| | | |  | | By Eli Okun | Presented by the Coalition for Medicare Choices | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
President Donald Trump announced new additional 10 percent tariffs on China. | Carl Court/Pool via AP Photo | TRADE WARS: President Donald Trump today redoubled his threats to slap fresh tariffs on some of the country’s three biggest trading partners. Canada and Mexico: So much for yesterday’s suggestion that 25 percent levies north and south of the border might be postponed another month. The president declared on Truth Social this morning that those tariffs will take effect Tuesday, casting them principally as a response to the drug trade and the fentanyl epidemic that has ravaged many American communities. One White House official tells POLITICO’s Andrew Howard and Ari Hawkins that drugs, more than immigration, are now the sticking point with Canada, Mexico and China. A bit of wiggle room? Canada and Mexico will have to hope that last-minute negotiations could postpone the tariffs, as happened early this month. Trump wrote that the tariffs would arrive “until [fentanyl] stops, or is seriously limited.” No ambiguity here: Trump also announced additional 10 percent tariffs to be imposed on all Chinese imports Tuesday, on top of the 10 percent he’s already placed on China. “So far, Beijing hasn’t made an offer to the Trump administration that can show a stepped-up commitment to reducing China’s exports of chemicals used to make fentanyl,” WSJ’s Gavin Bade and Lingling Wei report. The president added that reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world are still coming April 2. The global pushback: EU leaders warned forcefully today that they will defend themselves and go tit for tat if Trump imposes 25 percent tariffs on the bloc, AP’s Raf Casert reports from Brussels. The domestic fallout: By a 59 percent to 26 percent margin, Americans expect Trump’s tariffs to raise the cost of their everyday expenses, according to a new Bloomberg/Harris poll. That’s the latest indicator of potential political peril for the GOP, as voters so far seem fairly aligned with economists’ expectations that tariffs will worsen inflation. The economic picture: The U.S. economy remains fairly solid overall. But already, the combination of tariffs and federal spending/workforce cuts have started to impose strains, NYT’s Alan Rappeport reports. Trump’s series of major disruptions have left a mark on consumer sentiment, local government and business plans, and inflation predictions. Weekly new unemployment claims jumped to 242,000, the largest increase in over four months, per CNN. New federal data today showed that GDP grew 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, while inflation was revised upward to 2.7 percent, per Bloomberg. Another way to tackle fentanyl: It’s Sebastian Gorka vs. Stephen Miller as White House officials debate whether to go after Mexican drug cartels with military strikes, NYT’s Alan Feuer and Maria Abi-Habib report. Gorka’s camp wants to attack them unilaterally, while Miller and the Homeland Security Council fear that doing so without the cooperation of the Mexican government could imperil crucial coordination on limiting immigration. A Mexican delegation is in D.C. today to work on a security agreement. MOVING AHEAD: A few Democrats came to Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s rescue today to advance her nomination as Labor secretary out of the Senate HELP Committee, POLITICO’s Nick Niedzwiadek and Lawrence Ukenye report. Her past support for the PRO Act cost Chavez-DeRemer the support of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), but Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) made up the difference to push Chavez-DeRemer through with the panel’s other Republicans. And the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved Dan Bishop as deputy OMB director in an 8-1 vote, per POLITICO’s Jennifer Scholtes. BIG PLATFORM: Freshman Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) will deliver Democrats’ response to Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress, per The Detroit News’ Melissa Nann Burke. POLITICO’s Nick Wu scooped yesterday that Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.) will give the Working Families Party rebuttal. Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from the Coalition for Medicare Choices: Protect Medicare Advantage: 34 million seniors are counting on it.
Over half of America's seniors choose Medicare Advantage because it provides them better care at lower costs than fee-for-service Medicare. With their coverage and care on the line, seniors are watching closely to see whether policymakers keep the bipartisan promise to protect Medicare Advantage by ensuring this vital part of Medicare is adequately funded.
Learn more at https://medicarechoices.org/ | | | | | 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. BANNED AID: USAID workers started to clear out their desks at headquarters today, some of them crying and being cheered on by supporters, per AP’s Gary Fields. Meanwhile, the scope of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and acting Administrator Pete Marocco’s overnight decimation of USAID grants is coming into view. The cuts will save taxpayers $60 billion. Financial support for PEPFAR in South Africa and the U.N. AIDS program was slashed, potentially jeopardizing lifesaving care for millions of people, The Bulwark’s Sam Stein reports. Some agency officials said the contract terminations were illegal and should be challenged in court. The canceled contracts run counter to Rubio’s previous statement that he would issue waivers for lifesaving programs, which many aid groups have said has not been borne out. An HIV/tuberculosis organization in Cambodia was also cut off, Reuters’ Jennifer Rigby and Nellie Peyton report, as was a project 250,000 people rely on for water in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, per The Bulwark. Nonprofits say the foreign aid freeze has also undermined their ability to track abuses, dissent and economic data in China, WSJ’s Chun Han Wong reports. In the DOGE house: Speaker Mike Johnson said he wants to set up a meeting between Elon Musk and House Republicans, per POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill and Jordain Carney. The NYT has one of the most comprehensive lists yet of who’s working for the Department of Government Efficiency. More shuffling: James Rockas, the acting leader of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, has been removed from that position, POLITICO’s Christine Mui and Ari Hawkins report for Pros. … The NIH has canceled its summer internships, per The Bulwark. 2. THE WALKBACK: “Trump officials race to rehire bird flu employees as egg prices skyrocket,” by POLITICO’s Marcia Brown: “Roughly a quarter of employees in a critical office testing for the disease were cut, as well as scientists and inspectors. The dismissals have already helped trigger a partial shutdown at one of the department’s research facilities … interrupting some workers’ efforts to fight bird flu and help livestock recover from illness. Now, agency officials are running into logistical challenges in reinstating its bird flu staff — and convincing them to return to jobs while the president repeatedly attempts to squeeze government workers.” On the flip side: HHS confirmed today that it’s reviewing whether to pull nearly $600 million in funding for Moderna to develop a bird flu vaccine. More from Bloomberg 3. ANOTHER WIN FOR THE FAR RIGHT: “Andrew Tate and brother, accused of trafficking, leave Romania for Florida,” by WaPo’s Amar Nadhir and Victoria Craw in Bucharest: “The self-described misogynist influencer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, were allowed to leave … after being forbidden to go abroad while detained on human trafficking charges. … Romania lifted its travel restriction after pressure from the Trump administration, [a person familiar with the matter said] … [T]hey are still obliged to answer to Romanian officials over their court case … There is ‘no way of ruling out’ the possibility of Trump refusing to extradite the brothers at some point, [one expert] said.” But but but: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said today that “Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct in the air.” He said the state had not been involved or notified, and that they were exploring legal options. More from Florida Politics 4. 2026 WATCH: Trump is gearing up for the midterms much earlier this time around, with plans to use an enormous war chest to boost preferred candidates and retain GOP control, CNN’s Steve Contorno and Sarah Ferris report. The president is working closely with congressional leaders, whom he’s told he’ll boost by using his treasure chest of leftover campaign cash that currently sits higher than half a billion dollars. He may wade into primaries to prioritize both unswerving loyalty and electability. Meanwhile, erstwhile adversary Club for Growth plans to work with Trump in primary elections, Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser scooped. They’ll also pour eight figures into an ad campaign to bolster the tax bill and other policy priorities. Another round: Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) both said today they’ll run for reelection next year.
| | | | Donald Trump's unprecedented effort to reshape the federal government is consuming Washington. To track this seismic shift, we're relaunching one of our signature newsletters. Sign up to get West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government in your inbox. | | | | | 5. THE MEDICAID SQUEEZE: Though moderate House Republicans voted for the party’s budget blueprint, which could force major changes to Medicaid, some fear that any significant cuts could imperil them in the midterms, WaPo’s Hannah Knowles and Marianna Sotomayor reports. The likes of Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) are hopeful that Trump’s pledges and Senate intervention can prevent big Medicaid cuts and keep the focus on finding savings from waste and fraud, despite experts’ skepticism about the numbers adding up. The bigger picture beyond just Medicaid is that Republicans, who succeeded in flipping many working-class voters last year, may run a political risk in pushing a more traditionally GOP regressive economic plan that will benefit the wealthy over the poor, NYT’s Andrew Duehren writes. On the other hand: Republicans hope an overall boost to growth will still lift the working class. And the party has largely stopped talking about lowering the corporate rate further, as Trump had dangled on the campaign trail, the Washington Examiner’s Zach Halaschak reports. 6. NOT WHAT RUBIO WANTED: After an intense public and private U.S. effort to prevent Thailand from deporting 40 Uyghurs to China, the Thai government went ahead with the move today, WSJ’s Austin Ramzy and Gabriele Steinhauser report. The matter “had become a high-profile test of America’s influence in Asia.” The U.N. said Thailand had broken the law, amid fears that the deportees could now be at risk for genocide. 7. COZYING UP: “How the Bezos-Trump alliance began,” by Axios’ Alex Isenstadt: “Jeff Bezos last summer privately urged Donald Trump to pick Doug Burgum as Trump’s vice president, saying he’d be an ‘excellent’ choice. … [It] was a sign that Bezos was engaging with Trump on political issues months earlier than previously reported.” 8. TURMOIL AT THE FBI: “Inside Patel’s first week: Internal upheaval at the FBI — some of his own making,” by CNN’s Evan Perez: “A plan to quickly fire more than 100 mid-level and senior employees blew up into a weeklong standoff between Trump’s acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, and the FBI’s acting leaders, Brian Driscoll and Robert Kissane, who Bove had installed … Bove’s demands for a list of more than 5,000 employees, mostly those associated with January 6, 2021, cases, prompted a chain of events that has blown back on [Director Kash] Patel … “A handful of former agents who were early supporters of Patel have already stepped away from an advisory panel that was designed to build his credibility … That rebellion in turn prompted President Donald Trump to appoint a loyalist podcaster Dan Bongino as deputy director.”
| | | | A message from the Coalition for Medicare Choices:  
| | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Robert F. Kennedy Jr. celebrated Steak ’n Shake switching their fries to beef tallow. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a late dinner for the DCCC last night hosted by lobbyists from Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, which raised more than $250,000: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Doug Calidas, Seth Radus, Janelle McClure, Shelly Mui-Lipnik, Colin Andrew, Leigh Parker Pross, Corey Miller, Haider Murtaza and Josh Babb. — NENA, The 9-1-1 Association, hosted a multi-day “9-1-1 Goes to Washington” gathering, featuring nearly 500 emergency communications professionals who pushed for action on public safety issues. It culminated with a congressional breakfast yesterday. SPOTTED: Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Reps. Norma Torres (D-Calif.), Rob Menendez (D-N.J.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Gabe Evans (R-Colo.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) and Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.). — The Congressional Cigar Caucus hosted a roundtable and cigar reception in partnership with Cigars for Warriors and the Premium Cigar Association. SPOTTED: Reps. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.), Scott Franklin (R-Fla.), Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Storm Boen, Scott Regina, Joshua Habursky, Scott Pierce, Mike Copperman, Trey Boring and Matthew Perricone. — SPOTTED at a “tax tales and cocktails” reception at Bullfeathers last night hosted by the American Petroleum Institute, Business Roundtable, National Retail Federation and the RATE Coalition: Reps. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and Ron Estes (R-Kan.), Eric Schmitz, Claire Trokey, John Crews, Garrett Puckett, Ian Foley, Lillian Bay, Annie Brody, Elle Collins, Allie Kotsovos and Kelley Hudak. — SPOTTED at a Recycled Materials Association event at the Smithsonian celebrating a new collection on innovations in recycling, culminating the group’s legislative fly-in: Robin Wiener, Becky Proler, Ryan Eckert, Colin Kelly, Andy Golding, Neil Byce, Sean Daoud, George Adams, Alton Schaubhut and Chris Phalen. — Emily Tisch Sussman, founder and host of “She Pivots,” and Sali Christeson, founder and CEO of Argent, hosted a reception in Georgetown on Tuesday night celebrating the launch of season four of the podcast. Sussman spoke of the importance of telling women’s stories in today’s political climate and of making the transition from politics to media. SPOTTED: Neera Tanden, Yasmin Radjy, Matt Howland, Rachel Palermo, Nikki Lu, Omi Bell, Tori Taylor, Beth Lynk, Sharon Yang, Michele Jawando, Jamila Galloway and Nkemakonam Ejoh Carter. MEDIA MOVES — Tom Cibrowski will be the next president and executive editor of CBS News. He most recently has been president and general manager of KGO-TV, and is an ABC News/“Good Morning America” alum. More from Variety … Gordon Lubold will be a national security reporter at NBC. He most recently was White House national security and Pentagon reporter at the WSJ. TRANSITIONS — Former Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) will be CEO of the American Consumer and Investor Institute. … Jeff Le is launching 100 Mile Strategies LLC, a public sector navigation and tech consultancy, where he will be managing principal. He previously was VP of global government affairs and public policy at SecurityScorecard. … Alexandrine De Bianchi is joining Wiley’s telecom, media and technology practice as a public policy adviser. She previously was director of legislative affairs at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. … … Bettina Weiss is now director of political affairs for Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.). She most recently was executive director for House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and is an Elect Democratic Women and Abigail Spanberger alum. … Alexander Lee is joining Holtzman Vogel as a political law associate attorney. He most recently was at Compass Legal Group. … Maren Hersam is joining 917 Strategies as a brand comms strategist. She was most recently a senior associate for creator education and support at ShopMy. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Joanna Diaz Soffer, principal external affairs manager for strategic alliances and external affairs at T-Mobile, and Clinton Soffer, principal at PT Strategy, welcomed Reid Anne Soffer on Tuesday. Pic 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. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | 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 politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
