Musk vs. Hill GOP leaders

Politico

3 days ago

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THE CATCH-UP
ALL THINGS MUSK PASS: Top Republican Hill leaders spent the morning defending President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' against an onslaught of attacks from Elon Musk as they race to hold the GOP conference together long enough to deliver the sprawling legislation to Trump's desk.
Musk has continued his spree today on his X account, amplifying several messages of opposition to the debt increase from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).
In the House: Speaker Mike Johnson 'spent several minutes during a closed-door House Republican Conference meeting on Wednesday morning pushing back on Musk and trying to reassure Republicans after Musk signaled that he thinks lawmakers who support the megabill should be ousted next year,' POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill and Jordain Carney report.
What he said: Johnson told members that he's tried to call Musk to explain the process behind the megabill, as well as a separate bill to claw back billions in spending. 'Johnson's message, in the meeting, according to the attendees: People will have differences of opinion; don't take it personally.'
'I think he's flat wrong, and I've told him as much,' Johnson said at a news conference after the meeting.
In the Senate: Majority Leader John Thune downplayed any impact that Musk's criticism might have on his whip count. 'Obviously he has some influence, got a big following on social media,' Thune told reporters. 'But at the end of the day this is a 51-vote exercise here in the Senate, and I think the question for our members is going to be, 'Would you prefer the alternative?' And the alternative isn't a good one.'
Thune said he spoke with Musk by phone a few days ago, before the tech mogul's X tirade yesterday. 'There are going to be a lot of people who share commentary about this, and we just got to make sure we're doing everything we can to get our arguments out there,' he added.
The price tag: The Congressional Budget Office released its full score for the megabill today, predicting that the measure would grow the federal deficit by $2.4 trillion, POLITICO's Jennifer Scholtes and colleagues report. Though top Republican lawmakers 'are expected to downplay the significance of the complete price tag from the Congressional Budget Office, the numbers will influence what lawmakers are able to include in the final package,' they note. See the full CBO report
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7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. WAR IN UKRAINE: Trump said in a post on Truth Social at 12:40 p.m. that he had just wrapped up a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that lasted for an hour and 15 minutes. 'It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace,' Trump said. 'President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond' to Ukraine's stunning drone attacks on Russian airfields.
Another issue: Trump also indicated that the two discussed Iran nuclear negotiations and said Putin agreed that Iran 'cannot have a nuclear weapon.' Putin, said Trump, also 'suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion.'
The view from Washington: Keith Kellogg, Trump's Ukraine envoy, said on Fox News this morning that 'the risk of escalation from the war in Ukraine was 'going way up' after Ukrainian forces used drones to strike nuclear-capable bombers at several airbases deep inside Russia,' per Reuters.
The view from Moscow: Putin has 'openly questioned the point of peace talks with Ukraine after accusing Kyiv's senior leadership of ordering deadly terrorist attacks on bridges in Russia that killed seven and injured 115 more,' Reuters reports.
The view from Europe: The U.S. is 'refusing to provide air defenses to back the 'reassurance force' the UK and France are planning in a postwar Ukraine,' Bloomberg's Ellen Milligan and colleagues report. Despite British PM Keir Starmer's insistence on a so-called U.S. 'backstop,' European allies have concluded that Trump 'won't provide the guarantees they have sought to back the Europe-led 'coalition of the willing.'' And yet European leaders are 'increasingly optimistic that they can support Ukraine financially and militarily against Russia' even if Trump pulls support — though not at the level that the U.S. provides, NYT's Steven Erlanger reports.
The new front line: 'Drone Attacks Are the New Front in War. NATO Is Trying to Catch Up,' by NYT's Lara Jakes: 'Assaults in Russia and Ukraine have shown major military powers that they are unprepared for evolving forms of warfare, and need to adapt.'
2. ALSO ON TRUMP'S MIND: A new ADP report released this morning showed that 'private sector job creation slowed to a near standstill in May, hitting its lowest level in more than two years as signs emerged of a weakening labor market,' CNBC's Jeff Cox reports. Trump responded to the news with a broadside missive directed at Fed Chair Jerome Powell. 'ADP NUMBER OUT!!! 'Too Late' Powell must now LOWER THE RATE. He is unbelievable!!! Europe has lowered NINE TIMES!' the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.
3. WHITE-KNUCKLED AT THE WHITE HOUSE: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will be the latest world leader to step into the proverbial ring with Trump when he visits the Oval Office on Thursday. It's the venue — which has already seen two blow-ups this year — that has 'elected leaders across the nation and world are worrying about who will be next,' WaPo's Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and colleagues write, 'weighing the benefits of a high-profile meeting with the most powerful man on Earth against the chance that they will be politically bruised by an Oval Office ambush.'
Fear not, chancellor: A senior White House official 'downplayed the likelihood of tension' with Merz, 'saying the meeting 'shouldn't be any different than any other state visits.''
4. IMMIGRATION FILES: As Trump ramps up his massive deportation effort, ICE is launching a new nationwide push, called 'Operation At Large,' that 'includes more than 5,000 personnel from across federal law enforcement agencies and up to 21,000 National Guard troops,' NBC's Julia Ainsley and colleagues scoop. 'Drawing those numbers from other law enforcement agencies, though, has been a source of tension among some officials, who feel they have been taken off other core national security missions, according to three additional law enforcement and military officials.'
Inside the numbers: 'The plan calls for using 3,000 ICE agents, including 1,800 from Homeland Security Investigations, which generally investigates transnational crimes and is not typically involved in arresting noncriminal immigrants; 2,000 Justice Department employees from the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration; and 500 employees from Customs and Border Protection. It also includes 250 IRS agents.'
How it's playing: The administration is already 'taking hundreds of migrant children already residing in the United States out of their homes and into government custody, at times separating them from their families and making it more difficult for them to be released,' CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports.
Related read: 'Trump admin shrugs off congressional concerns over ICE spending,' by POLITICO's Myah Ward and Hailey Fuchs
5. A NEW YORK MINUTE: GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, who's considering a run for governor next year, is turning some of her political attention back home, POLITICO's Nick Reisman reports from Albany. Today, she is announcing the creation of a new PAC dubbed 'Save New York' to raise cash on behalf of local Republican candidates in the state — the latest indication she is moving toward a 2026 gubernatorial run.
Another sign: At the Staten Island GOP's annual Lincoln Day Dinner, Stefanik dropped another marker that she's leaning toward a run: 'Are we ready to fire [Democratic Gov.] Kathy Hochul next year?' she asked attendees, per Fox News' Paul Steinhauser.
Reminder: POLITICO and WNBC are sponsoring the NYC Democratic mayoral primary debate tonight, with POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg co-moderating. The pre-read: '5 things to watch in first debate,' by POLITICO's Nick Reisman … The companion read: POLITICO's New York team will be following the action on our live blog tonight
6. WHAT ED THE EAGLE IS UP TO: Ed Martin, Trump's pardons czar at the Justice Department, is 'considering a plan to grant clemency to dozens of so-called fake electors who aided Donald Trump in his scheme to overturn the 2020 election,' Mother Jones' Dan Friedman reports. The plan is to 'recommend federal pardons for all these reputed Trump electors, despite the fact that none have been charged with federal crimes' — amounting to a largely symbolic effort that would have 'no official bearing on the state criminal cases.' It is part of a 'broader initiative to present Trump with the option of issuing numerous symbolic pardons, many of them posthumous.'
7. NEWS FROM THE WILDERNESS: 'Democrats' online problem: They're not doing enough year-round,' by POLITICO's Jessica Piper: 'Conservative organizations spend more than left-leaning ones on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram in non-election years, capturing a large audience while those Democratic-aligned groups go more dormant in the digital space. And it's making Democrats' election-year persuasion game that much harder. That's the warning of a new report from Tech for Campaigns, a political nonprofit focused on using digital marketing and data techniques to support Democrats, that argues one of the party's major problems is that its communication falters in non-election years.'
TALK OF THE TOWN
Carl Nassib, who was the first openly gay NFL player to appear in a regular season game, is now honored with an exhibit at the National Museum of American History.
CULINARY CORNER — MAGA hotspot Butterworth's is now offering '10% off checks for Kennedy Center ticket holders, staffers and performers,' per Axios' Tal Axelrod. … And NYC transplants rejoice: H&H Bagels is opening a location in Mount Vernon Triangle this month, per the Washingtonian's Ike Allen.
OUT AND ABOUT — The Washington AI Network last night hosted the Inaugural AI Honors at the Waldorf Astoria, where Tammy Haddad welcomed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who gave details on the newly announced Center for AI Standards and Innovation. Honorees included Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Frank Whitworth, Jack Hidary, Patricia Falcone, Ylli Bajraktari and Father Paola Benanti. CNN's Sara Sidner emceed. SPOTTED: Barbara Humpton, Kellyanne Conway, Matt Tait, Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Vince Fong (R-Calif.) and Ben Cline (R-Va.), Jeff Freeland, Paige Wiley, Alex Flemister, Hailey Borden, Karalee Geis, Colton Snedecor, Parker Magid, Ed Luce, Phil Rucker, Sumi Somaskanda, Sam Feist, Pamela Brown, Kaitlan Collins, EU Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė, Reema Dodin, Vinoda Basnayake, Matt Dornic and Kathleen Buhle.
— SPOTTED at Latino Magazine's annual LATINO 100 Awards at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco yesterday: Alicia Menendez, Monica Garay, Maria Luisa Boyce, Ivelisse Porroa-Garcia, Margita Thompson, José Antonio Tijerino, Omar Franco, Norberto Salinas, Estuardo V. Rodriguez, Isaac Reyes and George Agurkis.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Andrew Vontz, former Strava exec, and Jonathan Kaplan, former comms officer at the Open Society Foundations, have launched a new podcast, 'The United States of Sweat' presented by Choose the Hard Way, featuring conversations with elected officials about how they stay physically active and grounded.
MEDIA MOVES — A quartet of journalists are departing the industry full-time to pursue new endeavors: Shira Stein is leaving the San Francisco Chronicle as Washington correspondent to become a veterinarian. … Heather Long is joining Navy Federal Credit Union as chief economist. (She will still write a monthly column for WaPo.) … Katherine Swartz is leaving NOTUS and moving to Zambia to join the Peace Corps to teach English. … Craig Torres is departing from Bloomberg to join the Andersen Institute for Finance & Economics as editorial director, per Talking Biz News.
TRANSITIONS — Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has launched a new advisory firm, Clarion Strategies, alongside former U.S. NATO Ambassador Julianne Smith and former Pentagon legislative affairs chief Rheanne Wirkkala. Also joining are former VA Secretary Denis McDonough as a principal, with Ely Ratner and Lindsey Ford advising part-time. … Caroline Farrell is joining Foley Hoag as counsel in its health care practice. She most recently was at HHS as lead counsel advising the CMS on Medicaid and Medicare policy.
… Eden Alem is now deputy comms director for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Dems. She previously was national press secretary at Climate Power. … Nicole Fondots is now digital marketing director for the RNC. She previously was VP of strategy at Techne. … Hana Tadesse is now VP of comms for the Seattle FIFA World Cup 26 local organizing committee. She previously was comms director for Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.).
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