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Today's Playbook Power Briefing presented by Delta Air Lines

By ANNA PALMER (anna@politico.com; @apalmerdc), JAKE SHERMAN (sherman@politico.com; @JakeSherman), DANIEL LIPPMAN (daniel@politico.com; @dlippman) and AKELA LACY (alacy@politico.com; @akela_lacy)


NEW ... KIM JONG-UN writes a letter to PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7cea534823745e0fda4db4c56411f598a5d7f18ba2677a35b5351f322169bf3fb7693b23965caeebddbf4bb6337e7672

-- NOT MENTIONED: Denuclearization.

STRZOK ON THE HILL -- KYLE CHENEY: "FBI agent Strzok defiant in face of Republican interrogation": "Republicans exploded at FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok on Thursday, berating his assertions that his anti-Donald Trump sentiment - captured in text messages exposed by an internal watchdog - never affected his work on the investigation of Russian contacts with the 2016 Trump campaign.

"But a defiant Strzok hit back at GOP lawmakers, defending his professionalism and slamming the hearing as a 'victory notch in Putin's belt.' And he got backup from Democrats who accused Republicans of harassing Strzok and running roughshod over the committees. 'Let me be clear, unequivocally and under oath: not once in my 26 years of defending my nation did my personal opinions impact any official action I took,' Strzok said in his opening statement to the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, his first public remarks on the matter. ...

"House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy pressed Strzok on how many witnesses he had interviewed in the first eight days of the Russia probe - from July 31, 2018, until Aug. 8, 2018 - and Strzok said FBI counsel instructed him not to discuss the ongoing probe. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte quickly interjected and ordered Strzok to answer the question or risk contempt proceedings. 'You are under subpoena,' Goodlatte said. 'I do not believe I am here under subpoena,' Strzok replied." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89d72fc7deb3c3402f1552a90e9a60871c371cecd1cde3b6dba4ff6273c98036830d4e8967f01bae0d95106a8067a2db

-- JOSH GERSTEIN: "Manafort moved to Alexandria jail": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89d72fc7deb3c340105e901c8f7fdfe9bc1a16cfaf879c23fa7eca62dec0b95332a088faf7c9e8fc3cb72fe265b46bed

SCOOPAGE ... REVOLVING DOOR EDITION ... ANDREW RESTUCCIA and JAKE SHERMAN: "Shahira Knight, a top economic adviser to President Donald Trump who played a central role in shepherding the Republicans' tax bill through Congress, will be named the White House's legislative affairs director, according to two people familiar with the decision." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89d72fc7deb3c340ac2b6ecf4fff89d8fb46ff7f1670009890a4945713488814f388287f4ae3746c19377a4f1e23eeac

TRADE WARS ... DOUG PALMER: "Ryan urges Trump to pursue trade deals, not tariffs": "House Speaker Paul Ryan warned Thursday that the United States risks falling behind the rest of the world because other countries are pursuing free trade deals more aggressively. ... [Ryan] said he hoped President Donald Trump's moves to impose tariffs on China and other nations was a negotiating tactic that would only remain in place until trade deals with those countries are worked out.

"At the same time, Ryan threw cold water on the idea of Congress passing legislation to bar Trump from imposing tariffs, since that would require a veto-proof majority. On Wednesday, the Senate passed a non-binding measure pushing back against Trump's tariffs, but stricter legislation is having a tough time getting enough bipartisan backing. ... 'The other [Trans-Pacific Partnership] nations have moved forward with that agreement,' Ryan said, referring to the 12-nation pact that Trump pulled out of on his third day in office. 'Any day now the EU will sign a new trade agreement with Japan. The EU has also recently initiated negotiations with Australia and New Zealand. So the point is, the
world is moving ahead. They're getting preferential agreements between themselves.'

"If the United States does not begin new trade talks, 'we risk having American products locked out of these new markets,' Ryan added. 'We risked having jobs being moved overseas and we risk a decline in American influence. All of this matters. As our generals will tell you, these agreements are just as important for our national security as they are for our economy.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89d72fc7deb3c340830f07c3690af921f84746b8402b833dcbc517b4de3d8f3fa20eb31108fdf60af8facb97c5b6efda

-- "China says US companies should lobby Washington over trade," by AP's Joe McDonald and Youkyung Lee: "China tried to step up pressure on Washington in their growing tariff war Thursday by suggesting U.S. companies lobby American leaders, while a Korean union warned President Donald Trump's threat of higher auto import duties could lead to job losses in Alabama.

"'We hope American companies do more to lobby the U.S. government and work hard to safeguard their own interests,' said Gao Feng [spokesman for the Chinese Commerce Ministry] at a news conference. While some U.S. companies and lawmakers have criticized Trump's tactics, Gao's statement was an unusually direct attempt to rouse domestic American opposition. Beijing frequently rejects foreign comments about its own policies as improper interference in its affairs." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89d72fc7deb3c3402adf5b4d86f6ada82d77a5d0365e13bad3ce464e45f0bfe5c7cc9badc94a51e2f41c36e2ba849603

BORDER TALES -- DAN DIAMOND: "Dozens of 'eligible' young migrant kids reunited, but many more still separated": "The Trump administration Thursday said that all eligible migrant children under age 5 who were separated from their parents at the border were reunited with their families, but dozens more young kids remain separated - including some whose parents have already been deported.

"The announcement came two days after the original court-ordered deadline to reunify the families of young kids. The Trump administration is facing a 6 p.m. Thursday deadline to convince U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw that it has complied with his court order." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89d72fc7deb3c340fb624fe8ca43d98e9c4c252e410851201c11c8917ea56e654bc1bf51b82199e6bec2f70a3ddfe678

UNFORGIVABLE! ... YALE DAILY NEWS on BRETT KAVANAUGH: "[W]hen it came to food, the future Supreme Court pick found hardly anything palatable, [roommate Kenneth] Christmas said. Kavanaugh was a 'bland eater' his roommate explained, who never ate his pasta with anything more exotic than tomato sauce or ketchup on top. At visits to Yorkside Pizza following late nights at Toad's Place - the friends did not go often, Christmas said, as Kavanaugh had 'limited dance moves' - the judge's pizza had to be plain cheese, or sometimes just pepperoni." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89d72fc7deb3c340b763da0dc298342c7ea8086b5161bc82a9242959bc581cce0f152ae8b5294a33078e2a30234139f9

-- COME ON. Ketchup on pasta? Yorkside over Modern Apizza?

** A message from Delta Air Lines: At Delta, we're committed to donating 1% of our net profits to charitable organizations around the world. Delta contributed over $40 million to charities and nonprofits in 2017, and we look forward to continuing our support for years to come. For more information about Delta, visit www.delta.com. **

Good Thursday afternoon. HOUSE REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE CHAIR CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS (R-WASH.) raised more than $1 million this last quarter, and spent $885,090. She faces a competitive race this year, Republicans and Democrats say. She has $1.7 million on hand.

KEEPING COUNT ... VOX: "More than 20 Democratic House candidates want Nancy Pelosi to step aside after 2018" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89d72fc7deb3c3400acff2e2beafd324c8796f2ec8bc645d5cd949dc4e694f3d3ed271b334907ef570c03e9b5da1b491

FLASHBACK ... "Government reopens probe of Emmett Till slaying," by AP's Jay Reeves: "The federal government has reopened its investigation into the slaying of Emmett Till, the black teenager whose brutal killing in Mississippi shocked the world and helped inspire the civil rights movement more than 60 years ago.

"The Justice Department told Congress in a report in March it is reinvestigating Till's slaying in Money, Mississippi, in 1955 after receiving 'new information.' The case was closed in 2007 with authorities saying the suspects were dead; a state grand jury didn't file any new charges. Deborah Watts, a cousin of Till, said she was unaware the case had been reopened until contacted by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

"The federal report, sent annually to lawmakers under a law that bears Till's name, does not indicate what the new information might be." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89d72fc7deb3c3402bb745ca9e7b9c31e00cf14e05d11b081ddde39265759dde1d607be59a421ab1c022c27264614c73 ... The March report http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=309f29c89460fe2e80e450668bac928107baeb8741a761861cd754ada86e1140abea7a5ff5ed0f2b7e6a3a804f4f260c

ON GUNS ... "Secret Service Issues Guide Aimed at Preventing School Shootings," by WSJ's Del Quentin Wilber: "The U.S. Secret Service on Thursday released a step-by-step guide to help schools, communities and law-enforcement agencies better assess and respond to students exhibiting troubling behavior before they launch an attack.

"The guide was produced by the Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center, which researches targeted acts of violence and makes recommendations on how to address them. Previous research by the center has shown that in more than 80% of such incidents a bystander had an indication the perpetrator was planning an attack. ...

"Although school safety is generally the concern of the Education Department and other agencies, the Secret Service has expertise in assessing threats, leading it to produce the new guide, 'Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model.' ... The guidance on school violence is a follow-up to one published in 2002 in conjunction with an in-depth study of school attacks and perpetrators." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=309f29c89460fe2ef9dbc7a54cf2edf530cedfb9564a8d9a2166b515e6c89c75b3d153cc108b2c0791673507bc4220a4

2018 WATCH -- LAURA NAHMIAS and HEATHER CAYGLE: "Ocasio-Cortez vs. Crowley feud erupts on Twitter": "The battle between Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Joe Crowley isn't quite over - and it's taking a bitter turn. Just two weeks after the 28-year-old shocked the Democratic establishment with a stunning primary upset of the 10-term incumbent, she engaged in an extraordinary public fight with Crowley on Twitter Thursday, accusing him of planning to mount a third party run against her in November's general election, despite his public pledge to back her candidacy after his loss. And Crowley's camp pushed back hard, accusing Ocasio-Cortez of deliberately distorting events."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=309f29c89460fe2ebee862924fd27f03b4a18b2308b2dd43ae48e921fb17995d8b67fc984f0cc9165a5ee5c2d8468090

-- JIMMY VIELKIND IN ALBANY: "Socialists divided over Cynthia Nixon": "Cynthia Nixon says she's a socialist now - but card-carrying democratic socialists aren't quite sure they're ready to have her.

"Nixon, the former 'Sex and the City' actor and activist, told POLITICO earlier this week that she has embraced the socialist label as she seeks to unseat Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, however, was split on whether to back her left-flank campaign after she spoke to the group Tuesday in Manhattan, along with New York City Council Member Jumaane Williams, who is running a parallel campaign for lieutenant governor.

"'She told us she is running and now is identifying as a democratic socialist and running on a platform of education reform, housing reform and giving health care to everyone,' Abdullah Younus, the organization's co-chair, told POLITICO on Wednesday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=309f29c89460fe2ee5c2d3f39eecb657699b707f384628efe68551c5f40510b0df7385cffe9beb954d7f09f70cd28949

IVANKA UPDATE -- "Ivanka Trump Says She Wants To 'Go Beyond Parental Leave,'' by Refinery29's Natalie Gontcharova: "As Sen. Marco Rubio gets ready to introduce new paid family leave legislation, Ivanka Trump - who has fashioned herself into a champion of the cause - says her ideal plan is more ambitious than what Republicans have been discussing.

"Sen. Rubio and other members of the GOP back a proposal, released by the conservative Independent Women's Forum (IWF) earlier this year, that allows for 12 weeks paid leave, amounting to about 45% of the average worker's wages. It stops at new parents, including adoptive ones, and would be paid for by dipping into your Social Security benefits - two heavily criticized features.

"The Democrats think this doesn't go far enough and are dubious about the source of funding - and Ivanka Trump, first daughter and adviser to the president, seems to agree with them on at least one of those points, although she ultimately stands behind a more pared-down plan.

"'My preference is to go beyond parental leave,' Ivanka told Refinery29 as she glided through the hallway of the Dirksen Senate Office Building after Wednesday's hearing on paid family leave, held in front of a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Finance. 'But...right now we are at zero weeks of paid leave. We don't have parental, we don't have caregiving. So we have to move off that mark - it's been 25 years since FMLA was passed.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=309f29c89460fe2e72b63ab168b8adb389b128a84d2a6827a12ed2d676cea4d0739db65754846b6c5fb5f2b244ed1a71

AFTERNOON READ -- "Trump Backed Brexit. Then He Used It As Leverage," by Tom Wright: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=309f29c89460fe2e35b1a1b06fb7450ccadeeef447dccb906331731290342d9fdbaf3d567c9e29cdfb669710c14baaab

TOP-ED -- NYT'S DAVID LEONHARDT: "It Just Got Harder to Fire Mueller": "It's just become trickier for President Trump to fire Robert Mueller anytime soon. Doing so during the Supreme Court confirmation process for Brett Kavanaugh - which is likely to last for at least two months - would create a set of problems for Trump that didn't exist before. ...

"If you buy this logic, it means Mueller's chances of remaining on the job through at least Labor Day have risen. And Labor Day is traditionally considered the start of the most intense period of a fall campaign, which would be another bad time for Trump to make a radical power grab. ... All of this creates yet another reason the midterms are so enormously important." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=309f29c89460fe2ec5bd4fdf02937ef75d6e078eb4a083398075f04f5f09fa1527abd786142bda1c7dd58ed78e6543b9

MEDIAWATCH -- Tracy Connor will be the Daily Beast's new executive editor. She most recently has worked at NBC News' investigative unit.

TRANSITIONS -- Rebecca Neal will take over as special assistant to the administrator at NHTSA at the end of July. She is currently communications director for Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.). (h/t Morning Transportation). ... Melissa Kelly will be Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas)'s new chief of staff. She most recently was his deputy chief. Bill Zito, Olson's outgoing chief, will serve as deputy chief of staff at FEMA. ... Stoney Burke has launched his own government and public affairs firm, the Aquia Group. He is the former chief of staff to Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and is a senior adviser to his re-elect campaign.

SPOTTED: Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) having dinner at Indigo last night with Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin.

OUT AND ABOUT -- SPOTTED last night at a DCCC and Equality California-hosted fundraiser for California red-to-blue candidates at the Oracle Townhouse on Capitol Hill: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), California Democratic Reps. Ben Ray Luján, Linda Sanchez, Mark Takano, Adam Schiff, Zoe Lofgren, Judy Chu, Brad Sherman, Doris Matsui, Nanette Barragan, Salud Carbajal, Susan Davis, Jared Huffman, Ted Lieu, Raul Ruiz and Eric Swalwell, House candidates Gil Cisneros, TJ Cox, Andrew Janz, Josh Harder, Katie Hill, Mike Levin, Katie Porter, Harley Rouda, Valerie Ploumpis, Jerry Bloom, Charles Landgraf and Derek Pugh.

-- SPOTTED at WH director of cabinet communications Brad Rateike's going away party at Mackey's last night: Caroline Magyarits, Natalie Strom, Seema Verma, Vanessa Morrone, Coalter Baker, Jeff and Amy Grappone, Ja'Ron Smith, Caroline Sunshine, Zach Parkinson, Mike Dubke, Adam Kennedy, Helen Ferre, Laura Nasim, Marty Obst, Johanna Persing, Kirk Bell, Anthony Pugliese, Ninio Fetalvo, Brian Morgenstern, Tony Sayegh, Jessica Ditto, Doug Hoelscher, Tyler Ross, Clay Shoemaker, James Rockas, Wendy Teramoto, Becca Glover, John Ullyot, Kellyanne Conway, Mercedes Schlapp, Curt Cashour, Giovanna Coia and John Pence.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Clarissa Ward, newly promoted to be CNN's chief international correspondent, and Philipp Graf von Bernstorff, a fund manager, recently welcomed Ezra Albrecht Nikolas Nour Graf von Bernstorff. Pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=309f29c89460fe2eba9ec175f9921b20a13618aab8aea8d72cb7dc90ba372c71a53446a9cf0a3f2cf28b46430b74841f ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=309f29c89460fe2e81e65ac5fa2ee51d573da603b185a7478569b54de75fc267131466348ec3ba08943eab97baaf74c6

-- Patrick Garrigan, executive director of business development at AtlanticLIVE and a Politico alum, and Salli Garrigan, co-founder of Alexandria Music Theater Academy, welcomed Hugh Thomas Garrigan on Wednesday at 5:44 a.m. "He joins big sister, Dottie, who is eager to have a new cast member for her original musicals." Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=309f29c89460fe2eddecafd7950445622fe00f7d9af880c6c69b66e54830a89dab6ebb8bc1d25b53bc6959dfbb5f0e60

BONUS BIRTHDAYZ ... CBS News' Jeff Glor ... Matthew Daly, congressional reporter for the AP (h/t twin brother Brendan)

BONUS BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: David Lerman, editor of CQ Budget. What he's been reading recently: "I'm reading 'American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation,' by Jon Meacham, who examines the religious lives and beliefs of the founding fathers. Did you know that George Washington refused to kneel when he prayed, and that Thomas Jefferson took a razor blade to cut out passages of scripture he felt were improbable? Meacham provides some useful insights on how religion has long dominated much of American culture and how it's been used, or misused, on all sides of the political spectrum to advance partisan causes." Q&A: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=27895fcbc42e7a6506c22c2d3e49bed36b6d80c9d1e2f6f54cab922a0895e9aa14290984abf68b018ef4642e5df421ef

** A message from Delta Air Lines: At Delta Air Lines, we're proud to support the causes that shape our world by giving back to the communities where we live, work, and serve. We're committed to donating 1% of our net profits to key charities and nonprofit organizations as we strive to truly make a difference in D.C. and throughout our global communities.

Our goal is to positively impact the world through continued investments in our current partners as well as contributions to our new partners. Our donations support education, promote health and wellness, and salute our armed service members and veterans.

We contributed over $40 million in 2017 to charities and nonprofits around the world, and we look forward to continuing our support for many years to come.

For more information about Delta, visit www.delta.com. **

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