| | | |  | | By Adam Wren and Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine Happy Super Bowl Sunday. For some of us, choosing between the Philadelphia Eagles or the Kansas City Chiefs is like deciding whether you’d prefer getting sick from eating too many Philly cheesesteaks or too much ketchup-y flavored BBQ. Drop us a line: awren@politico.com and dburns@politico.com. THE ‘TRUMP SHOW’ COMES TO SUPER BOWL: “By becoming the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl, [President Donald] Trump is turning the NFL’s biggest spectacle of the year into another episode of ‘The Trump Show,’” writes CNN’s Brian Stelter from New Orleans this morning. Trump will arrive to the big game with most Americans seeing him as “tough,” “energetic,” “focused” and “effective,” according to a new CBS poll, which finds him with a 53 percent approval rating. But there are some warning signs, too: Two-thirds of Americans say he’s not focused enough on prices and inflation — an issue that helped deliver Trump the election.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Elon Musk acts as a kind of heat shield for President Donald Trump, who likes the sledgehammer cost-cutting. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo | When the latest Time magazine cover hit social Friday featuring Elon Musk at the Resolute Desk, Washington conventional wisdom had it that Trump must be fuming about finding himself playing second fiddle to the special government employee and billionaire. Particularly for getting short shrift from his beloved Time. Almost as if on cue, Trump, in an Oval Office media availability, when asked about the cover, said: “Is Time magazine still in business?” Musk, though, he said, is “doing a great job. He’s finding tremendous fraud and corruption and waste.” In a Fox News interview with Bret Baier that airs at 3 p.m. today, Trump says Musk has been “terrific.” On whether he trusts him: “Trust Elon? Oh, he’s not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it. He’s so into it.” In some ways, the idea that Musk overshadows Trump is a bit too pat. Yes, there’s the Time cover. And Google searches for “Elon Musk” surpassed those for “Donald Trump” among U.S. users the past week. That largely wasn’t the case during the 2024 campaign, even as Musk emerged as a key electoral player. But consider that just a few months ago, the popular contention was that chief of staff Susie Wiles had effectively sidelined Musk by tasking him with leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The reality is more complicated. That narrative doesn’t account for how Musk acts as a kind of heat shield for Trump. Trump’s orbit is largely behind the idea of Musk using DOGE as a sledgehammer across government agencies, particularly those like USAID that have long rankled the GOP base and America First crowd. Indeed, according to five people familiar with the dynamic, Trump is still very much on board with Musk’s agenda and has been gleefully watching his USAID slasher film. At the same time, those same people acknowledge that Musk is not a guy who is accustomed to process. And his aversion to briefing others has created a bit of a conundrum for the White House team. “Last weekend and early this week there was no process,” one White House ally told Playbook. “It would be overly optimistic to expect the first attempt in half a century at cutting government to go smoothly.” While the feeling of victory with USAID overshadowed issues with process, things have nearly come to a head over other topics. Musk’s open criticism of Trump’s AI infrastructure announcement was one, and the DOGE strong-arming of the Treasury Department was another, according to two people familiar with the dynamic. All in all, the state of affairs is pretty tenuous. Earlier this week one White House ally told Playbook that Musk is quickly becoming “more liability than asset.” But on Friday, that same person said the assessment has now flipped given the results from Musk on USAID and the president’s enthusiasm for his work. A White House aide acknowledged that workflow needs improvement, but they’re optimistic that the benefit of Musk outweighs the negative — for now. “It’s all fine as long as nothing blows up on Musk to the extent it jeopardizes the president. Then that’s a different situation.” WHAT WHITE HOUSE STAFFERS ARE WONDERING: Can they handle two bulls in the proverbial china shop? The current consensus is both bulls quickly breaking things is good. But how long will the mutually beneficial alliance last? And will the narrative of Musk acting as the shadow president ultimately get on Trump’s nerves? Some Republicans close to Trump argue this is already the case. “I think Elon is like Kato Kaelin — he’s overstayed his welcome,” said a Republican familiar with the situation who was granted anonymity to discuss a fraught dynamic, comparing him to the infamous houseguest of Nicole Simpson and witness for the prosecution in the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial. This person said Trump has no easy political solution to Musk, because of the $288 million he spent helping him win the White House. “It’s a lot of money, so Trump will have to put up with a lot of shit,” this person said. “You can’t just fire him.” DOGE BITES: “The White House’s Department of Government Efficiency has drawn scrutiny for the rapid work of its technology team burrowing into multiple agencies, but it also says it has identified and cut more than $1 billion in spending in the first three weeks,” writes WSJ’s Jack Gillum. The big picture: “The aim is a diminished government that exerts less oversight over private business, delivers fewer services and comprises a smaller share of the U.S. economy — but is far more responsive to the directives of the president,” write WaPo’s Jeff Stein, Elizabeth Dwoskin, Hannah Natanson and Jonathan O’Connell.
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Learn more about how others are building with open source AI. | | | SUNDAY BEST … — Speaker Mike Johnson on Republicans’ budget-bill blueprint, on “Fox News Sunday”: “It has to be the one-big-bill strategy. … That gives us the highest probability of success. … We’ll be in the suite [at the Super Bowl], we’ll talk about that. … We were going to do a Budget Committee markup next week. We might push it a little bit further because the details really matter. … We’ve got a few more boxes to check, but we’re getting very, very close.” — Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Trump and Musk’s lightning-quick assault on the federal government, on ABC’s “This Week”: “I think this is the most serious constitutional crisis the country has faced certainly since Watergate. The president is attempting to seize control of power and for corrupt purposes. The President wants to be able to decide how and where money is spent so that he can reward his political friends, he can punish his political enemies. That is the evisceration of democracy.” — DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on the migrants who have been taken to Guantánamo Bay, on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “These individuals are the worst of the worst … murderers, rapists … child pedophiles, those that were out there trafficking children, trafficking drugs … They’ll be there until we work with arrangements to take them back to their countries … They have due process.” — National security adviser Mike Waltz on whether foreign aid cuts give China and Russia an opening, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “Absolutely not. … All too often, these missions and these programs, number one, are not in line with strategic U.S. interests like pushing back on China. They’re doing all kinds of other things that frankly aren’t in line with strategic interests or the president’s vision.” TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. DISMANTLING THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE: OMB Director and acting CFPB head Russell Vought emphasized last night that essentially all of the consumer protection agency’s operations must be halted, a significant step in the Trump administration’s drive to potentially destroy it, NYT’s Ryan Mac and Stacy Cowley report. The staff directive to end “all supervision and examination activity” and “all stakeholder engagement” was followed by an X post from Vought that new funding for the CFPB is not “reasonably necessary,” and the agency’s website has gone down. 2. MORE CUTS: The scientific world is reeling in the wake of Friday night’s NIH announcement that it would slash roughly $4 billion annually in funding via a 15 percent rate cap on “indirect” costs that support biomedical research, WaPo’s Dan Diamond, Carolyn Johnson and Lena Sun report. (The previous average was 30 percent.) The agency announced that it would focus on funding direct research instead of associated logistical costs, many of which it said are extraneous. Private foundations that back research often omit administrative costs, and some independent reports have criticized wasteful levels of this federal spending. The idea was a part of Heritage’s Project 2025. But universities and research organizations that stand to lose a lot of money sounded the alarm that the cuts will jeopardize advances in health research and slow progress toward curing diseases, since funding administrative costs is crucial to keeping the lights on and buildings staffed. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) decried the move as illegal — a law just last year “banned changes to how NIH funds overhead costs.” (Expect a court challenge tomorrow.) Some campus labs have already shut down, per WaPo’s Susan Svrluga and Danielle Douglas-Gabriel. Some experts told CNN’s Katherine Dillinger that though they think there’s room to cut indirect costs, the drastic and sudden change will imperil research. The issue is already dominating headlines, though the political fallout remains to be seen. “In every budget battle of the last 30 years, proposing cuts to cancer research and food safety was the moment Republicans lost,” Dan Pfeiffer wrote on X. In a very aggressive statement, the White House decried the WaPo article as lying for saying that the administration was cutting biomedical research funding. Separately, some researchers are worried about Trump’s anti-diversity executive order drying up their federal grants, AP’s Olga Rodriguez, Terry Chea and Makiya Seminera report.
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| | | 3. ALL EYES ON THE COURTS: So far, federal judges have been the country’s only institution willing and able to press the brakes on Trump’s radical campaign to shrink the government and seize power, Kyle Cheney writes this morning. A series of judges have slowed Trump’s roll, and in some cases sharply castigated his administration for violating the law or the Constitution. But all the decisions are only temporary for now, and the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority (which Trump helped install) may offer a more favorable final word. Ankush Khardori zooms in on one interesting example: how the justices will respond to Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs, if (as seems likely) he rolls out more and the case goes up to SCOTUS. Trump’s novel legal maneuver, tapping a law that has traditionally been deployed for sanctions, could ultimately “end up fundamentally altering the balance of power between the three branches of the federal government — giving him and future presidents tremendous power to impact the global and domestic economies.” 4. THE RETRIBUTION CAMPAIGN: “Trump stripping the security clearances of numerous antagonists — including NY AG Letitia James, DA Alvin Bragg,” by the N.Y. Post’s Miranda Devine: Also on the list are Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Andrew Weissmann, Mark Zaid and Norm Eisen. Zaid’s response 5. VIRGINIA IS FOR VOTERS: Could Trump’s buzzsaw against the federal government help Democrats flip the Virginia governor’s mansion in November? AP’s Olivia Diaz reports from Richmond that the party has blasted Republicans over his cuts, with an eye toward the state’s large number of federal workers and contractors. Democrat Abigail Spanberger says Trump has threatened the state’s economy well beyond just the feds, while Republicans like Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears argue that the country elected Trump to make changes. Republicans have messaging plans of their own in the race, NBC’s Adam Edelman reports. Having helped pioneer an emphasis on “parents’ rights” in schools under Glenn Youngkin four years ago, the GOP is now updating that educational focus to blast diversity, equity and inclusion policies and transgender girls in girls’ sports. 6. SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: “Democrats plot strategy in shutdown fight against Trump: ‘Not a lot of good options,’” by CNN’s Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox: “[S]ome top Democrats worry that even if they won policy concessions, Trump would only ignore the law … Many exasperated Democrats, even some from battleground House districts, insist a shutdown shouldn’t be off the table if Republicans can’t put up the votes themselves. But [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer and other governing-minded senators are proceeding more cautiously, wary of provoking a damaging shutdown and getting a share of the blame.” 7. LOYALTY TESTS: As the White House proceeds very carefully to root out any disloyalty in the federal government, Trump’s team has dismissed hundreds of applicants for political appointments over concerns that they don’t support Trump enough, WSJ’s Brian Schwartz and Josh Dawsey report. Sergio Gor is one of the key drivers of a process that outside experts call unprecedented. And for top national security, intelligence and law enforcement positions, applicants have had to answer yes-or-no questions about the legitimacy of the 2020 election and whether the Jan. 6 insurrection was an “inside job,” WaPo’s Ellen Nakashima and Warren Strobel report. That is raising concerns that the only people who will be chosen for crucial jobs will be those who believe (or pretend to believe) lies. 8. DEPT. OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: “How Trump’s Aid Freeze Could Drive More Drugs and Migrants to U.S. Streets,” by WSJ’s Ryan Dubé and Ingrid Arnesen: “[S]ecurity officials say some moves — chiefly the administration’s decision to freeze aid that helps Latin American governments take on criminal groups — could undermine the White House’s plans in the region. And, in the worst-case scenario, [they] could enable the gangs to expand their territory, traffic more cocaine and fentanyl, and prompt more people to migrate, possibly to the U.S.” 9. HOW RFK JR. GOT THROUGH: “‘It’s shameful’: Silence on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from major medical groups draws criticism,” by the Boston Globe’s Tal Kopan: “If [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] was so bad, where was the opposition from large interest groups? ‘I believe that silence is consent,’ [Sen. Thom Tillis] said … Despite strong opposition to Kennedy by individual scientists and doctors, including dozens of Nobel Laureates, he’s faced little organized resistance from professional advocacy groups aligned with them in Washington, such as the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics.”
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| | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Tiger Woods is golfing with Donald Trump today. Michael Bay has cut a recruitment ad for the Secret Service airing in the stadium during the Super Bowl, CNN’s Whitney Wild, Jamie Gangel and Elizabeth Wagmeister scooped. Deb Haaland dropped a teaser video for a Tuesday announcement (presumably her official entrance into the New Mexico gubernatorial race?) with the drama of a Marvel trailer. Jen Psaki is launching a new podcast, “The Blueprint,” from MSNBC. MEDIA MOVE — Xochitl Hinojosa will be a political commentator for CNN. She most recently was director of public affairs at the Justice Department. TRANSITION — Andy Beck has been named EVP of public affairs and comms at Ohio River South as it expands into D.C. He most recently was EVP at Antenna Group, and is an Energy Department and EPA alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: POLITICO Pro (14) … CNN’s Manu Raju … former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee … Charles Luftig … former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe … Dilpreet Sidhu … Kelly Lungren McCollum … Raphael Chavez-Fernandez of Sen. Ruben Gallego’s (D-Ariz.) office … Elana Firsht … AEI’s Chris Gavin … Star Cypress Partners’ Chloe Arevalo … Dom Bartkus of HarrisX … Melanie Kenderdine … Indiana AG Todd Rokita … Anna Perina … Boris Zilberman … former Reps. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) (6-0) and Gary Franks (R-Conn.) … Eliza Griswold … former Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) … Gail Huff Brown … Joseph Stiglitz … Grayson & Co.’s Chris Sheeron (4-0) … Peter Hatch 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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