ONE DOWN, MORE TO GO: There’s at least one headache for the GOP that, as of this morning, seems to have a clean path forward. The rest — heading into a critical week of back to back deadlines — is far less cut and dry. The Justice Department announced today it’s dropping the probe into the Fed’s costly HQ renovations — the fight that became a proxy war between the White House and Fed Chair Jerome Powell and ensnared Trump’s nominee to succeed Powell at the central bank. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro posted to X that the Fed inspector general “has been asked to scrutinize the building costs overruns” and that she expected a “comprehensive report in short order.” Some may remember Powell himself told lawmakers just under a year ago that he requested the IG look into the costs. This clears a path now for Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) to drop his opposition to Kevin Warsh’s nomination to lead the Fed, allowing Warsh to advance out of committee and to the Senate floor before Powell’s term ends on May 15. Senior DOJ officials were already in talks with senators, including Tillis, in recent days about dropping the probe, per ABC’s Katherine Faulders and colleagues. The White House “remains as confident as before” that Warsh will get confirmed, spokesperson Kush Desai wrote on X. The DOJ reversal — which POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney notes has a line that throws into question the factual basis of the initial investigation — is already viewed as a win for Tillis, who was steadfast in his refusal to back off his blockade in the Senate Banking Committee. He previously slammed the case against Powell as “weak and frivolous.” There’s a lesson to take from Tillis about leverage that may be compelling to other GOP senators. The retiring Tills has a certain “YOLO” advantage that others on the ballot may not have the privilege to adopt. But with no shortage of issues dominating the agenda in the week ahead, and the need for near-complete unity to get (possibly multiple) party-line packages across the finish line, the opportunities for more intraparty standoffs are plentiful. Speaking of: Though Warsh’s start after May 15 seems around the corner, it’s basically lifetimes away. The majority has some major pressure cookers lined up next week that will dominate the news ahead of the scheduled recess at the start of May. The House will have to act next week on the Senate-passed DHS bill and the accompanying reconciliation plan, which has so far remained narrow despite some GOP voices calling for a more expansive scope if only one party-line package is feasible. Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republican leadership are lining up a framework for a third reconciliation bill that could be revealed next week to quell those desires, Punchbowl reports. The House Rules Committee will take up the Senate’s budget resolution on Monday, as Republicans look to hold a floor vote next week — but how fast any of this moves is also murky. There’s no plan B for DHS: funding for the department’s employees will run dry by May 1. And another headache persists: Section 702 of FISA, the key government spy powers authority. Johnson and co. will have to spend a significant portion of next week muscling support for the extension as some Freedom Caucus hard-liners remain unmoved, as POLITICO’s Inside Congress notes. No one needs reminding of how thin the party’s margins are. And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ circle is privately pouring cold water on the idea of passing it on suspension. The two-week extension ends on April 30. Insult to injury: There’s another key deadline coming next week — the 60-day mark of the war in Iran, which will hit on May 1. Speculation has swirled for weeks this could be a tipping point for many GOP lawmakers. Some senators are already preparing to propose extending the war effort. Democrats seem poised to put up war powers votes until they get flips. On top of it all: The last frontier of the redistricting battle — Florida’s special session to redraw its maps — kicks off on Tuesday. Feeling overwhelmed yet? Enjoy WHCD weekend, folks. Next week will be a doozy.
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1. IRAN LATEST: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said today the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will remain in place “as long as it takes,” CBS’ Melissa Quinn and Joe Walsh report. “All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways, or instead they can watch the regime's fragile economic state collapse under the unrelenting pressure of American power,” Hegseth said at today’s Pentagon press briefing. Back to negotiating: Special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, along with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, will travel to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks, CNN’s Alayna Treene scooped. The duo will depart tomorrow, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News. VP JD Vance is not expected to attend since Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker who is viewed by the White House as Vance’s counterpart, is not participating, per CNN. Inside DOD: An internal Pentagon email revealed options to punish NATO allies it believes failed to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, “including suspending Spain from the alliance and reviewing the U.S. position on Britain's claim to the Falkland Islands,” Reuters’ Phil Stewart scoops. The blame game: A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found 77 percent of Americans blame Trump for rising gas prices, per Reuters’ Bo Erickson and Jason Lange. “The view was widely shared across the political spectrum, with 55 percent of Republican voters, 82 percent of independents and 95 percent of Democrats pinning blame on the president for the higher costs.” The vibe check: “US declares victory while preparing for more war with Iran,” by POLITICO’s Paul McLeary: “The administration is still sending more forces to the region — and asking for help from allies — even as the White House says the conflict is over.” 2. RED FLAGS FOR YOUNGKIN: “White House directs post-Virginia ire at Youngkin,” by Playbook’s Dasha Burns: “The West Wing thinks [Glenn Youngkin] should have done more in Virginia,” one senior White House official told Dasha. Another person close to the White House also threw the blame on the former Virginia governor: “Look, there’s plenty of blame to go around. But if Youngkin hadn’t left the special session open, Louise Lucas would never have had the chance to ram through those maps,” the person said, referring to the Democratic state senator who helped lead the charge. It’s all dampening his prospects of landing a role in the administration: “He doesn’t have enough friends here,” the White House official said. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY TOUR: The House Ethics Committee is looking to make changes to how it holds members of Congress accountable for misconduct following the departure of several members in recent weeks, CNN’s Annie Grayer reports. But the process poses a challenge as “even those with the best intentions are realizing that the road to reforming how Congress polices itself will be much longer and more complicated than many had hoped, frustrating those who want to see swift change. The stakes for members are high, as many fear the public’s dismal view of Congress will only worsen if there aren’t clear improvements.”
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LAST NIGHT AT THE WHARF: While there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Donald Trump and his administration will be the talk of the town this weekend, there’s at least one WHCD weekend fête where the administration was decidedly not invited. “DO NOT ADMIT!” signs plastering pictures of everyone from Trump to Brendan Carr to Karoline Leavitt made the guest list obvious enough at Status’ Kickoff Party at Fish Shop last night. And why not admit the officials who, by all accounts, seem to be getting nearly every other invite? “Because they hate journalists,” Status founder Oliver Darcy put it plainly to Playbook. If you had any doubt about whose party you were at, the custom neon lights and “one month free” flyers branded with Status’ logo would’ve set you straight. The attention was all on the newsmakers, a who’s who of the Washington media circuit. And the chatter was exactly what you’d expect: who’s going to the dinner, who’s not and more than a few grumbles about the latest media shakeups (namely, the Washington Post). But given Status’ role in the media ecosystem, they also didn’t hide the undercurrent advantage of having the city’s nosiest people in one room. Guests were plied with sparkling rosé as soon as they walked through the door, then greeted by more until the open bar closed early at 10:30 p.m. — “Who does that!” Symone Sanders Townsend said in passing. And in little orange cards scattered around the room, a QR code read: “Have a tip?” SPOTTED: Darcy and Elise Shae, Jon Passantino, Natalie Korach, Stacey Farish, Don Lemon and Tim Malone, Mehdi Hasan, Virginia Moseley and Tom Nides, Vladimir Duthiers, Jim Acosta and Liz Landers, Eugene Daniels, Rebecca Blumenstein, David Chalian and Justin Bernstine, Keith Edwards, Philip Bump, Dasha Burns, Simone Swink, Sam Feist, Wendy McMahon, Jesse Rodriguez, Josh Dawsey, Emily Kuhn, Caroline Cook, Charlotte Klein, Ryan Reilly, Devon Spurgeon and Ziad Ojakli, Sahil Kapur, Jeff Mason, Ryan Lizza, Donie O’Sullivan, Josiah Ryan, Nathaniel Brown, Jamie Favazza, Rick Davis, David Leavy, Brian Nick, Brendan and Rebecca Buck, Adam Mockler, Taylor Lorenz, Tyler Denk, Johanna Stern, Jason Rezaian, Olivia Petersen, David Corn, TJ Ducklo, Aidan McLaughlin, Amanda Katz, Zeke Miller, Johanna Mayer-Jones, Ed O’Keefe and Max Tani. — NBC News hosted its “Common Ground” live event, sponsored by Comcast, to kick off White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend last night. The program and packed reception took place at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, and featured panel discussions spanning the gamut from Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) on war powers and Iran, moderated by Kristen Welker, to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and astronaut Suni Williams on the Artemis II launch, moderated by Lester Holt. SPOTTED: Mike Cavanagh, Cesar Conde, Rebecca Blumenstein, Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Adam Silver, Elana Meyers Taylor, Brandi Chastain, Mike Tirico, Steve Kornacki, Andrea Mitchell, Ryan Nobles, Richard Engel, Chloe Arensberg, Michelle Perry, Joe Freyer, Mel Zanona, Sara Fagen, Matt Gorman, Jen Friedman, Lance West, Reesha Kang Trznadel, Lynda Carter, Ron Daniels, Josh Eastright and Cybele Bjorklund. — MS NOW hosted its “Future Correspondents Brunch” this morning, where Rebecca Kutler, Jen Psaki, Eugene Daniels, Vaughn Hillyard, Jackie Alemany, Akayla Gardner, Mychael Schnell, Alex Lupia, Sudeep Reddy, Erin Zimmerman, Cindy Galli and Joey Cole engaged directly with emerging journalism students from Howard University, George Washington University, Georgetown University and American University at Founding Farmers Foggy Bottom. — Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, John McCarthy and Stripe’s Eillen O’Mara hosted “The Green Room” last night, an inaugural Irish fáilte ahead of White House Correspondents' weekend. SPOTTED: Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Tim Kennedy (D-N.Y.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Patrick McHenry, Terry McAuliffe, British Ambassador Christian Turner, Sean Cairncross, Patrick Witt, Kasie Hunt, David Chalian, Seval Oz, Lynda Carter, Kerry Kennedy, Jeff Freeland, Derek Theruer, Jessica Dean, Rob Bluey, Sara Cook, Maureen Dowd, Shawn McCreesh, Kelly O’Donnell, Jacqui Heinrich, Tasia Jackson, Jennifer Griffin, Alex Katz, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Luke Russert, Sean Spicer, Steve Ricchetti, Betsy Klein, Donie O’Sullivan, Alex Nason, Jackie Kucinich, Meridith McGraw, Aidan McLaughlin, Anna Palmer, Jesse Rodriguez, Liz Johnson, T.W. Arrighi, Ryan Williams, Jackie Rooney and Catriona Perry. — The latest “On Background: A Journalism-Improv Mashup,” a show that pairs journalists with improvisational comedians, was held last night at NOBODY in Blagden Alley. This month's guest? D.C. journalism legend Sally Quinn. Sally, who's been taking improv classes and even hosted improv events at her home, joined the improvisors on stage for some fun and laughter. SPOTTED: Quinn Bradlee, Lisa Amore, Abby Maslin, Mark Trainer, Neville Waters and Shawn Westfall. TRANSITION — Chris Vieson and Phil MacNaughton are launching the VM group, a strategic defense consulting firm. They previously worked at Zero Mile Strategies and on the House Armed Services Committee, respectively. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Giuseppe Macri and deputy editor Garrett Ross.
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