| | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | BREAKING: “Pentagon accepts luxury jet from Qatar to use as Air Force One,” by ABC’s Luis Martinez
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Speaker Mike Johnson still plans to push through a rapid vote today. | Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP | RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: It’s take two for President Donald Trump to try to get House Republican holdouts on board with his reconciliation bill, as Freedom Caucus members will go to the White House at 3 p.m. for a meeting with Trump. House GOP leaders will join for the conversation in which Trump will pressure hard-liners to get the megabill passed today, Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman scooped. That follows a late rebellion from Speaker Mike Johnson’s right flank, which decried his tentative deal to boost the state and local tax deduction higher and demanded more concessions on Medicaid and clean-energy cuts, POLITICO’s Ben Leonard and Meredith Lee Hill report. The squeeze is on: In addition to Trump pressure, Johnson has crafted plans to push through a rapid vote today. Leaders think they’ll be able to limit defections to three and narrowly pass the bill, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill and Rachael Bade report. The holdouts also got an earful on X from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who declared them impediments to Trump’s agenda and not true MAGA believers. The conservative line: House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) told reporters that despite progress, the bill likely couldn’t pass today. Key members remain concerned about worsening the deficit. Despite Johnson’s pledge to moderates, conservatives also haven’t given up pushing for changes to how much the federal government shoulders for Medicaid expansion (known as FMAP), per Meredith. Chip off the block: Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has played a crucial role in leading the hard-liners publicly and privately, though he’s also working with the White House, CNN’s Sarah Ferris and Jeremy Herb report. “There’s a long way to go,” Roy warned today, saying the details should have been ironed out before the now-marathon House Rules session began. The timing: The bill still hasn’t gotten out of the House Rules Committee. But Johnson maintained this morning that “there is a chance for a vote today” on the floor. Waiting in the wings: DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) tells Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser that Dems plan to hammer Republicans over the bill in the midterms, particularly on health — from Medicaid to food aid to rural hospitals. Notably, moderate Republicans appear ready to accept significant cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. Dems may also marshal the bill’s huge benefits for the wealthy to promulgate a populist line of attack, CNN’s Matt Egan notes. (Republicans counter that the majority of Americans will see lower taxes.) Combined with major cuts at the IRS, tax revenue could take a significant hit, worsening the country’s fiscal outlook, CNN’s Marshall Cohen reports. Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from the Alzheimer's Association: Congress Can Connect Americans to Alzheimer's Solutions: This is the most hopeful time in the history of Alzheimer's. Breakthrough research — made possible by bipartisan support in Congress — has led to the first FDA-approved treatments, earlier detection, improved diagnosis, and better support for caregivers. With over 7 million Americans living with this fatal disease, and their nearly 12 million caregivers, Congress must accelerate, not stop, progress. Congress, it's up to you. | | | | | | 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS WATCH: A federal judge said the Trump administration had “unquestionably” violated his court order not to deport immigrants to third-party countries without some due process, citing the recent group that the administration allegedly tried to send to South Sudan. Judge Brian Murphy said the government had made it “impossible” for them to have sufficient opportunity to argue against their deportation. The eight deportees have actually now landed in Djibouti, NYT’s Alan Feuer and colleagues report. Murphy’s ruling “was one of the strongest judicial rebukes the administration has faced so far,” the Times writes, noting that he “asked for a list of names so he can notify them that they might all face criminal contempt penalties.” DHS said at a briefing that the men had been convicted of serious crimes, though officials refused to provide information about where they were sent publicly. They also continued to claim they weren’t violating judicial rulings, while also attacking those rulings. More from CBS 2. ANOTHER SHOCKER IN THE OVAL: “Trump ambushes South Africa’s president with video footage in Oval Office,” by Axios’ Avery Lotz: “Trump requested for videos to be displayed purporting to show evidence of violence against white people in the country. … Trump, who cut all foreign assistance to South Africa, has embraced the false accusations of genocide against white South Africans as justification for granting them refugee status … In a stunning scene reminiscent of the Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump asked for the lights to be dimmed before playing the videos. Later on, he paged through articles from the ‘last few days’ while repeating, ‘death, death, death.’” The meeting, which began in a more friendly manner, has fallen apart as a seemingly embarrassed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa tried to explain that the genocide claims were false and that violence has afflicted South Africans of all races. “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you,” Ramaphosa said. “I wish you did,” Trump responded. Watch the video … More from POLITICO’s Eli Stokols 3. IN MEMORIAM: Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) died today at 75 following the resurgence of his esophageal cancer, per POLITICO’s David Cohen. The longtime Northern Virginia congressman and recent House Oversight ranking member was well known as a fierce advocate for federal workers, many of whom live in his district. That was especially true as the Trump administration has sought to dismantle much of the workforce this year. Connolly was also heavily involved in foreign affairs and federal IT management and was broadly admired in the Capitol for his kindness. Locally, he helped transform Fairfax County into a booming tech hub, WaPo’s Anusha Mathur writes. He had already announced his retirement after this term. 4. SEA CHANGE: The post-George Floyd era of greater federal oversight of local police may be over. Today, the Justice Department said it will end its accountability deals with the Minneapolis and Louisville police and drop investigations into police in Memphis, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Trenton and more, per WaPo’s Mark Berman and Perry Stein. Nearly five years since Floyd’s murder, DOJ civil rights division head Harmeet Dhillon criticized the consent decrees as “reliant on faulty legal theories.”
| | | | Playbook isn’t just a newsletter — it’s a podcast, too. With new co-hosts who bring unmatched Trump world reporting and analysis, The Playbook Podcast dives deeper into the power plays shaping Washington. Get the insider edge—start listening now. | | | | | 5. NEXT UP AT SCOTUS: “Trump administration asks Supreme Court to keep DOGE records secret,” by POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney: “The Justice Department filed an emergency appeal Wednesday urging the high court to put a hold on a judge’s orders giving a watchdog group access to documents detailing firings, grant terminations and other actions proposed by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. … Solicitor General John Sauer is also asking the Supreme Court to block a deposition of [DOGE administrator Amy Gleason].” 6. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Bishara Bahbah is leading U.S. conversations with Hamas this week as the Trump administration tries to negotiate an end to the war in Gaza, CNN’s Kylie Atwood and Alayna Treene report. Using the “Arab Americans for Trump” leader as an intermediary, rather than Qatar or Egypt, may indicate a new approach as the U.S. grows weary of Israeli intransigence, though some experts are skeptical it’ll yield results. Another dual role: Trump intends to tap U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack as a special envoy for Syria, Reuters’ Timour Azhari and Jonathan Spicer scooped. Next up: Oman said the U.S. and Iran will recommence nuclear talks on Friday in Rome, per Axios’ Barak Ravid. A deadly toll: American and Israeli attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen in recent months have also “killed many civilians, destroyed vital infrastructure and deepened uncertainty,” NYT’s Ismaeel Naar and Saeed Al-Batati report. Even as the Houthis struck a deal with the U.S. and continued to attack Israel, the strikes against them have worsened a humanitarian crisis for many Yemenis. 7. TRAIL MIX: Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) intends to launch an Alabama gubernatorial campaign next week, Punchbowl’s Andrew Desiderio and Jake Sherman scooped. The lane could be clearer for him after Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth announced today he won’t run for the top spot. Next door in the Panhandle: Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) hasn’t yet ruled out running for Florida governor, eyeing a potential three-way primary against Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and first lady Casey DeSantis, NBC’s Matt Dixon reports. 8. THE COMING STORM: Warnings keep piling up about FEMA’s unpreparedness for the beginning of hurricane season amid major cuts by the Trump administration, Axios’ Natalie Daher reports. Some experts say that agency reforms are warranted, but “the timing of Trump’s FEMA overhaul couldn’t be worse.” At the same time, a Democratic congressional report finds that the administration is slashing flood prevention money in blue states while ramping it up in red ones, CNN’s Annie Grayer and Ella Nilsen report. OMB says they made the allocation decisions “based on need and urgency.” More cuts: After being targeted by Trump, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is in crisis, NYT’s Jenna Russell reports. Its funding losses ramped up last week, threatening to “end careers, halt progress toward medical breakthroughs and reshape the institution.” 9. UP IN SMOKE: “Trump and Biden Backed Easing Marijuana Policy. What Happened?” by NYT’s Ernesto Londoño: “Resistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, which oversees the federal drug classification system, slowed the process during the Biden administration … So far, the Trump administration has shown no sign of seeking the looser cannabis regulations Mr. Trump had backed.”
| | | | A message from the Alzheimer's Association:  
The Alzheimer's Association is working with bipartisan lawmakers to make meaningful policy changes. More work remains. | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Donald Trump Jr. dangled the prospect of running for president in the future: “Maybe one day,” he said in Qatar. JD Vance will headline an RNC fundraiser in Georgia tonight, per CBS. Spots at the dinner start at a cool $100,000 per couple. KNOWING THE MAHA WORLD — “How Vani Hari, the Blogging ‘Food Babe,’ Became a Trump-Era Megastar,” by NYT’s Kim Severson: “A former Democrat who started out dispensing tips on diet and fitness is now a major voice in the administration’s healthy-food agenda.” OUT AND ABOUT — New York Women in Communications presented their Matrix Awards last night at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in NYC, honoring Kristen Welker, Bellamy Young, Lucy Kaylin, Dustee Jenkins, Leslie Berland, Teneshia Jackson Warner and Nkechi Okoro Carroll. Rachel Lindsay emceed. SPOTTED: Andrea Mitchell, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Sebastian and Chloe Arensberg. — SPOTTED at Freedom House’s annual awards ceremony last night: Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, Taiwanese Representative Alexander Yui Tah-Ray, Jane Harman, Annie Boyajian, Gerardo Berthin and Norman Willox. MEDIA MOVE — Sabrina Singh is joining CNN as a commentator. She previously was deputy press secretary at the Defense Department and is a Kamala Harris alum. TRANSITIONS — Ken Salazar is rejoining WilmerHale as senior counsel. He most recently was U.S. ambassador to Mexico and is a former senator and Interior secretary. … Jessica Lovejoy is now chief of staff at GovAct. She most recently was SVP of campaigns at 50+1 Strategies. … Heather Vaughan is now comms director for the House Armed Services Committee. She previously was a senior adviser and comms director for the House Science Committee. 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 editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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