| | | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | TAKE ME TO CHURCH — Rather than addressing a specific plan to hold on to the House Majority, Speaker MIKE JOHNSON’s speech at a GOP weekend retreat in Miami this weekend “took on a surprisingly religious tone,” Olivia Beavers scoops. “Johnson, a devout Christian, attempted to rally the group by discussing moral decline in America — focusing on declining church membership and the nation’s shrinking religious identity,” Olivia writes. “The speaker contended that when one doesn’t have God in their life, the government or ‘state’ will become their guide, referring back to Bible verses, [sources said]. They added that the approach fell flat among some in the room.” MEANWHILE, AT THE WHITE HOUSE — “White House uses GOP recess as tool to hammer inaction on Ukraine aid,” by Jennifer Haberkorn
|  James Biden pushed back on allegations of corruption surrounding a 2018 loan from his brother in his opening statement. | AP | IMPEACHMENT LATEST — It’s a quiet recess week for most of Capitol Hill, but the House Oversight and Judiciary committees are staying busy as they gathered this morning to hear a private deposition from JAMES BIDEN, the brother of President JOE BIDEN. He is expected to be grilled on his family’s business dealings as House Republicans plow ahead in their efforts to build a case for impeaching the president. The stakes are high for Republicans, who face growing doubts within their own ranks as they struggle to find concrete evidence that President Biden benefitted from business ventures connected to his brother and his own son, HUNTER. In his opening statement to the panel, James Biden argued that throughout his own “50-year career” across various business ventures, “Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities,” adding “I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else." James Biden also pushed back on allegations of corruption surrounding a 2018 loan from his brother. “I repaid them within weeks,” James Biden said. “[The president] had no information at all about the source of the funds I used to repay him. The complete explanation is that Joe lent me money, and I repaid him as soon as I had the funds to do so." Today’s deposition comes after the discovery that former FBI informant ALEXANDER SMIRNOV admitted to prosecutors that Russian intelligence officials were involved in passing false information to him about the president’s son. An exchange worth watching: CNN’s Manu Raju asked Judiciary Chair JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio) about Smirnov’s now-discredited claims. Raju: “You said the 1023 [containing the false claims] is the most corroborating piece of information.” Jordan: “It corroborates, but it doesn't change those fundamental facts.” Raju: “But it’s not true.” The 1-minute clip A reminder: Hunter Biden is scheduled to sit down before the committees a week from today. Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@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. | | | HAPPENING TOMORROW — POLITICO’s Governors Summit convenes tomorrow at The Wharf, featuring exclusive live conversations with the leaders of six key states on how they’re advancing policy as Washington struggles to act. Catch Eugene interviewing New Hampshire Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU, along with other POLITICOs sitting with Govs. BRIAN KEMP of Georgia, KATHY HOCHUL of New York, KEVIN STITT of Oklahoma, JARED POLIS of Colorado and BILL LEE of Tennessee.Register to join or watch live
| | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  President Joe Biden will announce $1.2 billion of student debt relief for nearly 153,000 borrowers today. | AP | 1. YOU’VE GOT MAIL: “President JOE BIDEN on Wednesday will announce $1.2 billion of student debt relief for nearly 153,000 borrowers — and he’s sending emails to make sure they know whom to thank for it,” Michael Stratford reports. The recipients, whose federal student loan balances have been erased, “initially borrowed $12,000 or less and have been repaying their debt for at least 10 years.” The election-year angle: “The administration says that it has now approved loan discharges totaling nearly $138 billion for nearly 3.9 million borrowers through dozens of administrative actions since coming into office. But a challenge for the Biden reelection campaign and Democratic allies is making sure that the president gets credit for canceling that debt.” 2. ABORTION IN AMERICA: After Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that frozen embryos can be legally defined as children under state law, fertility and reproductive health organizations have issued “a rush of warnings about the potential impact on fertility treatments and the freezing of embryos, which had previously been considered property by the courts,” AP’s Kim Chandler reports from Montgomery, Alabama. “The Alabama Supreme Court decision partly hinged on anti-abortion language added to the Alabama Constitution in 2018, stating it is the ‘policy of this state to ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child.’ Supporters at the time said it would have no impact unless states gained more control over abortion access. States gained control of abortion access in 2022,” when the Supreme Court overturned Roe. 3. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: With the signing of an executive order this morning, President Biden launched an effort to tighten cybersecurity at U.S. ports, requiring “port operators to notify authorities when they have been victimized by a cyberattack” while also giving “the Coast Guard, which regulates the nation’s ports, the ability to respond to cyberattacks,” AP’s Colleen Long reports. Big picture: “Nationwide, ports employ roughly 31 million people and contribute $5.4 trillion to the economy, and could be left vulnerable to a ransomware or other brand of cyberattack … The new requirements are part of the federal government’s focus on modernizing how critical infrastructure like power grids, ports and pipelines are protected as they are increasingly managed and controlled online, often remotely.” Related read: “U.S. to Invest Billions to Replace China-Made Cranes at Nation’s Ports,” by WSJ’s Dustin Volz and Gordon Lubold
| | | | 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. IMMIGRATION FILES: “Biden administration weighs action to make it harder for migrants to get asylum and easier to deport them faster,” by NBC News’ Julia Ainsley and Julie Tsirkin: “Under the new policies, asylum officers would be instructed to raise the standards they use in their ‘credible fear interviews,’ the first screening given to asylum-seekers who are trying to avoid deportation for crossing the border illegally.” Why now? “Making it harder to claim asylum and fast-tracking migrants for deportation are not new ideas, but they are being considered more seriously as the Biden administration looks for ways to tamp down chaos at the border after Republicans blocked border security provisions in the National Security Supplemental bill earlier this month.” 5. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: In an appearance today at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the State Department’s acting legal adviser, RICHARD VISEK, defended Israel's decades-long occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and “urged a 15-judge panel not to call for Israel’s immediate withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territory,” NYT’s Marlise Simons reports. “The court is hearing six days of arguments over the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian-majority territories, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which has been the subject of years of debates and resolutions at the United Nations” Latest on the ground: “Iran accuses Israel of sabotage attack that saw explosions strike a natural gas pipeline,” by AP’s Jon Gambrell 6. SPY GAMES: “WikiLeaks’ Assange went far beyond journalism and should face spying charges, lawyers for US say,” by AP’s Jill Lawless and Sylvia Hui: “The lawyers spoke before Britain’s High Court in response to a last-ditch bid by [JULIAN] ASSANGE’s defense to stop his extradition from the United Kingdom to the U.S.”
| | | | 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 | | Meghan McCain is … not on board with Kari Lake’s attempt at rapprochement. Julie Su’s nomination for Labor Secretary will (again) be taken up by the Senate HELP committee. OUT AND ABOUT — The Recording Industry Association of America and Spotify hosted a charity event last night at The Atlantis benefiting Musicians on Call, an organization that brings live and recorded music to hospital patients and families. The event featured a performance by multi-platinum rapper and songwriter Busta Rhymes. SPOTTED: Mitch Glazier, Michele Ballantyne, Pete Griffin, Mike Huppe, Graham Davies, Todd Dupler, April Boyd, Alisha Edmonson, Erin Burr, Jen Jacobsen, Stan Pierre-Louis, Hector Colon, Tyler Grimm, Emily Goldman, Megan McCorquodale, Elliott Tomlinson, Brendan Kownacki, Mike Platt and Tricia Engle. Pic … Another pic MEDIA MOVE — Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan is now a contributor at The Guardian. More from Semafor’s Max Tani TRANSITIONS — Tkani Finau is now digital manager for Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). He previously was a digital strategist for the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Dems. … Bryan McNamara is now adviser to Sarah Morgenthau, special representative for commercial and business affairs at the State Department. He most recently was chief of staff to New York state Assemblymember Alex Bores. … Peter Comstock is now senior director of government affairs at Autos Drive America. He previously was senior director of legislative affairs at the Associated Builders and Contractors. … Jinhee Kim will be EVP for public events and engagement at The Aspen Institute. She currently is chief creative officer for Events DC. 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.
| | | | 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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