The leader of the opposition

Politico

a day ago

Presented by
With help from Eli Okun and Bethany Irvine
On this morning's Playbook Podcast, Jack and Adam Wren discuss Gavin Newsom's emergence this week at the front of the anti-Trump pack … and why Saturday's grand military parade in D.C. may not be entirely comfortable viewing for either GOP grandees or military top brass.
Good Wednesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, more bleary-eyed than usual after last night's glammed-up party at the French Ambassador's place. But fear not: I stuck to sparkling water all night long, just for you guys … Playbook is a cruel mistress indeed. Let me know how I'm doing so far.
BREAKING THIS MORNING: Elon says sorry. 'I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far,' Elon Musk wrote on X at, erm, 3.04 a.m. this morning. It follows Musk's decision to delete some of his most egregious messages about Trump from last Thursday's blowup — yes, including the Jeffrey Epstein one — and marks the culmination of a pretty unprecedented climbdown, by Musk's standards. There's no sign of a response from the president as yet, but he'll surely be lapping it up.
Popcorn at the ready: And if that's not enough theater for you, Trump — joined by the lesser-spotted Melania — will head to the Kennedy Center this evening for the opening night of 'Les Misérables.' Trump, of course, fired the arts center's entire board in February and appointed himself chair. And now — as luck would have it — his favorite musical's coming to town. Enhanced security will be in place all day, though whether that stops Trump getting the JD Vance treatment remains to be seen.
Plot twist: For those who haven't seen it, 'Les Mis' follows a group of 19th-century king-hating revolutionaries who take to the streets against their authoritarian government, but ultimately see their hopes of change crushed. It's hard to see how it could have any real relevance today.
In today's Playbook …
— Newsom grabs his moment as hundreds of U.S. Marines hit the streets of LA.
— Bessent heads to the Hill after trade breakthrough with China.
— GOP senators huddle to discuss reconciliation tweaks.
DRIVING THE DAY
WATERSHED MOMENT: Hundreds of U.S. Marines will hit the streets of Los Angeles today as the Trump administration cranks up its pressure on the city's immigrant population. The 700 active-duty Marines sent to L.A. will join existing National Guard troops in 'protecting federal property and personnel,' a spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command said this morning (per the NYT) — 'including providing security to ICE agents on their missions.' It follows a complaint from border czar Tom Homan that the LA protests have made it 'dangerous' for ICE officials to do their jobs.
Mission creep: The anarchic and riotous scenes we saw in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday have actually largely dissipated — especially following Mayor Karen Bass' decision to impose an 8 p.m. curfew last night. But the troops Trump has deployed are going nowhere. Instead, official ICE pictures yesterday showed National Guard troops standing guard alongside ICE officers as they carried out raids on undocumented migrants across LA. (Bloomberg News confirmed this is happening). And it sounds like the newly deployed Marines will be asked to do the same.
Let's be clear: These are precisely the sorts of scenes — U.S. troops assisting with immigration raids in liberal cities — that Dems have feared since Trump's election. They are also precisely the target of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's request for an emergency injunction against the way Trump is deploying military force in his state, per POLITICO's Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein. District Judge Charles Breyer — the Bill Clinton-appointed brother of former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer — will hear that case tomorrow. It could be quite a moment.
We need to talk about Gavin: Newsom, for his part, delivered a pretty extraordinary address to the nation last night, in which he sought to position himself as the leader of America's anti-Trump opposition. Speaking directly to camera in a crisp, eight-minute monologue, Newsom denounced Trump's aggressive deployment of ICE officers and military forces in LA — before raising his eyes to horizons far beyond his own state.
'This isn't just about protests here in Los Angeles,' Newsom told America. 'This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes.'
Going viral: The video is getting plenty of love from Dems online — hitting more than a million views on the MeidasTouch YouTube channel inside three hours last night. And it was on the front pages of both the NYT and WaPo early this morning. 'I for one am very happy to see somebody that isn't afraid to speak up,' Ana Navarro told CNN. 'I have been so thirsty for somebody that is not cowardly, bending the knee and selling out to Donald Trump as he does all of this to America.' Even the WSJ describes Newsom as 'the leader of the opposition.'
This is all fascinating stuff for kremlinologists of the fledgling 2028 Democratic race. Playbook noted yesterday that politicians aligning themselves with anti-ICE protesters may be taking on political risk come a general election, but Newsom is playing a different game right now — and playing it well. He even leaned into Trump's threat to have him arrested, spying the same political opportunity enjoyed by Trump himself in 2023. (POLITICO's Jeremy White and Melanie Mason take a closer look at Newsom's leadership prospects here.)
White House pushback: Trump has yet to respond directly to Newsom's video, but it was striking to see the White House comms operation move into overdrive last night. White House comms director Steven Cheung and his deputy Alex Pfeiffer were both going predictably hard at Newsom on X, as was the White House's Rapid Response account. Stephen Miller did not hold back. Trump's pal Jon Voight published a blistering video response. Others in MAGA world simply mocked Newsom for the technical glitches that wrecked the initial live broadcast.
But but but: It's worth noting Team Newsom is giving as good as it gets, mimicking the ways Trump has successfully deployed social media over recent years. We're seeing rapid response pushback; caustic humor, deeply mocking tones. And again — plenty of online Dems are lapping it up. WaPo's Tatum Hunter has more on that.
Taking it offline: Trump, predictably, now appears to be considering other ways to punish California, including cutting federal education funds (per POLITICO's Rebecca Carballo and colleagues) and killing its nation-leading vehicle emissions standards (per POLITICO's Alex Nieves.)
First in Playbook: This all comes ahead of Trump's big military parade in D.C. on Saturday, and the split-screen scenes in Los Angeles and Washington 'underscore how Trump is leveraging his role as commander-in-chief in a much clearer and more urgent way than he did during his first term — embodying the image of a strong military commander that he has long admired in other foreign leaders, allies and adversaries alike,' POLITICO's Megan Messerly and colleagues write this morning.
The heartburn: NYT's Helene Cooper reports some military leaders are feeling a little uncomfortable about the whole thing, now that troops are literally being deployed on U.S. streets to help quell protests. Even GOP Hill members are squirming: POLITICO surveyed 50 GOP lawmakers, and only seven said they planned to stay in Washington this weekend for the festivities. Also uncomfortable viewing: U.S. troops booing and jeering Trump's rivals during yesterday's presidential speech at Fort Bragg. Watch the clip
IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID
INFLATION NATION: The monthly Consumer Price Index data for May comes out at 8:30 a.m., the latest measure of whether Trump's trade wars are driving up costs for Americans. Economists predict a tick up to 2.9 percent inflation annually and 0.3 percent month to month, reflecting a moderate impact from tariffs, Bloomberg's Mark Niquette reports.
Trading places: Fresh off a plane from London, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will appear before the House Ways & Means Committee at 10 a.m. and a Senate Appropriations subcommittee at 4 p.m., where he'll likely provide a download from the latest U.S.-China trade talks. And Bessent has good news to share: The two sides announced last night that negotiators had struck a deal for a framework to restore their May trade truce, per the FT. It still awaits sign-off from Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, but you can expect markets to react positively this morning.
Watching brief: Bloomberg's Saleha Mohsin and colleagues report that more and more Trump advisers want him to tap Bessent as the next Fed chair, despite the denials.
Devil in the details: We're still waiting for specifics on this new U.S.-China deal — but if the U.S. has agreed to dial back some tech export controls, Bloomberg notes, Beijing would see that as a win. Indeed, analysts say that China's effective use of rare earths as leverage illustrates how the 'Trump administration underestimated Beijing's ability to withstand the pain of tariffs,' WaPo's Katrina Northrop writes. Trump won't enjoy reading that.
In better news for Trump: The president landed a significant victory last night as an appeals court lifted a ruling that had blocked the president's sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs, per Reuters. The court said Trump can enforce the levies while litigation on the merits proceeds. Arguments aren't scheduled until the end of July.
And it's not just China: Negotiators are also close to a deal with Mexico that would remove some U.S. tariffs on steel, Bloomberg's Joe Deaux and Eric Martin scooped.
MEANWHILE ON THE HILL
RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: Senate Republicans will meet behind closed doors this afternoon to get the latest information on their 'big, beautiful bill' from committee chairs who have not yet released their portions of the bill text. Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) will brief members on a plan to reduce the House's SNAP cuts, forcing costs for food aid onto states at a lower rate than the House passed, POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill and Grace Yarrow report. But on the flip side, Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) warns that foisting SNAP costs onto state capitals could cost Republicans control of Congress, Grace reports. (Check out our colleagues on Inside Congress for more on the GOP's latest megabill casualties.)
First in Playbook: Fear of those very changes — and other budgetary hits to states from the bill — is prompting several Democratic-led states to consider special sessions later this year to address the fallout, POLITICO's Jordan Wolman reports. Major fiscal changes and cuts could be in the offing.
ELSEWHERE IN CONGRESS: It's a busy day on the Hill, with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan 'Razin' Caine, HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum all testifying in addition to Bessent. FAA Administrator-designate Bryan Bedford will be up for his confirmation hearing, and the Senate will have a procedural vote at noon on Billy Long's nomination for IRS commissioner.
Swamp watch: Rep. Mark Green's (R-Tenn.) surprise announcement on Monday that he'll resign from Congress came while he was in Guyana, missing House votes, NOTUS' Reese Gorman reports. Though Green hasn't specified his next steps in the private sector, he's already been pitching people on … investment opportunities in Guyana. What a world.
Gerontocracy watch: 87-year-old Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) told reporters she's running for election again after 18 terms — only for her office to suddenly introduce some wiggle room after a noisy outcry, POLITICO's Nick Wu reports. … 76-year-old Rep. Kweisi Mfume's (D-Md.) is hoping to benefit from seniority as he seeks the House Oversight ranking member spot, Nick and colleagues report. … And while we're doing elderly politicians, former White House aides Neera Tanden, Anthony Bernal, Ashley Williams and Annie Tomasini have agreed to testify before House Oversight as it investigates former President Joe Biden's abilities in office, per POLITICO's Hailey Fuchs. Half of D.C. will be tuning in for that.
BEST OF THE REST
CLIMATE FILES: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is due to announce a major pollution-prevention rollback at 2 p.m., Bloomberg's Ari Natter and Jennifer Dlouhy scooped. The agency's latest deregulatory moves will unwind Biden-era rules that forced power plants to curb emissions.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Frontrunners Jack Ciattarelli and Rep. Mikie Sherrill easily secured the respective Republican and Democratic gubernatorial nominations in New Jersey, teeing up one of this year's marquee elections, as POLITICO's Matt Friedman breaks down. It'll be a crucial test of the electorate's mood during Trump's second term, especially as the typically blue state has looked purpler of late: Ciattarelli fell 3 points short of beating incumbent Phil Murphy in 2021, and Kamala Harris bested Trump by only 6 last year.
TRAIL MIX: Hannah Pingree became the latest Democrat to jump into the Maine gubernatorial race, per the Portland Press Herald's Randy Billings. The former state House speaker is also the daughter of Rep. Chellie Pingree. … And Mike Bloomberg swung his support behind Andrew Cuomo, which could give the NYC mayoral frontrunner a significant boost, the NY Post's Carl Campanile and Craig McCarthy report.
MONUMENTAL NEWS: The Justice Department put out a legal opinion, overturning guidance from 1938, to say that the president can unilaterally abolish entire national monuments created by previous presidents, WaPo's Jake Spring reports. If Trump goes there, it 'would take the administration into untested legal territory.'
BILL OF HEALTH: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has made several anti-vaccine moves since taking over the health agency, said he wouldn't bring in anti-vaxxers to replace the important advisory committee he fired, per Bloomberg.
MEDIAWATCH: ABC News said longtime correspondent Terry Moran's contract won't be renewed after he blasted Stephen Miller on social media as 'a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred,' per WaPo.
WHISTLIN' DIXIE: 'Trump reverses Army base names in latest DEI purge,' by POLITICO's Jack Detsch and Paul McLeary
TALK OF THE TOWN
Jeanne Shaheen's staff had to figure out how to navigate an 8-foot-tall stuffed moose — and a bear nearly as tall — through the Capitol.
Bill Nye showed a Men's Health reporter legions of texts Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent him a while back filled with anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.
SPORTS BLINK — The Congressional Baseball Game takes place at 7:05 p.m. at Nats Park tonight. Republicans enter with a four-year winning streak — including a 31-11 rout last year. It'll air on Fox Sports 1, with commentary from Kevin Corke and Chad Pergram.
PLAYBOOK ARTS SECTION — 'Smithsonian to Conduct Wide Content Review Requested by Trump,' by WSJ's Natalie Andrews and colleagues: 'The content review is a victory for the White House as Trump extends his reach to the country's cultural institutions.
PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — House Republicans are no closer to fixing the billion-dollar hole they blew in the city's budget … but they are passing bills this week to repeal a D.C. law that allows non-citizens to vote in local elections, NYT's Michael Gold reports.
OUT AND ABOUT — French Ambassador Laurent Bili, Steve Clemons, Heather Podesta, Kellyanne Conway and Cory Gardner hosted the fourth edition of Amethyste at Bili's residence last night. SPOTTED: Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Dina Powell McCormick, Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Reps. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) and Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands), Joe and Gayle Manchin, Vince Haley, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, Kiron Skinner, Justin Fanelli, Paul Dabbar, Omar Vargas, Faryar Shirzad, Teresa Carlson, Nick Carr, Dante Disparte, Riaz Valani, Joe Bartlett, Ludovic Hood, Sarah Rogers, Alex Wong, Joe Hack, Hogan Gidley, Morgan Ortagus, Sébastien Fagart, Belgian Ambassador Frédéric Bernard, Japanese Ambassador Shigeo Yamada, Roy Blunt, Dan Knight, John Hudson, Kaitlan Collins, Josh Dawsey, Tammy Haddad, Gloria Dittus, Daniel Cruise, Vincent Voci, Michael Wilner, Matthew Mazonkey, Garrett Haake, Tyler Pager, Juleanna Glover, Michael Shepard, Goli Sheikholeslami, Dafna Linzer, Michael Froman, Douglas Rediker and Heidi Crebo-Rediker, Tomicah Tillemann and Susan Blumenthal.
— The Shakespeare Theatre Company's annual Will on the Hill event last night included participation by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Reps. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) and Dina Titus (D-Nev.), D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto, Aaron Myers, Grover Norquist, Holly Twyford, Renea Brown, Marla Allard, Olivia Beavers, Rich Edson, Steven Clemons, James Hohmann, Simon Godwin and emcee Mike Evans. Also SPOTTED: Carol Danko, Angela Lee Gieras, Neal Higgins, Victoria Hamscho, Karishma Shah Page, Alexa Verveer, LeeAnn Petersen, Andrea LaMontagne, Kathleen Coulombe, Michael Sinacore, Ryan Alcorn, Scott Gelbman, Joe Harris, Nick Sanders, James Sonne, Blake Major, Evan Williams, Cheyenne Hopkins, John Donnelly and Ana Delgado.
— The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy marked the recent centennial of her birth with a celebration of reading last night at Vinegar Hill in Arundel, Maine — part of a three-day commemoration of the former first lady in Kennebunkport. The night included keynotes from bestselling authors Claire Lombardo, Dani Shapiro and Chris Whitaker, a video message from Jenna Bush Hager and a conversation with former staffers led by Jean Becker. Also SPOTTED: Doro Bush Koch, George Dvorsky, Ellie Sosa, Neil and Maria Bush, Margaret Bush, Marshall Bush, Andy Card, Shawn Gorman, Mark Lashier, Andrew Mueller, Kristan and Kyle Nevins, Anita McBride, Andrew Roberts and Tom Collamore.
WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Wayne Wall has been named senior director for the Middle East at the NSC, which is starting to staff up after a major purge, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. He previously was at the Defense Intelligence Agency.
TRANSITIONS — Sabrina Singh is joining Seven Letter as a partner. She most recently was deputy press secretary at the Defense Department, and is a Kamala Harris alum. … Karina Lubell will be a partner at Brunswick Group. She previously led the competition policy and advocacy section at DOJ's Antitrust Division. … Ashley Moir has launched Ashley Moir Media, a PR company with booking services, media training and comms strategy. She most recently was director of national broadcast operations at Deploy/US and is a former senior booker at Fox News. …
… Gopal Das Varma is now a VP at Cornerstone Research. He previously was VP at Charles River Associates and is a DOJ Antitrust Division alum. … Allison Rivera will be VP for government and industry affairs at the National Grain and Feed Association. She most recently was executive director of government affairs at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. … Daniel Harder is now a senior government affairs adviser at Mayer Brown. He previously was director of government affairs and public policy at Biogen.
WEEKEND WEDDING — John Hagner, partner at Workbench Strategy, and Adam Koehler, professional learning facilitator at World Savvy, got married Saturday in Minneapolis. They met online three years ago. Pic
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Derek Robertson, a reporter for POLITICO's Digital Future Daily and contributor to POLITICO Magazine, and Rachel Greer, associate director of records and archives at the ACLU, recently welcomed Margaret Hope Robertson.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz … David Cohen … Jennifer Rubin … Kim Oates of the House Radio/TV Gallery … Disney's Lucas Acosta … Eric Lieberman … J Street's Jeremy Ben-Ami … Greta Van Susteren … Lindsey Williams Drath … Cesar Gonzalez of Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart's (R-Fla.) office … Jamal Brown … Mike Schoenfeld … Tad Devine of Devine Mulvey Longabaugh … Lorissa Bounds … Kristen Thomaselli ... Mary Kate Cunningham … Marty Kearns of Netcentric Campaigns … POLITICO's Meg Myer … Emily Dobler Siddiqi … former Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) … Ryan Bugas … former South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard … Wendy Teramoto … CNN's Morgan Rimmer … Will Rahn … Sofia Jones of the House Agriculture Committee … Jonathan Martinez of Haleon … Tamar Epps of the National Head Start Association … Amy Barrera of Senate Majority Leader John Thune's office
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