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Politico
a day ago
- Business
- Politico
Playbook PM: Trump and Paul spar over megabill
Presented by THE CATCH-UP It's crunch time for the Senate GOP this week as the conference rushes to advance President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending package through the reconciliation process. Staring down a July Fourth deadline, the president this morning ramped up his pressure campaign by jumping into a war of words with fiscal hawk Rand Paul. Paul is standing firm in his opposition to the GOP megabill because of its impact on the national debt, the Kentucky senator told CNBC this morning, adding that raising the debt ceiling is 'not conservative.' Shortly after the show, the president took to Truth Social to lambast Paul. What he said: 'Rand Paul has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming,' Trump wrote. He added later: 'Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas. His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can't stand him. This is a BIG GROWTH BILL!' Paul said he was 'open to voting' for the package and is willing to compromise 'as much as I can.' But he is 'not going to take responsibility for the debt,' he cautioned, predicting that the issue will be owned by the Republicans' if it goes through. 'I think that's a big mistake.' And he's not the only one. Paul claims that there are enough deficit hawks who can block the bill in the Senate. Shortly after Trump's posts, Paul shared a Fox News article on X, writing 'I want to see the tax cuts made permanent, but I also want to see the $5 trillion in new debt removed from the bill. At least 4 of us in the Senate feel this way.' He told CNBC that 'four people with courage can make the bill into anything that we want to.' Still, leaders are projecting cautious optimism. Senate Majority Leader John Thune insisted on Fox News Radio that the chamber was on the right track to push the package through — but added the party needs 'to have [Trump] fully engaged with senators as we go through the next few weeks.' Expect more tensions to bubble up tomorrow, with Senate Republicans set to hold a meeting to discuss their reconciliation strategy, per POLITICO's Jordain Carney. 'The meeting will give GOP senators a chance to quiz committee chairs on their forthcoming pieces of the megabill and talk through unresolved issues.' Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@ 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: TikTok users rejoice … for now … again. Trump is set to sign yet another 90-day extension allowing the popular social platform to continue operations in the U.S., 'as the future of the Chinese short-video app get enmeshed in the trade US-Chinese trade talks and will likely be used as leverage by the Chinese in crafting a deal,' Fox Business' Charles Gasparino scoops. There is still the potential for the extension to be a short-lived maneuver if Trump 'sees a strategic advantage in crafting a deal by letting it go dark,' Gasparino notes. The current extension for TikTok's operations was set to expire June 19. Call it what you want: Meanwhile, Trump is 'obsessed' with scheduling a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, 'convinced he can personally hash out deep-seated divisions between the world's two largest economies,' POLITICO's Phelim Kine and colleagues report. But there's doubt that a call would move the needle and improve trade relations. 'Other outside observers remain skeptical Trump will actually be able to get Xi on the phone.' 2. BARAKA HITS BACK: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is suing the Trump administration for 'malicious prosecution' following his arrest — and subsequent dismissal — of trespassing charges earlier this month when touring an immigration detention facility, POLITICO's Madison Fernandez and colleagues report. Baraka's attorneys claim interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba 'directed and ratified' his arrest unlawfully and acted as a ''political operative,' defaming him in inflammatory statements on social media and in TV interviews.' Read the filing 3. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has set a Sept. 9 special election to fill the seat of the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, POLITICO's Gigi Ewing reports. 'Virginia's 11th district is deep blue and will almost assuredly elect another Democrat.' Virginia's contest will kick off a series of special elections to replace late Democratic members this fall: Arizonans will vote on a successor for Rep. Raúl Grijalva on Sept. 23, and Texans will pick a replacement for Rep. Sylvester Turner on Nov. 4. 4. RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST: Russia and Ukraine's second round of talks yesterday failed to make progress toward ending the grueling three-year war, in part, Ukrainian officials say, because of the Kremlin's 'no compromise' demands for Kyiv, NBC's Keir Simmons and Alexander Smith report. Russian President Vladimir Putin's demands read like 'less of a peace plan and more a demand for Ukraine to surrender, defang its military and become a vassal of Moscow.' Putin calls for Ukraine to downsize its army, agree to a 'neutral status' between Russia and the West, make Russian an official language, and ban the 'glorification or promotion of Nazism.' 5. OFF TO THE MARKET: Amid a wide-ranging economic uncertainty, new numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show demand for workers nationwide remains high. The latest openings and turnover report shows that the number of available jobs in the U.S. unexpectedly rose this month, totaling an estimated 7.39 million at the end of April — up from 7.2 million in March. What it all means: The surprisingly positive numbers 'support the Federal Reserve's assertion that the job market is in a good place. However, it's taking longer for those who are out of a job to find work, and economists expect the labor market to weaken more notably in coming months,' amid Trump's tariff threats, Bloomberg's Jarrell Dillard reports. The next major economic reading will come with Friday's May jobs report. 6. SCOTUS WATCH: Trump has long complained about the efficacy of the Supreme Court. But behind closed doors, the president has also been airing grievances about the justices he appointed, particularly Justice Amy Coney Barrett, CNN's Kristen Holmes and John Fritze reports. Trump's allies have convinced him Barrett is 'weak' and her 'rulings have not been in line with how she presented herself' during her 2020 confirmation. Some Trump allies say 'Barrett's rulings might have been shaped by menacing behavior and threats of violence directed at her family.' In response, 'Trump has asked advisers and allies if they think Barrett needs more security,' per CNN. And Trump 'insists he does not want to attack her publicly.' 7. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's aid delivery program in Gaza has gotten off to a tumultuous start, with humanitarian groups denouncing the project and allegations that the Israeli military has shot into crowds in line for aid. Now, WaPo's Karen DeYoung and Cate Brown report that the U.S. consulting group that helped design the effort has abandoned the program entirely — leaving its future uncertain. Today, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said that it was investigating a shooting near a GHF site that resulted in an estimated 27 casualties, in which Israeli troops fired on what they said were 'several suspects … deviating from the designated access routes,' per CNN. 'Tuesday's incident marks the third day in a row that people have been killed on their way to the GHF distribution point west of Rafah while attempting to secure food.' 8. SOUTH KOREA'S NEW LEADER: After years of political tumult, South Korea has elected center-left Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung as its next president. Conservative candidate Kim Moon-soo officially conceded defeat this afternoon and congratulated Lee for the win — with 48.3% of the vote and 80% of the votes counted, per Bloomberg. In his acceptance speech, Lee didn't address 'how he would handle relations with Washington, an especially pressing issue as tariff negotiations with the Trump administration are a priority for South Korea's export-reliant economy.' TALK OF THE TOWN Darren Beattie has stirred up concerns inside the State Department over his pro-Russian views and marriage to a Russian woman 'whose uncle has taken several roles in Russian politics and once received a personal 'thank you' message from Vladimir Putin,' per The Telegraph. THE ARTS IMPACT — Kennedy Center subscription sales have dropped by roughly $1.6 million or 36 percent from last year, with ticket packages taking a major hit across every programming genre following Trump's takeover of the storied institution, WaPo's Travis Andrews scoops. SOMETHING TO TACO ABOUT — The DNC is renting a taco truck deploying the 'Trump Always Chickens Out' slogan parked outside of the RNC HQ, per Axios. The truck features a 'graphic of Trump in a chicken suit' and is serving free tacos until 2 p.m. VP JD Vance was quick to respond on X: 'We have the lamest opposition in American history.' PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — 'Dupont Circle Park to remain open during Pride, council members say,' per WaPo: 'A plan to bar people from celebrating Pride in the park at Dupont Circle this weekend has been canceled following pushback from local elected officials, according to two D.C. council members. The change comes less than 24 hours after the closing was announced by the National Park Service Monday evening. The park is at the center of Washington's historic LGBTQ+ neighborhood, and an announcement by the Park Police that it would be closed during this weekend's WorldPride parade and parties was another blow to a celebration that has gotten off to a rocky start.' MEDIA MOVE — Nancy Vu is now a congressional reporter at National Journal. She previously was a health reporter at Bloomberg Government and is a Washington Examiner and POLITICO alum. TRANSITIONS — Bryan Moose is now a legislative assistant at the ACLU's National Political Advocacy Department. He previously was a deputy White House liaison at HUD under Bidden and is a Bobby Scott alum. … GuidePost Strategies has added Kate Beaulieu and Alex Large as principals, Pam Kinsey as senior adviser, Hailey Womer as director of research, Luke Midura and Tim Frei as associates and Mya Steir as an administrative assistant. … … The American Humanist Association has added Amitai Heller as legal director. Rachel Deitch has also rejoined the organization and the Center for Freethought Equality as policy and political director. Heller previously was senior staff attorney at Compassion & Choices. Deitch previously was federal policy director for the National Coalition of STD Directors. … Dean Hingson is now a partner at Farragut Partners. He previously was a principal at Mehlman consulting and is a Dan Coats, Judd Gregg and Elizabeth Dole alum. … Rita Baranwal is now chief nuclear officer at Radiant Nuclear. She most recently was SVP of Westinghouse's AP300 small modular reactor program and is a DOE alum. WEEKEND WEDDING — Alexandra Dakich, an associate at Cravath, Swaine and Moore LLP and a Pete Buttigieg 2020 campaign alum, and Nick Izzard, strategic finance senior manager at ZocDoc got married on Saturday at Newfields in Indianapolis. The couple met in college at Vanderbilt University. Pic Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
Politico
5 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Playbook PM: Trump puts China on notice again
Presented by THE CATCH-UP Tensions between Washington and China are boiling over once again after President Donald Trump accused the country of breaking its trade agreement with Washington in a fiery Truth Social post this morning. What Trump said: 'I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn't want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized,' Trump wrote. China 'HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!' The view from Washington: When asked about China's post-deal restrictions, USTR Jamieson Greer told CNBC that 'this has been something that we've been discussing' since meeting with China on the truce. 'The Chinese are slowrolling their compliance, which is completely unacceptable,' Greer said. Greer also stayed on message when asked whether Trump would be granted emergency relief from the Supreme Court to overturn yesterday's major legal ruling that blocked the president from enacting tariffs. 'I think we have a very strong case,' Greer said. 'All the other countries I'm dealing with in negotiations are dealing with this like a bump in the road rather than a fundamental change.' The view from Wall Street: The market remains uncertain. Stocks went tumbling in response to Trump's morning message on China, as anxiety-riddled investors brace for the next steps in the president's volatile trade war — and the legal complexities involved. By the numbers: This morning, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all dropped, per CNN. Though the series of legal rulings this week against Trump's tariff powers briefly boosted the markets, 'that rally lost steam as traders bet the White House would aggressively appeal and pursue another legal strategy.' Despite the White House's comments to the contrary, global leaders from Japan, India, Canada and other nations remain unsure how to interpret the legal blockade of Trump's executive power, WaPo reports. 'In more than a dozen negotiations with the United States, the threat of blanket tariffs as a pressure tactic may have been blunted almost as quickly as it was deployed. No one seems to know for sure.' The backdrop: New estimates from the Commerce Department show that the April trade deficit was nearly half its size compared to March, 'driven by a nearly 20 percent drop in imports,' POLITICO's Victoria Guida reports. 'The numbers are a sign that Trump's policies may be chipping away at the global trade deficit … And tariffs were not yet pushing prices higher for consumers in April, in a boon for Trump.' Legal limbo: 'Courts to Trump: You can't teach old laws new tricks,' by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney: 'The rulings against Trump's tariffs are the latest pushback from courts as the president seeks to harness emergency powers under seldom-used statutes.' HAPPENING SOON — Trump and Elon Musk are set to hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m following Musk's Wednesday announcement that he's officially departing the administration. Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@ 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court delivered Trump a major victory today, granting the administration the authority to deport around 500,000 Haitian, Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan immigrants who legally entered the U.S. under Biden-era 'human parole' programs, POLITICO's Josh Gerstein reports. The high court's one-paragraph order overturned a district judge's previous decision to halt the administration's bulk cancellation of the programs without an explanation of the legal reasoning. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented in the order, with Jackson writing that the cancellations will 'facilitate needless human suffering' and inflict 'devastation' on the migrants affected. Initiated under President Joe Biden in 2022, the programs were initially designed to allow migrants to live and work in the United States while their immigration cases played out in the federal system. Though Republicans have harped against the programs for years, ending the legal status of these migrants could be politically fraught, Josh writes. 'Thousands of parole recipients have settled in Florida, where the Cuban community has long been politically influential and Venezuelan and Haitian communities are increasingly courted by Democratic and Republican candidates.' 2. IMMIGRATION FILES: Previously unreported DHS records show that Trump administration officials knew that more than half of the 238 Venezuelan immigrants it sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador earlier this year were labeled as having no criminal record in the U.S. and had only violated immigration laws, a new ProPublica and Texas Tribune investigation found. The details: Though Trump and his allies have touted the deportations as a way to rid the U.S. of 'the worst of the worst,' a review of records shows that 'only 32 of the deportees had been convicted of U.S. crimes and that most were nonviolent offenses, such as retail theft or traffic violations.' In a hefty case-by-case review of all of the Venezuelan deportees, the team found that just six had been convicted of violent crimes in the U.S., while more than half were not listed to have 'any criminal convictions or pending charges.' As for foreign offenses, a review of court and police records 'found evidence of arrests or convictions for 20 of the 238 men.' The response: 'DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin largely repeated previous public statements. She insisted, without providing evidence, that the deportees were dangerous, saying, 'These individuals categorized as 'non-criminals' are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gang members and more — they just don't have a rap sheet in the U.S.'' 3. SCHOOL DAZE: The White House convened a group of officials across federal agencies to come up with 'additional punitive measures' aimed at Harvard University after a federal judge blocked the president's attempt to prevent the institution from enrolling international students, POLITICO's Sophia Cai and Megan Messerly report. 'The administration official said that forthcoming actions are expected from the State, Treasury, Health and Human Services and Justice departments, among others, and could happen as early as next month. … But with the low-hanging policy options already underway, the administration knows it will need to get more creative to keep squeezing the school.' 4. MUSK READ: As a major Trump surrogate in the 2024 presidential campaign, Musk's intense drug consumption was a poorly kept secret amongst staff and friends, NYT's Kirsten Grind and Megan Twohey report in a buzzy new piece. The tech billionaire reportedly 'told people he was taking so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of chronic use. He took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. And he traveled with a daily medication box that held about 20 pills, including ones with the markings of the stimulant Adderall.' While it's unclear if Musk continued his drug use after being appointed to head up the Department of Government Efficiency, 'he has exhibited erratic behavior, insulting cabinet members, gesturing like a Nazi and garbling his answers in a staged interview.' At the same time, his chronic mood swings, and tumultuous family life — including his 'fixation to have more children' — have worried longtime friends and 'some women are challenging Mr. Musk for control of their children.' 5. IN THE DOGE PILE: The Trump administration has proceeded with rolling back a host of Biden-era regulations, with DOGE claiming the reversals will save customers billions of dollars. But experts say 'many of those regulatory reversals will actually pile more costs on to individual Americans in the form of higher bank fees, electric and water bills, and health insurance payments,' NYT's Coral Davenport and Stacy Cowley report. Though the department touts big savings for Americans in statistics on its website, experts also 'said many of DOGE's numbers appeared to be plucked from nowhere.' 6. THE NEW TOOL BOX: After pushing for a federal data sharing program earlier this year, Trump has quietly tapped tech giant Palantir — which has extensive ties to Musk's DOGE team and Peter Thiel — to embed its products into the federal government and potentially merge the private data of Americans across various agencies, NYT's Sheera Frenkel and Aaron Krolik report. The effort 'has put a key Palantir product called Foundry into at least four federal agencies, including D.H.S. and the Health and Human Services Department.' Some current and former Palantir employees are trying to provide cover for the company, 'saying any decisions about a merged database of personal information rest with Mr. Trump and not the firm.' 7. ONES TO WATCH: POLITICO's Adam Wren is out with a pair of stories examining some major political maneuvering ahead of both the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential election: TALK OF THE TOWN Joni Ernst is facing backlash over a flippant comment during a town hall when discussing the GOP's reconciliation package. After an audience member yelled out that 'people are going to die' as a result of cuts to Medicaid and SNAP cuts, the Iowa GOP senator responded: 'Well, we all are going to die.' Watch the interaction OUT AND ABOUT — The John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation hosted their Good Trouble Gala last night in Atlanta, Georgia. The event honored Lonnie Bunch with the John Lewis Carry On Award and Billye Aaron with the Lillian Miles Lewis Luminary Award. SPOTTED: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Reps. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) and Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Andrew Young, Shirley Franklin, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Michael Collins, Detria Austin Everson, Chris Womack, Jason Carter, Tharon Johnson, John Miles-Lewis, Sheyann Webb-Christburg, Cheryl Johnson, Karyn Greer, April Jones-Barnett, Rachelle O'Neil, Myra Dandridge, Tasha Cole, Candice Franklin and Robert Traynham. — SPOTTED last night at the Niskanen Center's 10-year anniversary celebration at Planet Word: Rebekah Rodriguez, Will Poff-Webster, Bill Kristol, Molly Ball, Catrina Rorke, Tim Carney, Jonathan Chait, Doris Meissner, Jorge Lima and Kevin Ring. TRANSITIONS — Sam Alleman is now director of coalitions for the Human Rights Campaign. He previously was national LGBTQ+ engagement director for the Harris campaign and is a DNC and Planned Parenthood Action Fund alum. … Jordan Brewer is joining the State Department as special adviser in the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. He previously was manager of government affairs at the Cato Institute. … Matthew Creegan will be director of media relations at General Motors. He previously was head of executive comms at the Ford Foundation. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: An earlier version of Playbook PM misstated the nickname for Michigan. It is the Wolverine State.
Politico
7 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Playbook PM: Trump's looming Russia decision
Presented by THE CATCH-UP FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE: President Donald Trump may be growing increasingly fed up with Russian President Vladimir Putin's battlefield intransigence, but Moscow isn't backing down. 'Playing with fire': After Trump's latest Truth Social warning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today maintained that Russia has to prioritize 'its own national interests' over anything else, per Reuters. Peskov said Russia was 'grateful for the mediation efforts of President Trump personally' to end its war on Ukraine. But Moscow doesn't sound at all close to a peace deal. Behind the scenes: What would it take for Putin to actually end his invasion? He wants a written vow from Western leaders that they won't expand NATO to the east (i.e. Ukraine and more), Reuters reports. Putin would also demand the end of some sanctions on Russia, Ukrainian neutrality and safeguards for the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine. And then, of course, there's his insistence on retaining the four regions of Ukraine his troops have occupied. 'Putin is ready to make peace but not at any price,' one top Russian official says. The big question for Trump: The president is reportedly facing a major decision on whether the U.S. will crack down on Russia, pressuring it to the negotiating table. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today that when he met with Trump at the Vatican last month, Trump 'supported that if Russia does not stop, there will be sanctions,' per WaPo. And German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who met with Zelenskyy today, said the Europeans are engaged in serious talks with the U.S. about new sanctions on Russia. What the president is thinking: In the Oval Office, Trump expressed disappointment at the recent Russian assault and said he expects to know within roughly two weeks how serious Putin is about a ceasefire — or if he's stringing the U.S. along. 'And if he is, we'll respond a little bit differently,' Trump said. (As reporters have noted, Trump also offered the two-week timeline in April and nine days ago.) Asked about sitting down with Putin and Zelenskyy as the Ukrainian leader has proposed, Trump added, 'I will if it's necessary.' Also notable: Trump continued to sound an encouraging note on talks with Iran, saying that 'we're going to see something very sensible.' And he confirmed that he'd asked Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu not to strike Iranian nuclear facilities: 'I told him this would be inappropriate to do right now, because we're very close to a solution.' Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@ 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. THE CUTS: After months of anticipation, the White House plans to send a small rescissions package to Congress next week, seeking to formalize an early fraction of the Department of Government Efficiency's cuts, POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill and Jennifer Scholtes report. The bill is expected to center on two favorite GOP targets: funding for NPR, PBS and USAID. That follows recent criticism by Elon Musk of Republicans' reconciliation bill, which has prompted growing MAGA calls for the GOP to cut spending more, including by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Speaker Mike Johnson today publicly applauded DOGE and said the House was 'eager and ready' to act on rescissions. But but but: The rescissions bill's future in Congress, where many Republicans have demanded the clawbacks for a while but moderates could balk, is uncertain. The savings — $9.4 billion, per NOTUS' Daniella Diaz and Reese Gorman — would be a drop in the bucket of federal spending. The latest cuts: The administration is expected to dismantle Voice of America as early as today, laying off the 800 staffers who are still at the agency, POLITICO's Ben Johansen scooped. The nonpartisan network, which for 80 years has worked to provide journalism and news in countries without the free flow of information, has been dark for two months after facing attacks from Trump, who has labeled it as biased. Staggering toll: Despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio's contention that USAID cuts haven't killed anyone, NPR's Gabrielle Emanuel reports that indeed, 'people have died as a result of aid cuts.' She talks to one Nigerian family that lost a 7-year-old with sickle-cell disease when a USAID-funded clinic they relied on temporarily closed. That follows similar reporting on deaths in Myanmar and South Sudan. Though NPR notes that 'it is very hard to pin down precise numbers,' one research study estimates roughly that close to 300,000 people have died from the foreign aid cuts. Rubio has said that is entirely inaccurate. Four Pinocchios: Rubio's claims in Congress last week earned a brutal fact-check from WaPo's Glenn Kessler, which digs into the assumptions behind the Boston University model and the chaos wreaked by the administration's abrupt shuttering of foreign aid. 'One might quibble over whether tens of thousands — or hundreds of thousands — have died. But you can't call it a lie.' 2. DEPORTATION DIGEST: In April, the Trump administration finally started to deport more people than Joe Biden's administration did the year prior, as the machinery of stepped-up immigration enforcement whirs into gear, NBC's Julia Ainsley and Laura Strickler scooped. ICE deported more than 17,200 people last month, significantly higher than in February and March. But that number is still far short of Trump's deportation goals — and even the pace set by Barack Obama in 2013. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and especially Stephen Miller excoriated immigration officials over the pace of arrests last week, ordering them to hit 3,000 daily, Axios' Brittany Gibson and Stef Kight scooped. The fallout: Increased deportations give a lift to Winnifeld, Louisiana, home of a major ICE detention facility, where the ancillary economic benefits have won over many locals, WaPo's Molly Hennessy-Fiske reports. But in Asheville, North Carolina, the end of temporary legal protections for Nicaraguans and Ukrainians could hamstring the workforce of one of only two companies that make U.S. military parachutes, WSJ's Ruth Simon reports. 3. FIT FOR A PRINCE: 'A Desperate Haiti Turns to Erik Prince, Trump Ally, in Fight Against Gangs,' by NYT's David Adams and colleagues: 'Erik Prince, a private military contractor and prominent supporter of President Trump, is working with Haiti's government … Mr. Prince's team has been operating the drones since March, but the authorities have yet to announce the death or capture of a single high-value target. … Mr. Prince has also been scouting Haitian American military veterans to hire to send to Port-au-Prince and is expected to send up to 150 mercenaries to Haiti over the summer. He recently shipped a large cache of weapons … [O]fficials and civilians alike say they are eager for any overseas help.' 4. TRAIL MIX: Democrat Stefany Shaheen jumped into the open race for New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District, WMUR-TV's Adam Sexton scooped. The daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and a former Portsmouth city councillor, she emphasized health care in her launch. She may face a heated primary against Maura Sullivan. … The White House's Morgan Murphy is 'strongly considering' a bid for the Alabama Senate seat vacated by GOP incumbent Tommy Tuberville, The Daily Caller's Reagan Reese scooped. He's a former Tuberville staffer who crafted the senator's 2023 blockade on Pentagon promotions over abortion. 5. THE NEW INSPECTORS GENERAL: 'Trump oversight picks include scandal-hit ex-lawmaker, antiabortion lawyer,' by WaPo's Meryl Kornfield and Lisa Rein: 'Trump has named six replacements in recent weeks, including three with clearly partisan backgrounds. Two of those have controversial histories and two have ties to the agency they would be responsible for investigating. … But critics of Trump's shake-up say several of those nominated seem to fit one requirement: Loyalty to the White House.' 6. CAPITULATION CORNER: Paramount chair Shari Redstone is close to a decision 'any day now' on reaching a settlement with Trump in his lawsuit against CBS' '60 Minutes,' the N.Y. Post's Charlie Gasparino reports. But Paramount's board is struggling with what to do — and examining whether striking the deal could expose them to charges of bribery that wouldn't be covered by their insurance, as the company hopes to get its Skydance deal approved. There's also concern about potential civil or criminal charges, or congressional Democrats investigating. 'Redstone's decision is said to be imminent and she has told people it is her preference to settle the matter and move on with her life.' 7. SPY GAMES: 'CIA chief faces stiff test in bid to revitalize human spying,' by WaPo's Warren Strobel and Ellen Nakashima: '[A] pair of Hollywood-quality videos that play on divisions within President Xi Jinping's government … are part of a new CIA strategy for recruiting potential foreign agents from afar. It's a strategy that has already borne some fruit in Russia … The CIA needs more spies. The traditional tactics of human espionage, increasingly, are not working … The CIA's success in recruiting foreigners to share vital secrets with the United States has declined sharply in recent years.' TALK OF THE TOWN Cory Booker is quickly turning his record-breaking 25-hour Senate floor speech into a book, 'Stand,' which will come out Nov. 11. Nancy Mace's former staffers say she had them create burner accounts to defend her on social media. Alex Padilla and Tim Sheehy are the Senate's new odd couple, bonding over wildfire legislation, their families, margaritas and Modelos. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — 'Vietnam vets' annual ceremony relocated from D.C. due to Army parade,' by WaPo's Olivia George: 'After discussing logistics with the U.S. Secret Service, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which hosts the ceremony, decided to move the event from the memorial six miles south to Alexandria. … [That] has stirred grief, sadness and anger among … some of the loved ones.' TRANSITIONS — Emily Domenech has been tapped to lead the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, signaling that the body will take a more 'assertive role,' POLITICO's Josh Siegel scooped for Pros. She most recently was an SVP at Boundary Stone Partners, and is a Mike Johnson and Kevin McCarthy alum. … Matthew Christiansen is now a partner in Wilson Sonsini's energy and climate solutions practice. He previously was general counsel at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. … … Alex Rosenwald is now a director at DCI Group. He previously was senior director of comms at The Hill. … Laura Akowuah is now special counsel at Cooley. She previously was acting director of the office of enforcement in the FDA's Human Foods Program. … Stephen Gallagher is now an associate at Watchtower Strategy. He previously was staff assistant/press assistant for Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.). BONUS BIRTHDAY: Jonathon Jones of Tiber Creek Group Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
Politico
22-05-2025
- Health
- Politico
Playbook PM: The MAHA moment
Presented by THE CATCH-UP RFK'S REPORT CARD: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped a much-anticipated report on his Make America Healthy Again agenda today, with lawmakers and business leaders scouring the document for their concerns. Toplines: The report says that children's health is in crisis, and argues that it's the result of ultraprocessed food, exposure to chemicals, lack of exercise, stress and overprescription of pharmaceuticals. Missing teeth: The MAHA Commission's findings largely shy away from the 'strident language Kennedy has used in the past in demonizing the food, farming and pharmaceutical industries, and leaves for another day proposals for how to improve kids' health,' POLITICO's Carmen Paun and colleagues report. The report makes the case that 'today's children suffer more from chronic diseases, such as asthma, allergies, obesity, autoimmune conditions and behavioral disorders, than any previous generation.' It also says 'over 40 percent of the roughly 73 million children in America have at least one chronic health condition and that it threatens both the economy and national defense.' What next?: Kennedy told reporters that proposals to address the contents of the report will come within 100 days, but indicated that money is not the answer. 'We spend on health care two to three times what other nations spend, about $4.5 trillion a year, and we have the worst outcomes of any developed nation,' he said, echoing comments that he has recently delivered on Capitol Hill. Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@ 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. D.C. SHOOTING LATEST: FBI officials this morning in Chicago descended on the listed home of the suspected assailant in a shooting that killed a young couple who worked for the Israeli Embassy in D.C. last night, per the NYT. 'Windows in what appeared to be the suspect's unit were adorned with two signs about Palestinians, including one that referenced the 2023 killing of a Palestinian American boy in Illinois.' The shooting 'prompted Israeli missions to beef up their security and lower their flags to half-staff,' the AP notes. The office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro will prosecute the case. New details on the suspect: The suspected shooter, who officials have in custody, 'posted a manifesto on the social media site X on Wednesday evening, condemning the war in Gaza and both the Israeli and American governments,' NYT's Julie Bosman reports. 'He did not refer directly to the shooting on Wednesday evening, but added: 'An armed action is not necessarily a military action. It usually is not.' The suspect, Elias Rodriguez, is a Chicago resident who has participated in pro-Palestinian activism and was working at the American Osteopathic Information Association, a trade group for osteopathic doctors, the organization said.' More reactions to the horror: 2. COURT IN THE ACT: A federal judge this morning slapped down the Trump administration's effort to fire thousands of Education Department employees, POLITICO's Kyle Cheney and Hassan Ali Kanu report. 'U.S. District Judge Myong Joun rejected the administration's claim that the thousands of terminations announced in March were a bid for 'efficiency.' In fact, they had deeply disrupted services for students, families and states, making processes less efficient, the judge said. Joun said the massive reductions were more clearly aimed at carrying out President Donald Trump's campaign-trail promise to eliminate the department altogether — something the judge said would be illegal without congressional approval.' 3. SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court this morning deadlocked on a case considering whether openly religious schools are entitled to receive public money through state charter-school programs, POLITICO's Josh Gerstein and Juan Perez Jr. report. 'By splitting 4-4 on the question, the justices left in place a lower-court ruling in Oklahoma denying public funding to what would have been the nation's first religious public charter school. But the high court's deadlock sets no precedent on the issue to guide officials in the rest of the country.' The tie was in part due to Justice Amy Coney Barrett's recusal from the case, which was likely due to her personal ties to a legal clinic involved in the litigation. Another ruling: The justices this morning also 'upheld the conviction of a government contractor found guilty of defrauding a state transportation program designed to promote diversity,' WaPo's Ann Marimow reports, noting that the unanimous decision 'reversed a trend in which the justices have pushed back on how prosecutors pursue white-collar fraud.' 4. HOT ON THE HILL: While the Senate is awaiting the official arrival of the 'big, beautiful bill' from the House, the chamber today voted to 'nix a California emission standards waiver after Republicans effectively skirted guidance from their own rules-keeper that the Biden-era action did not qualify for reversal using the Congressional Review Act process,' POLITICO's Jordain Carney and Alex Guillén report. 'The 51-44 vote on a disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act, which allows senators to overturn administration rulemaking with a simple majority, capped off weeks of internal deliberations within the GOP conference about how to move forward.' Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin was the only Democrat to join Republicans on the vote. Asleep at the wheel: Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), two lawmakers who had heavy involvement in crafting the legislation, missed the vote this morning. Why? A Garbarino staffer said he 'briefly stepped out and inadvertently missed the vote' and slammed the timing: 'This is one of many reasons why governing should happen in the light of day — not in the dead of night.' But Speaker Mike Johnson gave reporters a more succinct account. 'He fell asleep in the back, no kidding,' Johnson said of Garbarino. 'I'm going to just strangle him,' Johnson joked, 'but he's my dear friend.' Johnson said Schweikert simply arrived too late to be counted. More from POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill 5. NEWS FROM THE WILDERNESS: Democrats are already getting antsy about the midterms as the party searches for a way back to power, POLITICO's Elena Schneider and Nicholas Wu report. 'Interviews with more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers and strategists reflect a growing anxiety that next year's primaries may be more combative and complicated than ever before — as waves of candidates frustrated with the GOP-controlled Washington and the Democratic Party's response to President Donald Trump crowd into primaries. An increasing number of them are urging House campaign leaders to intervene to stop messy primaries from siphoning off valuable resources that they argued would be better deployed in the general election.' 6. FEMA FOUL-UP: 'Trump undermined Biden's FEMA in North Carolina. Now the cleanup is lagging on his watch,' by POLITICO's Zack Colman: 'As of April 22, the agency had given nearly $432 million of assistance to 158,600 households in North Carolina, $100 million of which came under Trump, FEMA said in a statement. … Trump's FEMA has halted $10 billion in disaster relief funds intended to help people across the country, cut off housing assistance for thousands of Helene survivors and ended a policy of fully reimbursing the state of North Carolina for debris removal. … Trump officials are using FEMA's struggles in western North Carolina as a rationale to dismantle the agency.' More shake-ups at the agency: DHS is 'inserting more than a half-dozen of its officials into key front office roles' at FEMA 'to effectively run the agency' just ahead of the critical hurricane season, CNN's Gabe Cohen reports. 'They appear to have limited experience managing natural disasters, according to bios included in Wednesday's announcement' and some are expected to 'split their time with their other roles at Homeland Security.' 7. PINCHING THE PENNY: 'Treasury Sounds Death Knell for Penny Production,' by WSJ's Oyin Adedoyin: 'The U.S. government is phasing out the penny, whose use has spanned more than two centuries. The Treasury Department will stop putting new pennies into circulation by early next year. Afterward, there won't be enough pennies to use in everyday cash transactions, and businesses will need to start rounding up or down to the nearest 5 cents, the Treasury said in a statement. … The U.S. Mint, which is the Treasury's in-house coin producer, projects an annual savings of $56 million in reduced material costs.' 8. MAKING HAY: 'Inside the 'Save America's Wild Horses' Campaign,' by WSJ's Xavier Martinez: 'In August, Hollynn Larrabee purchased a copy of the nearly 1,000-page Project 2025 policy book. On page 528, she found herself staring down a call to arms against her beloved wild horses. … It called on Congress to let the BLM 'dispose humanely' of some. … Congressional lawmakers this month formed a new bipartisan Wild Horse Caucus, focused on promoting 'humane policies' to care for and manage wild horse populations. Still, advocates want to put the proposal safely out to pasture. They are lobbying lawmakers, meeting with DOGE operatives directly and bolstering educational campaigns.' TALK OF THE TOWN Alex Moore, a top staffer for Jan Schakowsky, will be on the next season of 'Survivor.' Surely marathon days like the past 48 hours in the House have prepared him for whatever Jeff Probst has in store. Donald Trump is adding more of his flair to the walls of the West Wing — the latest coming in a portrait of the president depicted alongside Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln. Emily Gabriella Sommer, a 32-year-old D.C.-area woman, was charged with one count of 'assaulting, resisting, or impeding a government official' over an incident where she allegedly spit on former interim U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ed Martin. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the CPAC Foundation's 54th annual Ratings of Congress award ceremony at the Capitol Hill Club on Tuesday night: Speaker Mike Johnson, Matt and Mercedes Schlapp, Christos Marafatsos, Julie Strauss Levin, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Roger Williams (R-Texas), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), Andy Harris (R-Md.), Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho) and Michael Cloud (R-Texas). — SPOTTED at an open house for the U.S. Travel Association's new HQ last night: acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, Juan Hinojosa, Phil Newman, Heather Wingate, Tori Barnes, Geoff Freeman, Matthew Shay, Chris Sweet, Rick Limardo, Bill Bailey, Andrew Giuliani, Rhonda Bentz, Pete Meachum and Krista Powers. — The American Association of Political Consultants hosted its Campaign Excellence Awards yesterday in Colorado Springs, where Tony Fabrizio won Republican pollster of the year, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles won campaign of the year and Tina Stoll, Larry McCarthy and Pat Caddell (posthumously) were inaugurated into the AAPC Hall of Fame. SPOTTED: Tim Saler, Ben Rodriguez, Matt Gruda, Meredith O'Rourke, Brad Elkins, James Blair, Matthew Zacher, Taylor Budowich, Michelle Mayorga, Andrew Grossman, Morgan Brown and Lara Henderson. See the full list of winners — SPOTTED at a celebration for the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Institute's first birthday on Wednesday evening: Max Frankel, Reps. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Clinton Britt, Steve McBee and Ian Harrison. MEDIA MOVE — Kimi Yoshino is joining WaPo as managing editor overseeing features, sports, local, investigations and data. She currently is founding editor-in-chief of The Baltimore Banner. The announcement TRANSITIONS — Atlas Crossing is adding Holly Lay, Darby Albanese and Reagan Smith. Lay will be director of operations and previously was director of operations for Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.). Albanese will be an operations and client relations associate and previously was a judicial intern for Judge Mark Kearney of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Smith will be a research assistant and previously was a legislative aide for Texas state Rep. James Frank. … … Brian Scholl is now chief economist and research director at the American Institute for Boys and Men. He previously was chief economist of the Office of the Investor Advocate at the SEC and is a Senate Budget Committee alum. … Michael D. Smith will be president and CEO of Eckerd Connects. He most recently was CEO of AmeriCorps and is an Obama alum. … Patrick Quirk is now VP for global policy and public affairs at UNICEF USA. He previously was VP for strategy at the International Republican Institute and will remain involved with IRI as a senior external adviser. BONUS BIRTHDAY: Wesley Denton of the Conservative Partnership Institute Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
Politico
16-05-2025
- Business
- Politico
Playbook PM: Megabill malaise sinks key committee vote
Presented by THE CATCH-UP Another day, another very public setback for House Republicans leaders. The House Budget Committee failed to advance the party's sweeping megabill, with a band of conservative hard-liners joining all Democrats to tank the package — for now. 'House GOP leaders plan to continue private talks with the reluctant Republicans and the White House over the weekend in hopes of resurrecting the package next week,' POLITICO's Jennifer Scholtes and Meredith Lee Hill report. It's a significant, though not entirely unexpected, blow for Speaker Mike Johnson, who set next week as the target for getting the megabill through his chamber after weeks of intense debate over the extent of the bill's tax provisions, Medicaid cuts and plenty of other pieces. How it went down: GOP leaders held hours of late-night negotiations to prepare for today's committee vote and were optimistic this morning. Just before the proceedings kicked off, President Donald Trump weighed in, urging the Republican holdouts to get in line. 'We don't need 'GRANDSTANDERS' in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE! It is time to fix the MESS that Biden and the Democrats gave us,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. That didn't work: As the committee settled in, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who was noticeably distressed said that the bill fell 'profoundly short' of his expectations. 'The fact of the matter is this bill has back-loaded savings and has front-loaded spending,' Roy said. 'And I'm not going to sit here and say that everything is hunky-dory when this is the Budget Committee. This is the Budget Committee!' After an initial delay, the committee plowed ahead with the vote. Roy and Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) and Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) voted no — with Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) changing his 'yes' to a 'no' at the end — to sink the measure, 16-21. (Smucker later clarified that his changed vote was only a procedural move.) So what now? House GOP lawmakers need to regroup once again. Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said there would be no further action from the panel until next week with the 'goal' of meeting again on Monday. 'Godspeed and safe travels,' he said, dismissing the members for the weekend. As Roy said, there's a lot of work to do. Republican leaders — and likely the White House — will need to lean on the hard-liners, who appear dug in barring some significant changes. What's on the table: Some of the measures being considered to placate the holdouts include 'enforcing work requirements on Medicaid recipients earlier than the 2029 deadline in the bill and immediately revoking Medicaid benefits from undocumented immigrants,' Jennifer and Meredith report. Leaders also floated 'a new, heightened state-and-local-tax deduction,' Meredith and Rachael Bade report. That would see a $40,000 cap for individuals and an $80,000 cap for joint filers. The House Freedom Caucus, in a statement posted on X after the vote, said they were 'making progress before the vote in the Budget Committee and will continue negotiations to further improve the reconciliation package. We are not going anywhere and we will continue to work through the weekend.' Another headache: A new analysis from the nonpartisan Penn Wharton Budget Model, which the Hill keeps a close eye on, finds that the GOP tax plan 'may offer only modest gains to everyday workers, according to a wide range of tax experts, and some taxpayers may actually be left in worse financial shape if the bill becomes law,' NYT's Tony Romm reports. For now, Johnson's Memorial Day deadline is looking more like a strong suggestion. Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@ 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST: Russia and Ukraine wrapped up the countries' first direct peace talks in three years today in Turkey. While no major headway was made toward a ceasefire deal, the two sides did agree to their biggest POW swap since the start of the war, per the NYT. 'After the negotiations, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes, the leaders of the Ukrainian and Russian delegations confirmed in news briefings that they had agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each in the near future.' Delegations came into the talks with low expectations for a final deal, and indeed 'the chasm between the two sides was quickly apparent' at the Turkish palace where negotiators met, Reuters reports. During the discussions, Kyiv accused the Kremlin of introducing new 'unacceptable demands' to withdraw Ukrainian forces from the region, AP's Hanna Arhirova and Andrew Wilks report. A senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv 'reiterated it remained focused on achieving real progress — an immediate ceasefire and a pathway to substantive diplomacy.' The question now is whether the talks this week were enough to get Trump directly involved. 2. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Trump returns to Washington today from his Middle East trip without a secured nuclear deal with Iran, though the president did acknowledge on Air Force One this morning that a proposal was delivered to Iranian leaders, per the AP. He did not share any specifics of the deal. 'Most importantly, they know they have to move quickly, or something bad is going to happen,' Trump told reporters. Upon boarding his flight home, the president also offered a sympathetic tone toward Gaza. 'We're looking at Gaza, and we got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people. There's a lot of bad things going on,' Trump said, per NYT's Luke Broadwater and Erika Solomon. 'I think a lot of good things are going to happen over the next month,' he said, adding that 'we have to help' Palestinians. 3. IN A BOX TO THE LEFT: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) continues to be a divisive figure in the Democratic Party, but Republicans 'are openly courting Fetterman to join their 53-seat majority,' WaPo's Liz Goodwin and Theodoric Meyer report. Fetterman has repeatedly denied that he would ever formally cross the aisle. Still, some Democrats 'have been mystified at what they see as [Fetterman's] standoffish behavior, saying he blows off meeting requests, spurns senators' weekly lunches and has left the caucus's private group chat.' Some also say the Pennsylvania lawmaker 'has grown more isolated over the past year and appears disengaged' from his role. The concerns come after former staffers shared concerns about his mental and physical health in stories from the AP and N.Y. Mag earlier this month. 4. GRANITE STATE UPDATE: Hanna Trudo — the former journalist who's now exploring a congressional bid in New Hampshire — is facing a headline calling attention to her 'millionaire lifestyle' despite her claims that she was brought up in a ''working class' home, raised by a single mother,' The Daily Mail's Charlie Spiering reports. After Trudo reportedly 'ghosted' the 'Ruthless' podcast after asking to be on the show, producers on the show 'began investigating her background and started leaking a trail of public information, revealing her luxurious public life behind the scenes,' including an 'exclusive dating website' and 'an image of her social media of an expensive Ferrari.' Trudo's response: 'Sorry gentlemen, I like fashion AND Medicare for All! $15 minimum wage,' she wrote in a post on X, linking to the Daily Mail story. 'You can try and shame me into not running for #NH1 because you hate progressives, but not for being a fabulous woman. Live Free or Die.' 5. KNOWING RUSSELL VOUGHT: The Atlantic's McKay Coppins profiles the OMB director, diving into how the Project 2025 architect is working behind the scenes to impose a 'radical new constitutional order' in Trump's second term. Vought rarely gives interviews — and indeed declined one for the piece — but 'when he does speak in public, he is usually explicating the wonkish intricacies of the federal government in a nasal voice. His job title is dull and opaque. Even his physical bearing is forgettable: Bald and bespectacled, with a graying beard, he looks a bit like a middle-school social-studies teacher. … But whereas [Elon] Musk's influence already seems to be waning, Vought remains among the most powerful figures in today's Washington.' The fight is the point: 'Vought's critics have warned that elements of his agenda … are eroding checks and balances and pushing the country toward a constitutional crisis. But in interviews over the past several weeks, some of his allies told me that's the whole point. The kind of revolutionary upending of the constitutional order that Vought envisions won't happen without deliberate fights with Congress and the judiciary, they told me. If a crisis is coming, it's because Vought is courting one.' 6. THREE'S COMPANY: 'Three Friends in the Senate All Rise to Power at the Same Time,' by NOTUS' Ursula Perano: 'It's an already-made-for-TV story: three politicians, all close friends, all rising to power at the same time. For Sens. Chris Murphy, Brian Schatz and Cory Booker, it's reality. … For now, the trio's different lanes are clear in the short term. The long term is hazier, particularly with an open 2028 Democratic presidential primary on the horizon and turnover in Senate Democratic Caucus leadership bound to happen at some point. … Each of the three — in their own unique ways — seems positioned to make a move.' TALK OF THE TOWN THE WEEKEND AHEAD TV TONIGHT — PBS' 'Washington Week': Peter Baker, Stephen Hayes, David Ignatius and Andrea Mitchell. SUNDAY SO FAR … CNN 'State of the Union': Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. ABC 'This Week': Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) … Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Panel: Donna Brazile, Reince Priebus, Sarah Isgur and Faiz Shakir. Fox News 'Sunday Morning Futures': Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). Panel: FBI Director Kash Patel and Dan Bongino. NBC 'Meet the Press': Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent … Mike Pence … Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Panel: Ashley Etienne, Stephen Hayes, Andrea Mitchell and Amna Nawaz. NewsNation 'The Hill Sunday': Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) … Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas). Panel: George Will, Sarah McCammon, Julie Mason and Julia Manchester. MSNBC 'The Weekend': Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont. CBS 'Face the Nation': Robert Gates … retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal. MUSIC TO HIS EARS — Trump played some of his greatest hits on the way back from his Middle East trip this morning. 'Has anyone noticed that, since I said 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,' she's no longer 'HOT?'' he wrote in a Truth Social post. He then moved on to 'Highly Overrated' Bruce Springsteen: 'This dried out 'prune' of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that's just 'standard fare.' Then we'll all see how it goes for him!' (Springsteen called Trump 'treasonous' at a concert this week. It's unclear exactly what prompted Trump's shot at Swift.) OUT AND ABOUT — The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America hosted its annual 'Toast to Congress' reception on Wednesday, drawing a spirited crowd of wine and spirits wholesalers, lawmakers and Hill staffers for an evening of cocktails and conversation. Guests sipped on 'Feeling Fancy Margaritas' and celebrated at the event's five sponsored bars. SPOTTED: Reps. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Mark Alford (R-Mo.) and Laura Friedman (D-Calif.), Dina Opici, Danny Wirtz, Michael Martignetti, Lara Diaz Dunbar, Steve Gibbs, Carl Hulse, Catie Edmondson, Cameron Henderson, Angela Greiling Keane, Kate Ackley, Natalie Fertig, Frank Coleman, Dawson Hobbs, Michael Bilello, Catherine McDaniel, Dwayne Carson, Cody Tucker, Alena McGonigle and Daniel Jarrell. — SPOTTED at a spring reception for Radiant Nuclear at TAKODA Navy Yard with Radiant COO Tori Shivanandan: Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.), Katherine Sears, Alice Caponiti, Chris Loranger, John McCarthy, Sean McCabe, Maddie Mitchell, Austin Davis, Joshua Henderson, Stephen Sisel, Jack Britt, Jack Edlow and Stephen Burns. TRANSITIONS — Colleen Roh Sinzdak is joining Milbank as a partner in the Supreme Court and appellate practice. She previously was assistant to the solicitor general. … Sarah Tellock is joining Acadia Pharmaceuticals to lead its federal government affairs efforts. She previously was director of congressional affairs and alliance development for the Alzheimer's Association and Alzheimer's Impact Movement. …. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
