An American pope

Politico

08-05-2025

Presented by The American Council of Life Insurers
THE CATCH-UP
ANOTHER AMERICAN EXPORT: The papal conclave has chosen Robert Prevost to be the next pope — making history as the first American-born pope in the history of the church. Prevost will take the name Pope Leo XIV.
Knowing the new pope: A helpful NYT profile of Prevost, who was at the time considered something of a long shot, writes that he's a 'Chicago-born polyglot who is viewed as a churchman who transcends borders. He served for two decades in Peru, where he became a bishop and a naturalized citizen, then rose to lead his international religious order. He now holds one of the most influential Vatican posts.' His supporters pitched him 'as a balanced alternative' between Pope Francis' 'inclusive agenda or return to a conservative doctrinal path.'
More details from AP: 'Francis brought Prevost, 69, to the Vatican in 2023 to serve as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. As a result, Prevost [had] a prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals have.' But they note that 'there has long been a taboo against a U.S. pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States in the secular sphere.'
Worth noting: Trump endorsed a different American for the post, New York's Timothy Dolan, who has a penchant to make headlines. We have to wonder when the first Truth Social missive will come for Prevost — who directly called out VP JD Vance earlier this year.
THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP: One down … 89 to go?
President Donald Trump this morning announced the framework for his trade deal with the United Kingdom — marking the first such agreement the White House has struck since 'Liberation Day.' The administration noted in early April its intention to hammer out 90 deals in 90 days. You've gotta start somewhere!
Details, details: The nitty-gritty isn't entirely clear at this point, but Trump said the 'final details are being written in the coming weeks,' adding that the deal would provide new market access in the U.K. for American agriculture, chemicals, machinery and other industrial products, POLITICO's Doug Palmer and Ari Hawkins report. 'In exchange, the Trump administration agreed to lower its 25 percent additional tariff on auto and auto parts to 10 percent for the first 100,000 cars entering the U.S., and to eliminate a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum tariffs, according to the U.K.'
Meanwhile, in Europe: The EU 'announced a plan to ramp up the pressure on the United States in hopes of prodding the Trump administration toward serious trade negotiations,' NYT's Jeanna Smialek reports. 'Officials laid out 95 billion euros, or $107 billion, worth of goods that they could target with higher tariffs in retaliation to the duties that the United States has announced or imposed. They also said that the bloc would start a World Trade Organization dispute against the United States on both across-the-board tariffs and on duties on cars and car parts.'
THOM TILLIS GETS RESULTS: Trump told reporters in the Oval Office this morning that he'll withdraw Ed Martin's nomination to be D.C.'s top federal prosecutor after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) noted his opposition to Martin's appointment given his comments about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and his work on behalf of alleged rioters. 'We have somebody else that will be great,' Trump said. 'We have somebody else who we'll be announcing.' But Trump also suggested that Martin could find another slot in the administration. More from POLITICO's Hailey Fuchs
Companion reading: Michael Schaffer's latest Capital City column: 'The Administration That Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioters Is Trying to Jail a Guy Over a Protest Banner'
Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at [e-mail].
7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. BIDEN'S REEMERGENCE: Former President Joe Biden sat down with ABC's 'The View' this morning, giving his first (American) post-presidency interview to a largely friendly panel that has welcomed him on many occasions over the years. The questions weren't all softballs, though: Perhaps the most notable moment — or admission — came when Biden was asked if he 'feels responsible' for Trump's return to power. 'Yes, I do, because, look, I was in charge and he won, so I take responsibility,' Biden said. More from POLITICO's Brakkton Booker
What else he said: Biden also pushed back against the stream of books and reporting that are emerging in the months since he left office that further question his cognitive decline and fitness to serve as president. 'Are the sources wrong?' the panel asked. 'They are wrong. There's nothing to sustain that,' Biden said. Former first lady Jill Biden also chimed in to her husband's defense. 'The people who wrote those books were not in the White House with us.'
Biden said he remains in touch with former VP Kamala Harris 'frequently,' and that the two spoke yesterday. He also indicated that she has sought his opinion on what political direction she should take next. 'I'm not going to tell you what it is,' he said.
2. ANOTHER EXPLOSIVE FETTERMAN STORY: On the day before N.Y. Magazine published a deeply reported piece detailing Sen. John Fetterman's struggles with mental health, the Pennsylvania Democrat was in a meeting with members of a teachers union, where things 'quickly devolved,' AP's Marc Levy reports. 'Before long, Fetterman began repeating himself, shouting and questioning why 'everybody is mad at me,' 'why does everyone hate me, what did I ever do' and slamming his hands on a desk, according to one person who was briefed on what occurred.
Difficult details: 'As the meeting deteriorated, a staff member moved to end it and ushered the visitors into the hallway, where she broke down crying. The staffer was comforted by the teachers who were themselves rattled by Fetterman's behavior, according to a second person who was briefed separately on the meeting.'
3. MEGABILL LATEST: Tensions over Republicans' spending megabill remain, but there's signs that the conference could be moving toward some resolutions as it tees up a set of contentious hearings to finalize key pieces of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.'
Tax season: The House Ways and Means Committee is planning to open up consideration of its portion of the megabill on Tuesday at 2 p.m., POLITICO's Benjamin Guggenheim and Meredith Lee Hill report. 'A House Republican cautioned that the timing could change, especially since the committee is still negotiating over a push by some GOP lawmakers to raise the cap on the state and local tax deduction.'
Buckle in: The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is expected to clear $880 billion in savings for Republicans' megabill, has noticed a markup for its portion of the legislation — also for Tuesday at 2 p.m., per POLITICO's Ben Leonard. This projects to be a knockdown, dragout fight. Dems are expected to offer up a raft of unlikely amendments, particularly related to Medicaid. A GOP spokesperson for the panel said the markup will be continuous with no breaks and could run more than 24 hours.
To wit: Speaker Mike Johnson and E&C Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) told reporters today that Medicaid negotiations are ongoing, POLITICO's Robert King, Meredith and Ben note.
In search of spending cuts: House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) issued a fresh warning this morning that Republicans may have to scale back their plans for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts if they don't come up with more spending cuts than they have so far, which could force a bunch of the tax policies to become temporary, POLITICO's Brian Faler reports.
The farm team: House Republicans want to add $60 billion in farm bill programs to the agriculture portion of the megabill. 'But they'll have to convince several centrist holdouts to vote for a controversial proposal that pushes some food aid costs onto states in order to do it,' POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill reports.
4. ANOTHER FEMA FIGHT: Trump this morning fired acting FEMA chief Cameron Hamilton, 'leaving the nation's disaster agency without a top official three weeks before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season and as Congress scrutinizes FEMA's proposed budget for fiscal 2026,' POLITICO's E&E News' Thomas Frank reports.
The backdrop: The firing comes as a group of bipartisan members in the House is drafting a sweeping bill to overhaul FEMA — and in some cases expand its services — as a way to combat Trump's threats to shrink or abolish the agency altogether, POLITICO's E&E News' Thomas Frank reports. The bill 'would remove FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security and make it an independent agency reporting directly to the president.'
5. IN THE DOGE HOUSE: Even though Elon Musk has stepped back from his federal government work, his DOGE team is 'poised to roll out software to speed layoffs across the U.S. government,' Reuters' Alexandra Alper reports. DOGE's impact is also being felt across the FAA. As Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rolls out a plan to 'replace old communications and tracking equipment with a modern system,' he's doing so 'without key career FAA leaders, who are departing en masse in personnel cuts' led by Musk's team, WaPo's Ian Duncan, Lori Aratani, Hannah Natanson and Daniel Gilbert report.
6. WAR IN UKRAINE: Russia is 'undertaking a major factory expansion in remote Siberia to ramp up production of a powerful explosive used in artillery shells and other munitions in the war in Ukraine,' Reuters' Maria Tsvetkova, Polina Nikolskaya, Anton Zverev and Ryan McNeill report through a review of publicly available state documents and satellite imagery. Reuters also reports that officials from Moscow and Washington have 'held discussions about the U.S. helping to revive Russian gas sales to the continent.'
Meanwhile in Kyiv: Ukrainian lawmakers today 'overwhelmingly voted to ratify a U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal signed on April 30 in a show of support for a closer relationship with Washington, even as a Russian-declared ceasefire failed to halt fighting in Moscow's three-year-old war on Ukraine,' WaPo's Isobel Koshiw, Kostiantyn Khudov and Natalia Abbakumova report.
Dance of the superpowers: 'Putin and Xi Rebuke U.S. and Vow to Strengthen Ties,' by NYT's Paul Sonne and David Pierson
7. TALES FROM THE CRYPTO: 'Small-time Trump coin buyers have seen their investments collapse,' by WaPo's Drew Harwell and Jeremy Merrill: 'At least 67,000 new or small-time crypto investors … have bet on Trump's meme coin, pouring $15 million into the volatile venture endorsed by Trump and benefiting his personal wealth, a Washington Post analysis found. But virtually all of them bought near the coin's peak, just before the inauguration, and 80 percent of them have seen the value of their holdings nosedive, The Post's analysis shows. One buyer who spent $10,000 has already lost, on paper, more than $8,000.'
TALK OF THE TOWN
IN MEMORIAM — 'John S. Foster Jr., Pentagon scientist who developed warheads, dies at 102,' by WaPo's Harrison Smith: 'John S. Foster Jr., a physicist who helped develop the U.S. nuclear arsenal and shaped national security in the Johnson and Nixon administrations, guiding billions of dollars in research and development as a top Defense Department official, died April 25 at his home in Santa Barbara, California. He was 102.'
PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — 'Most D.C. residents favor using city funds on a new NFL stadium, poll finds,' by WaPo's Nicki Jhabvala, Jenny Gathright, Emily Guskin and Scott Clement
OUT AND ABOUT — GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik and Head of Global Government Affairs Roger Martella hosted an opening party last night in its offices in the National Safety Deposit Company Building. National Interest's Steve Clemons moderated a conversation with CEO Scott Strazik, Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) and S&P Global's Daniel Yergin. SPOTTED: Heather Reams, Geoff Pyatt, Jeremy Harrell, Lisa Epifani, Landon Darentz, Marty Durbin, Peter Greenberger, David Hill, Billy Pizer, Matt Sonnesyn, Joseph Majkut, Jason Grumet, Lyndsey Merrill, Meg Platt, Matt Armstrong, Justin Siberell, Melissa Mueller, Catrina Rorke, Ryan Costello, Carol Berrigan and Garrett Mueller.
— The Travel Technology Association yesterday hosted its inaugural Start-Up Summit and second annual 'Policy & Innovation Showcase' on the Hill, honoring Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) with the 'Innovation Leadership Award.' SPOTTED: Reps. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) and Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Jeremy Marcus, Michael Dunn, Jaxson Dealy, Kim Graber, Laura Chadwick, Brandon Palumbo, Becky Foley, Meg Kane, Eben Peck, Lara Tennyson, Caitlin Brosseau, Emmett O'Keefe, Margaret Kim, Nathan Rotman, Monica Glassman, Kyle Kraft, Tomasz Pawliszyn, Eric Napoli, Branda Fan, Cara Whitehill, Brad Williamson, Andrea O'Neal, Tommy Kaelin, Elizabeth Frazee and Greg Barnes.
MEDIA MOVE — Aaron Blake is joining CNN as a senior reporter. He previously was a senior reporter at WaPo. The announcement
TRANSITION — Annaleigh Mills is now data and insights director at ROKK Solutions. She previously was research manager with APCO's AI & Intelligence division.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Caroline Simmons, the mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, and Art Linares, CEO of Rodeo Cannabis Co., on April 28 welcomed Lily Elizabeth Linares, who joins Teddy (6), Jack (4) and William (3). Pic
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