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DRIVING THE DAY
TWO WHITE HOUSE MYSTERIES ...
MYSTERY NO. 1: THERE WAS A LOT OF GRIPING ON CAPITOL HILL that when the president announced his immigration plan, Republicans did not have any paper whatsoever to explain what he was proposing. Months of work by JARED KUSHNER, and there was no fact sheet to accompany the much-ballyhooed announcement.
JUST AFTER 8 P.M., the White House sent out fact sheets to Capitol Hill chiefs of staff -- bullet points and a PowerPoint-y thing seen here for the first time -- which attempt to explain the outlines of what the president is proposing on immigration. It will be interesting to see how many members issue letters or statements of support for the plan now that there’s an explanation of it. BTW: The White House explicitly asked some members’ offices for letters of support.
Here’s Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL with a strikingly non-committal statement on the Jared Plan (h/t WaPo’s Seung Min Kim): “We are a nation of immigrants and we must preserve that rich part of who we are. But we are a nation of laws. There is a crisis at our southern border and I hope Democrats get serious soon about working with us to secure our borders and restore the rule of law to our nation, which includes reforming out-of-date legal authorities. I look forward to reviewing the president’s proposal.”
NOT SPOTTED: Anything resembling support from McConnell, the only Republican with any power on Capitol Hill.
AN HONEST QUESTION: Why put something like this out if you’re going to have next to no support -- even from your own party? Why not save yourself the embarrassment? Even if this is a campaign play, Democrats will be able to say, “Republicans didn’t even support that plan!”
-- “COOL RECEPTION”: NYT’s Annie Karni: “Trump’s Immigration Plan Gets a Rose Garden Rollout and a Cool Reception” … WaPo: “Trump’s plan to overhaul legal immigration draws cool reception”
MYSTERY NO. 2: ANY GOP TAKERS FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE MEETING? We keep hearing that Republicans might go to President DONALD TRUMP’S White House infrastructure meeting next week with House Speaker NANCY PELOSI and Senate Minority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER. So far, no GOP’er has committed. If Republicans go, it’s likely to be less productive -- to the extent it’s going to be productive at all. But what’s it say if Republicans want nothing to do with this process -- especially if they’ll be necessary to get something done?
SWING AND A MISS -- IRISH TIMES’ SUZANNE LYNCH: “Donald Trump trip to Ireland in doubt amid venue disagreement”: “The Trump administration had been considering a visit to Ireland between the president’s trips to Britain and France in June. But disagreement has emerged over protocol issues.
“While the Taoiseach’s preference is to meet Mr. Trump in Co Clare, Irish officials are reluctant to meet the U.S. president in his golf course in Doonbeg. Instead, the Government has pressed for a meeting in another location, preferably Dromoland Castle, located 50km away.
“One White House source told The Irish Times on Thursday that the president was now favouring a visit to Scotland rather than Ireland during his European trip. But sources in Dublin on Thursday said they believed the Irish visit would still go ahead. … The unique nature of a potential visit – a U.S. president visiting his own private property in Ireland – has thrown up complex issues around protocol, and whether it constitutes a private or official visit.” Irish Times
BUCKLE UP … WSJ: “Global Stocks Dip as Trade Hopes Falter,” by Will Horner: “Global stocks skidded on Friday, ending a recent rally after comments from Chinese officials suggested an uncertain course ahead for trade talks with the U.S.
“In Europe, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4% in the opening minutes, putting it on course to cap a three-session run of gains. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1%, less than its counterparts in Frankfurt and Paris, as stocks were supported by a weaker British pound, which has fallen against the dollar all week amid growing Brexit uncertainty. The British currency and the country’s blue-chip index often move in opposite directions.
“Chinese indexes led Asian markets lower, with the Shanghai Composite falling 1.9% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling 1.1%. Japan’s Nikkei bucked the trend with a rise of 0.9%. On Wall Street, futures pointed to opening drops for both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 0.3%. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% Thursday, while the Dow climbed 0.8% as robust earnings helped offset economic growth concerns.” WSJ
Good Friday morning. Here’s one thing in Washington that’s working right now: THE NATIONALS are winners of two in a row for the first time in a month. They’ll play the Cubs this weekend in a three-game set beginning tonight at 7:05 p.m.
CUBS FAN MANU RAJU, for CNN: “Administration’s uneven handling of Iran intelligence leaves some in Congress fuming”
INSIDE THE IRAN DEBATE … “Trump Tells Pentagon Chief He Does Not Want War With Iran,” by NYT’s Mark Landler, Maggie Haberman and Eric Schmitt: “President Trump has sought to put the brakes on a brewing confrontation with Iran in recent days, telling the acting defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan, that he does not want to go to war with Iran, administration officials said, while his senior diplomats began searching for ways to defuse the tensions.
“Mr. Trump’s statement, during a Wednesday morning meeting in the Situation Room, sent a message to his hawkish aides that he does not want the intensifying American pressure campaign against the Iranians to explode into open conflict.”
-- BOLTON IN TROUBLE? -- “Mr. Bolton, several of the officials said, has quietly voiced frustration with the president, viewing him as unwilling to push for changes in a region that he has long seen as a quagmire. … Mr. Bolton’s independence has rankled the acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, and has even prompted rumors that his job might be in jeopardy — something the White House denies.
“But Mr. Trump has poked fun at Mr. Bolton’s reputation for hawkishness, joking in meetings with him. 'If it was up to John, we’d be in four wars now,' one of the senior officials recalled Mr. Trump as saying.” NYT
-- COLLATERAL DAMAGE ... ELIANA JOHNSON: “Trump administration pressure on Iran strains Bolton-Pompeo relationship”
THE LATEST ON DISASTER AID -- SARAH FERRIS and JOHN BRESNAHAN: “Dems agree to billions in humanitarian aid for southern border”: “Democratic leaders have agreed to fund a portion of the White House’s emergency funding request to address the surge of migrants at the southern border, according to multiple sources.
“Top Democrats indicated to Republicans late Thursday afternoon that they are willing to include some of the White House’s $4.5 billion proposal — specifically for humanitarian assistance — in a long-stalled disaster relief package. Democrats are willing to devote more money to the Office of Refugee and Resettlement, which has been in charge of thousands of unaccompanied minors who have crossed the border this year.
“But they rejected the White House’s more contentious requests, such as more money for detention beds or the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.” POLITICO
THE INVESTIGATIONS … “Judge orders public release of what Michael Flynn said in call to Russian ambassador,” by WaPo’s Carol Leonnig and Roz Helderman: “A federal judge on Thursday ordered that prosecutors make public a transcript of a phone call that former national security adviser Michael Flynn tried hard to hide with a lie: his conversation with a Russian ambassador in late 2016.
“U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan in Washington ordered the government also to provide a public transcript of a November 2017 voice mail involving Flynn. In that sensitive call, President Trump’s attorney left a message for Flynn’s attorney reminding him of the president’s fondness for Flynn at a time when Flynn was considering cooperating with federal investigators.
“The transcripts, which the judge ordered be posted on a court website by May 31, would reveal conversations at the center of two major avenues of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. So far they have been disclosed to the public only in fragments in court filings and the Mueller report.” WaPo
2020 WATCH -- SANDERS SINKING … FOX NEWS POLL: Biden 35% (+4), Sanders 17 (-6), Warren 9 (+5), Buttigieg 6 (+5), Harris 5 (-3). Fox News
THE JUICE …
-- DAVID PLANNER is leaving the House Financial Services Committee, where he was director of coalitions and member services, for the White House leg affairs team. He’ll be special assistant to the president for legislative affairs. Planner was Rep. Steve Scalise’s body man and worked on the floor for Scalise (R-La.), the House minority whip. He started his career on the Hill for former Speaker John Boehner.
TRUMP’S FRIDAY -- The president will leave Trump Tower at 9:10 a.m. en route to Washington. He will arrive at the White House at 11:15 a.m. via the South Lawn. Trump will leave the White House at 1:30 p.m. en route to the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. He will deliver remarks at the National Association of Realtors legislative meeting and trade expo at 2 p.m. Afterward, he will return to the White House.
PLAYBOOK READS
FROM 30,000 FEET … NYT’s GLENN THRUSH and NICK FANDOS: “Frustrated House Democrats Pin Their Hopes on Mueller”: “They had a plan: dramatize the special counsel’s damning but dense report on national television in their committees, animating his prose with vivid testimony from witnesses who would discuss Mr. Mueller’s findings on Russia’s election interference and Mr. Trump’s possible obstruction of justice. But so far Mr. Trump and his allies have successfully parried every one of their moves.” NYT
-- TO WIT: “Mueller Testimony to Congress Stalled by Executive-Privilege Claim,” by WSJ’s Sadie Gurman, Dustin Volz and Aruna Viswanatha: “The House Judiciary Committee and Mr. Mueller’s team have been in negotiations for days about the contours of the special counsel’s eagerly-awaited testimony about his 448-page report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and episodes in which President Trump allegedly sought to influence the investigation. ...
“Legal questions on how Mr. Trump’s assertion of executive privilege would affect Mr. Mueller’s testimony are central to the continuing negotiations, said the people familiar with the matter. The privilege claim could prevent him from discussing details involving Mr. Trump and his advisers beyond what is in the redacted report, the people added. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel is weighing the questions and is expected to provide guidance, officials said.” WSJ
HMM … KYLE CHENEY: “Prosecutors: Person ‘connected to’ Congress tried to influence Flynn’s cooperation with Mueller”
SORRY, RUDY! -- “Ukraine Prosecutor Says No Evidence of Wrongdoing by Bidens,” by Bloomberg’s Daryna Krasnolutska, Kateryna Choursina and Stephanie Baker: “Ukraine’s prosecutor general said in an interview that he had no evidence of wrongdoing by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden or his son, despite a swirl of allegations by President Donald Trump’s lawyer.
“The controversy stems from diplomatic actions by Biden while his son, Hunter Biden, sat on the board of Burisma Group, one of the country’s biggest private gas companies. As vice president, Biden pursued an anti-corruption policy in Ukraine in 2016 that included a call for the resignation of the country’s top prosecutor who had previously investigated Burisma.” Bloomberg
THE ARCHITECT IN CHIEF … “Trump wants his border barrier to be painted black with spikes. He has other ideas, too,” by WaPo’s Nick Miroff and Josh Dawsey: “The barrier that President Trump wants to build along the Mexico border will be a steel bollard fence, not a concrete wall as he long promised, and the president is fine with that. He has a few other things he would like to change, though.
“The bollards, or ‘slats,’ as he prefers to call them, should be painted ‘flat black,’ a dark hue that would absorb heat in the summer, making the metal too hot for climbers to scale, Trump has recently told White House aides, Homeland Security officials and military engineers.
“And the tips of the bollards should be pointed, not round, the president insists, describing in graphic terms the potential injuries that border crossers might receive. Trump has said the wall’s current blueprints include too many gates — placed at periodic intervals to allow vehicles and people through — and he wants the openings to be smaller.” WaPo
HARD TIMES FOR TRUMP INC. … CNN’S ANNA BAHNEY and MAEGAN VAZQUEZ: “President Donald Trump reported income of at least $434 million in 2018, according to his annual financial disclosure released Thursday by the White House. That includes $40.8 million in revenue from his Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. … [H]is Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida generated $22.7 million, a slight drop from the $25.1 million he disclosed for 2017. Overall, Trump’s income appears to have gone down from last year, when he reported making at least $450 million.” CNN … The disclosure
SO MUCH FOR THAT … AP: “Arrests at Venezuelan Embassy might signal end of standoff”
WHAT BRIAN KEMP IS READING -- “Abrams settles IRS debt as she preps for another run for office,” by the AJC’s Greg Bluestein: “The Democrat said through a spokesman Thursday that she retired the roughly $54,000 she owed to the IRS, as well as other credit card and student loan debt she reported during last year’s election run.”
VALLEY TALK … FACEBOOK’S RECRUITING WOES: “More than half a dozen recruiters who left Facebook in recent months told CNBC that the tech company experienced a significant decrease in job offer acceptance rates after the March 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which a data firm improperly accessed the data of 87 million Facebook users and used it to target ads for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.” CNBC
MEDIAWATCH -- CHELSEA MANNING has been sent back to prison after defying a grand jury subpoena. Per ABC: “Manning’s latest confinement will persist until she complies with the subpoena or until the grand jury expires, U.S. Judge Anthony Trenga said in court on Thursday. Unlike her first confinement, after 30 days, Manning will be subject to a daily fine of $500. After 60 days, Manning will face a fine of $1,000 per day.”
-- TV TODAY: Fox News airs its interview with A.G. BILL BARR, who sat down with “America’s Newsroom” anchor Bill Hemmer in El Salvador. Fox has already put out some quotes, including Barr saying this about his inquiry into the origins of the Russia probe: “[S]ome of the explanations I've gotten don't hang together.” Fox News
PLAYBOOKERS
SPOTTED: Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaving Acqua Al 2 on Thursday evening. Pic
SUNDAY SO FAR …
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“Fox News Sunday”: Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) ... Panel: Ben Domenech, Julie Pace, Katie Pavlich and Mo Elleithee. Power Player: Robert Caro (live from Claremont, N.H. ahead of a town hall with Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 7 p.m.)
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“State of the Union”: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) … Montana Gov. Steve Bullock … Panel: Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Rick Santorum, Bakari Sellers and Mia Love
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“Face the Nation”: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) … Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). Political panel: Peter Baker, Kristen Soltis Anderson, Jamelle Bouie and Ed Wong
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“This Week”: David Petraeus. Panel: Jonathan Karl, Chris Christie, Heidi Heitkamp and Yvette Simpson
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“Meet the Press”: Panel: Rich Lowry, Janet Napolitano, Heidi Przybyla and Eugene Robinson
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CNN’s “Inside Politics”: Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Martin, Seung Min Kim and Jeff Zeleny
TRANSITIONS -- Jim Nicholson has been elected vice-chair of the Board of Visitors at West Point. … Eric Fingerhut, a former congressman from Ohio, will be the president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America. He most recently was president and CEO of Hillel International. The Forward …
... Dawn Sweeney is retiring at the end of the year from the National Restaurant Association, where she has been president and CEO. … Yochi Dreazen, most recently a VP at Marathon Strategies and a former senior editor at Vox and a WSJ alum, is joining the Raben Group as a principal in its communications practice.
2020 … Max Steele is joining Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s (D-Minn.) presidential campaign as director of rapid response. He most recently led Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-Pa.) communications team during his 2018 reelection.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- OBAMA ALUMNI: Liz Bourgeois, a communications director at Facebook and an alum of Instagram and the DNC, and Michael Bourgeois, who is starting as a director at SoFi later this month and is an Obama CEA alum, welcomed Margaret “Margot” Octavia Bourgeois. Instapic
BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Polish President Andrzej Duda turned 47 ... (was Wednesday): Billy Brawner of Brawner Communications (hat tip: wife Greta)
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Michael Shear, WH correspondent for the NYT whose book “Border Wars: Inside Trump’s Assault on Immigration” with Julie Hirschfeld Davis comes out in October, is 51. How he got his start in journalism: “I began my journalism career in room C-53 at Homestead High School, around the corner from Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, as news editor for The Epitaph. My first story, covering a school board hearing, got me an ‘F’ and was never published because I decided to testify at the hearing and then quoted myself.” Playbook Plus Q&A
BIRTHDAYS: NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell ... Jim Lyons ... Mike Smith, DCCC national finance director ... Rick Wiley … Kathleen Sullivan ... Olivia Petersen, global corporate comms director at Whole Foods and an NBC alum (h/t Neil Grace) ... POLITICO’s Maura Kelly, Robin Turner, Mike Farrell, Brittany Desch and Thao Sparling ... Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo is 48 ... former Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) is 78 ... BP America’s Wynn Radford is 4-0 (h/ts wife Julie and Sarah Huckabee Sanders) ... Margarita Diaz ... MacKenzie Smith ... Cheryl Bruner (h/t Jon Haber) ... Sarah Sonies ... Camille Joseph ... Chuck Raasch, Washington correspondent for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ... Jenna Lowenstein … writer Rebecca Nelson ... Megan Heckerman ... Jeremy Lin ... former Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) is 74 ... Jeet Guram, senior advisor to CMS Administrator Verma (h/t Ninio Fetalvo) … Andy Post, comms director for DOT ...
… Reid Epstein, who is beginning soon at the NYT ... Peter Wallsten, WaPo’s senior politics editor ... RNC’s Adi Sathi ... Randy Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, is 52 ... SKDK alum Rachel Palermo ... Eric Sapirstein ... Paul Blank … Blake Zeff ... Akela Lacy ... Jordan Dunn … Phillip Stutts, CEO of Go BIG Media, is 45 ... Derrick Robinson ... Kristin Hedger ... Jim Kiley is 42 (h/t Talley Sergent) ... Shannon Buckingham, VP for comms at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities … Robert Petito is 28 ... Deirdre Murphy Ramsey of Precision Strategies (h/t Jeff Solnet) … Martin McGuinness is 48 ... Derek Flowers ... Robin and Abigail Pogrebin ... Kirk Oberfeld ... Ralph Neas is 73 … Tim Del Monico ... Leslie Ridle (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Jim Nantz is 6-0 ... Craig Ferguson is 57 (h/ts AP)
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2019/05/17/2-mysteries-of-the-trump-white-house-437623
2019-05-17 09:58:00Z
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