| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
|  Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) dodged a contentious primary matchup against Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), who said he would run in the newly drawn 10th Congressional District after New York's new congressional map became official. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING — President JOE BIDEN took a break from his five-day diplomatic swing through parts of Asia to handle some housekeeping: Early this morning, half a world away in Seoul, he signed Congress' new $40 billion Ukraine aid package and a bill addressing the infant formula shortage for low-income Americans. The move comes after Biden met today with South Korean President YOON SUK-YEOL. They reaffirmed their commitment to jointly standing up to North Korean aggression. WaPo's Seung Min Kim, Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Michelle Ye Hee Lee : "The two presidents agreed to expand combined military exercises with South Korea on and around the Korean Peninsula, which North Korea views as an act of hostility. But Biden also said he was open to meeting with North Korean President KIM JONG UN if the leader of the hermit kingdom was 'sincere' and 'serious.' … "Yoon has been in office for a little over a week , and Biden's journey across the Pacific to meet with him first signifies just how much the U.S. values its relationship with South Korea — and sees potential for it to expand." MEANWHILE, IN NEW YORK … JONES PASSES ON MALONEY SHOWDOWN — A state court late on Friday night released New York's official new congressional map that largely stuck to the drafts that "threw the state's elections into chaos on Monday and threatened Democrats' hopes of picking up several House seats from Republicans in November," Bill Mahoney writes. But one of the most contentious potential primary matchups will be averted. Rep. MONDAIRE JONES (D-N.Y.) said he would run in the newly drawn 10th Congressional District. That means no matchup against Rep. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, the DCCC chair, who this week had angered fellow Dems for jumping into a district that includes much of Jones' current constituency. Jones will be taking on former Mayor BILL DE BLASIO, but no other incumbents are expected to challenge for the open seat. Read Jones' Twitter thread announcing his decision — One to watch: "The plan also left in place a largely Manhattan district that is expected to lead to a primary between well-tenured Democratic Reps. JERRY NADLER and CAROLYN MALONEY. The state's primary is Aug. 23."
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Learn what's next. | | | AND BACK IN WASHINGTON … A FRIDAY NIGHT BLESSING FOR SCHUMER? — On Friday evening, a district judge in Louisiana made official what most of Washington has been anticipating: The Biden administration's plan to lift pandemic-era restrictions on migrants seeking asylum has been blocked. — The context: "The Justice Department said the administration will appeal, but the ruling virtually ensures that restrictions will not end as planned on Monday. A delay would be a blow to advocates who say rights to seek asylum are being trampled, and a relief to some Democrats who fear that a widely anticipated increase in illegal crossings would put them on the defensive in an already difficult midterm election year," AP's Kevin McGill and Elliot Spagat write from New Orleans. — The view from Capitol Hill: The move, as Burgess Everett tweeted late last night, may "take away a big pain point for divided Dems in Congress." For weeks, Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER has held off from advancing a $10 billion bipartisan Covid-relief package because Republicans — and a group of frontline Democrats — have said they want to attach a provision delaying an end to Title 42. That's complicated things, to say the least: Just this week,the House Progressive Caucus reaffirmed its refusal to back anything that ends Title 42, meaning that if it's attached to the Senate Covid deal, it may have a math problem in the House. Now, however, the ruling could give Democrats — even vulnerable frontliners — a reason to stand down on this. (FYI, read Burgess and Marianne LeVine's story from April detailing the Dem debate on the issue.) But then, again, maybe not … Sen. MARK KELLY, who is facing a tough re-election in Arizona, in a Friday statement: "Today's decision does not change the fact that there is a crisis at the border and there must be a detailed plan that can be implemented before Title 42 is lifted. Arizonans deserve a secure, orderly, and humane border response" Good Saturday morning, and thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade , Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Facebook:   | | | THE OTHER GEORGIA PRIMARY TO WATCH — There's been plenty of ink spilled on the fact that BRIAN KEMP is wiping the floor with Trump's endorsee DAVID PERDUE in Georgia's gubernatorial race. But don't forget about the other major Peach State primary: the one for secretary of state, where BRAD RAFFENSPERGER is facing Trump's ire for refusing to "find" him more than 11,000 votes. The test: NYT's Maya King writes from Atlanta that the primary will be a gauge of Trump's vengeance — and whether Republicans really care about 2020 as much as Trump still does. "It all has made the race one of the purest tests yet of whether the 2020 election lie can be weaponized to win elections." A handful of other Georgia headlines worth your time this morning: — There was a lot of hand-wringing about Georgia's new election law among Dems, who worried that it would suppress voter turnout. "But after three weeks of early voting ahead of Tuesday's primary, record-breaking turnout is undercutting predictions that the Georgia Election Integrity Act of 2021 would lead to a falloff in voting," WaPo's Amy Gardner and Matthew Brown report. — One interesting nugget: Trump's political machine recently "transferred $2 million to various pro-David Perdue and anti-Brian Kemp efforts in Georgia," NYT's Shane Goldmacher reports, noting that it is "by far, the most Trump has spent on another politician." — "Georgia's Latino population keeps growing. Why are there so few in office?" by Sabrina Rodríguez — "Herschel Walker's ties to veterans program face scrutiny," by AP's Brian Slodysko — And NBC's Alex Seitz-Wald has an interesting story about a planned $5 billion electric vehicle factory for the Atlanta suburbs that's emerged as a point of contention in the Kemp-Perdue primary, with Perdue decrying the "woke" project. "The controversy exposes a growing rift inside the GOP between its traditional pro-business wing, embodied by Kemp, and an ascendent populist wing, embodied by Perdue, that's as quick to fight companies like Disney and Delta as it is Democrats for opposing conservative social policy. It also underscores the challenge the entire country will face in transitioning to a greener economy. Even climate-friendly projects can negatively impact local environments, and communities and not-in-my-backyard opposition can be fierce and politicized."
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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President Joe Biden greets South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ahead of their summit meeting in Seoul on Saturday, May 21. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 9 THINGS WE READ THAT STUCK WITH US … 1. PAGING POPE FRANCIS — Speaker NANCY PELOSI, a proud Catholic, "will no longer be able to receive communion in her hometown of San Francisco after the local archdiocese said her vow to make abortion legal crossed a line the Catholic church could not ignore," USA Today reported Friday evening. Archbishop SALVATORE J. CORDILEONE's statement : "After numerous attempts to speak with Speaker Pelosi to help her understand the grave evil she is perpetrating, the scandal she is causing, and the danger to her own soul she is risking, I have determined that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion." The move comes after Pope Francis last fall warned bishops against using Eucharist as a political weapon to punish lawmakers. Around the same time, Francis — who has focused his agenda on areas where the speaker actually has much more agreement with the church than perhaps other Republicans, including poverty and climate change — met with Pelosi. It will be interesting to see how Rome responds — and whether Republicans start using this news to attack Democrats. 2. CONCERN IN THE KEYSTONE: Republican operatives in Pennsylvania mounted an all-out blitz to stop state Sen. DOUG MASTRIANO from winning the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Now, they're reckoning with trying to win the governor's mansion "even though many view the party's new standard-bearer as way too out of step with the state's traditionally more moderate electorate," NBC's Allan Smith and Sahil Kapur write. Here's a taste of the quotes in the piece: "As far as what a Pennsylvania government would look like with Mastriano in charge, quite frankly, it's just not something I'm ready to think about at this point," said one longtime GOP operative. 3. LOOK WHO'S TALKING: The Jan. 6 select committee landed a big interview on Friday: RUDY GIULIANI. CNN's Ryan Nobles and Paula Reid report: "Despite Giuliani backing out of the original deposition, the two sides continued to negotiate an appearance, which led to a virtual appearance Friday that lasted for more than nine hours, sources said." 4. PARENTS OF THE YEAR: "The parents of Los Angeles mayor ERIC GARCETTI have enlisted the help of prominent lobbyists to aid their son's beleaguered nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to India," Hailey Fuchs reports. "McGuireWoods Consulting registered to lobby on behalf of SUKEY and GIL GARCETTI on Thursday for the purposes of 'Outreach Related to Confirmation for Ambassadorship Nomination.' … The registration is the latest sign that Garcetti's allies are turning over every possible stone to get his nomination across the finish line." 5. ELLISON'S INFLUENCE: WaPo's Isaac Stanley-Becker and Shawn Boburg have the deets on a call that Oracle Chief LARRY ELLISON participated in after the 2020 election to contest the outcome. "It is the first known example of a technology industry titan joining powerful figures in conservative politics, media and law to strategize about Trump's post-loss options and confer with an activist group that had already filed four lawsuits seeking to uncover evidence of illegal voting."
| | | | A message from Facebook:   | | | 6. SUMMIT STAKES: Biden's planned Summit of the Americas may be on the ropes. AP's Chris Megerian and Matthew Lee report that the gathering, "which the United States is hosting for the first time since the inaugural event in 1994, has risked collapsing over concerns about the guest list." Specifically, Mexican President ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR "has threatened to boycott if Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua aren't included." Why it would be bad for Biden: "A hollow summit would undermine efforts by the U.S. to reassert its influence in Latin America when China is making inroads and concerns grow that democracy is backsliding in the region." 7. REDISTRICTING READ: Not all of the new congressional maps have been finalized. But the early indications aren't good for women. A new study finds "more than a dozen women so far who are running in significantly tougher territory. That's more than double the number who are in districts that will be significantly easier to win after redistricting, the analysis found as of this month," per AP's Sara Burnett. 8. DEMS' MESSAGING MAN: New York City Mayor ERIC ADAMS has called himself the new "face of the Democratic Party." Now, he may be emerging as its new voice, too. Adams, "who took office in January, is assuming a more influential role in the national Democratic Party as a leader whose motto is 'get stuff done' while communicating those accomplishments to voters," Julia Marsh and Sally Goldenberg report. "Case in point: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, just had Adams speak at the DCCC's Chairman's Issues Conference and Weekend in the city on Saturday." What Adams said: "Adams told the audience of 200, composed of DCCC supporters from across the country, that Democrats 'must be better storytellers,' according to a copy of the remarks obtained by POLITICO." 9. IS THIS THE END OF THE BUSH DYNASTY? GEORGE P. BUSH is the last member of the powerful Texas family currency serving in public office as state land commissioner. But now he's running to unseat the Trump-backed incumbent state A.G. KEN PAXTON in Tuesday's primary. Despite bucking his family's misgivings about Trump and embracing the former president, he can't escape the family legacy, NYT's J. David Goodman writes from Argyle, Texas. "A few years ago, Mr. Bush, whose mother is from Mexico and whose father was the governor of Florida, might have won the race handily, his aides believe, and then been held up as a prominent example of a new, more diverse generation of Republicans. But that was before the ground shifted and his family spoke out publicly against Mr. Trump, in an unsuccessful effort to derail his bid for the presidency." CLICKER — "The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics," edited by Matt Wuerker — 15 funnies GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza: — "Surviving the Siege of Kharkiv," by James Verini for NYT Magazine, with photographs by Paolo Pellegrin — "Scot Peterson Sleeps At Night," by Eric Barton in Men's Health: "The day 17 people were shot to death inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the only armed officer on the property stood outside, apparently doing nothing. He can explain, and he does—at length. Is he trying to convince the victims' parents? The survivors? Other cops? Or himself?" — "Andrew Hartzler Wasn't Allowed To Be Gay on Campus. So He's Suing," by Sarah Posner in Tulsa, Okla., for POLITICO Magazine: "A lawsuit seeks to end an exemption to Title IX that has allowed religious schools to receive lucrative federal funding despite policies that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation." — "'We Will Never Be the Same': Bullets and Blindfolds in a Ukrainian City Under Siege," by Danny Gold in Vanity Fair: "When the Russian army occupied Hostomel for 35 days, it visited unspeakable horror on the town and its residents. Then it came for its only doctor, and tore her family apart." — "Cherie Westrich's Gen X Journey From Alt Rock Bands to MAGA Politician," by Ben Jacobs in POLITICO Magazine: "It might seem like an unusual journey, but given the strange political arc of her generation, it might not be." — "Sorcerer's Apprentice," by Kent Russell in Harper's Magazine: "Looking for demons in a disenchanted world."
| | | | DON'T MISS DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | SHAMEFUL — The Lincoln Memorial is closed for cleaning after a "local university graduation celebration that left litter, broken bottles and spilled wine and champagne covering the steps." Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) received a doctorate in liberal studies from Georgetown on Friday, having completed the program even while serving in Congress. His thesis is called "Urban Fail" and argues that "federal urban policies have exacerbated the pressure of outmigration of urban populations and capital and contributed to a condition of urban core decline and decay." SPOTTED at the AAPI Victory Power Fund event with VP Kamala Harris on Friday night at the Kennedy Center: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Auli'i Cravalho, Aasif Mandvi, Jose Antonio Vargas, Min Jin Lee, Neera Tanden, Gautam Raghavan, Opal Vadhan, Zayn Siddique, Erika Moritsugu and Howard Ou. NEW NOMINEES — The White House announced several new nominees: Amy Solomon as assistant A.G. in DOJ's Office of Justice Programs, Milancy Harris as deputy undersecretary of Defense for security and intelligence, Joey Hood as ambassador to Tunisia, Jonathan Henick as ambassador to Uzbekistan and Richard Glick for another term as FERC chair. ENGAGED — Sam Newton, deputy comms director for the Democratic Governors Association, and Kaycee Nail , director of client and government affairs at Penman Group, got engaged earlier this week at the Columbia River Gorge outside Portland, Ore. The couple met in 2017 in Columbia, Mo., while both worked in Missouri state politics. Sam surprised Kaycee by proposing just days after Kaycee threw him a surprise 30th birthday party last weekend at the legendary Judy Restaurant on 14th Street. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Arthur Brooks … Vox's Rebecca Leber … Jeffrey Toobin … Senate GOP's Katharine Cooksey … Abigail P. Gage … Mary Ann Gomez Orta of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute … Mike Podhorzer … Brent Del Monte of BGR … JPMorgan Chase's Ross Rattanasena … Mike Viqueira … Bully Pulpit Interactive's Julia Debo … Wally Hsueh … former Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and George LeMieux (R-Fla.) … former Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) … NBC's Stacey Klein … Edgar Santana of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's office … Mollie Binotto of Sena Kozar Strategies, also celebrating her AAPC 40 under 40 win … POLITICO's Erin Smith … Mosheh Oinounou (4-0) … NowVertical Group's Cody Shankman … CNBC's Steve Liesman … Brandon Pollak … Time's Jeffrey Kluger … John Bratton of the American Conservation Coalition ... Anna Smith Lacey … Jessica Lahey THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here ): CBS "Face the Nation": Robert Gates … Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) … Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) … Jason Furman. FOX "Fox News Sunday," guest-anchored by Martha MacCallum: RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel … NEC Director Brian Deese. Panel: Karl Rove, Julie Pace and Jessica Tarlov. MSNBC "The Sunday Show": Cliff Albright … Jane Harman … Joe Walsh. CNN "State of the Union": NEC Director Brian Deese … Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson … Josh Shapiro. Panel: Jeff Nussbaum, Scott Jennings, Bakari Sellers and Alyssa Farah Griffin. CNN "Inside Politics": Panel: Jeff Zeleny, Marianna Sotomayor, Rachael Bade and Toluse Olorunnipa. ABC "This Week": Ret. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen … Ashish Jha. Panel: Caitlin Dickerson, Sarah Isgur, Stephanie Cutter and Terry Moran. 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 Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine. Correction: Friday's Playbook misspelled Cameron Trimble's name.
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