| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | RAMMER JAMMER PENTAGON HAMMER — “Defending white nationalists, Tommy Tuberville fears a military that is ‘going wrong,’” by WaPo’s Paul Kane: “The third-year senator believes Pentagon leaders are forcing troops to read liberal books. That they are helping provide abortion services. And, in new remarks the past few days, that they are inappropriately driving ‘white nationalists’ out of the service. … These positions have placed [Alabama Republican TOMMY] TUBERVILLE — whose military background consists of using war metaphors to inspire his teams during three decades coaching college football — in the spotlight as the leading conservative antagonist to the Defense Department.” JUST IN — “North Carolina governor vetoes 12-week abortion ban,” by Megan Messerly
|  The gregarious Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is toying with a presidential run. | Michael Reaves/Getty Images | MIAMI 2024 — The invitation came out of the blue. Early this week, longtime DONALD TRUMP adviser KELLYANNE CONWAY reached out with an intriguing pitch: A certain Florida Republican was in town and wanted to sit down with Playbook. No, it wasn’t Trump or Gov. RON DeSANTIS. It was the two-term mayor of Miami, FRANCIS SUAREZ. The charming, gregarious 45-year-old, reelected in 2021 with a whopping 78% of the vote, is toying with a presidential run, and he’s gotten more serious as DeSantis’ stock has fallen. He has already visited the four big primary states, and he made the media rounds in Washington this week — visiting several newsrooms, including POLITICO’s, where we peppered him with questions for an hour. He’s undergoing something of a makeover. He’s always been trim, well-dressed and easygoing, perfectly at ease talking about how politics runs in his blood as the grandson of a Cuban dissident and the son of Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor. He recalled his first campaign, stumping for his dad as a 2-year-old: “I looked into a camera … and I said, ‘Voten por mi papa, por favor’ — Vote for my dad, please!” But Suarez’s tone has shifted. He previously and publicly rejected Trumpism, disclosing he didn’t vote for the GOP nominee in 2016 (when he wrote in MARCO RUBIO) or 2020 (this time, MIKE PENCE). Now he’s praising Trump for connecting with voters in a way that Democrats and the media will never understand. “I think he’s true to who he is — and frankly, voters obviously like it,” he said, hours after Trump’s CNN town hall where the former president lied and filibustered for more than an hour. Perhaps more telling is who was sherpa-ing him around Washington this week: Conway is acting as an unofficial adviser to Suarez, texting and chatting with him on the regular as he looks to build his national profile. She’s also been spotted in recent days by his side in Miami — all while staying firmly rooted inside Trump world. We’ve been asking around this morning and heard an interesting backstory: Suarez reached out to Conway after seeing Trump speak at a recent RNC event in Nashville. He told her was impressed by the performance, what he called the most compelling speech he’d heard Trump give. “He gave my wife and me a lot to think about,” he told her. Conway and Suarez have been talking a lot since then. And now Conway believes he could be among the best possible draft picks for Trump’s running mate. Suarez, her thinking goes, would (1) frame his presidential campaign as an alternative to President JOE BIDEN, not an alternative to Trump, something she believes Republicans need to do more of, and (2) have a strong governing record to run on given his success in Miami (more on that in a second). “Francis Suarez can be POTUS one day. It is up to the voters when that day is,” Conway texted us this morning, commending his “natural ability to connect with and listen to the people” and “remarkable” record in Miami. “I’ve not been shy about telling President Trump that Suarez should be on the short short list for VP should Trump be the nominee.” Conway’s favor is especially notable because, as Trump’s 2016 campaign manager, she was pivotal in helping Trump pick Pence as running mate. Indeed, most Republicans watching this space think Suarez is angling to be someone’s VP selection. As president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, he’s traveled widely over the past 18 months. We spotted him meeting with NIKKI HALEY in early 2021, and he’s huddled with other high-profile names considering presidential bids. Suarez told us he isn’t interested in being anyone’s VP — but take that with a grain of salt. Remember how KAMALA HARRIS handled similar questions almost exactly four years ago: “I think that Joe Biden would be a great running mate — as vice president, he’s proven that he knows how to do the job.” As for timing: Suarez says he’ll decide on his run before late June, early enough to have a shot at making the first debate stage in August. For more from our interview, check out our colleague Brakkton Booker’s newsletter, The Recast. Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Who are you betting on for Trump’s likely running mate? Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: Middlemen say they want lower prices, yet they often deny or limit coverage of lower-cost generics and biosimilars while giving preferential coverage to medicines with higher prices. This might be good for PBM’s bottom line, but it can lead to higher costs for patients. What else are they hiding? | | | MORE TIDBITS FROM SUAREZ … — He gently ribbed DeSantis, whom he famously does not get along with and refused to vote for. He told a story about meeting Trump at a wedding, where the former president was quick with a warm greeting: “You’re the only politician in America that’s hotter than I am!” “I found that to be obviously charismatic,” Suarez said, “and I think that juxtaposes him against some people in the field as well.” Was he talking about DeSantis? “You said it,” he chuckled, adding his thoughts on the importance of retail politics: “Those who are comfortable with it, those who thrive in that environment will succeed, and those who aren’t may struggle.” — He had a ready explanation for why he twice opposed Trump for president: “My father came to this country at 12. … He got to graduate from Harvard and has written eight or nine books and speaks five languages. … The way that my father carried himself and conducted himself was the way that I [thought] presidents should behave. … So, I think, stylistically, there was some rub there.” But that was then. Now he emphasizes how he supported Trump policies and believes he did wonders for the country. “Right now, if the election were between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, I would vote for Donald Trump unequivocally and without hesitation,” he said. — He believes he has a compelling pitch: Miami’s taxes are down to their lowest level in recent history, Suarez notes, and jobs, wages and economic growth are up. The homicide rate per capita is at its lowest level since 1964. The FT called it “the most important city in America” earlier this year (though the WSJ more recently highlighted how his efforts to make Miami into a “crypto capital” have backfired). Plus, as a Latino, he believes he can help the GOP steal voters away from Democrats, permanently: “Part of the reason why I’m considering running for president is because I think I can grow the tent — not for an election, but for a generation.”
| | | | A message from PhRMA: Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) decide if medicines get covered and what you pay, regardless of what your doctor prescribes. What else are they hiding? | | | | | BIDEN’S SATURDAY — The president was at Capital One Arena this morning to deliver the Howard University commencement address. Later he’ll head to Rehoboth Beach, Del., arriving at 2:20 p.m.
HARRIS’ SATURDAY — The VP has nothing on her public schedule. | | | | | | DON’T MISS THE POLITICO ENERGY SUMMIT: A new world energy order is emerging and America’s place in it is at a critical juncture. Join POLITICO on Thursday, May 18 for our first-ever energy summit to explore how the U.S. is positioning itself in a complicated energy future. We’ll explore progress on infrastructure and climate funding dedicated to building a renewable energy economy, Biden’s environmental justice proposals, and so much more. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
|  A Venezuelan migrant boy looks around yesterday from the makeshift tent his parents made on the Mexican banks of the Rio Grande. | Fernando Llano/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. HERE COMES DeSANTIS: DeSantis is getting closer than ever to officially running for president, as his political operation will move to a new headquarters Monday and be forced to register, NBC’s Dasha Burns, Matt Dixon and Jonathan Allen scoop. The move will trigger a 15-day countdown by which the DeSantis team will have to file federal paperwork with election officials, marking the first public acknowledgment that he’s running. DeSantis has also started holding donor dinners in the governor’s mansion. And today, as he makes a stop in Iowa, DeSantis is rolling out a major tranche of endorsements from more than three dozen Iowa state legislators, per Alex Isenstadt. That’s way more support already than any Republican got in the 2016 primary, and the list includes several Iowa GOP leaders. On the flip side … DeSantis’ big-donor struggles continue as metals magnate ANDY SABIN ditches the governor to support Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) instead, Reuters’ Alexandra Ulmer reports. Sabin says DeSantis’ positions on abortion and Ukraine turned him off. The big picture: “Why Ron DeSantis Is Limping to the Starting Line,” by NYT’s Shane Goldmacher, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan: “DeSantis and his allies are retooling for a more aggressive new phase. His staunchest supporters privately acknowledge that Mr. DeSantis needs to recalibrate a political outreach and media strategy that has allowed Mr. Trump to define the race. … Still, his central electability pitch — MAGA without the mess — has been badly bruised. … Three billionaires who are major G.O.P. donors — STEVE WYNN, IKE PERLMUTTER and THOMAS PETERFFY, a past DeSantis patron who has publicly soured on him — dined recently with VIVEK RAMASWAMY.” 2. TO TELL THE TRUTH SOCIAL: “Trust linked to porn-friendly bank could gain a stake in Trump’s Truth Social,” by WaPo’s Drew Harwell, Matt Bernardini and Matei Rosca: “An obscure financial entity with connections to a Caribbean-island bank that bills itself as a top payment service for adult entertainment sites would gain a sizable stake in former president Donald Trump’s media company if its merger deal proceeds … Yet the role ES Family Trust would assume in Trump Media and Technology Group has never been officially disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission or to shareholders in Digital World Acquisition.” 3. JACK THE DRIPPER: “Alleged leaker fixated on guns and envisioned ‘race war,’” by WaPo’s Shane Harris, Samuel Oakford and Chris Dehghanpoor: “Previously unpublished videos and chat logs reviewed by The Washington Post, as well as interviews with several of [JACK] TEIXEIRA’s close friends, suggest that he was readying for what he imagined would be a violent struggle against a legion of perceived adversaries — including Blacks, political liberals, Jews, gay and transgender people — who would make life intolerable for the kind of person Teixeira professed to be: an Orthodox Christian, politically conservative and ready to defend, if not the government of the United States, a set of ideals on which he imagined it was founded.” 4. TOP TALKER: “Licht’s Dispassion Punch,” by Puck’s Dylan Byers: “The vast majority of CNN insiders I spoke to admired [OLIVER] DARCY’s courage for channeling their sentiments [in criticizing the Trump town hall]. His bosses did not. … [CHRIS] LICHT summoned Darcy and his editor JON PASSANTINO to a meeting … in which [top execs] told him that his coverage had been too emotional and repeatedly stressed the importance of remaining dispassionate when covering the news, be it CNN or any other media organization. Darcy stood by his work and pushed back on the ‘emotional’ characterization … But afterward two sources who heard about the meeting described him as visibly shaken.” 5. PUTTING THE PATRIOTS TO WORK: “Russia tried to destroy U.S.-made Patriot system in Ukraine, officials say,” by CNN’s Natasha Bertrand and Oren Liebermann: “Russia tried to destroy a US-made Patriot air defense system in Ukraine last week with a hypersonic missile, two US officials told CNN. The attack failed, and the Ukrainian military instead intercepted the missile using the Patriot system, the officials said, marking their first known successful Ukrainian use of the advanced air defense system only weeks after it arrived in [the] country.” 6. DEFAULT IN OUR STARS: The Treasury Department has $88 billion remaining in its “extraordinary measures” to avoid hitting the debt ceiling, dropping quickly from $110 billion a week ago, the department said yesterday, per Bloomberg. Yet Secretary JANET YELLEN told reporters in Japan today that she’s somewhat optimistic about negotiations, which she called “very active.” And she said she’ll provide the next update on the “X date” within the next couple of weeks.
| | | | A message from PhRMA:   It’s time to lower costs for patients by holding middlemen accountable. | | | 7. THE END OF TITLE 42: “In Migrant Camps, Anxiety and Relief: ‘It Was Worth It. We Are in America,’” by NYT’s Soumya Karlamangla, Edgar Sandoval, Miriam Jordan and Simon Romero in San Diego: “The thousands of migrants who have made it across the Rio Grande in recent days debated what to do next, while thousands of others bided their time in northern Mexico, trying to decipher how they, too, could cross, and when.” Heartbreaking read: “‘He wanted to live the American Dream’: Honduran teen dies in U.S. immigration custody,” by AP’s Marlón Gonzalez in Tegucigalpa and Nomaan Merchant … Worth a thousand words: “Scenes from both sides of the border as Title 42 expired,” by Myah Ward and Chase Sutton … Latest in the courts: “DOJ says Biden administration will appeal judge’s rulings on migrants,” by Josh Gerstein and David Cohen 8. STORY OF THE DAY: “‘A Daily Game of Russian Roulette’: Homeless in San Diego,” by NYT’s Eli Saslow: “As a record number of people die on America’s streets, Abdul Curry fights to stay alive.” 9. DIFI IN TROUBLE: “Feinstein’s Health Crisis Goes Back Farther than We Knew,” by Paul McLeod in Rolling Stone: “Multiple sources tell Rolling Stone that in recent years [Sen. DIANNE] FEINSTEIN’s office had an on-call system — unbeknownst to Feinstein herself — to prevent the senator from ever walking around the Capitol on her own. At any given moment there was a staff member ready to jump up and stroll alongside the senator if she left her office, worried about what she’d say to reporters if left unsupervised. The system has been in place for years.” CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 15 funnies
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Anderson - Tribune | GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza: — “25 years later, America still loves ‘Seinfeld’ but some hate how it ended,” by WaPo’s Frederic Frommer — “Orders of Disorder,” by Garrett Graff in Foreign Affairs: “Who Disbanded Iraq’s Army and De-Baathified Its Bureaucracy?” — “Amor Eterno,” by Texas Monthly’s Skip Hollandsworth: “One year ago, before the school shooting in Uvalde, Kimberly Mata-Rubio had never been on a plane or given a public speech or scolded a U.S. senator right there in his office. A year in the life of a grieving mother.” — “How two friends sparked L.A.’s sushi obsession — and changed the way America eats,” by the L.A. Times’ Daniel Miller — “The Plot to Steal the Other Secret Inside a Can of Coca-Cola,” by Bloomberg Businessweek’s Drake Bennett and Jordan Robertson: “Shannon You was a good chemist, a bad colleague — and a thief. When she tried to use the $120 million technology she stole, she got played.” — “How El Chapo’s sons built a fentanyl empire poisoning America,” by Reuters’ Drazen Jorgic in Culiacán, Mexico: “Once dismissed as ‘narco brats’ flaunting fast cars, pet tigers and a golden AK-47 on social media, the brothers have emerged as key figures in the violent Sinaloa Cartel, security officials say.” — “Inside RFK Jr.’s kooky White House quest,” by Rosie Gray in The Spectator: “An older generation of Kennedys sold hope. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is offering something weirder.” — “The Navy SEAL Who Went to Ukraine Because He Couldn’t Stop Fighting,” by WSJ’s Ian Lovett and Brett Forrest: “Daniel Swift was in his element waging America’s war on terror from Afghanistan to Yemen. After his marriage failed back home, he found a new purpose: killing Russians.” — “She Stole $54 Million From Her Town. Then Something Unexpected Happened,” by Kathy Gilsinan in Dixon, Ill., for POLITICO Magazine: “The search for accountability didn’t stop when Rita Crundwell went to prison.” — “The Four Addictions,” by Bruce Mehlman: “The Challenge of Breaking Hard Habits in the 2020s.”
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Mark Kelly takes the aisle seat when he flies: “I got to see this earth from space for 54 days.” Eli Durand-McDonnell had a charge against him dropped after he shouted at Leonard Leo that he was going to hell. Benjamin Hall recorded a video message as he received the Hero of Military Medicine Ambassador Award at the Heroes of Medicine hosted by the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine: “There was nowhere better in the world for me to have been treated.” Nathalie Rayes is running Latino Victory from … Copenhagen? Sasha Obama graduated with a sociology degree from USC. Vish Burra will be disciplined for threatening tweets against Jacqueline Sweet. IN MEMORIAM — “Hodding Carter III, State Department spokesman during Iran hostage crisis, dies at 88,” AP/Chapel Hill, N.C.: “Carter’s campaign work in 1976 for Jimmy Carter, no relation, helped secure him a job as assistant secretary of state for public affairs. It was in this role that he was seen on television news during the 444 days that Iran held 52 Americans hostage.” — “Mike Pride, Who Proved a Regional Newspaper Could Work, Dies at 76,” by NYT’s Sam Roberts: He “transformed the New Hampshire newspaper The Concord Monitor into a prizewinning paragon of regional journalism, mentoring generations of reporters and editors, defying the trope about the dying small-town newspaper and exerting an outsize impact on his profession.” OUT AND ABOUT — Peter Mirijanian Public Affairs celebrated its 23rd anniversary at Morton’s Steakhouse on Thursday night, featuring the swing band The Joker’s Wild. SPOTTED: Elizabeth Moeller, Greg Laughlin, David Keene, Bud Albright, Kate Beale, Bobby Cunningham, David Di Martino, Chris Sheeron, Joe Cammarata, Julie Chase, Adam Goldberg, Irina Petrossian, Christina Culver, Larry Duncan, Steve Ryan, Jay Ghazal, Ted Goldman, Carl Hulse, Michael Crowley, John Hughes, Kate Ackley, Karen Green, Mike Hacker, Anu Rangappa, Kevin Ryan, Nate Tibbits and Michael Meehan. — British Ambassador Karen Pierce hosted a reception honoring the House Chiefs of Staff Association at the British Embassy on Thursday night, featuring a toast by Deputy Ambassador James Roscoe and association co-chairs Mitchell Rivard and Jonathan Day. SPOTTED: Nick Alton, Chris Crawford, Senay Bulbul, Paige Hutchinson, Chris Thomson, Tim Costa, Mitchell Monreal, Liz Amster, Simon Joenler, Mark Dreiling, Graham Farnsworth, Robert Edmonson, Sang Yi and Madison Nash. TRANSITIONS — Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced a big staff shakeup in his office as chief of staff Dan Meyer retires, to be replaced by Machalagh Carr. The rest of the senior lineup: John Leganski and Natalie Joyce as deputy chiefs of staff, Kim Hamm as general counsel, and Mark Bednar and Caleb Smith as heads of comms. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) … Reps. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Michael Cloud (R-Texas) … Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands) … Stephen Colbert … Amy Grappone of the McCain Institute for International Leadership … Amy Bos … POLITICO’s Algashiyah Ward-Reid … Sarah Gunion … CNN’s Brian Fung … Dan Cox of AEI and the Survey Center on American Life … Shaila Manyam of BCW Global … Charlyn Stanberry … Phil Musser of NextEra Energy Resources … Mike Lux … NBC’s Ken Dilanian … NYT’s Mark Mazzetti … VoteVets’ Jon Soltz … former FDA Commissioner David Kessler ... National Journal’s Jeff DuFour ... Tara Bradshaw … Erica Farage … Austin Gage … former Ohio Gov. John Kasich … former Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.) … Matt Smith of Atlas Advocacy … Sydney Cox of Sen. Mike Braun’s (R-Ind.) office THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): CNN “State of the Union”: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas … Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) … Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) … Wally Adeyemo. Panel: Scott Jennings, Michael LaRosa, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ashley Allison. CBS “Face the Nation”: Nikki Haley … National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard … Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) … Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) … El Paso, Texas, Mayor Oscar Leeser … Laredo, Texas, Mayor Victor Treviño. Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) … Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) … Reza Pahlavi. Border panel: Florida AG Ashley Moody and Texas AG Ken Paxton. ABC “This Week”: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas … Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). Panel: Chris Christie, Donna Brazile, Larry Hogan and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.). MSNBC “Inside with Jen Psaki”: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu … Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) … Alexis McGill Johnson … Eileen Psaki. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) … Andean bear cubs at the National Zoo … Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Panel: Gillian Turner, Karl Rove, Richard Fowler and Cal Thomas. NBC “Meet the Press”: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) … Will Hurd … Russell Moore. Panel: Rachael Bade, Peter Baker, Al Cardenas and Kimberly Atkins Stohr. 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 DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misidentified the office held by Pedro Sanchez. He is Spain’s prime minister.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: PBMs control your health care. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) decide if medicines get covered and what you pay, regardless of what your doctor prescribes. They say they want lower prices, yet they often deny or limit coverage of lower-cost generics and biosimilars, instead covering medicines with higher prices so they make more money. This business model allows PBM profits to soar and can lead to higher costs for everyone. What else are they hiding? | | | | | | | 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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