| | | | | |  | | By Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer | Presented by |  | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | "I'M JUST HERE TO PRESENT IDEAS," President DONALD TRUMP said to WaPo's PHIL RUCKER when Phil posited, quite accurately, that "people tuning in to [the White House] briefings, they want to get information and guidance and want to know what to do. They're not looking for rumors." EARLIER IN THE CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING Thursday, two of those ideas were injecting disinfectant into our lungs and trying to kill the coronavirus with ultraviolet light. "IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO CHECK THAT," the president said of cleaning out human lungs with disinfectant. He said it "does a tremendous number" on the lungs. True, if by "tremendous number" he means it may kill you. -- NYT, WITH THE EYEROLL YOU CAN FEEL THROUGH THE PAGE: "President Trump has long pinned his hopes on the powers of sunlight to defeat the Covid-19 virus. On Thursday, he returned to that theme at the daily White House coronavirus briefing, bringing in a top administration scientist to back up his assertions and eagerly theorizing -- dangerously, in the view of some experts -- about the powers of sunlight, ultraviolet light and household disinfectants to kill the coronavirus." -- EUROPE WOKE UP to the news that the president of the United States was suggesting the use of chemical disinfectants to treat disease. Hilary Jones on "Good Morning Britain": "It's not only toxic and highly poisonous but would do no good whatsoever. It would cause inflammation of human tissues, and not touch the virus at all, which actually lives in human cells, not on the surface of them. So he is completely and utterly crazy to suggest this." 1:34 video clip NEW ... TRUMP is expected to sign the nearly half-trillion-dollar coronavirus bill later today, but at the White House, the psychic energy has shifted to the NEXT PACKAGE, and what the administration can do in the middle of this pandemic to try to jumpstart the economy. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY MUCH ATTENTION to what the president says about what he wants in this bill, since Congress and Treasury Secretary STEVEN MNUCHIN just got nearly $3 trillion in spending done without any meaningful engagement from him. THE ADMINISTRATION is focused on three broad planks, according to a source familiar with the planning: some sort of infrastructure measure, a tax break of some variety and policies that would help bring manufacturing back from China. REPUBLICANS both on Capitol Hill and in the White House view aid to state and local governments as the leverage point to achieve their policy goals. -- INFRASTRUCTURE: Gone are the plans for a $2 trillion infrastructure bill that would rebuild America. It's just not feasible at the moment, Hill and administration sources say. But the White House is still interested in a somewhat narrow plan to boost 5G cellular technology and broadband access. This is a potential area of bipartisanship. -- TAX CUTS: The administration is still interested in a payroll tax cut, but understands that it would be a heavy lift to get it through Congress. One idea the administration has is to delay the collection of payroll taxes administratively, and then try to have Congress do something in the lame-duck session to forgive the taxes. -- CHINA: Whatever the administration supports is likely to include policies to begin inching away from China. The White House may come out to support 100% expensing if companies bring back the manufacturing of PPE, drugs and other critical infrastructure from China. There is also talk of trying to lower the corporate tax rate for companies that bring back the manufacturing of generic drugs. The broad, overall goal is to bring the supply chain for critical infrastructure back from China. THE ADMINISTRATION and congressional Republicans say they believe they have weeks until they need to begin serious negotiations. | | | | A message from PhRMA: In these unprecedented times, America's biopharmaceutical companies are coming together to achieve one shared goal: beating COVID-19. We are working with governments and insurers to ensure that when new treatments and vaccines are approved, they will be available and affordable for patients. Explore our efforts. | | | BURGESS EVERETT and SARAH FERRIS: "'The political honeymoon may be ending': After an unprecedented, bipartisan rescue effort, the next relief bill will be much harder to pass." HOW THEY'LL RESCUE OIL ... "Mnuchin Weighs Lending Program for Struggling Oil Companies," by Bloomberg's Saleha Mohsin: "The program would be run out of the Federal Reserve, according to a person familiar with the matter. The administration is also considering taking financial stakes in exchange for some loans, and some firms might be asked to reduce production, the person said. President Donald Trump has not yet been presented with any options, the person added." Bloomberg -- "Trump administration considers leveraging emergency coronavirus loan to force Postal Service changes," by WaPo's Jacob Bogage and Lisa Rein JOE BIDEN, during a fundraiser Thursday night, per pooler Bo Erickson of CBS: "Mark my words, I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can't be held. Imagine threatening not to fund the post office. Now what in God's name is that about? Other than trying to let the word out that he's going to do all he can to make it very hard for people to vote. That's the only way he thinks he can possibly win." NUGGET DU JOUR, via NYT's Katie Rogers and Annie Karni: "Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump's new chief of staff, is still finding his footing and adjusting to the nocturnal habits of Mr. Trump, who recently placed a call to Mr. Meadows, a senior administration official said, at 3:19 a.m. Mr. Meadows works closely with another trusted insider: Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump's son-in-law and de facto chief of staff." Good Friday morning. NEW MATT WUERKER video: "Cartoonists against Covid" SURPRISE! WE'RE OPENING! ... WAPO: "'Complete disbelief': Governors blindside front-line staff with abrupt reopening plans," by Isaac Stanley-Becker and Rachel Weiner: "Georgia's Republican governor, Brian Kemp, announced he would let tattoo parlors, hair salons and bowling alleys reopen without receiving guidance from the panel of doctors tapped to advise him and without giving advance notice to regional health departments responsible for carrying out his orders, according to physicians and state officials. "In Utah, the governor lifted a statewide lockdown on elective procedures before his medical supply team had finished estimating how quickly hospitals would exhaust their supply of personal protective equipment, according to members of the state's response team. "And plans to ease restrictions on economic activity and public assembly in Tennessee have been met by dread among emergency management officials, who are in 'complete disbelief that we are reopening the state,' according to a person involved in the planning who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of professional retribution." -- AP'S JONATHAN LEMIRE and BEN NADLER: "President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence repeatedly told Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp that they approved of his aggressive plan to allow businesses to reopen, just a day before Trump pulled an about-face and publicly bashed the plan, according to two administration officials. "The green light from Pence and Trump came in separate private conversations with the Republican governor both before Kemp announced his plan to ease coronavirus restrictions and after it was unveiled on Monday, the officials said. Trump's sudden shift came only after top health advisers reviewed the plan more closely and persuaded the president that Kemp was risking further spread of the virus by moving too quickly." SCENE SETTER -- JOHN BRESNAHAN and SARAH FERRIS: "A feud over face masks and pandemic relief: Congress returns": "A group of at least a dozen House Republicans pointedly didn't wear masks during the House vote, even while hundreds of their colleagues — and all but seemingly one Democrat — were doing so. Their excuses for abstaining were flimsy. 'I didn't want to take one from someone who needed it,' or 'I left mine in my office' were offered, if they didn't run away from the question posed by reporters. The culture war happening throughout the United States over the coronavirus was also playing out on the House floor." POLITICO CNN'S MANU RAJU: "Key House chairwoman wants Bright to testify before Congress about removal from key post": "Rep. Anna Eshoo, the chairwoman of the House's Health subcommittee, told CNN she plans to call in Dr. Rick Bright to testify before her panel as she reviews the circumstances of his removal from a key position after he raised concerns about the safety of a drug that President Donald Trump touted as a potential treatment to the coronavirus. "'I think the American people deserve to hear Dr. Bright's story,' Eshoo, a Democrat from California, told CNN on Thursday. 'He really has worked for the American people -- they are the ones who have paid his salary. A thoroughbred professional -- and to set him aside in one of the most key positions to develop vaccines in the midst of the pandemic? The story doesn't make sense to me. So I think it deserves examination.'" -- IS THIS WHAT BRIGHT IS TALKING ABOUT? ... "Internal Documents Reveal Team Trump's Chloroquine Master Plan," by Vanity Fair's Katherine Eban ALEX ISENSTADT: "Trump's poor poll numbers trigger GOP alarms over November": "Senior Republicans and President Donald Trump's campaign are wrestling with how to best position him for November as the coronavirus poses a grave threat to his reelection. "With Trump's poll numbers sagging in key battleground states six months out from the election, the Republican National Committee has launched a massive effort to reach some 20 million swing voters to make an affirmative case for his performance. But Trump campaign officials are taking a different approach: Rather than devoting resources to boost Trump's numbers, which haven't moved materially since he was elected, they want to go scorched earth against Joe Biden. "Over the past few weeks, the Trump campaign has unveiled a digital ad savaging Biden over his relationship with China. It also launched a weekly online program dubbed 'War Room' in which presidential advisers take aim at the former vice president on an array of issues. The campaign has also weighed a major TV offensive going after Biden." POLITICO -- "Biden's strength with older voters could threaten Trump's electoral path in 2020," by WaPo's Toluse Olorunnipa TRUMP INC. -- "Trump owes tens of millions to the Bank of China — and the loan is due soon," by Marc Caputo, Meridith McGraw and Anita Kumar: "Donald Trump is warning 'China will own the United States' if Joe Biden is elected president. But Trump himself is tens of millions of dollars in debt to China: In 2012, his real estate partner refinanced one of Trump's most prized New York buildings for almost $1 billion. The debt includes $211 million from the state-owned Bank of China — its first loan of this kind in the U.S. — which matures in the middle of what could be Trump's second term, financial records show. "Steps away from Trump Tower in Manhattan, the 43-story 1290 Avenue of the Americas skyscraper spans an entire city block. Trump owns a 30 percent stake in the property valued at more than $1 billion, making it one of the priciest addresses in his portfolio, according to his financial disclosures. Trump's ownership of the building received a smattering of attention before and after his 2016 campaign. But the arrangement with the Bank of China -- and its impending due date in 2022 -- has gone largely unnoticed." POLITICO | | | | A message from PhRMA:   In these unprecedented times, America's biopharmaceutical companies are coming together to achieve one shared goal: beating COVID-19. Explore our efforts. | | | TV TONIGHT ... PBS' "Washington Week" with Bob Costa: Nancy Cordes, Jeremy Peters, Shannon Pettypiece and Toluse Olorunnipa. SUNDAY SO FAR ...
| CNN | "State of the Union": Speaker Nancy Pelosi ... Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. | CBS | "Face the Nation": Scott Gottlieb ... Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan ... San Francisco Mayor London Breed. | FOX | "Fox News Sunday": Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt. Panel: Ben Domenech, Katie Pavlich and Mo Elleithee. Power player segment: Brian Stokes Mitchell. | NBC | "Meet the Press": Panel: Vin Gupta, Andrea Mitchell and Stephanie Ruhle. | CNN | "Inside Politics": Augusta, Ga., Mayor Hardie Davis ... Ashish Jha ... Megan Ranney ... Maggie Haberman. | Sinclair TV | "America this Week with Eric Bolling": Kellyanne Conway ... Ben Carson ... Stephen Moore ... Nicole Saphier ... Todd Dorfman ... Dave Campbell. Panel: Ameshia Cross and Sebastian Gorka. | Gray TV | "Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren": Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) ... Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) ... House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. | | TRUMP'S FRIDAY -- The president will participate in a signing ceremony for the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act at noon in the Oval Office. He will receive a NASA Covid-19 briefing at 2:30 p.m. in the Cabinet Room (a NASA jet landed at DCA on Wednesday and is scheduled back to Houston today). The coronavirus task force will hold a press briefing at 5 p.m. | | | | THE CORONAVIRUS & THE UK: JOIN TODAY TO HEAR FROM THE BRITISH AMBASSADOR: The coronavirus hit Britain hard, with the fourth-highest death toll in Europe and a stay in the ICU for the country's prime minister. Join Global Translations author Ryan Heath today at 2:30 p.m. EDT for a virtual discussion with Dame Karen Pierce, who was named Britain's ambassador to the United States in February. Pierce will detail the government's handling of the pandemic, the status of the "special relationship" between the United Kingdom and the United States, and what it's like to be an ambassador in quarantine. Have questions? They'll answer as many as they can. REGISTER HERE TO PARTICIPATE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | 
PHOTO DU JOUR: Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) puts his mask back on after speaking at a signing ceremony for the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act on Capitol Hill on Thursday, April 23. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo | ANOTHER UGLY MILESTONE TODAY ... 50,000 DEATHS ... WSJ: "Confirmed coronavirus cases world-wide Friday exceeded 2.7 million, with more than 190,000 dead, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. accounted for nearly a third of the cases, exceeding 869,000, and more than a quarter of the deaths, at 49,963, according to Johns Hopkins." ACROSS THE POND -- "Trump golf course seeks a lifeline from Ireland," by FT's Arthur Beesley in Dublin: "Leo Varadkar, Ireland's premier, was in Washington six weeks ago for a St Patrick's day meeting with Donald Trump when he triggered the coronavirus lockdown back home in Dublin. Now Mr Trump's Irish golf resort is seeking help from Mr Varadkar's government to cover wages for its employees through a scheme to subsidise the pay of almost 300,000 workers hit by the Covid-19 crash." -- SAME DEAL IN SCOTLAND, per Bloomberg : "Trump Turnberry in Scotland is applying to tap the U.K. bailout funds for employees, according to Peter Henderson, a local elected official who lives near the resort and has spoken to workers there." KFILE STRIKES AGAIN -- "New HHS spokesman made racist comments about Chinese people in now-deleted tweets," by CNN's Andrew Kaczynski, Nathan McDermott and Em Steck: "After publication, [Michael] Caputo responded to CNN's request for comment by saying that reporting on his past tweets is 'fair game, dude. I don't care. It doesn't matter to me at all.' He claimed that he deletes his tweets 'every month and I do it because it drives people mad.' He added 'when you tweet in spirited fashion, KFile is going to have them. I've known that all my days. So I don't mind what you've done.'" | | | | A message from PhRMA:   America's biopharmaceutical companies are coming together to achieve one shared goal: beating COVID-19. | | | JOSH GERSTEIN: "Feds again shift guidance on prisoner releases due to coronavirus": "Federal prison authorities have again changed the criteria used to consider inmates for early release, with the latest move broadening the set of prisoners eligible to be sent home on account of the dangers posed by the coronavirus. "Just days after many inmates who had been in pre-release quarantine were stunned to be told they did not qualify due to a policy change, the Bureau of Prisons issued new guidance saying at least some of those prisoners could be considered for home confinement. "The new standard opens the door to such releases for prisoners who have served at least 25 percent of their sentences and who have less than 18 months remaining on their term. Earlier in the week, prison officials and federal prosecutors told inmates and judges that the Bureau of Prisons was only considering home confinement for inmates who had served at least half of their sentence." POLITICO -- SEVERAL ADVOCACY GROUPS have released estimates suggesting that huge percentages of the U.S. prison population could become infected. An ACLU study projects as many as 100,000 excess deaths in jails; FWD.us says 99% of prisoners in Arizona could come down with Covid-19. BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- "Mail delays during coronavirus outbreak hurting Ohio election, Secretary of State Frank LaRose says," by The Columbus Dispatch's Rick Rouan WHAT THE LEFT IS READING -- "Bernie Sanders's Most Vocal Supporter Lets Loose," by The Atlantic's Emma Green: "Briahna Joy Gray has spent the past year waging war on behalf of Bernie Sanders—and now she's shifted her focus to attacking Joe Biden. At a moment when Democrats are calling for unity around the former vice president, Gray is an outlier, someone her critics accuse of inadvertently aiding Donald Trump now that Sanders is out of the Democratic-primary race. "The former Intercept editor joined the Sanders campaign in March 2019 and was immediately ubiquitous on cable news, advocating for progressive policies such as Medicare for All and student-debt forgiveness. But she is perhaps most visible on Twitter, where she specializes in Thunderdome-style attacks with Democratic-establishment types like Neera Tanden, the longtime Clinton ally and head of the Center for American Progress. In April, after dropping out, Sanders officially endorsed Biden. And Gray, the Sanders campaign's national press secretary, declared her disagreement with her former boss. ... "While she would never vote for Trump, she told me, Biden will have to win her vote with meaningful policy shifts. The question is how many Sanders voters like her are out there: People who aren't persuaded by Biden's platform, and who won't vote for any Democrat just to beat Trump." Atlantic | | | | OUR NEIGHBORS NEED YOUR HELP: Layoffs, school closures, and health fears. Everyone is struggling, and our neighbors need our help now more than ever. From grab-and-go dinners for kids to boxes of groceries for seniors, you can help provide critical support for people in the greater D.C. community who need it most. No one should go hungry during this pandemic. Together, we can make sure no one has to. Please support the Capital Area Food Bank's COVID-19 response today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at politicoplaybook@politico.com. TRANSITION -- Sunil Varghese is now policy director at the International Refugee Assistance Project. He previously was counsel to Senate Judiciary ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on immigration issues. WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Jen Judson, land warfare reporter at Defense News, and Jim Vastola, who works for FEMA, welcomed Theodore "Teddy" James Vastola on Monday morning. He came in at 8 lbs, 6 oz, and joins big brother Franklyn. Pic ... Another pic BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Conservative fundraiser Erin DeLullo. What she's been reading: "I'm reading David Sedaris' 'Calypso.' It's so funny that I find myself laughing out loud -- something I never do. Trust me when I say this is exactly what the doctor ordered during the time of coronavirus and social distancing." Playbook Q&A BIRTHDAYS: The Library of Congress is 220 ... Clay Shoemaker of the White House ... Michael Hirsh, senior correspondent at Foreign Policy ... Andrew Kirtzman ... Zack Roday, comms director for the House Energy and Commerce GOP, is 34 (h/t wife Alleigh) ... R Street's Clark Packard ... Alyssa Betz ... Ruth Guerra, managing director at CLS Strategies ... Accenture's Meredith Shue (h/t Charlie Cook) ... Chris Herold ... former Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) is 65 ... Michael Schneider ... Kathy Duda, president of the Patent Office Professional Association ... Jill Griffiths ... former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is 78 ... Roz Skozen ... Bonnye Hart ... ... Vanity Fair's Abigail Tracy (h/t Terry Sullivan) ... former Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny is 69 ... Sal Scrimenti ... Megan Sowards Newton of Jones Day's political law group ... DOE's Conner Prochaska ... Al Weaver of The Hill ... Larry Kramer ... Stuart Chapman, partner at Thorn Run Partners ... Megan Nashban ... Robb Walton of BGR Group ... Jameson Cunningham ... Megan Hannigan, manager of U.S. government relations at PayPal ... Edelman's Luis Betanzo ... Gabriela Domenzain ... Brandon Hersh ... Imani Greene ... David Botkins ... Terron Sims II ... Jesica Wagstaff ... Laurie Edberg ... Hillary Lassiter ... Shaun Kelleher (h/t Teresa Vilmain) | | | | A message from PhRMA: In these unprecedented times, America's biopharmaceutical companies are coming together to achieve one shared goal: beating COVID-19. The investments we've made have prepared us to act swiftly:
· Working with governments and insurers to ensure that when new treatments and vaccines are approved, they will be available and affordable for patients
· Coordinating with governments and diagnostic partners to increase COVID-19 testing capability and capacity
· Protecting the integrity of the pharmaceutical supply chain and keeping our plants open to maintain a steady supply of medicines for patients
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