A Barbie girl living in China's world?

A play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news

Jul 07, 2023 View in browser   By Daniella Diaz and Katherine Tully-McManus A dashed line drawn off the coast of Asia in the upcoming "Barbie" movie has sparked criticism from Republicans that filmmakers are bending over backward to appease Chinese censors. | Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures FAR FROM MALIBU — In a Barbie world, who controls the South China Sea? That’s the question a handful of Republican lawmakers — not to mention much of Southeast Asia — is asking thanks to a background detail in the upcoming “Barbie” movie due out later this month. The detail in question is a dashed line drawn off the coast of Asia that critics have identified as the nine-dash line, a contested maritime boundary that Beijing draws more than a thousand miles off its own coast to claim the vast majority of the South China Sea as its territory. GOP lawmakers accuse filmmakers of pandering to Chinese censors. But Warner Bros. Film Group, which produced the movie, said Thursday the map is not intended to “make any type of statement.” More on that below. A refresher: Earlier this week, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) spoke out against the decision to draw the map with what they say is the nine-dash line. A spokesperson for Cruz told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that the film’s trying to “appease the Chinese Communist Party.” “Senator Cruz has been fighting for years to prevent American companies, especially Hollywood studios, from altering and censoring their content to appease the Chinese Communist Party,” the spokesperson said. Blackburn, in a tweet, said "'Barbie’ is bending to Beijing to make a quick buck.” Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who leads a select House panel aimed at countering the influence of China, had the strongest statement, telling Huddle the map “illustrates the pressure that Hollywood is under to please CCP censors.” “While it may just be a Barbie map in a Barbie world, the fact that a cartoonish, crayon-scribbled map seems to go out of its way to depict the PRC’s unlawful territorial claims illustrates the pressure that Hollywood is under to please CCP censors. I hope Warner Brothers clarifies that the map was not intended to endorse any territorial claims and was in fact, the work of a formerly plastic anthropomorphic doll.” Why this matters: Vietnam's National Film Evaluation Council banned all domestic screenings of Barbie over the map and the film is under a review in the Philippines that could result in a similar ban. The nine-dash line, which was rejected by an international tribunal in 2016, comes within hundreds of miles of both nations’ coasts. The two countries, along with others in the region, say the Chinese maritime border threatens their sovereignty. And control over the South China Sea is more than a regional spat. Relations between the U.S. and China are chilly at best and the two nations’ militaries have repeatedly come into perilously close contact in or above the South China Sea. How did Warner Bros. respond? Warner Bros. Film Group, which produced the movie, told Huddle the map is not intended to “make any type of statement.” “The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing,” a spokesperson for the Warner Bros. Film Group said. “The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the ‘real world.’ It was not intended to make any type of statement.” The map is shown during a part of the movie when Margot Robbie’s Barbie is facing a crisis and speaking with Kate McKinnon’s Barbie with the child-like map shown in the background. That’s not a spoiler, we promise. It’s in the trailer. What’s next? Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) reiterated his call for lawmakers to support his legislation that would discourage Hollywood from Chinese Communist Party censorship. Barbie is far from the first film to face this type of criticism – “Top Gun: Maverick” was the subject of a similar debate last summer. “Hollywood studios that bow to Communist China prompted me to introduce the SCREEN Act,” Green said in a statement. “In no world should American films be spreading CCP propaganda. I encourage all film studios to stand with integrity or lose support from federal entities like the DOD.” ICYMI: Pentagon to filmmakers: We won’t help you if you kowtow To China, by Betsy Woodruff Swan   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.     TGIF! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, July 7, where we’re gearing up for both chambers to return in just a few short days. COCAINE UPDATE IN THE HOUSE — House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) is sending a letter to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle today requesting a briefing after cocaine was found at the White House over the weekend, Jordain reports. In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO, the Kentucky Republican said that his committee is “investigating the details surrounding the discovery of cocaine in the White House.” The committee’s investigation comes as the Secret Service is also investigating the incident that prompted a brief evacuation after a small amount of cocaine was found on Sunday night. The drug was found in a cubby area used for storing electronics that both staff and visitors have access to. BYE BYE MARJORIE — The House Freedom Caucus voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from the arch-conservative group last month, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) told reporters during Thursday’s pro forma session. “A vote was taken to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Freedom Caucus for some of the things she’s done,” Harris told reporters, which included CNN’s Haley Talbot, Bloomberg’s Erik Wasson, CQ’s Ellyn Ferguson and POLITICO’s Jordain Carney. When asked if she was formally out, he replied: “As far as I know, that is the way it is.” HFC Chairman Scott Perry (R-Pa.) — or anyone from the House Freedom Caucus — has not explicitly told Greene that she’s out of the group, a Republican with knowledge told Olivia. But that doesn’t mean that there weren’t attempts to reach out. The vote was first reported by POLITICO, though it was unclear at the time whether she had been ejected. MCCARTHY SPARES CIVIL WAR — While Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is risking Donald Trump’s wrath by not officially endorsing the former president's third White House bid, the speaker is also fulfilling an important mission: sparing the House GOP a civil war over 2024, Sarah and Olivia report this morning. McCarthy is in a difficult position amid his party’s long primary battle: He controls one of the smallest majorities in modern House history, where a handful of disgruntled members can force a vote to remove him at any time. At the same time, McCarthy is facing a brutal map to keep the House in 2024 — one that will become even more daunting if the twice-indicted Trump emerges as the nominee. NEIGHBORLY CONCERN — Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin is done waiting. The Illinois Democrat says his panel will take action on Supreme Court ethics reform legislation this month, after saying for months that he would prefer that Chief Justice John Roberts take initiative to make changes. “Since the Chief Justice has refused to act, the Judiciary Committee must,” Durbin said in a statement. "The highest court in the land should not have the lowest ethical standards." Exact dates for the committee’s markup will be announced early next week. If Durbin gets enough votes in committee to overhaul how the highest court handles ethics, it will still face resistance on the floor. Before the recess, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters “Congress should stay out of it.” READY OR NOT — Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) hasn't lifted his holds on military promotions, but next week the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold confirmation hearings for President Joe Biden's picks for Joint Chiefs chair and the Army's top officer. Senators will hear from Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown, Biden's nominee to lead the Joint Chiefs, at a confirmation hearing Tuesday. The pick for Army chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, will testify on Wednesday. But unless Tuberville lifts his hold, there are about to be vacancies among the Joint Chiefs. The chair and representatives from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps will have no Senate-confirmed successors when the current Chiefs from those branches begin retiring over the coming weeks and months.   SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.     HUDDLE HOTDISH Tunnel trouble… Are those your work wellies? On Thursday the Capitol was taking on water. The Senate subway was shut down due to “a water leak”, as was the tunnel between the CVC and the Thomas Jefferson Building. An alert went out to Hill staff that another water leak had closed down the South screening checkpoint in the CVC and that the North and South barricades were closed due to water.The Cannon Tunnel used to turn into a moat situation during frequent summer downpours in D.C., but since the Cannon revamp, that has dried up. But the problem seems to have trickled down. Watch out MTG … There’s a new gym-obsessed lawmaker in town. QUICK LINKS  House white staffers on pace to make thousands more in 2023, from Keturah Hetrick at LegiStorm Delaware House candidate who would be first trans Congress member rakes in $414K in five days, from Julia Mueller at The Hill Food Is Meh, Décor Is Bland, Parking Nonexistent: Must Be D.C.’s Most-Exclusive Restaurant, from Annie Linsky at The Wall Street Journal TODAY IN CONGRESS The House is out The Senate is out. AROUND THE HILL Last few quiet days of recess. TRIVIA THURSDAY’S WINNER: Paul Helmke correctly answered that Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest person to assume the presidency, after William McKinley was assassinated. Roosevelt was 42. John F. Kennedy was the youngest elected president at 43. (And those who sent “Teddy Kennedy” … we’ll chalk it up to recess brain) TODAY’S QUESTION from Paul: Many politicians like to emphasize their first name as a way to seem more humble and connect with the voters. When was the last presidential election where the two major-party nominees had the same first name, and who were they? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ddiaz@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Katherine and Daniella on Twitter @ktullymcmanus and @DaniellaMicaela   Follow us

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