| | | |  | | By Jack Blanchard | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine | | | | Good Wednesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, currently reading how Warren Buffet casually sold off most of his Apple stock last year for a $110 billion profit — immediately before the tech giant lost a quarter of its value. His firm is now “sitting on more cash than any company in history,” per the WSJ. If Mr. Buffet ever fancies sharing next week’s lottery numbers, he can drop me a line. In today’s Playbook … — White House seeks to shore up markets with warm words, U-turns … and Scott Bessent. — Marco Rubio's no-show at Ukraine summit compounds Kyiv’s fears. — Pete Hegseth tries to get back to the day job. But chaos just follows him around.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen as President Donald Trump speaks before a luncheon with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Cabinet Room of the White House on April 17, 2025, in Washington. | Alex Brandon/AP | GREAT SCOTT! Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will seek to reassure global markets this morning as the White House shifts to full-on defense-mode on the economy. Bessent — basking in his role as the Trump administration’s reassurer-in-chief — will discuss “the state of the global financial system” in a keynote speech at 10 a.m., part of the weeklong IMF and World Bank spring meetings. Given the economic backpedalling we’ve seen from President Donald Trump and co. these past 24 hours, you can guess what type of message he’ll be looking to send. Sneak peek: Bessent gave us a handy preview of his thoughts yesterday in a “private speech” to JPMorgan, which mysteriously leaked immediately to various wire services and the financial press. (Here’s the AP writeup.) Bessent reassured finance chiefs he believes Trump’s trade war with China is “unsustainable” for both sides and that he expects a “de-escalation” — though warned trade talks will be a “slog.” And there was more: Trump swiftly rowed in behind Bessent with his softest words on China in weeks. “We’re going to be very nice,” he told pool reporters in the White House last night. “My relationship with President Xi [Jinping] is great … I think we'll make a deal.” And on the specifics, Trump added: “[The current tariff of] 145% is very high… It won't be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially.” And there was still more: Trump also walked back his attacks on “major loser” Jerome Powell, whose “termination” as Fed chair, Trump said last week, “can’t come soon enough.” But the president’s tone is suddenly very different after more days of market volubility. Asked if he had plans to dismiss the Fed chair, Trump said he had “none whatsoever. Never did. The press runs away with things. I have no intention of firing him.” Another case of the yips: Taken together, it marks Trump’s biggest economic climbdown since, well, the last one, and is another indication of just how badly most of this stuff is landing. The original plan, remember, was for “reciprocal tariffs” on dozens of nations — swiftly discarded when the markets wobbled. Then the plan was a trade war with China — a war Trump now sounds extremely keen to end. Then he flirted with firing Powell — but has been forced to abandon that too. Even Donald Trump has to kneel before the altar of the market. And guess what? The effect has been immediate. Asian stock markets are up overnight. U.S. stock futures are up. The S&P 500 will probably be up today too, if Bessent sticks to the script. But but but: There are rumors in Brussels that the European Commission is about to press ahead with whopping great fines for Apple and Meta under the EU’s Digital Markets Act. That could trigger an angry U.S. response and another hit to the stock market … and on the cycle goes. So get used to these “wild swings,” says POLITICO’s ace ‘Morning Money’ author Sam Sutton in a late-night Slack message to Playbook. They “broadly reflect Wall Street's unease with Trump's ever-changing trade policies,” he notes. “That uncertainty has made markets susceptible to any signal about the direction of travel.” More warm words from Bessent on China today would, Sam adds, “at least provide a semblance of an endgame which investors and executives could use to chart next steps. But even if Bessent's speech salves the market's motion sickness, its effects will only be palliative. The cure comes with certainty — and certainty only comes in the form of finalized trade agreements.”
| | | | 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. | | | | Ah yes, the trade deals: No sign of Peter Navarro’s “90 deals in 90 days” as yet. POLITICO’s Megan Messerly, Ari Hawkins and Daniel Desrochers reported yesterday that the White House is now looking at signing Memorandums of Understanding with key Asian partners — which are mere agreements to have more talks, and a zillion miles away from actual trade deals (which as NOTUS’ Jasmine Wright reports, normally take years to negotiate). Still, some overhyped MoUs might give the White House a fig leaf of cover to punt reciprocal tariffs into the long grass. What’s behind the back-pedalling: This gruesome FT chart offers a helpful illustration of exactly what’s spooking the White House. Normally, if the U.S. takes a nasty economic hit — such as during Covid-19 or the 2008 financial crash — it’s swiftly counterbalanced by a stronger dollar and cheaper borrowing, easing the pain somewhat. But Trump’s “Liberation Day”-induced crash has done the unthinkable — hitting U.S. stocks, bonds and currency all at the same time. Spoiler: This is what happens to normal countries in dire economic stakes. Welcome to the real world, America. Also headed back to reality: Elon Musk, who promised grumpy Tesla investors last night that he’ll be returning to the day job next month and spending a lot less time with Big Balls & co. at DOGE. POLITICO’s Chris Marquette writes it up. The last of U.S.: In light of these first 100 days of Trump, American allies are reorienting their approach to the U.S., readying their playbooks for retaliation with a litany of proposals ranging “from minor irritants to extreme actions that could sever defense and economic relationships that have cemented alliances for nearly a century,” Eli Stokols, Philipp Fritz, Clea Caulcutt and Emily Schultheis write this morning in a global effort by reporters across Axel Springer’s news outlets. What’s on the menu: The measures being considered include “finding alternative suppliers of military equipment and munitions from U.S.-based defense contractors, enacting stronger counter-tariffs, rolling back intellectual property protections for U.S. companies and lessening their reliance on American tech giants, according to conversations with more than two dozen government officials in Europe and Canada, many of whom were granted anonymity to describe high-level discussions they’re not authorized to speak about publicly.” Said one EU diplomat about dealing with Trump: “There’s a change in mindset. We’ve moved on from seduction to strategy.”
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®:  
A new national survey shows overwhelming support for pro-housing policies in TCJA. Learn More. | | | | DEPT. OF WARFIGHTERS MARCO NO-SHOW: What should have been a moment of truth for the Ukraine war is fizzling out this morning after senior diplomats followed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s lead and abandoned planned peace talks. Rubio canceled plans to meet his British, French and Ukrainian counterparts at a summit in London, and the U.S. will now be represented by envoy Keith Kellogg. The other most senior diplomats due to attend the conference have also now pulled out, Sky News reports from London. Rubio’s U-turn “underscores tensions between the Trump team and its European allies over the fate of the Ukraine-Russia war,” POLITICO’s Robbie Gramer texts Playbook to say. “The Ukrainians were heading to London ready to talk about a 30-day interim ceasefire proposal. But the Trump administration only wants to talk about the president's peace deal plan, presented to Ukraine as a take-it-or-leave-it option last week. Since Ukraine didn't seem keen on taking the plan, the U.S. side downgraded its London plans, according to two people familiar with the matter.” Sticking points: Axios’ Barak Ravid breaks down the massive concessions the U.S. wants from Ukraine, including official U.S. recognition of Crimea as Russian and de facto recognition as Russian of most other Ukrainian territory Moscow has invaded and occupied. In exchange, Ukraine would get security guarantees from Europe and various rebuilding programs. Russian President Vladimir Putin would — in theory — relinquish further claims on Ukraine. There’s been no formal response from Russia, though the FT reported last night that Putin has offered to halt his invasion of Ukraine at the current front line as part of efforts to reach a peace deal. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already flat-out rejected any suggestion he could accept Russia’s occupation of Crimea, per the WSJ. He told POLITICO’s Veronika Melkozerova at a press conference in Kyiv yesterday that he’ll talk to the Russians directly only once a ceasefire is in place. Speaking in India this morning, Vice President JD Vance sent a tough message to both sides to accept the U.S. plan — or watch the whole process collapse. “We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes, or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance told journos after a family visit to the Taj Mahal. More on the way: Trump has said a U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal will be signed tomorrow. And the White House said special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow this week for another meeting with Putin. Back in D.C., Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre will be at the White House tomorrow to meet with Trump about Ukraine, trade and more, per Reuters. And one to watch: Zelenskyy wants to meet Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday, per Bloomberg. FOR PETE’S SAKE: Embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will deliver remarks at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at 9:30 a.m. as he attempts to show the White House he’s busy getting on with the job. It’s been a torrid past week for the former Fox News host, with a slew of senior staffers fired, various disgruntled ex-employees turning on him and a second Signalgate scandal being exposed. What really happened in Hegseth’s DOD: POLITICO’s Rachael Bade, Daniel Lippman, Jack Detsch and Paul McLeary have tons of juice on how Hegseth’s top advisers became “vicious rivals for power,” leading to high-profile departures and bitter backbiting. The feud was largely about personality and ambition, not ideology and policy, our colleagues find, with a bitter power struggle emerging between outgoing chief of staff Joe Kasper and fired officials Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll. Drop Site’s Ryan Grim has plenty of color along the same lines, including an on-the-record interview with Kaspar. It’s all highly entertaining — and deeply juvenile — stuff. The defense: Republicans in Congress are still mostly supportive of Hegseth, in public at least. But privately, some are angry and concerned about his judgment and leadership, POLITICO’s Connor O’Brien, Sophia Cai and Joe Gould report. Going nowhere: Certainly Trump isn’t likely to fire Hegseth, but some top officials want to see big changes at the Pentagon, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Natasha Bertrand, Jake Tapper and Kevin Liptak report. One source said Hegseth is “in full paranoia, back-against-the-wall mode.” Veteran Action, a pro-Hegseth outside group, “has all but gone silent” though it still supports him, POLITICO’s Adam Wren reports.
| | | | 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. | | | | | THE GREAT WHITE NORTH FIVE DAYS TO GO: An exclusive new MRP mega-poll shared with Playbook projects that Mark Carney’s Liberal Party is on course to win next week’s Canadian elections — a stunning turnaround from just a few months ago and a testament to just how drastically Trump’s return and ensuing battery of tariffs has reshaped politics in America’s northern neighbor. The projection: YouGov’s gold-standard MRP has the Liberals winning 182 seats and securing a majority of 21 in the Canadian parliament — smaller than previous polls have suggested, but still a comfortable working majority. YouGov finds the Conservatives are set to take 133 ridings, while the Bloc Québécois’ support falls to 23 seats and the NDP vote collapses to just four ridings — with leader Jagmeet Singh set to lose his contest. On the question of which leader is best-placed to take on Trump over trade and other tensions now looms large, Carney enjoys a 10-point lead over Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on who should be PM. On the issues: The Conservatives released their “costed platform” yesterday, and much of it sounds pretty Trumpian. Speaking in Ontario, Poilievre called for cutting taxes, climate measures, government bureaucracy, foreign aid and gun control, per the National Post. In an echo of the 2024 U.S. election, the Liberals do better with women, while Conservatives are now stronger with young people than with old. The CBC’s Ian Froese notes that Conservatives are now airing ads to try to win over older men — usually their base of support. Get in the loop: For everything you need to know about next week’s elections, our colleagues at Ottaway Playbook have you covered. Read and sign up for their emails — you won’t regret it.
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®:  
A new national survey shows overwhelming support for pro-housing policies in TCJA. Learn More. | | | | BEST OF THE REST CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS WATCH: Federal judge Paula Xinis last night slammed the Trump administration’s stonewalling in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case, accusing them of intentionally trying to “obstruct” the truth about his deportation, per POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney, Josh Gerstein and Hassan Ali Kanu. Xinis said the government is willfully acting in bad faith — “that ends now,” she raged — and demanded more information by 6 p.m. today. Otherwise, the Justice Department could “risk losing its claims of privilege,” per NYT’s Alan Feuer. Watch this space. More on the Alien Enemies Act: Federal judges in Colorado and New York yesterday continued to prevent the Trump administration from deporting local detainees without due process under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, per Reuters. “This is not a secret court, an inquisition in medieval times,” one judge ruled. But Republicans continue to endorse Trump’s hard-line approach — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said she’ll visit El Salvador at President Nayib Bukele’s invitation. MEDIA ON TRIAL: A federal judge barred the Trump administration from shuttering Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, ordering their employees to be reinstated and their broadcasts restarted, per Reuters. He said Congress hadn’t allowed the executive branch to close them unilaterally. … And a jury sided with the NYT in Sarah Palin’s defamation retrial against the newspaper, per CNN, rejecting her suit. DRAMATIC DEPARTURE: “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens announced his resignation, saying he could no longer operate independently at CBS amid pressure from Paramount under Trump’s attacks, NYT’s Michael Grynbaum and Ben Mullin report. “[H]e has bristled at what he considered a series of intrusions into his editorial decisions.” Semafor’s Max Tani adds that Paramount owner Shari Redstone had specifically asked to know what pieces about Trump “60 Minutes” planned to run, though her spokesperson says they “were not seeking to kill stories.” BILL OF HEALTH: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is considering yanking the Covid-19 shot off the schedule of vaccines the government recommends for kids to get, POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn scooped. That would be “an extraordinary intervention by Kennedy to override the agency’s scientific decision-making,” Adam writes — and break a pledge made to win Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) vote. THE PURGE CONTINUES: The EPA is firing roughly 280 staffers and reassigning another 175 who worked on environmental justice and diversity issues, WaPo’s Amudalat Ajasa reports. At the Justice Department, about a dozen top lawyers who worked on civil rights were reassigned, Reuters’ Sarah Lynch and Dan Levine report. MORE DOJ FALLOUT: Three more suspended prosecutors who had worked on the now-dropped Eric Adams corruption case resigned, saying they refused to pretend they’d done anything wrong, per NBC. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will take a trip May 13-16 to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, per POLITICO’s Amanda Friedman. TRAIL MIX: Top Democrats are growing more optimistic that former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will run for Senate, Axios’ Stephen Neukam and Hans Nichols report … Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker and broadcaster, plans to run for the House as a Republican in an open Arizona seat, ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss reports from Tempe. LOOK WHO’S BACK: Having sat out last cycle, billionaire Peter Thiel is jumping back in with big donations in the first quarter, National Journal’s James Downs reports. Thiel shelled out more than $1.3 million, largely to House Republicans. WHAT RON JOHNSON IS UP TO: “Senate Republican wants to hold hearings on a 9/11 conspiracy theory,” by POLITICO’s Ben Jacobs. ALL IN THE FAMILY: “Brandon Lutnick, son of U.S. commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, is partnering with SoftBank, Tether and Bitfinex to capitalise on a cryptocurrency revival under US President Donald Trump,” FT’s Antoine Gara and Oliver Barnes scooped.
| | | | 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 | | Donald Norcross has gotten out of intensive care after two weeks. Kristi Noem’s thief reportedly snatched her Gucci bag by sliding it away from her with his foot from the next table. George Santos argued that his intense social media posts (DOJ is a “cabal of pedophiles”) shouldn’t land him a harsher sentence. SPOTTED: Jeff Roe and his family on Monday at the White House Easter Egg Roll, even as some leading Trump world figures (like Chris LaCivita) go to war against him. Pic NEWS YOU CAN USE — Brian Levine and Max Lang have launched FormerGov.com, a nonpartisan platform to connect former government employees to opportunities in the private sector. (It was originally conceived pre-DOGE.) OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a reception for Chris Hughes’ new book, “Marketcrafters: The 100-Year Struggle to Shape the American Economy” ($30), at Cecchi’s in NYC yesterday evening: Joe Kahn, Shannon Wu, Alex Levy, Ben McKenzie and Morena Baccarin, Katy Tur, Darren Walker, Lucas Wittmann, Julian Zelizer and Meg Jacobs, Tim Wu, Lina Khan, Sean Eldridge, Ari Melber, Alexandra Pelosi, Jonathan Soros and Jennifer Allan Soros, Rashad Robinson, Robbie Kaplan, Michael Barbaro, Molly Jong-Fast, Ravi Agrawal, Zachary Carter, Catherine Rampell, Katie Kingsbury, John Avlon, Darrick Hamilton, Bethany McLean and Alexander Hertel-Fernandez. — SPOTTED at the Center for Democracy & Technology’s spring fling last night: Kristen Clarke, Rebecca Finlay, Alexandra Reeve Givens, Des Hogan, Connecticut state Sen. James Maroney, Phil Radford, Rebecca Slaughter and Stephen Balkam. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Matthew Miller is returning to Vianovo as a partner, part of a new geopolitical risk practice. He previously was State Department spokesperson in the Biden administration. MEDIA MOVE — Sarah Ewall-Wice is now a political reporter at The Daily Beast. She previously covered U.S. politics for DailyMail.com, and is a CBS News and Fox News alum. TRANSITIONS — Mark Mellman will leave his role as president of Democratic Majority for Israel, which he co-founded. More from Jewish Insider … Katie Phillips has been named the new executive director of the Blue Dog Coalition, leading both the official House caucus and its campaign arm. She previously was a senior director at Federal Hall Policy Advisors. … Kristina Wong is now director of comms and chief spokesperson for the Navy. She previously was a Pentagon correspondent for Breitbart. … … Rachel Rossi has been named the new president of Alliance for Justice. She most recently was director of the Office for Access to Justice in the Biden Justice Department. … Bijan Mehryar is now VP of congressional relations at the American Bankers Association. He most recently was global public policy lead at Block. … Brian Kaplun has been appointed California deputy health secretary for policy and strategic planning. He most recently was senior adviser and director of strategic initiatives at HHS, and is a Tammy Baldwin and Patty Murray alum. WEEKEND WEDDING — Samuel Hoops, a tax/entertainment associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, and Tahra Jirari (now Hoops), director of economic analysis at the Chamber of Progress, got married this weekend in Santa Barbara, California. They met at Franklin Hall when she walked up to him and they discovered their jobs were both tax-related. Pics HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) … Conexión’s Pili Tobar … Aaron Huertas … Jeff Wiener of Milne, Wiener & Shofe Global Strategies … John Oliver … Hadar Susskind … Tim Lim … Doug Brake … Kindred Motes … Clarine Nardi Riddle of Kasowitz Benson Torres … Ted Trippi … Tizzy Brown … Alex Lupica … Camila Gonzalez of WilmerHale … Darien Flowers … CoStar Group’s Julian Sharat … Justin White … former Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) … Once Upon a Hill’s Michael Jones … Blendi Qatipi … Gideon Lett … Jesse Seidman … Kal Penn … Neil Strauss of Red Banyan (4-0) … Caterpillar’s Katie Webster … Bill Browder … Tess Cohen-Dumani of the Herald Group … Michael Moore 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. Corrections: Yesterday’s Playbook misstated the organization that published a new polling memo on Elon Musk and DOGE. It was via the Progressive Change Institute and Data for Progress. It also misidentified one of the news networks on which Stephen Miller routinely appears. It is Newsmax.
| | | | 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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