The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Biden’s meeting with global pop stars BTS

by Cate Martel - 06/01/22 12:53 PM ET

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–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.*

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.

In the White House

I thoroughly enjoyed this lede:

The Washington Post’s Seung Min Kim writes, “A horde of eager journalists began to crowd the aisles of the White House briefing room Tuesday long before the daily parrying session with reporters would begin — and they weren’t there for Brian Deese.

“For one afternoon, the White House became an exclusive stage for global K-pop phenomenon BTS, with each of the 49 briefing room seats becoming the most coveted tickets in town.” The full WaPo story

Why the K-pop superstars were at the White House: For a meeting with President Biden to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination

Keep in mind about the BTS meeting with Biden: It was surprisingly closed to press.

Here’s video of BTS standing at the podium for the White House press briefing yesterday.

IT’S WEDNESDAY, THE FIRST DAY OF JUNE — HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! 🌈🌈 I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.

Tucker Carlson will soon experience the wrath of the BTS army:

Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked President Biden’s meeting with the mega pop stars.

In Tucker Carlson’s words: “Things have gotten very bad for Joe Biden. … What are they doing about it? Well, they broke glass in case of emergency and invited a Korean pop group to … the White House today. … Yeah, so we got a Korean pop group to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States.” The clip starts around the 1-minute mark

How the BTS army responded: “The BTS army was quick to push back against Carlson on social media, flooding the social media platform with memes and calls for Carlson’s head. As one Twitter user noted, ‘So it will be K-Pop fans who finally bring [Tucker Carlson] down.’” More from Variety

^ If you’re unfamiliar with the BTS army: Time has an explainer, “Inside the BTS ARMY, the Devoted Fandom With an Unrivaled Level of Organization.” It’s pretty wild.

The Washington Post’s Dave Jorgenson tweeted: “K Pop stans are about to finish what Jon Stewart started all those years ago on Crossfire.” Watch the infamous 2004 Crossfire segment Jorgenson is referencing.

📈News this morning

A job here and a job there. And there. And there!:

“Job openings remained at near-record highs, according to a report released Wednesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

The numbers, via The Hill’s Tobias Burns: “The U.S. job openings decreased slightly to 11.4 million on the last business day in April, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover report. About 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in April. New hires were little changed at 6.6 million and job separations remained around 6 million.”

For context: “The latest employment numbers indicate that sky-high prices are showing no signs of coming down.” More on what this means for the economy

➤ ‘WHY GAS PRICES ARE SO HIGH’:
Via The Washington Post’s Abha Bhattarai

The gun debate

A few Republicans are down for a ban on assault rifles:

In the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting that killed 19 elementary school children and two teachers, a handful of House Republicans have expressed an openness to banning assault-style rifles.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said on CNN: “It’s going to depend on what it looks like because there’s a lot of nuances on what constitutes certain things, but I’m getting to the point where I have to wonder. Maybe somebody to own one, maybe you need an extra license. Maybe you need extra training.”

Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.) said at a press conference last week: “If an assault weapons ban bill came to the floor that would ban something like an AR-15, I would vote for it.”

Timing: This comes as a bipartisan group of senators has met to discuss potential gun control legislation.

Other House Republicans who have expressed support for banning assault-style weapons, via The Hill’s Emily Brooks

➤WHAT PROPOSALS THE BIPARTISAN GROUP OF SENATORS ARE CONSIDERING:
Expanded background checks and red flag laws are top of mind, but the talks are considering a wide range of legislation. What we know about the negotiations

Here’s the thing — Democrats aren’t all on the same page:

“President Biden and Vice President Harris are calling for bans on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, but they’re out of step with members of their own party who don’t want to vote on those hot-button issues and instead want to focus on more modest reforms.”

How this could play out, via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton

🗳 On the campaign trail

Republicans’ plan in Democratic regions: Lots of challenges:

Politico’s Heidi Przybyla reports, “Video recordings of Republican Party operatives meeting with grassroots activists provide an inside look at a multi-pronged strategy to target and potentially overturn votes in Democratic precincts: Install trained recruits as regular poll workers and put them in direct contact with party attorneys.” Przybyla’s full reporting

🦠 Latest with COVID

➤ BY THE NUMBERS

Cases to date: 83.9 million

Death toll: 1,002,067

Current hospitalizations: 14,224

Shots administered: 587 million

Fully vaccinated: 66.7 percent of Americans

CDC data here.

🐥Notable tweets

Getting traction:

Chicago Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor tweeted, “I first applied for an affordable housing voucher in 1993. I finally got a call back in 2004 to tell me my son who just graduated high school couldn’t be on my lease. Today in 2022 I finally got a letter telling me I made it to the top of the waiting list. I have no words.” Photo of the 2022 letter

This tweet has more than 115,000 likes since yesterday.

⏱On tap

The House and Senate are out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C.

9:30 a.m.: Biden received the President’s Daily Brief.

All times Eastern.

📺What to watch

11 a.m.: Biden participated in the U.S. Coast Guard change of command ceremony. Livestream
11:45 a.m.: Harris announced the White House’s plan to elevate water security as a foreign policy priority. Livestream
2:30 p.m.: Biden meets with administration officials and infant formula manufacturers to discuss the formula shortage. Livestream
3:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing. Livestream