With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
WHEN OBAMA MET AOC — New Jonathan Martin column: “Obama Opens His Doors To Next-Gen Democratic Leaders”
JMart details a series of meetings that former president BARACK OBAMA recently hosted with the likes of Reps. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.), MAXWELL FROST (D-Fla.), MIKIE SHERRILL (D-N.J.), HALEY STEVENS (D-Mich.) and others:
“The former president was careful to avoid criticizing [President JOE] BIDEN with the lawmakers, only encouraging Democrats to be aggressive marketing their accomplishments. They should establish their own identity, he said, while allowing that the party’s fate in 2024 would be largely tied to Biden’s success.
“One of the gatherings, though, included members who also worked in Obama’s administration and when the former president recalled having won Florida twice, one lawmaker interjected that he also won Ohio. (Biden, few in the room needed reminding, didn’t win either state in 2020.)
“Multiple attendees of the conversations told me it was never fully clear to them why Obama wanted to gather. The meetings were described to me a mix of get-to-know-you chatter mixed with long-winded advice, talk of best practices and curiosity about what the lawmakers were hearing at home. One Democratic perennial that arose: how to avoid coming off as elitist.”
MISS ME YET? — “Jill Stein, 2016 Green Candidate, Now Running Cornel West’s Bid,” by Bloomberg’s Gregory Korte: JILL “STEIN said Wednesday that she’s serving as the ‘interim coordinator’ for the [CORNEL] WEST campaign, a catch-all role that encompasses fundraising, communications and campaign management until West can build a more traditional campaign.”
MODI OPERANDI — It’s Modi day in Washington.
Indian Prime Minister NARENDRA MODI, fresh off an outdoor yoga session at the U.N. yesterday afternoon and an intimate dinner with the Bidens at the White House last night, will be feted by Washington today with both a joint address to Congress and a state dinner. In the Biden era, the only other foreign leader to have been afforded those twin honors is South Korean President YOON SUK YEOL. (French President EMMANUEL MACRON scored the state dinner but was not asked to address Congress.)
But South Korea and France are longtime close American allies with unimpeachable credentials when it comes to the two foreign policy priorities Biden talks about most frequently: (1) defending Ukraine from Russia and (2) the global clash between autocracy and democracy.
Where does Modi’s India fit into those concerns?
India has abstained from crucial U.N. votes holding Russia accountable for its attack on its neighbor and has become VLADIMIR PUTIN’s most eager oil customer since the war started. (“In a little over a year, India has gone from purchasing hardly any Russian oil to buying about half of what the country exports by sea,” the NYT reports this morning in a deep investigation into the Russia-India oil relationship.)
Meanwhile at home, Modi and his Hindu nationalist party have cracked down on press freedoms, jailed a political opponent and persecuted Indian Muslims.
The contradiction between Biden’s rhetoric about putting idealism at the heart of American foreign policy and his warm embrace of Modi has been the talk of Washington foreign policy circles all week. Our Alex Ward notes on today’s Playbook Daily Briefing that Biden’s Modi-palooza represents the president’s greatest backsliding in his commitment to defending global democracy from creeping autocracy since Biden fist-bumped Crown Prince MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN on Saudi soil.
FT’s Ed Luce noted that “Modi is trampling on too many rights to mention — religious freedom at the forefront. Yet the U.S. State Department is as quiet about those as it is loud in condemning the transgressions of others in lesser positions on the global chessboard. This can only deepen cynicism about the gap between what America says and does. In an era where the global south is up for grabs, such double standards do little for U.S. credibility.”
Members of Biden’s own party are on his back about the meeting. Seventy-five Democrats in the House and Senate sent the president a letter on Tuesday pressing Biden to raise Modi’s human record during the visit.
The White House promises Biden will do so. The big question today is whether that happens in private or during their midday news conference. (Modi rarely takes questions from the press, so we suppose just getting him to agree to the format was a kind of minor democratic victory for Biden.)
This may be the rare foreign policy decision for Biden in which his support from Republicans is roughly equal to his criticism from Democrats.
— On the left: AOC tweeted last night that she will be joining Reps. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-Mich.) and ILHAN OMAR (D-Minn.) in boycotting Modi’s speech.
— On the right: The GOP’s China hawks are patting Biden on the back for drawing India closer. “As we extend a warm welcome to Prime Minister Modi, it is crucial that the Biden Administration, and the U.S. Congress, prioritize this incredibly important relationship,” Sen. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.) said in a statement. “Our nations’ economic and security interests overlap on many of the most pressing issues, especially the growing hostility of the Chinese Communist Party in the Himalayas and in the Indian Ocean.”
And that, of course, is the crux of Biden’s decision: Though the war in Ukraine is the most immediate pressing foreign policy issue Biden faces day to day, India’s cozying up to Russia and its democratic backsliding can be forgiven in exchange for a long-term gamble that showering Modi with love — and trade deals and weapons sales, which will be announced today — will strengthen a U.S.-India partnership to contain China.
National Security Adviser JAKE SULLIVAN, who met with Modi in India last week, has been batting away the hypocrisy charges in both private and public since the state visit was announced. Biden, Sullivan said recently, is playing the “long game.”
Related reads: “U.S. to ease visas for skilled Indian workers as Modi visits,” by Reuters’ Trevor Hunnicutt and Ted Hesson … “The Bidens’ India state dinner menu blends Indian, American flavors,” by WaPo’s Emily Heil … “Biden and Modi Deals Span Drones, Jet Engines, Space and Chips,” by Bloomberg’s Justin Sink
Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line with your favorite celebrity spotteds from tonight’s state dinner: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
BREAKING OVERNIGHT — “Russian Court Rejects Appeal to Release Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich,” by WSJ’s Ann M. Simmons and Shelby Holliday
ALITO FALLOUT — The latest bombshell ProPublica reporting about Justice SAMUEL ALITO’s relationship with conservative mega-donor PAUL SINGER — and Alito’s effort to preempt the story with a WSJ op-ed — continues to drive much conversation throughout Washington and the broader media ecosystem, especially after the Journal editorial board weighed in on the hubbub last night.
— On the Hill: Senate Judiciary Chair DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) said his committee would move forward on ethics legislation for the Supreme Court after July Fourth, WaPo’s Robert Barnes and John Wagner report.
— In the media: As scrutiny of Alito ramped up, so did criticism of the Journal’s opinion pages, NYT’s Katie Robertson reports. “We’re curious to know whether The Journal fact-checked the essay before publication,” ProPublica editor-in-chief STEPHEN ENGELBERG said in a statement. “We strongly reject the headline’s assertion that ‘ProPublica Misleads Its Readers,’ which the piece declared without anyone having read the article and without asking for our comment.” Pulitzer winner and prominent former WSJer JOHN CARREYROU called it “a terrible look” for the Journal.
— In the WSJ: But in a new editorial last night, the WSJ editorial board blasted both its critics and ProPublica, describing the Alito-Singer controversy as “a non-scandal built on partisan spin intended to harm the Justice and the current Court majority.” Writes the board: “This is about the left’s fury at having lost control of the Court, which they had counted on for decades.” (Worth noting: Republican-appointed justices have, in fact, controlled a majority or half the court for the past half-century.)
— In the polls: Quinnipiac finds the court’s public approval rating sinking to 30%, its lowest since they started asking in 2004.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
2024 WATCH
FORE! — As Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS steps onto the national stage, the spate of news stories examining ethical questions from his tenure in Tallahassee keeps growing. The latest comes from WaPo’s Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, Nate Jones, Michael Scherer and Alice Crites, who report that DeSantis got private flights to political events from deep-pocketed donors — as well as a golf simulator for the governor’s mansion from MORI HOSSEINI. The simulator, which could be valued at tens of thousands of dollars, was approved by the proper channels, a DeSantis spox says.
STAFFING UP — SHEILA NIX will be Harris’ chief of staff on the reelect, Axios’ Sophia Cai reports. She’s currently chief of staff to Education Secretary MIGUEL CARDONA.
NOTABLE ENDORSEMENT — Indiana Gov. ERIC HOLCOMB endorsed native son MIKE PENCE’s presidential campaign. He’s the first sitting governor to publicly back the former VP.
WARNING SIGN FOR BIDEN — Our West Wing Playbook colleagues Chris Cadelago, Eli Stokols and Lauren Egan report relay “nervousness that early fundraisers aren’t delivering as they’d hoped. … Two people who sent out a flurry of invites for fundraising events in California this week said they received only single-digit responses.”
THE NEW LITMUS TEST — CHRIS CHRISTIE is the only major GOP presidential candidate to tell The Daily Caller’s Diana Glebova that he wouldn’t fire FBI Director CHRISTOPHER WRAY. Everyone else either vows to do so or says they’re open to it.
New this morning: “Christie Lashes Trump, to the Slice of the G.O.P. Open to It,“ by NYT’s Trip Gabriel
CONGRESS
THE GOP’S SCHIFF SHOW — House Republicans successfully censured Rep. ADAM SCHIFF (D-Calif.) in a 213-209 party line vote yesterday, punishing Schiff for his Trump-Russia comments. He’s just the third member of Congress to be censured in the 21st century.
The right’s POV: It’s a victory for Rep. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-Fla.), who led the charge and had to regroup after some Republicans abandoned ship last week when the resolution included a $16 million fine.
Schiff’s POV: Schiff isn’t too upset, the L.A. Times’ Owen Tucker-Smith reports: He considers the reprimand from the GOP House a “badge of honor” that could boost his Senate campaign.
The big picture: Between the censure of Schiff and the push to impeach Biden later this week, the growing politicization of Congress has become a defining feature of Capitol Hill.
About that impeachment drive: “House Republicans have found their escape hatch,” reports Axios’ Andrew Solender. “The Rules Committee is preparing a Thursday vote to refer the measure, which targets Biden’s [handling] of the U.S.-Mexico border, to both the Homeland Security and Judiciary committees. … The move heads off a direct vote on whether to kill the measure, in which many Republicans planned to vote with Democrats.”
And there’s this: Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) called Rep. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-Colo.) a “little bitch” to her face yesterday on the floor, The Daily Beast’s Zachary Petrizzo and Sam Brodey report. (Greene later told our Olivia Beavers that the Beast’s report was “impressively correct.”)
THE BIGGS PICTURE — Rep. ANDY BIGGS (R-Ariz.) challenged KEVIN McCARTHY for the speakership — and he could do so again at any time with the motion to vacate. But the far-right thorn in McCarthy’s side actually has some compassion for the speaker’s tough predicament in a new interview with Olivia Beavers, and he doesn’t sound ready to pull the trigger. “I have a certain degree of empathy” thanks to his experience trying to corral votes as the Arizona state Senate president a decade ago, Biggs says.
And it would take something “remarkable” to get him to unseat McCarthy. That “suggests that one of the right flank’s most vocal figures hasn’t figured whether he wants to be an occasional McCarthy gadfly — or the first to un-sheath the knife to take out the speaker,” Olivia writes.
JUDICIARY SQUARE
THE BIG HUNTER QUESTION — “Did Hunter Biden get off easy? We asked the experts,” by Betsy Woodruff Swan: “The leniency — or lack thereof — of the plea agreement may be in the eye of the beholder.”
Mark your calendars: “Judge sets July 26 court date for Hunter Biden’s initial court appearance,” by ABC’s Lucien Bruggeman, Aaron Katersky and Soo Rin Kim
Meanwhile in Los Angeles: “Snctm sex club founder banned after naming Hunter Biden as former member,” by L.A. Times’ Andrea Chang
MORE POLITICS
FOLLOWING THE MONEY — A new Raw Story investigation from Mark Alesia examines the practice of former politicians using “zombie committees” to redirect campaign donations to other purposes — sometimes intended specifically to burnish their own legacies. In just the past 10 years, $14 million of such money has gone from federal-level politicians to colleges and universities. It’s typically legal, but experts say it’s ethically questionable to use donations this way that were intended to support a political campaign. Among the names: ELTON GALLEGLY created a replica of his Hill office at California Lutheran University. Same with JOE PITTS at Asbury University. Plus CLIFF STEARNS, MIKE CONAWAY, BILL NELSON and more.
THE NEW TED CRUZ — “Ted Cruz is known as a ‘partisan knife fighter.’ Can he convince Texans he’s an effective lawmaker?” by the Houston Chronicle’s Benjamin Wermund: “The Texas Republican is touting past efforts to reach across the aisle to designate new federal highways, invest in space exploration and pass protections for women in military academies.”
THE WHITE HOUSE
WELCOME ABOARD — “Biden world once rolled their eyes at Gavin Newsom. Now, they love the guy,” by Chris Cadelago and Jennifer Haberkorn: “After some skepticism and mistrust of the younger governor, the president and his political orbit have found a loyal soldier in California.”
WAR IN UKRAINE
SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS — “Top U.S. official makes secret push to win over Ukraine war sceptics,” by FT’s Demetri Sevastopulo and Henry Foy: “Biden’s top national security aide will fly to Denmark this weekend for an unannounced meeting with representatives from India, Brazil and other countries that have not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a bid to boost support for Kyiv. Officials from South Africa, Turkey and possibly China are expected to attend.”
AMERICA AND THE WORLD
DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — Just days after Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN visited Beijing in a bid to improve U.S.-Sino relations — and after Biden roiled them again by calling Chinese President XI JINPING a “dictator” — Alex Ward and Jonathan Lemire report that revelations about Chinese military/intelligence plans in Cuba are straining things anew: “Now, the relationship between the world’s two foremost powers is teetering again after it showed brief signs of stability,” they write, after “Biden committed the cardinal sin of politics: speaking too truthfully.”
MEDIAWATCH
BEAST OF NO NATION — “‘We’re All at the Whims of Barry’: Will the Daily Beast Find a Buyer?” by Vanity Fair’s Charlotte Klein: “Owner BARRY DILLER ‘has always had a very strong soft spot for the Beast,’ says founding editor TINA BROWN. Despite uncertainty in the newsroom over a potential sale, ‘reporters haven’t been jumping from the airplane’s exit,’ says one.”
Geraldo Rivera quit “The Five.”
Jay Powell revealed he’s an OG Deadhead.
It was a big day for the Congressional Sneaker Caucus.
Greg Gutfeld is having a moment.
SPOTTED: Keene, N.H., Mayor George Hansel having lunch at Santa Rosa Taqueria yesterday. … Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) leaving the British Embassy with a bottle of Balvenie scotch.
OUT AND ABOUT — The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law celebrated its 60th birthday with a Kennedy Center celebration last night that honored civil rights leaders. SPOTTED: Kristen Clarke, Damon Hewitt, Max Kennedy, Marc Morial, Danielle Holley, Ron Machen, Laura Murphy, Janai Nelson, Maya Wiley, Vanita Gupta, Jenny Yang, Melanie Campbell, Wade Henderson, Margaret Huang, Patrick Gaspard, Starsky Wilson, Chanelle Hardy and Cornell William Brooks.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Collin Cummings is joining Chris Christie’s campaign as deputy campaign manager. He most recently was political director for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s reelect and executive director of Georgians First Leadership Committee.
NEW NOMINEE — Biden is tapping Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Charlotte Burrows for a third term, Bloomberg’s Rebecca Rainey and George Weykamp scooped.
TRANSITIONS — Stu Sandler is joining OnMessage Inc. and expanding the firm to the Midwest. He most recently was political director at the NRSC. … Miguel Salazar is now political director for Rep. Colin Allred’s Texas Senate campaign. He previously was comms director for the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. … Benjamin Gray is joining the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation as VP. He most recently was at Google, and is a Twitter and FBI alum.
ENGAGED — Jonathan Cousimano, senior director for member engagement at the DCCC, and Kate Brescia of Everytown for Gun Safety got engaged Sunday at the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, Md. They met four years ago at a summer solstice party hosted by friends. Pic … Another pic
— Erin McBride, comms director for Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.), and Shaun Taylor, deputy chief of staff and legislative director for Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), got engaged in Amalfi, Italy, on June 8. The couple met in 2019 at Taste of the South. Pic … Another pic
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) (9-0) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) … Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Blake Moore (R-Utah) … AP’s Jill Colvin … Apple News’ Michael Falcone … Brian Rell … Pia Carusone … ICANN’s Carlos Reyes … Nate Sizemore of Sen. Deb Fischer’s (R-Deb.) office … Alisha Sud of FasterCures … Lauren Weiner of the ACLU … Brit Hume … Herald Group’s Steven Smith … Dana Harris … CRC Advisors’ Brian Doherty … Adam Sabes … Andrew Malcolm … DNC’s Sam Cornale … Carson Daly
Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] 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.
