| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  Democrats got the candidate they wanted in Trump-backed Bernie Moreno, but the Senate race will offer an interesting test for Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). | AP | | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | ABOUT LAST NIGHT — The biggest story from yesterday’s elections was in Ohio, where former car dealer BERNIE MORENO, the DONALD TRUMP-backed candidate in the Republican Senate primary, easily defeated two opponents, including establishment favorite MATT DOLAN, the state senator endorsed by Gov. MIKE DeWINE and former Sen. ROB PORTMAN. After winning the state twice and fueling Sen. J.D. VANCE’s 2022 victory, Trump has transformed the Ohio Republican Party into a vital organ of his movement. Democrats got the candidate they wanted in Moreno, but the race will offer an interesting strategic test for Sen. SHERROD BROWN, the most populist, nationalist and protectionist Democrat in the Senate. (In other words, the most Trumplike.) Brown will have to win over plenty of working-class Trump voters to survive. But he will also likely want to reach out to the NIKKI HALEY slice of the Ohio GOP that responds to appeals about protecting abortion, countering threats to democracy and defending Ukraine. Meanwhile, in key House races: Ohio-09 … This was a mini version of the Senate race, where Republicans think they can finally beat veteran Democrat MARCY KAPTUR. As with the Senate primary, the Trump-backed candidate easily prevailed here: state Rep. DEREK MERRIN will face Kaptur in the fall. Illinois-12 … This race was a little different than the typical MAGA vs. Establishment contests we’ve grown used to in GOP primaries. Trump sided with incumbent Rep. MIKE BOST, the favorite of Washington Republicans, over DARREN BAILEY, a right-winger noisily supported by Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.). Bailey conceded last night, but the race was tight: With more than 90% of the vote in, Bost is up by less than four points California-20 … One more parting gift from KEVIN McCARTHY to the House Republicans who overthrew him: In last night’s special election to replace McCarthy, state Rep. VINCE FONG, endorsed by McCarthy and Trump, failed to hit 50% and will face a May runoff. That means Speaker MIKE JOHNSON gets two more months of vacancy in this solid GOP seat. Illinois-07 … And in one of the few intriguing Democratic primaries yesterday, 82-year-old incumbent Rep. DANNY DAVIS, seeking his 15th term, easily beat back a challenge from activist KINA COLLINS, who had sought to make the Israel-Hamas war and faced an AIPAC-funded negative ad campaign. One lesson from the race that might catch the attention of the West Wing: criticisms of Davis’s age fell flat. More takeaways … “Trump just showed his endorsement power again. And his weaknesses,” by Steve Shepard, Madison Fernandez and Zach Montellaro STILL NOT A NO — Sen. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) called it “one of those back-of-the-napkin ideas that sounds really good until you actually try to operationalize it.” Senate Majority Whip DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) mocked the idea: “I also would like some waivable loans.” But as much as some Democrats loathe the idea of loaning aid to Ukraine instead of handing it over outright — an idea we reported yesterday is gaining traction among key Republicans — very few are ruling it out. To be sure, Plan A for the Democrats is to pressure the House to take up the bill the Senate passed last month. However, a careful parsing of the public statements we heard yesterday reveals some hedging, suggesting there’s room to deal. Asked about the idea at the White House yesterday, for instance, press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE argued that the House should just pass the existing bill but didn’t say President JOE BIDEN would oppose a loan structure. And while Murphy said it was a “fool's errand” to try to placate Trump by pursuing a loan and otherwise called it “a pretty dumb idea,” he added this in the next breath: “But I’d be interested to hear more.” Durbin said much the same: “We need to send them resources, no strings attached,” he said, but when pressed on if it would be worth considering in order to speed up aid deliveries, he added, “Of course it’d be worth considering.” One important Democrat told us flat out he’d vote for it: Sen. CHRIS COONS (Del.), a close Biden confidant, said the situation “is so urgent … that if instead of grant money, we give the budget support as loans that are written in the same way that the European development loans are — meaning forgivable for national security reasons by the president, no interest or loan payments for a decade at least — I’d support it.” “Because, bluntly,” he added, “we’ve got to get this done.” Also this morning, Rep. BRENDAN BOYLE (D-Pa.) unequivocally predicted to The New Republic’s Greg Sargent that enough House Democrats would back a Ukraine loan to allow such a bill to clear the House’s two-thirds threshold to pass under suspension of the rules. “If that is presented to us and Mike Johnson bites the bullet, and says, ‘OK, I’m willing to put this on the floor,’ they feel like they’ve at least pacified Trump enough that he’s willing to do it, then my prediction is that it would pass,” he said, adding that enough Democrats would also support Johnson against a motion to vacate should it follow. None of this is to say Democrats don’t have serious qualms about the idea. Senate Armed Services Chair JACK REED (D-R.I.) wondered to Playbook if loaning Ukraine aid would set an unfortunate precedent — prompting Republicans to then push to turn assistance to other countries, perhaps even Israel and Taiwan, into loans as well. That’s, in part, why many of his colleagues aren’t interested in hypotheticals at the moment. As Sen. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-Md.) told us, “Right now, Plan A and Plan B are: Pass the Senate bill.” Good Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | A message from the American Bankers Association: Get the inside scoop on the banking policy debate by watching ABA’s Washington Summit starting at 8:30 AM ET. Top lawmakers including Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) will share their insights on key banking issues in Congress. Veteran political strategists Donna Brazile and Mike Murphy will offer their election outlook, and a separate session explores the latest industry efforts to get more veterans into the banking system. Watch the livestream. | | | IMPEACHMENT’S LAST HURRAH? — House Republicans are outwardly gung-ho about their push to impeach Biden: “FULL STEAM AHEAD,” the Judiciary Committee GOP declared yesterday on X. But it’s hard to escape the feeling that the push is petering out, and Democrats are primed to use today’s House Oversight hearing on Biden’s “Abuse of Public Office” to sink a final dagger in the effort. We caught up with Rep. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.), the panel’s top Democrat, late last as he was writing his opening statement, and he mocked Republicans for what he called an “embarrassing” probe that can trace its lineage all the way to Moscow. “With any luck, this is the end of the most spectacular failure in the history of congressional investigations,” Raskin said. “The whole thing is just an embarrassment and a disgrace, and it has a very strong whiff of Russian propaganda now.” To recap: One of the GOP’s star witnesses has been federally charged with fabricating his claims and accused of being in cahoots with Russian intelligence. GOP investigators hoped to recover today by amplifying the testimony of presidential son HUNTER BIDEN and three former business partners, but Biden chose not to show after testifying behind closed doors and associate DEVON ARCHER isn’t appearing after his lawyer said yesterday Republicans didn;t give him time to prepare. Only one GOP witness, TONY BOBULINSKI, will appear in person; another, JASON GALANIS, will testify from federal prison, where he’s serving a 14-year sentence on unrelated fraud charges. Republican sizzle reel notwithstanding, neither has delivered hard evidence President Biden profited from his son’s foreign dealings. Democrats, meanwhile, will trot out a familiar figure to try to pull their argument about a GOP clown show together: LEV PARNAS, the former RUDY GIULIANI associate who worked with Giuliani to dig up dirt on Biden ahead of the 2020 election and later did prison time on frud and campaign finance charges. “Parnas is coming to say all of it was a pure fabrication from the beginning and … given they were running on empty, they just decided to go with conspiracy theories and what turned out to be Russian propaganda,” Raskin said. HAPPY FED DAY — “How Has the Fed’s Outlook Changed? Here’s What to Watch Today,” by Nick Timiraos
| | | | A message from the American Bankers Association:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The House will meet at 10 a.m. Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM and HHS Secretary XAVIER BECERRA will testify before Appropriations subcommittees at 10 a.m. The Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on the Biden family at 10 a.m. SBA Administrator ISABEL GUZMAN will testify before the Small Business Committee at 10 a.m. South Dakota Gov. KRISTI NOEM will testify before the Agriculture Committee at 11:30 a.m. Becerra will testify before the Ways and Means Committee at 2 p.m. The Senate will meet at 10 a.m. and take up judicial nominations throughout the day, with a recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. for weekly conference meetings. Guzman will testify before the Small Business Committee at 2:30 p.m. 3 things to watch …
- Johnson faces his conference this morning, less than 72 hours from a shutdown deadline and without text of the sprawling appropriations deal in hand. Those facts matter because Republicans instituted a 72-hour review rule for legislation, and while it’s not enforceable on a bill that is moving under suspension of the rules, the speaker is facing pressure to heed it nonetheless. Yet an unusually self-aware Rep. BOB GOOD (R-Va.) analyzed the situation well, per the Daily Beast’s Reese Gorman: “I think it’s fair to say that most of us who have an issue with the 72-hour rule weren’t going to vote for the bill anyways,” the Freedom Caucus chair said. More from Anthony Adragna
- Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU will remotely address the Senate Republican lunch today, less than a week after Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER used the Senate floor to rebuke his handling of the war in Gaza and call for new elections. It’s a reminder that for all of the bluster from Bibi & Co. about Schumer’s meddling in Israeli politics, Netayahu has long felt perfectly at home among GOP circles in Washington.
- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The hot new trend in the Senate GOP is requesting a special conference meeting to make a point, and the latest example comes today courtesy of Sens. ROGER MARSHALL (Kan.), JONI ERNST (Iowa) and three others who want to convene next month after the Easter recess to “discuss potential reforms to the budget process.” Things are already running behind for fiscal 2025, they note, “and it is vital that we as a Conference debate how to get our budget process on track.” Read the letter
At the White House Biden will speak about his “Investing in America” agenda in the Phoenix area at 1:45 p.m. Eastern time, when NYT’s Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Don Clark report he will announce a huge new semiconductor manufacturing grant for Intel. Biden will then travel to the Dallas area for two campaign receptions. VP KAMALA HARRIS will take part in a conversation with Sen. CORY BOOKER (D-N.J.) at the League of Conservation Voters’ annual capital dinner at the Anthem at 6:10 p.m.
| | | | CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So, we have something cool for you: our California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | JUDICIARY SQUARE
|  Two members of the National Guard patrol an area of land behind the federal border wall Tuesday evening, March 19, in Mission, Texas. | Valerie Gonzalez/AP Photo | BORDER SONG — The Supreme Court allowed a controversial Texas law — which lets the state arrest anybody suspected of immigrating illegally — to go into effect while a legal challenge to it winds through appeals, per The Texas Tribune’s Uriel García and Alejandro Serrano. The 6-3 decision split along ideological lines, with the conservatives delivering a major blow to the Biden administration without ruling on whether S.B. 4 is constitutional. But late last night, a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals followed up to pause the law again ahead of a new round of oral arguments in that court today. More from CNN The case arises out of an extraordinary state-federal clash that has pitted Gov. GREG ABBOTT against the Biden administration over the surge of migrants at the southern border. Amid the legal back-and-forth, there isn’t a notable change yet on the ground, AP’s Valerie Gonzalez reports from McAllen, but the law “could have a dramatic impact” in time. For now, local law enforcement officials along the border have been split over whether they’ll use the new arrest powers, and Texas hasn’t said when its state officers and National Guard troops will do so. But Mexico reacted angrily, saying it would refuse to accept any deportees who didn’t come from the U.S. federal government. Migrant advocates, meanwhile, worry about fear and chaos. More top reads:
BEYOND THE BELTWAY THE ABORTION LANDSCAPE — New data from the Guttmacher Institute finds that the number of abortions in the U.S. actually rose last year despite many new state bans, and medication abortions surged to account for two-thirds of them. More from the WSJ MEGATREND — The latest FBI data shows that crime fell in the U.S. last year, especially homicides and other violent crime, per NBC’s Ken Dilanian. AMERICA AND THE WORLD
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is continuing to thumb his nose at President Joe Biden. | Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Sen. TOM CARPER (D-Del.) is leading 18 senators today in a letter urging Biden to work toward a two-state solution in the Middle East and create a framework for the U.S. to recognize a non-militarized Palestinian state. The letter, which reflects growing Democratic angst over the conflict and frustration with U.S. ally Israel, says the war is at “an inflection point” and that “this moment requires determined U.S. leadership that must move beyond facilitation. … Mr. President, heed the call of history — seek peace and pursue it.” Read it here As that Democratic pressure grows, Schumer sat down with NYT’s Annie Karni to explain why he called for Netanyahu to go: “I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I didn’t do it … It came from here,” he said, pointing to his gut. Yesterday, Schumer also slammed Trump as “a textbook example” of antisemitism for saying that Jews who vote for Democrats — i.e. the vast majority of them — hate their religion. (“Disgusting” and “toxic,” added second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF, per the Omaha World-Herald.) And more than 100 Democratic donors and activists, including some deep-pocketed names, warned Biden that his handling of the war risked putting Trump back in the White House by alienating progressives, NYT’s Reid Epstein reports. But there’s a backlash to the outspoken Democrats, too: The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said it had “deep reservations” with Schumer’s remarks, per Ursula Perano and Anthony Adragna. And HuffPost’s Akbar Shahid Ahmed scooped that U.S. Ambassador to Israel JACK LEW deemed Israel’s behavior around weapons and aid to be in compliance with international law in a diplomatic cable yesterday. Netanyahu is continuing to thumb his nose at Biden: He said today that Israel will proceed with a ground invasion of Rafah, which the U.S. has pleaded with Israel to avoid, per Reuters’ Bassam Masoud, Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams. Israeli airstrikes killed dozens more Palestinians yesterday. After the White House said Israel would send a delegation to Washington to discuss the Rafah plans, Netanyahu’s office announced that it would include RON DERMER, the ex-ambassador who was the PM's man in Washington as he sought to tank the Iran nuclear deal in 2015. Separately, Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN will meet with his Israeli counterpart YOAV GALLANT at the Pentagon, per Reuters’ Idrees Ali. More top reads:
| | | | A message from the American Bankers Association:   | | | ALL POLITICS SO MUCH FOR THAT — “Scott Presler, a conservative activist who has spread conspiracy theories, won’t be getting an RNC job,” by NBC’s Matt Dixon BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — Democrat LIZ DAHAN today is jumping into the primary to challenge Rep. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-Fla.). She most recently was a partner at Brunswick Group and is an Albright Stonebridge Group alum. MUCK READ — “Pennsylvania Republican Profited From China Trade Policies He Helped Shape,” by HuffPost’s Daniel Marans: “As a top Treasury official in the George W. Bush administration, DAVID McCORMICK worked to expand U.S. financial firms’ access to China.” MEDIAWATCH SEA CHANGE — “Gannett and McClatchy Cut Back Relationship With A.P.,” by NYT’s Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson CONGRESS JUDGE NOT — The 3rd Circuit nomination of ADEEL MANGI inched further into peril when Sen. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO (D-Nev.) announced her opposition last night, Anthony Adragna, Burgess Everett and Ursula Perano report. He is a White House priority and would be a historic pick as the first Muslim appeals court judge, but other Democrats are expressing concerns and Republicans seem unlikely to vote him through. PULLOUT FALLOUT — House Republicans slammed the Biden administration for its handling of the U.S. departure from Afghanistan at a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing yesterday, where top generals pored over crucial mistakes in the process. More from WaPo 2024 WATCH 2025 DREAMING — “The senators who could fill Trump’s national security cabinet,” by Semafor’s Jay Solomon: Among the names floated for top national security posts in a second Trump term are Sens. TOM COTTON (R-Ark.), BILL HAGERTY (R-Tenn.) and MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.), plus familiar faces RIC GRENELL, ROBERT O’BRIEN, MIKE POMPEO and JOHN RATCLIFFE. THE REVENGE PRESIDENCY — Trump indicated to Nigel Farage that he’d consider kicking out “nasty” Australian Ambassador KEVIN RUDD, a former PM who’s been critical of Trump, if he returns to the White House: “If he’s at all hostile, he will not be there long.” CASH DASH — “Inside the Biden effort to recruit Nikki Haley donors to help defeat Donald Trump,” by CNBC’s Brian Schwartz: “[V]eteran media executive and [NIKKI] HALEY backer HARRY SLOAN got a call from movie mogul JEFFREY KATZENBERG … Sloan agreed to help raise money for Biden's reelection effort and try to reel in Republican-aligned business leaders.” SURVEY SAYS — New Marist polls of North Carolina and Georgia, their first of the year in those states, find Trump beating Biden by 3 and 4 points, respectively. TRUMP CARDS ANATOMY OF A ‘BLOODBATH’ — Plenty of ink has been spilled over Trump’s comment this weekend, regarding tariffs on foreign cars, that “if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath.” Here are two smart spin-off reads from different angles: Semafor’s Dave Weigel examines how the “liberal video influencers” who help drive news cycles by clipping comments like these have grown in stature, including AARON RUPAR and RON FILIPOWSKI going to the White House before the State of the Union. Tanya Snyder, meanwhile, dives into the policy meat of Trump’s auto tariff plans — and finds that Democrats aren’t so opposed.
| | | | Easily connect with the right N.Y. State influencers and foster the right relationships to champion your policy priorities. POLITICO Pro. Inside New York. Learn more. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Dan Kildee lost his brother Tim Kildee in a shooting allegedly committed by Tim’s son. Michael McCaul had enough of Darrell Issa. Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi will join Joe Biden for a virtual rally. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Next 50 is rolling out its latest batch of endorsements today: Kyra Harris Bolden for the Michigan Supreme Court, David Crowley for Milwaukee County executive, Jeff Jackson for North Carolina AG, Sarah Klee Hood for the House in NY-22, and a variety of state Senate and House candidates in several states: Sam Park, Jasmine Clark, Saira Draper, Eva Burch, Lorena Austin, Seth Blattman, Ashwin Ramaswami, Anna Thomas, Anna Payne, Stephanie Simacek and Allie Phillips. OUT AND ABOUT — Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) had a belated birthday party at L’Ardente, where she encouraged a lot of dancing. SPOTTED: Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Reps. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), and Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands). — SPOTTED at Cafe Milano last night at a party for Matthew Kroenig and Dan Negrea’s new book, “We Win, They Lose: Republican Foreign Policy & the New Cold War” ($29.95): Kimberly Reed, Tyler Pager, Daniel Samet, Jacob Heilbrunn, Peter Pham, Rachel Pearson, David Keene, Spencer Chretien, Tara Palmeri, Peter Berkowitz, Melinda Haring, Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Sherry Street, Nina Dannaoui and James Storen. — Carrie Budoff Brown, the new board chair of the International Center for Journalists, hosted a small group of female journalists at the Henri for dinner and a conversation with Syrian journalist/ICFJ fellow Mais Katt, who shared her experience covering the Syrian civil war as a female journalist. SPOTTED: Sharon Moshavi, Vjollca Shtylla, Emily Schult, Erin Stock, Amy Walter, Cally Baute, Carol Lee, Kristen Welker, Kathryn Hamm, Sherry Ricchiardi, Kathleen Doherty, Andrea Mitchell, Sunlen Serfaty and Eliana Johnson. TRANSITIONS — Anais Carmona is now a director of congressional affairs at Microsoft. She previously was a director of federal affairs, working as a Democratic House and Senate lobbyist, at T-Mobile. … Alex McClung is now VP for education, labor and economy at Hager Sharp. He previously was account director for public health at JPA. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — John Leppard, SVP/senior health care analyst at Washington Analysis, and Emilia Leppard welcomed Lilette Marie Leppard on March 10. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) … Ronna McDaniel … DNC’s Lily Hopwood … WaPo’s Phil Rucker … Washingtonian’s Cathy Merrill Williams … Kevin Hassett … Gloria Story Dittus of Story Partners … Mark Putnam of Putnam Partners … Arthur Scott … Jon Thompson … Michael Whouley of Dewey Square Group … Jay Heimbach … Semafor’s Benjy Sarlin … POLITICO’s David Ferris and Laila Pirnazar … Naomi Zeigler … Sally Aman … Jackson Hurley of Voters of Tomorrow … Results for America’s Zac Coile … Jessica Carter … Abbey Welborn ... Susan McGinnis ... Matt Finkelstein ... Gloria Totten ... Cory Gattie ... Michael Brownlie … Ruth Osinski of BGR Group … CNN’s Jim Bittermann 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 and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. | | A message from the American Bankers Association: Join bank leaders from across the country at 8:30 AM ET today for ABA’s Washington Summit — the nation’s premier conversation on banking issues. Hear from key lawmakers shaping the banking policy debate including Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), a member of the Senate Banking Committee and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), a member of the House Financial Services Committee. Political strategists Donna Brazile and Mike Murphy will also offer their perspectives on the 2024 election. Watch live. | | | | | | | 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 political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
