| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine Happy Saturday. What’s your go-to recipe for tomorrow’s Big Game? Drop me a line: awren@politico.com.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | WHAT HAPPENED AT USAID — Nahal Toosi and Robbie Gramer have a must-read report this morning detailing what happened to precipitate President Donald Trump’s stunning near-total shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development. In short, agency officials sent $153 million in owed payments for work already done out the door despite a Trump-ordered funding freeze, and acting agency head Peter Marocco went ballistic. In practice, the “dismantling of USAID and the freeze on foreign aid spending may have already put lives in danger in places from Ukraine to the Thai-Myanmar border,” they write in their account based on interviews with 20 current and former USAID staffers and other officials. It’s a dramatic look at two weeks of rapid-fire chaos that illustrated just what the Trump-Elon Musk complex can do. NEXT UP — “Vought takes helm at CFPB after Musk incursion,” by Holly Otterbein and Megan Messerly … Much more on DOGE’s doings below
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VP JD Vance was key in lining up senators to support Trump's Cabinet picks. Taming the unruly House will be tougher. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — JD Vance knew he had a problem brewing. Sen. Todd Young, one of the key swing votes on Trump’s troubled nomination for director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, was on the phone complaining about an onslaught from the online MAGA right as he weighed his decision. Musk had just sicced many of them on the Hoosier after he posted to X that Young was a “deep state puppet.” And Young had had it. In a sign of his dexterity to reach all ideological corners of his party, Vance had long maintained a relationship with Young, who did not endorse Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign but praised his selection of Vance as his running mate, calling him a “thoughtful legislator.” The two had also spoken before the Army-Navy football game last year. Vance, who Trump tasked with getting his Cabinet confirmed, “quickly made it clear to his team, legislative affairs staffers and others in the White House: Time to call off the dogs,” writes our Rachael Bade in her latest definitive, must-read Corridors column this morning on Vance’s rise as Trump’s Senate whisperer. Rachael also traces transformation in Vance’s reputation among his colleagues, from a “naive and arrogant” freshman lawmaker to Trump’s macher on the Hill — “someone who speaks the language of Capitol Hill, who understands the pressures members are balancing and can get into the minutiae of congressional business in a way Trump just won’t,” she writes. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: Vance’s team blitzed “a range of GOP influencers who had been pummeling Young — Turning Point USA captain Charlie Kirk, MAGA activist Jack Posobiec and close Gabbard friend Meghan McCain,” Rachael writes. “Even Musk got a call with a request to make nice with Young. The billionaire listened, speaking to Young for 15 minutes on the phone then publicly walking back his criticism.” Musk deleted his original X post. Musk soon posted to X that Young “will be a great ally in restoring power to the people from the vast, unelected bureaucracy.” (Musk did not ask Young to support Gabbard during the call, which focused on DOGE, I’m told.) By Tuesday, Young backed Gabbard. It wasn't just Young that Vance had worked. He moved Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. And he won over Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS secretary. Vance also had dinner with GOP Sen. Susan Collins, Rachael scoops, just days before the Maine moderate decided to back Gabbard. He later talked through her concerns over Trump’s threatened tariffs on Canada. And Vance had aced his first test as Trump’s emissary to the Capitol. “Our members trust him, which is really important,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters of Vance this week. THE NEXT ASSIGNMENTS: With the toughest Cabinet picks now on their way to confirmation, Vance’s attention turns to issues both foreign and domestic. Abroad, he will embark next week on his first overseas trip to an artificial intelligence summit in Paris and the Munich Security Conference. Domestically, Trump is now assigning Vance the project of selling and saving TikTok, as Punchbowl News first reported. Trump is also looking to Vance to muscle his agenda through — not only in the Senate, where he enjoys good relationships with his ex-colleagues, but in the rowdier, more fractious House. 2028 RISKS AND REWARDS: With great responsibility comes great risk. Vance harbors presidential ambitions of his own. Notes Rachael: He is already atop the hierarchy of post-Trump Republican standard bearers, but as he gets his hands dirty with Congress, he’ll have to be careful to avoid soiling himself with the toxic politics of Capitol Hill. RELATED READ: “JD’s role in the White House is simple,” a source close to Vance tells veep chronicler and pride of Ohio Henry Gomez of NBC. “His role is to get stuff done for President Trump whenever President Trump thinks he can be helpful. … He’s not demanding a portfolio. These are not little things that JD is being entrusted with.”
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Elon Musk's DOGE operation is forcing upheaval at a number of agencies across the government. | Pool photo by Kevin Lamarque | 1. DOGE EAT DOGE WORLD: As Musk’s DOGE team continues to burrow inside agencies across the government, at Treasury “the threat intelligence team at one of the department's agencies recommended that DOGE members be monitored as an ‘insider threat,’” Wired’s Vittoria Elliott and Leah Feiger report. “Continued access to any payment systems by DOGE members, even ‘read only,’ likely poses the single greatest insider threat risk the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced,” read the email to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Booz Allen Hamilton subsequently “dismissed a subcontractor who prepared” the draft report,” Bloomberg’s Jake Bleiberg and Viktoria Dendrinou report. In the courts: In an overnight order, a Manhattan-based federal judge issued a sweeping block on most Trump administration officials — including Musk and his allies — from accessing sensitive Treasury records for at least a week while legal proceedings play out, Kyle Cheney reports. Additionally, a federal judge last night rejected labor unions’ push to block Musk’s team from accessing sensitive data at the Labor Department, saying that the groups failed to properly show the standing necessary to win the temporary restraining order while expressing sympathy for their concerns that the effort presents privacy risks. More from Nick Niedzwiadek And Musk said yesterday in a post on X that he intends to bring back Marko Elez, the 25-year-old DOGE staffer who resigned this week after reports surfaced detailing racist posts he had previously made online, NBC’s Jason Abbruzzese writes. “To err is human, to forgive divine,” Musk said in an X post, echoing Vance’s sentiment that Elez should be brought back into the fold. Related read: “Young Aides Emerge as Enforcers in Musk’s Broadside Against Government,” by NYT’s Theodore Schleifer, Nicholas Nehamas, Kate Conger and Ryan Mac 2. ANOTHER TAKEOVER: In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced a shock plan to take over control of the Kennedy Center, vowing to “immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.” The president indicated that he plans to install himself as the new chair. Among those currently filling the board are Mike Donilon, Karine Jean-Pierre and Chris Korge. The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker, who scooped the plans to wipe out the board, have more on Trump’s plan to remake the legendary Washington institution. Elsewhere: Trump fired the head of the National Archives, after complaining for nearly two years about the agency’s role in the Justice Department’s investigation and eventual prosecution of him over a slew of classified documents kept at his Mar-a-Lago home following his first term, Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney write. For the record: Colleen Shogan, 49, was not the archivist at the time the agency was attempting to retrieve boxes of presidential records from Trump’s estate in 2021 and 2022. 3. MORE USAID FALLOUT: The latest turn of the screw in the USAID saga came yesterday when a federal judge ordered an immediate halt to key aspects of Trump’s tearing down of the agency, blocking Secretary of State Marco Rubio from placing 2,200 employees of the agency on leave Friday and ordering the reinstatement of 500 others, Kyle Cheney reports. The real-world impact: “As the true scale of the fallout comes into view, African governments are wondering how to fill gaping holes left in vital services, like health care and education, that until recent weeks were funded by the United States,” NYT’s Declan Walsh reports. “Given wars and strapped economies, other governments or philanthropies are unlikely to make up for the shortfall, and recipient nations are too hamstrung by debt to manage on their own,” NYT’s Apoorva Mandavilli writes. 4. THE LATEST ORDER: Trump yesterday signed an executive order “formalizing his announcement earlier this week that he’ll freeze assistance to South Africa for a law aiming to address some of the wrongs of South Africa’s racist apartheid era — a law the White House says amounts to discrimination against the country’s white minority,” AP’s Zeke Miller writes.
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| | | 5. DEPT. OF MAKING NICE: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries quietly met with more than 150 Silicon Valley-based donors last week in California — “an early step in Democrats’ efforts to repair relationships with a once-deep blue constituency,” Elena Schneider reports. “The meet-and-greet, in tony Los Altos Hills, came at a precarious moment for Democrats in the tech world, which has lurched rightward in the second Trump era. … To the crowd, which included several major Democratic bundlers, as well as California Reps. Jimmy Panetta, Mike Levin and George Whitesides, Jeffries described his party’s efforts to push back on Trump and outlined their campaign to retake the House in 2026.” 6. HILL DELUGE: With the furious pace that Trump and his various teams are moving at in his first few weeks as president, NYT’s Maya Miller reports that the congressional phone system is taking a beating and “in recent days has been nearly crippled as it absorbs tens of millions of calls responding to the new Washington order.” Indeed, the phone lines that constituents use to contact their elected representatives “have been jammed to the point of failure, according to lawmakers and officials on Capitol Hill, in a stark reflection of a political system buckling to a breaking point under an emboldened and unbound Mr. Trump.” The volume: “Senators were informed this week that the Senate phone system was receiving 1,600 calls per minute, a sharp increase from the usual 40 calls a minute … While the phones had not completely stopped ringing, as they have in the past under heavy loads, members were told that some constituents would be sent straight to voice mail to prevent a complete shutdown.” 7. KASH DEPOSIT: New documents obtained by WaPo show that Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, “was paid $25,000 last year by a film company owned by a Russian national who also holds U.S. citizenship and has produced programs promoting ‘deep state’ conspiracy theories and anti-Western views advanced by the Kremlin, according to a financial disclosure form Patel submitted as part of his nomination process and other documents. The documents indicate that Patel “received the money from Global Tree Pictures, a Los Angeles-based company run by Igor Lopatonok, a filmmaker whose previous projects include a pro-Russian influence campaign that received money from a fund created by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The payment to Patel came as he participated in a documentary that Lopatonok produced depicting Patel and other veterans of the first Trump administration as victims of a conspiracy that ‘destroyed the lives of those who stood by Donald Trump in an attempt to remove the democratically elected president from office.’” Related read: “Kash Patel had a roster of foreign clients. Their interests could clash with FBI he hopes to lead,” by AP’s Brian Slodysko, Eric Tucker and Alan Suderman 8. ONE TO WATCH: “Attorneys for Steve Wynn ask Supreme Court to overturn landmark libel rule,” by the Nevada Independent’s Howard Stutz: “Attorneys for disgraced casino mogul Steve Wynn, whose 2018 defamation case against The Associated Press (AP) was rejected last year by the Nevada Supreme Court, have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a 60-year-old landmark case that established the actual malice rule in libel law. … [T]he justices could weaken protections surrounding freedom of the press, which were strengthened by New York Times Co. vs. Sullivan, a 1964 ruling that limited the ability of public officials to sue for defamation.” 9. MEDIAWATCH: “Fox News’ Bret Baier on interviewing Trump and why it was ‘tough’ wearing an Eagles jersey,” by the Philly Inquirer’s Rob Tornoe: Bret Baier on how he’s approaching the sitdown: “It’s a difficult thing. It’s a mix between an iconic American moment and talking about sports to substance, and there are big things happening every day, it’s like drinking from a fire hose … So I think in the Special Report part of the interview there will be a little more in-the-weeds discussion of issues, but we’ll also touch on big-ticket items in the pregame show.” Related read: “The NFL team Trump loves to hate,” by Charlie Mahtesian in POLITICO Nightly
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| | | CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 17 funnies
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| GREAT WEEKEND READS: — “The U.S. Military’s Recruiting Crisis,” by The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins: “The ranks of the American armed forces are depleted. Is the problem the military or the country?” — “Drug deaths are down in one Ohio county and much of the U.S. Why is complex,” by WaPo’s David Ovalle: “The story of Hamilton County is the story of much of America in 2025. Overdose deaths have fallen sharply, offering hope the crisis will further ease.” — “The couple who want to make America procreate again,” by WaPo’s Anne Branigin: “Simone and Malcolm Collins are enthusiastic avatars for a new pronatalist movement. With Trump 2.0, they’re more optimistic than ever.” — “How YouTube Is Changing American Gun Culture,” by NYT’s Thomas Gibbons-Neff: “Influencers known as guntubers are delving into the world of firearms, showing viewers everything from how to shoot to how to modify an AR-15.” — “How Tucker Carlson’s Nicotine Pouch Became the Latest Front in the Culture War,” by POLITICO Magazine’s Ian Ward: “Naturally, we had to try them.” — “Two Black QBs will start Super Bowl 59, but NFL diversity is still a work in progress,” by The Athletic’s Mike Jones
| | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | MEDIA MOVE — Daniel Desrochers is joining POLITICO to cover international trade. He previously was Washington correspondent for The Kansas City Star. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Hundreds of DOJ alumni have approached Justice Connection, a new group formed to support former and current department employees, in its first week of operation. The organization aims to link agents, prosecutors, litigators and Trump administration targets across Justice Department components with legal representation, physical security and cybersecurity support, and it has made dozens of such connections so far. The group is led by Stacey Young, a former career DOJ litigator who resigned last month. TRANSITIONS — Seth Locke is joining WilmerHale’s defense, national security and government contracts group. He previously co-chaired Perkins Coie’s government contracts group. … Sheridan Bass is joining House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s (R-Minn.) team as deputy press secretary. She previously was comms assistant for the House Homeland Security GOP. Anna Holland is moving up to comms director for the House Homeland Security GOP. … … Tori Smith is joining Forbes Tate Partners as an SVP. She previously was a policy adviser to Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on tax, trade and fintech. … Joe Gabriel Simonson is joining the FTC as director of public affairs. He previously was a senior investigative reporter for the Washington Free Beacon. WELCOME TO THE WORLD –– John Cooper, deputy staff director for the House Homeland Security Committee majority, and Ali Cooper welcomed twin girls in January, Lydia Claire (Acts 16:11-15) and Lillian “Lily” Ruth (Matthew 6:25-34). Their son, Caleb, has now been promoted to big brother. — Caitlin Piper, partner at Hogan Lovells, and Dustin Volz, cybersecurity and intelligence reporter at The Wall Street Journal, welcomed their first child into the world this week. The 8-pound, 10-ounce baby girl listened to the beats of the Taylor Swift Eras Tour setlist during delivery, with “Mastermind” playing during the moments she was born. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) and John Joyce (R-Pa.) … Amos Snead … Vox’s Zack Beauchamp … Will Levi … American Economic Liberties Project’s Matt Stoller … Caitlin Webber Mazzucca … Hudson Institute’s John Walters and Sarah May Stern … Michael Pillsbury … Boehringer Ingelheim’s Scott Bennett … Anduril Industries’ Matthew Haskins … Brian Katulis … Adam Kaplan … John Kartch … Marlene Cooper Vasilic … Mark Corallo … Dy Brown ... Julie Gunlock … Mansie Hough … Jenny Thalheimer Rosenberg … Heather Zichal ... Joe Briggs ... Bill Ruch … former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson … Ted Koppel … Layla Moughari … Ana Fraisse of the American Cleaning Institute … Engine Technology Forum’s Jessica Puchala … NewsNation’s Joe Khalil … POLITICO’s Arnau Busquets Guàrdia … Georgia AG Chris Carr THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Speaker Mike Johnson … DHS Secretary Kristi Noem … Louisiana first lady Sharon Landry. Panel: Will Cain and Clay Travis. NFL panel: Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson and Howie Long. Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth … Stephen Miller … U.S. Ambassador to Israel-designate Mike Huckabee … Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) … Woody Johnson. CNN “State of the Union”: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem … Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). Panel: Xochitl Hinojosa, Scott Jennings, Shermichael Singleton and Kate Bedingfield. NBC “Meet the Press”: National security adviser Mike Waltz … Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) … Amanda Gorman. Panel: Sara Fagen, Gabe Gutierrez, Andrea Mitchell and Symone Sanders Townsend. CBS “Face the Nation”: Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) … Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) … Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) … Samantha Vinograd … Chris Krebs. ABC “This Week”: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) … Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio). Panel: Terry Moran, Asma Khalid, Sarah Isgur and Susan Glasser. MSNBC “Inside with Jen Psaki”: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) … Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) … Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer … John Yoo. Panel: George Will, Burgess Everett and Julie Mason. 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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