| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | IT’S OFFICIAL — Prospective jurors believed to have been called for DONALD TRUMP's election-interference trial were supposed to report to D.C.'s federal courthouse on Friday for an initial screening. But following Judge TANYA CHUTKAN’s order Friday indefinitely delaying the trial pending an appeal of Trump’s presidential immunity claim, the Friday summons has been canceled, according to a court robocall that went out this morning to one would-be juror. But it isn’t farewell forever: “You will be resummoned again in the future,” the caller said. Related read: “Most Americans want verdict on Trump election subversion charges before 2024 vote,” by CNN’s Jennifer Agiesta and Ariel Edwards-Levy: “About half of Americans, 48%, say it’s essential that a verdict is reached before the 2024 presidential election, and another 16% that they’d prefer to see one.”
|  Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is one of the Republican senators are already out in opposition to the proposed border deal. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | DEAD BILL WALKING? — Now that the border deal is out in the open, the whip counts are starting up. While it’s widely expected that House Republicans will tank the proposal, there are growing signals this morning that Senate Republicans may reject the deal as a MAGA-led campaign to kill it carries on. DONALD TRUMP, who has been railing against the legislation for weeks now, kept the offensive up this morning in a series of posts on Truth Social. Here’s a taste: “Only a fool, or a Radical Left Democrat, would vote for this horrendous Border Bill, which only gives Shutdown Authority after 5000 Encounters a day, when we already have the right to CLOSE THE BORDER NOW, which must be done,” he wrote in a lengthy post. “Don’t be STUPID!!! We need a separate Border and Immigration Bill. It should not be tied to foreign aid in any way, shape, or form! The Democrats broke Immigration and the Border. They should fix it.” Indeed, House GOP leadership issued a statement shortly after noon: “Any consideration of this Senate bill in its current form is a waste of time. It is DEAD on arrival in the House. We encourage the U.S. Senate to reject it.” Here’s a roundup of some of the latest sentiments from GOP senators:
- Sen. STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.) tips his vote: “I can’t support a bill that doesn’t secure the border, provides taxpayer funded lawyers to illegal immigrants and gives billions to radical open borders groups. I’m a no.”
- Sen. BILL HAGERTY (R-Tenn.): “Under a President who started and could stop this crisis tomorrow, and whose solution to illegal immigration is to legalize it, any proposal that fails to fully secure the border is unacceptable. I’m a hard no.”
- Sen. ROGER MARSHALL (R-Kan.): “Throughout this process, I said I was listening and hoping for a solution, but to my disappointment, this bill misses the mark.”
- Sen. MIKE BRAUN (R-Ind.): “Pretending to ‘close the border’ only after we exceed 35,000 illegal entries per week is baselining 1.8M illegal entries into the U.S. every year. The cartels run the border and will continue to exploit our weakness. Build the wall. Enforce the law.”
- Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas): “Now that I have seen text, I have questions and serious concerns.”
Get smart: Our colleagues Jennifer Scholtes and Caitlin Emma have a must-read breakdown of the border bill: “Detention and that border ‘shutdown’: What’s really in Biden’s bipartisan immigration deal” Meanwhile, MAZI PILIP, the GOP candidate in the special election for New York’s 3rd congressional district, is trying to turn the legislation into an issue in her contest against Democrat TOM SUOZZI. Pilip in a statement today slammed the bill as “the legalization of the invasion of our country.” (FWIW, Suozzi said he would support the deal.) Read Pilip’s full statement Speaking of the special: Democrats are dumping another $1.25 million in a TV ad blitz into next week’s special election, suggesting that the party is sensing some concern about its prospects for victory to take over ousted Rep. GEORGE SANTOS’ seat, our colleague Ally Mutnick reports. To wit, Suozzi put it bluntly to CNN: “The Democratic brand is in trouble here, and we have to do a lot to overcome that.” TOP-ED — KELLYANNE CONWAY writes for NYT Opinion, “Who Should Be Trump’s No. 2?”: “If I were advising Mr. Trump, I would suggest he choose a person of color as his running mate, depending on vetting of all possibilities and satisfaction of procedural issues like dual residency in Florida. Not for identity politics a la the Democrats, but as an equal helping to lead an America First movement that includes more union workers, independents, first-time voters, veterans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and African Americans.” Some of the names Conway mentions: “Any list would include [Florida Sen. MARCO] RUBIO, [South Carolina Sen. TIM] SCOTT, Representative BYRON DONALDS of Florida (a TV firebrand) and perhaps Representative WESLEY HUNT of Texas.” Also: BEN CARSON and VIVEK RAMASWAMY. Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@politico.com.
| | A message from The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network: Multi-cancer early detection tests have game-changing potential in the fight against cancer. By testing for dozens of cancers - including rare forms - at their earliest stages with a simple blood test, these tests could revolutionize early cancer detection once FDA-approved and clinical benefit is shown. Congress: pass H.R. 2407 and S. 2085 to create a pathway to access to these tests in Medicare to make time for patients and their families. Learn more. | | | | | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | | 
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) will no longer retire at the end of her term. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | 1. SPARTZ PLUG: Rep. VICTORIA SPARTZ (R-Ind.) will not retire at the end of her term this year, she told our colleagues Adam Wren and Olivia Beavers, reversing a decision she announced last year. “I will file this week. The country is too much in trouble,” Spartz told Adam and Olivia. She added in an official statement: “As someone who grew up under tyranny, I understand the significance of these challenging times for our Republic, and if my fellow Hoosiers and God decide, I will be honored to continue fighting for them.” As for the primary that had already kicked off for Spartz’s seat, her challengers this morning vowed to stay in the race for now. 2. MACE IN THE HOLE: “A Major Sign of Trouble in Nancy Mace’s Office: Total Staff Turnover,” by The Daily Beast’s Reese Gorman: “As of Monday, according to three sources familiar with the matter, [Rep. NANCY] MACE’s entire D.C. staff has turned over since Nov. 1, 2023. That’s nine staffers in the span of a few short months — with all but one of those employees leaving on their own accord. The lone exception to those eight staffers who left Mace’s office on their own accord is now-former chief of staff DAN HANLON, who was fired on Dec. 1. … Former Mace employees described a ‘toxic’ work environment. But in response to questions about the dramatic turnover, Mace’s new chief of staff, LORI KHATOD, presented the complete turnover as a ‘non-issue.’ ‘New coach, new team in the DC office,’ Khatod said in a text message.” 3. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: The Treasury Department is dispatching a delegation of officials to China as the two countries continue defrosting relations, with a focus on economic issues this time. NYT’s Alan Rappeport reports that “the two days of meetings would include ‘frank conversations’ about China’s use of nonmarket economic practices like government subsidies. The U.S. officials also plan to discuss concerns about industrial overcapacity, which could flood international markets with cheap products.” The group will be led by undersecretary for international affairs JAY SHAMBAUGH, and the visit could open the path for another trip by Secretary JANET YELLEN this year.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE GOLDEN STATE POLITICAL ARENA: POLITICO’s California Playbook newsletter provides a front row seat to the most important political news percolating in the state’s power centers, from Sacramento and Los Angeles to Silicon Valley. Authors Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner deliver exclusive news, buzzy scoops and behind-the-scenes details that you simply will not get anywhere else. Subscribe today and stay ahead of the game! | | | | | 4. PROFILE OF AN ELECTORATE: “Why Are Americans Wary While the Economy Is Healthy? Look at Nevada,” by NYT’s Peter Goodman: “Nevada is one of six battleground states that are likely to decide the outcome of November’s presidential election. Its economic centerpiece, Las Vegas, was constructed on dreams of easy money. That proved a winning proposition for generations of working people, yielding middle class paychecks for bartenders, restaurant servers, casino dealers and maids. Yet over the last two decades, a series of shocks have eroded confidence.” 5. TRUMP INC.: “Donald Trump’s Global Business Empire Is Growing Again,” by WSJ’s Peter Grant, James Benedict and Jack Gillum: “Since 2021, the Trump Organization, which had paused or pulled back from ventures during his presidency, has revived its global expansion efforts. The company is building a second golf course in Scotland and has branding deals with residential projects in India and resort developments in Indonesia. “In late 2022, the Trump Organization agreed to manage and brand a $1.6 billion golf and resort project in Oman, teaming up with Dar Al Arkan, a Saudi real-estate firm. Trump reported more than $5 million in income from that partnership in his 2022 financial-disclosure form. He also has golf courses, hotels, resorts, condominiums and other ventures in more than 10 countries on four continents.” 6. MEET THE NEW BOSS: “CNN’s New Morning Strategy: More News, Less Banter,” by NYT’s Michael Grynbaum: “In his first significant programming move since joining the network in the fall, MARK THOMPSON, CNN’s chairman, announced on Monday that the channel would exit the morning chat-show format by the end of the month. Instead, its morning lineup will focus on straight news coverage, the kind of bread-and-butter reporting that Mr. Thompson, a former head of The BBC and The New York Times, has championed. The co-anchors of ‘CNN This Morning,’ POPPY HARLOW and PHIL MATTINGLY, are in discussions about new roles at the network.” Among the changes: JIM ACOSTA will return to a weekday show at 10 a.m.
| | | | CONGRESS OVERDRIVE: Since day one, POLITICO has been laser-focused on Capitol Hill, serving up the juiciest Congress coverage. Now, we’re upping our game to ensure you’re up to speed and in the know on every tasty morsel and newsy nugget from inside the Capitol Dome, around the clock. Wake up, read Playbook AM, get up to speed at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report, and fuel your nightly conversations with Inside Congress in the evening. Plus, never miss a beat with buzzy, real-time updates throughout the day via our Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Liz Cheney thinks J.D. Vance is not “fit to serve.” Kristi Noem is coming out with a new book as VP speculation swirls. TRANSITIONS — Stuart Delery is returning to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as partner and co-chair of the crisis management practice group and administrative law and regulatory practice group. He most recently was counsel for President Joe Biden. … Ashley Carpenter is joining ROKK Solutions as EVP. She most recently was VP of leadership and public policy at WaPo. … Alex Daugherty is now director of comms at the Transport Workers Union. He most recently was a transportation reporter at POLITICO. … … Kyle Innes is joining SIFMA as managing director and associate general counsel for the state government relations team. He previously was associate director in the office of government affairs at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. … Amy Mushahwar is joining Lowenstein Sandler as partner and chair of its data, privacy and cybersecurity practice. She previously was a partner at Alston & Bird. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton, producer Andrew Howard and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
| | | | A message from The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network:   Access to multi-cancer early detection tests in Medicare can make potential precious moments possible. Pass H.R. 2407 and S. 2085. Congress: Act now. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
