| | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
During his post-meeting press conference, House Speaker Mike Johnson side-stepped directly discussing the reconciliation drama. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | CONFIRMED: “Senate confirms Scott Turner for HUD post,” by Katy O’Donnell RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: House Speaker Mike Johnson was slated to address the ongoing debate about the shape and scope of the reconciliation package in this morning’s closed-door GOP conference meeting. But his remarks — urging members to “keep the faith” and telling them that they have “no choice” but to get it done despite the delays — did little to assuage the Republican critics of his one-bill approach. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) reportedly “confronted” the speaker during the meeting, alleging that leadership is not moving fast enough to get Trump’s agenda through the House, per CNN’s Lauren Fox. Afterwards, “Donalds told reporters that the party is ‘stuck in the mud’ and that he prefers a two-bill strategy,” which is favored by Senate Republicans and a number of hardline conservatives in the House. Asked about the back-and-forth, Johnson said “I assured him that we're moving forward toward the final decision” on reconciliation, Meredith Lee Hill reports. Johnson added that “none of us” want to work with Democrats to get it through, but that “the reality is you have to get 60 votes in the Senate, so that's what dictates how all this goes.” During his post-meeting press conference, Johnson side-stepped directly discussing the reconciliation drama, instead of accusing Democrats of “changing their tune” on government shutdowns now that Trump is in office. Johnson also avoided taking an exact position on Trump’s surprise proposal yesterday that the U.S. should “take over Gaza,” instead praising the president for the “bold move” and cautioning reporters to withhold judgment. “There'll be more details forthcoming,” Johnson said. “We aren’t going to equivocate. The previous administration did that. They encumbered Israel, and you're seeing the reversal of that now.” Asked if Trump’s slew of changes to federal departments — including effectively shuttering USAID and possibly targeting the Education Department next — violates the Constitution, Johnson said there is a “gross overreaction in media” to what is happening. The executive branch, Johnson argued, has broad discretion to reevaluate agencies, and the Trump administration is acting “within the scope of their authority;” it isn’t, he said, a “power grab.” MIDDLE EAST LATEST … From Gaza: “Palestinians in Gaza expressed a mixture of condemnation and confusion on Wednesday over President Trump’s declaration that the United States should seize control of the devastated coastal territory and forcibly displace its entire population,” writes NYT’s Adam Rasgon and Bilal Shbair. “A number of Gazans said they found Mr. Trump’s comments reprehensible, noting they were in harmony with plans presented by far-right members of Israel's governing coalition. But while some residents rejected leaving Gaza under any circumstances, others said conditions were so unlivable after 15 months of Israeli bombardment that they would consider relocating.” From Jordan and Egypt: Though Trump suggested yesterday that is aides had been discussing his proposal with officials in Egypt and Jordan, Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein said today he would oppose any attempts by Trump to annex the Gaza Strip and forcibly move Paelstinians, Reuters’ Steve Holland, Matt Spetalnick, Jeff Mason and John Irish report. Egypt also “said it would support Gaza recovery plans without Palestinians leaving the territory,” and stressed the importance of a two-state solution. From the families of hostages: The families of Israelis who are still being held hostage by Hamas voiced fear today that Trump’s proposal could upend plans to get their loved ones returned home, CBS News’ Haley Ott reports. From Israel’s ambassador to the UN: “Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, backed President Donald Trump’s plans for the United States to take control of Gaza, though he doesn’t believe Palestinians should be forcibly removed from the land,” Amanda Friedman writes. “‘I think we all agree that it should require the consent — consent of people to move out from where they live, and the consent for other countries to receive them,’ Danon said on CNN Wednesday.” Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
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Learn more about how others are building with open source AI. | | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — To comply with Trump's 90-day hiring freeze, the State Department has cancelled its February foreign service officer test, a State Department spokesperson told our Daniel Lippman. The spokesperson also said State has suspended testing for Foreign Service Specialist candidates and for its Consular Fellows Program candidates while the department reassesses hiring requirements. In the first year of the first Trump administration, the number of Americans who took the thrice-yearly Foreign Service exam to try to join the State Department fell by a quarter from a year earlier as interest waned in joining the department with Trump fulminating about the so-called “deep state” and trying to shrink Foggy Bottom. Lippman and Nahal Toosi reported last week that whether the incoming April class of Foreign Service Officers can start their training is also up in the air given the freeze.
| | 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | | 
Donald Trump’s near-total shuttering of global aid efforts via USAID have left officials in Europe wondering if they even want to try and replace the U.S. funding. | Carolyn Kaster/AP | 1. BANNED AID: Trump’s shuttering of USAID, federal funding freeze and move to dismantle the Education Department means the administration is already facing an onslaught of litigation over existing orders. Though one case from a coalition of nonprofits succeeded overnight in security a temporary pause on Trump’s freeze, officials say it’s just the “start of what nonprofits expect will be a deluge of court actions, as civil litigation promises to be a powerful tool” for groups to counter Trump’s orders, AP’s Thalia Beaty reports. “More than a dozen federal lawsuits have already been filed against President Trump and his administration by a wide range of nonprofits, from several Quaker organizations to the consumer rights group Public Citizen to New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support.” Meanwhile, across the pond … Trump’s near-total shuttering of global aid efforts via USAID have left officials in Europe wondering if they even want to try and replace the U.S. funding through their own coffers. “Some nonprofits have called on E.U. countries to give more money” after Trump announced the pause, WaPo’s Ellen Francis reports. “Yet many say the trend on the continent had already been going in the opposite direction for months,” as countries like France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland are already scaling back foreign aid and tightening budgets. 2. MUSK READ: Elon Musk’s infiltration of the Trump administration has dominated headlines since Inauguration Day. But beneath the furor, Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” is zeroing in on the Treasury Department’s little-known Bureau of Fiscal Service, which oversees a system channeling “about 90 percent of the payments for the United States government,” NYT’s Alan Rappeport, Andrew Duehren and Colby Smith report. How it works: “Agencies across the government prepare computer files detailing payments they need made and send them to the Treasury Department. Treasury officials then ensure the files are properly completed and run the data through a final series of checks … Given the sensitivity of the information in the system, access to it has historically been limited to the small group of staff members who need it.” Musk’s interest in the bureau has many lawmakers alarmed because they fear what his intentions are with the information. “Access to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service data could theoretically give Mr. Musk insights into the federal contracts of his corporate competitors,” per the Times. Meanwhile, at Rayburn: House Oversight Committee Democrats made a failed motion to subpoena Musk today, per NOTUS’ Daniella Diaz. The motion failed, 19-20, with Sillicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) abstaining from voting. 3. IMMIGRATION FILES: Trump has repeatedly demanded a crackdown on illegal immigration nationwide, but former officials warn that DHS may not have enough agents to carry out his sweeping agenda, NPR’s Ximena Bustillo reports. Though some 20,000 people are employed by ICE, only 6,000 are responsible for removals, according to former ICE chief of staff Jason Houser. And within those ranks, retention and recruitment remain issues, as “morale has long suffered across administrations of both political parties,” Bustillo writes. But but but … “The Trump administration is already trying to address workforce constraints,” making an exception for ICE for the federal hiring freeze. Still, “hiring even more people will require more funds from Congress, which could take months.” 4. IMITATION IS FLATTERY: Republican state lawmakers and governors across the country are lining up to mirror Trump’s agenda — including creating their own so-called Departments of Government Efficiency — underscoring the “desire of elected officials in the party to be seen as nothing less than loyal to him,” NBC News’ Adam Edelman reports. 5. WHAT EMBASSY ROW IS READING: “Trump’s Arctic Goals Demand Icebreakers, but U.S. Struggles to Build Them,” by WSJ’s Alistair MacDonald and Georgi Kantchev: “The U.S. has been struggling for years to build a single icebreaker — vessels that clear a path through the ice for other ships. … Even if Trump is able to marshal the political will and money to build more, the U.S. will have to breathe life back into its ailing shipbuilding industry, which has been in decline for decades.”
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| | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Lara Trump is getting her own weekend Fox News show. West Point banned multiple school clubs to comply with Trump’s DEI orders. The EPA officially renamed its Gulf of Mexico division the Gulf of America division. Federal workers in the deaf community fear Trump’s DEI ban could threaten their access to interpreters and other accommodations. OUT AND ABOUT — Last night, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society hosted its annual event honoring members of Congress and also celebrating the legacy of former lawmaker and civil rights hero John Lewis. The event featured a conversation with David Greenberg, author of “John Lewis: A Life,” and remarks by Jane Campbell and Robert Traynham. The event also featured a panel conversation between Cheryl Johnson, Tom Reed and Marlin Stutzman moderated by Kathleen Matthews. SPOTTED: Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), Kevin McCumber, Catherine Szpindor, Margaret Kibben and Michael Collin. TRANSITIONS — Robyn Patterson is now SVP at Allison Worldwide. She previously was adviser to the press secretary and spokesperson at the Biden White House. … Alexander Kramer is now a partner at Crowell & Moring. He previously was assistant chief in the DOJ Criminal Division’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit. … Washington Office has elevated Colleen Laughlin to lead its government relations arm and added as senior advisers Sabrina Singh (previously at the Pentagon), Nicola Demko (a former adviser to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez), Robert Ganim (previously at Starburst Aerospace) and Tatyana Bolton (previously at Google). It has also added Rasmus Dey Meyer as a flight crew fellow. … … The Jewish Council for Public Affairs is adding Emily Graham as chief of staff and Benjamin Suarato as director of advocacy and public affairs. Graham most recently was political, finance, and digital director for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) reelect. Suarato most recently was spokesperson and press director at USAID. … Kasey O’Brien has rejoined Middle Seat as VP of client strategy. She most recently was a senior adviser for former Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-Pa.) 2024 campaign. 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 deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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