NEC spokesperson @JesseLee46: “The Penn Wharton Budget Model is simply wrong on its math, and didn't even evaluate the policies actually in the bill”
PWBM head Kent Smetters said the WH was “the standard ‘not our bill’ and ‘version control’ redirects.”
So the WH has to convince Manchin the Penn numbers—which say the WH framework would adding $500 billion the the deficit—are wrong
Or wait for the CBO of the actual text which will take weeks and may not mirror their projections either
Also, Harris ditches her pool in Paris
Some WH clean-up on the line 5 pipeline
The latest @markknoller stat line. This time: Biden has done far fewer fundraisers than his predecessors in his first 10 months.
And we asked the Wh about Kerry’s “we will not have coal plants” by 2030 line today.
State massaged it a bit: Reaching this goal will eliminate the use of unabated fossil fuel power by 2035, and it will require dramatically slashing emissions from coal power during this decade.
And finally, TIL that @SabrinaSingh46 has chocolate chips w/ breakfast
The problem for the WH is that Manchin is skeptical of making programs temporary: “what I see are shell games and budget gimmicks that make the real cost of this so-called ‘$1.75 trillion dollar’ bill estimated to be twice as high if the programs are extended or made permanent”
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New: Jean-Pierre’s colleagues had thoughts abt her & her book
“one of the most ineffectual and unprepared people I've ever worked with”
“The amount of time that was spent coddling her…was astronomical compared to our attn on actual matters of substance” axios.com/2025/06/05/kar…
Many quietly had fumed for years, believing she was incompetent at her job at the podium and more interested in promoting herself than Joe Biden.
Biden aides largely had stayed silent b/c she was seen as untouchable, given her close relationship w/ FLOTUS aide Anthony Bernal.
Jean-Pierre also caused internal drama by repeatedly blocking National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby from joining her at the White House podium, even when national security issues were at the forefront of the news.
Exclusive: Axios obtained the audio of Robert Hur's 2023 interviews of Biden which show repeated mental lapses as he struggles to remember words & dates amid long, uncomfortable pauses.
Biden WH didn't release it last year. Listen below.
w/ @MarcACaputo axios.com/2025/05/16/bid…
The audio shows what the transcript lacks — Biden's dry-whisper voice and the long silences as he struggles to speak and remember details.
Those often were supplied by his attorneys, who acted as caretakers of his memory.
There is also a clock in the background as a metronome.
Though amiable, the interview became somewhat tense when Biden attorney Bob Bauer chastised prosecutor Krickbaum in this exchange over why Biden had kept a memo about Afghanistan.
"Your answer is that you don't know," Bauer instructed the president.
Listen here.
New: the legal group co-founded by Stephen Miller has continued filing lawsuits and legal complaints—including against the Trump administration—as part of his larger campaign to make DEI programs illegal.
In early Feb, America First Legal petitioned the Education dept to investigate 5 school districts in VA for allegedly not complying with Title IX
Less than 2 weeks later, the Civil Rights office of the dept announced it was opening an investigation into the districts.
Late last month, the group petitioned the Labor Department to investigate whether outside federal contractors were in compliance with Trump's executive order banning federal contractors and subcontractors from "allowing or encouraging ... workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin."
They singled out contractors such as Lyft, Meta, Paramount, Twilio and others.
Operatives in both parties instantly saw it as a flashback to Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" remark.
The Trump team has already started to fundraise off it, sending out an email with the subject line: "You are not garbage! I love you! You are the best our nation has to offer."
Biden's comments are the latest example of why Kamala Harris' team has been avoiding campaigning with him.
Biden is both unpopular and undisciplined, Harris aides told Axios.
After Slotkin retreats from EV’s in a new ad this week, Harris told people in Michigan yesterday: "Contrary to what my opponent is suggesting, I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive.”
Some more context in this piece.
In 2019, Harris backed a plan requiring all automakers to only make EV’s and hydrogen cars by 2035.