ENGEL, grabbed the president's arm, Trump lunged at him with his other arm. Hutchinson said the account was told to her by ex-White House deputy chief of staff TONY ORNATO , who was also in the SUV, while Engel stood nearby without contradicting him. A whisper campaign emanating from anonymous sources close to Ornato and Engel has tried to discredit Hutchinson's story, though former Trump White House aides OLIVIA TROYE and ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN have both challenged Ornato's credibility. Here's the Karl-Cheney exchange: KARL: Did you seek testimony from Tony Ornato or Robert Engel to corroborate or to refute what she said? CHENEY: I don't want to get into too many details. The committee has spoken to both Mr. Ornato and Mr. Engel, and we welcome additional testimony, under oath, from both of them, and from anybody else in the Secret Service who has information about any of these issues. … KARL: Do you expect that that testimony will be live testimony under oath, like [Hutchinson's] testimony, and for the world to see? How is that going to happen? CHENEY: Well, we have been working with the Secret Service; we've interviewed, as I said, a number of individuals in the Secret Service. We will continue to do so. And it is important that their testimony be under oath. Both Cheney and Hutchinson said they stand by her testimony. "I think that what Cassidy Hutchinson did was an unbelievable example of bravery and of courage and patriotism in the face of real pressure," Cheney told Karl. "I am absolutely confident in her credibility. I'm confident in her testimony. The committee is not going to stand by and watch her character be assassinated by anonymous sources and by men who are claiming executive privilege."
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | BIDEN'S THURSDAY — The president is at the NATO summit in Madrid, where he's already delivered remarks this morning. Still to come (all times Eastern): — 8 a.m.: Biden will hold a press conference. — 9:40 a.m.: Biden will depart Madrid to fly home, arriving at the White House at 5:40 p.m. VP KAMALA HARRIS' THURSDAY (all times Eastern): — 6:35 p.m.: The VP will speak at a DNC finance reception in Los Gatos, Calif. — 9:15 p.m.: Harris will speak at a DNC finance reception in San Francisco. — 10:20 p.m.: Harris will leave San Francisco to head to Los Angeles. THE SENATE and THE HOUSE 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. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
| 
Roberto Marquez of Dallas adds a flower a makeshift memorial at the site where officials found dozens of people dead in an abandoned semitrailer containing suspected migrants on Wednesday, in San Antonio. | Eric Gay/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | ABORTION FALLOUT WHAT COMES NEXT — Red-state Republicans and anti-abortion groups are planning their next legislative push after banning or severely restricting abortion: stopping residents from crossing state lines to terminate a pregnancy, scoop WaPo's Caroline Kitchener and Devlin Barrett. Model legislation is in the works from the Thomas More Society, building off Texas' new law next year that paved the way for private lawsuits over abortion, which would make the law "more difficult to challenge in court because abortion rights groups don't have a clear person to sue." THE VIEW FROM 1600 PENN — The White House is rejecting many of the bolder executive moves on abortion that progressives have called for, "concerned that more radical moves would be politically polarizing ahead of November's midterm elections, undermine public trust in institutions like the Supreme Court or lack strong legal footing," Reuters' Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt report. POLITICAL FALLOUT — Sen. MAGGIE HASSAN (D-N.H.) is seeking to make abortion a major issue in her reelect, including a new 30-second ad launching today that positions her as a bulwark against a national abortion ban from Republicans, Lisa Kashinsky scoops this morning. It's part of a campaign pivot for Hassan in the swing state that most supports abortion rights. Interesting connection: The state's vulnerable Democrats are seeking to make a link between abortion and voters' economic worries: "Of course people are concerned about lowering costs," Rep. ANN KUSTER says. "But those very people know that they probably can't afford another child if they have two or three children." The Hassan ad — Republicans are excited that moderate JOE O'DEA won the Colorado Senate nomination this week, and now he's seeking to carve out a centrist lane on abortion, offering limited support for some abortion rights, WaPo's Mike DeBonis reports. Calling himself "a Republican JOE MANCHIN," O'Dea will have to walk a tricky line: It's a red-tinted year in a blue-tinted state, and national Dems want to attack him on abortion. Notable detail: After Democrats tried unsuccessfully to prop up hard-line RON HANKS in the GOP primary, "Republicans believe the ad blitz may have had the unintended effect of burnishing O'Dea's credibility as a moderate." HOW IT'S PLAYING — Several foreign leaders expressed qualms about the Supreme Court decision at the NATO summit this week, an unexpected airing of concerns that felt more like a throwback to the Trump years than the new Biden era of diplomacy, Andrew Desiderio reports from Madrid. SIGN OF THE TIMES — "Men rush to get vasectomies after Roe ruling," by WaPo's Meena Venkataramanan CONGRESS RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES — Congressional Democrats have settled on drug pricing legislation that they hope could springboard into a broader reconciliation deal with Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.), WaPo's Tony Romm reports . The proposal would allow the U.S. to negotiate some drug prices for seniors and cap Medicare costs, similar to the party's plan last year. The legislation could head to the Senate parliamentarian as soon as this week, with Democratic leaders eyeing a possible July vote. But they're still haggling with Manchin over other planks, including green energy, the Affordable Care Act and taxes. — Democrats are seeking to shrink some tax increases to win Manchin's support for the package, Bloomberg's Laura Davison, Erik Wasson and Ari Natter report. Manchin and Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER are nearing agreement on an overall $1 billion price tag: The smaller tax hikes would still amount to about $500 million aimed at deficit reduction, to be paired with about $500 billion in new spending. That's just a quarter of the spending bill that House Democrats passed previously. But negotiators are still working through the details of the tax code changes, and nobody's signed off definitively. — Per NBC's Sahil Kapur, "the biggest unresolved issues on the energy front are the scope of incentives for electric vehicles and whether to let entities access cash directly as opposed to going through large financial institutions." JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH CIPOLLONE SUBPOENAED — The House Jan. 6 committee on Wednesday subpoenaed former White House counsel PAT CIPOLLONE, seeking information he might have about Trump administration efforts to subvert the 2020 election. After an April interview, Cipollone has refused to cooperate further with the committee, the panel said. The letter — Negotiations between Cipollone and the committee include his testimony on topics like "[a]ctions taken by JEFF CLARK; what Cipollone did on Jan 6, excluding convos had directly w/ Trump; interactions w/ JOHN EASTMAN & interactions w/ members of Congress post-election," per ABC's Katherine Faulders and John Santucci. DOJ VS. COMMITTEE — The bombshell public testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson shocked Justice Department prosecutors investigating Jan. 6, who felt blindsided that the committee hadn't shared her information with them beforehand, NYT's Glenn Thrush, Luke Broadwater and Michael Schmidt report. The tension between the parallel probes is growing: The committee says it's important to remain independent, while federal investigators say Congress' refusal to share information has slowed down their work.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | THE WHITE HOUSE KARINE CAREENS — Max Tani, Alex Thompson and Allie Bice had a brutal West Wing Playbook on Wednesday night about press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, whose early tenure has been marred by stumbles, confusing answers and vague non-responses. Reporters are chattering about showing up less often to press briefings because there's so little information, while certain moments "even made some of her White House colleagues wince." On the flip side, other White House staffers and allies "described her as quick and decisive behind the scenes." Video compilation of the lowlights HOT ON THE LEFT — "Biden backs anti-abortion Republican for Kentucky judgeship in apparent McConnell deal," Louisville Courier-Journal's Joe Sonka and Andrew Wolfson ALL POLITICS POLL OF THE DAY — What's making Democrats happy: Sen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-Ga.) is up 10 points over HERSCHEL WALKER, 54%-44%, in a new Quinnipiac poll . That's a significant change from Q's January survey of the race, which found Walker up 1. Gov. BRIAN KEMP and STACEY ABRAMS are tied, meanwhile, at 48% apiece. The Democrats' relatively strong numbers come despite Biden tanking in the state: Thirty-three percent of Georgians approve and 60% disapprove of his job performance. ORTHODOXY OR BUST — House Republicans who voted to create a bipartisan commission investigating Jan. 6 have faced major backlash at the primary polls, on average running 13 points behind their colleagues, Ally Mutnick reports this morning. "Altogether, the numbers paint a portrait of an angry base sending a message to its ambassadors in Washington: Don't step out of line, or else." But, but, but: Just three of 19 House Republicans who voted for the commission and have faced voters already have lost their primaries, NBC's Bridget Bowman notes. PRIMARY COLORS — How did ANDREW GIULIANI get trounced in the New York GOP gubernatorial primary despite his famous name? Strategists tell Anna Gronewold that the Giuliani brand may have cut both ways, and tacking to the right with close Trump world ties could only carry him so far. Still, Giuliani won most of New York City, "revealed himself as an affable candidate" with a better-than-expected campaign, and said after his loss that's he planning to stick around New York politics for a while. Related read: "Can It Get Any Worse for Rudy Giuliani?" by NYT's Ginia Bellafante 2024 WATCH — Virginia Gov. GLENN YOUNGKIN met with Republican megadonors in New York last week in a possible sign of 2024 positioning, WaPo's Laura Vozzella and Gregory Schneider report.
| | | | INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Vladimir Putin "shot back at Western leaders who mocked his athletic exploits, saying they would look 'disgusting' if they tried to emulate his bare-torso appearances," per the AP. Lev Parnas has recently undertaken work as a DoorDash delivery person, according to his lawyer. Parnas was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Wednesday for unlawful campaign donations. Anthony Fauci's recent Covid case forced him to miss his daughter's wedding in New Orleans. Jennifer Granholm violated the Hatch Act when she touted Democrats' electoral success in an interview last year, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Wednesday, per Reuters. Reality Winner filed a petition Wednesday asking Joe Biden to pardon her conviction of violating the Espionage Act. Maria Monroe, the daughter of James Monroe, kept her wedding to just family and friends, "which caused consternation in social and diplomatic circles, necessitating a series of balls afterward to mollify official Washington," Stewart McLaurin recounts in a fun USA Today column on White House weddings. MEDIA MOVE — Rebecca Sinderbrand is joining Georgetown University as professor of the practice and director of the journalism program. She currently is senior Washington editor at NBC News and is a CNN, POLITICO and WaPo alum. TRANSITIONS — Meaghan Lynch will be public policy manager at Airbnb. She currently is press secretary for HUD, and is a Kamala Harris alum. … Preston Mizell is now comms director for Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.). He previously was deputy press secretary for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). … Dawn-Marie Sullivan is now legislative director for Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.). She most recently was on Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) policy team, and is a Matt Rosendale and Andy Biggs alum. WEDDING — Ashley Dawn Moretti (now Schulte), manager at the Prosper Group, and Nick Schulte, CFO of Axiom Strategies, got married June 23 in a Catholic ceremony at the Misión San José del Cabo, with a reception at Acre Resort Mango Orchard. Pic … Another pic … SPOTTED: Shawn Furey, Kathryn Dalke, Kyle Wiley, Pablo Cueto, Caitlin and Thomas Flanders, and Andi Coronado. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Jonathan Bronitsky, co-founder and CEO of Athos and a Trump DOJ, OPM and USAGM alum, and Paige Bronitsky, a Trump OMB alum, on Tuesday welcomed Sydney Addison Bronitsky, who came in at 8 lbs and 20.5 inches.Instapic … Another pic — Paula Reid, senior legal affairs correspondent at CNN, and Jason Kolsevich welcomed Jordan Reid on June 6. She came in at 6 lbs, 6 oz. Pics and more via People's Georgia Slater BIRTHWEEK (was Wednesday): Emily Spain … SEC's Amish Shah HAPPY BIRTHDAY: The Atlantic's David Frum … Robyn Shapiro … Kyle Plotkin … former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) … Ward Carroll … Dan Leistikow … Protocol's Mills Forni … Zack Christenson … Dan Judy of North Star Opinion Research … Norm Sterzenbach … Paul Cheung of the Center for Public Integrity … Rachel Gorlin … Kara Adame … Advoc8's John Legittino … former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen … Stephanie Miliano of Stu Loeser & Co. … Alexandra Acker-Lyons 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 Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine. Correction: Wednesday's Playbook misspelled Nick Schmit's name.
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