| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | |  President Joe Biden is eyeing major new sanctions for Russia this week. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | The Biden administration is planning to roll out a “major sanctions package” against Moscow this week in response to the death of Russian opposition leader ALEXEI NAVALNY. The sanctions will “hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr. Navalny, and quite frankly, for all its actions over the course of this vicious and brutal war that has now raged on for two years,” the White House’s JOHN KIRBY told reporters during a call announcing the action today, though he declined to provide specifics about the package. Kirby also used the call to keep up the pressure on Congress to pass funding for Ukraine and other allies: “One of the most powerful things that we can do right now to stand up to VLADIMIR PUTIN, of course, is to, again, pass the bipartisan national security supplemental bill and support Ukraine as they continue to fight bravely and assess their country,” Kirby said. More from Matt Berg Meanwhile, our colleague Erin Banco has the latest on a developing national security threat that Russia poses, which came to light last week. “One reason U.S. officials didn’t widely disseminate intelligence about Russia’s efforts to develop a new space weapon: The administration was trying to start talks to convince Russia to back off the program. “Senior intelligence and administration officials had been reaching out to Russia — along with India and China as possible intermediaries — about the project for weeks before it became public, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the outreach. The intelligence indicated that Russia might be planning to start tests of the device — a space-based antisatellite weapon with nuclear capabilities, the people said.” ALSO OUT OF RUSSIA THIS MORNING — A Russian court ruled “to keep Wall Street Journal reporter EVAN GERSHKOVICH in custody pending his trial on espionage charges that he denies,” per the AP. “The Moscow City Court rejected an appeal against Gershkovich’s detention filed by his lawyers, upholding an earlier ruling to keep him behind bars until the end of March. The court’s order means that Gershkovich, 32, will spend at least a year behind bars in Russia after his arrest in March 2023 while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains.” HAPPENING TODAY — “Julian Assange makes last-ditch attempt in UK court to avoid extradition to the US,” by CNN’s Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Claudia Rebaza and Amy Cassidy Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel: Nippon Steel is one of the world’s leading steelmakers with nearly four decades of experience operating in the United States and currently employing over 600 American employees represented by the United Steelworkers.
Together, Nippon Steel and U. S. Steel are focused on increasing the competitiveness of the American steel industry on the global stage, safeguarding American jobs, and delivering the highest quality products to American customers.
Please read important information. | | | | | 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | | 
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) has a lot on the line as two members of the Biden family prepare to give testimony. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | 1. RUNNING ON EMPTY: As JAMES BIDEN, the president’s brother, and HUNTER BIDEN, the president’s son, prepare to sit for testimony in the coming weeks before House Republicans hoping to build a case for impeachment against the president, the stakes appear to be higher for the investigators than the witnesses, WaPo’s Matt Viser writes. “A review of nearly 2,000 pages of transcripts from recent witnesses before the House impeachment inquiry, many with deep knowledge of Hunter’s business affairs, suggests Republicans are still struggling to uncover firm evidence that Joe Biden benefited from the business pursuits of his son and his brother. If anything, the House Oversight and Judiciary committees have compiled an extensive record of sworn statements from firsthand witnesses saying the president was never involved.” In short: “So far, the statements of even witnesses unsympathetic to the Bidens have been largely exculpatory.” To wit: Rep. JAMIE RASKIN, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, wrote a scathing letter to the attorney of witness TONY BOBULINSKI over the testimony he provided to the panel, ABC’s Will Steakin reports. “Your client’s interview was chaotic to the point of burlesque as he repeatedly yelled, shouted, filibustered, and hurled outlandish and baseless accusations and insults against Democratic Members and staff,” Raskin wrote in the letter, which was also sent to Oversight Chair JAMES COMER (R-Ky.). “Mr. Bobulinski did not offer any evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden. He also did not provide any evidence that President Biden was involved in his family's business dealings.” 2. SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court this morning punted on a case about the admissions policy at a selective public high school in Northern Virginia, which “had the potential to further dismantle the reach of affirmative action in education,” Josh Gerstein and Bianca Quilantan write. “The justices who declined to add the case to their docket did not provide a reason for their decision to deny review in the suit asserting that Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology discriminates against Asian and Asian American applicants. The Supreme Court’s action allows the school to maintain the new admissions policy. However, two members of the high court — Justices SAMUEL ALITO AND CLARENCE THOMAS — expressed strong disagreement with their colleagues’ refusal to take up the case.” 3. FAFSA FUBAR: “Inside Biden’s FAFSA debacle: Financial aid offers in limbo for millions,” by Michael Stratford and Bianca Quilantan: “The Biden administration has spent three years working to implement a bipartisan law Congress passed in December 2020 that overhauled the federal financial aid formula and mandated a new, simpler Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. “But repeated delays with the project are now coming to a head: The Education Department is unable to process new FAFSAs on time, forcing millions of families to wait weeks, if not months, longer than usual to receive their financial aid packages this spring. The turmoil has already prompted dozens of colleges — including major state university systems — to postpone their typical May 1 deadline for students to commit to their institutions, and many are concerned that more delays are coming.”
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | 4. SWING STATE WATCH: Democrats are jumping into a pair of election lawsuits in Arizona this morning, signaling “another salvo in the sprawling legal battle over the country’s election procedures ahead of November,” our colleague Myah Ward reports. “The DNC and Arizona Democratic Party, with assistance from the Biden campaign, filed motions to intervene in two lawsuits filed in state court from GOP and third party groups this month, according to filings first shared with POLITICO. The lawsuits target the state’s Election Procedure Manual — which is designed to guide Arizona election officials in conducting and certifying elections. Republicans have challenged the manual several times, with RNC chair RONNA McDANIEL arguing earlier this month that the document is “designed to undermine election integrity.’” 5. THE VIEW FROM WALL STREET: “Wall Street Is Already Placing Bets on the Biden-Trump Rematch,” by NYT’s Joe Rennison: “The combination investors see as the most likely to spur a shift in financial markets in November — and therefore the scenario that traders are spending the most time thinking about — is a so-called red wave, where former President Donald J. Trump returns to the White House along with a Republican sweep of Congress.” 6. TALES FROM THE CRYPTO: JOHN DEATON, a Detroit native cryptocurrency advocate and attorney, is launching a challenge to Sen. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-Mass.), “giving the prominent progressive her first serious — though still long-shot — challenger and setting up an election-season clash over crypto,” Lisa Kashinsky and Kelly Garrity report from Boston. Deaton said in his launch video that he is entering the race “to continue my life’s mission to shake things up for the people who need it most.” Watch the video 7. BEHIND THE SCENES: “The Quiet Diplomat Who Shaped Biden’s Global Economic Policy,” by NYT’s Jim Tankersley: MIKE PYLE “played an outsized role in putting in place and selling Mr. Biden’s vision of global economic cooperation and confrontation to often-skeptical allies. Mr. Pyle’s tenure as deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs included putting together some operational details of an untried effort to limit Russia’s revenues from global oil sales. It spanned a range of administration attempts to forge a global alliance to outcompete China. And over the course of a frantic nine months, Mr. Pyle led an effort to quell fury among American allies over the Inflation Reduction Act.” 7. CASH CONFIRMATION: “DA Fani Willis testified she paid cash during trips with top prosecutor. One winery host remembers her paying in paper bills,” by CNN’s Zachary Cohen: “[STAN] BRODY, who was the estate ambassador for Acumen Wines that day, told CNN he was surprised when Willis paid using hundreds of dollars in cash – a memorable transaction, he said, as such cash sales are rare in Napa Valley. The self-described ‘news junkie’ said his memory was jogged as he watched Willis and Wade testify last week about their romantic relationship and bat down allegations of self-dealing while under oath.” 8. INFLATION NATION: “Will Food Prices Stop Rising Quickly? Many Companies Say Yes,” by NYT’s Jeanna Smialek and Jason Karaian: “In some cases that’s because consumers are finally pushing back against price increases after years of spending through them. In others, it’s because the prices that companies pay for inputs like packaging and labor are no longer rising as sharply. Even if food inflation cools, it does not mean that your grocery bill or restaurant check will get smaller: It just means it will stop climbing so quickly.”
| | | | CONGRESS OVERDRIVE: Since day one, POLITICO has been laser-focused on Capitol Hill, serving up the juiciest Congress coverage. Now, we’re upping our game to ensure you’re up to speed and in the know on every tasty morsel and newsy nugget from inside the Capitol Dome, around the clock. Wake up, read Playbook AM, get up to speed at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report, and fuel your nightly conversations with Inside Congress in the evening. Plus, never miss a beat with buzzy, real-time updates throughout the day via our Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | ACROSS THE POND — Our POLITICO colleagues in London marked the next stage of our coverage of the British economy by opening the London Stock Exchange and launching a new POLITICO Pro Financial Services UK product this morning. Fiona Maxwell, POLITICO’s Financial Services UK Editor, was joined by colleagues from across the newsroom and commercial teams to open the markets and recognise the expansion of POLITICO’s reporting, which will be hosted on the POLITICO Pro platform and delivered through a daily morning newsletter and breaking news alerts. Pic … Another pic SPOTTED: “Golden Bachelor” contestants Susan Noles, Joan Vassos, Christina Kempton, Kathy Swarts and Nancy Hulkower and winner Theresa Nist dining together at Le Diplomate on Sunday evening, sipping on Cosmos and greeting guests who visited their table. MEDIA MOVE — Nikki Egan is returning to MSNBC as executive managing producer of the weekday perspective and analysis programming leadership team. She previously was at Vice News, where she served as executive producer and showrunner of “Vice News Tonight.” TRANSITIONS — Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli is joining The ONE Campaign as president and CEO. She is the founder of LEAP Africa and co-founder of Sahel Consulting Agriculture & Nutrition and AACE Foods Processing & Distribution. … Susanne Grooms is joining Cooley as a litigation partner to launch the firm’s congressional investigations practice. She most recently led a congressional investigations practice as a partner at Kaplan Hecker & Fink and is a House Oversight Committee alum. … Jessica Church is joining Public Wise as political director. She most recently was advocacy and political manager for Take on Wall Street with Americans for Financial Reform and is an End Citizens United, National Women's Law Center, Florida Democratic Party and South Carolina Democratic Party alum. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Kristina Wilcox, partner at Capitol Hill Consulting Group, and Chris Wilcox, principal at Williams & Jensen, welcomed Lola Grace Wilcox on Thursday. She joins big sister Mae. Pic … Another pic 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 Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: Wednesday’s Playbook PM misstated Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s party affiliation. He is a Republican.
| | | | A message from Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel: Nippon Steel will enhance the many strengths of U. S. Steel, including the company’s incredibly talented workforce which is central to its long-term success. As part of its vision, Nippon Steel has committed to the following:
· No job losses as a result of the transaction
· Honoring all agreements currently in place with the unions, including collective bargaining agreements, and actively working towards a close and productive working relationship with the unions
· Maintaining the U. S. Steel name and branding
· Maintaining company headquarters in Pittsburgh, preserving over 1,000 critical roles
· Maintaining existing manufacturing facilities
· No existing production or American jobs will shift overseas as a result of the transaction
By delivering the best products and supporting American workers, this is not only an investment in U. S. Steel, but in the broader American steel industry.
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