| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun and Bethany Irvine
| | | Happy Friday morning. This is Adam Wren. Get in touch. In today’s Playbook … — President Donald Trump’s quest for retribution dominates Washington. — Senators are headed home for the Memorial Day recess — where they’ll likely hear from constituents about the pending reconciliation bill. — Trump admin lawyers face another fiery hearing over DHS office closings.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
President Donald Trump is seizing more control of the government — and being cheered on by his backers for doing exactly that. | Win McNamee/Getty Images | FULL THROTTLE: President Donald Trump’s retribution tour is expanding by the day, with an ever-lengthening list of targets spanning American civil society and any number of unprecedented methods being employed to bring the administration’s perceived opponents to heel. DHS targets Harvard: The Trump administration is revoking Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, NYT’s Michael Schmidt and Michael Bender scooped, which would potentially force a quarter of the student body to either transfer to another school or risk losing their legal status. Jason Newton, a spokesperson for the university, said the action was unlawful. Harvard plans to sue. The pretense: The decision stems from an investigation by DHS, which alleges that the university “created a hostile learning environment for Jewish students,” and comes after weeks of haggling between the agency and the university. “It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.” Critics blasted the move: Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), a Harvard alum who has been critical of his own alma mater at times, said the administration “is acting just like the most unhinged of the anti-Israel campus protestors last year –– performative, irrational and cruel.” FTC targets Media Matters: The Federal Trade Commission is demanding documents from liberal advocacy group Media Matters for America “about possible coordination with other media watchdogs accused by Elon Musk of helping orchestrate advertiser boycotts of X,” Reuters’ Jody Godoy and Mike Scarcella scooped. The pretense: “FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to run the agency, highlighted the potential for a probe in December. ‘We must prosecute any unlawful collusion between online platforms, and confront advertiser boycotts which threaten competition among those platforms,’ Ferguson said in a statement on an unrelated case.” (Notably, this comes as the FTC drops its case against the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard merger and a Pepsi price discrimination lawsuit, which is a good sign of its enforcement priorities.) A thought experiment: “[I]f the roles were reversed — if a Democratic administration were using the FTC to target a conservative media watchdog because George Soros didn’t like its reporting — outlets like Fox News would never stop covering it,” Status’ Oliver Darcy writes. That’s not all, of course … The DOJ is investigating ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform. … The White House is punishing law firms that have represented Trump’s political opponents. … The U.S. attorney in New Jersey has charged Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) for allegedly assaulting law enforcement during a protest outside an ICE facility in Newark. … And Trump or his team have in recent days threatened investigations of New York AG Letitia James, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, Bono, Oprah Winfrey, James Comey, “treasonous” aides to Joe Biden, the City of Chicago and the Kennedy Center, as the NYT’s Peter Baker noted.
| | | | 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. | | | | THE BACKDROP: This escalation comes as Trump is seizing more control of the government — and being cheered on by his backers for doing exactly that. The Supreme Court ruled yesterday … that the president can fire the heads of independent labor agencies — “a significant victory for Trump and his efforts to assert control over federal agencies that Congress designed to be independent from White House meddling,”as CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Devan Cole and John Fritze write. But but but: The justices explicitly exempted the Federal Reserve from its ruling, effectively protecting Fed Chair Jerome Powell, as POLITICO’s Victoria Guida reports. Coming attractions: The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office ruled yesterday that the Trump administration broke the law by impounding money meant for EV chargers — with more similar rulings likely to follow, per POLITICO’s James Bikales and Jennifer Scholtes. That may sound like a parochial issue, but the implications are potentially profound: “The findings appeared to inch the government closer to a high-stakes constitutional showdown, as President Trump increasingly claims expansive powers to defy lawmakers and control the nation’s purse strings,” NYT’s Tony Romm writes. Worth flagging: This week, VP JD Vance gave a thought-provoking longform interview to NYT columnist Ross Douthat. The whole thing is worth a read, but this section jumped out at us: “I think that you are seeing, and I know this is inflammatory, but I think you are seeing an effort by the courts to quite literally overturn the will of the American people,” Vance said. “I saw an interview with Chief Justice [John] Roberts recently where he said the role of the court is to check the excesses of the executive. I thought that was a profoundly wrong sentiment.” That doesn’t mean that lawfare is going away. Far from it. Much attention has been paid to the fact that Marco Rubio wears multiple hats as he simultaneously serves as secretary of State, national security adviser, acting USAID administrator and acting archivist of the United States. But comparably little spotlight has shown on Ed Martin, who has a growing remit as both the administration’s top pardon attorney and the head of the DOJ’s nascent “weaponization” working group. ‘The sword and the shield’: “These two jobs are actually sort of like the sword and the shield,” a spokesperson for Martin tells Playbook. “It’s like two sides of the same coin. So, through the weaponization group, he’s able to determine who are the bad actors and then hold them accountable. And then as the pardon attorney, he’s able to unwind the damage and bring healing to the Americans who have been victimized by the government.” What comes next?: Martin’s spokesperson could not quantify how many investigative targets he had when asked by Playbook. But in an interview with Martin earlier this month, the New York Post reported that his target list included “propagators of Russiagate, prosecutors in Capitol riot cases, individuals who allegedly helped cover up Covid-19 origins and even international organizations that have censored Americans.” One big question: How will all this focus on retribution play out for Trump and Republicans in the midterms? In an interview this week on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker, former VP Mike Pence lamented what he called the “rearview thinking this administration’s been doing.” “Elections,” Pence said, “are about the future. And I think the American people elected President Trump to return to the White House to focus on the future. … I’d encourage him to keep eyes forward and — and embrace the better angels of his nature in all these issues.”
| | | | A message from the Alzheimer's Association: False claims are spreading — including the dangerous myth that the NIH has focused Alzheimer's research only on one target called beta Amyloid. Publicly verifiable facts prove this is untrue. Let's move past the confusion, and continue strong bipartisan support for life-saving research. | | | | ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: Senators are headed home for the Memorial Day recess, during which they’ll have plenty of time to digest the reconciliation bill — and start to feel constituent pressure to pass, block or amend it. After House Republicans narrowly passed their mammoth tax-cut-and-spending-cut legislation, Senate Majority Leader John Thune can lose only three votes in his chamber. The goal is passage by July Fourth. Here’s what senators may have to watch out for, as POLITICO’s Jordain Carney and Benjamin Guggenheim lay out:
- Insufficient spending cuts: The exploding deficit impact is a chief concern of fiscal hawks like Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who may want deeper Medicaid and topline slashing. Bad signs in the bond market, where the 30-year Treasury yield was above 5 percent yesterday, could be just the tip of the deficit-concern iceberg, per WaPo. Some senators are eyeing $2 trillion in cuts rather than the House’s $1.5 trillion.
- The debt limit: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is adamantly opposed to the inclusion of a debt ceiling increase in the package.
- Medicaid: On the flip side, populist Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and moderate Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are wary of the significant Medicaid cuts already included. The House bill contains Republicans’ strictest work requirements ever, NYT’s Margot Sanger-Katz and Sarah Kliff note.
- Food aid: The House’s move to shift costs for SNAP onto states has concerned several senators. And the latest CBO analysis finds that the bill might slash 3.2 million low-income people from getting food aid, per POLITICO’s Marcia Brown.
- Clean energy: House hard-liners’ victory to demolish these tax breaks would essentially stop the country’s ongoing clean-energy revolution in its tracks. But that quickly could run into resistance from Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Jon Husted (R-Ohio) and more, NOTUS’ Emily Kennard and Anna Kramer report.
- SALT: The higher state and local tax deduction for which blue-state House members fought may not have many advocates in the Senate.
- Current policy baseline: This accounting gimmick to eliminate the cost of tax cut extensions, which experts call a budgetary “nuclear option,” could set up a fight with House Republicans, to say nothing of its precedent for Democrats.
- Judicial contempt: House Republicans did include a measure to weaken judges’ ability to hold people in contempt, just as federal judges clash with the Trump administration over a potential constitutional crisis. It remains to be seen whether that will pass muster in the Senate, NYT’s Michael Gold reports.
- Business tax breaks: Some senators want to make these permanent.
- Spectrum auction: Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) warned this has to be eliminated, CNN’s Manu Raju and colleagues report.
But but but: Most Republicans expect they’ll be able to pass some version of the bill. The White House intends to repeat its relatively laissez-faire approach in the Senate, until it’s necessary for Trump to intervene, POLITICO’s Megan Messerly and Adam Cancryn report. At the end of the day, the Senate is likelier to make significant changes than to go its own way entirely, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. Our Inside Congress colleagues have more on the looming Senate buzzsaw. The tick-tocks: Trump forced the House Freedom Caucus to get in line, skewering Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) for being “out there grandstanding when you should be uniting,” POLITICO’s Rachael Bade reports. White House aides think “the hard-liners overplayed their hand”; those hard-liners, of course, reject the idea that Trump made them fold. … NOTUS’ Daniella Diaz and colleagues report the intriguing nugget that at one point, Freedom Caucus members reached out to moderates to ask if they’d be willing to tank the bill together. But the end result “was at least temporary vindication for a series of strategic decisions” by Speaker Mike Johnson, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill writes. The midterm math: One thing Republicans have going for them: Trump has built a $600 million war chest — just pause and take that in — and wants to get to $1 billion, AP’s Jill Colvin and Chris Megerian report.
| | | | 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. | | | | | DEPORTATION DIGEST IMMIGRATION FILES: Another day, another judge torching the Trump administration for trying to bamboozle the courts. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes has set a hearing for 9:30 a.m. today to try to determine whether the Trump administration is, in fact, shuttering three key DHS oversight offices, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein writes in. “I don’t appreciate being lied to,” Reyes said at the outset of a hastily called court session yesterday afternoon. “If that is indeed what has happened, there will be serious consequences.” Reyes said Justice Department lawyers and a DHS official assured her just last week that while about 300 people were being laid off from the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Ombudsman and the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman would remain open and functional. But one staffer scheduled to be terminated shared with the court an internal Q&A document saying “the entirety of the offices were eliminated.” That exercised Reyes, who demanded DHS officials immediately file statements with the court under penalty of perjury, explaining the discrepancy. DHS human resources official Nicole Barksdale-Perry said the Q&A addressed the lack of slots for potential transfers and “was not intended to suggest that DHS had long-term plans for the elimination of these offices.” Another DHS official told the judge the offices’ work will be supported by detailees and contractors. Reyes, a Biden appointee, said she plans to question those officials closely this morning. “I will not be strung along,” the judge warned. MORE HIGH-PROFILE CASES: Georgia teenager Ximena Arias Cristobal was released from ICE custody, per CBS. … Meanwhile, Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil said at a hearing that the administration was illegally persecuting him for protected speech — and that he could be killed if deported, per the NYT. He also met his new baby for the first time. … And previously detained Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri tells the AP that his experience was a “mockery of rule of law.” IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED: The Trump administration is also moving to end the Flores agreement, which has protected detained child migrants and mandated safe conditions for them since the 1990s, AP’s Valerie Gonzalez reports. Trump tried to do this in his first term but was blocked by the courts. WHOOPS: Not only did Trump lob false claims of genocide against white South Africans in the Oval Office this week, but it also turns out a photo he showed of dead Afrikaner farmers … was actually of body bags in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Reuters reports.
| | | | A message from the Alzheimer's Association:  
The Alzheimer's Association is working with bipartisan lawmakers to make meaningful policy changes. More work remains. | | | | BEST OF THE REST HAPPENING TODAY: Vance will speak at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation at 10 a.m. And as early as today, Trump is due to sign executive orders meant to accelerate nuclear energy development, Reuters’ Timothy Gardner and colleagues scooped. (He has EOs on his schedule for 1 p.m.) SHOOTING FALLOUT: Alleged shooter Elias Rodriguez was charged with the murders of Israeli Embassy staffers Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky and other felonies, per the WSJ. Authorities said he confessed and told them, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.” His next court date is June 18. The response: Israeli officials decried the killings as part of a broader global antisemitic project “to eradicate the state of Israel,” as Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said, per POLITICO’s Amy Mackinnon. Pro-Israel conservatives pointed to the shooting as evidence that “the Palestinian cause is an evil one” outright, as Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) argued on Fox News. And progressives who support Palestinian rights condemned the killing as they grappled with this radical fringe of their movement, POLITICO’s Irie Sentner reports. “Where’s our Martin Luther King today?” one strategist asked. The security situation: Local law enforcement bolstered its presence around schools, Jewish centers and more, per POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy. But fear rippled through Washington, especially its Jewish community, POLITICO’s Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing reports. Foreign diplomats generally feel safe in D.C. regardless of their countries’ standing, having “been treated by Americans as non-combatants,” POLITICO’s Michael Schaffer writes. But this “is a major break from that pattern — and one that could set a dangerous precedent,” leaving diplomats shaken. BILL OF HEALTH: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Congress the CDC’s childhood lead program is still being funded. Not so, reports NBC’s Aria Bendix: Staffers haven’t been reinstated, and it remains defunct. Meanwhile, NBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. reports, an FDA advisory committee struggled with what to do for Covid vaccine recommendations: call for the shots to be updated to new strains, or keep them the same to avoid HHS’ new leaders erecting barriers to many people getting them? The panel chose the latter. NOTABLE QUOTABLE: Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano said that after he was selected for the job, he had to Google it: “What the heck’s the commissioner of Social Security?” Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman got the scoop. PRIMARY COLORS: Facing a tough reelection primary battle, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is adding Chris LaCivita to his team, Axios’ Alex Isenstadt scooped. HIGH ON THE HOGG: The DNC will vote June 9-11 on whether to remove David Hogg and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta as vice chairs and set a new election, POLITICO’s Elena Schneider reports. COMING NEXT MONTH: “Dutch Leader Says Trump Plans to Attend NATO Summit in The Hague,” by Bloomberg’s Patrick Van Oosterom THE WEEKEND AHEAD TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week”: Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. SUNDAY SO FAR … FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) … Alex Thompson. Panel: Michael Allen, Meghan Hays, Doug Heye and Mario Parker. Sunday special: Gary Sinise. MSNBC “The Weekend”: Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) … Jaime Harrison … Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) … Wendy Sherman. Panel: Mara Karlin, Luke Coffey and Robert Edsel. CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). Panel: Ashley Etienne, Brad Todd, Ashley Davis and Faiz Shakir. CBS “Face the Nation”: Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.). NBC “Meet the Press,” with a special edition on America’s mental health crisis: Vivek Murthy … Patrick Kennedy … Arthur Brooks. Panel: Nedra Glover Tawwab, Lori Gottlieb and Jean Twenge.
| | | | 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 | | For Melania Trump, the future is now: Her memoir audiobook is narrated by an AI imitation of her voice. Donald Trump’s huge portrait outside at USDA headquarters, alongside Abraham Lincoln’s, provoked a range of reactions from passersby on the Mall. OUT AND ABOUT — Former staffers and family members of the late Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) held a memorial event in his honor at the University Club last night. SPOTTED: Ann Simpson, Sue Simpson Gallagher, Colin and Deb Simpson, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Katherine McGuire, Mike Tongour, Matt Jeanneret, Sandra Swirski, Jim Link, Jennifer Johnson, Kristin Litterst, Leslie Tucker and Peter Pastre. — Fox’s Jamie Gillespie and Kris Jones from Fox hosted a reception for Mike Mullen at the Fox DC office Wednesday in celebration of him joining the Smith-Free Group as an SVP. SPOTTED: Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Adam Gray (D-Calif.) and Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Tiffany Guarascio, Liam Fitzsimmons, Curtis LeGeyt, Shawn Donilon, Josh Pollack, Gaurav Parikh, Emily Porter, Mike Hacker, Mike Dabbs, Andy Halataei, Andrew Woelfling, David Goldman, Trevor Kolego, John Christie, Mike Gaffin and Max Becker. TRANSITIONS — Brett McGurk is joining Cisco as special adviser for the Middle East and international affairs. He is a non-resident senior fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and previously was NSC coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. … Jerrob Duffy is now a partner at Hogan Lovells. He previously was a partner at Squire Patton Boggs. ENGAGED — Kathleen Buhle, founder and president of The House at 1229 and author of “If We Break,” and Nik Apostolides, an art historian, curator and lecturer in museum studies at Johns Hopkins University, got engaged May 10 in LA, where they were with her children Naomi, Finnegan and Maisy Biden, Peter Neal and baby Willie. The couple met 15 years ago at a party Adrienne Arsht hosted but started dating earlier this year. Pic … Another pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Maggie Karchmer, a partner at Wiley, and Drew Karchmer, who works in government contracting, on Saturday welcomed Thomas Clifford Karchmer, who came in at 6 lbs, 7 oz and 20 inches. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) … former AG Bill Barr … William Minor of DLA Piper … Dana Priest … Daisy Martinez … Shekar Narasimhan … ABC’s Mary Bruce … Nate McDermott … NBC’s Danielle Dellorto … BBC’s Adam Levy … Melanie Fonder Kaye … PhRMA’s Sarah Sutton Ryan … Reuel Marc Gerecht … Washington Examiner’s Anna Giaritelli … Rachel MacKnight … Jerry Goldfeder … Tom Heinemann … Nicholas Uehlecke … Megan McKinley … Jorge Martínez … former Interior Secretary Donald Hodel (9-0) … Mel Lukens 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.
| | | | A message from the Alzheimer's Association: Congress Can Connect Americans to Alzheimer's Research, an Investment in America's Fiscal Health
As the most expensive disease in the nation, untreated Alzheimer's is a major driver of rising federal and state spending, adding to America's long-term debt.
The bipartisan path forward is clear: Sustained NIH investment in Alzheimer's and dementia research. This commitment accelerates innovation, leading to effective treatments, early detection and prevention strategies, and reduced long-term costs for families, Medicare and Medicaid.
Supporting NIH research is not just compassionate policy; it is a smart fiscal strategy with strong bipartisan backing in Congress and overwhelming support among the American public.
Together, let's create a future free from Alzheimer's and all other dementia.
Congress: Invest in research today, ensure a healthier and more fiscally sustainable tomorrow. | | | | | | | | 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 | Canada Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
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