Her Salary Is Not the Story Caitlin Clark is a moonshot for women’s basketball — and beyond DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY APR 18 Credit: Getty Images I am a lifelong sports fan, and it doesn’t matter the sport. I will watch badminton reruns at 3:00 am. So when there is a truly spectacular sporting event, I’m not embarrassed to say I’ll stay on the edge of my seat, whether couch or courtside. During the recent NCAA basketball tournament, University of Iowa phenom Caitlin Clark was a wonder to watch. She may be the most well-rounded offensive player I have ever seen. She shoots and scores from anywhere, she assists, she steals.  To no one’s surprise, Clark was the first pick in the WNBA draft on Tuesday. The all-time leading scorer in NCAA history (man or woman) signed a four-year deal with the Indiana Fever worth $338,000. Now, that’s nothing to sneeze at for a 22-year-old just out of college. But when you compare that to the salary of the NBA’s number one draft pick, it is considerably less than a rounding error. Victor Wembanyama will make $55 million playing for the San Antonio Spurs over four years. Clark’s pay is a paltry 0.614% of Wembanyama’s haul. That’s not even one percent. Now, their salaries are dictated by collective bargaining. So don’t direct your ire at the Fever’s front office.  Instead, we should celebrate what Clark will mean to the WNBA and women’s sports everywhere. One or two superstars can change a league. Just look at what Larry Bird and Magic Johnson did for the NBA back in the ’70s. They turned the league around, and now the NBA has enormous television contracts and endorsements.  With Clark, we have a generational talent who could do the same for women’s professional basketball. The tired old argument that women’s sports in general and basketball, in particular, don’t generate the same viewership or excitement as men’s, has finally been busted wide open. The final of the women’s NCAA tournament, which saw Clark and her Hawkeyes lose to South Carolina, had 4 million more viewers than the men’s final. And the WNBA draft was watched by 2.5 million people, a massive increase from a previous high of 600,000. Appetites are changing, and the WNBA is planning to capitalize on what many are calling the Caitlin Clark Effect. They certainly felt it in Iowa, where sold-out arenas were the norm. Fox Sports dedicated a camera to follow Clark live on TikTok during her games, with 800,000 people watching the “Caitlin Clark Cam.”  The current TV contract for the WNBA generates an anemic $60 million a year for the league. Divide that among the 12-team league, and you can see why the women’s salaries are a fraction of the men’s. But with viewership and interest swelling, the WNBA is hoping to double its television deal, expand the league, and sign bigger endorsement deals.  Women’s basketball is certainly not alone in its struggle for pay equity. Take tennis, where the delta between men’s and women’s paydays is the smallest in professional sports. Although the four major championships pay women and men equally, many of the other tournaments do not, even though viewership and attendance for women’s matches are as good or better. Then there’s soccer, where the U.S. women’s soccer team, the winningest soccer team ever on the world stage, had to sue U.S. Soccer to achieve the same pay as the men who have never made it past the semifinals at a World Cup. The past 12 months have shown us that women in sports and entertainment have huge financial firepower. The highest-grossing film of 2023 was “Barbie,” a movie made by a woman about female empowerment. Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, which hasn’t even finished yet, is the highest-grossing concert tour ever, at more than $1 billion in ticket sales.  Call it a turning point, a watershed moment, a game-changer for women in our culture, where whether we like it or not, money is the final arbiter. Speaking of which, you need not worry about Clark’s bank account. She is reportedly about to sign a $20 million deal with Nike that includes a signature Caitlin Clark shoe. But what about the other WNBA rookies, who don’t have eight-figure endorsement deals? The league’s commissioner believes this is the moment, riding Clark’s star power, to improve conditions for all of her players. What can we do? Buy tickets and jerseys if you can afford it. But most importantly, watch. These are incredible athletes who deserve our support. If you have the means, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. This makes it possible to keep Steady sustainable and free for all. Thank you. No matter how you subscribe, I thank you for reading. Stay Steady, Dan

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: This Barbie has an ‘Oppenheimer’-backed bill

 

BY MIA MCCARTHY AND LISA KASHINSKY BAHBENHEIMAH — The Senate is out today, but the “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” movies are finally in.  The two disparate feature flicks — one about the iconic Mattel plastic doll, and the other about the man at the center of creating the atomic bomb — are dividing Americans from Boston to the Beltway. So Playbook stalked the halls of Congress to see where the state’s two senators stand. And the answers might surprise you: “Barbie! Are you kidding?” Elizabeth Warren exclaimed after casting her final vote of the week in the Senate chamber. “How could you not be Team Barbie?” Ed Markey declared himself “Team Barbenheimer” — well, actually, “Team Bahbenheimah,” because, you know, Malden. “Bahbenheimah goes together like peanut buttah and jelly,” he said. But team double-feature is facing a dilemma: Which movie do you watch first? “This is the great theological question,” Markey told Playbook, closing his eyes and letting out a dramatic sigh. After deep consideration, he settled on “Oppenheimer.” (He said his wife, however, is passionate about Barbie.) Promotional art for "Barbie," left, and "Oppenheimer." (Warner Bros Pictures/Universal Pictures via AP) | AP Markey’s choice makes sense. While other senators were staking out their "Barbie" or "Oppenheimer" allegiances, Markey was meeting with Kai Bird — one of the authors of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book on J. Robert Oppenheimer that inspired the film — to discuss the dovetailing threats of nuclear war and artificial intelligence. Bird co-wrote the biography with the late Martin Sherwin, a nuclear history scholar and former Tufts University professor who was a friend of Markey’s. In their meeting Thursday, Bird and Markey shared their mutual concerns over the proliferation of artificial intelligence in national security and defense without guardrails, and the risks of using nuclear weapons in South Asia and elsewhere. They also discussed ways to increase awareness of nuclear issues among the younger set, according to a Markey spokesperson. Markey walked away with Bird’s endorsement of an amendment he filed to the National Defense Authorization Act that would bar the use of artificial intelligence to launch nuclear weapons, his office first told Playbook. “Humans must always maintain sole control over nuclear weapons — this technology is too dangerous to gamble with,” Bird said in a statement. “This bill will send a powerful signal to the world that the United States will never take the reckless step of automating our nuclear command and control.” GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Warren and Markey said they probably won’t be able to catch either flick this weekend. That’ll give Markey more time to mull his answer to the other great theological question on his mind: “What would I eat in between the movies?” The answer is ice cream, of course. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) | AP Photo TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll have no public events. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu paints a basketball court with Celtics star Jaylen Brown at 10 a.m. at Fenelon Park. Rep. Richard Neal announces federal funding at 10:30 a.m. at Pittsfield City Hall. Auditor Diana DiZoglio visits Greater Lowell Technical High at 11:30 a.m. Warren visits Pittsfield Senior Center at 3:15 p.m. Rep. Jim McGovern visits free meals sites in Turners Falls, Greenfield and Worcester with Project Bread. Rep. Ayanna Pressley campaigns for Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones . THIS WEEKEND — NAACP Boston President Tanisha Sullivan is on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” at 8:30 a.m. Sunday and joins Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty on “@Issue” at 12:30 p.m. Sunday on NECN. Rep. Lori Trahan is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday. Are you Team Barbie or Team Oppenheimer (or Team Barbenheimer)? Email us: mmccarthy@politico.com and lkashinsky@politico.com and we'll tell you which side we're on!   JOIN 7/26 FOR A TALK ON THE NEW ENERGY ECONOMY:  Join POLITICO's lively discussion, "Powering a Clean Energy Economy," on July 26 to explore the effectiveness of consumer-targeted policies to boost sustainability and create clean energy jobs. How are the Inflation Reduction Act's provisions faring? Which strategies truly sway consumer behavior? Hear from featured speaker, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), among other experts. Don't miss this insightful event — register today and be part of the conversation driving America's clean energy future! REGISTER NOW.     DATELINE BEACON HILL — “Private donors commit $100K to relief fund for Mass. farmers reeling from rains, floods,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “A series of torrential rains over the past two weeks caused roughly $15 million in damages to about 2,000 acres of farmland in Massachusetts, which the Healey administration hopes to help save with a private relief fund announced Thursday afternoon. … [Gov. Maura] Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said philanthropic organizations and private donors have committed $100,000 to the newly-created private fund. Attorney General Andrea Campbell said her office would also chip in $10,000 from settlements reached by the state’s top prosecutor.” — More: “Congressional delegation calls on feds to declare western Mass a disaster area in wake of floods,” by Scott Merzbach, Greenfield Recorder. FROM THE DELEGATION — DISTRICT DISCORD: A liberal Newton activist group is rebuking Rep. Jake Auchincloss for being one of nine Democrats who recently voted to block certain “race-based theories” — including that the “United States is a fundamentally racist country” — from being taught in military-run schools. Rep. Seth Moulton also voted in favor of the amendment put forward by hardline conservative Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) during deliberations over the sweeping defense bill that passed the House last week. The two military veterans ultimately joined other House Democrats in voting against the full National Defense Authorization Act. But Newton Upstanders, a group focused on protecting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, is accusing Auchincloss of supporting an “effort to whitewash American racial history.” Auchincloss said he was “reluctant to lend credence to the GOP’s parade of preposterous claims about the military” in a statement to Insider . But he said the amendment “was tightly constructed to affirm that the military shouldn't teach service members' children that any race is inherently superior to any other.” His spokesperson later told Playbook that Auchincloss’ vote was “affirming that the military shouldn’t teach service members’ children that the Constitution they are sworn to protect is racist.” A Moulton spokesperson said that “slavery was our nation’s original sin and there’s no question its effects are still felt today; but Congressman Moulton does not believe that the U.S. is a ‘fundamentally racist country’.” It’s not uncommon for lawmakers to face some level of blowback back home over errant votes in D.C. The Boston Jewish Community Relations Council, for instance, subtly shaded Rep. Ayanna Pressley this week for being one of just 10 representatives, all Democrats, to vote against a House resolution reaffirming U.S. support for Israel. But with none of the delegation members facing serious challenges to their 2024 reelection bids, there’s little these groups can do to hold their federal lawmakers accountable for disagreeable votes. Newton Upstanders is, however, meeting with Auchincloss on Monday. — "After fighting to obtain Trump’s taxes, Richard Neal is on the other side of an IRS battle involving Hunter Biden," by Jim Puzzanghera, Boston Globe. MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS — “Mass. rolls out new program to help immigrants with legal services,” by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “The state’s Office for Refugees and Immigrants is partnering with nonprofits to roll out a first-of-its kind program to provide legal services to new arrivals with the goal of better helping them integrate into Massachusetts. The services, which will be offered to families staying in the state’s emergency assistance shelters and hotels, include helping migrants put together asylum applications so that they can eventually obtain permits to work legally.” VAX-ACHUSETTS — “State watchdogs spend little on COVID-19 oversight,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “The state's watchdogs have spent only a fraction of $1.5 million in funding they received more than two years ago to provide fiscal oversight of billions of dollars in federal pandemic-related aid flowing into the state." — “COVID-19 waste water numbers are ticking up again,” by Emma Obregón Dominguez, Boston Globe: “Coronavirus waste water numbers have nearly tripled just three weeks after dropping to their lowest levels in two years, suggesting that cases of COVID-19 are ticking up in the greater Boston area.”   JOIN 7/27 FOR A TALK ON WOMEN LEADERS IN THE NEW WORKPLACE: In the wake of the pandemic, U.S. lawmakers saw a unique opportunity to address the current childcare system, which has become increasingly unaffordable for millions of Americans, but the initial proposals went nowhere. With the launch of the Congressional Bipartisan Affordable Childcare Caucus in May, there may be a path to make childcare more affordable. Join Women Rule on July 27 to dive into this timely topic and more with featured speakers Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO of Moms First and Founder of Girls Who Code. REGISTER HERE .     FROM THE HUB — “Boston Police release body-camera video showing aftermath of Councilor Kendra Lara’s car crash,” by Sean Cotter, Boston Globe: “Boston Police have released body-camera video from the aftermath of City Councilor Kendra Lara’s June 30 car crash that led to criminal charges, footage that features interviews with both Lara and the man who she said she swerved to avoid in the minutes following the crash. ‘I was just beginning to pull out and she came by like a bat out of hell and just swerved,’ the man, whose face was blurred out, told police.” More from WCVB . THE RACE FOR CITY HALL — “It's official: New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell is running for re-election,” by Frank Mulligan, Standard-Times: “Mayor Jon Mitchell, first elected in 2011, is seeking a sixth term as mayor." — “How the Weymouth mayor's race could end up being a rematch,” by Fred Hanson, Patriot Ledger: “Mayor Robert Hedlund has filed nomination papers for another four years as the town's chief executive. The only other person who had taken out nomination papers from the town clerk's office as of Friday is Edward Cowen, an ex-Marine who ran against Hedlund in 2019.” 2024 WATCH — DESANTISLAND: Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts and Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire are home to two of the 100 chapters of “Students for DeSantis,” a youth-oriented grassroots effort organized by the pro-Ron DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down, the group said. — “Poll: Less Than Half Of New Hampshire Democrats Support First-In-The-Nation Primary Law,” by Stephanie Murray, The Messenger. — “Three key moments from RFK Jr.'s testimony to Congress,” by Eric Bazail-Eimil, POLITICO.  RFK JR IS A REPUBLICAN SHILL....AMONG OTHER THINGS! A REMINDER...THIS DERANGED LUNATIC IS MAKING THE ROUNDS...HE'S A REPUBLICAN SHILLS...LOOK AT HIS FUNDING & WHO'S PROMOTING HIM.... RFK JR! SET ASIDE ALL OF HIS LUNACY, CONSPIRACY THEORY MANURE & HIS SCIENCE DISINFORMATION. EXCERPTS OF RFK JR'S JOURNALS WERE PUBLISHED! THIS IS NOT PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL! FROM THE 413 — “Who is running your town government? More and more small Berkshire County towns are struggling to staff town halls and government positions,” by Jane Kaufman, Berkshire Eagle: “In an increasingly complex environment, small towns in the Berkshires are running dry of the people, like [former Savoy Select Board member Russell] Clarke, who keep them functioning. And the problem isn’t just confined to volunteers. Staffing town halls is also a problem." — “Chicopee city councilor faces backlash after ‘racially insensitive’ Facebook post,” by Dave Eisenstadter, MassLive: “Chicopee Ward 7 City Councilor William Courchesne is under fire from colleagues and under investigation from his employer after posting what a fellow city councilor called a ‘racially insensitive’ meme to Facebook.” — “DOJ says Springfield is largely on course with required police reforms,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican. THE LOCAL ANGLE — “Worcester to see draft ordinance on crisis pregnancy centers despite city manager’s concerns,” by Kiernan Dunlop, MassLive: “After initially declining to present a draft ordinance that would regulate so-called crisis pregnancy centers in the city to the Worcester City Council, City Manager Eric Batista said Thursday he will bring two draft ordinances before the council.” — “Your Options Medical mobile crisis pregnancy center is coming to Cape Cod this summer,” by Rasheek Tabassum Mujib, Cape Cod Times: “Your Options Medical, a Revere [so-called] crisis pregnancy center, plans to bring its Medical Mobile Clinic to Cape Cod next month. … A local group, Cape Cod Pro-Life Alliance, is collaborating with Your Options Medical to bring the mobile clinic to Cape Cod.” HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH SPOTTED — In an elevator on Capitol Hill: NCAA president and former Gov. Charlie Baker, who was there to meet with Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) to follow up on her query about the NCAA’s sports-betting policy . ALSO SPOTTED — showing solidarity with striking SAG-AFTRA and WGA members in the District: Sen. Ed Markey . Tweet . HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to NBC10 Boston’s Mary Markos, Dracut state Rep. Colleen Garry, former MassDems chair Phil Johnston, Philip Deely, Sara Seager and Rachel Nieves. HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Rosemary Powers , who celebrates Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers former state Sen. Kathleen O’Connor-Ives, Meg Montgomery, Vasundhra Sangar, Jeremy D. Goodwin, Mariane Pearl, Jane Rayburn of EMC Research and your Massachusetts Playbook scribe, Lisa. NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: SMOKE SIGNALS — GBH’s Katie Lannan and MassINC Polling’s Rich Parr join host Jennifer Smith to talk flooding in New England, a fire at the State House and pandemic-era policies. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud . Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com .   Follow us on Twitter Lisa Kashinsky @lisakashinsky   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters FOLLOW US

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POLITICO Nightly: The future of Nancy Pelosi

 

BY DUSTIN GARDINER Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been mum about whether she intends to keep her seat. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo CASCADING DOMINOES —  Nancy Pelosi’s future has been the subject of whispers in her hometown of San Francisco since the Democrats lost the House and she stepped down from leadership. What everyone has wanted to know — but no one was eager to say out loud, for fear of offending the still influential speaker emerita or merely out of respect and admiration for her — is whether she intends to keep her seat. And, if not, would she favor a chosen candidate — or throw it open to what could be a wide open primary in one of the most Democratic cities in the U.S. At stake is not just the once-in-a-generation chance to be San Francisco’s sole representative in Congress — a post Pelosi has held for close to 40 years. Her retirement, and the jockeying it would set off could reshape California and Bay Area politics, likely creating open races for state Senate, Assembly and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Pelosi has been mum about her plans, and the evidence that has emerged so far is contradictory.The congresswoman has raised $3.5 million in the first six months of the year between her campaign and political action committees, a haul that suggests she could run for reelection in November 2024 if she wanted. At a minimum, it shows she still has clout, which could be one reason she has decided to leave people guessing. At least three scenarios could play out in the coming months. One of the nation’s most prolific fundraisers, Pelosi could stick around for one more term to help Democrats raise money to fend off former President Donald Trump — assuming he’s the Republican nominee in 2024. She has helped lead the party through rocky times before, including to defend the Affordable Care Act and to impeach Trump twice. Pelosi must file her declaration of candidacy to seek reelection by Dec. 8, though she would likely announce much sooner given the party has a fall nomination deadline. She could run to help the party through the 2024 election, only to resign later and trigger a special election. Another option would be to announce her departure sooner than later — before the party’s nominating process closes to applicants this fall. This timeline would have the least disruption on the traditional election calendar. But the window for Pelosi to clear the way is getting narrower and narrower since the nominating process formally opens in mid-August. Then there’s the prospect of a last-minute decision — a not-uncommon gambit among members of Congress with an interest in dictating their successor: Call it the total chaos scenario. Pelosi waits until the final minute to decide she won’t run. If she, as the incumbent, doesn’t file to seek reelection by Dec. 8, the filing deadline would be extended by five days. Waiting that late could limit the number of potential successor candidates and trigger a special party nominating conference. All of this is why ambitious would-be candidates and consultants in San Francisco are anxiously awaiting her decision. But if any camps are growing frustrated, nobody is sharing it publicly. (Julia cut this second line for the version that’s on the HP now. What do you think? I’m fine losing it.) “The rules of engagement for the average politician just do not apply to Nancy Pelosi,” said Todd David, a close friend and adviser of state Sen. Scott Wiener, a candidate to succeed Pelosi. “She has earned the right and the privilege to do things on her own timeline.” Wiener formed an exploratory committee to run for the seat in March, though he stresses that he will only run if Pelosi retires and has showered the speaker emerita with praise. His exploratory committee said he’s raised $820,000, a formidable haul for a campaign that hasn’t officially started. Two other major candidates could also be in the mix: Christine Pelosi, a longtime party organizer and the former speaker’s daughter, and Jane Kim, a former supervisor and California director of the ultra-progressive Working Families Party. The younger Pelosi hasn’t said anything publicly about her intentions, and Kim will say only that she hasn’t ruled out a run. From there, cue the musical chairs. The cascading dominoes could trigger open contests from the statehouse to San Francisco City Hall. The mix of possible contenders reads like a short list of ambitious San Francisco politicians. Their campaigns could prompt a heated debate about the city’s response to the parallel homelessness and addiction crises. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at dgardiner@politico.com or on Twitter at @dustingardiner .   JOIN 7/26 FOR A TALK ON THE NEW ENERGY ECONOMY:  Join POLITICO's lively discussion, "Powering a Clean Energy Economy," on July 26 at 5:15 PM ET. We'll explore the effectiveness of consumer-targeted policies to boost sustainability and create clean energy jobs. How are the Inflation Reduction Act's provisions faring? Which strategies truly sway consumer behavior? How are advances in technology shaking things up? And, what's the future for energy consumption reduction? Hear from featured speaker Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), among other experts. Don't miss this insightful event — REGISTER NOW.     WHAT'D I MISS? — GOP centrists pan Trump impeachment erasure as McCarthy denies any deal:   Kevin McCarthy denies he made any deal with Donald Trump to expunge his impeachment record. Even if the speaker did call for such a vote, a bloc of House GOP centrists would likely defeat it . Roughly a half-dozen swing district Republicans said Thursday they were skeptical — or even downright opposed — to any vote designed to symbolically rescind one or both of Trump’s impeachments. Two of Trump’s strongest supporters in the House, Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have repeatedly pushed the idea as Trump’s legal woes pile up in his 2024 presidential bid. POLITICO’s Playbook reported Thursday that McCarthy had promised the former president he would look to expunge the impeachments, seeking to dispel Trump’s pressure to endorse him for president in 2024. That promise, though unlikely to happen anytime soon, renewed Greene’s vow that she would get a full House vote on her effort. But a slew of Republicans in battleground districts questioned the purpose of a vote motivated solely to help Trump that could hurt them back home. — Judge rejects QAnon shaman’s bid to throw out Jan. 6 sentence:  A federal judge has denied a bid by Jacob Chansley — the Jan. 6 rioter who famously wore a horned helmet and left a menacing note for Mike Pence on the Senate dais — to throw out his conviction by citing videos aired in February by then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson. U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth said the videos aired by Carlson, which showed Chansley roaming the halls of the Capitol, occasionally alongside outnumbered Capitol Police officers, were devoid of meaningful context, especially when contrasted with the extraordinary volume of evidence of Chansley’s crimes. In fact, if Chansley, who pleaded guilty in September 2021 to obstructing Congress’ proceedings, were sentenced today, Lamberth wrote in a 35-page opinion on Thursday, he might be inclined to sentence him to a lengthier prison term than the 41 months he received. — Judge scolds Jack Smith’s team for causing delay in unrelated Jan. 6 verdict:  A federal judge on Thursday upbraided special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors — who may be on the verge of indicting former President Donald Trump — for causing a delay in an unrelated hearing in a Jan. 6 criminal case. U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden sent a U.S. marshal to summon Smith’s prosecutors from the grand jury room — where they were grilling a Trump-connected witness — to his courtroom Thursday afternoon. A federal judge on Thursday upbraided special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors — who may be on the verge of indicting former President Donald Trump — for causing a delay in an unrelated hearing in a Jan. 6 criminal case. That led to a bizarre scene in which Thomas Windom, a leading prosecutor on Smith’s team investigating Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election, marched down the courthouse hallway and filed into McFadden’s courtroom during the ongoing Jan. 6 proceeding, a lengthy bench trial verdict for Federico Klein and Steven Cappuccio, who stand accused of violence toward Capitol Police. NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 RACIST SLUR — A political consultant closely tied to the effort to elect Tim Scott president repeatedly used the N-word when he was playing a card game with friends, a video obtained by POLITICO shows . Anton Castaneda is the main adviser to Opportunity Matters Fund, a super PAC that is doing work in early primary states to support Scott’s campaign. It has paid Castaneda’s firm more than $1.3 million in the last several years for strategy, fundraising and digital consulting and ad production. He is a former congressional staffer for two prominent Black Republican politicians: Scott (R-S.C.) and former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas). RFK JR. ON THE HILL — Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before Congress on Thursday in a divisive hearing on federal government “censorship” of Americans’ free speech on social media, sparking tense exchanges between Democrats and Republicans over his remarks on vaccines and the Covid-19 pandemic. The hearing of the committee investigating the politicization of the federal government, which also touched on social media companies’ handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story and ongoing government efforts to work with social media companies to take down disinformation and misinformation, largely saw Republicans defend Kennedy and decry Democrats’ protests over his presence before the committee as “censorship.” Democrats, in turn, argued that Republicans were “co-signing” Kennedy’s views on vaccines and medical science by providing Kennedy a “megaphone.” BLOCKADE BACKER — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis backed Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s months-long blockade on military nominations on Thursday , saying that the Pentagon’s abortion policy would “go out the window” if he wins the presidency. “They are using tax dollars. They’re funding abortion tourism, which is not an appropriate thing for the military to be doing,” DeSantis told radio host Hugh Hewitt, answering “No, I don’t” when asked if he thinks Tuberville should relent. “Day one as commander-in-chief, that policy will go out the window.” Tuberville has blocked consideration of more than 200 stalled military promotions, demanding that the Pentagon overturn its policy of providing paid leave to service members seeking an abortion. AROUND THE WORLD Visitors walk near the wreck of The Lady Elizabeth in Stanley, Falkland Islands, also called Islas Malvinas — the Argentine name for the British-owned islands. | Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images THE NAMELESS ISLANDS —  A leaked memo has revealed the "frantic" last-ditch efforts of the U.K. government and its highest-ranking diplomat to prevent the EU signing a declaration with Latin American nations which refers explicitly to the ‘Islas Malvinas' — the Argentine name for the British-owned Falkland Islands. London and Buenos Aires fought a 10-week war over the islands in 1982. The remote archipelago, located less than 500 km off Argentina’s coast, remains a U.K. territory, though Argentina continues to claim it as its own. Britain took exception to the use of the 'Islas Malvinas' name in a new communiqué signed in Brussels this week by 60 EU and Latin American nations. It was the EU's first summit with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) since Britain left the EU in 2020. Previously, the U.K. would have been able to veto language it did not agree with. In Britain's self-enforced absence, Argentine negotiators moved swiftly to insert their own name for the islands into the joint declaration, scoring a major diplomatic win. AGRICULTURAL THREAT — As Russia once again bombards and blockades Ukraine's Black Sea ports — through which the country exports its vast agricultural produce — Poland and Hungary threaten to cut off the country's western exit routes . Poland will unilaterally block trade with Ukraine if the European Commission fails to extend temporary restrictions on grain imports at least until the end of the year, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a meeting of agriculture ministers from five Eastern EU countries in Warsaw on Wednesday.   SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY .     NIGHTLY NUMBER $3,300 The amount donated to Chris Christie’s presidential campaign by Murray Kushner, an uncle to Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner . Murray Kushner is the brother of Charles Kushner, Jared’s father. Before Christie became governor, he was the U.S. attorney for New Jersey and successfully prosecuted Charles Kushner, sending him to prison for making illegal campaign contributions, witness tampering and tax evasion. RADAR SWEEP BARBIE WORLD   — Even if you’re immune to Barbie, you can’t ignore it. The Barbie movie, directed and co-written by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie (who also served as producer) as well as Ryan Gosling as her boytoy, Ken, has been inescapable ever since the first trailer was released in December. For a film that promises to be a two-hour cinematic lobotomy, writes Michelle Cyca in The Walrus magazine, why are we so excited ? PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1969: Astronaut Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. poses for a photograph beside the U.S. flag deployed on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Aldrin and fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong were the first men to walk on the lunar surface of the moon. | AP Photo/NASA/Neil A. Armstrong   Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh Katherine Long @katherinealong   FOLLOW US

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