| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | Presented by |  | | | |  The Supreme Court ruled on bump stocks this morning, striking down a Trump administration rule on the controversial devices. | AP/Mark Schiefelbein | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | The Supreme Court this morning struck down a DONALD TRUMP-era rule that sought to ban “bump stocks,” devices which allow semi-automatic rifles to be fired like fully automatic machine guns. “In a 6-3 decision Friday that split the justices along ideological lines, the court said the definition federal regulators sought to adopt went beyond the words Congress wrote into law nearly nine decades ago,” Josh Gerstein writes. The split:
- “Nothing changes when a semiautomatic rifle is equipped with a bump stock. The firing cycle remains the same,” Justice CLARENCE THOMAS wrote for the court’s conservative majority. “A bump stock merely reduces the amount of time that elapses between separate ‘functions’ of the trigger. … A bump stock does not convert a semi automatic rifle into a machinegun any more than a shooter with a lightning-fast trigger finger does.”
- “Today, the Court puts bump stocks back in civilian hands. To do so, it casts aside Congress’s definition of ‘machinegun’ and seizes upon one that is inconsistent with the ordinary meaning of the statutory text and unsupported by context or purpose,” Justice SONIA SOTOMAYOR wrote in the liberals’ dissent. “When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.”
NDAA SQUEAKS THROUGH — House Republicans this morning narrowly cleared the annual Pentagon policy bill “after Republicans tacked on divisive provisions restricting abortion access, medical treatment for transgender troops and efforts to combat climate change,” Connor O’Brien reports. “Speaker MIKE JOHNSON’s move to permit culture war amendments to the annual National Defense Authorization Act turned a widely bipartisan bill into a measure supported almost entirely by Republicans. The tactic represented a gamble for Johnson, who could have pushed to pass a more bipartisan version with the help of Democrats, but instead catered to a sliver of his right flank. “That gamble ultimately paid off for Johnson as enough Republicans united to win the final vote. But the most conservative parts of the House defense bill stand no chance in the Senate, and the dispute likely won’t be sorted out until after the November elections.” TRUMP’S ABORTION CODE-SWITCHING — Trump yesterday told a group of Republicans to talk about abortion more as election season heats up. But just a few days before, speaking to a confab of staunchly anti-abortion Southern Baptists, Trump wouldn’t utter the word. “The contrast is indicative of how Republicans have often struggled to find a coherent message on the issue — eager to placate their base without alienating the middle. The former president’s remarks capped a tumultuous week that showed just how much reproductive rights remain an electoral millstone for Republicans,” Megan Messerly writes. OUR MAN IN PARIS — “How Emmanuel Macron Turned France Into America,” by Matthew Kaminski in Paris: “France’s leader has changed his country and Europe — and not in ways that he necessarily intended.” Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@politico.com. UPDATE — In response to our item in Playbook this morning reporting on negative comments about the National Rifle Association that Montana GOP Senate candidate TIM SHEEHY made at an event last year, we mistakenly said the Sheehy campaign did not respond to requests for comment. A Sheehy spokesperson did reply to a text message at 5:38 a.m., but to our regret, we did not see the response before publication of the newsletter at 6:18 a.m. The Sheehy campaign responded with the following statement: “Tim’s a political outsider who calls it like he sees it. Under previous leadership at the NRA, they were blowing millions on a lavish lifestyle and vacations for senior leadership and not on protecting our God-given Second Amendment right. They took action, cleaned house and, with new leadership, they are back on track focused on protecting our liberties. Tim is proud to have been endorsed by the NRA with an A rating while [Democratic Sen. JON] TESTER has an F rating because Jon Tester stands in strong support of the Biden-Obama gun control agenda.”
| | | | A message from Comcast: Did you know that most of the data on your smartphone travels over WiFi, not cellular? Thanks to WiFi innovation by Comcast, our customers connect over a billion devices to our network each year. Unlicensed spectrum is key to a fast and secure WiFi experience at home and on the go. Comcast leads the way by developing cutting-edge WiFi gateways that maximize our multi-gig broadband network and spectrum made available by the FCC. Learn more. | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Pope Francis became the first pope to attend the G7 summit this morning. | Andrew Medichini/AP Photo | 1. THE HIGH AND MITRE: Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence — even POPE FRANCIS. The Catholic leader at the G7 summit today “challenged leaders of the world’s wealthy democracies Friday to keep human dignity foremost in developing and using artificial intelligence, warning that such powerful technology risks turning human relations themselves into mere algorithms,” AP’s Nicole Winfield and Kelvin Chan write from Bari, Italy. “In doing so, he became the first pope to attend the G7, offering an ethical take on an issue that is increasingly on the agenda of international summits, government policy and corporate boards alike.” Related read: “How Pope Francis became the AI ethicist for world leaders and tech titans,” by WaPo’s Anthony Faiola, Cat Zakrzewski and Stefano Pitrelli 2. HEY BIG SPENDER: MITCH McCONNELL is done with the upper levels of GOP leadership, planning to retire from his post as Republican leader at the end of this Congress. But he might not be done with leading altogether. “Several sources close to GOP leadership tell Axios that assuming Republicans win the Senate majority in November, McConnell is eyeing chair of the Appropriations Committee,” Axios’ Stef Kight reports, a slot on the Senate roster that would give him quite a bit of sway until his term ends in 2027. Get in line: “Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine), a longtime, close ally of McConnell, is now Appropriations vice chair — the committee's top Republican on the panel, one slot ahead of McConnell on the panel. That could kill the idea, unless another plum slot could be found for her.” Playbook thought bubble: Collins is currently top Republican on both the full committee and Defense subcommittee. McConnell could find a comfortable spot leading the Defense panel, where he’d oversee roughly $1 trillion of yearly spending in his national security wheelhouse without ruffling too many feathers. 3. FRIENDS LIKE THESE: Semafor’s Kadia Goba recounts the rollercoaster road to “understanding Donald Trump’s appeal to a segment of Black America — and his hopes of winning back the presidency by pulling a few precious votes away from Democrats.” When Goba reached out for an interview with Trump himself, campaign staff “started setting up interviews with older athletes who are supporting his campaign,” which led to “a call from Mets and Yankees slugger DARRYL STRAWBERRY. That was the beginning of an odyssey through the heroes and villains of my childhood: Over the next few weeks, I chatted with heavyweight champion MIKE TYSON, stood backstage at a Trump rally with retired NFL star LAWRENCE TAYLOR, and traveled to meet boxing promoter DON KING in person. Eventually, I talked to Trump himself.” Quite the exchange: “Their relationships came up more directly after my next question, when I asked how he responds to Black voters who call him racist. ‘I have so many Black friends that if I were a racist, they wouldn’t be friends, they would know better than anybody, and fast,’ he told me. ‘They would not be with me for two minutes if they thought I was racist — and I’m not racist!’”
| | | | 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. | | | | | 4. KNOWING JEFFREY KATZENBERG: Hollywood has a certain way of making things sparkle. So it’s no surprise that the longtime filmmaker has his latest project — the Biden reelect — humming along, NYT’s Peter Baker writes. Katzenberg has long been a cash cow for Democratic presidential candidates and will bring together a cabal of A-listers (BARACK OBAMA, GEORGE CLOONEY, JULIA ROBERTS to name a few) for a high-dollar fundraiser in Biden’s name this weekend. “While Mr. Katzenberg has not solved Mr. Biden’s age problem by any means and Biden aides noted that some of those he brought to the White House did not need convincing, his efforts to validate the president with the well-heeled set have helped build a war chest that has been outpacing the Trump campaign. … He can be found in the halls of the West Wing offering advice and counsel. He was at Camp David the weekend before the State of the Union address, helping the president prepare for his nationally televised speech.” 5. VIRGINIA IS FOR OTHERS: Virginia hasn’t gone Republican in the presidential election since GEORGE W. BUSH in 2004. But that’s not stopping Trump and a variety of Republican strategists from floating a flip of the Old Dominion — and not entirely without evidence. “Early polls showing Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, cutting into the Democratic president’s lead have served as a wake-up call for Virginia Democrats, who acknowledge headwinds with voters dissatisfied with Biden’s leadership,” WSJ’s Vivian Salama reports from Front Royal. “Republicans say that if Virginia is even remotely on the table for Trump, Biden is in serious trouble in traditional battleground states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.” 6. ANOTHER CRUCIAL MIDWESTERN COUNTY: “In Pivotal West Michigan, Voters Are Exhausted and Underwhelmed,” by NYT’s Mitch Smith in Grand Rapids, Michigan: “With Michigan again set to play a potentially decisive electoral role, Kent County finds itself back at the center of the presidential race this year. Mr. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have each visited in recent months, and both parties are working to ensure their voters turn out in November. For Mr. Biden, who has seen declining support among Arab American and Black voters, building on his 2020 gains in Kent County could help offset losses in other parts of Michigan.” 7. INFLATION NATION: “Anxiety over persistent inflation helps drive down US consumer sentiment for third consecutive month,” by AP’s Christopher Rugaber: “The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, released Friday in a preliminary version, dropped to 65.6 this month from a final reading of 69.1 in May. June’s reading is about 30% higher than the bottom reached in June 2022, when inflation peaked at a four-decade high, but is still below levels typically associated with a healthy economy. Consumers’ outlook has generally been gloomy since the pandemic and particularly after inflation first spiked in 2021.”
| | | | JOIN US ON 6/13 FOR A TALK ON THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE: As Congress and the White House work to strengthen health care affordability and access, innovative technologies and treatments are increasingly important for patient health and lower costs. What barriers are appearing as new tech emerges? Is the Medicare payment process keeping up with new technologies and procedures? Join us on June 13 as POLITICO convenes a panel of lawmakers, officials and experts to discuss what policy solutions could expand access to innovative therapies and tech. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the Equality PAC Gala at Union Station last night: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), and Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Emily Randall, Sarah McBride, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, Nina West, Joe Vogel, Angel Vazquez, Jeff Larivee, Benny Stanislawski, Michaela Kurinsky-Malos, Julie Johnson and David Cicilline. — Catholics for Choice hosted its 50th Anniversary Celebration at Hotel Zena yesterday evening, where Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) received the Frances Kissling Award for commitment to reproductive justice and Catholic social justice and Catholics for Choice President Jamie Manson presented the awards and honored Frances Kissling, CFC’s longest-serving president and the namesake of the award received by Marta Alanis of Catolicas por el Derecho a Decidir Argentina. SPOTTED: Kate Kelly, Kimberly Inez McGuire, Natalia Kenem, Gloria Romero Roses, Karl Hoffman, Chris Wimbush and Ashley Wilson. — We The Vets yesterday held a 75th Anniversary Flag Day Convening at Mount Vernon, home of America’s first veteran commander in chief, George Washington. SPOTTED: Ellen Gustafson, Dan Vallone, Ken Edmonds, Bill Braniff, Mary Tobin, Besa Pinchotti, Ben Keiser, retired Adm. Steve Abbot, Mary Beth Bruggeman, Eric Bronner, Jeremy Butler, Jason Galui, D'Juan Wilcher, Todd Helmus and Zaneta Adams. — SPOTTED at Invenergy’s office opening party Tuesday: Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) and Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Jason Grumet, Jay Timmons, Abby Hopper, Ray Long, Lisa Jacobson, Heather Reams and Christina Hayes. 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.
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