| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray Welcome to a tumultuous Saturday morning, one that we will read about in the history books and is certain to reshape the world as we know it. It’s Adam Wren. Let’s get right to the news. Get in touch.
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President Donald Trump has carried out an overnight joint military action with Israel that could upend international and domestic affairs. | AP | U.S. STRIKES IRAN: For the first time in his five years and one month as president, Donald Trump, who won a second term campaigning as “the first president in decades who started no new wars,” launched one this morning after negotiations over Iran’s nuclear ambitions failed to meet his expectations. Just four days after delivering a State of the Union address in which he spoke of ending eight wars — spending just three minutes discussing Iran and a preference for “diplomacy” — Trump has now engaged in one, carrying out an overnight joint military action with Israel that threatens to upend international and domestic affairs. The details: In an eight-minute video posted to Truth Social at 2:30 a.m., Trump said the U.S. was conducting “major combat operations” in Iran. “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.” Trump said the strikes were part of a “massive and ongoing” effort, targeting Iranian missile sites and the country’s navy. Reports from the region indicated a number of top Iranian political officials also were targeted. “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties — that often happens in war,” Trump said. “But we’re doing this not for now — we’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.” Trump also delivered a direct message to the “great, proud” people of Iran: “I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump said. “When we are finished, take over your government — it will be yours to take.” In an interview just after 4 a.m. from his Mar-a-Lago compound, Trump told WaPo’s Natalie Allison and Tara Copp: “All I want is freedom for the people.” The president is not currently planning to address the nation beyond the video he posted to social media, per WSJ’s Lara Seligman and Alex Ward. The scope: The overnight operation — dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” — saw the U.S. launch dozens of Tomahawk missiles from warships at sea in the region as part of the operation, and American fighter planes were also involved, a U.S. official told our colleagues. U.S. ground troops did not initially appear to be deployed inside Iran, but countries throughout the region fear a major regional war could unfold as Iran’s Islamist regime fights back and tries to re-establish some level of deterrence. The timeline: Trump did not indicate how long the operation would continue, or whether any type of de-escalation, including a return to diplomatic talks, was immediately or at all possible. The campaign will likely be measured in “days not hours,” the U.S. official told POLITICO, suggesting that the strikes today are part of a larger, coordinated campaign. CNN’s Jim Sciutto reports that the U.S. has “planned an escalating series of strikes with off-ramps along the way, according to a senior US official. Each round will be over a one to two-day period with pauses to reset and assess battle damage.” The response: Iran quickly retaliated, launching strikes against U.S. military bases across the Persian Gulf region and against Israel, POLITICO’s Eliza Gkritsi reports. “Missiles and drones hit the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain and other American bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates … A U.S. official told POLITICO that air defenses intercepted Iranian missiles aimed at American bases including Al Udeied in Qatar, the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain, Ali Salem in Kuwait and Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates.” The toll: Roughly 40 people were killed at an elementary school in a southern Iranian town, Iranian state media said. “Four people were killed in Syria after an Iranian missile struck a building in the industrial zone in the southern city of Sweida, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA,” NYT’s Abdi Latif Dahir writes. “The missile was likely intended for Israel as Sweida is close to territory controlled by Israel.” The UAE said one person had been killed there in an Iranian attack. As of publication time, no U.S. casualties have been reported.
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Learn more. | | | | Coming to Iran’s defense: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, during which he said “Moscow would work to help bring a swift and peaceful end to U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran,” per WSJ’s Thomas Grove. “Lavrov didn’t provide details but said Moscow could use its seat in the United Nations Security Council to ‘facilitate a search for a peaceful solution.’” China said it was “highly concerned” by the strikes and “Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be respected,” per NYT. On the ground in Iran: “In telephone and text interviews in the hours after the United States and Israel conducted a massive coordinated attack, many Iranians said they had been left to fend for themselves,” NYT’s Farnaz Fassihi reports. “It was hours before the government released a statement about the attack, and even then it was rich with rhetoric condemning its enemies and thin on advice for its people.” The view from the Hill: Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Speaker Mike Johnson and some other Hill leaders before the strikes occurred, as they were imminent, POLITICO’s Gigi Ewing and Meredith Lee Hill report. “Rubio and Trump officials also called Democratic leaders and members of the Gang of Eight, which includes senior congressional leaders and top members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, to notify them.” But the news of the strikes was met with consternation from other members. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) called the U.S. military action “acts of war unauthorized by Congress.” He vowed to push forward with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to force a war powers vote in the House next week. More reactions: Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) was among the first Democrats to respond to the strikes, condemning the attack: “we can support the democracy movement and the Iranian people without sending our troops to die.” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) added that Trump’s strikes are a “deeply consequential decision that risks pulling the United States into another broad conflict in the Middle East.” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said it was a “war of choice with no strategic endgame.” Longtime Iran hawk Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) cheered the news, calling the operation “necessary and long justified,” acknowledging it would be “violent, extensive and I believe, at the end of the day, successful.” MAGA dissent: Tucker Carlson, the influential ally of VP JD Vance and frequent White House visitor, told ABC’s Jonathan Karl the attacks were “absolutely disgusting and evil.” Marjorie Taylor Greene was sharply critical of the action, too, posting a lengthy note to X: “We said ‘No More Foreign Wars, No More Regime Change!’ We said it on rally stage after rally stage, speech after speech. Trump, Vance, basically the entire admin campaigned on it and promised to put America FIRST and Make America Great Again. My generation has been let down, abused, and used by our government our entire adult lives and our children’s generation is literally being abandoned.” In a post from her personal account, she added: “This is not what we thought MAGA was supposed to be.” Clip and save: Vance himself told WaPo’s Natalie Allison earlier this week that there is “‘no chance’ that such strikes would result in the United States becoming involved in a years-long, drawn-out war.” The world view: British PM Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a joint statement called for the U.S. and Iran to return to the negotiating table, but did not comment on the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes. Canadian PM Mark Carney said he supported the U.S. military action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Australian PM Anthony Albanese also offered support for the U.S. action to “prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security.” More from AP Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, called the situation in Iran “perilous,” while other EU leaders urged restraint so the conflict doesn’t escalate, POLITICO’s Eliza Gkritsi and Gabriel Gavin report. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the Council of the EU António Costa called the developments “greatly concerning” in a joint statement and urged “maximum restraint.” The ripple effect: The strikes against Iran mark the second time his administration has struck a major oil-producing country this year — and the consequences of this one for global markets could be far more severe, POLITICO’s James Bikales reports. “Unlike the limited market impact seen after the U.S. military incursion into Venezuela in January, or short-lived market tensions from the bombing strike the U.S. carried out against Iran last year, a broader conflict in the Middle East could lead to disruptions in Saudi Arabia and other countries, according to energy and geopolitical analysts.” Rubio trip intrigue: The State Department’s announcement yesterday that Rubio would travel to Israel for diplomatic talks next week is “spurring questions among regional experts and diplomats as to whether it was intended to throw Iran off guard,” WSJ’s Michael Gordon reports. On the president’s calendar: The White House had earlier advised a MAGA Inc. dinner at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Palm Beach. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to Playbook when asked whether that would still happen.
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| | | | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. THE BRAVE NEW WORLD: After Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop using technology from the AI startup Anthropic, OpenAI announced that it had reached a deal with the Pentagon, POLITICO’s Bob King reports. OpenAI said it would adhere to two critical safety principles: “prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems,” CEO Sam Altman said on X, adding that the Pentagon agreed to such safeguards. But the language reflected similar restrictions that Anthropic had insisted on. DOD did not respond to a request for comment on why it would allow OpenAI to impose safeguards similar to those that it objected to from Anthropic. Related read: “Trump’s threats against Anthropic chill AI industry,” by POLITICO’s Brendan Bordelon: “The administration’s actions threaten to cripple Anthropic, beyond just wiping out its $200 million Pentagon contract. And the threats leveled by the government against the company this week pose an ominous development for the entire AI industry, legal experts told POLITICO.” From 30,000 feet: The standoff between Anthropic and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth more broadly reflects massive and urgent questions about the future of militaries using AI — and who will get to control its safety limits, NYT’s Adam Satariano and colleagues write. 2. IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED: “Justice Dept. Tries to Slow Down Legal Battle Over Tariff Refunds,” by NYT’s Tony Romm: “The Justice Department filed its request in a lower court just hours after President Trump signaled on social media that he opposed refunding that money, which totals more than $100 billion. Instead, he suggested that he could still try to persuade the nation’s justices to reconsider their ruling against him. In its late-night filing, lawyers for the Justice Department asked one of the courts considering the matter to wait as long as about four months before taking a procedural step to start refund proceedings.” 3. THE REFUGEE SQUEEZE: In the wake of this month’s policy shift, the Trump administration has begun re-interviewing and detaining refugees who were already vetted and legally admitted to the U.S. in recent years, per AP’s Gisela Salomon and colleagues. Among the first in line to be targeted are thousands of refugees in Minnesota. But a federal judge in the state yesterday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from arresting and deporting legal refugees in Minnesota, per AP’s Steve Karnowski and Ed White. “This Court will not allow federal authorities to use a new and erroneous statutory interpretation to terrorize refugees,” he wrote. Indeed, some refugees tell the AP they’re newly living in fear. The only refugees Trump wants: The administration has plans to significantly ramp up the number of white South Africans the U.S. will take in, Reuters’ Ted Hesson and Nellie Peyton scooped. A State Department document maps out a plan to process 4,500 such applications a month, despite Trump setting an annual cap of 7,500 refugee admissions from anywhere. 4. CHAOS AT DHS: “Inside the turbulent tenure of Noem’s former cyber czar,” by POLITICO’s John Sakellariadis: “In his roughly nine months as acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Madhu Gottumukkala made a series of decisions that alienated career staff, created friction with Trump appointees and provoked scrutiny from influential lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Nine current and four former cyber officials who spoke with POLITICO over the last several weeks said his tenure was so chaotic that it was hampering the agency’s core mission: protecting sensitive government networks from a crush of cyberattacks.” Speaking of safety concerns: WSJ’s Tarini Parti and colleagues revealed eye-popping news about a classified report that raised questions about DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s new keep-your-shoes-on policy for air passengers going through security. The IG wrote a report in November that “found that some of the TSA full-body scanners that most airline passengers pass through can’t scan shoes … The report determined Noem’s policy move had inadvertently created a new security vulnerability in the system.” But DHS escalated the level of classification on the report and barred it from being made public, sources tell the Journal. The department disputes the IG’s claims. More from DHS: The ongoing impacts of the partial government shutdown continue to grow, as FEMA sent out billions of dollars in disaster relief money yesterday and department leaders warned of money running out, per POLITICO’s Eric Bazail-Eimil. But negotiations are still going nowhere. … Meanwhile, senior Trump administration officials, including OMB Director Russ Vought, are not happy about Noem’s $300 million plans to buy the department luxury jets with border security money, Axios’ Brittany Gibson scooped.
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➡️ Subscribe Now | | | | | 5. DEMOCRACY WATCH: White House officials attended a 30-person roundtable discussion last week where prominent election deniers pushed the administration to declare a national state of emergency to take over the midterms, ProPublica’s Doug Bock Clark reports. Details of the summit emerged after WaPo reported Thursday that activists associated with the event were circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would grant the president extraordinary power over voting. The meeting was organized by Michael Flynn, and ProPublica found that participants included Kurt Olsen, a White House lawyer who is re-investigating the 2020 election, and Heather Honey, the DHS official in charge of election integrity. 6. SCOUT’S HONOR: “Pentagon and Scouting America reach deal to keep ties after Hegseth’s anti-DEI push,” by AP’s Ben Finley and Jamie Stengle: Hegseth said it “would maintain their century-old partnership but refocus the organization away from diversity initiatives and other ‘woke’ policies he accused it of embracing in recent years. Hegseth put heavy emphasis on Scouting America’s acceptance of transgender youth, saying the organization will require members to use their ‘biological sex at birth and not gender identity.’ But Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, said the agreement does not change existing policies regarding transgender youth and that they are welcome.” 7. THE LATEST IN TEXAS: The biggest political news from Trump’s Texas trip was what he didn’t do: endorse any of the three top Republicans in Tuesday’s hard-fought Senate primary. Instead, Trump focused on his midterm message — touting economic policies, repeating baseless warnings about election fraud and slamming Democrats for not standing when he called for prioritizing Americans over “illegal aliens” at his State of the Union address. (He brought up the latter 11 times, per NYT’s Zolan Kanno-Youngs.) You know who is endorsing? Kamala Harris jumped in with an eleventh-hour robocall to boost Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) in the Democratic Senate primary, Patrick Svitek scooped for The Texas Tribune. 8. MINNESOTA DEEP DIVE: “‘Let him think he won’: Inside Minnesota Dems’ effort to fend off Trump’s immigration surge,” by POLITICO’s Elena Schneider: “Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Attorney General Keith Ellison shared previously unreported details with POLITICO about the agonizing seven-week immigration crackdown that left two Americans dead.” 9. STATE OF THE UNIONS: The Treasury Department this week axed its collective bargaining agreements with employees at the IRS and Bureau of the Fiscal Service, AP’s Fatima Hussein reports. Department leaders cited authority to do so from a Trump executive order last year, which provoked outrage and legal challenges from federal employee unions.
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| | | | CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 17 funnies
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Lisa Benson - Tribune Content Agency | GREAT WEEKEND READS: — “‘I Don’t Know That I’ll Ever Be OK With Myself,’” by POLITICO Magazine’s Michael Kruse: “Nancy Mace opens up about her trauma, why she does what she does and Donald Trump as a ‘father figure.’” — “How Trump’s F.C.C. Is Reshaping TV,” by The New Yorker’s Jon Allsop: “An under-the-radar merger could create a broadcasting behemoth that controls local news stations across more than forty states. Why do some MAGA diehards oppose it?” — “Somebody Call Sean Penn!” by Linda Burstyn for N.Y. Mag: “When a Brooklyn Hasidic man found himself trapped in a Bolivian prison, he knew only one guy could save him.” — “What Brontë Country Tells Us About Britain Today,” by NYT’s Michael Shear: “Literature fans flock to Haworth, the village where the Brontë siblings grew up, sustaining a thriving local economy. But the wider area illustrates the economic stagnation and regional inequality that is disrupting politics in Britain today.” — “Child’s Play,” by Sam Kriss for Harper’s Magazine: “Tech’s new generation and the end of thinking.” — “Jeff Probst Tells Mike White What 50 Seasons of Survivor Does to a Man,” by Mike White for Interview magazine: “As the host of Survivor, Jeff Probst has made a career out of watching people betray each other in the jungle, turning a reality show into an American institution and himself into a khaki-clad folk hero.”
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➡️ Get on the Invite List | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | SPORTS BLINK — FBI Director Kash Patel’s partying with the U.S. men’s hockey team at the Olympics and use of a government plane to travel to Milan earned him a rebuke from President Donald Trump, who told Patel he was unhappy with the behavior, NBC’s Ryan Reilly and colleagues scooped. The FBI declined to comment on the report. Related read: “Kash Patel’s Girlfriend Seeks Fame and Fortune, Escorted by an F.B.I. SWAT Team,” by NYT’s Elizabeth Williamson: “Former F.B.I. officials say Mr. Patel beefed up field office staffing near his girlfriend in Nashville and ordered a team to ferry her on errands and to events.” The FBI says she needs the security because of death threats. RADIOHEAD JOINS THE RESISTANCE — “Radiohead Demands That ICE Remove Its Song From a Social Media Video,” by NYT’s Neil Vigdor: “‘We demand that the amateurs in control of the ICE social media account take it down,’ the band said in a statement on Friday. ‘It ain’t funny, this song means a lot to us and other people, and you don’t get to appropriate it without a fight.’ … The band had a parting four-letter expletive for federal immigration authorities.” TRANSITIONS — Lane Koch is now VP of Students for Life Action. She previously led Arena Campaigns. … Emily Russell is now director of development at Better Markets. She previously worked at the U.S. Green Building Council. WEDDING — Nicole Revenaugh and Marisa O’Gara, via NYT: “Ms. Revenaugh, 40, is a civil litigation lawyer and a partner at Irigonegaray & Revenaugh. … Ms. O’Gara, 35, works remotely as a senior policy advisor for the Institute [for] Responsive Government … On Feb. 14, they were married before 80 guests at the Providence Athenaeum.” HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NYT’s Meredith Kopit Levien and Lisa Lerer … Ira Forman … Paul Krugman … Axel Springer’s Claudius Senst … Sarah Ellison ... Steven Chu … Porter DeLaney ... John Nagl ... POLITICO’s Caitlin O'Hare, Charlie Mahtesian and Tamira Creek … Andrea Riccio … Manhattan Institute’s Kelsey Bloom ... Ken Blackwell ... Pete Williams … Jack Abramoff … Heather Fluit of ICF Next … Food for the Hungry’s Kristen Callaway … Mark Lippert … Will May … Amazon’s Cara Hewitt ... Tom Hussain … Tiffany Haas of the Senate HELP Committee … Ned Ryun … Drew Ryun … Trinity Hall of Sen. Chris Coons’ (D-Del.) office … Alivia Roberts … Jessica Chau … Joanne Irby … Marcus Childress … MS NOW’s Chris Hayes … Matthew Wald … Chris Keppler … Brendan Kelly … Jessie Lazarus … Alex DeGrasse LEAP DAY BIRTHDAYS: Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.) … former Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) … Caitlin Kovalkoski … POLITICO’s Pamela King and Elizabeth Anthony … Enid Doggett of INSPR Media … CNN’s Kate Irby … Craig Kennedy … Messina Group’s Gabrielle Quintana Greenfield … Allie White … Eugene Volokh … Greenbrier Partners’ Adrian Durbin THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): CBS “Face the Nation”: Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi … Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) … Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) … Jerome Adams … new CBS polling with Anthony Salvanto. Panel: retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, David Albright and Karim Sadjadpour. NBC “Meet the Press”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) … Steve Kornacki. Panel: Stephen Hayes, Jeh Johnson, Carol Lee and Jonathan Martin. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) … Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) … Michael Whatley … retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg. Panel: Marie Harf, Hans Nichols, Reince Priebus and Roger Zakheim. CNN “State of the Union”: Jack Schlossberg … Brett McGurk and retired Gen. David Petraeus. Panel: Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Ashley Allison, Scott Jennings and Xochitl Hinojosa. ABC “This Week”: Iran analysis panel: Martha Raddatz, retired Lt. Gen. Doug Lute, retired Lt. Gen. Dan Karbler and Vali Nasr. Panel: Donna Brazile, Sarah Isgur, Faiz Shakir and Doug Heye. MS NOW “The Weekend: Primetime”: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) … Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) … Daniel Koh. PBS “Compass Points”: retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: RNC Chair Joe Gruters … Texas Dem Chair Kendall Scudder … Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.). Panel: Michelle Price, John Tamny and Domenico Montanaro. 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 Giuseppe Macri and deputy editor Garrett Ross. Correction: Wednesday’s Playbook misstated Hadas Gold’s birthday. It was yesterday.
| | | | A message from AHIP: 35 Million Seniors Could See Reduced Benefits and Higher Costs
Health plans welcome reforms to strengthen Medicare Advantage. However, a proposal for flat program funding at a time of sharply rising medical costs and high utilization of care will directly impact seniors' coverage. If finalized, this proposal could result in benefit reductions and higher costs for 35 million seniors and people with disabilities when they renew their Medicare Advantage coverage in October 2026. Learn more. | | | | | | | | Follow us on X | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois 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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