| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade and Garrett Ross | Presented by The National Association of REALTORS® | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | BREAKING — The “county line” is dead in New Jersey, at least for now. U.S. District Judge ZAHID QURAISHI granted an injunction sought by Rep. ANDY KIM (D-N.J.) and others barring the practice of listing candidates favored by party bosses more prominently on the state’s ballots. More from Daniel Han
|  Ronna McDaniel is securing representation for her forthcoming legal battle with NBC over her ouster from the network. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | SUPREME COUNSEL — RONNA McDANIEL, we’re told, intends to hire and work with BRYAN FREEDMAN in her forthcoming legal battle with NBC after the former RNC chair was ousted from the network earlier this week. As we reported in Playbook earlier this week, McDaniel spoke with the prominent LA talent attorney — whose clients have included MEGYN KELLY, CHRIS CUOMO, DON LEMON and TUCKER CARLSON — on Tuesday about securing the $600,000 owed under her contract as well as possible defamation and hostile workplace claims. An NBC spokesperson declined to comment on McDaniel’s decision, which is pending final paperwork. INFLATION NATION — Last week, the Fed indicated that it would stick to its plan of three interest rate cuts this year, much to the delight of the markets. But new data out this week is challenging the reassuring confidence from the central bank. The details: “The government reported Friday that the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge rose 0.3 percent month-to-month in February, following a January uptick that was the largest in a year,” our colleagues Zachary Warmbrodt and Victoria Guida report. “The data showed prices have risen 2.5 percent over the past 12 months, far better than inflation readings compared with a year ago but still stubbornly above the Fed’s 2 percent target. “That comes on top of other data points from the last few days that may give the Fed pause as it decides when to begin reducing rates. The indicators continue to show that the economy is performing more strongly than expected, despite elevated borrowing costs.” How the Fed is reading things: “While the economy is surprisingly strong, the concern is that higher rates are putting pressure on households and businesses looking to borrow, weighing on hiring, investment and the housing market. So the longer the Fed cuts into growth, the more pain it could end up inducing later on. But there are a few troubling signs so far. “Friday’s inflation report showed that so-called core inflation, which strips out more volatile food and energy prices and is therefore a more reliable indicator of where prices might be headed, is still coming in more strongly than central bank officials would like to see.” Related reads:
- “Covid changed how we spend: More YOLO splurging but less saving,” by WaPo’s Abha Bhattarai: “Consumers spent $145.5 billion more in February than they did the month before — much of that on services — fueling the biggest monthly increase in more than a year, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis released Friday. Meanwhile, the personal savings rate fell to 3.6 percent, from 4.1 percent the previous month.”
- “Stock Market Surges to Start the Year: 22 Record Highs in 3 Months,” by NYT’s Joe Rennison: “Roughly 40 percent of the stocks in the index are trading above where they were 12 months ago. And even when the index has lost ground, it hasn’t been by much, with only three days so far in 2024 in which the S&P 500 has fallen more than 1 percent by the close.”
WE STAND WITH EVAN — Washington leaders voiced their support for imprisoned WSJ journalist EVAN GERSHKOVICH today, the one-year mark since he was locked up by Russia. — President JOE BIDEN in a statement: “Journalism is not a crime, and Evan went to Russia to do his job as a reporter —risking his safety to shine the light of truth on Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine. Shortly after his wholly unjust and illegal detention, he drafted a letter to his family from prison, writing: ‘I am not losing hope.’ “As I have told Evan’s parents, I will never give up hope either. We will continue working every day to secure his release. … To Evan, to PAUL WHELAN, and to all Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad: We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring you home.” — Congressional leaders MIKE JOHNSON, HAKEEM JEFFRIES, CHUCK SCHUMER and MITCH McCONNELL in a joint statement: “On the anniversary of Evan Gershkovich’s captivity, we reaffirm the importance of his work. Journalism is not a crime, and reporters are not bargaining chips. The Kremlin’s attempts to silence Evan and intimidate other Western reporters will not impede the pursuit of truth. We repeat our call for the Russian government to release Evan, Paul Whelan, and others it has wrongfully detained without further delay.” Knowing Danielle Gershkovich: “Evan Gershkovich’s sister was the quiet one. Now she’s his voice,” by WaPo’s Manuel Roig-Franzia: “On the first anniversary of his detention in Russia, the Wall Street Journal reporter’s sister is on a crusade to get him out of prison, one interview at a time.” Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Who’s spinning “Cowboy Carter” today? Let me know your favorite song: gross@politico.com.
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®: The National Association of REALTORS® is fighting for housing affordability and availability before Congress.
The lack of affordable housing supply is hurting the middle class and depriving first-generation and first-time homebuyers of the financial security that homeownership provides.
That’s why REALTORS® are focused on fixing the affordable housing crisis and bringing relief to the American people. See our bipartisan plan at flyin.realtor. | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Marilyn Lands is one of the Democratic candidates changing the way that reproductive rights are talked about on the campaign trail. | Marilyn Lands via AP | 1. REWRITING THE RULES: Across the country, Democratic women candidates are “leaning into a new political strategy: sharing their personal abortion stories,” Liz Crampton writes. In Alabama, MARILYN LANDS won a special election this week to represent a Northern Alabama district by centering her campaign on reproductive rights and speaking openly about a nonviable pregnancy that ended in abortion. “Lands is just one of a growing number of women in state legislatures from Arizona to Georgia who are choosing to speak openly about their own abortion experiences. It’s an emotional decision they say helps shape the abortion debate in personal terms and drives voters to the polls. It also marks a major shift in public consciousness as more women, including politicians, feel comfortable talking about a procedure that was often kept secret.” 2. KFILE STRIKES AGAIN: Rep. BYRON DONALDS (R-Fla.), who has been one of Trump’s staunchest allies in Congress, has emerged as a contender to become Trump’s running mate. But he wasn’t always on the former president’s side. Back “in 2011, Donalds posted to Facebook celebrating Trump’s decision not to challenge then-President BARACK OBAMA for the White House. ’Trump won’t run. Thank God!’ Donalds wrote in one Facebook post in May 2011,” CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck report. “CNN’s KFile unearthed numerous examples of Donalds directly criticizing Trump in social media posts and interviews in 2011 and 2012, when he was an outspoken tea party activist running – unsuccessfully, then – for a seat in Congress. He attacked Trump’s protectionist stances on trade and called out Trump for his birtherism comments about Obama.” 3. SUSIE’S MAGIC TOUCH: “Many GOP billionaires balked at Jan. 6. They’re coming back to Trump,” by WaPo’s Josh Dawsey, Jeff Stein, Michael Scherer and Elizabeth Dwoskin: “The shift reflects many conservative billionaires’ fears of President Biden’s tax agenda, which if approved would drastically reduce their fortunes. In some cases, it also points to their discomfort with the Biden administration’s foreign and domestic policy decisions. Some of these billionaires have been assiduously courted by Trump and his advisers in recent months. … At the center of some of the discussions has been top Trump aide SUSIE WILES, who often comes armed with data and is viewed as ‘impressive and professional,’ a person who heard her pitch said.”
| | | | YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics. | | | | | 4. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: “US says Palestinians are close to changing ‘pay for slay’ program,” by Nahal Toosi: “The U.S. is near a deal with the Palestinian Authority to end its contentious “martyr payments” for people who commit acts of violence against Israel, two Biden administration officials said. That would be a key win for the multifaceted U.S. push to reform the PA — from instituting anti-corruption measures to improving basic services — so that it can take over governance of the Gaza Strip whenever the Israel-Hamas war ends. The PA oversees parts of the West Bank, and it is seen by the Biden administration as the best option for governing Gaza in the future.” 5. STUCK IN THE MIDDLE: “Progressive Jewish lawmakers caught in the middle of bitter Democratic divide over Israel,” by CNN’s Annie Grayer: “As the war in the Middle East continues, many Jews and progressives have increasingly found themselves at odds with each other over Israel’s handling of the war and President Joe Biden’s positions on it, only to expose painful underlying divisions by some over whether Israel even has the right to exist. Rep. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) “is part of a unique group of House lawmakers including Democratic Reps. BECCA BALINT of Vermont, SARA JACOBS of California and JAN SCHAKOWSKY of Illinois who are using their ties to both groups to try and find nuance and middle ground. They have all leaned on each other as they’ve tried to navigate what their Jewish and progressive identities mean to them in this moment.” Related read: “All three of John Fetterman’s top communications staffers have resigned in the last month,” by the Philly Inquirer’s Julia Terruso: “Fetterman has alienated some of his supporters on the left with his defense of Israel’s war against Hamas and his criticism of cease-fire activists. His office did not comment on the departures but chief of staff ADAM JENTLESON said the office has already hired replacements.” 6. SURVEY SAYS: A new AP-NORC poll finds that “substantial shares of U.S. adults believe that immigrants contribute to the country’s economic growth, and offer important contributions to American culture. But when it comes to legal immigrants, U.S. adults see fewer major benefits than they did in the past, and more major risks,” AP’s Rebecca Santana and Amelia Thomson-Deveaux write. The details: “Meanwhile, the share of Americans who say that there’s a major risk that legal immigrants will commit crimes in the U.S. has increased, going from 19% in 2017 to 32% in the new poll. Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say that immigration is an important issue for them personally, and 41% now say it’s a major risk that legal immigrants will commit crimes in the U.S., up from 20% in 2017.” 7. MATERIEL CONCERNS: “Russia Doubled Imports of an Explosives Ingredient — With Western Help,” by WSJ’s Ian Talley and Brett Forrest: “Russia has boosted its imports of an explosive compound critical to the production of artillery ammunition, including from companies based in the U.S. and other Western countries and allies, despite international sanctions meant to choke Moscow’s wartime production, according to trade data. Russian imports of nitrocellulose, a highly flammable cotton product central to gunpowder and rocket propellant manufacture, surged 70% in 2022, the first year of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and midway through 2023 had amounted to 3,039 tons of the product, nearly double the 2021 level.”
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