Don't rain on my parade

Politico

4 days ago

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Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond.
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President DONALD TRUMP has a message for anyone thinking of spoiling his military parade on Saturday: Don't.
'If there's any protester who wants to come out, they will be met with very big force,' the president said during an impromptu Oval Office press conference today. 'I haven't even heard about a protest, but [there are] people that hate our country.'
Trump's threat carries additional weight with some 700 Marines and thousands of National Guard troops on the streets of Los Angeles clashing with protesters of his immigration agenda.
It also highlights how important the parade — the first of its kind in at least a generation — is to Trump and how its unprecedented nature is affecting not only Washington, but the larger resistance to Trump's presidency.
Locally, as barricades went up around the White House and law enforcement readied more than 100 metal detectors and multiple drones, officials said they were tracking a handful of demonstrations planned for Saturday. But they 'don't have any significant concerns,' JESSICA TAYLOR, chief of the U.S. Park Police, told reporters earlier this week.
'As far as the First Amendment activity from a Secret Service perspective, it's simply people using their First Amendment right to protest. We're not going to do anything with that,' said MATT McCOOL, the agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service's Washington office. 'But if that turns violent or if any laws are broken, that's when [Metro Police], Park Police, Secret Service will get involved, and that will be handled swiftly.'
The military parade, which coincides with the Army's 250th — and Trump's 79th — birthday, is expected to inspire large 'No Kings' protests around the country.
Read the full story here.
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POTUS PUZZLER
Which first lady was passionate about historic preservation and helped establish the White House Endowment Trust?
(Answer at bottom.)
Knives Out
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN': The Trump administration is considering pulling federal education funds to California amid Trump's feud with Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM over the president's deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles to stop immigration protests, our REBECCA CARBALLO, JUAN PEREZ JR. and ERIC HE report.
The Education Department may stop the disbursement of 'formula funds,' which are awards based on a formula created by Congress, according to an administration official. A final decision has not been reached, and there is some uncertainty over the department's ability to pull funding that is not directly connected to the California Department of Education.
'No taxpayer should be forced to fund the demise of our country, and that's what California is doing through its lunatic anti-energy, soft-on-crime, pro-child mutilation and pro-sanctuary policies,' said KUSH DESAI, a White House spokesperson. 'The Trump administration is committed to ending this nightmare and restoring the California Dream.'
Agenda Setting
RAMPING IT UP: The Trump administration is planning to send thousands of undocumented migrants to Guantanamo Bay this week, with at least 9,000 people being vetted for transfer, according to documents obtained by our NAHAL TOOSI and MYAH WARD. It would be a dramatic escalation from the roughly 500 migrants who have been held for short periods at the base since February and a major step toward realizing the president's plan to use the facility to house as many as 30,000 migrants.
WHO'S UP? With ELON MUSK and his right-hand man STEVE DAVIS largely out of the fold, the question of who will lead DOGE is underway, NYT's THEODORE SCHLEIFER, KATE CONGER and NICHOLAS NEHAMAS report. In the first few days after Musk's departure, the search centered around fellow billionaire JOE GEBBIA, one of Musk's close friends and a board member at Tesla. Gebbia, who co-founded Airbnb, joined DOGE in February, but has told others he's not interested in leading the effort alone due to the intense scrutiny.
The plan is for a small council of advisers, including Gabbia, to oversee DOGE. Investment banker ANTHONY ARMSTRONG, another DOGE veteran, could join this leadership group, the Times reports.
ALL ABOUT DOGE: The new head of the Social Security Administration plans to utilize DOGE, including deploying DOGE staffers to help SSA personnel revamp customer service to rely more on tech and AI, WSJ's ANNE TERGESEN reports.
'I look at them as a resource to help me,' said FRANK BISIGNANO, who has described himself as 'fundamentally a DOGE person,' in an interview which took place after Musk's exit from DOGE but before his social media feud with Trump.
HOLD IT RIGHT THERE: The Trump administration, with OMB Director RUSS VOUGHT leading the charge, is working on a new effort to both weaken Congress' grip on the federal budget and freeze billions of dollars in spending at several government agencies, POLITICO's E&E News' SCOTT WALDMAN and CORBIN HIAR report. Last week, Vought's office directed several agencies, including EPA, the Interior and HHS, as well as the National Science Foundation, to freeze upward of $30 billion in spending on a variety of programs.
OMB's targets include NSF research and education programs that operate using funding leftover from 2024, as well as tens of millions of dollars for national park operations. It also looks at cutting more than $100 million in science spending at NASA, which includes climate research.
HEAR US OUT: Days before HHS Secretary ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. fired all 17 members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee on Monday, agency officials began circulating a document on Capitol Hill explaining its decision to remove the Covid-19 vaccine recommendation for pregnant women, our SOPHIE GARDNER and LAUREN GARDNER report.
The document says that studies have shown that women who got the vaccine during pregnancy had higher rates of various complications, including 'higher rates of fetal loss if vaccination was received before 20 weeks of pregnancy.'
But Dr. MARIA P. VELEZ, a professor at McGill University and lead author of one of the studies, told POLITICO that 'the results of our manuscript were misinterpreted' and that researchers found 'no association between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and an increased risk of miscarriage.'
Musk Radar
BEEN WATCHING YOU: Several government agencies, including DHS and DOJ, in 2022 and 2023 tracked foreign nationals coming and going from Musk's properties, WSJ's DANA MATTIOLI, MICHELLE HACKMAN, JOSH DAWSEY and EMILY GLAZER report. The investigation focused on people visiting Musk from Eastern European countries and elsewhere who may have been trying to influence him.
No charges were brought from the investigation, the current status of which is unclear.
WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT
ON HIS OWN TERMS: A Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission who refused to accept his March firing by the president has resigned from his post, our ALFRED NG reports. ALVARO BEDOYA submitted his resignation letter to the White House on Monday, saying he is immediately stepping down. It comes months after Trump fired him and fellow Democratic Commissioner REBECCA KELLY SLAUGHTER.
Both commissioners sued to overturn their dismissal in federal court, arguing Trump fired them for political reasons. Bedoya said he will continue to pursue the case.
What We're Reading
Inside the MAGA vs. hawk battle to sway Trump on bombing Iran (POLITICO's Rachael Bade and Felicia Schwartz)
The White House Marching Orders That Sparked the L.A. Migrant Crackdown (WSJ's Elizabeth Findell, Ruth Simon, Michelle Hackman and Tarini Parti)
Rural Republicans used to back NPR. Then MAGA changed everything. (WaPo's Patrick Marley)
Opinion | Musk and Trump's Social-Media Fight Reveals How Power Works Today (Virginia Heffernan for POLITICO Magazine)
In Trump's 'Patriotic' Hiring Plan, Experts See a Politicized Federal Work Force (NYT's Eileen Sullivan)
POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER
First lady BARBARA BUSH was passionate about historic preservation. She helped establish the White House Endowment Trust and revived the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, which worked to preserve the rooms of the White House, according to The White House Historical Association.
To learn more about the life and legacy of Barbara Bush, listen to the White House Historical Association's new podcast episode 'The Tradition of First Lady Forever Stamps: Barbara Bush.'