| | | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | HAPPENING ANY MOMENT — Former President DONALD TRUMP is set to be interviewed live at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago. Watch live
|  Vice President Kamala Harris boards Air Force Two, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Atlanta, after attending a campaign rally. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool) | AP | VEEPSTAKES FEVER BUILDS FOR SOME — As VP KAMALA HARRIS continues to rake in political and financial support from prominent Democrats after taking over as the party’s presumed presidential nominee, the conversation in Washington is all about who she’ll pick as a running mate ahead of next week’s official unveiling in Philly. Notably, Sen. MARK KELLY, who is rumored to be one of the top contenders for the gig, “says he’ll be in his home state of Arizona next week,” Jared Mitovich reports, which is when Harris and her pick will head on a tour of swing states. Head fake or not, Kelly was on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today, where he lambasted former President Trump for blocking the proposed bipartisan border bill and defended Harris’ record on immigration — topics widely seen as the strongest reasons for choosing him as running mate. Could Harris instead be eyeing a governor? Axios’ Hans Nichols reports that the Harris camp “is pressing Wall Street donors to cut their checks as soon as possible, citing a financial rule that bars contributions to tickets featuring a sitting governor … If the campaign signals are being correctly interpreted, that would narrow the veepstakes down to Kentucky Gov. ANDY BESHEAR, Pennsylvania Gov. JOSH SHAPIRO, and Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ.” … AND BREAKS FOR OTHERS — As a glut of reporting on Sen. JD VANCE’s (R-Ohio) history of controversial and offensive comments has raised questions about his position on the ticket, Trump supporters have largely rallied to Vance’s side, WSJ’s Elizabeth Findell reports. But some Republicans are asking whether, in light of his sagging poll numbers and shaky rollout, Vance “is the right person for the ticket.” Not exactly a glowing endorsement: “Well, it’s too late to rethink it,” said Sen. KEVIN CRAMER (R-N.D.). Still, others say this is all a tempest in a teapot. “That’s a lot of drama in the bubble here,” Sen. ERIC SCHMITT (R-Mo.) said of the Beltway speculation about dumping Vance. “I don’t think that’s real.” Related read: “‘Weird’: How an Old Term for Fate Became a Political Slur,” by WSJ’s Ben Zimmer HOW THE OTHER HALF GIVES, PART I — “More Than 100 Silicon Valley Investors Pledge to Support Kamala Harris,” by NYT’s Theodore Schleifer, Mike Isaac and Erin Griffith: “The group includes REID HOFFMAN, a founder of LinkedIn; VINOD KHOSLA of Khosla Ventures; MARK CUBAN, the former principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks; RON CONWAY, a well-known angel investor; and the billionaire CHRIS SACCA.” HOW THE OTHER HALF GIVES, PART II — “Lutnick Aims to Raise $10 Million for Trump at Hamptons Event,” by Bloomberg’s Todd Gillespie COMING ATTRACTIONS — “Maya Rudolph To Play Kamala Harris On ‘Saturday Night Live’ Through 2024 Presidential Election,” by Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva and Peter White Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
| | | | DID YOU MISS IT? On Tuesday, POLITICO and McKinsey convened three conversations in D.C. with policymakers and space experts, including NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. The discussions also featured a panel of experts, an interview with Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) and an executive conversation with McKinsey's Ryan Brukardt.
The conversations focused on the next great innovation frontier – the space industry, including deeper discussion around which sectors of the global economy see their growth arc in space and what the role of government leaders is in expanding and regulating the growing number of orbital ideas. CATCH UP AND WATCH HIGHLIGHTS HERE | | | | | | | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Hamas members hold a poster of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh during a protest to condemn his killing in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon on Wednesday. | AP | 1. MIDDLE EAST LATEST — The killing of Hamas leader ISMAIL HANIYEH in a strike in Iran this morning has heightened fears of a violent escalation in the Middle East. Tehran and Hamas have both blamed Israel for the attack, which occurred shortly after the Israeli military said they killed a senior Hezbollah official in Beirut in a separate airstrike. While the full consequences of the strike are still unclear, some analysts say Haniyeh’s death is unlikely to fully destabilize Hamas, as NYT’s Patrick Kingsley reports: "[A] reliance by Hamas on its institutions, not specific individuals, has helped it overcome the killings of its leaders in the past." Notable: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN told reporters today in Singapore the U.S. wasn’t warned by Israel ahead of Haniyeh’s killing, WSJ’s Summer Said, Rory Jones and Carrie Keller-Lynn report. “All I can tell you right now is that nothing takes away from the importance of getting to the cease-fire,” Blinken said. “We have been working to try to prevent the conflict from spreading.” 2. MAJORITY RULES: “How Samuel Alito got canceled from the Supreme Court social media majority,” by CNN’s Joan Biskupic: “Behind the scenes, [Supreme Court Justice SAMUEL ALITO] sought to put a thumb on the scale for states trying to restrict how social media companies filter content. … Alito went too far for two justices — AMY CONEY BARRETT and KETANJI BROWN JACKSON — who abandoned the precarious 5-4 majority and left Alito on the losing side. … It is rare that a justice tapped to write the majority opinion loses it in ensuing weeks, but sources tell CNN that it happened twice this year to Alito.” Eyes emoji: “While Alito is still relatively young as far as justices go (most in recent years haven’t left the bench until their 80s), he has reflected in private about retirement.” 3. FED UP: As Federal Reserve officials wrap up their two-day meeting this afternoon, Fed Chair JEROME POWELL is expected to address the agency’s strategy towards possible rate cuts as economic indicators cool. Bloomberg’s Jarrell Dillard reports on some of the signs — including that private payrolls increased 122,000 this month, wage growth “slowed to the smallest pace since 2021 for workers who changed jobs, as well as those who stayed” and economists “anticipate a moderation in job growth in Friday’s monthly employment report from the government.” Happening soon: Powell is expected to address the results of the meeting at 2 p.m. today. Watch via C-SPAN
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo is proud of the role we play for our customers, communities and the U.S. economy. We serve 1 in 3 U.S. households and more than 10% of small businesses in the nation. We serve customers digitally and in-person, with 4,000 locations across the country, operating in 24 of the 30 largest markets. We cover more rural markets than many large banks, and nearly 30% of our branches are in low- or moderate-income census tracts. See how. | | | 4. WAIT FOR IT: The Biden administration sent out a major email this morning urging millions of student borrowers to stay tuned as federal courts continue to hash out the legality of the White House’s sweeping student loan forgiveness plan. “Since the rules for who could get all or part of their debt wiped out still haven’t been finalized, right now nothing is guaranteed,” WSJ’s Katherine Hamilton, Andrew Restuccia and Oyin Adedoyin report. “The purpose of the email is to update borrowers so that if and when the program can proceed it can move swiftly — and to give them the opportunity to opt out if they don’t want to have their balance reduced.” 5. IMMIGRATION FILES: Arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border are expected to drop by 30% in July, which could mark a low for the Biden White House — and raise prospects that a temporary ban on asylum could soon be lifted. “It would be the lowest monthly tally since 40,507 arrests in September 2020,” AP’s Elliot Spagat reports from San Diego. “The asylum halt would end if daily arrests drop below 1,500 over a seven-day average, a scenario that Customs and Border Protection officials are preparing for with arrests now hovering 1,600 to 1,700 [a] day. The halt would be reinstated if arrests reach a seven-day daily average of 2,500.” How it would work … “Under the halt, U.S. authorities deny a chance at asylum to anyone who crosses the border illegally. Unaccompanied children are exempt, and others may seek asylum-like forms of protection that allow them to stay in the United States with a higher bar and fewer benefits.” Related read: “Biden prods Congress to act to curb fentanyl from Mexico as Trump paints Harris as weak on border,” by AP’s Aamer Madhani 6. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: A BANKER’S BIG CRYPTO SHIFT — Trump’s keynote address to the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville over the weekend was emblematic of the cryptocurrency industry’s recent embrace of Republican politicians. Another GOP attendee exemplified how many of those politicians are revisiting their past views and hugging the industry back. Wisconsin Senate candidate ERIC HOVDE was also in attendance in Nashville, Daniel Lippman reports, where he said he was supportive of “decentralized finance, and Bitcoin in our country.” That’s a stark departure from prior comments made by Hovde, the chairman and CEO of Sunwest Bank who previously described the crypto market as “insanity” run by “shysters” and said he didn’t invest in crypto because “there’s nothing backing it.” Hovde’s 2024 and 2012 financial disclosures did not show any holdings in crypto or other digital assets. But as pro-crypto superPACs work hard to elect allies to Congress, the banker told the advocacy group Stand With Crypto last month that he has experience buying and selling crypto and that if the digital asset industry moved overseas, American competitiveness and national security would be at risk. In a statement to Playbook, Hovde stood by his past comments, but added: “I support decentralized finance, and see Bitcoin as an asset for the future and am fully supportive of the community. That said, I believe the United States needs to provide a regulatory structure for legitimate actors involved in Bitcoin and Ethereum in this country so that shady people like SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, drug traffickers and scam artists can’t take advantage of consumers. Nor am I supportive of thousands of different junk coins that have no value being created.”
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo:   Wells Fargo is proud of the role we play for our customers, communities and the U.S. economy. What we say, we do. See how. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Lindsey Graham lives dangerously on the Senate subway. OUT AND ABOUT — Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Lynda Carter hosted a lunch reception yesterday for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to celebrate the publication of her book, “True Gretch,” at the Royal Sonesta Capitol Hill. SPOTTED: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Reps. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, British Ambassador Karen Pierce, Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd and French Ambassador Laurent Bili. — SPOTTED at a “reveal party” last night for Widehall, a new public policy events and consultancy firm headed by Steve Clemons at his DuPont Circle home, catered by Cafe Milano: Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and Gayle Manchin, Jeffrey Jew and Jim Steiner, Adrienne Arsht, Rob Pullen, Gary Shapiro, Tim Burger, Nate Tibbitts, Heather Podesta, Omar Vargas, Juleanna Glover, Deborah Lehr, Nkechi Nneji, Elizabeth Baker Keffer, Gloria Dittus, Molly Ball and David Kihara, Felicia Schwartz, Jacob Heilbrunn, Alex and Jessica Yergin and Josh Dawsey. MEDIA MOVES — Jessica Dean is now anchor/correspondent for the primetime weekend edition of “CNN Newsroom.” She previously was a congressional correspondent. Full announcement … Lindsey Holden is now a politics reporter with POLITICO’s California bureau. She previously was a legislative reporter at The Sacramento Bee. TRANSITION — Alex Catanese is now VP of congressional relations at the American Bankers AssociationAmerican Bankers Association. He previously was director of advocacy at America's Credit Unions. WEEKEND WEDDING — Natalie Boyse, global program manager at ORF America and a Trump administration, Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney alum, and Whitcomb Johnson, a post-production ad producer, got married on Saturday in Falls Village, Connecticut. They met in May 2021 at a dinner at the Bombay Club. Pic ... Another pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Amanda Gonzalez Thompson, comms adviser for the Senate Commerce Committee GOP, and Will Thompson, law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, welcomed Ann Marie Thompson on Saturday. She came in at 6lbs, 2oz and 19.75 inches long. She joins big brother Henry. Pic ... Another pic 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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