| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity and Lisa Kashinsky | | Presented by |  | | | IMMIGRATION IMBROGLIO — Elizabeth Warren is about to give her political opponents fresh fodder. The U.S. Senate is set to vote today on a bipartisan border bill that would tighten immigration laws while delivering more than $1 billion to local governments and groups sheltering migrants. Warren is planning to vote against it. “If we are going to do work in the immigration area, we need both border security and a pathway to citizenship for people who are working hard for the United States of America,” Warren told our colleague Mia McCarthy at the Capitol earlier this week. So is Sen. Ed Markey, according to a spokesperson. It’s not the first time they’ve done so. The senators took a procedural vote against the border deal the last time around, when it came up as part of a foreign aid package. This time it’s a standalone bill. But that’s not changing their calculus. Also like last time, their “no” votes won’t be the bill’s fatal blow. It’s already hemorrhaging Senate support on both the right and the left. And it’s still a non-starter in the Republican-controlled House.
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Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren. | Winslow Townson/AP | But Warren’s dissension will widen an attack lane that her Republican Senate opponents have already carved out against her. Attorney and Marine veteran John Deaton has taken to social media to bash Warren for her initial vote. And he turned his recent trip to the U.S.-Mexico border into a campaign ad in which he blames “the failed policies and partisanship of career politicians like Elizabeth Warren” for turning every state into “a border state.” Quincy City Council President Ian Cain has similarly blamed Warren for Massachusetts’ migrant crisis, writing on social media that she “keeps Washington paralyzed and prevents comprehensive reform to solve illegal immigration.” And he’s already trying to turn her likely vote today against her. “For years, politicians in Washington, including Elizabeth Warren, have done a lot of talking and posturing, but our border continues to be a problem and is only getting worse because they refuse to do what’s necessary,” Cain said in a statement to Playbook. Warren is less likely to face blowback on Democratic-controlled Beacon Hill, where the Big Three are almost exclusively blaming congressional Republicans who tanked the original deal for the federal government's inaction on immigration. Gov. Maura Healey, House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka all publicly lobbied for the initial bill’s passage, issuing a joint statement just before the February vote warning that “missing this opportunity for true bipartisan reform” would “have negative ripple effects on states … for decades to come.” But Mariano has since been the only one of the three to publicly acknowledge that the state’s two senators were against the deal — and even then, he still blamed Republicans for its demise. Spilka on Wednesday publicly called on Warren and Markey to back the bill this time around. “I’m hoping they support it,” she told reporters at the State House. “We need their help.” GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Stay cool today! TODAY — Healey delivers the Bunker Hill Community College commencement address at 11 a.m. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll delivers the UMass Boston commencement address at 9:30 a.m., attends a Gavin Foundation gala at 5:30 p.m. in the Seaport and a Community Teamwork celebration at 7:30 p.m. in Dracut. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a coffee hour at 9:30 a.m. in Dorchester, speaks at a Memorial Day ceremony at the Boston Common at 11 a.m. and attends Ethos' annual senior prom at 12:30 p.m. in West Roxbury. Rep. Ayanna Pressley introduces a resolution for equitable access to reproductive health care for people with disabilities at 2 p.m. at the Capitol. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email us: kgarrity@politico.com and lkashinsky@politico.com.
| | | | A message from NextEra Energy: With a presence in 49 states, NextEra Energy is one of the nation’s largest capital investors in infrastructure, creating thousands of jobs and generating millions of dollars in new tax revenue for communities across the U.S. We generate more electricity from the wind and sun than anyone in the world as we work toward securing America’s energy independence and security with clean and emission-free low-cost energy. | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “‘HERO Act’ veterans services bill approved by state House,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald. — “Beacon Hill weighing how to prevent campaign-season AI deepfakes,” by Katie Lannan, GBH News. — “Gov. Healey spreads the word about mental health care availability in New Bedford visit,” by Frank Mulligan, The Standard-Times.
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “Two people enter Boston City Hall with gun, City Council meeting disrupted,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “A person with a gun attempted to enter Boston City Hall on Wednesday afternoon, prompting a police investigation and briefly disrupting a City Council meeting. Sgt. Det. John Boyle, chief spokesman for Boston Police, said a man and a woman, one of whom ‘was in possession of a firearm,’ tried to gain entry to the building at noon. The armed individual did not make it past the security checkpoint." — “‘We have to learn from the past’: BPS backs off short-term plans to close schools,” by Deanna Pan and Christopher Huffaker, The Boston Globe: “Boston Public Schools has scaled back immediate plans for sweeping school closures despite warning for months about the hard decisions necessary to contend with dwindling enrollment and persistent inequities in student experiences. The district instead is proposing consolidating two schools that already share a campus and closing its last standalone middle school, which was already announced in January.”
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | | | WHAT'S ON CAMPBELL'S DOCKET | | — “AG Campbell stops ‘predatory’ lender EasyPay from operating in Mass,” by Susannah Sudborough, MassLive: “As part of EasyPay’s agreement with the attorney general’s office, the company agreed to pay $625,000 in restitution to its former Massachusetts customers, according to Campbell’s office. Additionally, the lender agreed to cease collection efforts targeting those customers.”
| | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES | | — “It’s been four years since the pandemic shutdowns. Riders in Boston are still waiting extra long for the train,” by Taylor Dolven, The Boston Globe: “The MBTA’s weekday bus and subway service is about 13 percent to 14 percent less this spring than it was in Spring 2019, before the pandemic, according to data provided by the MBTA.” — “Tolls at the Mass. border: Worcester senator calls on governor to explore idea,” by Kinga Borondy, Telegram & Gazette: “Sen. Robyn Kennedy, D-Worcester, filed an amendment to the Senate's proposed budget for the next fiscal year that would address the question of what she has called equity in tolling.
| | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | | OUT OF ORDER — Things got heated on the House floor Wednesday after Rep. Jim McGovern ran through the list of charges former President Donald Trump is currently facing, including, as McGovern put it, “sending [a] hush money payment to a porn star to avoid a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign.” House business ground to a halt, as Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) tried to get McGovern’s remarks struck from the record. Eventually, Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.) did just that, barring McGovern from speaking on the House floor for the rest of the day. “Apparently, Republicans are allowed to say that Trump's trial is a sham, and the judge is corrupt and the jury is rigged. But it's against the rules for me to even acknowledge that the trials exist,” McGovern wrote on X after the spat. By the evening, he was fundraising off the incident. CONTRACEPTION PROTECTION — The U.S. Senate plans to take up a bill led by Sen. Ed Markey that would codify contraception as "a fundamental right" next month, our D.C. colleague Anthony Adragna reports. The legislation is on the move after Trump briefly opened the door to restrictions on birth control access before trying to slam it shut.
| | | | A message from NextEra Energy:   | | | | | ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | | — “Auchincloss threatens funding to colleges over antisemitism claims,” by Tiziana Dearing, Anthony Brooks, Rob Lane and Roberto Scalese, WBUR: “Speaking on WBUR's Radio Boston, U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss said universities that fail to protect Jewish students from harassment are violating federal law and could lose federal funding. … But when asked, Auchincloss declined to offer a ‘line’ Israel could cross in its treatment of civilians that would change how he feels about U.S. support." — “Harvard’s governing board overrules faculty, bars 13 students who participated in pro-Palestinian encampment from receiving degrees,” by Hilary Burns, The Boston Globe.
| | IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN | | — “Vineyard Wind 1 trying to pick up pace with good weather,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Beacon: “The slow pace of construction isn’t a major problem in the long run, but it suggests building a wind farm off the coast, particularly during the winter months when winds are unusually strong, is not easy.”
| | | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS | | | — “Legal weed outfits sue feds over US law that they say stunts business growth in Mass.,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “Three local plaintiffs involved in legal cannabis businesses under state law are suing U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, attempting to convince a federal judge that the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional with regard to cannabis industries.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | EYES EMOJI — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed while guest-hosting “The Sean Hannity Show” podcast on Wednesday that while in Fort Myers in March for a Red Sox spring training game, he was stopped at a restaurant by people with “Red Sox stuff” who told him to “send more illegals to Martha’s Vineyard.” He told the story in a pretty poor Boston accent for someone who went to Harvard. — “Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch asks city council for nearly 80 percent raise,” by Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger: “About three weeks after consultants recommended raising Mayor Thomas Koch's salary, the mayor has formally requested a $285,000 salary from city council — a 79% increase. The consultants recommended a pay raise from his $159,141 to as much as $370,000. The mayor coupled the request with a proposal to boost the councilors' own compensation from just under $30,000 to $47,500 each.”
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S ENERGY SUMMIT: The future of energy faces a crossroads in 2024 as policymakers and industry leaders shape new rules, investments and technologies. Join POLITICO’s Energy Summit on June 5 as we convene top voices to examine the shifting global policy environment in a year of major elections in the U.S. and around the world. POLITICO will examine how governments are writing and rewriting new rules for the energy future and America’s own role as a major exporter. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | MEDIA MATTERS | | — “GBH cuts staff and programming,” by Liz Neisloss, GBH News: “GBH announced layoffs of 31 staff members on Wednesday, representing 4 percent of its overall workforce. ... The most dramatic cuts are to programming in GBH’s News division. Goldberg announced that local television programs in that department Greater Boston, Talking Politics and Basic Black will cease production immediately.”
| | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE | | SURVEY SAYS — Former Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte has built her gubernatorial campaign around warning that New Hampshire is “one election away from turning into” its southern neighbor. A new survey of likely New Hampshire voters from UMass Lowell and YouGov shows that message is resonating with the Republican base — but not so much outside of it in this semi-open primary state. Less than a third of respondents, 30 percent, think the Granite State is at “great risk” of becoming too much like the Bay State over the next decade, while 34 percent say there’s “somewhat” of a risk and 36 percent say there’s no “risk at all.” Among Republicans: 49 percent say there’s a “great risk,” while 32 percent say there’s “somewhat” of a risk and 20 percent see no risk at all.
| | | | A message from NextEra Energy: Leading America with safe, reliable and affordable clean energy
The need for reliable, low-cost clean energy in America has never been greater – and NextEra Energy is ready to deliver it.
Millions of Americans depend on us to power their lives in good weather and bad. By investing in resilient, storm-tested infrastructure and harnessing innovative technology, we’re keeping reliability high and bills low.
We are also working toward securing America’s energy independence and security with clean and emission-free low-cost energy. We’ve virtually eliminated foreign oil from our power plants and, today, generate more electricity from the wind and sun than anyone in the world – while continuing lead in battery storage technology. | | | | | | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | WEDDING BELLS — Eliza Wiant, campaign manager for Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Mackenzie Thomas, senior manager for responsible AI at Google, were married by Mayor Denise Simmons at Cambridge City Hall. Pic and pic. TRANSITIONS — Randolph Bell is now VP of government and regulatory affairs at JERA Americas. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Gerald James Holton, Andrew M. Cable, state Rep. Jim O’Day, Stephanie Slysz and Dorchester Reporter editor and publisher Bill Forry. Happy belated to Michael Schell, retired federal judge Nancy Gertner and Alex Friedman, who celebrated Wednesday. NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: RIGHT ON RESCHEDULE — Shaleen Title of the Parabola Center joins hosts Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela to discuss a survey on what Americans think marijuana legalization should look like. Plus, how BPS parents feel about the new facilities plan and Koczela’s takeaways from the national pollsters conference. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | 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 politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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