| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity | ABOUT LAST NIGHT — Less than an hour before President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump took the stage in Atlanta, Massachusetts Democratic activists huddled online to hear Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll hype up their party’s de-facto nominee. But by the time the candidates stepped off the stage less than two hours later, Democrats across the country were freaking out over Biden’s stammering, stumbling performance. One local Democratic strategist summed it up simply in text late last night: “Yikes yikes yikes yikes yikes!” “Mentally hiding under a blanket,” they added. In the days leading up to the debate, it was viewed among Democrats as an opportunity for Biden to shake off the nagging whispers about his age and his fitness for another four years — and to lay out the stark differences between the visions he and Trump offered the country. But it quickly devolved on the Georgia debate stage. Among Massachusetts’ top politicians, things mostly grew quiet as the debate got underway. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a campaign surrogate for Biden, weighed in on X throughout the bout. But she kept her focus on Trump, calling out the former president for his role in building out the bench on the Supreme Court that overthrew Roe v. Wade and describing him as a “threat to democracy.” Rep. Jim McGovern was out with a “BIDEN-bingo” card before the back and forth began. But nothing more followed from the normally outspoken congressman as Biden and Trump traded accusations. MassDems Chair Steve Kerrigan played down the panic. “It wouldn’t be a debate night if Democrats weren’t hand wringing. But we need to worry less and work more for @JoeBiden,” he wrote on X around 11:30 p.m.. Massachusetts Republicans, however, were quick to put their own spin on the night: “This debate should serve as a wake-up call to all Americans. President Biden is clearly unfit to participate in a debate, let alone continue to lead our country as President of the United States,” the MassGOP said in a statement released soon after the debate wrapped. “It is evident that President Biden lacks the cognitive ability required to fulfill the responsibilities of the presidency.” In case you missed it (or actively avoided it), here are some highlights: — Biden struggled out the gate. His voice was hoarse and hard to hear, and he flubbed a couple early lines. — Trump tried to deny he called fallen soldiers "suckers" and "losers" — even though one of debate’s moderators got a high-level official to confirm the remarks on the record. — Biden said he supports Roe v. Wade; Trump accused him of supporting “late term abortion.” — Trump said the U.S. should let Israel “finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza. — Biden jabbed Trump over his trials and for “having sex with a porn star.” Trump claimed he “didn’t have sex with a porn star’ — Both candidates addressed their age. Somehow it became about golf. Watch the key moments in 180-seconds.
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President Joe Biden participates in the CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios in Atlanta on Thursday, June 27, 2024. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. TGIF. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll host a Caribbean American Heritage Month celebration at noon at the State House. Driscoll, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attend a ribbon cutting for The Pryde, a housing complex for LGBTQ+ seniors, at 1 p.m. in Hyde Park. Healey is on Pod Save America’s live show at the 7:30 p.m. at the Wilbur. Wu speaks at a street sign dedication for Boston Fire Lieutenant Stephen Minehan at noon in Dorchester. THE WEEKEND — Secretary of State Bill Galvin is on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Attorney General Andrea Campbell is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is on NBC10 Boston’s “@ Issue” at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Tips, scoops, birthdays, hand wringing? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “Effort to save food benefits for immigrant families cut short by Mass. House leaders,” by Samantha J. Gross, The Boston Globe: “The need for food — already heightened amid soaring inflation and expiring COVID-era benefits — has deepened in recent months after state-funded food benefits for legally present immigrants ran dry. A last-ditch effort to save them fizzled the state House on Wednesday after lawmakers rejected the proposal by not folding it into a wider amendment to a supplemental spending bill, sending a blow to those who serve the immigrant community.” — “Senate beats back last-minute efforts to approve real estate transfer fee in borrowing bill,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Last-minute efforts to include a local option tax on high-value home sales in a massive borrowing bill focused on spurring affordable housing development in Massachusetts fizzled out in the Senate Thursday even after a cadre of lawmakers publicly backed the idea. A $5.4 billion proposal top Democrats argued offers a ‘course correct’ for state housing policy cleared the Senate on a 40-0 vote but left on the cutting room floor at least nine different versions of a transfer fee supported by lawmakers from across Massachusetts.” — “Former governor presses for action on drug bill,” by Sam Doran, State House News Service (paywall): “Former Gov. Jane Swift was among the voices Wednesday calling for reforms to the pharmacy benefit manager industry, attaching urgency to the matter and saying that the Legislature in its final month of formal sessions was ‘finally poised to bring the type of change that we need.’ … Swift described learning about PBMs as a result of her daughter Lauren's battle with juvenile arthritis, and said what she discovered was "deeply disturbing." The pair testified on related legislation last year.” — “Medicaid enrollment drops by 383,000 from COVID high,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Beacon: “MassHealth ended a year-long campaign to reassess eligibility for every single member with about 363,000 fewer people enrolled, officials announced Thursday, although the number of people on the public insurance program is up by more than 280,000 since pre-COVID. The state’s combined Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program had nearly 2.04 million members at the end of May, according to new data. That’s about 15 percent fewer than when Massachusetts set out in spring 2023 on a gargantuan, federally mandated campaign to decide who qualifies for the subsidized insurance coverage for the first time since the pandemic." — “Lt. Gov. Driscoll touts what a theater tax credit could mean for Massachusetts,” by Max Chow-Gillette, GBH News.
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “A plummeting murder rate stuns Boston. But can it survive the summer?,” by Jenna Russell, The New York Times: “When city leaders in Boston set out last spring to renew their focus on violence prevention, they set a modest goal: reduce homicides by 20 percent in three years. No one imagined what the city of 650,000 has seen so far this year: four homicides, a 78 percent reduction from the 18 that took place over the same period in 2023. Luck has played a part, the normal ebb and flow of violent crime. Yet the longer the quiet has persisted, the more pressure the city has felt to sustain it. As summer set in with a blistering heat wave, anxiety rose. Will a seasonal uptick in violence shatter the preternatural calm?” MONEY MATTERS — The Boston City Council managed to partially override parts of Mayor Michelle Wu’s budget during a roughly 12-hour meeting Wednesday. But some of those overrides may not make it into the city’s final spending plan; Wu’s office is reviewing the legality of some of the money moves councilors made – and could end up nullifying the override. The Boston Herald has more
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FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS — Pour one out for the Boston Planning and Development Agency. Some current and former BPDA employees are heading to Harpoon Brewery Monday for a “wake” for the quasi-public agency that is set to come under City Hall control July 1. — “One-third of Boston pools will be closed this summer,” by Hannah Reale and Adora Brown, GBH News.
| | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | — “Nadia Milleron, independent candidate for House against Richard Neal, submits signatures for Nov. ballot,” by Jim Kinney, MassLive: “Independent congressional candidate Nadia Milleron submitted 3,000 certified nomination signatures to elections officials Thursday. It was the next step in her general election challenge to 35-year veteran U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal. Voters she’s met while gathering signatures tell her running without party affiliation is an asset.”
| | DAY IN COURT | | IN — Potential ballot questions that would eliminate MCAS as a high school graduation requirement and give drivers collective bargaining rights cleared legal hurdles Wednesday, as the Supreme Judicial Court dismissed challenges around the MCAS question’s wording and gave the green light to the union-backed app-based drivers question. More on the MCAS ruling from CommonWealth Beacon. OUT — Any of the five variations of a ballot question that sought to classify app-based drivers as independent contractors. Hours after the SJC ruled that those questions could move forward, Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office announced a $175 million settlement from a different legal Uber/Lyft legal battle that had been playing out in Suffolk County Superior Court — putting an end to what was expected to be an intense and expensive ballot campaign. More on what the settlement means from the Boston Herald.
| | | | Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more. | | | | | | | FROM THE 413 | | — “Amherst College rejects calls for divestment from corporations supplying military equipment to Israel,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Trustees for Amherst College are rejecting appeals from faculty, students and alumni to divest from corporations that could be supplying military equipment to Israel in its ongoing war in Gaza.”
| | | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | | — “Brockton schools plan to cut Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Office. Students say it's vital,” by Christopher Butler, The Brockton Enterprise: “[M]any of the programs and services that the [Equity, Diversity and Inclusion] office offers could be closing down before next year as Brockton Public Schools plans to downsize the office due to budget cuts. The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion department’s four staff positions will all be removed and the assistant superintendent that oversees the office will become a director-level position.” — “Presidential debate draws praise, criticism, from MA, NH pols,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle Tribune.
| | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE | | — “Man charged with threatening to kill presidential candidates found dead as jury was deciding verdict,” by Steve LeBlanc and Holly Ramer, The Associated Press: “A New Hampshire man charged with threatening the lives of presidential candidates last year has been found dead while a jury was deciding his verdict, according to court filings Thursday. The jury began weighing the case against Tyler Anderson, 30, of Dover on Tuesday after a trial that began Monday. A message seeking comment from Anderson’s lawyer was not immediately returned. A court filing said ‘the government has learned that the defendant is deceased.’ Prosecutors have moved to dismiss the indictment having learned Anderson has died.”
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | TRANSITIONS — Ricardo Patrón has been appointed to serve as deputy chief of staff to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. Patrón was press secretary in the mayor’s office. Emma Pettit, who currently serves as deputy press secretary, will begin serving as press secretary starting July 1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Erin McPike, Moses Marx and Nick Mitchell. HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Ben Jarrett, Amish Shah, Jason Ostrander, Katrina Gaddis and state Sen. Liz Miranda, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers to Diane Asadorian Masters, Stephanie Miliano, BHA Administrator Kenzie Bok, Plymouth County Register of Probate Matthew McDonough and Daniel Goldhagen. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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