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DRIVING THE DAY
SOMETHING TO PONDER: When JOHN RATCLIFFE is confirmed as DNI, will RIC GRENELL get another senior-level Trump administration post?
ALSO … DOES THE CORONAVIRUS EVEN EXIST ANYMORE? … THE PRESIDENT traveled to Arizona and didn’t wear a mask. … He’s planning more travel -- a trip is tentatively scheduled for next week. (They scrapped a trip to Ohio for late this week.) … VP MIKE PENCE is traveling frequently -- he’ll be in Des Moines on Friday for an event. … The administration is shutting down the coronavirus task force. … JARED KUSHNER and President DONALD TRUMP keep touting the success of the federal response.
NEARLY 70,000 AMERICANS have died from Covid-19 and no serious health expert is predicting that the outbreak is close to over. When the president was asked why he was shutting down the task force -- perhaps the most vivid display of the White House’s desire to move on from the disease -- he said: “[W]e can’t keep our country closed for the next five years. You can say there might be a recurrence and there might be, and most doctors, or some doctors, say that it will happen and it’ll be a flame and we’re going to put the flame out.”
THE CORONAVIRUS STORY will shift to Capitol Hill next week, with ANTHONY FAUCI testifying in front of SENATE HELP on Tuesday, and RICK BRIGHT -- a newly anointed whistleblower -- testifying before HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE on Thursday.
THIS HOLDS POLITICAL RISK for TRUMP. Capitol Hill will be rough waters for the president, and these hearings will get wall-to-wall coverage. Even the Republican Senate has Democrats who are going to want to grill FAUCI. And the BRIGHT hearing will represent a double team of sorts: a committee where House Democrats significantly outnumber Republicans, questioning a former TRUMP administration official who has turned against the president.
SIREN … LIBERALS GASP … “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized,” by Josh Gerstein: “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been hospitalized after suffering from inflammation of her gallbladder, the Supreme Court said in a statement on Tuesday night. Ginsburg, 87, is the oldest member of the Supreme Court and the longest-serving Democratic appointee.
“‘Ginsburg underwent non-surgical treatment for acute cholecystitis, a benign gallbladder condition, this afternoon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland,’ the court‘s statement said. Ginsburg‘s illness emerged in the same week the justices held their first-ever telephone arguments, as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“The court said that Ginsburg sought treatment after Monday‘s argument session and that doctors at Sibley Hospital in Washington concluded she had developed a gallstone that ‘migrated to her cystic duct, blocking it and causing an infection.’ The statement said Ginsburg was expected to spend ‘a day or two’ in the Maryland hospital and take part in the final arguments of the week from there on Wednesday, after apparently joining from her home earlier in the week.” POLITICO
Good Wednesday morning.
MEGATREND … BLOOMBERG’S SHAWN DONNAN and JOE DEAUX: “Layoffs Start Turning From Temporary to Permanent Across America”: “Plenty of layoffs that just a month ago were labeled ‘temporary’ are now tagged ‘indefinite’ or ‘permanent.’ Alongside announcements of sweeping staff cuts by major employers such as Boeing Co. and U.S. Steel Corp. and the accelerating pace of downsizing in brick-and-mortar retailing, such notices are a sign that even as businesses continue to hope for a speedy recovery, they are starting to plan for a slow one.”
IMPORTANT COLUMN in the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: “A U.S. move to seek coronavirus pandemic damages from China might well trigger war,” by Cary Huang: “The harshness of the language used and antagonism shown in the war of words between China and the US over the coronavirus outbreak is reminiscent of the Cold War confrontation in the 1950s and 1960s, when Pacific powers were engaged in war in the Korean peninsula and Vietnam. Indeed, the finger-pointing and name-calling has escalated steadily as the pandemic continues to ravage the world.”
NYT GOES LONG ON KUSHNER’S PRIVATE EQUITY POSSE -- “How Kushner’s Volunteer Force Led a Fumbling Hunt for Medical Supplies: Young, inexperienced workers scrambled to sort through tips on equipment desperately needed to fight the coronavirus while warehouses ran bare and doctors made their own gear,” by Nicholas Confessore, Andrew Jacobs, Jodi Kantor, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Luis Ferré-Sadurní:
“Federal officials who had spent years devising emergency plans were layered over by Kushner allies, working with and within the White House coronavirus task force, who believed their private-sector experience could solve the country’s looming supply shortage.
“The young volunteers -- drawn from venture capital and private equity firms -- were expected to apply their deal-making experience to quickly weed out good leads from the mountain of bad ones, administration officials said in an interview. FEMA and other agencies, despite years of emergency preparation, were not equipped for the unprecedented task of a pandemic that impacted all 50 states, they said. …
“At least one tip the volunteers forwarded turned into an expensive debacle. In late March, according to emails obtained by The Times, two of the volunteers passed along procurement forms submitted by Yaron Oren-Pines, a Silicon Valley engineer who said he could provide more than 1,000 ventilators.
“Mr. Kushner’s volunteers passed the tip to federal officials who then sent it to senior officials in New York, who assumed Mr. Oren-Pines had been vetted and awarded him an eye-popping $69 million contract. Not a single ventilator was delivered, and New York is now seeking to recover the money.”
MEANWHILE … PRIVATE EQUITY GETS THE STIFF ARM: “Private Equity, Lobbying the U.S. for Help, Is Mostly Hearing ‘No,’” by NYT’s Kate Kelly and Peter Eavis: “Last week, the Federal Reserve updated its terms for an emergency program that could lend as much as $600 billion to medium-sized companies, including those with relatively high levels of debt. Despite the [American Investment Council’s] lobbying for a loosening of restrictions, most private equity firms -- which buy companies using large amounts of debt that they then load onto those companies’ balance sheets -- will still be shut out because of a rule included in the program.”
BURGESS EVERETT BURSTS THE PAYROLL BUBBLE: “Trump’s tax cut dreams hit Republican resistance”: “President Donald Trump’s demands for the next coronavirus aid package are running into a stubborn obstacle: his own party.
“Asked what he thought of a payroll tax cut, the subject of Trump’s ultimatum for any new bill, Sen. Chuck Grassley didn't hesitate. ‘Right now, not much,’ the Senate Finance Committee chairman said, worrying that the tax cut could drain retirement funds or leave older Americans with the view that Congress doesn’t take ‘seriously’ the plight of the Social Security Trust Fund.
“‘I’m going to give it due consideration, if I can see a strong group of people who think it’s the right thing to do,’ added Grassley (R-Iowa), whose committee handles federal tax policy. But he said the president’s preference wouldn’t be the last word -- a sentiment shared by many in the Senate GOP: ‘The president proposes, we dispose.’”
-- THEO MEYER: “Chamber, trial lawyers group each say public is on their side in coronavirus liability fight”
NEW -- Due to the pandemic, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund for the first time will livestream its annual candlelight vigil on May 13, via Verizon. This year, 307 new names are getting engraved into the memorial’s walls. Announcement video
ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN and ADAM CANCRYN: “While Trump touted reopening, his team was sounding alarms”: “President Donald Trump boasted on May 1 that his success in responding to the coronavirus pandemic has made ventilator, test kit and mask shortages a thing of the past, and that much of the country is ready to quickly send people back to work. ‘We’ve ensured a ventilator for every patient who needs one,’ he said. ‘The testing and the masks and all of the things, we’ve solved every problem. We solved it quickly.’
“But that same day, his own health and emergency management officials were privately warning that states were still experiencing shortages of masks, gowns and other medical gear, according to a recording of an interagency meeting between FEMA and HHS officials across the country, conducted by conference call, which was obtained by POLITICO.” POLITICO
ELENA SCHNEIDER and JAMES ARKIN: “Candidates morph into Covid-19 relief workers — and want you to know about it”: “Clayton Fuller was filming his first campaign ad for Congress when he got a call from his Air National Guard commanding officer: He was being activated for coronavirus duty.
“Now the Republican from Georgia is spending his days far away from the campaign trail, coordinating the cleaning of nursing and veterans’ homes in Alabama. But because he’s under federal orders, he can no longer ask for votes himself — this week, he’s missing two virtual candidate forums. ‘I’m not allowed to talk to him,’ said David O’Connell, Fuller’s campaign manager, who cited Department of Defense regulations that barred active duty service members from political actions. ‘But the campaign’s had to go on without him.’
“Fuller represents an extreme example of how the coronavirus has transformed elections up and down the ballot. With electioneering largely on hold, campaigns are adapting in fundamental ways — many morphing into mini-relief organizations by channeling their donor and volunteer bases into coronavirus-related work in their communities.
“The candidates are raising big money for relief, but in many cases are making sure voters know about their good deeds, now and in the run-up to November.” POLITICO
-- MEANWHILE: “Kelly Loeffler embraces her wealth -- and private jet -- to jump-start campaign,” by Marianne LeVine and James Arkin: “Republican Kelly Loeffler is leaning on one of her greatest assets and most glaring liabilities to jump-start her campaign: her money.
“The Georgia senator, facing declining poll numbers and ongoing scrutiny over controversial stock trades, this week launched a $4 million ad campaign highlighting ways she’s used her wealth for Covid aid efforts in her state. Those include donating her salary, deploying her private plane to help transport stranded cruise ship passengers and making a $1 million personal donation to a relief organization, along with her support of the Senate's legislative responses.
“The trio of TV ads, by far the largest paid media from her or any other candidates in the race, comes after weeks of criticism and attacks that badly damaged her nascent campaign.” POLITICO
UPDATE: “Federal judge orders officials to restore New York primary, drawing cheers from Sanders camp,” by WaPo’s Sean Sullivan and David Weigel
TRUMP’S WEDNESDAY: The president will sign a proclamation in honor of National Nurses Day at 12:15 p.m. in the Oval Office. He will have lunch with Pence at 12:45 p.m. in the private dining room. Trump will meet with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at 2 p.m. in the Oval Office.
-- PRESS SECRETARY KAYLEIGH MCENANY will hold her second press briefing at 4 p.m.
PLAYBOOK READS
REBELS! … TEXAS TRIBUNE: “GOP lawmakers got illegal haircuts while calling on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to reopen salons,” by Cassandra Pollock and Stacy Fernández: “On Tuesday, state Reps. Steve Toth and Briscoe Cain sat wearing barbers’ gowns in a Houston-area salon, ready for their haircuts. Both Republicans were breaking state law by doing so, but to them, it mattered no less — one was there to send a message to Gov. Greg Abbott, and the other was there as an act of civil disobedience.
“‘A little less on the sides,’ Toth, from The Woodlands, told the hairstylist while on the phone with a Texas Tribune reporter, noting that ‘there's absolutely no reason’ why such businesses couldn't reopen their doors under proper health guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic. ‘I think these businesses need to be open,’ Cain, from Deer Park, told Fox 26 while getting his haircut.
“Hours later, their wish was granted: Abbott announced that hair salons and barber shops were among the businesses that could begin to reopen Friday — several days earlier than he had previously signaled.”
ACROSS THE POND -- “Government scientist Neil Ferguson resigns after breaking lockdown rules to meet his married lover,” by The Daily Telegraph: “The scientist whose advice prompted Boris Johnson to lock down Britain resigned from his Government advisory position on Tuesday night as The Telegraph can reveal he broke social distancing rules to meet his married lover. … The epidemiologist leads the team at Imperial College London that produced the computer-modelled research that led to the national lockdown, which claimed that more than 500,000 Britons would die without the measures.”
BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN and DANIEL LIPPMAN: “ICE chief tangles with White House over political appointees”: “The acting chief of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is resisting a White House effort to install a number of political appointees at the agency he helms, according to three current and former U.S. officials who described the situation to POLITICO.
“The battle comes as the powerful head of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, John McEntee, pushes hard to place Trump allies in key positions throughout the government. McEntee, a 29-year-old former campaign staffer who has the president’s ear, is turning his focus to immigration as the 2020 election approaches. But the effort has faced resistance from Matthew Albence, a career law enforcement officer and ICE’s acting director.
“According to the officials, the White House has spent about two months vetting a short list of candidates for open positions at ICE. The personnel office assembled the list––which included potential candidates for chief of staff and Office of Policy director — and then, in consultation with the top two DHS officials, Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli, brought the names of the candidates to ICE.
“But Albence resisted the White House push. The effort has now slowed, according to one senior administration official, and it’s unclear if or when the people on the list will get jobs at ICE.” POLITICO
BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- “9 states seek $36B in federal advances for unemployment claims,” by Katy Murphy in Sacramento, Calif.: “Nine states have told the Department of Labor they plan to ask for $36 billion in federal advances to cover the astronomical cost of unemployment payouts amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to new information provided to POLITICO Tuesday night by federal officials. Illinois, which had fiscal problems before the coronavirus, tops the list with an $11 billion request in May and June.
“California, the first state to borrow, plans to seek the next-highest amount over the same two months: $8 billion. Texas will ask for advances totaling $6.4 billion in May, June and July and New York will ask for $4.4 billion in the same three months. Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Ohio and West Virginia have also signaled an intent to borrow between May and July to fund their unemployment systems. Some of the states, like Illinois and California, only requested advances for May and June.
“There is no approval process for the advances, a department spokesperson said. States notify the Departments of Labor and Treasury of their needs, the spokesperson said, and the Department of Labor certifies those amounts to the Treasury Department. States are able to draw down advances as they need them, but won't necessarily end up using the full amounts.” POLITICO California
REALITY CHECK -- “Struggles in India, Brazil, U.S. show virus fight far from won,” by AP’s Chris Blake in Bangkok: “Even as countries moved forward Wednesday with easing their coronavirus restrictions and restarting their economies, a large cluster of infections linked to a market in India and the first lockdown of a major Brazilian city highlighted that the battle against the pandemic was far from won. …
“In India, which partly eased its lockdown Monday, health authorities were rushing to contain an outbreak of the virus at one of Asia’s largest markets for perishable goods. The market in the southern city of Chennai, spread over more than 250 acres, had remained open throughout the lockdown and is now tied to at least 1,000 cases.
“Another 7,000 people connected to now-shuttered Koyambedu market were being traced and quarantined, a huge task given that the facility is critical to the food supply across Tamil Nadu and neighboring states.”
BUSINESS BURST -- “Disney Takes $1.4 Billion Hit to Earnings as Coronavirus Takes Hold,” by WSJ’s Erich Schwartzel
-- “Airbnb to Cut 25% of Workforce as Coronavirus Stalls Global Travel,” by WSJ’s Rolfe Winkler: “Airbnb Inc. said it is slashing 1,900 jobs, or a quarter of its workforce, and cutting investments in noncore operations, as the home-sharing giant predicted the coronavirus pandemic would change its business even after more people start traveling again.
“Co-founder and Chief Executive Brian Chesky told employees about the cuts in a memo Tuesday, adding that the company’s revenue forecast for this year is ‘less than half’ of last year’s level. ‘We are collectively living through the most harrowing crisis of our lifetime, and as it began to unfold, global travel came to a standstill,’ Mr. Chesky told employees in a memo Tuesday. ‘Airbnb’s business has been hit hard.’” WSJ
COURT WATCH -- “Duncan Hunter may delay prison term until 2021 due to coronavirus,” by Jeremy B. White in Oakland: “Former Rep. Duncan Hunter could wait to serve a prison term until 2021 as coronavirus upends the corrections system. Hunter was sentenced to 11 months earlier this year after the San Diego Republican pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance law by spending campaign funds on personal matters.
“At the time of his March sentencing, U.S. District Judge Thomas Whelan said Hunter was not required to surrender until May given the pervasive threat of infection. … Attorneys for Hunter and the government filed a motion on Tuesday to push back Hunter's report date until January 2021. In exchange, Hunter would not seek to modify his term or claim that his home confinement counted toward the 11-month prison stint.
“‘The parties submit this extension is appropriate due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the unknown impacts the disease will have in the coming months,’ the filing says.” POLITICO
MEDIAWATCH -- HOWARD FINEMAN in WAPO: “My former newspaper is struggling — and is more important than ever”
PLAYBOOKERS
Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at [email protected].
WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE, via Anita Kumar and Daniel Lippman: Chad Gilmartin has been named principal assistant White House press secretary, according to two sources familiar with the move. He’s the cousin of press secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s husband. Gilmartin, who was working at the Trump campaign, replaces Annie LeHardy, who moved to first lady Melania Trump’s office to become senior adviser to new chief of staff Stephanie Grisham.
USAID DEPARTURE LOUNGE -- “‘Very difficult and emotional’: Pandemic expert leaves Trump administration,” by Halley Toosi: “Timothy Ziemer’s departure robs the Trump administration of another expert as it tries to battle the coronavirus pandemic. The former Navy rear admiral is highly regarded and has decades of government service, although he has been somewhat sidelined during the ongoing crisis.
“Ziemer landed at the U.S. Agency for International Development after his directorate at the National Security Council was dismantled by then-national security adviser John Bolton in 2018. He informed colleagues Tuesday of his decision to leave, which he said will take effect June 5. In a note obtained by POLITICO, Ziemer implied that he’s retiring, and said he had informed the White House of his decision on Monday.”
TRANSITIONS -- Former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer will lead Pallas Ventures, a new venture capital arm being launched by the strategic advisory firm Pallas Advisors. … Katharine Cooksey is now press secretary for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s reelection campaign. She most recently was a director at Cavalry LLC. … LaShawn Warren will be EVP of government affairs at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the Leadership Conference Fund. She currently is SVP of campaigns and programs. …
… David Trulio has been appointed counselor to the Export-Import Bank chairman and SVP for the new program on China and transformational exports. He’s on detail from the Pentagon, where he was senior adviser and chief of staff to the undersecretary of Defense for policy. … Sam Runyon has been promoted to comms director for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Erin Heeter is now press secretary.
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Telis Demos, WSJ Heard on the Street banking and finance reporter. How he got his start: “I walked into the college newspaper office out of curiosity. My first assignment was to cover how a new sanitary grade system would affect neighborhood restaurants. It was thrilling to talk my way into behind-the-scenes places like kitchens and hear about health codes from an entirely different vantage point. I was hooked.” Playbook Q&A
BIRTHDAYS: White House counsel Pat Cipollone is 54 … Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) is 86 … former British PM Tony Blair is 67 … Jamie Gorelick is 7-0 … former Rep. Eric Fingerhut (D-Ohio) is 61 … POLITICO’s David Rogers and Trevor Corning … WSJ’s Jimmy Vielkind … Dani Lever, comms director for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo … Spencer Pederson … Bloomberg’s Joe Nocera … Jennifer Longmire-Wright … Claire Mullican, scheduler for Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) … Tucker Eskew, partner at Vianovo … Rob Rozansky, senior policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (h/t Sintia Radu) … ICM Partners’ Lauren Clark … Apple’s Bradley Knitz … Bryan Hannegan … Sheena Mollineau, senior manager for corporate responsibility at PwC … POLITICO Europe’s Rolant Glyn … Kristen Curran, VP of government affairs at J Strategies (h/t Adam Morey) … Stefan Friedman, partner at Mercury …
… Liza Romanow, director of comms for Madeleine Albright … James Kariuki, multilateral policy director at the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office … Andy Oros … Rachel Salerno (h/ts Ben Chang) … Seth Freedland … Cynara Lilly, executive director for comms and advocacy at the Ballmer Group … Cara Philbin … Jerry Levin is 81 … Martha Nussbaum is 73 … Abraham David Sofaer is 82 ... Kate Jaffee, program manager at the Aspen Institute ... Connor Lentz ... Meghan Conklin … Laura Evans ... Alyse Cohen is 32 ... Mark Armour (h/t Teresa Vilmain) … Rod Rodriguez, president and CEO of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation ... Lisa Roskelley ... Benjamin Levine, VP at Sovereign Infrastructure Group (h/t #Intecon44) ... Max Giammetta ... Lisa Ferri ... Rebecca Powell Marx ... Natasha Mozgovaya ... Paul Schmitz is 51 ... Bob McCall ... Jim Williams … Bill Dolbow ... Rosa Puech ... Jim Ramstad is 74
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POLITICO Playbook: Coronavirus? What coronavirus? - Politico
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