| | | |  | | By Jack Blanchard | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | | Good Thursday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, genuinely excited to hear (via the NYT and others) that we’ve found possible signs of life on a distant planet. “This is a revolutionary moment,” said Nikku Madhusudhan, the Cambridge University astronomer who made the discovery. “It’s the first time humanity has seen potential biosignatures on a habitable planet.” So — how long before Planet K2-18b gets slapped with a 10 percent tariff? In today’s Playbook: — Europe talks trade … in the form of Italian PM Giorgia Meloni. She’s in the Oval Office with Trump this afternoon. — The White House goes full attack-mode on deportations. Who saw that coming? — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wraps up her gangbusters tour. Next stop … the White House?
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni holds a year-end press conference in Rome on Jan. 9, 2025. | Alessandra Tarantino/AP | PASS THE CHIANTI: President Donald Trump will lunch with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni today as Europe makes its first big play to scale back U.S. tariffs. The right-wing Italian is one of Trump’s closest European allies, and it’s no coincidence she’s maneuvered herself to the front of a long line of continental leaders angling to talk trade with the president. Meloni will hope to advance a process to reduce or eliminate the 20 percent “reciprocal” tariff Trump slapped on Europe on “Liberation Day,” which is now on pause until July 9. She’ll also want to discuss Trump’s automobile tariffs and the coming attack on pharmaceutical imports. Buona fortuna! It’s a big moment: It’s striking the extent to which Trump has prioritized Asia since agreeing to negotiate on tariffs, dropping in unexpectedly on talks with Japan’s trade representative yesterday and speaking directly with the leaders of South Korea and Vietnam. By contrast, 88 days into his presidency, he has yet to meet at all with European Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen, even though the EU oversees trade policy for its member states. Preliminary talks between EU and U.S. trade officials this week bore little fruit. So today’s meeting with Meloni — Trump’s first face-to-face with a European leader since launching his tariff onslaught — is significant. How the day pans out: Meloni will be offered what’s become the standard treatment for overseas leaders visiting the White House under Trump 2.0. Those grand, setpiece press conferences of old have been abandoned in favor of the intimate Oval Office back-and-forths with the press pool, which have already produced so many memorable moments — from the JD Vance-induced meltdown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February to the sinister jokes and strongman-bro vibes of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele earlier this week. Meloni will get her chance to shine at 1:05 p.m. Friends reunited: The Italian PM should be on solid enough ground. Trump invited her to his inauguration in January, and praised her as a “wonderful woman” and a “real live wire” after they bonded in Paris last year. They’re certainly aligned on illegal migration — though it’s less clear if Trump shares her obsession with “Lord of the Rings.” Also worth noting: Meloni is pals with Elon Musk. Might he show up in the Oval Office today? The pair got so friendly during various events last year that Musk at one point denied unfounded internet chatter about a secret romance. (Let’s just hope Meloni doesn’t read the WSJ.) Il ponte vecchio: Meloni — billed as western Europe’s first far-right leader since World War Two after coming to power in 2022 — wants to become the “bridge” between Trumpist America and liberal-minded western Europe, someone who understands and can speak to both sides. “Having Trump’s ear is an asset for the entire European Union,” an Italian official tells POLITICO’s Giorgio Leali and colleagues in their walk-up to today’s summit. Both WaPo and the WSJ dub her “Europe’s Trump whisperer.” But before we get carried away: However charming Meloni proves to be, there will never be much love for the EU within this administration. And the rest of Europe isn’t sure it even wants the unpredictable Italian PM as its conduit for talking to America, POLITICO’s Eli Stokols and Jake Traylor note. Also — Italy has one of the biggest trade deficits with the U.S. in all of Europe. And it spends just 1.6 percent of GDP on defense, way below NATO’s 2 percent target, and way way way below Trump’s demand of 5 percent. So there’s plenty for them to argue about. On the flip side … Trump could really do with striking some trade deals. Fed chief Jerome Powell’s comments on the impact of his tariffs sent markets tumbling further yesterday, as the NYT sets out. Even White House aides acknowledge a series of rapidfire deals would give the economy a much-needed boost. Either way: The one thing Europeans have sussed out is that there’s little point talking about this stuff with anyone but Trump himself, the NYT’s Steven Erlanger and colleagues report in a five-bylined article on the transatlantic alliance. “Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro, has regularly declined to meet European officials,” they write. “Conversations on trade with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have been friendly and even sympathetic, but it has been clear to European officials that he does not speak for the administration … Trump alone is making policy decisions, and they may change without notice.”
| | | | A message from PhRMA: Chances are your insurer and PBM are owned by the same big health care company. They also own big chain pharmacies – and are even buying doctors' offices. When middlemen own it all, you lose. It's time to protect patients and rein in the middlemen. See how. | | | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Speaking of Lutnick, the commerce secretary has been persona non grata in reports coming out of the White House these past few weeks — raising questions about his future in the Cabinet. But the reality, as POLITICO’s Rachael Bade and Megan Messerly report this morning, is that this brash New York billionaire (sound familiar?) has a close bond with Trump which goes back decades. And allies say those around Trump pushing for his departure are engaged in “wishful thinking.” Scoop (of cherry-vanilla): “When President Donald Trump has decamped to Mar-a-Lago during his second term, there's one Cabinet secretary who's joined him every single time,” Rachael and Megan reveal. “It’s the same man that the president summons to his table for ice cream sundaes most Friday nights to gossip and replay the week; the same man who was his first call to float some outlandish ideas, including annexing the Panama Canal and creating a $5 million ‘gold card’ visa. That man is Howard Lutnick.” Ice cream sundaes with Donald and Howard: What an image.
| | | | A message from PhRMA:  
Insurers own PBMs, pharmacies – even doctors' offices. It's time to protect patients and rein in the middlemen. | | | | WAR ON THE INSTITUTIONS POISONED IVYS: Well, he was never going to back down. The Trump administration last night threatened to ban Harvard University from enrolling foreign students, another major escalation in the president’s war on the country’s higher education sector. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem sent a letter Wednesday accusing Harvard of creating a “hostile learning environment” for Jewish students, and warning: “It is a privilege to have foreign students attend Harvard University, not a guarantee.” (American universities can host international students on student visas only if they have certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, the Harvard Crimson’s Samuel Church and Cam Srivastava report.) Tax attacks: That bombshell followed yesterday’s earlier revelation that Trump has asked the IRS to follow through with the president’s threat and explore revoking Harvard’s tax-exempt status, as CNN’s Evan Perez, Alayna Treene and Marshall Cohen scooped. A final decision is expected soon, they report. Trump advisers had said they’d identified multiple ways of attacking Ivy League universities, and that the withdrawal of federal grant funding was only the first step. How much more is yet to come? But but but: CNN’s piece says the rescission of a tax-exempt status is a slow process, involving much “back and forth” with career IRS officials and a “full audit” of accounts. And furthermore: “If the IRS ultimately revokes tax-exempt status, federal law gives nonprofits the right to file a lawsuit in United States Tax Court, or other federal courts,” CNN reports. And “they can appeal all the way to the Supreme Court.” And that is surely where this case is headed if Trump pushes ahead. Companion reading: “Is Harvard’s $53 Billion Endowment Big Enough to Offset Federal Funding Cuts?” by WSJ’s Gretchen Tarrant Gulla, Brian McGill and Xavier Martinez. (Answer: Probably.) MEANWHILE IN THE COURTS: There’s zero sign of any contrition in the White House’s ongoing war with the judiciary, you’ll no doubt be surprised to hear. In fact, the Trump administration is going into overdrive on the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, hammering both the deportee himself and his Democratic defenders in the harshest ways imaginable — even as a furious federal judge embarks on an “intense” investigation of the way the government handled this case. Playbook told you yesterday how Team Trump spies a big political opportunity here, having created a sharp political dividing line which they believe forces their opponents onto the wrong side of public opinion. With Dems now literally flying off to El Salvador to campaign for Abrego Garcia’s release, the White House is looking to cement the idea in the minds of everyday people that the Dems are soft on crime and immigration. The latest exhibits: Last night’s remarkable and moving White House press briefing featuring Patty Morin, whose daughter was murdered by an undocumented migrant from El Salvador, was only one part of this strategy. AG Pam Bondi releasing more details about Abrego Garcia and his alleged gang links was another. And now, Trump surrogates are fanning out across traditional and social media to hammer home the message that Dems (and the “liberal media”) would rather support undocumented migrants and violent criminals than the native-born victims of crime. It’s a message Republicans believe is resonating with the public — meaning you can expect to hear plenty more of it over the days ahead. Dems are outraged, of course, insisting they are sticking up for legal due process and basic human rights under the Constitution. POLITICO’s Jordain Carney and Nick Wu have a good piece on how the dynamic is playing out on the Hill. Next up I: ICE officials and Elon Musk’s DOGE team are “seeking to use a sensitive Medicare database as part of their crackdown on undocumented immigrants,” WaPo’s Hannah Natanson, Rachel Roubein and Dan Diamond report. Next up II: A new policy from the Trump administration “urges immigration judges to swiftly deny asylum to migrants whose applications they deem unlikely to succeed,” NYT’s Miriam Jordan reports. “The expedited dismissals would circumvent the normal hearing process, which typically takes years to wind through the backlogged courts.” And as for the war on the media: The Associated Press’ denial of access case against the White House is back in the Court of Appeal this afternoon. Watch out for more fireworks.
| | | | 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.
| | | | | NEWS FROM THE WILDERNESS DYNAMIC DUO: The hottest tour in the U.S. right now might just be that of 83-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 35-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who turned out tens of thousands on their “Fighting Oligarchy” romp across Western states. The tour finally ended its current run in Missoula, Montana, yesterday. The duo have provided some much-needed “spark” for Democrats in search of a counter to Trump’s super-charged presidency after the bruising electoral losses of the past year, NYT’s Kellen Browning reports. So, what now? The question for Sanders and AOC is what comes next — aside from the massive fundraising the tour has helped trigger. Sanders has indicated it’s unlikely he’ll seek the presidency again, but AOC is at a crossroads for her political career, with an outsider’s run for the White House now seemingly within her grasp. Sanders told the Times he thinks the “wave of anti-establishment anger could turn into something substantive for the left,” with eyes on hiring “organizers to help build a broader movement that would challenge the establishment in both parties.” If you care about this type of thing: There are certainly plenty of people starting to tip AOC for big things, as evidenced by Nate Silver’s “way-too-early Democratic 2028 draft,” in which both he and Galen Druke agreed she is the top pick to pursue the presidency. (Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was the unanimous second pick, too.) The next options are the usual suspects, but the bench runs out pretty quickly. (Disgraced former New York Gov. and leading NYC mayoral contender Andrew Cuomo was a fifth-round pick, for instance.) Speaking of rising tides: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), fresh off his big don’t-call-it-a-filibuster moment, is performing best in a recent survey of 2028 prospects from Data for Progress. Usual caveats: 2028 is a very long way off … Early frontrunners rarely get picked … Being popular with the base doesn’t make you popular with the country … America has never elected a president under 40 … yadda yadda yadda. SPEAKING OF GENERATIONAL CHANGE: Former President Joe Biden was slated to speak at Harvard’s Institute of Politics yesterday for an “off-the-record study group with his long-time adviser Mike Donilon,” per The Crimson’s Elise Spenner. Biden’s presence on campus was kept extremely secretive: The IOP did not publicize the event, and only select students received invites the day before with very little detail. Essentially, the former president seems to have been smuggled in and out of the building. Very odd. GETTING MESSY IN MICHIGAN: This sense of generational change and anti-establishment energy is already playing out across a handful of Democratic races — and it’s threatening to blow open a messy Michigan Senate primary. Abdul El-Sayed is entering the race today with a not-so-veiled rebuke of those Democrats vowing to dump Chuck Schumer as Senate leader (looking at you, Mallory McMorrow). “Anybody who tells you they’re going to unilaterally oppose one potential candidate without knowing who the alternative is, is either unnuanced or unsophisticated,” El-Sayed told POLITICO’s Nick Wu. SWEATING IN THE CALI HEAT: Out in Oakland, progressives who had eyes on a Barbara Lee blowout in the mayoral race against the more moderate Loren Taylor are really sweating the outcome of the still-too-close-to-call election, POLITICO’s Jeremy White writes. “The fact that the widely revered [Lee] is digging in for a slog — and allying herself with other candidates in a bid for every available vote — underscores the extent to which the race has become a hinge moment.” And the wait will continue: The next batch of ballots that could tip the scales isn’t set to drop until Friday.
| | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — In search of the base: Mitch Landrieu and American Bridge 21st Century are rolling out The Working Class Project today, a new Substack that they tout as the “largest working class research effort in the Democratic Party.” The effort will update with “new research and analysis from focus groups, online qualitative surveys, and long-term quantitative and media consumption surveys in more than 20 states.” BEST OF THE REST THE CUTS KEEP COMING: The Trump administration is considering a more than 30 percent cut to HHS’ budget, “as part of a sweeping reorganization that would eliminate dozens of programs,” POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn reports. “Public health initiatives aimed at HIV/AIDS prevention would no longer exist. Major parts of the National Institutes of Health would be abolished. The Food and Drug Administration would cease routine inspections at food facilities. And funding for many of the administration’s priorities are on the chopping block, including federal programs focused on autism, chronic disease, drug abuse and mental health.” TALKING UKRAINE: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s omnipresent envoy Steve Witkoff are in Paris today to talk Ukraine, Iran and other pressing security issues with key European figures including French President Emmanuel Macron. Witkoff flies on to Rome this weekend for his next round of talks with Iranian officials. Speaking of Iran: Israeli plans to strike Iranian nuclear sites as soon as next month were “waved off by President Trump … in favor of negotiating a deal with Tehran to limit its nuclear program,” NYT’s Julian Barnes, Eric Schmitt, Maggie Haberman and Ronen Bergman report. THE UNLIKELY FOIL: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who chairs the powerful Armed Services Committee, has proven a reliable ally for Trump’s most controversial DOD moves. But even as he provides support, Wicker is quietly emerging as the Pentagon’s unlikely foil, POLITICO’s Connor O'Brien reports. “Wicker’s delicate dance reflects how traditional GOP defense hawks are learning to navigate the administration’s isolationist moves while trying to achieve their own more traditional agendas.” GOOGLE IT: It looks like it’s Google’s turn to walk across the coals in Washington. “Top Republicans in Congress are leaning hard on the tech giant to make its content policies friendlier to the GOP, after winning that fight with social media companies Meta and X,” POLITICO’s Brendan Bordelon and Hailey Fuchs report. Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are the two heavy hitters turning the screws on the tech behemoth. “Cruz sat down last month for a one-on-one meeting with Google CEO Sundar Pichai to deliver a warning: Change Google’s content policies or face his wrath.” Speaking of the tech giants: Michael Beckerman is taking on a new global advisory role at TikTok after five years as the social media company’s top lobbyist. He told colleagues in an email sent yesterday that he will move from D.C. to South Carolina to focus on family. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in the email that the company will search for a successor “over the next few months.” More from The Information FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Fighting for foreign aid: The Small Business Association for International Companies is launching a campaign called “American Businesses for International Assistance,” with a six-figure investment so far. SBAIC, one of the plaintiffs suing the Trump administration over the USAID freeze, is seeking to gain traction with the GOP re. the future of foreign aid by emphasizing the small business angle.
| | | | 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 | | John Ullyot, the former top Pentagon spokesperson who was at the center of the controversy surrounding the removal of content about Jackie Robinson as part of the administration’s “anti-DEI” push, told POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman and Jack Detsch that he will resign this week. Ullyot said he “made clear” to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that he wouldn’t be “number two to anyone in public affairs.” PLAYBOOK SPORTS SECTION — The D.C. government is “close to a deal worth more than $3 billion to bring the Washington Commanders back to the District and build a new stadium at the RFK Stadium site,” NBC 4 Washington’s Mark Segraves reports. Though the deal isn’t finalized, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Commanders have worked out a proposal that would see the team “put up as much as $2.5 billion, and the District would provide up to $850 million.” SPOTTED at Westover Market And Beer Garden for an acoustic guitar concert by Mrs. Robinson and Wicked Game last night: Christina Sevilla, Steve Rochlin, Fin Gómez, Sarah March-Gómez, Adam Green, Laura Kelly, Christine and John Phipps, Jen Renteria, Peter Apazidis, Jack Doll, James Barbour, Kevin Rooney, Robert Gerber and Sofie Amalie Rasmussen. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Mike Gwin is now senior adviser and comms director for Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats and ranking member Jeanne Shaheen. He previously was principal deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for public affairs in the Biden administration. TRANSITIONS — Michael Bland will be executive director of Black Men Vote. He previously was southern regional director and senior advisor for faith engagement for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. … Taylor Zanazzi is now campaign manager for Daniel Cameron’s Kentucky Senate campaign. He previously managed Rep. Ken Calvert’s (R-Calif.) campaign and is a Jay Obernolte, Mayra Flores and Young Kim alum. … … Elizabeth Stockton is joining Overlap Holdings as director of government solutions. She previously was special assistant to the undersecretary of Defense for policy. … Sergio Rodriguera Jr. is now an adviser at Scout AI. He is chief growth officer at General Radar and is a House Financial Services Committee alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) and Brad Knott (R-N.C.) … Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte … NYT’s Julie Hirschfeld Davis (5-0) … Sean Dalton … Dean Lieberman of DKL Strategies … Jim Acosta … POLITICO’s Andres Picon and Angelica Botlo … Shaunna Thomas … Leslie Dach of Protect Our Care … Chris Durlak … Dickinson Wright’s Jim Tyrrell … Ed Gilroy … Jane Oates of WorkingNation … Greg Lemon … Jackie Whisman of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation … Annie Coulson of Rep. Dwight Evans’ (D-Pa.) office … Jennifer LaTourette … Dylan Peachey of House Ways and Means … Axios’ David Lindsey … Jon Simons … Eric Sayers of Beacon Global Strategies … former Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.) … Bloomberg’s Jeffrey Horst … Alex Kellner … Chris Eddowes of Atlas Crossing … National Endowment for Democracy’s Franklin Bonner (5-0) … Ken Jost … Marty Obst of MO Strategies … Jim Tyrrell 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 PhRMA: Insurers own PBMs, pharmacies – even doctors' offices. As a result, a few big health care companies decide what medicines you can get and what you pay at the pharmacy counter. Middlemen are taking more control of your health care, driving up costs and making it harder to get the care you need. When middlemen own it all, you lose. It's time to protect patients and rein in the middlemen. See how. | | | | | | | | 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 | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment