| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | THE BUZZ OF THE LEGAL WORLD — “2 of Trump’s jurors are lawyers. Would they acquit on a technicality?” by Betsy Woodruff Swan: “The ‘totally uncommon’ prospect of two lawyers serving on the same jury could benefit the former president, some jury experts say.” THE YOLO SPEAKERSHIP — Speaker MIKE JOHNSON has entered his damn-the-torpedoes phase. As he stares down an existential threat to his speakership amid a conservative rebellion over his support of aid for Israel and Ukraine — a package endorsed by President JOE BIDEN — the Louisiana Republican told reporters yesterday that he’s full speed ahead on the bills in question. “My philosophy is you do the right thing and you let the chips fall where they may,” Johnson told reporters when asked about Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE’s (R-Ga.) effort to remove him as speaker. “If I operated out of fear of a motion to vacate, I would never be able to do my job." Watch the 86-second clip Luminaries of the MAGA right are lining up in opposition. Heritage Action is urging members to block the rule governing the foreign aid bill, Olivia Beavers notes — a move Sen. J.D. VANCE (R-Ohio) encouraged in a closed-door lunch with the House’s Republican Study Committee. Greene, for her part, filed a troll-ish amendment that would require anyone who votes for the bill to “conscript in the Ukrainian military.” Johnson is now teeing up the package for weekend votes. More on that from NYT’s Catie Edmondson
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If President Joe Biden’s strategists get their way, you can expect to hear nary a peep about Donald Trump's Manhattan trial. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo | HUSH LITTLE BABY, DON’T SAY A WORD — Later this morning, former President DONALD TRUMP will be back in court for Day 3 of his criminal trial in New York. If past is prologue, he will walk past reporters, yell about how unfair it all is, maybe attack some folks by name and sprinkle in a few Truth Social posts here and there. And if Biden’s strategists get their way, you can expect to hear … nary a peep about it from the Biden campaign or mainstream Democrats. That’s by design, Eugene and Jeff Coltin report this morning. The campaign’s strategy for dealing with Trump’s courthouse appearances can be summed up in one sentence: Stay the hell out of the way. THE REASONING: Such restraint is owed to three factors of descending importance: 1. Avoid any hint of interference. Biden insists that his White House and campaign not be seen as meddling in this prosecution — a posture he’s held since taking office and which has largely been adopted by his aides, even as some of them privately describe being frustrated by it. “The president believes in the norms,” one White House official and Biden 2020 alum tells us. “The rest of us might be like, ‘Sir, it's a different time.’ But it only takes one utterance from Joe Biden for the ‘weaponization of government’ bullshit to become more of a reality.” 2. Let Trump hurt himself. Top Democrats believe that the spectacle of Trump’s trial will, by itself, hurt the former president, especially with independents and suburban women. And they argue there will be more than enough coverage of the criminal cases without them nudging. “[The case] has a life of its own,” says veteran Democratic operative JAMES CARVILLE, who has at times been publicly at odds with his party. “There’s a constant supply of logs that are put on that fire, you don’t need to add any more.” To wit: The Biden camp didn’t even take the bait when the former president appeared to doze off on the opening day of proceedings. Instead, they used the moment to pivot to abortion (“Wake Up Donald: After Stormy Abortion Ban Coverage, Trump Poll Memo Attempts to Hush Panic,” read the memo Biden’s campaign sent out late in the day). “We have such better ammo on this,” said one New York Democratic operative. “I would never waste a breath on hush money when I could say ‘abortion,’ ‘Ukraine,’ ‘tax billionaires.’” 3. You can speak about a theme rather than the cases themselves. Some allies say that Biden can talk around what is at the center of the criminal cases: the notion that Trump is a danger to democracy and unfit to be president. “Only those living under a rock have not heard about President Trump’s 91 felony charges,” said ERIC SCHULTZ, a longtime spokesman for former President BARACK OBAMA. “While President Biden would never do anything to jeopardize the 91 felony charges against his opponent, he has rightly talked about the acute threat Donald Trump poses to democracy.” THE COUNTERARGUMENT: Though most prominent Dems seem to be on board with Biden world’s approach, some see it as a miscalculation to not hit Trump on the criminal trials, which they believe is likely to be one of his biggest vulnerabilities with voters. “Given where we are, we’ve got to take some risks,” a senior 2020 Biden campaign official tells Playbook. “And I do think — even if it's not going to be President Biden, I think some of the surrogates should address it directly. I’ll be honest: I have a feeling that the closer we get to Election Day, they will.” It’s also quite possible that over the course of the trial, with so much media focus on the Manhattan Criminal Court, Dem candidates and surrogates will find it irresistible to avoid the potential attention that could come with weighing in. “I imagine many offices will be like, ‘Fuck it,’” says the New York operative. “If I wanted to be on CNN tonight saying ‘New York Democrat responds to first day of jury selection,’ they’d take me on.” Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | 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. | | | A NEW SPIN ON ‘BROTHERLY LOVE’ — As Biden hits Philly today on Day 3 of his swing through Pennsylvania, he’s getting a Camelot-sized endorsement. Biden’s campaign says a large contingent of the Kennedy family will be on hand to endorse the Biden campaign in an event that will feature speeches from KERRY KENNEDY, RORY KENNEDY and former Rep. JOE KENNEDY III (D-Mass.). Members of the family will then knock doors and phone-bank in Philly in a voter outreach push. On the one hand, the endorsement from prominent members of perhaps the most famous Democratic political family in American life isn’t exactly a stunner (especially given their recent St. Patrick’s Day photo op at the White House). Then again, ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. — Kerry and Rory’s older brother, and Joe’s uncle — is running for president against Biden. His namesake will loom large in Kerry’s speech, we’re told, as she casts the president as the torchbearer of ROBERT F. KENNEDY’s beliefs. “I can only imagine how Donald Trump’s outrageous lies and behavior would have horrified my father,” Kerry will say, per prepared remarks. “Daddy stood for equal justice, human rights, and freedom from want and fear. Just as President Biden does today.” ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? — They’re young. They’re angsty. They disapprove of the president’s job performance. And, for the most part, they’re going to vote for him anyway. Early this morning, Harvard’s biannual youth poll came out. It finds that among registered voters under age 30, Biden leads Trump, 50% to 37%. And screening for likely voters, Biden’s lead grows: 56% to 37%. A few other things that popped out to us:
- The gender gap is real, even among young voters. Among young women, Biden leads Trump by 33 points. Among young men, his lead is just 6 points.
- A warning sign for Biden: Only 9% of young Americans “say the country is headed in the right direction,” per the release.
Yes, Biden’s numbers with young voters are strong. But they’re not quite where they need to be, JOHN DELLA VOLPE, the director of polling at Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, tells Playbook. “For a Democrat to comfortably win the Electoral College, he or she needs to win 60 percent of the youth vote. Biden and Obama, ’12 and ’20, won 60 percent. Obama got 66 percent in ’08. [JOHN] KERRY and HILLARY CLINTON got 55 percent,” Della Volpe says. “Biden is in the mid-50s. Can you improve that to get to 60 percent? It’s within reach. But he’s going to have to get younger men and young men of color, younger men who are white, younger men in the suburbs and their urban areas to turn out.” Read the topline results … More from Lisa Kashinsky
| | | | A message from Business Roundtable:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate will meet at noon to take up the motion to proceed to the FISA Section 702 reauthorization, with a cloture vote at 1 p.m. DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS will testify before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee at 10 a.m. Acting HUD Secretary ADRIANNE TODMAN will testify before the Banking Committee at 10:10 a.m. The House will meet at 9 a.m. 3 things to watch …
- If it weren’t already crystal clear that Democratic help will be needed to get the big foreign aid package to the House floor, GOP hard-liners last night tanked Johnson’s attempt to get a sidecar border bill through the Rules Committee first. The upshot is that there will be no fig leaf for what this is: a nakedly bipartisan effort to sideline hard-right Ukraine critics in the GOP. Rep. CHIP ROY (R-Texas), one of the Rules dissidents, wrote, “sorry, not sorry, for opposing a crappy rule that is a show vote / cover vote for funding Ukraine instead of border security.”
- Definitely monitor the Rules Committee website to see what amendments members are seeking on the four constituent bills making up the nearly $100 billion aid package. (Already as of this morning 46 have been filed on the Ukraine piece alone.) While Johnson has promised an amendment process, only some will be made in order for debate — in other words, don’t hold your breath expecting a vote on Greene’s conscription amendment or another calling for “the development of space laser technology on the southwest border.”
- Rep. DONALD PAYNE JR. (D-N.J.) is in tougher shape than his office initially reported after he suffered a “cardiac episode” earlier this month. The initial April 9 report mentioned a “good” prognosis and expectations of a “full recovery,” but a new statement issued yesterday — after the New Jersey Globe reported he was unconscious and on a ventilator — confirmed he remains hospitalized and included this less hopeful line: “While we hope for a full recovery, we ask everyone to keep him in your prayers.”
At the White House Biden will travel to Philadelphia for a pair of campaign events in the early afternoon before returning to the White House. VP KAMALA HARRIS will take part in a conversation about gun violence prevention ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, and will record a pair of radio interviews.
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|  Yesterday brought to an end Republicans’ monthslong effort to oust Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over what they described as a dereliction of duty on immigration. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | IT’S ALL OVER BUT THE DECRYING — The impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas ended with a whimper yesterday as Senate Democrats quickly dismissed the House’s two articles against him, voting to declare them unconstitutional. Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-Alaska) was the only Republican to break ranks with her party, voting present on one of the articles. That brought to an end Republicans’ monthslong effort to oust Mayorkas over what they described as a dereliction of duty on immigration. Critics blasted the impeachment — the first of a Cabinet secretary since the 1800s — as denigrating a tool reserved for high crimes and misdemeanors by deploying it over a policy disagreement. And Democrats responded in kind to the GOP articles by essentially forgoing a Senate trial against Mayorkas. Senators couldn’t agree on a plan to allow more floor debate before the votes. “[T]he merits of the case they hoped to bring to the Senate were widely seen as lacking substance,” CNN’s Gregory Krieg, Ted Barrett, Annie Grayer, Clare Foran and Morgan Rimmer report. “House GOP claims that Mayorkas, the first Latino and immigrant to hold the job, committed high crimes and misdemeanors never passed muster with constitutional experts.” Nonetheless, Republicans plan to use the votes to hammer vulnerable Dem senators over immigration on the campaign trail, Axios’ Stephen Neukam reports. FISA FALLOUT — A bill from privacy-hawk Reps. WARREN DAVIDSON (R-Ohio) and JERRY NADLER (D-N.Y.) to limit the government from buying Americans’ data passed the House, per the Washington Examiner’s Rachel Schilke, though its Senate prospects are unclear. THE WHITE HOUSE CLIMATE FILES — “White House Renews Internal Talks on Invoking Climate Emergency,” by Bloomberg’s Jennifer Dlouhy and Jennifer Jacobs: It would be “an unprecedented step that could unlock federal powers to stifle oil development.” WHAT EUGENE IS READING — “Kamala Harris Is Almost as Popular as Beyoncé, New Poll Shows,” Newsweek VALLEY TALK
|  Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) is now on board with House Speaker Mike Johnson's changes to the TikTok bill. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK — The forced divestment or sale of TikTok got a lot closer to reality when Johnson unveiled a tweak to the bill that would give TikTok a year instead of six months to divest — and Senate Commerce Chair MARIA CANTWELL (D-Wash.) announced she was now on board. But China has launched an under-the-radar campaign to sway the Hill against the bill, Hailey Fuchs revealed. Embassy personnel are lobbying staffers, despite TikTok parent company ByteDance’s insistence that it isn’t beholden to the Chinese government. Sources tell Hailey that the matter came up in meetings diplomats asked for that didn’t initially appear to be about TikTok. The embassy argued that the app didn’t pose a national security risk, and that restricting it would be unfair. TikTok said this article “doesn’t pass the smell test,” but the embassy didn’t deny it. “This is not about lobbying for a single company,” a spokesperson said, “but about whether all Chinese companies can be treated fairly.”
| | | | A message from Business Roundtable:   | | | TRUMP CARDS
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Donald Trump wants to put forth a new tax cut for the middle class if he returns to the White House. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO | WHAT’S IN A NAME — “Trump campaign asks for cut of candidates’ fundraising when they use his name and likeness,” by Alex Isenstadt: “Trump’s campaign has found a new way to press for badly needed cash. … [It] is asking for down-ballot candidates who use his name, image and likeness in fundraising appeals to give at least 5 percent of the proceeds to the campaign.” SWINGING BACK UP — After a major decline earlier this week, Trump Media shares jumped 16 percent yesterday, per Bloomberg. 2024 WATCH THE STAKES FOR NOVEMBER — We’re starting to get a clearer picture of Trump’s potential tax policy plans in a second term: Reuters’ Gram Slattery scooped that Trump wants to put forth a new tax cut for the middle class if he returns to the White House. That could come in the form of a federal payroll tax cut, a standard deduction increase or a marginal income tax rate cut, as advisers like STEPHEN MOORE and LARRY KUDLOW are discussing. Such a move could help out many ordinary Americans and give Trump a political boost, though it could also increase deficits, worsen inflation or damage the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. Caveats: These are early and informal discussions, and he’d need Congress to get on board. Moore and ARTHUR LAFFER, meanwhile, have bad news for New York Republicans: They’re urging Trump not to lift the limit on the state and local tax deduction, Bloomberg’s Stephanie Lai reports. That’s the tax break that high-income areas in high-tax states would desperately like to see re-expanded, but Trump’s advisers say they have no interest in subsidizing wealthy blue-state residents when the cap is due to expire next year. More top reads:
BEYOND THE BELTWAY MACHINE LEARNING — An appeals court upheld the ruling doing away with the controversial ballot design for New Jersey’s Democratic Senate primary, Daniel Han and Matt Friedman report. That’s a win for Rep. ANDY KIM (D-N.J.) and activists who have pushed for small-d democratic reforms — and a blow to the state’s Democratic political machine, which used the unusual format to wield power. As NEAL KATYAL defends the “county line” system in court, Matt reveals this morning that Rep. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-N.J.) helped recruit him to the lawsuit, which “is seen by fellow Democrats as a strategic play for governor in 2025.” WHAT KARI LAKE IS WATCHING — “Senate kick-starts Arizona abortion ban repeal after House Republicans block similar bill,” by the Arizona Republic’s Mary Jo Pitzl, Stacey Barchenger and Ray Stern MORE POLITICS BATTLE FOR THE SENATE — In Wisconsin, Democratic Sen. TAMMY BALDWIN is counting on maintaining decent margins with rural voters who like her but otherwise vote Republican, NBC’s Sarah Dean reports from Reedsburg. A new Marquette Law School poll finds Baldwin tied with Republican ERIC HOVDE among likely voters at 50% apiece, though she leads by 5 among registered voters (while Trump leads Biden by 2 either way). And in Maryland, Republican LARRY HOGAN is trying to balance presenting himself as a moderate without turning off Trump supporters, AP’s Steve Peoples and Brian Witte report from Stevensville. Hogan confirms to them that he’s sticking with the GOP, even if Trump wins the White House. Hogan could have a tough time winning over Democrats, as evidenced by a critical new piece from Baynard Woods for Rolling Stone and the Garrison Project, who picks apart factual errors in Hogan’s 2020 memoir. BETTER THAN REVENGE — “McCarthy-aligned group running ads against Republicans who triggered his speaker ouster,” by Ally Mutnick: “The American Prosperity Alliance … is running an immigration-focused TV ad in several districts, including those held by Reps. BOB GOOD (R-Va.), ELI CRANE (R-Ariz.) and NANCY MACE (R-S.C.).” AMERICA AND THE WORLD TWO NOTABLE MIDDLE EAST STORIES — “Blinken Is Sitting on Staff Recommendations to Sanction Israeli Military Units Linked to Killings or Rapes,” by ProPublica’s Brett Murphy … “Leaked Cables Show White House Opposes Palestinian Statehood,” by The Intercept’s Ken Klippenstein and Daniel Boguslaw
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Joe Biden suggested that his uncle might’ve been eaten by cannibals. Bo Dietl’s firm was dropped from Eric Adams’ legal defense trust after he told our colleague to “go suck dick somewhere.” Bob Menendez’s trial could be delayed again. Vince McMahon has stayed in touch with Trump. Patty Murray’s Apple Watch is looking out for her. Morgan McGarvey’s daughter is taking the congressional press corps by storm. SPOTTED: former NFL player Malcolm Jenkins and former MLS player Justin Morrow on the Hill with the Players Coalition advocating for gun violence prevention. OUT AND ABOUT — The Consumer Technology Association held its annual Digital Patriots Dinner on Tuesday night at the Conrad, celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding as the Associated Radio Manufacturers. Reps. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) and Colin Angle were honored as the 2024 Digital Patriots, and Denise Gibson was inducted into the Consumer Technology Hall of Fame. Also SPOTTED: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Peter Feldman, Gary Shapiro and Kinsey Fabrizio. — All In Together celebrated its 10th anniversary yesterday with the Black Women Lead Conference and its annual gala at the Conrad hotel. SPOTTED: Lauren Leader, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Angela Alsobrooks, Barbara Comstock, Symone Sanders-Townsend, Desirée Rogers, Joy Reid, Stacey Abrams and Alethia Jackson. MEDIA MOVE — Liz Landers is joining Scripps News as lead disinformation correspondent on its new, six-person Disinformation Desk. She’s a Vice News and CNN alum. TRANSITIONS — Richard Muller is now director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity. He previously led the Energy Department’s Quantum Systems Accelerator and managed the advanced microsystems group at Sandia National Laboratories. … Sydney Paul will be government affairs partner at Andreessen Horowitz. She most recently was a director at Meta, and is a Gary Peters alum. … … Leah Courtney will be a senior media manager at the National Federation for Independent Business. She currently is comms director for Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.). … Jasmine Hooks is now COO at SKDK. She previously was deputy COO. … Rochelle “Shelley” Washington has been appointed as senior program manager at the Normal Anomaly Initiative. She previously was an educator in Fort Bend County, Texas. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) … White House Cabinet Secretary Evan Ryan … POLITICO’s Burgess Everett, Michael Stratford, Lara Seligman, Brooke Race and Mohar Chatterjee … John Podhoretz … former Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and Karen Handel (R-Ga.) … MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin … CNN’s Eva McKend … Kayleigh McEnany … White House’s Kelsey Donohue … Darby Grant … Black Rock Group’s Mike Dubke … Bret Manley … John Fogarty … DHS’ Robert Silvers … USA Today’s Donovan Slack … Sean Maloney … Grant Saunders … Micki Werner … Tracy Spicer of Avenue Solutions … Caleb Crosswhite … Amazon’s Brian Huseman … Rick Kaplan … Zach Zaragoza … Columbia’s Ben Chang … Phil Gordon … Trey Grayson 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 Business Roundtable: From lifesaving medical devices to everyday household products, U.S. companies and the hardworking Americans they employ have developed many of the world’s most important goods and services. These innovations were made possible by a competitive, pro-growth tax system that spurred robust domestic investment.
Unfortunately, key 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 support American innovation, businesses and workers. It’s time to pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act. Learn more. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
