With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine

DRIVING THE DAY

BIG PICTURE — “Who’s winning the 2024 campaign? Crypto,” by Jasper Goodman and Eleanor Mueller: “The crypto industry won several eye-catching victories this month that showcased its growing influence on the levers of power in Washington — something that’s poised to expand as it prepares to spend more than $80 million on the 2024 elections. … The sudden burst of support for an industry with a relatively small base of users is the culmination of a yearslong effort to win legitimacy — and lighter-touch regulatory treatment — in Washington.”

‘STOP THE STEAL,’ PART 2?  — Starting today, House Republicans are plowing forward with a pair of “election integrity” votes favored by the king of election denialism himself: DONALD TRUMP.

1. On the floor today, lawmakers will vote to curb a 2022 D.C. law allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections.

2. And in the House Administration Committee, lawmakers will mark up legislation requiring proof of citizenship in order to register to vote nationwide — a proposal Speaker MIKE JOHNSON vowed to bring to the floor in a joint press conference with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month.

To Democrats, not only is the latter bill a solution in search of a problem — it’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections — but they see it as part of a more insidious effort: In their view, House Republicans are working at Trump's behest to lay the groundwork for a repeat of 2020's “Stop the Steal” campaign, this time by seeding unfounded concerns about rampant noncitizen voting that could be trotted out following the 2024 election.

What’s more, there’s no actual proof that this is a serious issue that’s influencing election results, they add — and notably, both liberal and conservative think tanks agree.

“It's a cynical effort to whip their supporters into a frenzy over something that doesn't exist,” Rep. ZOE LOFGREN (D-Calif.) told Playbook. “I mean, it’s already illegal!”

To be sure, the examples seem few and far between. When we caught up with House Administration Chair BRYAN STEIL (R-Wis.) about this on the Capitol steps last night, he cited a nearly three-decade-old House investigation into a 1998 congressional race in which 624 noncitizens were found to have voted, and news reports of a “glitch” almost seven years ago that allowed noncitizens in Pennsylvania to register to vote. He also pointed to Ohio Secretary of State FRANK LaROSE’s recent claim that he’s discovered more than 100 noncitizens who are on the state’s voter rolls (out of roughly 8 million registered voters).

But even Johnson recently admitted that Republicans don’t have much to show for their theory.

“We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections, but it’s not been something that is easily provable,” Johnson said at a recent news conference on the matter. “We don’t have that number.”

Meanwhile, the DCCC feels so bullish about the GOP’s posture on the issue that they’re gearing up to attack swing-district Republicans over it, seeking to lump them in with MAGA extreme proponents of the “Big Lie.” In a release that will go out today — shared with Playbook exclusively last night — the campaign committee claims that “at the command of Donald Trump, vulnerable House Republicans … are setting the stage for a Shakespearean-level drama as they prepare to deny the results of the 2024 election by pushing legislation that amplifies conspiracy theories.”

We should also note here that even some Republicans aren’t so sure about Johnson’s play call on the nationwide voting bill. Some feel the speaker jumped the gun to try to curry favor with Trump to save his gavel without ensuring they have the votes to pass it.

We’ve already heard from one centrist GOP lawmaker who’s still on the fence.

“Generally, elections are state-by-state decisions,” Rep. DON BACON (R-Neb.) told us, noting that he supports his own state’s voter ID rules but that the Constitution also leaves election matters to the state. “I’ll have to wrestle with that one.”

BUT, BUT, BUT: On the right, Republicans note that requiring proof of citizenship to vote is quite popular with the public — and they’re not wrong about that.

Steil also argued that (1) given how slim election margins have become in recent years — hell, Rep. MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS (R-Iowa) won by only six votes a few years ago — and (2) given that noncitizens are being encouraged by some liberal municipalities to sign up to vote in their local elections, proof of identification is not unreasonable.

“I think U.S. elections should be reserved for U.S. citizens,” he said. “This is our opportunity to increase integrity in our elections.”

Of course, some Republicans — including Johnson himself — have gone further. The speaker during his presser with Trump echoed rhetoric popular on the MAGA right by suggesting, without evidence, that Biden is allowing undocumented migrants into the country with the goal of helping Democrats win elections.

Republicans are also conflating local efforts to allow noncitizens to vote on local offices — such as the D.C. law targeted in today's floor vote — with the notion that Democrats want a flood of migrants to vote in federal elections like Congress and president.

“You can look at D.C., which [the left is] using as a Petri dish that they then want to roll out noncitizen voting across the country,” Steil said.

Democrats privately agree they are in a bind. While they generally support the right of local governments to run their own elections, they're also aware of the public perceptions on the issue. Senior Democrats expect dozens of their front-liners to back the D.C.-focused bill despite leaders whipping against it.

Indeed, it’s no coincidence that Republicans are moving both of these bills at the same time.

“Everybody watch very closely: It’s gonna be proof positive that there are some Democrats who want illegal aliens deciding election outcomes,” Johnson told reporters yesterday. “It’s going to be clear: They don’t want Americans deciding American outcomes.”

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

REPORTER ROUNDTABLE — Ankush Khardori convenes our colleagues Erica Orden, Ben Feuerherd, Josh Gerstein and Meridith McGraw to get a sense of exactly where things stand as the Trump hush money trial enters its final phase as well as how it may be affecting the presidential campaign: “‘A Dream Piece of Evidence for Prosecutors’: The Final Days of the Trump Trial”

HAPPENING TODAY — “Trump is holding a rally in the South Bronx as he tries to woo Black and Hispanic voters,” by AP’s Michelle L. Price and Jill Colvin

WELL, WHEN YOU PUT IT LIKE THAT — The lede of Marianne LeVine’s latest for WaPo: “In under 48 hours this week, Donald Trump’s social media account promoted a video featuring a term frequently associated with Nazi Germany and later removed it. He suggested he was open to states restricting access to contraceptives and then walked that back. He falsely accused President [JOE] BIDEN of being ‘locked & loaded’ to ‘take me out.’ And in between, he was in court as his legal team rested its case in his ongoing criminal trial.”

IT’S OFFICIAL — “Centrist challenger ousts progressive prosecutor in DA race in Portland, Oregon,” by AP’s Claire Rush: “Centrist district attorney candidate NATHAN VASQUEZ has ousted the incumbent progressive prosecutor in Oregon’s Multnomah County, home to Portland, after running a campaign in which he vowed to be tough on crime.”

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY

On the Hill

The Senate is in.

The House will meet at 10 a.m. Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM will testify before the House Oversight Committee at 9 a.m.

3 things to watch …

1. The Senate will vote at 2 p.m. on advancing, once again, the bipartisan border security bill that already failed back in February. The outcome on the Republican side won’t be much in question: Even some of those who participated in the talks are now vowing to oppose what they see as a political stunt. Keep a keen eye, though, on the Democratic tally. As Daniella Diaz, Ursula Perano, Nicholas Wu and Myah Ward report this morning, there are some sore feelings on the left at how the Biden administration and Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER are using immigration policy as an election-year cudgel — with possible executive actions to follow today’s failed vote.
   
2. Yesterday’s House NDAA markup ended in a big 57-1 bipartisan Armed Services Committee vote. Don’t expect the same in today’s House farm bill markup. Democrats have dug in against Agriculture Chair G.T. THOMPSON’s approach to the five-year reauthorization bill, particularly the Pennsylvania Republican’s move to cut climate provisions and curb the growth of nutrition programs. Meredith Lee Hill reports that no more than a few Democrats are expected to vote to advance the bill — a bad omen if you are hoping to see a bipartisan deal come together ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline.
   
3. Do House Republicans have another GEORGE SANTOS-shaped problem on their hands? Rep. ANDY OGLES (R-Tenn.) came under scrutiny last year for apparent resume exaggerations and campaign finance oddities following a series of investigative reports by Nashville’s WTVF-TV, but those accusations were largely overshadowed by a certain flamboyant New Yorker. Now Ogles is appearing to acknowledge that the campaign finance allegations are true, WTVF’s Phil Williams reports, filing amendments yesterday to his prior FEC reports. Expect ethics authorities to want to have a look.

At the White House

Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief in the morning. Biden, first lady JILL BIDEN, VP KAMALA HARRIS and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will welcome Kenyan President WILLIAM RUTO and first lady RACHEL RUTO to the White House at 10 a.m. Biden and Ruto will hold a bilateral meeting at 11 a.m. and a joint news conference at 12:30 p.m. In the evening, the Bidens will host the Rutos for a state dinner followed by a reception.

What’s for dinner: “At state dinner for Kenya, Bidens set an American menu, sans ice cream,” by WaPo’s Emily Heil

PLAYBOOK READS

2024 WATCH

HALEY’S COMMENT — NIKKI HALEY yesterday committed to voting for Trump in November, cementing a stance that she had tiptoed up to ever since the waning days of her presidential bid.

On the surface, the comments seem to suggest something of a falling in line for Haley. But taken with the full context of her introductory speech as the Walter P. Stern chair at the Hudson Institute, they tell a different story.

Haley’s speech, of course, blasted Biden plenty, labeling the president a “catastrophe.” But she also laid out a foreign policy vision that is at odds with Trump and much of the GOP base, delivering a “blistering rebuke of the growing isolationist wing of her Republican Party,” Meridith McGraw and Natalie Allison write.

Speaker Mike Johnson was singled out for praise for his effort to secure military aid for Ukraine, while Haley accused other Republicans of trying “to push Ukraine off a cliff” or, in an implicit criticism of Trump, fixating on border security.

The not-so-MAGA remarks: “A loud part of each party wants us to abandon our allies, appease our enemies, and focus only on the problems we have at home,” Haley said. “This worldview has already put America in great danger — and the threat is mounting by the day.” Watch the full speech

More top reads:

• So what’s the deal behind Biden’s April cash retreat? “Privately, aides have two main explanations,” Eli Stokols and Lauren Egan report. “The first is that there was a dearth of big donor events last month, which they are already planning to change in the weeks ahead. Some also point to a larger structural dynamic that could prove harder to fix: The grassroots fundraising machine that boosted them in 2020 isn’t yet humming.”

• PAUL MANAFORT has had a bigger role advising the Trump campaign than previously reported, 24sight’s Tom LoBianco and Warren Rojas write, “quietly … passing strategic advice back to Trump through co-campaign manager CHRIS LaCIVITA and longtime Trump pollster TONY FABRIZIO.” LaCivita calls it “manufactured horseshit.”

CONGRESS

JOINING THE JOHNS  — RICK SCOTT is breaking up the John party. The Florida senator yesterday announced a bid to succeed MITCH McCONNELL as Senate GOP leader, jumping into the race that was previously a two-man competition between Sens. JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.) and JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas), WSJ’s Siobhan Hughes was first to report yesterday.

Scott faces an uphill battle, to say the least, as our colleagues Burgess Everett and Ursula Perano write. His brand of MAGA isn’t exactly popular with his more moderate-minded GOP colleagues. And when he challenged McConnell back in 2022, he only won a handful of votes.

Scott’s best shot at winning the post? If Trump himself is elected — and pushes strongly for him to lead the chamber’s Republicans. The former president adores Scott, who was among the first lawmakers to show up to support him in Manhattan in the hush money trial. Scott is also close with top Trump campaign adviser SUSIE WILES, and the former president asked him to run against McConnell in the past.

But maybe this isn’t about winning at all. Could Scott and his allies be looking to land concessions from the next leader, like the KEVIN McCARTHY critics did when he ran for the gavel?

More top reads:

• House Republicans today are set to grill another pair of college presidents, from Northwestern and Rutgers, who managed to quell campus protests without calling in the police — only to make themselves a target as Republicans lambast their tactics as defeats, Bianca Quilantan writes.

• Prosecutors’ ability to prove their central charge against Sen. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.) in his corruption trial could soon be much more difficult as the judge weighs whether Menendez is protected by the Constitution’s speech-or-debate clause, Ry Rivard writes. “Now prosecutors worry a pending ruling by Judge SIDNEY STEIN could create a class of ‘super citizens’ in Congress who are above the law.”

• Rep. JIM McGOVERN (D-Mass.) sparked an intense scuffle on the House floor yesterday when he brought up the “88 felony counts” Trump is facing. In the end, after much objection from Republicans, McGovern’s comments were removed from the official record, characterized as “a breach of order” by referring to Trump in “personally offensive” terms, Anthony Adragna reports.

JUDICIARY SQUARE

FLYING THE FLAG — After blaming his wife for a upside-down U.S. flag that was flown at their Virginia home in the days after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, SAMUEL ALITO is again at the center of a flag-related incident — this time centering on an “Appeal to the Heaven” banner repeatedly raised at his vacation home in recent years.

“Also known as the Pine Tree flag, it dates back to the Revolutionary War, but largely fell into obscurity until recent years and is now a symbol of support for former President Donald J. Trump, for a religious strand of the ‘Stop the Steal’ campaign and for a push to remake American government in Christian terms,” report NYT’s Jodi Kantor, Aric Toler and Julie Tate.

The response: “Justice Alito declined to respond to questions about the beach house flag, including what it was intended to convey and how it comported with his obligations as a justice. The court also declined to respond.” (Interestingly, the writers note that the “flagpole was bare” when someone from the NYT visited the house yesterday.)

CANNON FODDER — Judge AILEEN CANNON yesterday held the first public hearing in the classified documents case since she indefinitely postponed the trial date, which had initially been set for May 20. During the heated proceeding, Cannon reprimanded prosecutor DAVID HARBACH, a member of special counsel JACK SMITH’s team, “after Harbach became agitated when Cannon asked him whether prosecutors had kept evidence of an August 2022 meeting with defense lawyer STANLEY WOODWARD,” Kimberly Leonard reports from Fort Pierce, Florida.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD 

STATUS REPORT — Biden is set to “extend major non-NATO ally status to Kenya during the three-day state visit by the African country’s leader this week,” Alex Ward reports — which would make Kenya “the first sub-Saharan nation to receive the designation.”

MIDDLE EAST LATEST — “Aid starts to flow into Gaza through military pier after days of delays,” by Lara Seligman

BACKSTORY — “Inside the European attempt to reassure Biden before Palestinian statehood decision,” by Matt Berg, Shawn Pogatchnik and Nahal Toosi: “In the private discussions, Biden administration officials said that while they disagree with the move, they also ‘understand why we’re taking this step now, and they do seem to have accepted it as an inevitable development,’ a senior Irish official said.”

PLAYBOOKERS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants … Elon Musk to host a presidential debate … on X.

Karine Jean-Pierre wants to make Jill Biden her running buddy.

Hunter Biden’s tax trial got punted from June to September.

Tommy Tuberville wants to stay incognito, apparently.

Abe Hamadeh said in private text messages to Blake Masters that those who believed the election was stolen were “crazies,” per the Arizona Republic.

​​Maggie Goodlander, a New Hampshire congressional candidate and wife of Jake Sullivan, is calling out the Biden administration’s China policy.

Nicole Shanahan “partied with Silicon Valley’s elite and used recreational drugs including cocaine, ketamine and psychedelic mushrooms” during her marriage to Sergey Brin, NYT’s Kirsten Grind reports.

SPOTTED: Charlie Rivkin and Susan Tolson having dinner at the bar at Cafe Milano last night.

OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at CPAC’s annual congressional ratings event at the Capitol Hill Club yesterday evening: Speaker Mike Johnson, Matt and Mercedes Schlapp, Matt Whitaker, Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Reps. Steve Scalise (R-La.), Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), James Comer (Ky.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Cory Mills (R-Fla.).

— CNN celebrated SVP and Washington bureau chief Sam Feist at Cafe Milano last night with speeches from Mark Thompson, Dana Bash and Wolf Blitzer. SPOTTED: Jake Tapper, Chris Wallace, Laura Coates, Kaitlan Collins, Jim Acosta, Virginia Moseley, Kasie Hunt, Boris Sanchez, Jeff Zeleny, Manu Raju, Alex Marquardt, Mark Preston, David Chalian, Eric Sherling and Kylie Atwood.

MEDIA MOVES — Teddy Schleifer is joining the NYT as a correspondent on the Politics desk. He previously wrote “The Stratosphere” newsletter for Puck, covering politics, philanthropy and technology. The announcement … Reese Gorman and Riley Rogerson are joining NOTUS as politics reporters, with Gorman covering Trump and Congress and Rogerson covering Congress. They both were previously politics reporters at The Daily Beast.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The NSC is announcing a slate of moves: Christina Segal-Knowles has been promoted to DAP and coordinator for International Economic Strategy. She previously was a SAP and senior director for International Economics and Competitiveness. Mary Svenstrup is returning to NSC from the Treasury Department as SAP and senior director for International Economics and Competitiveness. Lindsey Ford, who is currently the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, will soon join NSC as SAP and senior director for South Asia, replacing Eileen Laubacher who departed recently to retire from the Navy.

TRANSITIONS — Erika Masonhall is joining Risa Heller Communications as managing director and launching the firm’s Los Angeles office. She most recently was director of entertainment and studio comms at Netflix and is a Facebook, NBC and Joe Lieberman alum. More from The Hollywood Reporter … Judy Krieg is joining DLA Piper as a partner in the white collar, investigations and government enforcement practice. She previously was joint head of the fraud, bribery and corruption division at the Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom. …

… Yesenia Alvarado Henniger is now deputy director of federal affairs at Helion. She previously was client and campaign manager at Purple Strategies. … Krissia Palomo is joining the DNC as supporter outreach manager. She previously was comms director for the Dallas County Democratic Party.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD – Kevin Robillard, senior politics editor at HuffPost, and Lindy Stevens, an associate at Varela Lee Metz & Guarino, on Monday welcomed Grant and Ellis Robillard, who came in at 6 lbs., 2 oz. and 6 lbs., 9 oz., respectively. Pic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) … former AG Bill Barr … William Minor of DLA Piper … Dana Priest … Daisy Martinez … Shekar Narasimhan … ABC’s Mary Bruce … Nate McDermott … NBC’s Danielle Dellorto … BBC’s Adam Levy … Melanie Fonder Kaye … PhRMA’s Sarah Sutton … Reuel Marc Gerecht … Washington Examiner’s Anna Giaritelli … Rachel MacKnight … Arianna Miskin … Jerry Goldfeder … Tom Heinemann … Mel Lukens … Dan Horning … Nicholas Uehlecke … Megan McKinley … Jorge Martínez

Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.

Correction: An earlier version of this newsletter misspelled the name of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.