| | | |  | | By Zack Stanton | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | Happy Friday morning. This is Zack Stanton. Get in touch. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: As 2028 buzz swarms around him, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is set to travel to South Carolina at the end of May to headline the state party’s influential Blue Palmetto Dinner, POLITICO’s Brakkton Booker scoops this morning. But but but: Moore insists he isn't running for president in 2028. “I am clear — I’m not running,” he tells Brakkton. And yet … his South Carolina visit will coincide with Rep. Jim Clyburn’s annual fish fry, a marquee political gathering known as a must-attend for presidential aspirants in the early primary state. Stay tuned. WHAT HOUSE DEMS ARE READING: Rachael Bade’s new “Corridors” column this morning: “‘The Dumbest S--t Ever’: Ex-Pelosi Adviser Gets Candid About Jeffries” YOUR MORNING LISTEN: You’re going to want to make time to listen to Rachael’s full interview with Ashley Etienne, who ran then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s anti-Trump war room and gets very candid about how things look for House Dems under Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Sure to make the rounds on Dem members’ group chats: “You know, I really adore Mr. Jeffries,” Etienne says. “What I've been hearing from members is that, to sort of sum it up, he thinks long, too long and wrong about things. That he … takes too much counsel and then takes too long to make a decision. Which says that maybe you don't trust your gut in the moment — which is also fair when you're a new leader, because you’re still trying to figure it all out. It might also suggest maybe you don't have a handle on the caucus, or you don't have a hand on how to actually land some punches on Donald Trump.” Listen to “Playbook Deep Dive” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or YouTube In today’s Playbook … — The seeds of Mike Waltz’s ouster as national security adviser were sown well before Signalgate. — New jobs numbers, tariffs and President Donald Trump’s budget proposal drop today. —Ketanji Brown Jackson addresses “the elephant in the room” amid Trump’s attacks on the judiciary.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Mike Waltz’s downfall wasn’t just Signalgate: he hit the skids from his earliest days in the administration. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | CHAOS OR CONTROL? In some ways, that’s the central question facing people trying to decipher the torrent of action from President Donald Trump’s White House as it presses forward on seemingly every front simultaneously. Is it all just chaos, as his detractors suggest (and which Democrats’ focus groups suggest is a political winner for them), or is it proof that he’s a man of action, as his supporters see it? Democrats’ focus groups show that the “chaos” line of attack is a winner, which is why you see members using that word a lot when describing the administration. Republicans, meanwhile, bet that voters want someone to shake the hell out of Washington — and that doing so is a way of showing how in control of the situation Trump is. Today, that chaos/control dynamic courses through major policy areas … FOREIGN POLICY: Mike Waltz’s ouster yesterday as national security adviser underscores “how no one, aside from Trump himself, has much juice on matters of foreign policy and national security,” writes POLITICO’s Nahal Toosi. “Instead, there’s been a proliferation of power centers — some of them institutions, some individuals, and none of them particularly strong.” Yes … Marco Rubio is now both secretary of State and acting national security adviser — the first person to jointly hold those roles since the heyday of Henry Kissinger. But where Kissinger was a major power center unto himself, NatSec veterans Nahal spoke to “suggested that giving Rubio both jobs underscored how weak both positions are under Trump, and what a thin bench he has.” Perhaps that’s how Trump wants it. “I got the sense from most people I spoke to that many believe Trump likes keeping his national security aides weak because he wants to be the only source of any power,” Nahal writes. Nothing to see here: In a sitdown interview yesterday, Vice President JD Vance told Fox News’ Bret Baier that Waltz’s removal as national security adviser was not, in fact, a demotion. “He is being made ambassador to the United Nations, which is a Senate-confirmed position,” said Vance. “I think you could make a good argument that it’s a promotion.” Fair, but … that’s difficult to square with the reporting. Waltz’s downfall wasn’t just Signalgate: he hit the skids from his earliest days in the administration, POLITICO’s Dasha Burns, Sophia Cai and Robbie Gramer report in a genuinely illuminating look at dynamics inside the administration. Among Waltz’s sins: “He’s a staff, but he was acting like a principal,” said one person close to the White House. But it was more than that: His “too big for his britches” attitude grated on White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and some MAGA types saw his foreign policy views as too “sympathetic to traditional defense hawks,” leading them to view him as “an outsider to their movement.” Something to watch for: As Vance noted, the UN ambassadorship is a Senate-confirmed position. And that has Dems in the chamber eager to grill Waltz about Signalgate when he has to come before them, as WaPo’s Abigail Hauslohner sharply reports. THE ECONOMY: At 8:30 a.m., the April jobs report comes out, and the AP reports that economists expect that employers added about 135,000 jobs last month. Though that would be down sharply from March, it wouldn’t be a bad showing — even as “many economists worry the job market is likely to deteriorate” once Trump’s tariffs take effect. Speaking of… New tariffs: “The economic fallout from President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda hasn’t yet taken a toll on most American consumers,” POLITICO’s Daniel Desrochers writes. But that changes today, as the “de minimis” tariff exemption for items under $800 that are imported from China will disappear. In short: It will represent “the first visible evidence of how tariffs are driving up the costs of home goods, clothes and other everyday items as Americans are spending billions of dollars with online sellers overseas,” Daniel writes. And that amounts to “a major political risk for a president and Republicans in Congress who campaigned on bringing prices down after a surge of inflation under President Joe Biden, and could feed the economic gloom among American voters, who are already alarmed about the impact of Trump’s tariffs.” About that gloom: Vance was asked by Bret Baier about the new quarterly GDP numbers, which showed the economy shrinking for the first time in years. “People are pointing to the tariff policy,” Baier said. Vance replied by arguing that “this is Joe Biden’s economy,” echoing a line that President Trump used earlier this week. Here’s the thing with that argument: You can plausibly make the case that three months in, economic figures don’t fully reflect the new administration’s policies. But given how much the markets have fluctuated up and down directly because of Trump’s announcements related to tariffs, it beggars belief to say that the president’s policies aren’t being priced in, at least to some degree. It may not be fully Trump’s economy yet, but it’s also not fully Biden’s. But there’s another challenge: The White House has made a deliberate effort to “flood the zone” with messaging meant to show how powerful and in charge Trump is — how he’s bending things to his will and has kicked off a new “Golden Age” in America. “President Donald Trump has accomplished more in his first 100 days than most administrations accomplish in four years,” as Vance himself writes in an op-ed in this morning’s WaPo. It’s hard, then, to simultaneously make the case to the public that actually, in this one way, he isn’t in control and hasn’t yet made an impact. We’re more than 100 days into Trump’s presidency, and at a certain point, blaming Biden will pass its sell-by date.
| | | | A message from Planned Parenthood Federation of America: 1 in 4 people have visited a Planned Parenthood health center for expert, affordable care, including birth control, wellness visits, cancer screenings and more.
But lawmakers who oppose reproductive health are targeting Planned Parenthood. They want to take away the health care millions of patients rely on — especially those with low incomes.
Planned Parenthood won't stop fighting for the care people need and deserve.
We need you in this fight. Visit http://ImForPP.org to learn more. | | | | CONGRESS COMING TODAY: The White House is expected to drop its so-called skinny budget today, giving Hill leaders a loose roadmap of Trump’s budget request as lawmakers gear up to move on the 2026 appropriations process, POLITICO’s Katherine Tully-McManus, Meredith Lee Hill and Irie Sentner report. Time keeps on ticking: It’s landing as House GOP appropriators grow anxious to start on the 12 bills they’d like to clear before the August recess. Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said yesterday that he’s eager to receive the budget plan, warning that “we’re running out of time” to begin crafting the legislation and moving it through committees. What to expect: Though some details have trickled out about the budget request — mostly cuts to this point — it’s not yet clear if the skinny budget will incorporate Trump’s $9.3 billion rescissions request for funding already approved by Congress, which he wants to claw back. A formal submission of the rescissions request would start a 45-day clock for both the House and Senate to approve the package. A more detailed budget request is expected later this month. Follow the latest on Inside Congress Live THE NEXT BIG FIGHT: The fight over Medicaid cuts will continue for the foreseeable future after House GOP leaders delayed the Energy & Commerce Committee’s markup of the sprawling funding bill until the week of May 12 to allow more time to sort out the Medicaid issue, Meredith Lee Hill reports. The committee is also planning a series of member meetings Tuesday and Wednesday next week. What’s at stake: The fate of the megabill, at this point, appears to hinge almost entirely on the Medicaid question: Are deep cuts to Medicaid something to be avoided? Or are they the whole point of pursuing the legislation? That clash is playing out in both public and private as lawmakers race to stamp Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” before Memorial Day, POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn, Ben Leonard and Meredith Lee Hill report. MAN IN THE MIDDLE: GOP Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) has been in constant communication with House leadership the last few weeks regarding his concern about slashing Medicaid, but he also “has an active text chat running throughout the day with a dozen or so other lawmakers who are also concerned about cuts to Medicaid to pay for the Republican megabill of taxes, border investments, energy policy and more,” POLITICO’s Ben Leonard and Meredith Lee Hill report. Valadao’s district is home to the most Medicaid recipients of any Republican in the country. MAKING MOVES: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) has started “pitching fellow Democrats on a run for the party’s top Oversight Committee position,” POLITICO’s Nick Wu reports.
| | | | A message from Planned Parenthood Federation of America:  
| | | | LETTER OF THE LAW THE BENCH BITES BACK: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson forcefully condemned attacks by Trump and his allies on judges who have blocked Trump administration policies, warning yesterday at a judges’ conference in Puerto Rico that the president’s increasingly hostile rhetoric poses a dire threat to the country’s political fabric, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein reports. What she said: “The attacks are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity. … The threats and harassment are attacks on our democracy, on our system of government. And they ultimately risk undermining our Constitution and the rule of law.” What she didn’t say: Though she didn’t mention Trump by name, Jackson said she was addressing “the elephant in the room,” a clear reference to the belligerent language Trump and some of his advisers have lobbed at federal judges who rule against his agenda. How it played: The reception to Jackson’s comments was effusive among the judges, spouses and lawyers in attendance. Why? Well, this could have something to do with it: This was a judicial conference for the 1st Circuit, which “includes Massachusetts and Rhode Island — two particular hotspots for litigation challenging the Trump agenda,” Josh writes in from Puerto Rico. THE LATEST MOVES: Perhaps the most consequential ruling yesterday came from U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., who said Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to summarily deport Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador was “unlawful,” blocking the administration from deploying the wartime measure. It’s the latest sharp rebuke to one of Trump’s most aggressive and high-profile efforts to quickly carry out deportations with little or no due process. More from POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney Adding to the raft of requests: The admin last night asked the Supreme Court to allow Trump to roll back immigration protections for about 600,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S., POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein writes. THE PALLS OF JUSTICE: Emil Bove, one of Trump’s top DOJ appointees, “ordered an aggressive investigation in the last several months of student protesters at Columbia University, raising anger and alarm among career prosecutors and investigators who saw the demand as politically motivated and lacking legal merit,” NYT’s Devlin Barrett reports. Inside the building: The clash inside DOJ “highlights the tensions roiling the department as administration officials seek to enact President Trump’s agenda” and some of the “demands from political appointees at the Justice Department are part of the reason there has been an exodus of lawyers from the division in recent weeks.” NOTABLE DEVELOPMENT: Prominent defense lawyer Abbe Lowell is launching his own boutique law firm, Lowell & Associates, and he’s getting things started with an initial client roster that includes several notable opponents of Trump, POLITICO’s Daniel Barnes reports. The firm’s most high-profile client will be New York AG Letitia James, who won a civil fraud case against Trump in 2024 and was recently referred to the Justice Department by federal officials for criminal prosecution on allegations of mortgage fraud. Other initial clients include Washington whistleblower lawyer Mark Zaid and the man formerly known as “Anonymous,” Miles Taylor — both of whom recently had their security clearances revoked by Trump. The details: Lowell is teaming up with two associates poached from Winston & Strawn and two attorneys who publicly resigned from their positions at Skadden Arps in light of the firm’s decision to proactively make a deal with the White House to avoid being targeted by an executive order.
| | | | 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 MUSK READ: “Elon Musk Is Out in Washington. Now, He’s Building His Own City in Texas,” by POLITICO’s Will McCarthy in Boca Chica Village, Texas: “Right now, this roughly 1.5 square mile community is technically unincorporated Boca Chica Village. But on Saturday, the 200-odd residents — the vast majority of whom are SpaceX employees — will decide whether the land surrounding [Elon] Musk’s massive rocket launchpad should become its own city: Starbase, Texas. … The move would give SpaceX increased autonomy, virtually its own government, and greater ability to build where and how it wants.” WHAT NOW?: “Trump’s minerals deal with Ukraine leaves scramble for how to handle Russia,” by POLITICO’s Eli Stokols: “While administration officials on Thursday publicly heralded the deal as a major development, there is a lack of consensus inside the White House on what comes next, according to two people familiar with the discussions and granted anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. It could involve hard choices, including putting direct pressure on the Kremlin, which Trump has so far been reluctant to do.” MORE HEAT ON HEGSETH: The Pentagon inspector general “expanded an investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s sharing of military plans to a second Signal chat that included his wife and brother,” WSJ’s Nancy Youssef and Lindsay Wise report. “It is impossible to quickly copy and paste information from a classified system to an unclassified one, requiring any information to be manually typed. The inspector general is seeking to determine who did so.” EXPLOSIVE STORY: Matt Moran, a top political aide to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s political operation has stepped down from his post leading the PAC, Spirit of Virginia, POLITICO’s Ally Mutnick and Ben Jacobs report. Moran had “become the center of a political firestorm in recent days after allegations emerged that John Reid, the presumptive GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, had maintained a social media account with pornographic images of naked men. Reid, the first openly gay Republican nominee for statewide office in Virginia, has argued that efforts to remove him from the Republican ticket are rooted in discrimination against his sexuality and has denied the account was his.” New details emerge: The Virginia Mercury’s Markus Schmidt reports on a “newly surfaced recording of an April 27 conversation” between Moran and members of Reid’s campaign “appears to contradict Moran’s sworn affidavit — directly challenging his claim that he never pressured Reid’s team to leave the lieutenant governor’s race.” BIRTHDAY BLOWOUT: “Army plans for a potential parade on Trump’s birthday call for 6,600 soldiers,” by AP’s Lolita Baldor: “The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released. They represent the Army’s most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th birthday festival on the National Mall and the newly added element — a large military parade that Trump has long wanted but is still being discussed. While the slides do not include any price estimates, it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars to put on a parade of that size.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | THE WEEKEND AHEAD TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week”: Leigh Ann Caldwell, Michael Scherer, Ali Vitali and Alexander Ward. SUNDAY SO FAR … NBC “Meet the Press”: President Donald Trump. Panel: Peter Alexander, Symone Sanders Townsend, Marc Short and Keir Simmons. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) … Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.). Panel: Olivia Beavers, Richard Fowler, Mollie Hemingway and Hans Nichols. CBS “Face the Nation”: Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova … retired Gen. H.R. McMaster … Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) … Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso … Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) … Mike Wirth … retired Gen. Jack Keane … Charlie Kirk. CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
| | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Donald Norcross has been discharged from the hospital, his office announced. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION: House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) said there’s not really any hurry to work out a budget fix for the D.C. government, POLITICO’s Jennifer Scholtes reports. “We’ll get around to that at some point. But that’s pretty low on the priority level for a lot of us,” Harris said in a brief interview. AND THE AWARD GOES TO — The Emmys announced their News and Documentary nominees yesterday, which most notably included a nomination for outstanding edited interview to the “60 Minutes” episode with Kamala Harris that Donald Trump has sued CBS over. Other top nominations went to “ABC World News Tonight with David Muir,” “The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell,” “CBS Mornings,” “Good Morning America,” “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt,” “Top Story with Tom Llamas,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Dateline NBC,” “In Real Life,” “Trafficked: Underworlds with Mariana van Zeller” and “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.” More from Variety — The Peabody Awards announced their annual winners, including “This American Life” episodes about Gaza, The New Yorker’s “In the Dark” podcast investigation of the killing of Iraqi civilians by U.S. forces, the HBO documentary “The Truth vs. Alex Jones” and a career achievement award for Andrea Mitchell. The full list of honorees OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at The Jewish Democratic Council of America’s Leadership Summit yesterday at The Pendry, where Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Norm Eisen were each presented with JDCA’s Defender of Democracy Award: Halie Soifer, Susie Stern, Ron Klein, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Reps. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) and Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), Ken Martin, Gina Raimondo, Kathy Manning, Steve Israel and Matt Dorf. — Rebecca Kutler hosted a salon dinner at La Collina in D.C. last night to celebrate the launch of “The Weeknight,” and toast to the show’s co-hosts Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez ahead of the premiere on Monday. SPOTTED: Kyle Griffin, Jesse Rodriguez, Jewel Neal, Shawn Townsend, Andrea Steele, John Brennan, April Ryan, María Teresa Kumar, Adrienne Elrod, Stephanie Cutter, Jonathan Allen and Rohit Chopra. — Daniel Dae Kim and Philadelphia's Save Chinatown Coalition were honored on Tuesday night with Justice in Action Awards at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund's annual gala in New York City last night. SPOTTED: New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, Bethany Li, Janai Nelson, Lourdes Rosado, David Henry Hwang and Perry Young. — Ford Motor Co.’s D.C. office honored Kentucky’s congressional leaders at a “Run for the Roses” reception Wednesday night, ahead of the Kentucky Derby. SPOTTED: Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.), Chris Smith, Jessica Carter, Chris Cerone, Dex Battista, Emily Buckman and John Bozzella. TRANSITIONS — Lauren French is now comms director at Senate Majority PAC. She previously was a senior adviser at the State Department, and is an Adam Schiff and Ben Ray Luján alum. … Mary Beth (Burns) Gilani is now manager of external comms at the American Petroleum Institute. She previously was comms director for the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee, and is an August Pfluger and Heritage Action alum. … Justin Memmott is now director of U.S. politics and policy at Global Counsel. He was most recently staff director for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee GOP. … … Braden Murphy is joining HHS as assistant secretary for legislation. He previously was senior policy adviser for the House Budget Committee. … Antonia Ferrier, Mike Williams and Jason Worlledge are launching En Avant Strategies. Ferrier previously was VP of external affairs at the International Republican Institute. Williams is the founder of The Williams Group. Worlledge previously was resident program director in the Europe and Eurasia divisions at the International Republican Institute. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Liz Kenigsberg, a managing director at SKDK, and Josh Pincus, a principal at Liberty Strategic Capital, recently welcomed Max Franklin Pincus. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) … Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas) … Mika Brzezinski … WaPo’s Matt Murray … Poppy Harlow … Avoq’s Steve Elmendorf, celebrating in Copenhagen … Karen Doyne … MSNBC’s Jesse Rodriguez … Daniel Kroese … POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury and Justine Lore … Rick Stengel … Axios’ Nick Sobczyk … Megan Harrington … Russ Sullivan of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck … Taylor Lioce … Push Digital’s T.W. Arrighi … former Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb … Emily Tisch Sussman … Bess Evans … Nate Zimpher … Cogent Strategies’ Will Bohlen … Joel Payne … Chieko Noguchi … Drew Florio … former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker … Katie (Thompson) Sansone … former Rep. Robert Turner (R-N.Y.) … Andrew McGill … Obama Foundation’s Laura Lucas Magnuson … Jeff Butler … Lauren Devoll … Thayer Roberts of Thorn Run Partners 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 Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misstated Stacy Thompson’s former title. She previously was deputy assistant secretary of State for House affairs.
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