NBC’s Domenico Montanaro looks ahead to the week in politics. President Obama travels to Oklahoma and the Jersey Shore to check on recovery efforts, politicians hit the money trail, Memorial Day, and Andy “The Candidate” launches his comeback bid.

Obama’s speech reframed the rules of engagement on terrorism for the United States … Two White House reviews coming within three weeks of each other ... Lerner put on leave at IRS, more to come... The trickiness of immigration politics ... Weiner's tough rollout ... Walker's, Paul's differing views on the future of the GOP ... Christie would welcome Obama, calls climate change "esoteric" as it relates to Sandy.

Win Mcnamee / Getty Images

President Barack Obama tries to speak as Medea Benjamin, an activist from the organization called Code Pink, shouts at him while he spoke at the National Defense University May 23, 2013 in Washington, DC.

*** Rules of Engagement: The news of President Obama’s speech Thursday was thought to likely be about drones – and that he would acknowledge for the first time the widely reported killing of an American citizen overseas, Anwar al-Awlaki. And it was, but only in part. And, yes, he was interrupted three times by an anti-war activist, but don’t get distracted by that. What was important was the text of Obama’s speech, the breadth of what he laid out, the marker it set in American foreign policy, and how it re-framed how the United States should go about fighting terrorism. The New York Times editorial page called Obama’s 6,500-word speech “the most important statement on counter terrorism policy since the 2001 attacks, a momentous turning point in post-9/11 America. For the first time, a president stated clearly and unequivocally that the state of perpetual warfare that began nearly 12 years ago is unsustainable for a democracy and must come to an end in the not-too-distant future.” The speech was notable in the arc of a presidency, and one that historians will look back on. In fact, historian Michael Beschloss, an NBC contributor, noted that it “would be fascinating to hear some past Presidents discuss w[ith] similar nuance their secret consideration of possible plots vs. foreign leaders.”

*** Two White House-mandated internal reviews of IRS, Justice due out within three weeks of each other: Obama also used the speech to address one of the controversies that has dogged his administration in the past week -- the Justice Department’s obtaining emails and phone calls of reporters for the Associated Press and Fox News. He called for an internal review at the Justice Department, with media input, on how to improve the relationship. The report is due out July 12, he said. So mark your calendars… in the span of three weeks – from June 22 when the White House-mandated IRS review will be completed to July 12 – there will be two more reports on what happened with two of the controversies of the past two weeks.

*** Another move at IRS: IRS official Lois Lerner was put on administrative leave Thursday. “This can only really be the beginning,” Robert Gibbs said on Morning Joe of what will be the Obama administration’s response to the IRS. Gibbs noted that there are only a couple of political appointees at IRS, making it tougher to oust officials who are civil servants and that there is a process. But more moves are likely coming.

*** Immigration politics are still very tricky: NBC’s Carrie Dann has a must read on the state of play on immigration reform and how many moving parts still remain despite progress: “After clearing the first hurdle in some of the most delicate legislative jockeying in recent memory, advocates of a comprehensive immigration reform bill are already looking to the next stage of the legislation’s progress as it heads toward a high-profile airing in the full Senate. While some groups aligned with Democrats failed to secure their desired changes to the sweeping Senate legislation as it worked its way through 30 hours of debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month, many are looking to the floor debate as a second shot to include their priorities in a final bill.”

*** Weiner’s rough rollout: In New York, Anthony Weiner’s rollout of his campaign to run for mayor began with a slickly produced, very New York ad that could be described as “boroughs and businesses.” But yesterday, the wheels on the campaign bus looked shaky. His campaign website incorrectly displayed, not the skyline of New York, but that of PITTSBURGH (!!!). A media crush surrounded him at his first campaign stop, turning into something of a New York circus, as was to be expected. And he just couldn’t escape questions about the scandal that led him to resign from Congress, in which he Tweeted lewd photos of himself. In fact, on WNYC – New York public radio, not exactly tabloid central – after questioning about the scandal, why voters should trust him, and if there are more pictures or emails that could come out, Weiner acknowledged that it’s possible more is to come. “People may decide they want to come forward and say, here’s another email that I got or another photo,” Weiner said. To top it off, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said if Weiner’s elected mayor, “Shame on us.” His staff later said Cuomo was only joking, though it hardly came off as a joke. Step back for a minute, and realize, that was only DAY ONE. There’s a lot of talk about the tabloids in New York, but there’s more media than just that – and as evidenced by the WNYC interview – even the most benign outlets are going to be focused on Weiner’s scandal, and it’s going to be hard for him to turn the page to issues.

*** Christie would welcome Obama back; calls climate change “theory” on Sandy “esoteric”: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) was on NBC’s Today, and asked about his saying that there’s no proof Superstorm Sandy was caused by climate change, Christie said he doesn’t have time for “esoteric theories.” “All I said was I haven’t been shown any definitive proof that that’s what caused it -- and this is,” he said, per NBC’s Sarah Blackwill. “This is a distraction. I’ve got a place to rebuild here and people want to talk about esoteric theories.” Christie also said he’d welcome another visit by President Obama to see the progress of rebuilding – regardless of the political consequences. “I think that what people in my state want me to do more than anything else is for me to do my job,” he said. “The fact of the matter is he's the President of the United States, and if he wants to come here and see the people of New Jersey, I'm the governor. I'll be here to welcome him.”

*** Two different messages on the future of the GOP: With 1,264 days until the 2016 election, Gov. Scott Walker (R-IA) was in Iowa Thursday, and on Monday Rand Paul was in New Hampshire. Both delivered very different visions of the Republican Party going forward. Walker didn’t mention how the party should change, just that it should follow the lead of governors. Walker, of course, was embroiled in controversy over collective bargaining and union rights in Wisconsin and survived a recall bout, endearing him to the conservative base. “The president and his allies they simply measure success by how many people are dependent on the government, how many people are on Medicaid, food stamps, unemployment compensation,” Walker said, per NBC’s Alex Moe, sounding notes of the 2012 campaign. “We should measure success by how many people are not.” Rand Paul, on the other hand, was in New Hampshire Monday and said the GOP does need to change. "If you want to be the party of white people, we're winning all the white vote,” he said, adding, “We need to be white, we need to be brown, we need to be black, we need to with tattoos, without tattoos, with pony tails, without pony tails, with beards, without."

*** More 2016 roundup: Ted Cruz said he doesn’t “trust” Republicans. “I don’t trust the Republicans. And I don’t trust the Democrats,” he said on the Senate floor Wednesday. Cruz doesn’t want Republicans to go to conference on the budget, wanting the GOP to hold the line on the debt ceiling, something establishment Republicans like John McCain want to avoid.  … Despite the Benghazi hearings, Hillary Clinton maintains very high approval ratings – 62%/28% from a Washington Post/ABC poll. … Marco Rubio’s doing a lot of the heavy lifting to try and sell conservatives on immigration reform. He’ll be on FOX for an hour-long town-hall special to make the case for it. … Jeb Bush also wrote an op-ed boosting the Senate’s work on immigration reform. He didn’t mention Rubio, by the way. … Vice President Joe Biden flubbed again during a commencement speech at the Coast Guard Academy and called Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, “Governor O’Malley.” Martin O’Malley is the governor of Maryland, of course. AP looks at O’Malley laying the groundwork for a 2016 bid.

*** In Decision 2013 news… Cuccinelli ordered investigation of McDonnell: The Richmond Times Dispatch: “Gov. Bob McDonnell is under investigation over the statements of economic interest he has filed. The investigation was initiated by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who sent a letter in early November 2012 to Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring, appointing him to review McDonnell’s statements. By law, elected officials are required to account for all gifts received in excess of $50. ‘I did what I have consistently tried to do as attorney general, which is to uphold the law impartially,’ Cuccinelli said in a statement.”

*** The rundown: President Obama delivers the commencement address at the Naval Academy at 10:00 am ET, then signs the Congressional Gold Medal Bill, honoring the lives of the four girls killed at a church in Birmingham, AL, in 1963. The bombing is seen by many as the impetus for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) will resign from Congress later this summer to take a position with the University of Alabama system, according to two Republican sources, setting up a likely competitive primary to replace him in the safe GOP seat.

Bonner’s retirement was first reported by the Mobile Press-Register.

A former House Ethics committee chairman, Bonner was first elected to Congress from the Mobile district in 2002. Bonner had worked his way up to chief of staff for his predecessor, Rep. Sonny Callahan, and was easily elected to replace him when he retired.

Bonner will step down Aug. 15 for a newly created job as vice chancellor of government relations and economic development at the University of Alabama system.

"I trust you know that serving as your congressman this past decade has truly been one of the highest honors of my life," Bonner said in a statement to constituents. 

The first district is solidly Republican, and voted 62 percent for Mitt Romney in 2012 and just 37 percent for President Obama. Bonner didn’t even face a Democratic challenger last year, and this isn’t a race the national party would look to play in.

Republican Gov. Robert Bentley has a wide purview to set the special election to replace Bonner. According to state election law, “all special elections shall be held on such day as the Governor may direct.”

A crowded GOP primary and subsequent runoff is expected. Potential candidates, according to Republican sources, could include former state Sen. Bradley Byrne, who lost the 2010 gubernatorial primary to Bentley; businessman Dean Young, who got 25% against Bonner in last year’s primary; and state Sens. Trip Pittman, Bill Hightower and Rusty Glover. 

Bonner said he "was not looking for another job" and that the opportunity "was both unexpected and certainly unsolicited."

"I also firmly believe there are many ways you can serve your state and nation without having your name on a ballot," Bonner continued. "That said, while I had every intention of completing this term, sometimes opportunities come along that are so rare – and so special – that it forces you to alter even your best-made plans."

In 2011, the head of government relations at Alabama made $217,016. As a congressman, Bonner makes $174,000.

Republicans’ quest for more women elected officials on their side continues today, with the Republican State Leadership Committee’s re-launch of its program aimed at electing more women down-the-ballot.

RSLC Chairman Ed Gillespie, a former national party chairman, announced new leadership as well. Tennessee Speaker Beth Harwell, Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi will serve as co-chairs of the so-called “Right Women, Right Now” initiative.

“We believe that one of the ways to grow our Republican Party is to create a strong pipeline of diverse leaders to put some new voices on the escalator to higher office,” Gillespie said on a call with reporters. “The first steps of that are these state offices.”

The Republican National Committee identified electing more women at the national level as a priority in its December “Growth & Opportunity” report. Gillespie and the co-chairs of the group emphasized what they said was their program’s success in states. Recruiters identified 185 new Republican women candidates and 84 statewide elected officials.

“Right Women” dedicated more than $5 million last cycle to identify, support, and train women for offices from lieutenant governor on down. In particular, the program helps with messaging and fundraising.

Wyman won her race in blue Washington by less than a percentage point, and said that she couldn’t have done it without the RSLC.

“They really supported me and my candidacy with resources that helped secure my win,” she said. “‘Right Women, Right Now’ really helped put my candidacy over the edge.”

Bondi, in her new role as co-chair, promised “unprecedented” resources for the program and said that specific metrics, in terms of cash and candidates, will be set and rolled out in the coming months.

NBC's Domenico Montanaro looks at the day in politics. The focus is President Obama's speech on America's use of drones. But there's some campaign news, too, with Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., in Iowa and ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., making his first campaign stop in his bid for mayor of New York.

Obama to scale back his administration’s drone policy… Also expected in his 2:00 pm ET national security speech: better securing diplomatic facilities and stating his desire to close Gitmo… About that Holder letter… WaPo on the White House trying to shield Obama from IRS investigation… Cruz: “I don’t trust the Republicans”… Scott Walker heads to the Hawkeye State… And Happy (upcoming) Memorial Day weekend.

Pool / Getty Images

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at a concert honoring singer-songwriter Carole King with the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at the White House on May 22, 2013.

*** Obama to scale back drone policy: In his first major national security speech of his second term, President Obama today is expected to both defend -- but also announce changes to -- his administration’s use of drones to kill suspected terrorists and foreign enemies. “A new classified policy guidance signed by Mr. Obama will sharply curtail the instances when unmanned aircraft can be used to attack in places that are not overt war zones, countries like Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia,” the New York Times reports. “The rules will impose the same standard for strikes on foreign enemies now used only for American citizens deemed to be terrorists” -- i.e., force can be used against targets who are 1) an imminent threat against Americans, and 2) cannot be feasibly captured. The Times also says that the Obama administration will shift control of drone strikes from the CIA to the U.S. military. “The significance is the Pentagon will now control the drone program, which increases transparency both for Congress and the American people,” NBC terrorism analyst Roger Cressey said on “TODAY” this morning.

*** What’s also expected in the speech: A White House official, per NBC’s Shawna Thomas, says that the president’s speech also will discuss better securing U.S. diplomatic facilities (after the 2012 Benghazi attack), balancing security while protecting civil liberties at home (see the leak investigations), and stating his desire to close the Guantanamo Bay prison (an action which Congress opposes). Don’t be surprised if Obama says something along the lines of, “We will never send another detainee to Gitmo” as a way to express his willingness to close the facility. And don’t be surprised if he addresses -- head on -- the Justice Department’s seizure of reporters’ phone records in its prosecution of national security leaks. Obama delivers his remarks at 2:00 pm ET at the National Defense University in DC.

*** About that Holder letter: Obama’s remarks come a day after Attorney General Eric Holder released a letter acknowledging -- for the first time by the administration -- that four American citizens were killed in U.S. drone strikes. NBC’s Pete Williams says the letter discloses what had been widely reported and known: that three citizens were killed in counter-terrorism operations, including Anwar al Awlaki. The letter also gives the legal justification for those drone strikes. And finally, Williams adds, it discloses the death of an additional U.S. citizen, Jude Kenan Mohammed, who was indicted by a federal grand jury in North Carolina for taking part in a plot to stage a terror attack against US military targets. Speaking of drones, the Feb. 2013 NBC/WSJ poll found that 64% of Americans favored using them to target suspected members of Al Qaeda and other terrorists, while 12% opposed and another 22% didn’t have an opinion. And in a separate question, 42% said the program should be continued, and 28% said it should be changed or modified.

*** The Shield: Turning from national security to the domestic/political controversies hitting the Obama administration, the Washington Post notes what we did yesterday about the IRS story -- that the White House’s top goal was to ensure that Obama had nothing to do with it. “This account of how the White House tried to deal with the IRS inquiry … shows how carefully Obama’s top aides were trying to shield him from any second-term scandal that might swamp his agenda or, worse, jeopardize his presidency.” The Post story also reveals that the White House brought in many of the old hands to manage the P.R. relating to the inspector general’s report. “Late last week, [White House Chief of Staff Denis] McDonough summoned Plouffe and a cadre of former Obama and Clinton advisers — including Stephanie Cutter, Robert Gibbs, Anita Dunn, Paul Begala and Mike McCurry — to the White House for two separate public relations strategy sessions. White House aides said they urged getting out information about the IRS situation as quickly as possible, and provided advice on refocusing attention on Obama’s jobs agenda.”

*** Cruz: “I don’t trust the Republicans”: Here’s something you don’t see every day: A U.S. senator announcing, on the Senate floor, that he doesn’t trust his own party. Of course, in his first few months in office, Ted Cruz isn’t your average senator. “The senior senator from Arizona urged this body to trust the Republicans,” Cruz said, per Politico referring to Sen. John McCain in the debate over whether to go to conference in the budget negotiations. “Let me be clear, I don’t trust the Republicans. I don’t trust the Democrats and I think a whole lot of Americans likewise don’t trust the Republicans or the Democrats because it is leadership in both parties that has got us into this mess.”

*** Scott Walker heads to the Hawkeye State: Meanwhile, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker today travels to Iowa, where he addresses the Polk County, IA GOP dinner that begins at 7:00 pm ET. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Walker could very well be the most significant 2016er on the GOP side that no one is talking about right now. There is A LOT of room for a presidential candidate who hails from outside of Washington.

*** State shopping isn’t the best policy for success: Don’t miss the piece on the “Daily Rundown” site about how politicians who run for office in one state and then another usually don’t have that much success.

*** Happy Memorial Day: Lastly, to get an early start on the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, your morning First Read note won’t be publishing on Friday. We’ll return on Tuesday. Happy Memorial Day!!!

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“President Barack Obama on Thursday is expected to address some of the thornier aspects of national security policy, including drone strikes, the prison at Guantanamo Bay and the dire threats Americans continue to face — even from fellow citizens,” AP writes. “On the eve of the president’s speech at the National Defense University, the Obama administration revealed for the first time that a fourth American citizen had been killed in secretive drone strikes abroad. The killings of three other Americans in counterterror operations since 2009 were known before a letter from Attorney General Eric Holder to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy acknowledged the four deaths.”

As for what Obama will say: “Obama’s speech is expected to reaffirm his national security priorities — from homegrown terrorists to killer drones to the enemy combatants held at the military-run detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — but make no new sweeping policy announcements.”

The New York Times: “President Obama plans to open a new phase in the nation’s long struggle with terrorism on Thursday by restricting the use of unmanned drone strikes that have been at the heart of his national security strategy and shifting control of them away from the C.I.A. to the military.”

Political Wire: “The Obama administration is set to restart transfers of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ‘kick-starting a long-stalled drive to close the prison,’ the Wall Street Journal reports.”

“The economy is recovering, the White House is dealing with multiple controversies, and President Barack Obama appears generally unaffected either way,” AP writes. “Several recent polls show the president sustaining an overall approval rating around 50 percent, with no major uptick from gains in housing, jobs and the stock market, and no downtick from the recent storms over the terror attack in Benghazi, Libya, the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS and a leak investigations that has swept up the phone records of Associated Press journalists. The data suggests the economy could be insulating Obama from the immediate troubles confronting his administration. But it also indicates that while a growing number of those surveyed are more optimistic about the economy, they are evenly split on whether they approve or disapprove of his handling of it.”

Time has Obama prom photos from 1979 when he was 17.

Politico: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is waging an under-the-radar campaign to get his fellow Democrats to back a summertime fight to overhaul the filibuster for executive branch nominees.

Reid is carrying a list of names to target and has met with about two dozen Democrats on the issue thus far, focusing on ‘Old Bull’ senators and skeptics of rules changes, according to senators and aides familiar with the talks.”

More than 100 conservative economists have signed on to a letter urging Congressional leaders to pass comprehensive immigration reform, citing the overhaul's projected impact on economic growth and deficit reduction, per NBC’s Carrie Dann and Ali Weinberg. "Immigration reform’s positive impact on population growth, labor force growth, housing, and other markets will lead to more rapid economic growth," writes the group in a letter spearheaded by former Congressional Budget Office director and  American Action Forum president Douglas Holtz-Eakin. 

“Seven million college students are on track to see their federal loan rates double this year unless Congress acts ahead of a July 1 deadline when subsidized Stafford loan rates will increase from 3.4% to 6.8%,” USA Today writes. “The U.S. House will vote Thursday on a Republican plan to head off the increase inspired by an unlikely source: President Obama. … In his 2014 budget, the president called for tying college loan rates determined by the federal government to market-based interest rates, which is the foundation of a GOP proposal. But that is where the similarities stop, and the partisan divides begin to emerge.”

Amb. Thomas Pickering, who authored the Accountability Review Board investigation into the aftermath of Benghazi, has agreed to a transcribed pre-hearing interview with the House Oversight Committee. Chairman Darrell Issa had wanted a private deposition. Pickering wanted a public hearing.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) thinks HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is like Ollie North, who helped provide arms from Iran to Nicaragua.

National Journal: “In 2000, Ted Cruz was known only as a Texas-raised, Harvard-trained domestic policy adviser to the George W. Bush campaign. … Cruz helped craft the campaign’s immigration policy, which called for speeding up the application process, increasing the number of work visas, and allowing the relatives of permanent residents to visit the U.S. while their applicants were pending.”

More: “The route Cruz chose, from working on the reform-minded Bush campaign to voting against the bill Wednesday as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, confounds some of those who crossed paths with him. His role on the Bush campaign is a lesser-known part of the biography of a politician increasingly viewed as a potential presidential contender in 2016.”

Cruz yesterday said he didn’t “trust Republicans” or Democrats. He wants to hold the line on the debt ceiling.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus thinks there’s a double standard in the Obama administration leak investigations. “Where’s the investigation of the leaks surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden?” he asks in an op-ed in Politico. He contends: “Releasing classified information is, of course, a serious matter. But if preventing leaks is the administration’s chief priority, why do they operate with two different sets of rules? Why do they act differently when leaks are convenient for them or perpetuate a desired narrative or burnish their public image?”

And yet, there was this… The Washington Post: “Federal investigators looking into disclosures of classified information about a cyberoperation that targeted Iran’s nuclear program have increased pressure on current and former senior government officials suspected of involvement, according to people familiar with the investigation.”

COLORADO: Tom Tancredo (R) is going to announce that he’s running for governor today on a conservative talk radio show. Why? The Denver Post: “Tancredo, a Republican, referred to Gov. John Hickenlooper’s decision on Wednesday to grant a temporary reprieve on the execution of death row inmate Nathan Dunlap. Dunlap was convicted of killing four people at an Aurora Chuck E. Cheese in 1993. Several Republicans castigated Hickenlooper on Wednesday for the move that halts Dunlap’s date with death that was scheduled for August.”

PENNSYLVANIA: EMILY’s List has endorsed Allyson Schwartz for governor of Pennsylvania.

At the White House press briefing on Wednesday, Press Secretary Jay Carney announced that President Obama will travel to Oklahoma on Sunday, May 26 to inspect the damage from the tornado that hit the state on Monday.

Carney added that the president will visit with affected families and thank first-responders.