Brittney Griner comes home

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Dec 08, 2022 View in browser   By Eli Okun Presented by "Today, it's just a happy day for me and my family, so I'm going to smile right now," Cherelle Griner said. | Patrick Semansky/AP Photo FREEDOM — WNBA star BRITTNEY GRINER was released from Russian detention today and is returning home to the U.S. after the countries agreed to end her nine-month saga with a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer VIKTOR BOUT, as CBS' Andres Triay, Pat Milton, Margaret Brennan, Christina Ruffini, Steven Portnoy and Arden Farhi scooped . After extended negotiations, President JOE BIDEN signed off on the deal within the last week and commuted Bout's sentence. CBS learned about the agreement a week ago but agreed to delay publication given the danger that it could fall apart. "This is a day we've worked toward for a long time," Biden said. "We never stopped pushing for her release. It took painstaking and intense negotiations." CHERELLE GRINER, Brittney Griner's wife, thanked the administration and broke into a big grin at the end of her comments: "Today, it's just a happy day for me and my family, so I'm going to smile right now." Griner's release is a high-profile victory for the administration's efforts to bring detained Americans home — and a rare example of ongoing diplomacy between the U.S. and Russia despite the war in Ukraine. "But Moscow drove a hard bargain," notes WaPo's Robyn Dixon : Despite American entreaties, Russia wouldn't agree to a two-for-one swap to release PAUL WHELAN alongside Griner. How it happened, via Alex Ward and Jonathan Lemire Whelan's four-year detention was the cloud that hung over the Griner announcement. Biden said Russia is handling his case differently "for totally illegitimate reasons" but that the U.S. wouldn't stop advocating for him. In a statement, his brother DAVID WHELAN said the news was "a catastrophe for Paul," but he expressed appreciation for the government's advance notice. "The Biden Administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn't going to happen." Paul Whelan told CNN's Jennifer Hansler by phone that he was "greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release … I don't understand why I'm still sitting here." There's also concern about the decision to release Bout, as Lara Seligman reports . Some Pentagon officials worry that the trafficker, known as the "Merchant of Death," will "return to illegally trafficking weapons, potentially fueling conflicts across the world," especially in Africa. "We cannot ignore that releasing Bout back into the world is a deeply disturbing decision," Senate Foreign Relations Chair BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.) said in a statement. Republicans are already spotlighting Bout's release. "This is a gift to VLADIMIR PUTIN, and it endangers American lives," House GOP Leader KEVIN McCARTHY tweeted . "Leaving Paul Whelan behind for this is unconscionable." WHAT BRINGS US TOGETHER — The House today passed the Senate version of the bill to codify same-sex and interracial marriage rights, 258-169-1. Speaker NANCY PELOSI got slightly emotional as she gaveled the final tally, which followed some impassioned testimony on the floor on both sides of the debate. The landmark legislation now will go to Biden's desk to be signed into law. Notably, the bill landed the support of 39 Republicans — several fewer than the 47 who voted for it this summer. The drop, which followed a more intense pressure campaign from the right, came despite the bill getting more GOP-friendly with religious liberty provisions added in the Senate. The GOP vote-switchers, via WaPo's Marianna Sotomayor Former Rep. BARNEY FRANK (D-Mass.) was among those who came to the House to witness passage. The first member of Congress to come out voluntarily told Semafor's Joseph Zeballos-Roig that it was a full-circle moment, recalling the 1996 passage of the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned same-sex marriage: "I was there for the birth, and now I'm here for the funeral." Good Thursday afternoon. What legislation's funeral would you like to attend? Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com .   A message from BlackRock: People are working hard all across America. So we're hard at work to help them build a better future. On behalf of our clients, we invest $20 billion in U.S. roads, bridges, and infrastructure. At BlackRock, we help Americans invest for retirement, offer greater access to markets with low-cost investment options, and help communities thrive. BlackRock is invested in the future of Americans. Learn more.   NO LABELS LATEST — Centrist group No Labels has named BENJAMIN CHAVIS, a former NAACP chief executive, as a national co-chair joining JOE LIEBERMAN, the former Democratic senator, and outgoing GOP Gov. LARRY HOGAN of Maryland. The move came hours after Daniel Lippman published a story in which former employees described what they believe can be a difficult workplace for minority and female colleagues amid a cutthroat culture where staffers are routinely fired or pushed out. No Labels officials dismissed the complaints as coming from aggrieved ex-employees and said the demanding workload is justified by the goals of the organization. Chavis, who was previously a No Labels volunteer, said in the story that the organization has a "commitment to diversity and inclusion and treating all people with decency and respect." In an email to supporters, the group said it was "thrilled Dr. Chavis has agreed to help lead the movement, not only because of his iconic reputation, but because his career reflects exactly what we want No Labels to become --- a force for good that changes Washington for the long term." The email also noted the group would host a Zoom in late January about its future direction. In a brief interview, Chavis said he had been in discussions with No Labels leaders for the last eight months about becoming a national co-chair and his agreement to serve in that role "had nothing to do with the article in POLITICO." No Labels did not respond to a request for comment on the announcement. CONGRESS THE NEW MAJORITY — McCarthy announced that he'd create a select committee on China "to expose and fight against the Chinese Communist Party's cyber, trade, and military threats against America." He said Rep. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-Wis.) would chair the panel. UP IN SMOKE, PART I — Sens. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) and JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas) have gotten a provision killed that would have allowed spy agencies to hire people who have used marijuana, WSJ's Dustin Volz scooped . The measure in the intelligence authorization act had gotten out of committee with bipartisan backing, but Grassley and Cornyn torpedoed it, with Grassley citing Senate Judiciary concerns that it "would affect the security clearance process." Advocates of the measure said current rules are preventing the government from hiring top young talent, especially in cybersecurity. UP IN SMOKE, PART II — Natalie Fertig dives into how a bipartisan marijuana banking compromise got dropped from the National Defense Authorization Act at the last second. Despite at least 10 Republican Senate backers, Grassley raised concerns and Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL said the NDAA wasn't the place to attach unrelated bills. That prompted supporters like Sens. KEVIN CRAMER (R-N.D.) and TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-Ala.) to say the bill should go elsewhere. Sen. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.) is still hopeful the bill can hitch a ride somewhere during the lame duck, but "if McConnell remains opposed to SAFE, it won't make it into a major package," Natalie writes. TOP-ED — "McCarthy Is Not the Right Leader for the Moment," by Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.) for RealClear Florida: "McCarthy is not a threat to the system destroying America. How could he be? His closest adviser has represented Pfizer, Amazon, and a firm dedicated to giving out a path to American citizenship to wealthy Chinese. His roommate counts Google among his clients. This is the moment for a fight and McCarthy's instinct is flight. … There are likely dozens or even hundreds of House Republicans that I would love to support as Speaker. It's time for them to prove their case. McCarthy has lost his." IT'S OFFICIAL — Senate Democrats today elected their leaders for the next Congress without much incident, putting CHUCK SCHUMER back in the driver's seat as majority leader and tapping Sen. PATTY MURRAY (D-Wash.) as president pro tempore, third in line to the presidency. Sen. BRIAN SCHATZ (D-Hawaii) newly joins leadership as deputy conference secretary. (DSCC chair is not yet filled.) More from the Washington Examiner MORE ELECTIONS — The Congressional Progressive Caucus reelected Rep. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.) as chair and tapped Rep. ILHAN OMAR (D-Minn.) as deputy chair. Full list of leaders   POLITICO AT CES 2023 : We are bringing a special edition of our Digital Future Daily newsletter to Las Vegas to cover CES 2023. The newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 5-7 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the event. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of CES 2023.     ALL POLITICS WHAT WENT WRONG — "Inside the turbulent, doomed campaign of Herschel Walker," by NBC's Marc Caputo: "The former Heisman Trophy-winning University of Georgia football star was hard to manage and coach, according to campaign staff who didn't want to publicly speak about his foibles; they noted his poor public speaking skills and penchant for veering off message. … [B]ehind the scenes, campaign insiders and their political allies describe a first-time celebrity candidate who was difficult to manage and utterly unprepared for a brutal campaign that would tarnish a once-sterling brand." 2024 WATCH — Chatter about another DAVID McCORMICK GOP Pennsylvania Senate bid is growing, as the former hedge fund manager plans to release a new book ("Superpower in Peril") in March, AP's Marc Levy reports from Harrisburg. And though DONALD TRUMP opposed him in the primary this year, the former president's weakened state means his "derision may not be such a liability." The ultra-wealthy McCormick hasn't made a decision yet — nor has Democratic Sen. BOB CASEY said if he's running for reelection — but he's meeting with plenty of top donors and strategists. Still, it's not clear if he could win over the GOP base he lost last time. State Treasurer STACY GARRITY's name is also being mentioned. — "Are The Democrats Screwed In The Senate After 2024?" by FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver: "Democrats have a narrow path to Senate control after 2024, but it's narrow indeed, and one that might require the GOP continuing to nominate bad candidates — and a fair share of luck." … @NateSilver538 : "The subtext of this is whether SONIA SOTOMAYOR should retire while Democrats still have POTUS + Senate majority. … Oops now I made it the text." TRUMP CARDS CASH DASH — MAGA Inc., the Trump-aligned super PAC, has $55 million on hand as it gears up for his 2024 campaign, Fox News' Paul Steinhauser scooped . It pulled in $40 million from Oct. 20 to Nov. 28, largely thanks to a transfer from his Save America PAC. BOOK CLUB — Trumpism takes concrete intellectual form in the "America First Agenda," a 246-page policy prescription in book form out today from the America First Policy Institute, AP's Jill Colvin reports . From the border wall to voter ID, the set of policy prescriptions aims to "codify what has already become the party's dominant ideology and serve as blueprint for lawmakers at the state and federal level, whether or not Trump wins another term." Strikingly, the book does not call for a national abortion ban, as Semafor's Shelby Talcott and Jordan Weissmann note . THE ECONOMY A MILESTONE THE WHITE HOUSE LIKES — Gas prices nationwide have dropped below their level a year ago, with the new average price per gallon sitting at $3.329, per AAA. Returning to pre-Ukraine war levels marks a significant drop from the $5+ levels we saw half a year ago. More from CNBC POLICY CORNER STATE OF THE UNIONS — The Biden administration is pumping almost $36 billion into the Central States Pension Fund to help save union workers' pensions, per AP's David Lieb . The money from the American Rescue Plan is "the largest amount of federal aid provided for a pension plan." THE PANDEMIC GETTING A BOOST — The FDA today signed off on young children to get the new bivalent coronavirus vaccine boosters from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The emergency use authorizations will open up the shots, which are targeted to the Omicron variant, for kids ages 6 months to 5 years. More from Stat BEYOND THE BELTWAY AILING AMERICA — "Puerto Rico was promised billions for safe water. Taps are still running dry," by Luis Valentín Ortiz, Arelis Hernández and Wilma Maldonado in Moca, Puerto Rico, for the Center for Investigative Journalism and WaPo: "The lack of sufficient backup power on an island notorious for going dark even during mild summer rainstorms can be tied to decisions by Puerto Rican officials as well as a cumbersome process for federal funding through FEMA and HUD. The failures shed light on why, despite enormous federal funding, water and other essential services in Puerto Rico are still prone to collapse."   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today .     MEDIAWATCH TOP-ED — After a lifetime of covering politics, syndicated columnist JULES WITCOVER is retiring at 95. In his farewell column , he recalls everything from interviewing King to watching ROBERT F. KENNEDY fall to the ground at his feet when he was assassinated. Among all the "real and would-be giants of American politics and history," Witcover writes, "I have been privileged to accompany them and listen to their private wisdom and sometimes folly." But he says the most rewarding experience was helping sponsor a refugee to get resettled in the U.S. PLAYBOOKERS SPOTTED: Liz Truss on the Hill, per Olivia Beavers . OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's Unbalanced Budget Bonanza party Wednesday night at Charlie Palmer Steak: Maya MacGuineas, Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), Reps. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Ben Cline (R-Va.), Ron Estes (R-Kan.), Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Blake Moore (R-Utah), Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) and Jason Smith (R-Mo.), Meridith Whitney, Bob Bixby, Laura Slover, Gene Steuerle, Kate Davidson, Tiana Lowe, Phillip Lewis and Stephanie Dhue. — Kevin Sheekey hosted a dinner at Lafayette to welcome Kaitlan Collins to NYC on Wednesday night. Mayor Eric Adams spoke, telling Collins that "covering the White House is practice for New York." SPOTTED: First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil, Juju Chang, Nate Silver, Caryn Zucker, Kate Bolduan, Shawna Thomas, Gary Ginsberg, John Tass-Parker, Nick Fineman and Summer Delaney, Robert Wolf, Shawn McCreesh, Jason Schechter, Ty Trippet, Tammy Haddad, Margaret Turner, Jon Reinish and Becca Rutkoff. — SPOTTED at the D.C. premiere of progressive movement documentary "To the End" at the Eaton Hotel on Tuesday night: Rachel Lears, Gerardo Bonilla Chavez, Tanushri Shankar, Lauren Hitt, Ryan Grim, Alexandra Rojas, Arjun Krishnaswami, Hannah Vogel, Amirah Sequeira, Lauren Maunus, Matt Mayer, Murshed Zaheed, Maxwell Rubin, Lauren Maunus, Julie Martinez Martinez, Jeremy Liskar, Jamie DeMarco and Aaron Chappell. — SPOTTED at a Pearl Harbor Day Commemoration event Wednesday at the National World War II Memorial, co-hosted by the Friends of the National World War II Memorial and the National Park Service: Christopher Grady, Jeff Reinbold, Jane Droppa, Lucinda Lessley, Brenton Asbury, Mary Millben, John Herrling, Herman Haydon, George Arnstein, Jack Maroney, Rosę Dern, Lew Griffith and James Bennett. MEDIA MOVE — John Yang will be an anchor for PBS News Weekend. He previously was a correspondent for PBS NewsHour. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Leila Elmergawi has returned to the State Department as economic policy adviser for global women's economic security. She most recently was director for international economic affairs at the NSC and director for strategic workforce planning for the office of the NSC chief of staff. TRANSITION — LaTreshia Hamilton is now legislative director and counsel for Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.). She previously was legislative counsel for Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.). ENGAGED — Peter Lukowiak III, pricing strategy manager at Cloudflare, proposed to Madison Mangels, senior manager for community engagement at Scoop News Group, on a recent trip to Rome. They met in New Hampshire in 2019 during the presidential primary season, when they physically bumped into each other in a coffee shop. Pic … Another pic   A message from BlackRock: BlackRock is proud to manage the pension assets of hundreds of thousands first responders across America. Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Rachael Bade @rachaelmbade Eugene Daniels @EugeneDaniels2 Ryan Lizza @RyanLizza Eli Okun @eliokun Garrett Ross @garrett_ross   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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