Playbook: The White House goes macro on ‘Bidenomics’

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With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

DRIVING THE DAY

BIDEN’S NEW BUZZWORD — With Congress out for an extended July Fourth holiday recess and 2024 hopefuls hitting the donor circuit ahead of Friday’s Q2 fundraising deadline, the week is shaping up to be quieter than the chaos we’ve seen recently — at least in theory ...

Today at the White House, President JOE BIDEN and VP KAMALA HARRIS kick off Part II of the administration’s “Investing in America” tour by announcing a more than $40 billion investment in high-speed internet infrastructure.

More broadly, though, it’s a pivot into a new campaign message centered on “Bidenomics” — shorthand for the administration’s economic strategy of boosting the middle class through government investments rather than stimulative tax cuts focused on the wealthy.

“Implementing that economic vision and plan — and decisively turning the page on the era of trickle-down economics — has been the defining project of the Biden presidency,” senior Biden advisers ANITA DUNN and MIKE DONILON write in a new memo this morning.

The pair make clear we’ll be hearing about “Bidenomics” a lot as the president and other members of his administration fan out across the country this summer and beyond. Previewing today’s broadband event, Dunn and Donilon aren’t shy about invoking the New Deal, likening the investment to FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT’s Rural Electrification Act.

And on Wednesday, Biden will travel to Chicago to deliver a major economic address, where you can expect him to tout some of the numbers tucked into this morning’s memo:

— A strong labor market: Amid the pandemic, the CBO projected that unemployment would not drop below 4% until 2026. It dropped below that level in 2021, Biden’s first year in office, the memo notes.

— Better wages and benefits: “The prospect of good jobs is pulling people off the sidelines and into the workforce: the share of working-age Americans in the workforce is now higher than at any time in more than 15 years, and higher than any day under President [DONALD] TRUMP,” Dunn and Donilon write.

— A rising tide for the middle class: While the memo acknowledges “our work isn’t done” on inflation, it argues that middle-class Americans have come out ahead despite rising prices. “Americans have higher net worths and higher real disposable incomes today than they did before the pandemic,” the memo reads.

DeSANTIS’ ‘ROOKIE MOVE’ — Tomorrow, Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS heads to New Hampshire, where his poll numbers have taken a nosedive since he declared for the White House last month. Our colleagues Lisa Kashinsky and Meridith McGraw have a juicy read up this morning with a look at how DeSantis has managed to alienate a swath of the Granite State Republicans he’ll need to mount a serious challenge to Trump.

From the story: “His first visit to the state as a presidential candidate drew more headlines for what he didn’t do — take questions from voters — than the retail politicking he did. There are signs that even inside DeSantis’s orbit, they see New Hampshire as a challenge. The super PAC that’s effectively running his operation has been off the air in New Hampshire since May — temporarily, its founder told POLITICO — while running a new ad in Iowa and South Carolina this week.

“And DeSantis’ visit to the state Tuesday is being met with backlash from a major Republican women’s group. The New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women released a statement Thursday slamming DeSantis for planning an event at the same time as their annual fundraising lunch — an event Trump is headlining. The group asked him to reschedule.”

The Federation’s events director, CHRISTINE PETERS, said in a statement to Lisa and Meridith that it is “a New Hampshire hallmark” to be considerate in campaign event scheduling. “To have a candidate come in and distract from the most special event [the women’s group] holds in the year is unprecedented,” she said.

The tiff with the powerful women’s group has especially raised eyebrows. Just look at these two quotes tucked into the piece:

  • “If there’s one thing you don’t do in New Hampshire, it’s piss off the grassroots women,” an adviser to a rival candidate told our colleagues. “Don’t mess with them, they remember everything. Rookie move.”
  • “It’s the worst strategic move he has exhibited thus far,” New Hampshire-based Republican strategist MIKE DENNEHY added. “It’s just stupid, actually. You don’t take on the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women.”

Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

THE REST OF THE WEEK — Tomorrow: Supreme Court issues another batch of rulings as it races to finish up its term. Trump aide WALT NAUTA is arraigned in Miami. NIKKI HALEY delivers a speech on China at the American Enterprise Institute. … Wednesday: Fed Chair JAY POWELL speaks at the European Central Bank Forum in Sintra, Portugal. Haley headlines New Hampshire GOP Summer Cookout in Manchester. … Thursday: Q1 economic growth numbers are released. Biden and DeSantis hold NYC fundraisers. Moms For Liberty convention kicks off in Philadelphia. … Friday: Biden heads to Camp David. … Saturday: Trump holds a campaign rally in Pickens, S.C.

JUST POSTED — “Sarah McBride announces run for US House seat to become first trans member of Congress,” by Delaware News Journal’s Meredith Newman

PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “Radar problems briefly pause flights to and from National, Dulles airports,” by WaPo’s Martin Weil and Heidi Pérez-Moreno

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PLAYBOOK READS

THE WHITE HOUSE

NIGHT OF THE HUNTER — WSJ asks the experts: Did HUNTER BIDEN get a sweetheart deal from the Justice Department, as some Republicans have claimed? In short: the answer is no. But for good measure, the WSJ’s Byron Tau, C. Ryan Barber and Sadie Gurman “reviewed more than a hundred federal court dockets and interviewed almost a dozen former federal prosecutors.”

On the gun charge: “In looking at a sample of more than 100 federal cases involving the same charge, few had facts directly analogous to Hunter Biden’s case. Most of the time prosecutors seek to use the charge in situations where they have other concerns about the defendant.”

On the tax charge: “Former tax prosecutors said the Hunter Biden case likely presented the Justice Department with several challenges that cut in favor of negotiating a plea deal rather than taking the case to trial.”

2024 WATCH

TRUMP IN MICHIGAN — Former President DONALD TRUMP returned to the campaign trail in the Wolverine State yesterday, speaking to a gathering of Oakland County Republicans, where he painted the push for electric cars as a win for China and the 2024 election as “the final battle.”

The local coverage: “In an hourlong speech, Trump repeated false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, once more cast the criminal charges and ongoing investigations he faces as a ‘witch hunt,’ blasted efforts to support the auto industry’s transition to electric vehicles as a ‘maniacal push’ by Democrats that will ‘decimate’ jobs in Michigan and mocked his GOP primary opponent Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis,” the Detroit Free Press’ Clara Hendrickson writes.

The state support: Asked by the AP, Michigan GOP Chair KRISTINA KARAMO “said she will remain impartial in the primary. “When asked whether Trump or his team had lobbied for the presidential primary change, Karamo refused to answer. She said she doesn’t ‘discuss conversations with the different campaigns.’”

DeSANTIS IN TEXAS — DeSantis visited Eagle Pass, Texas, yesterday as he prepared to unveil an immigration proposal later today, “the first formal campaign policy of his presidential run,” NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez and Bianca Seward report.

Related reads: “DeSantis voters: Angry at Fauci, anxious about ‘Cinderfella,’ tiring of Trump,” by WaPo’s Hannah Knowles, Colby Itkowitz and Dylan Wells in Greenville, S.C. … “Florida immigrants detail their exit following DeSantis immigration law: ‘I had to leave,’” by NBC’s Anagilmara Vilchez

MORE POLITICS

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Elect Democratic Women, the member-led PAC, is rolling out endorsements for the Senate campaigns of Reps. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-Mich.) and LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER (D-Del.). EDW was formed in 2018 by seven House Democratic women with the expressed goal of “electing more pro-choice Democratic women to Congress and higher office,” and both Slotkin and Blunt Rochester noted their support for abortion rights in statements announcing the endorsements.

ABORTION ANGLING — As Democrats plan to make abortion a central campaign topic heading into the critical 2024 races, vulnerable Republicans are brushing off the prospect that the issue will spell trouble for them at the polls, Brittany Gibson writes. “Republican Reps. MARC MOLINARO and ANTHONY D’ESPOSITO, both of New York, told POLITICO that they weren’t worried about failing to represent the will of voters in their districts when it comes to abortion policy and said they would not interfere with the state’s laws on the issue.”

One dynamic to watch: “The delicate approach to abortion policy of vulnerable House Republicans could get overshadowed in 2024 by the more vocal calls from GOP presidential candidates and their conservative colleagues advocating for a national ban.”

CONGRESS

WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR’S EVE? — As Congress stares down a shutdown deadline, they’re already thinking about punting the issue into the holiday season as Democrats and Republicans remain miles apart on a deal to fund the government, our colleagues Caitlin Emma and Jennifer Scholtes write this morning.

The details: “If the House and Senate fail to clear a dozen annual spending bills by midnight on New Year’s Eve, according to the bipartisan debt limit deal, it would trigger an automatic 1 percent across-the-board funding cut if a short-term spending patch is in place. That would be a severely difficult accounting conundrum for federal agencies — and a potential political landmine for Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY and President Joe Biden, who both have a lot to lose in 2024.”

Oh, and if you think the New Year’s deadline is Congress’s absolute last chance to act, Caitlin and Jennifer report that “while Jan. 1 is technically the trigger date for a drop in spending levels under the debt agreement … top appropriators say the actual reductions wouldn’t kick in until the end of April.”

WAITING FOR A SEAT — The 19th’s Mel Leonor Barclay reports on the efforts to seat KIM TEEHEE in the House as a nonvoting delegate of the Cherokee Nation. The effort has bipartisan support, she writes, “but it’s not immediately clear when or how congressional leaders will take up the issue in earnest. If she gets this seat, with spots on key panels and the power to speak on the House floor, Teehee hopes to help shape the next chapter of federal policy to benefit tribal governments and the people they serve.”

JUDICIARY SQUARE

SCOTUS WATCH — The Supreme Court is nearing the end of its current session, but there are still a handful of consequential cases left on the docket to decide. WSJ’s Jess Bravin and Jan Wolfe have a roundup of the remaining topics that the court could issue rulings on when it delivers decisions this week.

What’s on tap: Affirmative action … Gay rights and free speech … Student debt relief … North Carolina’s redistricting … Online speech

POLICY CORNER

BANK ON IT — Biden’s regulatory gurus are running into a wall of opposition from banks over a move to force them to shore up their defenses against potential losses, in what’s shaping up as one of Washington’s biggest lobbying fights, our colleague Victoria Guida writes this morning. Plus, the industry insiders are “finding sympathetic ears among congressional Republicans like House Financial Services Chair PATRICK McHENRY, who say a proposal to raise funding levels by as much as 20 percent will squeeze lending and impede growth at an especially fragile time for the economy.”

THE CRYPTO CRACKDOWN — “Crypto mystery: New tax rules are MIA,” by Brian Faler

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — Chinese officials broached the subject of Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election with Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN on his recent visit, WSJ’s Lingling Wei, Charles Hutzler and William Mauldin report. “[People briefed on the matter] said Beijing tried to size up Washington’s interest in the race in self-ruled Taiwan, with Chinese officials sharing with Blinken their concerns over the presidential candidate of the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP.”

KREMLINOLOGY — “For the U.S. and NATO, a Weakened Russia Is More of a Wild Card,” by WSJ’s Daniel Michaels: “The prospect of a weakened government in Moscow becoming more dangerous is likely to prompt Ukraine to push harder for Western protection. At the same time it will increase hesitation in some Western capitals about taking steps that an embattled Russian leadership could interpret as provocative.”

POLITICO Magazine takes a swing at the situation: “Putin Suppressed a Mutiny. But What’s Next for Him and Russia? Fourteen Russia experts on what we learned about Putin over the past few days, and what the attempted mutiny could mean for Russia and the West.”

Related reads:

FOR YOUR SONAR — “U.S. Coast Guard will lead investigation of Titan implosion with help from Canada, France, UK,” by AP’s Jennifer McDermott and Steve LeBlanc

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

THE REAL-WORLD IMPACT — “They Fought a Pipeline on Their Land. Then Congress Got Involved,” by WSJ’s David Harrison in Bent Mountain, Va.: “The 303-mile, $6.6 billion pipeline running through West Virginia and Virginia is a symbol of the trade-offs needed to move legislation through a tightly divided Congress grappling with energy policy and climate change.”

PLAYBOOKERS

J.B. Pritzker enjoyed a Jell-O shot at Chicago’s Pride parade.

Greg Abbott got got by the “Dunning-Kruger Times.”

Rob Schneider is supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

MEDIA MOVE — Adam Klasfeld is joining The Messenger as a senior legal correspondent. He previously was managing editor of Law & Crime and is a Courthouse News alum.

TRANSITIONS — Ryan Johnson is now senior director at Evergreen Strategy Group. He most recently was deputy director of comms for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and is a BerlinRosen, Cory Booker, and Bobby Rush alum. … Sarah Lovenheim is now VP of external relations at AARP. She previously was assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS and is a Xavier Becerra and Harry Reid alum.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Florida first lady Casey DeSantis … WaPo’s Juliet Eilperin … NYT’s Mike Bender and Daniel Victor ... Bloomberg’s Emma Kinery ... Airbnb’s Elizabeth Wilner … POLITICO’s Jonathan Finkelstein … NBC’s Scott Bland ... Brunswick Group’s Dave Brown … Rachel Gantz … Mark Kadesh ... Emily McBride of Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) office … Mark Ritacco ... Mayer Brown’s Mickey Leibner … Matthew Fery … Newsmax’s Emma Rechenberg … Carly Hagan Brogan … Judy Havemann ... Julie Norton … King & Spalding’s Preeya Noronha Pinto … former Virginia Gov. Chuck Robb ... Ross Baker … former Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie … Alan Solow

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