| | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
It’s still unclear when the centerpiece of Trump’s domestic agenda will make it across the finish line. | Getty Images | President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-and-spending bill has reached its last hurdle: final passage in the House. But as Republicans in the chamber continue pushing back against the Senate’s version of the megabill — and with Mother Nature waging her own temporary blockade — it’s still unclear when the centerpiece of Trump’s domestic agenda will make it across the finish line. Speaker Mike Johnson can’t lose any more than a handful of votes, and GOP leaders this morning launched an all-out, last-ditch effort to assuage potential defectors, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill and Nick Wu report. Trump has been holding meetings at the White House with a slew of holdouts as he tries to lean on the members and pave a path to passage. Flipping out: According to Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), it seems to be working. Johnson said Trump is quickly working the votes in meetings at the White House, POLITICO’s Megan Messerly and Benjamin Guggenheim report. “Donald Trump is the best closer in the business, and we’re going to get it done,” said Johnson, chair of the GOP’s Main Street Caucus. “In the meetings that I was in, the president, I think, closed out just about everybody.” Johnson also predicted that holdouts will quickly realize that “passage beats the hell out of failure.” On the other hand, Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) said Trump did little to sway him, per Punchbowl’s Ally Mutnick. What the speaker is saying: “We’re making good progress,” Johnson told reporters, per Punchbowl’s John Bresnahan, though he cautioned: “We can’t make everyone 100% happy.” What Trump is saying: Before this morning’s meetings, the president doubled down on his demands that Republicans fall in line, saying that the bill is all about “GROWTH.” “Our Country will make a fortune this year, more than any of our competitors, but only if the Big, Beautiful Bill is PASSED!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Republicans, don’t let the Radical Left Democrats push you around. We’ve got all the cards, and we are going to use them.” A White House official said the president is working the phones — as he has over the past few days, per POLITICO’s Megan Messerly. Give me Freedom: The Freedom Caucus fell to the administration to sort out. “The sense is the White House needs to deliver the Freedom Caucus — that’s the project of the day,” a person close to leadership told POLITICO’s Benjamin Guggenheim and colleagues. “The White House, the thinking goes, is better situated to discuss executive orders and potential future legislation that could address their concerns.” Though it may be an uphill battle. Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) skipped today’s White House meeting, and the group released a three-page memo laying out its members’ specific concerns with the Senate bill, seizing on more than a dozen modifications from the Senate, per Meredith. “Some but not all were due to Senate budget rules requiring the elimination of some provisions to sidestep a Democratic filibuster. One issue that cannot be entirely attributed to decisions made by the Senate parliamentarian include the revised bill’s outsized deficit impact.” The back-of-the-napkin math: Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) signaled to reporters that the conference appears to have “reached a critical mass” of holdouts, adding: “We’ll see what happens at the White House.” To wit: “If there’s four [GOP ‘nos’], there’s going to be 20 — and it’s going to be a jailbreak,” one House Republican told POLITICO today. And then there’s this: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) “enthusiastically” told NOTUS’ Reese Gorman that he has a “vote bloc of 10” lined up against the megabill. Given the scant evidence of a clear path to passage, it’s a cloudy picture in the Capitol at present. Follow all the latest with our colleagues on POLITICO’s Inside Congress Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line if you’re also flashing back to the inclement weather that spurred Will Hurd and Beto O’Rourke'scross-country road trip in 2017: birvine@politico.com. | | | | A message from bp: bp supports ~300,000 US jobs. Like the engineering and skilled labor jobs that are working to produce more American energy right now. Across our five offshore platforms in the Gulf of America, we're making major investments in people and infrastructure. It's just one of the ways bp is investing in America. | | | | | | 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | | 
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) has formally launched a bid to become chair of the House Homeland Security Committee. | Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images | 1. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) has formally launched a bid to become chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, according to a letter of intent obtained by Playbook, Ali Bianco and your author report. Gimenez’s office confirmed that he notified the Steering Committee of his intention to run. “The reason why he’s served for 25 years and hasn’t lost an election is because he’s a straight shooter, people trust him,” a Gimenez spokesperson told Playbook. The Florida Republican enters the race for the gavel as the current chair, Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), prepares to step down. Green announced last month that he’ll resign from Congress for a private-sector job once the chamber passes the megabill. In the letter, Gimenez argued his background — including stints as Miami Fire Chief, city manager, county commissioner, sheriff and mayor of Miami-Dade — positions him as the top man for the job. “These roles were not theoretical, they were boots-on-the-ground, real world experiences,” Gimenez wrote. 2. TRADING SPACES: Trump announced this morning the U.S. has reached a preliminary trade deal with Vietnam that includes a 20-percent tariff on imports to the U.S and a 40-percent tariff on goods shipped through Vietnam from other nations, POLITICO’s Phelim Kine and colleagues report. “While that’s a lower tariff rate than Trump initially threatened with his reciprocal tariffs, it would mark a higher rate than Vietnam experienced during the three-month pause.” In exchange for the negotiated rate, Vietnam has agreed to open its market “to a variety of U.S. imports that Hanoi has traditionally blocked,” according to a draft version of the agreement. Coming attractions: The draft notes the “two sides will continue to work on a final deal to be sealed ‘within the coming weeks’ that will result in a ‘substantial reduction.’” It’s the first deal the administration has secured that would suspend his reciprocal tariffs that are scheduled to kick in on July 9, though “Trump and his top advisers have hinted that they may extend the deadline for some of the negotiations” with other nations. 3. RULE BREAKERS: Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer kickstarted an “aggressive deregulatory” effort this week that would slash more than 60 department regulations, “including eliminating overtime and minimum wage protections for home health care workers and union organizing rights for migrant farmworkers,” WaPo’s Lauren Kaori Gurley reports. The deregulation push comes after Trump’s January executive order mandated “agency leaders to cut 10 existing rules, regulations or guidance documents for every new one created.” Also on the chopping block: “affirmative action requirements for registered apprenticeships.” 4. RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST: As the Pentagon formally halts shipments of some air defense missiles and other weapons to bolster the war effort in Ukraine, officials in Kyiv were “caught off guard by the announcement” and are seeking a meeting with the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv’s deputy chief of mission, John Ginkel, today to discuss “U.S. military assistance and defense cooperation,” NYT’s Constant Méheut reports. And a handful of GOP lawmakers are slamming the administration’s decision, warning it risks emboldening Russia at a pivotal point in the war, POLITICO’s Joe Gould and Connor O'Brien report.
| | | | At the Aspen Ideas Festival, the world’s most influential minds — across business, technology, finance, media, science, and public policy — gather for bold conversation and uncommon access. 2025 sold out. Registration now open for June 25-July 1, 2026. An unmissable gathering. Learn more and buy a pass. | | | | | 5. ABORTION IN AMERICA: The Wisconsin Supreme Court formally overturned the state's 176-year-old abortion ban today in a 4-3 decision, AP’s Todd Richmond reports from Madison. The court’s liberal majority repealed an 1849 state law that “made it a felony when anyone other than the mother ‘intentionally destroys the life of an unborn child,’” arguing it was overruled by newer state laws around the procedure. Though Roe v. Wade effectively nullified the ban in 1973, it was never officially repealed and “conservatives argued that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe reactivated it.” 6. COUNT ME OUT: After months of murmurs that he might jump into the New York gubernatorial race, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he’s “unlikely” to launch a primary bid against incumbent New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “The assault that we’ve seen on the social safety in the Bronx is so unprecedented, so overwhelming that I’m going to keep my focus on Washington, D.C.,” Torres said. “So, my heart lies in Washington, D.C. I feel like now, more than ever, we have to fight the catastrophe that is the Trump presidency.” 7. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY: In a lengthy dive into Trump’s personal coffers in the run-up to his return to the White House, NYT’s Russ Buettner reports that records submitted in Trump’s New York fraud case show the president’s financials were not nearly as stable as he claimed. Though Trump testified in the case he had stockpiled “$300 million and $400 million in cash” via his real estate development company, in reality his “balance had fluctuated wildly” and within months of his testimony “all of his cash and liquid investments looked to be at risk.” While Trump “could have sold more properties, at the expense of his family’s future wealth, to cover any shortfall,” upon receiving the nomination, Trump shifted to building wealth by monetizing his last name. 8. MUSK READ: Elon Musk has floated launching his own “America Party” after recent breaks with Trump. But the Libertarian Party instead sees an opportunity to team up, POLITICO’s Andrew Howard reports. “Making a new third party would be a mistake,” Libertarian National Committee Chair Steven Nekhaila said, arguing libertarians are best positioned to be the “dissident subversive party.” The centrist group No Labels is also courting Musk, per Andrew. In Washington circles, Musk’s third party push is being shrugged off as an empty threat, WaPo reports. “‘I think it’s the ketamine talking in the middle of the night,’ said Trump pollster Jim McLaughlin, referring to media reports about Musk’s drug use that he has denied.”
| | | | Curious how policy pros are staying ahead? Meet our Policy Intelligence Assistant—only available with a POLITICO Pro subscription. It combines POLITICO’s trusted reporting with advanced AI to deliver sharper insights, faster answers, and two powerful new report builders that help you turn intelligence into action. Ready to experience it for yourself? Sign up for a demo and get 30 days free—no strings attached. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | IN MEMORIAM — “S. Daniel Abraham, major Democrat donor and funder of Middle East peace initiatives, dies at 101,” by Jewish Insider’s Nira Dayanim: “In 1989, Abraham and Owens established the Washington-based S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, a nonprofit advocacy group … Abraham also donated extensively to the Democratic Party and the Clinton Foundation, giving $3 million to a super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid in 2016, according to Forbes. In 2018, he was ranked by OpenSecrets as a top individual Democratic donor.” MEDIA MOVE — Brandy Zadrozny will be senior enterprise reporter at MSNBC. She previously has been a senior reporter for NBC and is a Daily Beast and Fox News alum. TRANSITIONS — Kailyn McBride is now comms director for Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.). She previously was digital director and press secretary for Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.). … Davis Bunn is now legislative director for Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.). He previously was military legislative assistant for Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.). WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Celia Glassman, deputy director of policy and government affairs at AIPAC, and David Schacht, a manager for business transformation at EY, welcomed Abraham (Abe) Robert Schacht on June 23. Pic … Another pic — Zoe Kemprecos, a consultant working for government clients at Deloitte, and Ezra Engel, a captain in the U.S. Army, recently welcomed Diana Jane Kemprecos Engel at St. Mary’s in London. She joins big brother Eli. 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, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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