| | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s efforts to shrink and remake HHS are underway. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | REDUCTIONS IN FORCE: Mass layoffs finally hit thousands of employees across HHS overnight, upending a generation of the federal public health civil service, POLITICO’s Sophie Gardner, Ruth Reader, Lauren Gardner, David Lim and Chelsea Cirruzzo report. Many FDA, CDC, NIH and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health employees were affected. The high-profile cuts: At the FDA, Peter Stein and the policy shop inside the Office of New Drugs were axed, top tobacco regulator Brian King was put on leave, and Office of Strategic Programs and leader Sridhar Mantha were cut. The top veterinarian working on bird flu was pushed out, per WSJ’s Liz Essley Whyte. And National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Jeanne Marrazzo was let go, CNN’s Nick Valencia, Brenda Goodman, Rene Marsh and Meg Tirrell report. Many comms staffers were shown the door, while “H.I.V. prevention was a big target overall,” NYT’s Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Christina Jewett and Apoorva Mandavilli report. In the cold: Per AP’s Carla Johnson, at least four of 27 NIH institute/center directors were put on leave. Some senior staffers “were offered a possible transfer to the Indian Health Service in locations including Alaska and given until end of Wednesday to respond.” The debate: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has framed the cuts as an essential step to shrink a bloated federal government and cut out regulators who are too friendly with Big Pharma. But former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf warned on LinkedIn today, “The FDA as we’ve known it is finished, with most of the leaders with institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of product development and safety no longer employed. I believe that history will see this [as] a huge mistake.” On the Hill: Senate HELP Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told CNN’s Manu Raju he’s investigating and “trying to understand it.” At a House Energy & Commerce hearing today, Democrats protested the FDA cuts: “Rome is burning and we’re talking about sunscreen,” said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), per POLITICO’s Ben Leonard.
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Learn more. | | | | TRADING PLACES: Ahead of tomorrow’s “Liberation Day” of huge U.S. tariffs, the White House still hasn’t settled on a final announcement, but WaPo’s Jeff Stein and David Lynch report that a proposal for roughly 20 percent tariffs (nearly universal) has been drafted. President Donald Trump hasn’t closed the door on more specific reciprocal tariffs either. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the tariffs will be “effective immediately” tomorrow, and the White House has scheduled the Rose Garden announcement for 4 p.m. Meanwhile, industry scrambling continues: The pharma industry is lobbying the administration to ramp up tariffs on medical products gradually, Reuters’ Maggie Fick and Michael Erman scooped. The global response: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech today that the EU is “open to negotiations” but also prepared to strike back, per CNN. “Europe has not started this confrontation,” she said. “We do not necessarily want to retaliate but, if it is necessary, we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it.” Privately, European officials have been debating going after digital services from Big Tech in a trade war, WaPo’s Anthony Faiola and Ellen Francis report from Rome. France wants to do it, while Italy is concerned about escalation. … Israel said today it wants to preemptively remove its tariffs (which are fairly minimal) on U.S. goods, per Reuters. Bracing for fallout: Some economists have warned that in a worst-case, all-out trade war, the U.S. could be plunged into recession. But NYT’s Ana Swanson reports that a recent trade war gaming simulation at the Center for a New American Security showed that this could end more positively, with the U.S. striking bilateral deals with key partners to lift levies on both sides and avert economic pain. Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | Don't miss POLITICO's annual Health Care Summit on April 2! Hear from TrueMed co-founder Calley Means, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.), Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) and more on the future of health care policy. Register today. | | | | | | | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. CAINE AND ABLE: Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair nominee Dan “Razin” Caine distanced himself from some of Trump’s claims about him at a Senate confirmation hearing today, and seems headed for a fairly easy vote despite some tough questions. Most notably, the retired lieutenant general denied Trump’s story that Caine had worn a MAGA hat and said “I would kill for you, sir” in a 2018 Iraq meeting, per POLITICO’s Joe Gould and Connor O’Brien. “I’ve never worn any political merchandise or said anything to that effect,” Caine testified today. More from the hearing: Caine emphasized that he hadn’t sought out the job, and he pledged to give independent, frank military advice to Trump even if the president didn’t like it. Concern from Democratic senators largely centered on Trump firing the last Joint Chiefs chair, Gen. C.Q. Brown, rather than Caine himself. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), for one, sounded fairly positive about the nomination, per Connor. Elsewhere on the Hill: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is still going with his marathon Senate floor speech against Trump, now one of the longest in history. That has thrown a wrench into the chamber’s schedule; Kaine said his vote to block Trump’s Canada tariffs will likely move to tomorrow. (Senate Majority Leader John Thune will oppose Kaine’s resolution in a speech, per The Daily Caller’s Adam Pack.) … The House Rules Committee advanced a rule to block Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-Fla.) discharge petition to let new parents vote by proxy, per POLITICO’s Nick Wu and Meredith Lee Hill. Now the question is whether Luna can rally enough GOP supporters to tank the Rules measure on the floor at 1:30 p.m. 2. NEW IN COURT: “Democratic-led states sue to block Trump from $11 billion health funding cut,” by Reuters’ Nate Raymond: “Attorneys general and governors from 23 states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Rhode Island argue the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lacks the authority to unilaterally claw back [pandemic-era grant] funding the states had already built health programs around.”
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| | | | 3. COME RETRIBUTION: Trump’s campaign of retaliating against major law firms with ties to his political opponents is expected to hit Willkie Farr & Gallagher soon, NYT’s Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman report. The firm employs three people disfavored by the White House: former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, former House Jan. 6 committee investigator Tim Heaphy and a lawyer who helped lead the defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani. It’s not clear whether Willkie will fight the executive order or strike a deal with Trump. 4. FOR YOUR RADAR: Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has placed a hold on several top VA nominees, AP’s Stephen Groves reports. Gallego, a veteran, said he had to fight back against the administration’s plans for huge cuts at the VA, which he said would worsen veterans’ services. It’s a “significant escalation in the Democrat’s effort to counter President Donald Trump’s plans to slash federal agencies and a sharply partisan move on a committee that has often been marked by cooperation.” 5. HOW TRUMP LOSES GEN Z: AG Pam Bondi announced that she wants the prosecution to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione if he’s convicted, per ABC. Mangione has been charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, which Bondi decried as “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination” and “an act of political violence.” 6. IN THE LURCH: “States scramble to address ‘catastrophic’ halt to federal pandemic education aid,” by POLITICO’s Juan Perez Jr.: “State superintendents and elected officials across the country are scrambling to assess how schools will absorb the sudden loss of billions of dollars in federal pandemic aid they’re using for everything from construction to tutoring.”
| | | | Policy moves fast—stay ahead with POLITICO’s Policy Intelligence Assistant. Effortlessly search POLITICO's archive of 1M+ news articles, analysis documents, and legislative text. Track legislation, showcase your impact, and generate custom reports in seconds. Designed for POLITICO Pro subscribers, this tool helps you make faster, smarter decisions. Start exploring now. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Neither Randy Fine nor Josh Weil lives in Florida’s 6th District. JD Vance is planning a trip to Italy this month, and the U.S. has asked for a meeting with Giorgia Meloni. Kevin Batts, a Cory Booker staffer, was arrested at the Capitol for carrying a gun without a license. Melania Trump will hail the “universal language” of love in remarks today at the State Department’s International Women of Courage Awards. IN MEMORIAM — “A tribute to John Thornton, venture capitalist and local journalism pioneer,” from the American Journalism Project, Elsewhere Partners and Erin Thornton AND THE AWARD GOES TO — The White House Correspondents’ Association announced its annual award winners, with the top prize for overall excellence going to Axios’ Alex Thompson for his coverage of Joe Biden. Also awarded: AP’s Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller, ABC’s Rachel Scott, NYT’s Doug Mills and Reuters’ “Fentanyl Express” investigation. Agence France-Presse’s Jim Watson received an honorable mention. See all their work MEDIA MOVES — Steve Kornacki is leaving MSNBC for a new deal with NBC across news and sports, per the L.A. Times. He’ll be a contributor and chief data analyst. … MSNBC has named Antonia Hylton and Elise Jordan as co-hosts of “The Weekend: Primetime,” per TheWrap’s Sean Burch. … Tyler Cowen is joining The Free Press. He’s an economist who has previously hosted the Marginal Revolution blog and been a columnist for Bloomberg. TRANSITIONS — Brian Nieves is now deputy chief of staff and senior counsel for policy at the Office of the Deputy AG. He most recently was deputy chief counsel for oversight at the House Judiciary Committee. … Lesly Weber McNitt has rejoined the National Corn Growers Association as VP of public policy. She most recently was senior director of U.S. advocacy and comms at the Eleanor Crook Foundation. … Bryan Hood is now digital political director for the RNC. He previously was a director at Flexpoint Media. … … Andrew Stevens has joined Thrivent Financial as its first full-time employee in D.C. covering federal government affairs. He previously was VP of government and external affairs at Allianz. … Cara Baldari will be director of advocacy at Family Promise. She previously was VP of family economics, housing and homelessness policy at First Focus on Children. … Nicola Wagner is the incoming director of executive appointments in Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s office. She most recently was deputy director of employee engagement and leadership development in the Biden White House. BONUS BIRTHDAY: Riley Kilburg of Center Forward 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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