| | | |  | | By Eli Okun | Presented by The American Council of Life Insurers | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to balance competing demands from both ends of his conference. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: As the House GOP barrels toward the most pivotal committee markups for its reconciliation megabill, moderate/front-line members are pushing hard today to get their top priorities included — but so are fiscal hawks. Happening now: Blue-state Republicans who want to raise the state and local tax deduction are making their closing case to Ways and Means Committee members — who will have the ultimate say — at a lunch today, per POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill. Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) and Young Kim (R-Calif.) are pitching their colleagues on a significant increase, which would largely benefit wealthy people in high-tax states. But Meredith reports that Ways and Means will likely end up including an income cap, which could be hard for some SALT advocates to swallow. Another moderate concern bubbling up: Some Republicans are telling leadership they don’t support defunding Planned Parenthood through the reconciliation bill, NOTUS’ Oriana González and Reese Gorman scooped. The early stirrings of opposition emerged in a meeting with leadership yesterday evening. And the big one: Moderates who want to rein in sweeping Medicaid cuts were bolstered this morning by a new nonpartisan CBO report, requested by Democrats, which tallied the toll of different options under consideration, per POLITICO’s Ben Leonard. Speaker Mike Johnson last night took off the table a policy to shrink federal money for Medicaid-expansion states, which the CBO says would have caused 5.5 million people to lose health coverage. But the report found other policies still in play would also cut off benefits to millions, while reaping significant savings to offset extended tax cuts. Read the estimates here Member to watch: Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), for one, doesn’t sound ready to spring for Medicaid cuts higher than $500 billion in an interview with WSJ’s Olivia Beavers. Though Bacon supports enhanced work requirements and eligibility checks for the program, the moderate says he’s unconvinced by private assurances that the Senate can trim the House’s conservative excesses if he votes them through. He has a strange bedfellow in Laura Loomer, who’s been feuding with Brian Blase this week over Medicaid cuts, Ben reports. But but but: For every victory moderates might land in the crafting of the bill — particularly Johnson’s Medicaid decision yesterday — the changes risk alienating conservatives and fiscal hawks, whose votes are just as essential in the closely divided House. “His position is ridiculous,” Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) tells the Journal about Bacon. And in fact, 32 fiscal hawks in the House have drawn a new red line, telling leadership that the legislation “must not add to the deficit,” POLITICO’s Benjamin Guggenheim scooped. Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) and co. say reductions of spending cuts must mean reductions of tax cuts. Read the letter To wit: House GOP tax writers are now considering shrinking their tax cuts from $4.5 trillion to $4 trillion, POLITICO’s Brian Faler and Meredith report. More progress — and heartburn: Overnight, the House Natural Resources Committee voted through its portion of the bill, per POLITICO’s James Bikales and Josh Siegel. It would bolster leases for fossil fuels and minerals on public lands. But in a surprise, the panel also included a provision that would sell 10,000 acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah to create more revenue. That infuriated Democrats; more concerning for Johnson, Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) has declared the sale of public lands a red line for him. DEMOCRACY WATCH: North Carolina Republican Jefferson Griffin finally conceded last year’s state Supreme Court election after half a year of trying to overturn his slim loss, AP’s Gary Robertson scooped in Raleigh. That will leave Democratic Justice Allison Riggs on the court, after a federal judge ruled against Griffin’s unprecedented efforts to throw out tens of thousands of ballots. “While I do not fully agree with the District Court’s analysis, I respect the court’s holding,” Griffin said in a statement today. Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from The American Council of Life Insurers: With a surge of Americans retiring, annuities provide guaranteed income.
Life insurers provide lifetime income from annuities that alleviate more than $100 billion in Social Security spending over time. That's a guaranteed personal safety net. See how life insurers put life into America. | | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. JUST VANCE: VP JD Vance made news about Iran today, saying at the Munich Leaders Meeting in D.C. that Tehran should be allowed to have a “civil nuclear program” but not a “nuclear weapons program,” per Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch. And after his harsh words for Europe in Munich earlier this year, he retreated to a softer tone, saying he hadn’t meant to imply that the continent was bad: Europe and the U.S. got slightly “off track, and I’d encourage us all to get back on track together.” To Russia, with irritation: Vance had more skeptical words for Russia as the Trump administration grows somewhat frustrated with Moscow’s intransigence in ending its war on Ukraine. “The Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” Vance said , per POLITICO’s Felicia Schwartz and Robbie Gramer. The VP said the U.S. is focused on a long-term ceasefire rather than a monthlong pause, and the administration is trying to get Ukraine and Russia to agree to basic talks. Tune in: Jack will be interviewing top NATO official Benedetta Berti for the Munich Leaders Meeting at 3:45 p.m. to get her response to Vance’s comments. And then JMart will sit down with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for a chat at 4:30 p.m. Here’s the YouTube link where you can watch both interviews 2. THE STUDENT DETENTIONS: “Turkish Tufts University student detained by ICE can be sent to Vermont, appeals court rules,” by AP’s Kathy McCormack: “[Rumeysa] Ozturk has been detained in Louisiana for six weeks following an op-ed she co-wrote last year that criticized the school’s response to Israel’s war in Gaza. The court ordered Ozturk to be transferred to ICE custody in Vermont no later than May 14.” 3. TRADE WARS: In an early example of Trump’s tariffs hitting the auto industry, Ford plans to raise prices by as much as $2,000 on some cars it makes in Mexico, in part due to the levies, Reuters’ Nora Eckert scooped. And parents could be particularly hurt by tariffs on China, as a range of baby products — from strollers to car seats — are almost entirely made there, WaPo’s Abha Bhattarai and Federica Cocco report. Prices are already up, and shortages could follow. Bessent said today that tariffs for such items are “under consideration.” All eyes on China: The latest comments from China indicate that Beijing is engaging — but not with any particular rush. Asked about a meeting in Switzerland, a Chinese spokesperson said simply, “The U.S. said repeatedly it wants to negotiate with China. This meeting is requested by the U.S. side.” Indeed, China plans to play hardball in negotiations, “seeking to cast itself as the responsible one,” NYT’s Alexandra Stevenson reports. But He Lifeng’s decision to meet with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is nonetheless a step forward. (The comments from China also contradict Bessent’s claim that the meeting in Switzerland is coincidental.) Bessent will officially take the lead on China, POLITICO’s Megan Messerly reports.
| | | | How will new trade and tariff policies impact American manufacturing? Join POLITICO on May 14 at Manufacturing in America. Unpack what's on the horizon for manufacturers with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and industry experts. Register Now. | | | | | 4. TRAIL MIX: Paula Swift is the latest Democrat to announce an Orange County congressional campaign to unseat Young Kim in California. She’s a consultant, business owner and adjunct professor. Race for the Senate: It’s back to the drawing board for the GOP in Georgia after Gov. Brian Kemp passed on a bid, and some Georgia Republicans hope Kemp, Trump and the NRSC can unify around a candidate, NBC’s Bridget Bowman, Melanie Zanona and Ryan Nobles report. Reps. Mike Collins, Buddy Carter and Rich McCormick are all considering bids, and plenty more officials could jump in. For some Republicans, the big concern is polarizing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Race for the states: Chris LaCivita, Tony Fabrizio and Chris Grant have all abandoned Karrin Taylor Robson’s Arizona gubernatorial campaign after she failed to run ads touting Trump’s endorsement of her for four months, Axios’ Alex Isenstadt scooped. Trump ultimately endorsed Rep. Andy Biggs as well. … In New Jersey, five out of six Democratic gubernatorial contenders are talking positively about cryptocurrency, embracing digital assets as the industry becomes a political power player, Bloomberg’s Teresa Xie reports. 5. IN THE DOGE HOUSE: The Department of Government Efficiency is moving quickly to merge government databases and create one centralized hub with personal information about millions of Americans, WaPo’s Hannah Natanson, Joseph Menn, Lisa Rein and Rachel Siegel report. The aim is to collate data to crack down on undocumented immigrants and fraud, among other goals. But federal workers say DOGE “often violates or disregards core privacy and security protections meant to keep such information safe.” Meanwhile, ProPublica’s Jake Pearson reports that DOGE’s Gavin Kliger took part in mass firings at CFPB despite ethics lawyers warning him not to because of his stock holdings. (He didn’t respond for comment.) The fallout: “States, Cities Face Funding Collapse Threat With Trump Cuts,” by Bloomberg’s Ted Mann, Shawn Donnan and Nazmul Ahasan 6. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Senior talks between the U.S. and Israel have floated the prospect of an American official leading a transitional government overseeing Gaza after the war ends, Reuters’ Alexander Cornwell scooped. The conversations are early, but the idea is for a temporary administration to lead until Palestinians can take over. … The Houthis said today that their ceasefire agreement with the U.S. does not apply to Israel, per Reuters’ Mohammed Ghobari. That means the Yemeni rebels’ attacks on Red Sea ships to protest Israel’s war in Gaza may not be entirely over. 7. WHAT THE DOJ IS UP TO: AG Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel had a presser at DOJ headquarters today to highlight more than 200 federal arrests for crimes targeting children in the past week, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein writes in. Bondi called the arrestees “dregs” and “monsters.” Added Patel: “Our children deserve a free and open society. … There is no cage we will not put you in should you do harm to our children.” The emphasis may be intended to shore up Bondi and Patel’s right flank as they continue to face pressure to release more information about the Jeffrey Epstein case. The duo didn’t take questions at DOJ, but Bondi did earlier today at the White House, where she said the FBI is working diligently to compile the info for release while not intruding on victims’ privacy. NBC’s Ken Dilanian writes that the Bondi/Patel announcement left a “bewildered DoJ press corps wondering what distinguished this operation from thousands of other FBI efforts.”
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| | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Scott Bessent recounted meeting Maxine Waters on a New Year’s Eve in the Bahamas, when he said “you were much better at the electric slide than I was.” Ben Carson wants to make his property a solar farm, which has sparked a clash with Maryland neighbors. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “D.C. Budget Fix Stalls in the House as Conservative Republicans Balk,” by NYT’s Maya Miller: “[Rep. Andy] Harris said the Freedom Caucus would likely insist on adding a provision to repeal Washington’s law to allow noncitizen voting and also ban reparations payments for Black residents.” OUT AND ABOUT — The Latino Community Foundation hosted a reception at barmini last night to celebrate leaders of Latino community development financial institutions during National Small Business Week. SPOTTED: Julián Castro, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Isabel Casillas Guzman, Christian Arana, Nathaly Maurice, Veronica Vences, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Maria Teresa Kumar, Mariafernanda Zacarias, Tomás Kloosterman, Silvia Foster-Frau, Javier Gamboa, Maca Casado, Marco Davis and Shyh Saenz. MEDIA MOVES — Annie Yu is now deputy Congress editor at POLITICO. She previously was director of engagement. … The Allbritton Journalism Institute announced its latest class of reporting fellows: Hamed Ahmadi, Adora Brown, Christa Dutton, Raymond Fernandez, Torrie Herrington, Avani Kalra, Jackie Llanos, Jade Lozada, Manuela Silva and Tyler Spence. TRANSITIONS — Shaylyn Cochran has been named deputy executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She most recently was deputy chief of staff and senior counselor to AG Merrick Garland. … Stan McCoy has joined the Entertainment Software Association as SVP and general counsel. He currently is a nonresident senior fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, and is an MPA and USTR alum. … … Megan Whittemore will be chief of staff for newly sworn-in U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue. She most recently was a managing partner at Penta Group and was a longtime Perdue congressional staffer. … May Malik is joining the SCAN Foundation as head of marketing and comms. She most recently was deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS. … Matt Pearl is now an of counsel at Jenner & Block. He previously was director for emerging technologies and special adviser to the deputy national security adviser at the NSC. ENGAGED — Seth Waugh, senior policy director at Dentons, and Caroline Cannon, senior coordinator for equity investments and development at Silverstein Properties, got engaged Thursday at the World War I Memorial, with a celebration at Martin’s Tavern. They met in Nantucket. Pic … Another pic 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.
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