| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
|  President Joe Biden will leave this weekend for a three-country trip to Europe and a meeting with the king and prime minister. | AP | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | |
GRIM MILESTONE — Today marks 100 days in Russian detention for WSJ reporter EVAN GERSHKOVICH. His Dow Jones colleagues are planning to lead a “social storm” of posts calling for his release at 10:30 a.m. “Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until Evan is released,” WSJ Editor in Chief EMMA TUCKER writes this morning.
WHY WON’T McCARTHY ENDORSE TRUMP? — That’s the question on a lot of minds in Washington, and Sarah Ferris and Olivia Beavers dig into it this morning. The big takeaway: McCarthy is “sparing the House GOP a civil war over 2024,” though the “pressure on the speaker to choose sides will only grow throughout the summer.” Don’t miss this quote from an anonymous House conservative who has not endorsed in the presidential primary: “The reality is, if we get Trump, there's probably a good possibility that we don't keep the House. … McCarthy knows that. He knows that if Trump's on top of the ticket, that we probably lose New York and California. ... If we lose the House, there’s no way McCarthy stays as minority leader. He's gone.” NEW OVERNIGHT — “Yellen Says U.S. Doesn’t Seek ‘Winner Take All’ Fight With China,” by WSJ’s Brian Spegele in Beijing BIDEN TO EUROPE — President JOE BIDEN leaves this weekend for a three-country trip to Europe. He arrives on Sunday in the U.K., where he’ll have two days of meetings with the king and the prime minister. Then it’s on to Vilnius, Lithuania, for the annual NATO summit. He’ll wrap up Thursday in Helsinki, Finland, with meetings with Nordic leaders. We have two previews of the trip this morning. Let’s start with the NATO leg. Our pal Alex Ward, POLITICO’s ace national security reporter and the author of the forthcoming book, “The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy After Trump” ($32), will be in Vilnius, and he emails the big questions he’ll be tracking next week:
- What kind of security guarantees will allies provide Ukraine? “It’s expected that NATO nations will offer up a long-term aid package for Ukraine, but what’s in it remains a mystery. Kyiv will be looking for clarity on when an F-16 fighter jet training program gets underway and when deliveries to Ukraine will begin.”
- How long will the weapons keep flowing? “While the U.S. mantra is that support will last ‘as long as it takes,’ there are questions in Europe that support could dwindle if the current counteroffensive against Russia falters.”
- How close does Ukraine get to NATO membership? “Generally speaking, expect Eastern Europeans to back Ukraine’s imminent bid, Central Europeans to straddle the fence and Western Europeans plus America and Canada to push for a compromise solution, kicking the can down the road to next year’s NATO summit in Washington.”
- How will Republicans play it? “GOP lawmakers attending the summit, such as Sens. THOM TILLIS (R-N.C.) and DAN SULLIVAN (R-Alaska), will have to walk a fine line: support Ukraine and NATO while chastising allies to do more. … How they act in Vilnius will be a good clue to how Republicans will play their two-step Ukraine messaging.”
THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: DAME KAREN PIERCE — For this week’s episode of the Playbook Deep Dive podcast we chatted with Pierce, His Majesty’s ambassador to the United States, as she was packing up and preparing to fly to London to staff both King CHARLES III and Prime Minister RISHI SUNAK for their meetings with Biden. The session with the king will focus on climate change, while the Biden-Sunak meeting will aim to put some meat on the bone of the so-called Transatlantic Declaration, Biden and Sunak’s push to renew the UK-US partnership across a host of economic and security issues. Biden will arrive in London with a hostile reception from some of Sunak’s supporters. For a taste of the anti-Biden tone in the conservative press, consider this recent column from Nile Gardiner in the Telegraph: “President Biden has a long track record of knifing Britain in the back. He mercilessly sank a major trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom, insultingly refused to attend the Coronation of King Charles III, and helped torpedo the candidacy of British Defence Secretary BEN WALLACE to succeed JENS STOLTENBERG as Nato secretary general.”
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https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/07/pbdd-7-7-23-00105063 | Pierce, ever the diplomat, batted aside most questions about any rifts in the special relationship. Among many other issues, we discussed what Sunak hopes to get out of Biden’s trip to London, the war in Ukraine, the American whom Brits admire the most, and her secret to dealing with cagey Russian diplomats. You can listen to the full interview here. What follows are some key excerpts: — On Biden’s relationship with Charles: “It will be the first time the president and the king have met since the king became king. But of course they know each other really well. They've been in touch with each other over the years, mainly about climate change and how to tackle that. … They've seen each other reasonably recently, but this will be an opportunity for them to explore together other aspects of how best to tackle climate change.” — On the nuances of dealing with Russian diplomats: “The Russians have fantastically good diplomats. And they're incredibly good at throwing up smokescreens and chaff at you with issues that aren't important. … They're very convincing, but knowing what's real for them and what's a diplomatic trick and knowing when to call out the diplomatic trick but respond reasonably to what's real, I have found in my own dealings that that has made a difference.” — On how she thinks Washington has changed: “I was first here … when GEORGE [H.W.] BUSH was still president and then it was BILL CLINTON. And then Washington was a town that only did politics. Politics was in the air. You go somewhere and people would rather talk about politics that happened 25 years earlier than they would like to talk about gardens or art or the Kennedy Center. Now, I think Washington is a much more metropolitan city, if I can put it like that. … It's not become less of a political city, it's become less of a one-trick city.” — On how she tries to translate America to folks back home: “Very few Europeans and people in the UK really internalize the fact that there’s no draw in American sport. … Just look at American football versus soccer. You have sudden death, and we have penalty shoot-outs. It is a very, very different approach to winning.” Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line with your previews of the President Biden-King Charles summit: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
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Explore more possibilities with the metaverse. | | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — WELCOME TO THE WORLD: Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Sydney Gallego welcomed Isla Jean Gallego in Phoenix on Monday night. She came in at 7 lbs, 5 oz and 20.5 inches, and joins big brother Michael. Pic … Another pic TALK OF THIS TOWN — “The Trump War Over Architecture Is Back,” by Michael Schaffer: “Should there be a default style for federal Washington? Some GOP lawmakers think so.” PRE-DEBATE JITTERS — With six weeks until the first GOP presidential debate, AP’s Jill Colvin takes a high-altitude look this morning at the political scramble, finding that “anxiety is building that the event could prove messy and divisive for the party.” Some candidates, including former VP MIKE PENCE, have yet to qualify for the stage, several are balking at the RNC’s loyalty pledge, and front-runner DONALD TRUMP is threatening a boycott — “turning what is typically the highly anticipated opener of the election season into a source of uncertainty for the candidates and broader party.” One notable development: Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS said last night that he’ll participate in the upcoming debate even if Trump skips it. “I think it’s an important part of the process,” he said.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | | | BIDEN’S FRIDAY:
10 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief.
3:30 p.m.: Biden will deliver remarks in the East Room about reducing costs for Americans.
6 p.m.: Biden will leave the White House for Rehoboth Beach, Del., arriving at 7:35 p.m.
Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 1 p.m. with national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN.
VP KAMALA HARRIS’ FRIDAY — The VP has nothing on her public schedule.
THE HOUSE and THE SENATE 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
|  Former VP Mike Pence speaks with guests during a campaign stop in Holstein, Iowa on July 6, 2023. | Scott Olson/Getty Images | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH ANOTHER MAJOR HAUL — DeSantis raised $20 million in the six weeks after he launched his campaign, Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser scooped. “The figures from the DeSantis campaign and from Never Back Down illustrated the Florida governor’s fundraising prowess.” His campaign raised more than half of Trump’s second-quarter total in less than half the time. $8.2 million of it came during his first day in the campaign. SHOW ME THE MONEY — Some Democrats are quietly worrying about the Biden campaign’s money situation: It won’t release its second-quarter fundraising numbers until July 15, Holly Otterbein, Hailey Fuchs and Shia Kapos report this morning. But the frugality is by design and here to stay, campaign co-chair JEFFREY KATZENBERG says. “At some point, we will build out a big, substantial, competitive organization and enterprise,” he says. “We don’t need to do that today. It literally would be a waste of money.” SHAKE THE GLITTER OFF YOUR CLOTHES NOW — Trump is heading to a church in Las Vegas tomorrow for his first Nevada stop of this campaign, per The Nevada Independent’s Michelle Rindels. But first: In Council Bluffs, Iowa, today, Trump is planning to slam DeSantis “for opposing the federal mandate for ethanol, a renewable fuel additive that Iowa leads the nation in producing,” AP’s Thomas Beaumont reports. DID THEY FEAR THEIR LIGHT OR THEIR DARKNESS? — “Marianne Williamson keeps bleeding staff. Six more depart in internal feud,” by Brittany Gibson: “The departures came primarily over a fight about [MARIANNE] WILLIAMSON’s ballot access operations, or lack thereof.” MORE POLITICS YOWZA — Democrat ADAM FRISCH, who nearly unseated Rep. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-Colo.) last year and is trying again in 2024, raised $2.6 million last quarter — which his campaign says is an all-time record for any House challenger in a non-election year, Colorado Politics’ Ernest Luning reports. He has $2.5 million on hand. More House fundraising numbers from yesterday: Rep. MIKE LAWLER (R-N.Y.) raised more than $900,000. … New York Democrat JOSH RILEY raised more than $775,000. … California Republican SCOTT BAUGH raised $545,000. … Delaware state Sen. SARAH McBRIDE raised $400,000 in just the first five days of her Democratic campaign. BATTLE FOR THE SENATE — Republican HUNG CAO has filed paperwork to run for Senate against Sen. TIM KAINE (D-Va.). He lost a Northern Virginia congressional race last year. ICYMI — “California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond considers run for governor,” by the L.A. Times’ Mackenzie Mays CONGRESS WHERE THE GRASS ISN’T GREENER — Rep. ANDY HARRIS (R-Md.) confirmed to Jordain Carney and other reporters that the House Freedom Caucus voted in June to oust Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.). Greene calling Boebert a “little bitch” on the House floor appears to have been at least a partial impetus. “I think the way she referred to a fellow member was probably not the way we expect our members to refer to other fellow, especially female, members,” Harris said. This is the first time the Freedom Caucus has ever expelled a member, as Greene has increasingly allied herself with House GOP leadership. “In Congress, I serve Northwest Georgia first, and serve no group in Washington,” Greene said in a statement yesterday. Adds Olivia Beavers, who broke news of the vote last month: “HFC Chair SCOTT PERRY — or anyone from the House Freedom Caucus — has not explicitly told Rep. MTG that she’s out of the group … But that doesn’t mean that there weren’t attempts to reach out.” WHAT VIVEK RAMASWAMY IS READING — “Jim Jordan, House Republicans Launch Investigation Into BlackRock, Vanguard, Others Over ESG Practices,” by The Daily Caller’s Henry Rodgers THE WHITE HOUSE POTUS ON THE ROAD — Biden is taking the “Bidenomics” pitch to red territory, making the case directly that his economic agenda is benefiting even (or especially) the areas where voters don’t support him. Yesterday, he was in West Columbia, S.C., to unveil a solar energy manufacturing facility, The State’s Anna Wilder reports. And coming up, he’ll journey to Greene’s district. “I’ll be there for the groundbreaking” of a solar manufacturing facility in Dalton, Ga., Biden said with a laugh in West Columbia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Tia Mitchell reports. The White House didn’t specify when that would happen. SHE DON’T LIE — “Cocaine found in the White House was in a different location than previously reported, sources say,” by NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell and Megan Lebowitz: “Multiple officials involved in the White House cocaine inquiry now say the bag of powder was found in a cubby near the White House's West Executive entrance. … Investigators expect to be done with the investigation by Monday.” TODAY’S FOCUS AT THE W.H. — “Biden to crack down on ‘junk’ health insurance,” by Adam Cancryn and Robert King JUDICIARY SQUARE THE JACKSONIAN ERA — “No ‘tiny voice’: Ketanji Brown Jackson’s outspoken first term,” by Josh Gerstein: In her first year on the Supreme Court, Justice KETANJI BROWN JACKSON “immediately showed her determination to make a mark as an unflinching dissenter — and, throughout her first year, she also displayed flashes of seeking cross-ideological consensus. … Broadly, though, Jackson, 52, remains a member of a three-justice liberal minority with little ability to sway the outcomes in the most divisive cases.“
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | TRUMP CARDS THE INVESTIGATIONS — Special counsel JACK SMITH has been focusing of late on a December 2020 Oval Office meeting at which Trump and his allies talked about efforts to stay in power despite losing the election, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Zachary Cohen, Paula Reid, Sara Murray and Katelyn Polantz report. The renewed interest in that meeting has included a recent two-day interview with RUDY GIULIANI. Questions have especially focused on SIDNEY POWELL, PATRICK BYRNE and MICHAEL FLYNN. In Smith’s team’s other big case, over Trump’s handling of classified documents, the individual prosecutors have had to deal with online and offline threats and harassment, WaPo’s Perry Stein and Devlin Barrett report. ELSEWHERE IN COURT — “Judge rules Trump can be deposed in lawsuit from ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok,” by CNN’s Katelyn Polantz WAR IN UKRAINE INCOMING — “U.S. to include controversial cluster munitions in new Ukraine weapons package,” by Alex Ward, Lara Seligman, Joe Gould and Paul McLeary: “The Biden administration will announce a new weapons package for Ukraine on Friday that will include controversial cluster munitions Kyiv has long asked for … [They’re] banned by more than 100 countries because unexploded ordnance can end up killing civilians.” AMERICA AND THE WORLD DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “John Kerry to Visit China to Restart Climate Negotiations,” by NYT’s Lisa Friedman: “A yearlong freeze in climate talks appears to be ending as the United States and China, the world’s biggest polluters, resume discussions.” SPECIAL REPORT — “Inside the subsea cable firm secretly helping America take on China,” by Reuters’ Joe Brock: “SubCom, a New Jersey company born out of a Cold War spy project, has become a key player in the U.S.-China tech war. It’s laying internet cables on the ocean floor to boost Washington’s economic and military might, including a clandestine mission to a remote island naval base.” THE ECONOMY PRE-JOBS REPORT READING — “Job openings drop to 9.8 million, but the U.S. labor market is still too strong for the Fed,” by MarketWatch’s Jeffry Bartash BEYOND THE BELTWAY SITTING EMPTY — “2 top public health positions in Ron DeSantis’ administration are vacant,” by NBC’s Matt Dixon in Tallahassee, Fla. TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week,” guest-moderated by Laura Barrón-López: Susan Page, Sabrina Siddiqui, Margaret Talev and David Sanger.. SUNDAY SO FAR … ABC “This Week”: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Panel: Vivian Salama, Jane Coaston, Charles Lane and Rachael Bade. MSNBC “Inside with Jen Psaki”: California Gov. Gavin Newsom … Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) … Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) … DNC Chair Jaime Harrison … Joe Kwon … Rob Crawford. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) … Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) … Chris Christie. Panel: Emily Compagno, Mollie Hemingway, Josh Kraushaar and Juan Williams. NBC “Meet the Press”: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Panel: Brendan Buck, Garrett Haake, Claire McCaskill and Amna Nawaz. CBS “Face the Nation”: Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova … Utah Gov. Spencer Cox … Kate Calvin. CNN “State of the Union”: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). Panel: Doug Heye, Bakari Sellers, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ashley Allison.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO 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 | | Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are celebrating their 77th anniversary today, on 7/7 (!). James Comer is working on a bill to allow D.C. to develop the old RFK Stadium site, possibly for a new Commanders stadium. The “de Blasiacs” have entered the lexicon. OMB ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Christina Wilkes is now deputy associate director for comms covering the management portfolio at OMB. She most recently was press secretary for HUD, and is a GSA and Nancy Pelosi alum. TRANSITIONS — Roberta Wagner is joining the International Dairy Foods Association as SVP for regulatory and scientific affairs. She previously was VP of regulatory and technical affairs at Consumer Brands Association. … Kevin Pujanauski is joining Movement Labs as VP of digital organizing services. He previously was U.S. movement support lead for Social Movement Technologies. … Sara Neagu-Reed will be director of production and environmental policy at the International Fresh Produce Association. She previously was director of advocacy and government affairs at AmericanHort. ENGAGED — James A. Langnes III, special adviser for the House Administration Committee, and Kaleigh Ballinger, a D.C.-based fundraising consultant, got engaged over the weekend in Venice, Italy. They met four years ago through a mutual friend. Pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Michaela Brown, health policy adviser for the Senate HELP Committee, and Tommy Brown, legislative director for Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), welcomed Thomas Philip Brown on June 29. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) (7-0) and Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) … Commerce’s Matt Hill … Marti Adams Baker … CNN’s Nia-Malika Henderson … Eleanor Clift … Patrick Dillon … Rachel Rosen … Rachael Leman of Leman Kennedy … Amanda Maddox … Terry Camp … Ed Kaleta of 3M … Matt Gobush of ExxonMobil … Stuart Varney of Fox Business Network … Luther Lowe of Yelp … Truman Reed of Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s (R-Texas) office … Michael Stevens of the Capitol Riverfront BID … Mike Rigas … Andy Manatos … Ana Kasparian … former House Majority Leader Dick Armey … The Messenger’s Sophie Tatum … Lx Fangonilo of Deep Root Analytics … Patricia Bryan … Miranda Dabney … Geoff Garin … Neil Newhouse … Michael Hudome … Lawrence Gottlieb … America Votes’ Sara Schreiber … Amanda Crumley 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.
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