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Today's Playbook Power Briefing presented by ExxonMobil

By ANNA PALMER (anna@politico.com; @apalmerdc), JAKE SHERMAN (sherman@politico.com; @JakeSherman), DANIEL LIPPMAN (daniel@politico.com; @dlippman) and ZACH MONTELLARO (zmontellaro@politico.com; @ZachMontellaro)


THE PRESIDENT will meet with North Korean official Kim Jong Chol this afternoon.

-- "Kim's Letter to Trump Expresses Interest in Nuclear Summit," by WSJ's Michael Bender and Vivian Salama: "One of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's top lieutenants is expected to hand-deliver a letter to President Donald Trump in the White House on Friday as administration officials have grown increasingly optimistic about the chances for the first summit between leaders of the two countries.

"The letter from Mr. Kim was described as fairly basic, according to one foreign government official who was briefed on the contents. It expresses the North Korean leader's interest in meeting without making any significant concessions or threats. The Kim lieutenant delivering the letter, Gen. Kim Yong Chol, who is under U.S. sanctions for his role in cyberattacks against American companies, is expected to remain in the U.S. until Saturday, the official said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc2582465073df7a37185533e381be648eab18ba69cffb1bd4bf726c795dbe43b3c5cd456ebc2ce1f9d

THE U.S. ECONOMY added 223,000 jobs in May ... Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted the economy would add roughly 190,000 jobs. UNEMPLOYMENT DIPPED to 3.8%. More from Andrew Hanna http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc28fa99769caed65117a1babdc5c233e7200e6023b83696085707ddc0ff019608cec45cafa01e9bfae

NYT UPSHOT HEADLINE: "We Ran Out of Words to Describe How Good the Jobs Numbers Are: The economy is in a sweet spot, with steady growth and broad improvement in the labor market." The White House blasted out this article http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc280ead852f831ca5fb9b0eccb4c8d3121f2aac22d13dfd17669d6b6fb1e90db4af5b934feaa483b51

THE POLITICS. Many of the smart operatives on both sides of the aisle are basically paralyzed, unable to discern the contours of the electoral landscape. On the one hand, there's record enthusiasm on the Democratic side, a president with relatively low approval ratings and history, which tells us that the GOP is slated to lose 20-something seats in the House.

-- ON THE OTHER HAND, Republicans are looking at a generic ballot tightening in their favor, record-low jobless numbers and an economy that's brightening. The best operatives will tell you it's June, and the electoral forecast doesn't start to get set until after Labor Day.

THE TWEET EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT -- PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP tweeted at 7:21 a.m.: "Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning."

IT'S NOT UNUSUAL for presidents to get these numbers the day before, but they don't discuss them in any way, shape or form publicly because the data is considered market moving.

BEN WHITE: "President Donald Trump moved markets and busted norms on Friday morning with a tweet about the May employment report more than an hour before the numbers came out. The post appeared to skirt strict rules on government employees not commenting on the highly sensitive economic data until an hour after its public release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.

"Trump, who received the numbers Thursday night on Air Force One, did not include any of the jobs data in his tweet. But it appeared positive enough to suggest to Wall Street that a good number was coming Friday morning. ...

"But markets were already moving before the release and popped immediately after Trump's tweet, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note moving higher along with stock market futures. The rise in the 10-year yield suggested traders assumed Trump's tweet meant the jobs number would be strong and push the Fed to raise interest rates more quickly." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc2aec5d3c0803f5a518d0adedf84c5f95b6ff0b762831b565c48abbf178db7c1019487b38f06a4576d

SOME MORE ON THIS ... @EamonJavers: "I just asked Sarah Sanders if it was appropriate for President Trump to tweet about the jobs report before release this morning. She said it was, because 'he didn't put the numbers out.' She also confirmed that the President was briefed on the number last night."

-- Emily Stephenson (@ewstephe): "I used to cover these releases for @Reuters. Reporters get locked in a room, phones taken away, and they make sure you have no way of communicating anything about the numbers early."

Good Friday afternoon. MELANIA TRUMP will not go to Camp David with President Trump this weekend. KEEPING TRACK: MANU RAJU (@mkraju): "It's been 22 days since Melania Trump was last seen in public."

IT NEVER ENDS ... WAPO'S BRADY DENNIS and JULIET EILPERIN: "EPA's Pruitt spent $1,560 on 12 customized fountain pens from Washington jewelry store": "The account manager at the Tiny Jewel Box, which calls itself Washington's 'premier destination for fine jewelry and watches,' had promised to expedite the order of a dozen customized silver fountain pens -- each emblazoned with the seal of the [EPA] and the signature of its leader, Scott Pruitt. Now all the EPA staffer working with the store needed was for a top Pruitt aide to sign off on the $3,230 order, which also included personalized journals.

"'The cost of the Qty. 12 Fountain Pens will be around $1,560.00,' the staffer emailed Aug. 14 to Millan Hupp, Pruitt's head of scheduling and advance and a trusted confidante dating to his Oklahoma days. 'All the other items total cost is around $1,670.00 which these items are in process. Please advise.' 'Yes, please order,' Hupp responded later that day. 'Thank you.' ...

"EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox defended the purchases, saying in a statement Friday morning that they 'were made for the purpose of serving as gifts to the Administrator's foreign counterparts and dignitaries upon his meeting with them. This adheres to the same protocol of former EPA Administrators and were purchased using funds budgeted for such a purpose.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc25d1f9ee5c1e2c23270f30e5ce432bb275706cb4f14956b2042871685b3514a88befb944ac04d25cf

DEPT. OF YA CAN'T MAKE IT UP ... TAMPA BAY TIMES: "Bilirakis to host his first ever Women's Summit. Topics like 'gardening' and 'weight loss' are on the agenda," by Tracy McManus: "U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, is campaigning for a seventh term in Congress and on June 9 he's holding his first-ever Women's Summit, pitched as 'an opportunity for women to learn about relevant topics that have a direct impact on their lives.'

"So what are the critical issues facing women that Bilirakis will highlight in breakout sessions? Gardening, weight loss and "a woman's guide to financial planning,' according to the event flyer.

"The summit ... will also host 'local and national experts' on mental health resources, faith, identity theft, government involvement and successfully transitioning from high school to college. Bilirakis said in a statement to the Times that topics for the breakout sessions came from people who attended a women's stakeholder session he hosted in Lutz in 2014. 'I try very hard to allow ideas and agendas to be driven by the people I serve,' Bilirakis said. 'I've always said the best ideas come from the people.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc2a58f58d27a24c5e2f6c734ca5288ca1dbbb9016c0bfb6bde019b799c331f72408d95170682daf759

UH OH! -- "Signs of sophisticated cellphone spying found near White House, U.S. officials say," by WaPo's Craig Timberg: "A Department of Homeland Security program discovered evidence of the surveillance devices, called IMSI catchers, as part of federal testing last year, according to a letter from DHS to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on May 22. The letter didn't specify what entity operated the devices and left open the possibility that there could be alternative explanations for the suspicious cellular signals collected by the federal testing program last year.

"The discovery bolsters years of independent research suggesting that foreign intelligence agencies use sophisticated interception technology to spy on officials working within the hub of federal power in the nation's capital. Experts in surveillance technology say that IMSI catchers -- sometimes known by one popular brand name, StingRay -- are a standard part of the tool kit for many foreign intelligence services, including for such geopolitical rivals as Russia and China." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc2c7452986cf3f97454fa72846823997ab49a371cced765a4d5f7cc229908324bef0776b98aec85145 ... The letter http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc24f265696712ea3744b29d4f2a1534af471586db2a392ce1e876cd13f758b12e67351d23fb80a063c

DON'T CALL IT A TRADE WAR, CONTINUED -- @realDonaldTrump at 9:18 a.m.: "Canada has treated our Agricultural business and Farmers very poorly for a very long period of time. Highly restrictive on Trade! They must open their markets and take down their trade barriers! They report a really high surplus on trade with us. Do Timber & Lumber in U.S.?"

-- NATIONAL POST: "Inflatable boats, felt pens and beer kegs: Here's what Canada targeted with tariffs, and why" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc2740c29286394d154e6f13f0d3421ddde2b8d4fd673939539fc920d5bf69c1efc1acf3a2045f68a88

-- PRESIDENT TRUMP also spoke with FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON yesterday. The president "underscored the need to rebalance trade with Europe," and talked about "the migration problem in Libya," per a readout from the White House.

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LAUGH LINE OF THE DAY ... WAYS AND MEANS CHAIRMAN KEVIN BRADY (R-Texas) endorsed KEVIN MCCARTHY for speaker on HUGH HEWITT'S radio show. And added this line, which is not an accurate representation of reality:

HEWITT: "Last question. I am talking with Leader McCarthy on my MSNBC show tomorrow, Chairman Brady. 1) Are you supporting him for Speaker when Paul Ryan retires?"

BRADY: "You know, I am. I think Kevin has, McCarthy, has done a terrific job throughout this country and throughout our caucus, and he deserves a chance to move into that position. And what I appreciate among our leadership right now is no one is distracted by this potential Speaker's race in November. We're all focused on delivering for the American people. That's the right thing to do."

-- TO SAY that the leadership is not focused on the speaker race is almost like calling the sky green.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS -- "Billionaire Koch brothers' network launches digital ad blitz supporting Democrat Heidi Heitkamp as midterms near," by CNBC's Brian Schwartz http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc29b2db585ddc5874e8044054312620d57f913d7533567833b6df5609b32850ec5c5dde358e5e5d774

NYT'S JEREMY PETERS: "Trump Ran as a Renegade. Now He's Trying to Keep Them at Bay": "Instead of elevating the renegade, insurgent conservatives who have vowed to challenge party leaders in Washington -- candidates who are politically and temperamentally cut from the same cloth as the president -- Mr. Trump has effectively shut off the oxygen to the noisiest and most fractious wing of his party.

"He has endorsed almost every incumbent Republican senator, making it much more difficult for challengers like [Mississippi's Chris] McDaniel to wage the kind of primary fights that have sown division inside the party for most of the last decade. In Alabama, Nevada and West Virginia, Mr. Trump has actively worked against candidates that had strong support from grass-roots conservatives." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc2917a9699a216097bfd49c38a2740e579899cf67291d10aa1d2d01a6470e683c615db0b0eaa995975

THE ADMINISTRATION -- "Trump Prepares Lifeline for Money-Losing Coal Power Plants," by Bloomberg's Jennifer Dlouhy: "Trump administration officials are making plans to order grid operators to buy electricity from struggling coal and nuclear plants in an effort to extend their life, a move that could represent an unprecedented intervention into U.S. energy markets.

"The Energy Department would exercise emergency authority under a pair of federal laws to direct the operators to purchase electricity or electric generation capacity from at-risk facilities, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc25414d9aa40930b5e0b7a02d37d46715d4317f53f904287a2103ae1b51b7b435057101f4e3963f131

TRUMP'S MEETING WITH TEXAS SHOOTING SURVIVORS AND VICTIM RELATIVES ... AP's Jonathan Lemire: "Pamela Stanich -- whose 17-year-old son, Jared Black, was among the eight students killed -- was one of the parents who met with Trump, presenting him with a family statement and a copy of her son's eulogy. Trump 'met with us privately and showed sincerity, compassion, and concern on making our schools safer across the nation,' she wrote in a Facebook post after the meeting. ...

"Rhonda Hart, whose 14-year-old daughter, Kimberly Vaughan, was killed at the school, told The Associated Press that Trump repeatedly used the word 'wacky' to describe the shooter and the trench coat he wore. She said she told Trump, 'Maybe if everyone had access to mental health care, we wouldn't be in the situation.'

"Hart, an Army veteran, said she also suggested employing veterans as sentinels in schools. She said Trump responded, 'And arm them?' She replied, 'No,' but said Trump "kept mentioning" arming classroom teachers. 'It was like talking to a toddler,' Hart said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc2e0268ee36d5c30a4088f5990901ac526bae73bb846b10f6bef849102f86daf3c4aa3c42b007f8280

HAH! -- "Ron Estes is running against Ron Estes," by The Kansas City Star's Jonathan Shorman: "U.S. Rep. Ron Estes has a Republican primary opponent. His name is Ron Estes. Ron Estes -- not the congressman, the other one -- said Thursday he plans to run against the better-known Estes." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc240020274517235377a8b38f12cbd9ef0bd50808b79bf445103f4f46773e4f0a76b5b70a2b1aa6cfb

NEWT GINGRICH has written a new book that comes out next Tuesday called "Trump's America: The Truth about Our Nation's Great Comeback." $18.88 on Amazon http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc2c7d68dc78e0bd3d1ea3f1990fadf636b466c59da2a9de69afdf4dced249fef9cedb75466aa8830dc ... The first chapter http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc273ac7e4d32ad892d7d389738f8389f9c4cb8004d0c20e01b21b2aa9e31fa374e7019ed1706d3c18a

TV TONIGHT -- Bob Costa is joined by NYT's Peter Baker, NBC News' Andrea Mitchell and VICE News' Shawna Thomas on "Washington Week" tonight at 8 p.m. on PBS.

MEDIAWATCH -- "Facebook's ad rules are forcing news outlets to register as political advertisers," by The Verge's Russell Brandom: "The system is meant to be a minor inconvenience for a political campaign, but those same rules also apply to neutral news content, and they seem to have taken many publications by surprise. A limited search by The Verge found 85 news posts that had fallen afoul of the rules in the first week of enforcement, including seemingly innocuous stories on graduation speeches or the British royal family." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc2efffe0604403d47c565dff6d502adff5e9320d452897d47eeb59c78890da2a1f29bfab95549a5a47

-- "Facebook kills 'trending' topics, tests breaking news label," by the AP's Barbara Ortutay http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc230bd19882c34673f3f5462f88cf8a8d81d5f13bf6a2e0276141b6d67c7d561ea9f4e023108f2c0be

-- Lucy Westcott is the new James W. Foley fellow at the Committee to Protect Journalists. She most recently was a freelance journalist who wrote for Bustle and The Intercept and is also a Newsweek alum.

FUN VIDEO -- "The Men Behind the Names of the 3 Senate Office Buildings," by Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski and Thomas McKinless http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc2c77e52905134a7c1b0d5a3ce436021787ddcd539a47222dfbffc3b51d520329e58620bcb01dd7321

SPOTTED: Donald Trump Jr. and Lynne Patton hanging out last night in the Trump hotel lobby. He was spotted by another tipster on a Delta flight back to LaGuardia from DCA this morning. Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc237852dc6673fb6a469e675b023bcb349ffe4e109bd4d283e1fcb6c06646ab9dbb25449688cb2bc24

SPOTTED yesterday at Hawk and Dove at a going-away party for HUD Deputy Chief of Staff Deanna Bass Williams: HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Andrew Hughes, Raffi Williams, Ryan Rhodes, John Ferland, Drew McCall and Will Russell.

TRANSITIONS -- Josh Steiner is leaving Bloomberg LP, where he was head of industry verticals, at the end of this month. Michael Bloomberg emailed staff saying Steiner will remain a senior adviser to him and the company. ... Rachel Bright joined Pfizer's government relations team as director of public affairs and advocacy for the south region. She was previously a director at GPG. ...

... Samantha Carl-Yoder is heading to Tellurian Inc., an energy company focused on LNG production and export, where she will be director for marketing and international affairs. She previously was chief of staff to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon.

OBAMA ALUMNI: Neill Coleman has been appointed chief philanthropy officer at Trinity Church. He previously was VP of global communications at the Rockefeller Foundation and chief external affairs officer at HUD during the Obama Administration.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD-- Jordan Richardson, senior policy and research analyst at the Charles Koch Institute, and Helena Richardson, director of the Young Leaders Program at the Heritage Foundation, last week welcomed R. James Richardson. Pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc25cedb8938960122c868d239fdc278e56a2921be9f9c306547992f6f850a6707c2f115d6f446090cf ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0ef129acdfb5cc2bb1aa76ba88bcf28bb3912defe9d5b39416ea10f44119e362cc8b2fc5df91fcb0dafbd24b03233f4


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