| | | |  | | By Jack Blanchard | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | Good Monday morning. This is Jack Blanchard. BREAKING: Pope Francis has died at age 88, the Vatican announced early this morning. The first Jesuit elected to the papacy, Francis used his time leading the Holy See to advocate for a number of progressive causes — chief among them, the dignity of the poor and of immigrants, and awareness of climate change — that often set him at odds with the church’s more traditionalist and conservative wings. His death comes after months of ailing health — he was frail and in a wheelchair this weekend as he greeted Vice President JD Vance and thousands of faithful who gathered for Easter at the Vatican — and sets off a period of mourning for the world’s one billion Catholics and the beginning of what will inevitably be a ferocious scramble for power within the church. The obituaries: NYT … WaPo … WSJ … Religion News Service What happens next: “A pope’s funeral typically takes place four to six days after his death and marks the start of nine days of mourning,” per WaPo. Papal funerals have historically been ornate, but Francis “recently approved plans to make the whole procedure less complex,” as the BBC reports. The Times has a helpful walkthrough of the procedures in place from 2005, the last time a pope died in office. A big question for the cardinals: “Will they follow his path toward a more welcoming, global and collegial church or restore the more doctrinaire, traditional approach of his predecessors?” asks NYT’s Jason Horowitz. Francis “created thousands of bishops and appointed more than half of the College of Cardinals, often choosing prelates who shared his priorities of being close to the poor, welcoming the marginalized and moving issues like climate change to the forefront.” Even so, WaPo’s Anthony Faiola reports that “it may be hard for a staunch liberal or conservative to win the two-thirds majority needed. In today’s Playbook … — Pete Hegseth is in hot water (again) after big revelations in POLITICO and the NYT… will he keep his job? — Democrats begin a “week of action” around the cost of living … even though Washington’s (and many Dems’) focus remains on the deportation fight. — SCOTUS hears arguments in a major case about the Affordable Care Act today.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
A barrage of Easter weekend revelations sparked fresh calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to be fired. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP | HEGSETH ON DEFENSE: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is braced for further accusations of turmoil and dysfunction in his department today after a barrage of Easter weekend revelations sparked fresh calls for him to be fired. POLITICO last night published a damning op-ed by newly-departed Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot — who had served Donald Trump in various senior roles since 2016 — describing “total chaos” and “disarray” at the DOD under Hegseth’s leadership, and suggesting Hegseth’s departure is all but inevitable. That came less than two hours after the NYT revealed Hegseth had shared top secret battle plans for an imminent U.S. attack on Houthi rebels in another unsecured Signal chat group — this one containing his own family members. Another tricky week lies ahead. First read this: Ullyot’s exposé, witten less than 48 hours after he left his job as the Pentagon’s top spokesperson, is scathing about the state of the department. “The building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership,” he writes. “The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president.” Ullyot bemoans a succession of scandals and revelations, concluding: “It’s hard to see Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth remaining in his position for much longer.” POLITICO’s Paul McLeary writes it all up. Signal/noise: Ullyot’s decision to go public came shortly after the NYT’s Greg Jaffe, Eric Schmitt and Maggie Haberman revealed the existence of a second Signal chat group in which Hegseth apparently shared details of the attack on Houthi rebels on March 15. As with the original Signalgate scandal, Hegseth shared the details in advance of the attack, the NYT says, thus potentially jeopardizing the outcome. But this time, the story adds, he did so in a Signal group he’d set up himself on his personal phone called “Defense | Team Huddle.” And its members were not exactly Cabinet-ranking officials. Among those copied in: “Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, is not a Defense Department employee, but she has traveled with him overseas and drawn criticism for accompanying her husband to sensitive meetings with foreign leaders,” the Times reports. “Mr. Hegseth’s brother Phil and Tim Parlatore, who continues to serve as his personal lawyer, both have jobs in the Pentagon, but it is not clear why either would need to know about upcoming military strikes aimed at the Houthis in Yemen.” And there’s more: The NYT says Hegseth was specifically warned by aides “a day or two before the Yemen strikes not to discuss such sensitive operational details in his Signal group chat.” Oh dear. The back story: Both stories add to the sense of chaos inside the DOD which started to emerge last week, as POLITICO revealed a succession of senior staffers were leaving their jobs — including Ullyot himself on Friday. DOD officials briefed that some had been fired following a leak inquiry — but Ullyot says in his op-ed this was a “smear” against his former colleagues. He instead describes their ouster as a “purge” which has triggered “near collapse inside the Pentagon’s top ranks.” CNN’s take: CNN’s Natasha Bertrand has more details, reporting that Hegseth “grew suspicious” of senior colleagues after a series of leaks, and “began to lash out.” She reports: “At one point, Hegseth even demanded an FBI probe into the leaks — which some of his aides advised against,” given it “might only invite more scrutiny.” The (Trump-appointed) inspector general at the DOD is already investigating the original Signalgate case. Whatever the truth … Losing so many top aides in a single week is hardly a sign all is well inside the Pentagon. Three of those fired came out with an angry statement on Saturday pledging ongoing allegiance to Trump, while pointedly failing to mention Hegseth at all. Ullyot’s op-ed is even more explicit in its criticism, and it’s clear Hegseth now has powerful enemies both inside and outside the department. Which is a dangerous place for any Cabinet member to be — and especially a relative novice. Speaking of which: “There are very likely more shoes to drop in short order, with even bigger bombshell stories coming this week,” Ullyot writes. Hegseth will not have slept easy last night. Or, y’know, maybe he’s fine: Hegseth did not respond personally to any of last night’s stories, but did find the time to post a reply to a Democratic Party tweet saying he should leave his job. “Your agenda is illegals, trans & DEI — all of which are no longer allowed @ DoD,” the U.S. defense secretary shot back, on social media, at 10:45 p.m. on Easter Sunday night. What a world. And there’s more: Hegseth came out swinging even harder via a late-night statement from Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell: “The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda,” Parnell said. “The New York Times — and all other Fake News that repeat their garbage — are enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article … There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.” The usual split: Naturally, Dems like Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) were out in force last night, calling for Hegseth to go. And naturally, Republicans like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chair of the Senate intelligence panel, rowed in behind. Cotton described Ullyot’s article as “sour grapes,” adding: “I think it’s safe to say that President Trump doesn’t take staffing advice from POLITICO.” Indeed not. Which rather takes us to the key point: Where is Trump on all this? It’s very hard to see him firing Hegseth over these latest revelations, given how much he hates being seen to bend to media pressure (as he would see it) and given the latitude already offered to Hegseth for previous transgressions. But it’ll be a nervous wait for the defense secretary before that all-important first Truth Social post of the morning. Alternatively: Perhaps Trump can express faith in his defense secretary (and throw out confected rage at the MSM) at the annual White House Easter egg roll. It kicks off at 10:30 a.m. and is Trump’s only scheduled public appearance of the day. But here’s what really matters: What we’re witnessing is one of Trump’s more eccentric top officials once again derailing the White House’s core messaging. (See also: Mike Waltz … Elon Musk … Howard Lutnick … ) Trump was pretty happy with how the first couple months of his second term panned out prior to Signalgate 1.0, which dominated an entire week of news and then ran straight into the violently rocky rollout of Trump’s tariffs. The White House believes it finally got its messaging back on track last week, with seven full days spent talking about illegal migration (and, indeed, illegal deportation). … But all that will grind to a halt if the Hegseth revelations keep coming. Also unhelpful: The IMF kicks off its annual spring conference in D.C. this morning, and the White House will be braced for more discussion around the negative impact of Trump’s tariffs at the publication of its world economic outlook tomorrow. … Plus, Trump himself posting endlessly about tariffs on social media through the weekend won’t have helped. … Nor, indeed, did threatening to sack Fed boss Jerome Powell last week. Uh oh: And early this morning, China issued a statement warning neighboring countries against making trade deals with the United States to China’s detriment, AP reports. “China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests,” China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement. “If this happens, China will never accept it and will resolutely take countermeasures in a reciprocal manner.”
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®: A new survey shows Americans overwhelmingly back real estate provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. A massive 91% support preserving homeowner tax incentives like the mortgage interest deduction. 83% back the 20% tax break for small businesses and independent contractors, and 61% favor raising SALT limits. Real estate fuels 18% of U.S. GDP, with each home sale creating two jobs. Support for homeownership is a win for the economy and the middle class. Learn more. | | | | NOW READ THIS — First in Playbook: Conservative legal doctrines could doom Trump’s tariffs at the Supreme Court, POLITICO Magazine’s Ankush Khardori writes this morning. As more lawsuits pile up against Trump’s use of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act to impose tariffs without input from Congress, critics believe they have a strong argument to convince proponents of judicial textualism, the nondelegation doctrine and the major questions doctrine. Ordinarily favored by conservatives, such arguments could now redound against Trump’s trade levies. GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR JUDGE AND JURY: Democrats remain divided about how hard to fight Trump’s mass deportation efforts, amid fears harbored by some party figures they are playing into the president’s hands. So note this, from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to ABC yesterday: “This week, we'll be having a ‘cost of living’ week of action, and we have to continue to talk to the American people about our plans. We recognize that housing costs are too high, grocery costs are too high, utility costs are too high, childcare costs are too high, insurance costs are too high. America is too expensive.” That’s the kind of message plenty of strategists think the Dems should be pushing above all else, given it’s seen as the one most likely to win back former supporters who backed Trump in 2024. The problem is most Dems feel they have no choice but to fight hard and vocally against Trump’s deportation plans, given they fear the president’s radical approach is regularly breaching constitutional norms, fundamental rights — and basic law. Some new examples currently going viral on social media: This American detained by ICE for 10 days in Arizona because they didn’t believe he was American … These German teenagers handcuffed and deported from Hawaii because they turned up without a hotel pre-booked. This row about strategy has played out across liberal social media throughout the past week, with some Dems rejecting what they see as a false choice between fighting on immigration and fighting on the economy. “My goodness a competent movement can make two points at once. Let’s try!” wrote Hawaii Senator and Chief Deputy Whip Brian Schatz. But regardless of the Dems’ strategy … the highest-profile deportation cases will continue to play out noisily in the courts, grabbing plenty of media attention as a result. There are currently multiple clashes ongoing between the Trump administration and senior judges, including the Supreme Court’s decision early Saturday to temporarily pause deportation flights to El Salvador; and Judge Paula Xinis’ two-week investigation into the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Get ready significant movement on both in the days ahead, POLITICO’s legal expert Kyle Cheney texts Playbook to say. How it happened: NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard and colleagues obtained video of ICE buses with Venezuelans making an about-face Friday from an airport where they would have been deported, as one of these court fights unfolded. It’s not clear if they would have gone to Venezuela or El Salvador, but it’s pretty dramatic stuff. And the ACLU recounts to ABC’s Selina Wang, Laura Romero and Armando Garcia how they sprinted through the courts last week to stop more Venezuelans from getting sent to Bukele’s mega-prison. Conservatives, of course, will see all this as further evidence of obstructionist courts. Shocker from San Salvador: Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele offered to release the more than 250 Venezuelans deported without due process from the U.S., and send them back to Venezuela, if President Nicolás Maduro would set free an equal number of political prisoners, AP’s Marcos Aleman and Megan Janetsky report. Maduro’s government called Bukele’s offer “cynical,” and accused him of crimes against humanity.
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®:  
A new national survey shows overwhelming support for pro-housing policies in TCJA. Learn More. | | | | JUST VANCE VP ABROAD: Vice President JD Vance arrived in India this morning for the second leg of a high-profile trip abroad, with plans for a bilateral meeting with PM Narendra Modi later today. There are significant policy and personal stakes here — none more so than on trade, with India eager to negotiate a deal with the U.S. quickly, Bloomberg’s Dan Strumpf and Akayla Gardner preview. New Delhi wants to conclude trade talks about certain sectors by the end of next month, while Modi is also interested in eliciting greater investments in India from Elon Musk. But don’t expect any deals to wrap up during Vance’s visit, Reuters’ Shivam Patel reports. The bigger picture: There’s a “markedly optimistic” feeling in India, WaPo’s Karishma Mehrotra reports from New Delhi, as bilateral relations have been steady of late. (The Biden administration’s consternation about India’s Russia links has diminished under Trump.) Today’s talks will also likely cover defense ties and Indian investments in the U.S. Both Trump and Musk are due to visit India later this year. It’s personal: Indian media is particularly interested in second lady Usha Vance, the first Indian American to hold that role, and Bloomberg notes the trip offers the VP a chance to deploy a softer edge on his travels than, say, his broadsides against Europe in February. The Vances are set to attend a wedding in Jaipur and visit the Taj Mahal during four days in the country. Mixed messages: Vance comes to India directly from Italy and the Vatican, where he and Pope Francis had a brief, friendly meeting to exchange greetings for Easter. “It’s good to see you in better health,” Vance told the pope. This was “one of Vance’s most conciliatory public acts since entering the vice presidency,” WaPo’s Natalie Allison, Anthony Faiola and Stefano Pitrelli report. But Francis’ official Easter speech later in the day included an implicit rebuke of Vance’s stance on immigrants and foreign aid: “How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized and migrants,” Francis wrote.
| | | | POLITICO IS BACK AT THE 2025 MILKEN GLOBAL CONFERENCE:
From May 4–7, California Playbook will deliver exclusive, on-the-ground coverage from the 28th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference. Get behind-the-scenes buzz, standout moments, and insights from leaders in AI, finance, health, philanthropy, geopolitics, and more. Subscribe now for your front-row seat to the conversations shaping our world. | | | | | BEST OF THE REST SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court today will hear arguments in a major Affordable Care Act case, CNN’s Tierney Sneed, Tami Luhby and Sarah Owermohle preview. At issue are the law’s mandates for health insurers to make some preventive services free; the challengers argue that plans shouldn’t have to cover things to which they have religious objections, like PrEP to prevent HIV infections. The mandates also cover services like cancer screenings and statins. But CNN notes that the Trump administration is actually defending Obamacare here — in part because the legal question being argued “could boost the power that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has in shaping those requirements.” THE RETALIATION CONTINUES: “Trump Administration Irate at Harvard, Plans to Pull Additional $1 Billion in Funding,” by WSJ’s Douglas Belkin and Liz Essley Whyte: “Trump administration officials … thought the long list of demands they sent Harvard last Friday was a confidential starting point for negotiations. They were surprised on Monday when Harvard released the letter to the public. Before Monday, the administration was planning to treat Harvard more leniently than Columbia University, but now officials want to apply even more pressure to the nation’s most prominent university,” including with new health research cuts. FOGGY WEATHER IN FOGGY BOTTOM: Reports of a draft executive order for a massive overhaul of the State Department left the diplomatic corps “shaken and even panicked” about an illogical and illegal transformation, POLITICO’s Felicia Schwartz, Nahal Toosi and Robbie Gramer report. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was “fake news.” Formal reorganization plans could be unveiled as soon as tomorrow. BIG TECH’S BIG WEEK: Two tech industry behemoths face massive antitrust trials this week, POLITICO’s Brendan Bordelon and Gabby Miller report. Google will go to court to determine the remedy for its illegal search monopoly, having lost to the Justice Department, while Meta’s court battle with the FTC continues. The outcome could be “a reshaped Silicon Valley. But Big Tech breakups are by no means assured,” with Trump — for one — an outstanding x-factor.
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®:  
A new national survey shows overwhelming support for pro-housing policies in TCJA. Learn More. | | | | ONE WEEK TO GO: Canada’s big election, which Trump’s trade war has upended, is coming April 28. Early voting opened Friday and closes today; 338Canada’s poll tracker forecasts the incumbent Liberals with a narrow lead. BIG MONEY: Trump’s inaugural committee raked in a whopping $239 million, NYT’s Teddy Schleifer reports. (For comparison, the previous record — set by Trump in his first term — was $107 million.) Newly public donors include tech investors John Hering, Ken Howery and Keith Rabois, while poultry producer Pilgrim’s, crypto company Ripple and megadonor Warren Stephens were the top three contributors overall. EMPIRE STATE OF MIND: The Transportation Department’s deadline for New York to end its congestion pricing program came and went yesterday, per NBC. Gov. Kathy Hochul remained defiant and kept the program going, having already notched an early court win on the matter. CHICAGO JUSTICE: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s growing role on the national stage has earned him notable profiles yesterday from POLITICO’s Shia Kapos and WSJ’s John McCormick. They report that he has a big decision looming: whether to run for reelection next year or switch focus to a 2028 presidential bid. The billionaire self-funder will be in New Hampshire on Sunday. ANYWHERE FEELS LIKE HOME: Trump’s recent comments about daylight saving time have sparked a small lobbying frenzy among industries which really want — or really don’t want — a change, POLITICO’s Ben Leonard reports. “It’s an issue that has pitted the golf industry and retail interests against sleep doctors and Christian radio broadcasters.” Even conservative influencers like Jack Posobiec have gotten activated. ANECDOTE OF THE DAY: “During a recent visit to Quantico, [Deputy Director Dan] Bongino got a taste of F.B.I. toughness when he hit the mats with an instructor skilled in jujitsu. Mr. Bongino did not fare well, several former agents said,” NYT’s Adam Goldman and Aric Toler report in a story about FBI Director Kash Patel’s high-profile embrace of public attention. “In a post on social media about the incident, Mr. Bongino said, ‘The instructor I was grappling with got the best of me, because he’s incredibly talented.’”
| | | | Cut through policy complexity and turn intelligence into action with POLITICO’s Policy Intelligence Assistant—a new suite of tools designed to save you time and demonstrate your impact more easily than ever—available only to Pro subscribers. Save hours, uncover critical insights instantly, and stay ahead of the next big shift. Power your strategy today—learn more. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Mehmet Oz’s granddaughter Philomena, who fainted in the Oval Office, is doing well now. Aidan Maese-Czeropski, the former Senate aide who lost his job after having sex in a hearing room, said the scandal landed him in a psych ward, but he’s doing better and dreaming of opening a pigeon sanctuary. CLICKER — POLITICO Magazine’s third annual edition of the Thirsties awards the members of Congress (and, this year, the executive branch) who are most eager for the spotlight. This year’s honorees: Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), and VP JD Vance. MEDIA MOVE — Ryan Lizza has launched a new Substack, Telos, focused on “the crisis in Washington,” scooped Status’ Oliver Darcy, who reports that Telos will publish “a major piece this week, which is said to be part memoir and part investigative.” He previously was chief Washington correspondent at POLITICO and a Playbook author. TRANSITIONS — Steve Donaldson is now a principal at Rich Feuer Anderson. He previously was senior adviser and counsel to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell for eight years. … Rebecca Maxwell is joining Jetr Global Sports + Entertainment as VP of immigration. She most recently was senior adviser to the deputy director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and acting chief of the administrative appeals office. … Caitlin McKeon is now director of public affairs at BBB National Programs. She previously was a labor policy adviser at the Senate HELP Committee. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NYT’s Jodi Kantor … Saagar Enjeti … POLITICO’s Gloria Gonzalez and Molly Childers … Matt Rivera … Felix Salmon of Axios … Greg Lyons of the Farm Credit Administration … Collin O’Mara of the National Wildlife Federation … Jay Cranford of CGCN Group … Will Boyington … Brad Cheney of the Majority Group … Katherine Finnerty … Mercury’s Jon Reinish … Steven Chlapecka … Harry Williams of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund … MSNBC’s Amanda Hayes … Terrence Clark … Justin Knighten … Niamh King of the Aspen Institute … Annie Topp of Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office … Paul Haenle of JPMorgan 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.
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®: A new survey shows Americans overwhelmingly back key real estate provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—policies that expand homeownership and drive our economy. A whopping 91% support preserving homeowner tax incentives like the mortgage interest deduction. 83% back the 20% tax break for small businesses and independent contractors. And 61% want to see SALT deduction limits increased.
Homeownership is the main way Americans build wealth, with a homeowner's net worth 40 times that of a renter. But with a 4.7 million home shortage, millions of middle-class Americans are locked out of the American Dream.
NAR supports bold, pro-housing policies like fixing the home equity penalty, converting empty commercial spaces into homes, attracting private investment, and cutting red tape.
Real estate powers 18% of U.S. GDP, and every home sale creates two jobs. Let's expand supply, fuel growth, and build a new age of prosperity through homeownership. Learn more. | | | | | | | | Follow us on X | | | | 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 | | | |
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