| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray Good Saturday morning. It’s Adam again. March is threatening to come in like a lion. Get in touch. WINTER WEATHER WATCH, via WaPo: “The storm’s forecast track has trended closer to the coast, which means the around 80 million people in the densely populated stretch from D.C. to Boston can expect moderate-to-extreme winter weather impacts. Some people in this zone are under a blizzard warning — the first in over four years. Snow is expected to get underway on Sunday, intensifying later in the day and at night — when conditions will deteriorate across the region — and won’t end until Monday night when the storm departs New England.”
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) | AP | CABINET REPAIR: President Donald Trump is mired in the most difficult stretch of his presidency. His Cabinet is only making his life harder. As he prepares for a primetime address to the nation on Tuesday, storm clouds hang overhead. Consider the torrent, as outlined by POLITICO’s Megan Messerly and Daniel Desrochers this morning: “Economic growth is flagging. U.S. military assets are massing in the waters around Iran in anticipation of a potential strike that many in the president’s base find odious. A major government agency is shut down over an immigration standoff with Democrats sparked after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens. ‘Make America Healthy Again’ activists are furious over Trump’s order boosting domestic production of the herbicide glyphosate. The scandal surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, continues to swirl.” Just yesterday, the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs in a dramatic blow to his sweeping agenda. So precarious is the state of things that when House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries heard that Trump had plans to deploy Cabinet members as surrogates in competitive midterm districts this week, he couldn’t stifle a smile. “They should start with Pam Bondi, RFK and Kristi Noem,” Jeffries said. “I'll have a list of districts for them to go to. And we may even be willing to pay the cost.” At seemingly every turn, Trump’s increasingly off-message Cabinet is undermining his administration’s broader agenda. At HHS: Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine and anti-chemicals agenda so threatens the midterms that the White House is reshuffling his leadership team and reining him in, POLITICO’s Amanda Chu reports this morning. The White House is instead tasking him with touting healthy eating and Trump’s efforts to cut drug price deals. “I think we're largely done with vaccines,” one White House official told Amanda. At DOL: D.C. police searched Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s offices at the agency’s headquarters this month as part of its investigation of sexual assault allegations against her husband, POLITICO’s Nick Niedzwiadek scoops. It’s unclear what the police were searching for or how long they stayed, and neither Chavez-DeRemer nor Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling was in the office at the time of the search. A DOL spokesperson declined to comment on the incident. An MPD spokesperson declined to comment. Shawn DeRemer’s attorney, James Bell, said that his client “categorically, unequivocally, and emphatically denies each and every one of the allegations.” And the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C., led by Jeanine Pirro, decided not to pursue charges against DeRemer after reviewing video of the alleged incident. At Commerce: Secretary Howard Lutnick landed in the headlines over his acknowledgement that he had lunch with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and maintained ties long after claiming to have cut them. Lutnick has denied any wrongdoing, saying he had only passing interactions. “I didn’t look through the documents with any fear whatsoever because I know, and my wife knows, that I have done absolutely nothing wrong in any possible regard,” Lutnick said at a congressional hearing earlier this month. At DHS: Leaks appear to be springing eternal. The Atlantic reported this week that Noem could exit as secretary to return to her native South Dakota and challenge Sen. Mike Rounds later this summer. Her top comms lieutenant announced plans to leave this week. And the administration’s messaging on affordability this week ran up against a report that ICE is seeking permission to buy a $70 million luxury jet for deportation flights. Unlike his first administration, in which Trump oversaw a high level of Cabinet turnover, the president has so far made very few changes — instead sticking by his top deputies and letting the headlines come and go. Trump administration officials tell Playbook it’s business as usual amid the turmoil. “Over the past two weeks, Americans saw expectation-beating jobs and inflation reports, robust private-sector GDP and real wage growth, global cooperation for Middle East peace, and a border that remains secure,” said Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson. “While the media does anything to try and distract from the President’s accomplishments, President Trump and his Cabinet continue to deliver the news that matters most for everyday Americans.” A DHS spokesperson told Playbook that speculation Noem is leaving is “false,” and argued she has “delivered the most secure border in American history.” A DOL spokesperson called Chavez-DeRemer’s leadership “steadfast,” citing a number of accomplishments. A Commerce spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Despite the Cabinet members’ loyalty, some might become a “liability” for Trump, said Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and former Trump State Department official. “The president certainly does not want to give any scalps to Democrats, or the media, much less have messy confirmation hearings ahead of the midterms,” Bartlett told Playbook, “but he may look stronger and more in touch with the public if he made an example and publicly told someone ‘you’re fired.’” Bruce Mehlman, the Republican lobbyist and former George W. Bush-era Commerce official, noted that the “historically low” turnover in Trump’s Cabinet is a reflection both of Trump’s support and “minimally critical oversight by Congress.” As the political calendar hurtles toward the midterms, it remains unclear whether Trump’s loyalty to his Cabinet will cede to hardening political realities. Mehlman says it all “depends on whether the president concludes they have become political liabilities worth replacing or whether he fears dumping them would show weakness.” As my colleague Amanda reports, there are signs the administration is trying to work around Cabinet liabilities rather than eliminate them. “They’re walking a tightrope,” Jeremy Furchtgott, a director at Baron Public Affairs, a government affairs consultancy, told Amanda. “The administration is very creatively trying to triangulate to keep the coalition together, deliver some wins, and show that everybody can get some kind of win.” So, will Trump acknowledge political realities — and gravity — and get back to his ‘you’re-fired’ roots? “There was once a popular show about a famous CEO that routinely dismissed underperformance — and the American public loved it,” Bartlett said.
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We're proud of what we do and how we do it. Learn more at WeDeliverForAmerica.org. | | | | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. TARIFF RULING FALLOUT: When the Supreme Court yesterday swatted down Trump’s tariff authority, it handed him the most significant loss of his presidency, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report. The decision “ripped the heart out of a central premise of his presidency — an unbridled, ever-escalating assertion of executive power,” they write, eviscerating his near-perfect record with the high court. The politics: “Republicans quietly celebrate the demise of tariffs. That relief might not last,” by POLITICO’s Alec Hernández and Samuel Benson: “Trump’s hard line on tariffs has proven particularly difficult for some GOP candidates to navigate in battleground states where manufacturing and agricultural industries have been hit the hardest by the trade measures. Several of Trump’s allies in farm country and Republicans encouraged him to pump the brakes Friday and reassess his path forward. … But the president’s announcement of a 10 percent global tariff immediately after the ruling had them back on their guard.” The next big question: “What happens to billions in tariff money already paid? Supreme Court leaves refunds unsettled,” by POLITICO’s Ari Hawkins: “Trade and customs experts agree any potential repayment process will be a logistical ‘nightmare’ for both the federal government and the companies seeking compensation — and that legal fights are likely.” 2. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: “Why Attacking Iran Could Be Riskier Than Capturing Maduro,” by NYT’s Abdi Latif Dahir and Samuel Granados: “Iran’s leadership oversees extensive military abilities and a network of regional proxy forces that could help sustain a resistance. And unlike the swift operation in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, Mr. Trump is potentially contemplating more extensive military action without saying publicly what he wants to achieve. But he has said that he wants to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon and that regime change would be ‘the best thing’ that could happen.” The stepback: “Trump Approaches Legacy-Defining Moment on Iran: A Deal or War,” by WSJ’s Alexander Ward and colleagues 3. ANOTHER DHS SHOOTING: “Texas man was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent last year during a stop, new records show,” by AP’s Michael Biesecker and Jesse Bedayn: “The death of Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, would mark the earliest of at least six deadly shootings by federal officers since the start of a nationwide immigration crackdown … DHS said the shooting on South Padre Island last March occurred after the driver intentionally struck an agent. The shooting involved a Homeland Security Investigations team that was conducting an immigration enforcement operation in conjunction with local police, according to documents obtained by American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group based in Washington.”
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We're American companies, making American products, with American workers, in America's hometowns. We're proud of what we do and how we do it. Visit WeDeliverForAmerica.org. | | | | 4. THE EPSTEIN SAGA: “A Once Prominent American Statesman Faces Fallout From the Epstein Files,” by NYT’s Reid Epstein and Megan Specia: “In his native Maine, a scholarship program named for [former Sen. George] Mitchell, now 92, is considering a name change, and in Waterville, where Mr. Mitchell was born, parents of students at George Mitchell Elementary School have called for the building to be rebranded. Mr. Mitchell has not been formally accused of wrongdoing or charged with any crime, and his relationship with [Jeffrey] Epstein has been documented for years. Yet the details of the Epstein-Mitchell relationship unveiled in the new document release have forced a reappraisal of Mr. Mitchell’s legacy.” A spokesperson for Mitchell denied that he had any knowledge of inappropriate behavior by Epstein. 5. YOU’RE FIRED: Deputy AG Todd Blanche yesterday fired James Hundley shortly after he was unanimously selected by a panel of judges to replace Lindsey Halligan as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, AP’s Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker report. It’s the latest in a series of upheavals for the office since its top prosecutor last year resigned under pressure to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York AG Letitia James, after which Trump attempted to install Halligan, his former personal lawyer. 6. FOR YOUR RADAR: “US military strikes another alleged drug boat in eastern Pacific, killing 3,” by AP: “Friday’s attack raises the death toll from the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug boats to at least 148 people in at least 43 attacks carried out since early September in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.”
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➡️ Subscribe Now | | | | | 7. MO’ MONEY, MO’ PROBLEMS: White House aides and Pentagon officials have been struggling to figure out how to boost military spending by $500 billion, slowing the White House spending plan, WaPo’s Jeff Stein and Dan Lamothe report. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had requested the roughly 50 percent funding increase, which Trump authorized last month. But now administration officials are running into logistical challenges of where to put the money — because there’s just so much of it. “Part of the discussion centers on how much emphasis should go into buying weapons the military already uses versus investing in high-end technologies, such as artificial intelligence, that the Pentagon envisions as part of its future.” 8. POLITICO POLL LATEST: “Top NATO allies believe cyberattacks on hospitals are an act of war. They’re still struggling to fight back,” by POLITICO’s Maggie Miller, Dana Nickel and Antoaneta Roussi: “NATO countries’ restrained response to hybrid attacks is at odds with public opinion, new polling shows: Broad swaths of the public in key allied countries say actions such as cyberattacks on hospitals should be considered acts of war.” Respondents from the United States, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom “showed a majority of people agreed that a cyberattack that shuts down hospitals or power grids constitutes an act of war.” 9. THE BRAVE NEW WORLD: “At A.I. Summit, India Tries to Find a Way Between the U.S. and China,” by NYT’s Anupreeta Das and Pragati K.B. in New Delhi: “The South Asian giant has neither America’s homegrown A.I. giants like OpenAI and Anthropic, nor China’s know-how and stores of the rare earth elements that power everything from chips to data centers. Instead, India is using technology as a tool of foreign policy, casting itself as a moral voice for the smaller, developing countries of the Global South, which may lack the resources to tackle the A.I. superstorm that has hit the world.” Letter from Korea: “The Country That’s Madly in Love With AI,” by POLITICO Magazine’s Catherine Kim in Seoul: “Why is South Korea more open to a potential AI revolution than other countries? Some of it may be for unique historic and cultural reasons, but it’s also possible that South Korea is just ahead of the curve — and that the incentives driving an embrace of AI here will soon be found across the globe.”
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We deliver $324 billion for the U.S. economy and support 4.2 million jobs nationwide. WeDeliverForAmerica.org. | | | | CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 15 funnies
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Dave Granlund/cagle.com | GREAT WEEKEND READS: — “Trump Wants Venezuela’s Oil. He Needs to Know My Family History,” by POLITICO’s Isa Domínguez: “My family is inextricably linked to the Venezuelan petrostate, a history that includes family pride and family trauma, corruption and exile.” — “Inside the Gay Tech Mafia,” by Wired’s Zoë Bernard: “In conversations with 51 people—31 of them gay men, many of them influential investors and entrepreneurs—a portrait emerged of gay influence in Silicon Valley that is intricate, layered, and often contradictory. It is a world in which power, desire, and ambition interweave in ways both visible and unseen, a world that is, in some ways, far richer—and more complicated—than the rumors themselves suggest.” — “He made a fake ICE deportation tip line. Then a kindergarten teacher called,” by WaPo’s Drew Harwell: “What began as a comedy routine has become one of the most viral pieces of social satire during President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation campaign.” — “Ukrainian Women Tell Their Stories of Sexual Violence by Russian Soldiers,” by NYT’s Sara Cincurova, with photographs by Lynsey Addario: “Some women have broken the cycle of silence, helped by survivor groups, or motivated to shed light on what they call atrocities that Russia has used as a weapon of war. Here are some of their stories.” — “Amid Mass ICE Arrests, Trump Pardon Recipient Juan Orlando Hernández Given Special Treatment,” by ProPublica’s Keri Blakinger: “After the former Honduran president was pardoned, ICE dropped its detainer on him, and he was whisked away to a luxury hotel in New York City.” — “The Trial of Gisèle Pelicot’s Rapists United France and Fractured Her Family,” by The New Yorker’s Rachel Aviv: “After fifty-one men were convicted, Pelicot became a feminist hero. But additional accusations left her children struggling to accept her new role.”
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➡️ Get on the Invite List | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | REMEMBERING JESSE JACKSON — “The lesser-known part of Jesse Jackson’s legacy: His fight for D.C.,” by WaPo’s Paul Schwartzman: “[S]oon after losing the Democratic nomination in 1988, the reverend relocated to Washington, where he trained at least part of his attention on persuading Congress to grant D.C. statehood, a local issue that aligned with his broader focus on human rights.” PLAYBOOK STYLE SECTION — The Secret Service will soon offer each protective detail agent two tailored suits, CNN’s Holmes Lybrand and Jamie Gangel report. The new initiative was prompted by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who did not like how a protective detail was dressed in suits they bought for themselves, two sources told CNN. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin denied that claim, saying the move would “fix the inequity that non-uniformed [officers] have to pay for their uniform.” OUT AND ABOUT — The National Governors Association held an America 250-themed reception last night at the British Ambassador’s residence. SPOTTED: Govs. Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.), Wes Moore (D-Md.), Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Spencer Cox (R-Utah), Tony Evers (D-Wis.), Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.), Mark Gordon (R-Wyo.), Maura Healey (D-Mass.), Janet Mills (D-Maine), Brad Little (R-Idaho), Patrick Morrisey (R-W.Va.), Henry McMaster (R-S.C.), Matt Meyer (D-Del.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Larry Rhoden (R-S.D.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and Josh Stein (D-N.C.), British Ambassador Christian Turner, Yvette Cooper, James Roscoe, Colin Woodall, Jason Henderson, Jim Byron, Rosie Rios, John McCarthy, Tammy Haddad, Steve Clemons, Barbie Albritton, Michael Block, Chloe Autio, Deniz Houston, Nicoletta Giordani, Fred Ryan, Terry McAuliffe, Mark Glauser, Brandon Tatum and Stephen Doughty. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) … Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) … Brand Kroeger of the White House … Allen Dickerson … Maya MacGuineas … Paul Teller … Jeremy Gaines … Kevin Sheridan … Kristie Greco Johnson … former Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) … Ashley Etienne … former Reps. Charles Boustany (R-La.), Phil Hare (D-Ill.), John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) … Ryan Rudominer of Red Horse Strategies … Lee Powell … Holland & Knight’s Beth Viola … Reuters’ Ross Colvin … POLITICO’s Mona Zhang and Jaime-Lee Reichman … Kilmeny Duchardt ... Tricia Nixon Cox … Purple Strategies’ Stephen Smith … Bob Chlopak … David Wessel … Scott Kelly … Daniel Yim of House Oversight … Marcus Davis-Mercer … LinkedIn’s Jeff Weiner … Alanna Paul … Zach Volpe of Senate Armed Services … Georgetown’s Alejandro Werner … Ron Pollack … Jacob Trauberman of Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office … Lucas Gomez-Acebo … Alex Terr of the Progressive Policy Institute … Apple’s Jordan Zaslav … National Archives Foundation’s Patrick Madden THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): CBS “Face the Nation”: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer … Abbas Araghchi … Christine Lagarde. Governors panel: Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, Indiana’s Mike Braun, Ohio’s Mike DeWine and Kansas’ Laura Kelly. CNN “State of the Union”: Gov. Gavin Newsom … Phil Noble … Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Panel: Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Van Jones, Margaret Hoover, Rebecca Katz. ABC “This Week”: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer … Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.). Panel: Mary Bruce, Elizabeth Schulze and Sarah Isgur. Panel: Donna Brazile, Ramesh Ponnuru, Jay O’Brien, Susan Page. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer … House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries … Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) … Wesley Hunt. Panel: Ben Ferguson, Meridith McGraw, Michael Allen and Juan Williams. Fox News “The Sunday Briefing”: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott … Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear … Kevin O’Leary … Jeremy Corbell. MS NOW “The Weekend: Primetime”: Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) … Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) ... Jim Webb. 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.
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