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Here’s something Democrats agree on: High gas prices — and the inflation rate they’re driving up — are a huge political liability.Here’s something Democrats don’t agree on: what to do about it.On Tuesday, as the new 8.5% annualized inflation rate was announced, President Joe Biden was in Iowa, addressing concerns about energy costs and touting his decision to remove restrictions on the sale of E15, an ethanol-gas mix the administration hopes can ease the proverbial pain at the pump.“I’m not going to wait to take action to help American families,” Biden said. “I’m doing everything within my power by executive orders to bring down the price and address the Putin price hike.”Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

This morning at 8:30 a.m., the Labor Department will release its newest consumer price index report, and the White House is bracing itself for the political impact of inflation numbers that are widely expected to be the highest yet faced during the Biden administration. What to expect: Economists polled by Reuters anticipate that the report will show that, year-over-year, “consumer prices rose 8.4% in March, up from 7.9% in February.” That would be the highest rate since December 1981, notes CNBC. Why it’s likely to be that bad: This is the first CPI report since the large jump in oil and gas prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Worth noting: “Economists consider two versions of the CPI data: The headline number that includes all prices consumers face, and a so-called core CPI that excludes often volatile food and energy price fluctuations,” writes CNBC’s Thomas Franck. “The White House says it anticipates a wider-than-normal disparity between the headline and core readings because of an abnormal increase in gas prices that occurred last month.” Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Rep. Liz Cheney has set another personal fundraising record.The Wyoming Republican is fighting off a serious challenge from Harriet Hageman, a Cheyenne attorney, and the Aug. 16 primary has turned into the most important and closely watched contest between the MAGA and traditional wings of the GOP.Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

In a history-making vote Thursday afternoon, the Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, where she will be the first Black woman in history to serve as a justice. Immediately after VP Kamala Harris called the 53-47 vote, Senate Democrats (and, notably, Utah Republican Mitt Romney) gave a standing ovation while most Senate Republicans sulked from the chamber floor.Listen to Playbook Deep Dive: Khanna’s BBB advice to Biden: ‘Just get Sanders and Manchin in the room and hammer this out’Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

There’s no denying it: Covid is rocking Washington right now. Days after Saturday’s annual Gridiron Club dinner, multiple attendees of the boujee 600-seat confab have come down with it — including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas).Throughout the district on Wednesday, the possible superspreader event was seemingly all anyone could talk about, as NYT’s Katie Rogers writes. Reporters and pols alike found themselves trading text messages about who sat by whom and whether so-and-so who was feeling ill got a positive test result. The entire situation, she notes, is a reminder “that, even as officials seek to pivot away from strict restrictions and encourage Americans to learn to live with the coronavirus, the pandemic is not over.”Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Sen. Mitt Romney is having a bipartisan moment.The Utah senator kept everyone in suspense until Monday on how he would vote on Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation. He voted against confirming her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last year, but flipped and will now vote to confirm her to the Supreme Court.Six weeks ago, House Democrats blew up a bipartisan deal on Covid funding when they stripped $15 billion in pandemic relief money from a bill to fund the government. Biden and Democrats scrambled to find a way to pass a stand-alone bill and they needed a GOP partner. Romney stepped in and spent the last month and a half negotiating with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the White House. They announced a $10 billion deal on Monday. On Tuesday, it fell apart. 

Democrats are desperately trying to understand what’s roiling the electorate heading into a brutal midterm environment.HIT Strategies has been conducting weekly focus groups to find out in real time how Americans are processing events in 2022. On Monday night we watched discussions with two different subgroups of partisan Democrats assembled by the firm: “Black Base, Always vote for Dems, Ages 25+” and “Youth Base; Always vote for Dems, Ages 25 – 39.”There were significant differences within and between the two groups of nine voters. But there were also some broad takeaways.Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

The White House and Senate Democrats expect Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, to be confirmed by the end of this week. The final two Republicans still in play, Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), could announce how they plan to vote as soon as today.Clinching a new Supreme Court justice is a big moment for any president. But given the historic nature of Jackson’s nomination, this will be an even bigger deal for Biden. Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

For President Joe Biden, this was one of those weeks that demonstrated the limits of the powers of the presidency. Political scientists often like to rib pundits and the public for having a so-called “Green Lantern” view of the presidency, a theory defined by Dartmouth’s Brendan Nyhan as “the belief that the president can achieve any political or policy objective if only he tries hard enough or uses the right tactics."In reality, presidents operate under enormous constraints that often make them seem feckless in the face of intractable problems. The news at the end of this week makes it clear that Biden has entered the “long slog” period of his first term. The bold ambitions of year one have been downsized. And even with more modest goals, unifying Democrats in Congress has become tougher — and winning over Republicans harder — than ever. Many problems, like inflation, don’t have readily available solutions. And even when Biden is able to act, like on immigration, his choices are politically perilous.Listen to Playbook Deep Dive: The midterms will be won in the suburbsRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

All signs point to a typical midterm election this year in which the president’s party suffers double-digit losses in the House. The GOP has the big structural advantages on its side: a Democratic president with low approval ratings, a sour public mood driven by inflation concerns and an edge in polling on issues like crime, education and immigration that are proving important to voters in the crucial swing suburbs where the midterms will be decided.One of the few ways Republicans could potentially blow this electoral equivalent of a layup is if former President Donald Trump suddenly returns to center court. Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.