| | | |  | | By Ali Bianco | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray Good Sunday morning. This is Ali Bianco, in the driver’s seat for your Sunday read. To those dwelling in D.C. this week, godspeed as you navigate peak cherry blossom season. Get in touch. SUNDAY LISTEN: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has steadily increased his popularity in a deep-red state that Donald Trump won by 31 points in 2024 — making him one of the hot names Democrats are tossing around for who might lead the presidential ticket come 2028. He sat down with Playbook’s Dasha Burns for this week’s episode of “The Conversation,” where he gave his opinion on who should top the ticket. “I think the 2028 candidate should be one of our Democratic governors, because people out there are going to be feeling betrayed,” Beshear told Dasha. “Donald Trump said he’d get them results and didn’t. He made life harder. We, the governors, have receipts.” Listen and subscribe on Apple and Spotify
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Organizers said yesterday’s No Kings protest crowds nationally swelled to 8 million. | Jose Luis Magana/AP | SPLIT SCREEN: Two of the biggest political gatherings for the core bases of both parties this weekend offered a rousing look at the state of the grassroots and enthusiasm ahead of the midterms. They’re the latest vibe check of where voters are at, and the mobilizing — or potentially debilitating — forces that each party is reckoning with beyond the Beltway. Across the country, millions of people mobilized for the third installation of the progressive grassroots-organized “No Kings” rallies, with the record number of protesters airing grievances against Trump that spanned the gamut. Organizers said yesterday’s crowds nationally swelled to 8 million, compared to 7 million at the last protests in October. Far and away the biggest issues on protesters’ minds were Trump’s immigration agenda and the ongoing war with Iran, which is now officially one month in. It’s a snapshot of the kind of energy Democrats want to harness this year. Trump’s approval ratings are bottoming out: The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll has him at a second-term low 36 percent, AP-NORC’s polling earlier this month found him at 38 percent approval, and a Fox News poll this week had him at 41 percent. Each poll shows flagging overall approval figures for his handling of the economy and the Iran war. Democrats see an opportunity in the numbers. But the downturn for Trump doesn’t equate to a one-to-one rise in support for Democrats. The same polls show Republicans still hold more trust on handling the economy, immigration and crime. While it’s unclear how much these millions-strong protests will translate to wins in November, yesterday’s rallies did see a surge in participation from younger people, a group that typically sits out the midterms, NYT’s Tim Balk writes. It was also a major venue for heated primary candidates to show their support — with Gov. Janet Mills and Graham Platner both protesting in Maine, and Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Rep. Haley Stevens spotted in Detroit. The protests, which the NRCC billed as “Hate America” rallies, weren’t just in major metropolises. They also reached into smaller, redder areas like Shelbyville, Kentucky, and Midland, Texas. But the main hub was in Minnesota, which drew massive crowds and an impassioned Bruce Springsteen performance in St. Paul just months after the deaths of two American citizens during Trump’s immigration enforcement surge in the area, per AP’s Mark Vancleave and colleagues. Deep in the heart: While the “No Kings” demonstrations drummed up the Democratic base across the country, Republicans were closing out their own rally at CPAC’s final day in Grapevine, Texas, yesterday. The multi-day conference whipped together a core group of conservatives and key panelists — everyone from firebrand Steve Bannon to former Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who led the enforcement surge in Minnesota, to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But CPAC was a snapshot of the simmering divisions that could threaten the greater coalition that drove Trump to victory in 2024 — a group the GOP needs to keep together as they navigate razor-thin House margins. Emerging tensions within MAGA, particularly among young men, over the Iran war and Jeffrey Epstein files were a strong undercurrent, POLITICO’s Liz Crampton writes in to Playbook from Grapevine. “A lot of the young generation feels that there’s just not a lot of hope for the economy,” one 30-year-old attendee told Liz. While there were many high-energy moments and “USA chants” throughout the four-day confab, plenty of attendees whispered on the sidelines that this year’s gathering was smaller and more subdued than prior summits (hard to top former Rep. Steve Stockman’shot tub party in 2014). The biggest draw was Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the oldest son of Iran’s last shah, who is positioning himself as the country’s future leader. Pahlavi addressed a standing-room-only crowd yesterday that frequently broke out into cheers. His supporters were a strong presence at CPAC, milling about carrying Iranian flags. Texas Senate candidate and AG Ken Paxton, who headlined the Ronald Reagan donor dinner Friday evening, also generated plenty of buzz. Looking ahead to 2028, in the annual straw poll VP JD Vance got 53 percent support, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio got 35 percent. Back in the Beltway this week will be a much more scattered story. The fight over DHS funding continues, with both chambers at-odds over how to move forward. The House spurned the Senate-passed plan to fund the department, instead opting for its own temporary measure. But the House’s plan won’t pass the Senate when it returns from a two-week recess — and so the now-record shutdown continues, with no end in sight.
| | | | A message from Venture Global: Who says Americans don't build big things anymore? Through innovation, Venture Global is delivering American energy at a fraction of the cost, in a fraction of the time. That's Venture Global. That's Unstoppable Energy. ventureglobal.com | | | | SUNDAY BEST … — Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, on “Fox News Sunday”: “Every briefing I get — and I get briefed or have a phone call or have a meeting with administration officials almost every single day — says that our military operation is on time or ahead of schedule for every single line of effort. … The endgame has been clear from the very beginning. This revolutionary regime is going to be defanged and neutered. It will no longer be able to hold the civilized world at risk.” — Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on the war, on ABC’s “This Week”: “We should not keep funding an illegal war of choice that’s making us less safe … What you learn in these briefings is exactly what you’re hearing outside the briefings, which is: They don’t have any particular objective. It’s a constantly changing objective, and there’s no endgame whatsoever.” — Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) on the prospect of ground operations in Iran, on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “This is honestly one of the most consequential moments that I’ve ever seen in my time in government — not just in Congress, but before, when I worked in national security. … I want to take a moment to make a direct call to President Trump and congressional Republicans, saying: We cannot have American troops on the ground in Iran. This is going to be such a risky operation. And for what purpose? … This is not an [end] to this war. This is something that will only prolong it and increase the risk at a time that we’ve seen already so many service members put at harm’s way.” More from POLITICO’s Cheyanne Daniels — Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) on Trump sending more troops to the region, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “He is creating contingencies to put pressure on Iran to be able to finish the negotiation, to say, ‘We are capable of doing more, and doing what the United States military alone in the world can actually do.’ So I don’t fault the president for being able to put additional pressure on Iran, saying, ‘Come to the table. Let’s get this done.’” … Kristen Welker: “Would you support the president putting U.S. boots on the ground in Iran, senator?” Lankford: “Well, that is a different story. We’ve got to be able to know what the objectives are and what they’re actually carrying out.” TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. WAR REPORT: The Pentagon is drawing up plans for potential weeks of boots on the ground in Iran — if Trump should choose to go forward with such operations, WaPo’s Dan Lamothe scooped. The ground mission wouldn’t be a “full-scale invasion,” but might instead comprise both Special Operations and infantry around Kharg Island and other places near the Strait of Hormuz, in an effort to take territory and free up the crucial shipping passageway. News of the plans comes as an expeditionary unit of thousands of Marines landed in the region yesterday. Iran’s military warned today that it is just “counting the moments” until it attacks U.S. soldiers if Trump goes ahead with a ground invasion. And even as Trump also signals a desire for diplomacy, the regional war expanded yesterday with the arrival of the Houthis, the Yemeni militants supported by Iran who launched strikes on Israel. There’s no let-up elsewhere: Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all reported incoming attacks from Iran yesterday and today. Israel struck Iran and fought in Lebanon, where there was fresh outrage over Israeli attacks that reportedly killed multiple paramedics and journalists. Live updates from the WSJ Tragic toll: A human rights group said 24 more civilians were killed in Iran yesterday, one of the worst tallies yet, adding to the devastation of thousands dead and millions displaced over the past month across the Middle East. From Russia, with love: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country’s intelligence showed that Russia surveilled a U.S. military base — and likely shared the info with Iran — shortly before Iran struck it and injured several troops, NBC’s Raf Sanchez and Charlene Gubash report. Dire straits: Pakistan said it had reached a deal with Iran to get 20 of its ships passage through the Strait of Hormuz in the coming weeks, per Forbes. Meanwhile, a Saudi oil pipeline that gets around the strait is now operating at full capacity, which has helped keep oil prices from going even higher, Bloomberg’s Emma Ross-Thomas reports. But stateside, Republicans are reckoning with the fact that the war — and its impact on costs for Americans — is no short blip ahead of the midterms, POLITICO’s Samuel Benson and Liz Crampton report. 2. DISCHARGE DRAMA: Immigration reform groups are taking a victory lap after Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) cobbled together enough signatures over the weekend to force a vote on extending temporary protected status for Haitians, POLITICO’s Samuel Benson writes in. Four Republicans — Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) — joined Pressley’s discharge petition to give it the requisite 218 signatures, Migrant Insider’s Pablo Manríquez reported. The Trump administration revoked TPS last year from about 350,000 Haitian immigrants, a decision the Supreme Court is reviewing. The move marks a victory for immigration reform groups, like the American Business Immigration Coalition, which met with Republican lawmakers and urged them to sign onto Pressley’s petition after she introduced it in January. “Success of the Haitian TPS discharge petition proves that economic urgency is overriding partisan deadlock,” Rebecca Shi, CEO of ABIC, told Playbook. But it also poses a headache for Speaker Mike Johnson, who has now seen half-a-dozen successful discharge petitions this Congress alone, compared to just nine in the previous four decades combined.
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| | | | 3. HOW ERIC SWALWELL BECOMES GOVERNOR: “Kash Patel’s push against Democratic lawmaker raises concerns within FBI,” by WaPo’s Perry Stein: “FBI Director Kash Patel is pressing to release a decade-old investigative file involving Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California) and a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, recently dispatching agents in the bureau’s San Francisco office to quickly redact the files before they are released publicly despite no evidence of wrongdoing by Swalwell … FBI leaders have recently suggested in internal discussions that the government could try to arrange for [Christine] Fang to get a U.S. visa in exchange for speaking with FBI agents about the Democrat.” The FBI responded to reject claims that it was acting on inappropriate political-retribution motives, saying that the “contentions in this story are incorrect.” 4. SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: With DHS still shuttered, chaos and long lines at airports haven’t yet subsided, though Trump has signed a memo ordering TSA workers to get paid. Hundreds of unpaid TSA officers have quit, and a record 12 percent of the workforce called out on Friday, NYT’s Chris Hippensteel and colleagues report. Airports in Baltimore and Atlanta yesterday said travelers need to arrive four hours early to account for wait times, per Bloomberg. Now the big questions are whether officers start to get paid again tomorrow, how many return to work and how quickly wait times can ebb once they do, NBC’s Mirna Alsharif and Jay Blackman write. 5. MEANWHILE AT DHS: “Investigators Examine Contractor Installed at FEMA Under Kristi Noem,” by WSJ’s Tarini Parti and colleagues: “Investigators searched the office of a Federal Emergency Management Agency contractor as they investigate a network of aides former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and adviser Corey Lewandowski seeded throughout the DHS … Officials with the DHS’s inspector general, the agency’s internal watchdog, recently seized records and a computer from the office of Kara Voorhies … “It isn’t clear exactly what Voorhies was hired to do, but contractors like her aren’t typically involved in awarding contracts and making spending decisions on behalf of federal agencies … The investigation is in its early stages, and it is unclear if the inspector general will refer the matter for criminal prosecution. … Another prong of the probe into Voorhies: her compensation. … Senior FEMA officials were told that Voorhies was getting paid as much as $19,000 a week … Voorhies didn’t respond to requests for comment.” 6. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said a group of four senators from both parties will travel to Taiwan in the days ahead — always a sensitive move for U.S.-China relations, AP’s Stephen Groves reports. They’ll also go to Japan and South Korea. 7. TRUMP’S WINDFALL FOR WEALTHY DEMS: “Blue-State Residents Are Reaping Big Refunds From Trump Tax Law’s SALT Cap,” by WSJ’s Richard Rubin and Ashlea Ebeling: “Millions of taxpayers — largely those who earn between $150,000 and $600,000 — are starting to reap the benefits of a change that lets them deduct far more of their state and local taxes … [O]fficials trumpet the new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped workers. Those matter to millions of people. But in dollars, SALT is the biggest new tax break for individuals.” 8. LOOK WHO’S BACK: As a backlash to AIPAC grows among mainstream Democrats, could former Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) mount a comeback bid? That’s what the progressive firebrand is hoping for in her primary rematch against Rep. Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), who dispatched her two years ago with the aid of major outside spending from the pro-Israel lobby, POLITICO’s Cheyanne Daniels reports. “I didn’t finish the work that I was doing,” Bush says. “It was interrupted by big money.” But Bell will have significant establishment support and incumbency/financial advantages. 9. THE RAHM EMANUEL EFFECT: “‘Shameless in a Good Way’: Rahm Emanuel Is Already Shaking up 2028,” by Playbook’s Adam Wren in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for POLITICO Magazine: “The 2028 Democratic presidential field — whether they realize it or not — has a Rahm Emanuel problem. His campaign is likely to be a rolling Sister Souljah moment for the Democratic Party’s left-leaning orthodoxy, particularly on social issues. His pugilism and his critique of the party’s leftward lurch will create a gauntlet his would-be rivals will have to navigate. And years in politics — plus countless hours on CNN — have helped him further hone his sharp-edged debate blade.”
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| | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | SPOTTED: Law Roach having dinner Friday night at Isla (where he ordered big and left with six to-go bags) and then hanging out at Goodlove. PLAYBOOK DESIGN SECTION — As President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom barrels toward a final vote of approval this week, other architects and critics are warning that the rushed process and minimal scrutiny will leave design details to be desired, NYT’s Emily Badger and colleagues write. The White House responds that it’s moving with a pace that can tear through unnecessary red tape and bureaucratic delays — and that Trump “is the best builder and developer in the entire world.” KNOWING ADAM CAROLLA — “The right’s embrace of Adam Carolla cost him friends and gigs — but not his edge,” by WaPo’s Geoff Edgers: “Like Bill Maher and [Joe] Rogan, he prefers to say he’s libertarian, though during his stand-up and on social media, he’ll regularly rant against ‘woke’ culture and prominent Democrats. … Carolla’s close friends say that his politics are beside the point. They view him as a kind of blue-collar poet laureate for the Archie Bunker set. … He would love to appear on more shows, on channels other than Fox News, and talk to a wide range of people. But in the polarized Trump era, he finds that he has been cut off by one audience and embraced by another.” MEDIA MOVE — Marianne LeVine is joining the WSJ’s White House team. She currently works for WaPo and is a POLITICO alum. TRANSITION — Deirdre Hamilton is now senior special counsel to the international president at the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. She previously was a member of the National Mediation Board. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Liza Weir, PAC director at NSSF - The Firearm Industry Trade Association, and Scotty Weir, project director at Superior Mechanical Services, welcomed Elizabeth “Bitsy” Patton Weir on March 13. She joins big brother Thomas. Pic BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Melissa Powell of Trident GMG HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) … Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) (favorite candy: Snickers) and Matt Van Epps (R-Tenn.) (favorite treat: cookies, Crumbl) … White House’s Will Scharf … DOD’s Steve Feinberg … Peter Velz … NBC’s Melanie Zanona … Emily Cain … Lara Logan … AP’s Steve Peoples … Paul Farhi … Nathen Huang … POLITICO’s Julie Kennedy and Justin Davis … The Messina Group’s Nick Buis … Scoop News Group’s Matthew Bracken … Emily Jashinsky … David Bergstein … Carina Armenta of Rep. Julia Brownley’s (D-Calif.) office … Marissa Padilla of Global Strategy Group … Liz Jaff … Hillary Beard … Wyn Hornbuckle … Dan Weiner of the Brennan Center for Justice … Robert Gibbs … Rockefeller Foundation’s Eric Pelofsky … ICF Next’s Nancy Murphy … Jay Kenworthy … former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) … Pasquines’ William-Jose Velez Gonzalez … Peter Cherukuri … Maria Martirosyan Issakhanian … Janay Kingsberry … Kate Thomas … Catherine Morehouse 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. Corrections: Wednesday’s Playbook misspelled Robbie Gramer’s name. Friday’s Playbook misstated which day the American AI Festival took place. It was Thursday. Friday’s Playbook also misstated Niki Christoff’s birthday. It was Friday. Yesterday’s Playbook misstated the location of the flagship No Kings rally. It was in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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