| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | SPOILER ALERT — ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.’s campaign said he has qualified for the ballot in Michigan via the Natural Law Party. More from The Hill ANOTHER ONE HEADS FOR THE DOOR — Rep. JAKE LaTURNER (R-Kan.), a second-term congressman, announced he won’t run for reelection.
|  Donald Trump’s team is racing through social media accounts of prospective jurors. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO | DIRE VOIR — Jury selection in DONALD TRUMP’s criminal hush money prosecution took a step backward today as two jurors were dismissed from the case, with concerns mounting about the privacy of selected Manhattanites in the ultra-sensitive trial. Keep up with live updates from our POLITICO colleagues The number of jurors selected fell from seven back to five, after an oncology nurse said she didn’t know whether she could be fair. Loved ones had asked whether she was a juror after identifying information was made public, judge JUAN MERCHAN said. As a result, Merchan told reporters to stop releasing some personal data about prospective jurors, including current and former jobs and physical descriptions. Trump’s team is racing through social media accounts this week to try to root out hints of political bias among prospective jurors, WaPo’s Devlin Barrett, Josh Dawsey and Shayna Jacobs report. Another juror was dismissed after lawyers raised questions about whether he’d been truthful about his criminal history, though Merchan didn’t provide details of the court’s conversations with him. (The juror indicated to reporters afterward that he disagreed with the dismissal.) The jury struggles are a reminder of the intensity and stakes of Trump’s historic trial. “Jurors are risking their safety, and their privacy, to sit in judgment of a former commander in chief,” NYT’s Ben Protess notes, “a heavy responsibility that could unnerve a number of prospective jurors.” The prosecution and defense continued to spar this morning over whether Trump has violated his gag order with ongoing online attacks against MICHAEL COHEN and Merchan. But we’ll have to wait a little longer for an outcome: The judge said he’ll wait to rule on that question until a hearing next week. Meanwhile in Florida, Trump’s lawyers are again trying to use the Manhattan case to seek further delays in Trump’s classified documents criminal prosecution, per Kyle Cheney. LATEST ON THE HILL — As the House Rules Committee meets today for pivotal votes on Speaker MIKE JOHNSON’s multi-pronged foreign aid plan, Democrats are gaming out their options while Republican tensions continue to flare on the Hill. In a caucus meeting this morning, House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES told members to remain “united and frosty” without getting too specific about vote guidance, Nick Wu, Jennifer Scholtes and Daniella Diaz report. Leadership said they’d asked Johnson to forgo the typical 72-hour waiting period before votes on legislation to get the assistance out the door faster. And they indicated that the Ukraine bill will come up first for a vote — a relief for Democrats who didn’t want Republicans to bail on Kyiv after voting for Israel aid. House Minority Whip KATHERINE CLARK (D-Mass.) also said Democrats should wait to say whether they’d save Johnson’s speakership, to maximize their influence, per CNN’s Manu Raju. With Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) still dangling the threat of a motion to vacate, questions swirled about Johnson’s future after Punchbowl reported that GOP leaders were considering inserting a provision to raise the threshold for MTVs. That would probably get a lot of support from both parties, but it would infuriate Freedom Caucus types who have used it as leverage. Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.) — who indicated that he could be open to another motion to vacate — told Jordain Carney that he and other hard-right members didn’t get an answer from Johnson today on his plans. Rep. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-Colo.) called it a “red line.” And Olivia Beavers reports that the Freedom Caucus is launching a “Floor Action Response Team” (yes, “FART”) to, er, sniff out any procedural feints that could sap their power. Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Business Roundtable: Essential pro-growth tax policies have expired or are being phased out, making it more difficult for U.S. businesses to invest at home, create American jobs and compete globally. The House has passed legislation to stop these tax increases on U.S. job creators. Now, it’s up to the Senate to act. It’s time to strengthen America’s global competitiveness. Pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act. Learn more. | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  National security adviser Jake Sullivan will lead a senior-level meeting today with Israeli officials to discuss their preparations for an invasion of Rafah. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo | 1. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: The U.S. slapped new sanctions on Iran today as punishment for its barrage of missile and drone strikes aimed at Israel, per AP’s Fatima Hussein. Along with similar moves from the U.K., the Biden administration sanctioned Iranian individuals and groups that helped make the machinery for the attacks. Meanwhile, national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN will lead a senior-level meeting today with Israeli officials to discuss their preparations for a major invasion of Rafah, which the U.S. is still trying to ward off, Axios’ Barak Ravid reports. One U.S. official tells him that recent Israeli plans lay out a more gradual and targeted operation in the south Gaza city after certain neighborhoods are evacuated. Also happening this week: a U.N. Security Council vote on admitting Palestine as a full member to the international body — effectively declaring it a state — which the U.S. is expected to veto. 2. WHAT WENT WRONG: “Man on terrorist watchlist was dropped from program that monitors migrants,” by NBC’s Julia Ainsley: “[T]he man’s participation in the monitoring program, known as Alternatives to Detention, lasted only a little over two weeks … MOHAMMAD KHARWIN, 48, is believed to have then spent 10 months in the U.S. without any kind of monitoring system.” 3. HOT ON THE LEFT: The Congressional Progressive Caucus is spelling out the domestic policies they want to enact if Democrats are in power next year, NBC’s Sahil Kapur scooped. The agenda especially emphasizes economic issues, from a higher minimum wage to the PRO Act for unions to dental benefits in Medicare, but it also covers education, energy, democracy and more. What’s not in the agenda: Medicare for All. Republicans quickly said they’d use the progressive platform to paint vulnerable Democrats as extreme.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | 4. TO TELL THE TRUTH SOCIAL: As its parent company’s stocks take the market by storm, Truth Social has emerged as a dominant app in the world of right-wing social media, NYT’s David Yaffe-Bellany and Matthew Goldstein report. Its monthly users have way outpaced Parler and Gettr, with only Gab in the running as a competitor. “But just because Truth Social is more popular than some of its competitors doesn’t mean it has a viable business,” the Times writes: Its relative success is “mostly because its rivals have faltered,” while X remains way bigger. Related read: “Legal Fight Over Trump Media’s Ownership Adds to Its Woes,” by Goldstein and Yaffe-Bellany 5. COMSTOCK CONTRETEMPS: “Democrats Say They Have a Winning Hand on Abortion but Outside Groups Won’t Let Them Play It,” by NOTUS’ Oriana González: “Congressional Democrats say leading abortion rights groups have been directing them not to talk about repealing the Comstock Act and are actively discouraging them from introducing legislation to address it … [Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union] say they’re concerned that any action could impact the outcome of ongoing lawsuits, even as bills seeking to protect abortion access are highly unlikely to be enacted.” 6. WHAT LISA MONACO IS UP TO: “Justice Department ramps up efforts to reduce violent crime with gun intel center, carjacking forces,” by AP’s Alanna Durkin Richer: “In Chicago, the gun crime intelligence center at the city’s ATF office brings together federal agents and state and local police as well as federal and local prosecutors to share and analyze firearm intelligence to better identify traffickers and the most prolific shooters … Amid a scourge of carjackings nationwide, the Justice Department has also created task forces to combat the issue in seven more U.S. attorney’s offices.” 7. BARRIERS TO ENTRY: “Elections Have Gotten More Accessible for Disabled Voters, but Gaps Remain,” by NYT’s Maggie Astor: A new report to the Election Assistance Commission “looked at elections through the 20th anniversary of [the Help America Vote Act] in 2022 and found that the law had generally improved accessibility. … But while the gap has shrunk, disabled Americans still vote at much lower rates than Americans who aren’t disabled.”
| | | | POLITICO IS BACK AT THE 2024 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO will again be your eyes and ears at the 27th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles from May 5-8 with exclusive, daily, reporting in our Global Playbook newsletter. Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground covering the biggest moments, behind-the-scenes buzz and on-stage insights from global leaders in health, finance, tech, philanthropy and beyond. Get a front-row seat to where the most interesting minds and top global leaders confront the world’s most pressing and complex challenges — subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Peter Barca is launching a comeback bid in Wisconsin, 30 years after leaving the House. Jared Moskowitz wants to label Marjorie Taylor Greene’s office the “Neville Chamberlain Room.” Mike Gallagher and other lawmakers aren’t happy about Chinese lobbying on TikTok. IN MEMORIAM — “Sheppie Abramowitz, tenacious advocate for refugees, dies at 88,” by WaPo’s Harrison Smith: “She opened the International Rescue Committee’s D.C. office and helped shape humanitarian efforts around the world, working on crises from Kosovo to Cambodia.” BOOK CLUB — Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is releasing a memoir, “The Art of Power,” from Simon & Schuster on Aug. 6, per AP’s Hillel Italie. It will cover her public life and speakership, including her experience of Jan. 6 and the attack on her husband. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the Semafor Gala at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium, in celebration of its World Economy Summit: Justin Smith, Ben Smith, Steve Clemons, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Jim Himes (D-Conn.) and Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Brett McGurk, Neera Tanden, Christine Lagarde, Rashida Jones, Penny Pritzker, David Rubenstein, Wolf Blitzer, Hank Paulson, José Muñoz, Robert Allbritton, Katherine Maher, Josh Dawsey, Sam Feist, Swiss Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud, Kadia Goba, Benjy Sarlin and Ben Haas. — The Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation hosted its annual spring happy hour last night. SPOTTED: co-chairs Tom Daschle and Greg Walden, Bob Dold, Nathan Daschle, Charlie Panfil, Andrew Freedman, Shanita Penny, Tate Bennett, Chanse Jones, Alekhya Tallapaka, Alex Weisman, Cara Moon, Amber Littlejohn, Eric Goepel and Michelle Dimarob. — SPOTTED at the Consumer Technology Association’s “CES on the Hill” event at their Innovation House last night: House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and Reps. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Russell Fry (R-S.C.), Garret Graves (R-La.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Bob Latta (R-Ohio), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.). TRANSITIONS — Heather Sawyer is joining Cooley as special counsel in its congressional investigations practice. She most recently was executive director at American Oversight, and is a Senate Judiciary alum. … Cheryl Miller is joining the US Council for International Business as VP for digital policy. She is a Meta, Verizon and Senate Small Business alum. … Archer Aviation has added Melissa McCaffrey to work on state and local government affairs and moved Billy Nolen to become chief regulatory affairs officer, leading its government affairs. McCaffrey previously led Overair’s government affairs division. 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.
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