| | | |  | | By Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | DHS STATE OF PLAY: House Republican leaders are eyeing a short-term bill that would fund all of DHS through May 22, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill reports, after the Senate passed a deal overnight that would fund the agency except ICE and CPB. But it’s far from certain that Speaker Mike Johnson can build the required support in the House — and also highly unlikely it would pass the Senate, which already left Washington for two weeks. House Democrats, meanwhile, are rallying around the Senate’s bill and say they want to end the partial shutdown today, POLITICO’s Riley Rogerson reports. MUST READ: “‘Visibly upset and struggling’: Acting ICE head hospitalized twice over stress, officials say,” by POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman: “Acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons has been hospitalized at least twice for stress-related issues as he has carried out President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda — strain that has caused him to struggle to make key decisions for the agency, according to two current and two former administration officials. … Asked about the incidents, Lyons said in a statement the stress he experienced wasn’t due to the White House. He did not address the hospitalizations.”
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in France for the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting. | Brendan Smialowski/AP | IRAN LATEST: The costs of Trump’s war in Iran are expanding beyond dollars and oil as the conflict prepares to enter it's fifth week, ballooning to eclipse Ukraine aid, crucial weapons stockpiles and relationships with allies. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting in France today with top diplomats from the G7 nations — including several that rebuffed Trump’s demands to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. All of those countries, except Japan, are all also part of NATO, which Trump has repeatedly criticized for distancing itself from the conflict in the Middle East. Rubio’s meeting comes as State Department officials have begun warning allies that U.S. munitions to Ukraine may be delayed as the Pentagon prioritizes the conflict in the Middle East, POLITICO’s Jack Detsch and Victor Jack report. He plans to speak about it during today’s foreign ministers confab, according to two European officials. The U.S. has assured at least some allies that weapons already purchased under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List have not been redirected, said one European official. But tensions were already spiking in Europe after WaPo reported yesterday that the Pentagon was considering diverting military aid from Ukraine to the Middle East. Although White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said this week that the U.S. is “very close” to meeting its military objectives in Iran, the war shows few signs of slowing down. The U.S. has fired more than 850 Tomahawk missiles on Iran over the past four weeks, burning through the Pentagon’s weapons stock at a rate that concerned some officials, WaPo’s Dan Lamothe and colleagues report. Experts told Semafor’s Shelby Talcott that Trump’s latest moves may signal an impending ground campaign. Another point of potential escalation came today, when Iran-backed hackers claimed they had accessed FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email inbox and posted online numerous photos of Patel smoking cigars, posing in the mirror with a bottle of rum and riding in a convertible, Reuters’ Jana Winter and A.J. Vicens report. A DOJ official confirmed the breach and told Reuters the photos appeared to be authentic. Trump has repeatedly emphasized that the U.S. is obliterating Iran’s military capacities, but the U.S. can confirm only about a third of Tehran’s missile arsenal has been destroyed, Reuters’ Phil Stewart and colleagues report. The status of another third is less clear, but they’ve likely been damaged or buried. That’s important because Gulf Arab states — which have faced the brunt of Iran’s direct military retaliation — are telling the U.S. that ending the war through diplomacy is not enough: they want to see Tehran’s military capacity permanently degraded, Reuters’ Samia Nakhoul reports. Four officials added that any agreement must also ensure the Strait of Hormuz is never again employed as a tool of war. Playbook preview: Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and Carlos Giménez are on C-SPAN’s “Ceasefire” with Dasha tonight, where they discuss the Iran war. Cuellar said he wants to give Trump time to carry out the military operation, but the clock is running out for the administration to deliver answers. “We asked some of those very specific questions in classified briefings, and the answers that we got were general in nature,” Cuellar said. “I think 30 days should be sufficient time to get some of the answers.” Gimenez, meanwhile, said he’s clear about the objectives — and a change in leadership in Iran is one of his priorities. “I’m a lot more aggressive than maybe some of my colleagues,” Giménez said. “We’re at the 20-yard line. I want to score a touchdown. I don’t want to kick a field goal. Kick a field goal means we’re going to overtime, we’re gonna do it again. And so the only way we score a touchdown is we actually do change the regime.” Watch the clip For your radar: “Fifteen minutes before Trump's Iran bombshell, billions flooded into a mystery oil bet - now the hunt is on for who knew,” by Daily Mail’s Jon Michael Raasch: “Contracts for at least six million barrels of Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were sold at around 6.50am on Monday - roughly ten times the daily average. … At 7.05am, President Trump dropped a bombshell on global markets as he said the US wanted to negotiate with Iran. … Oil prices dropped sharply, around 14 percent in a matter of minutes, and money flowed into the pockets of the early traders.”
| | | | 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 | | | | | | 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. HILL SHAKEUPS: The House Ethics Committee this morning found Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) guilty of campaign finance fraud, capping off its first public “trial” in 16 years and setting the stage for a likely vote by the full chamber to expel her from Congress, POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs reports. The panel found “clear and convincing” evidence that Cherfilus-McCormick was guilty of all but two of the 27 counts brought against her. Retirement watch: Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), the 13-term, 62-year-old House Transportation chair who was first elected in 2000, is retiring, WSJ’s Olivia Beavers scooped. He joins more than 50 House members who say they’re not seeking another term — a midterm record. Elevator pitch: “Democrats Say Rep. Eric Swalwell Personally Pitched His Political AI Startup to Lawmakers,” by NOTUS’ Samuel Larreal: “Swalwell and Yardena Wolf, who served as his congressional chief of staff until December, sent Democratic lawmakers and staffers texts and emails about their company, Findraiser, and pitched the company during in-person interactions, as well, [six] Democratic operatives said. … Micah Beasley, a spokesperson for Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign, declined to answer specific questions about how Swalwell and Wolf have promoted [Findraiser] to other Democratic candidates.” 2. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Virginia watch: Democratic Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have each made six-figure donations to Virginians for Fair Elections’ “YES Campaign” ahead of the April 21 redistricting referendum. Kaine contributed through his Common Ground PAC, and Warner through his Forward Together PAC. The latest investments come as Democrats in the state are growing more concerned about getting their redistricting push across the finish line, which could dent their chances for flipping the House in November, as POLITICO’s Brakkton Booker reported this week. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger also jumped into the effort this week with an ad campaign of her own. 3. TRAIL MIX: Establishment Democrats are working to crush Saikat Chakrabarti, a tech centimillionaire and leading progressive candidate in the race to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in San Francisco, POLITICO’s Dustin Gardiner reports. Chakrabarti has spent millions of his own wealth and tried to tap into populist energy on the left. “Longtime powerbrokers in the city, including moderates and some progressive Democrats, are working to paint Chakrabarti as more of a carpetbagger than a transformative leftist,” Dustin writes. Vermont watch: “A 14-year-old running for governor is the first teen to get on Vermont’s general election ballot,” by AP’s Amanda Swinhart: “After working as a legislative page at the Vermont Statehouse, [Dean Roy] the 14-year-old freshman at Stowe High School now has his sights set on the corner office. In November, he’ll be the first candidate for governor under age 18 to appear on the state’s general election ballot.” Montana watch: “A Montana senator declines re-election run, opening door for an independent candidate,” by NPR’s Kirk Siegler: “This year's parade followed an unusually turbulent few days in Montana's political scene - half of its congressional delegation abruptly retired. Despite the state's recent tilt from purple to deep red, the races for their seats could be more in play now because of the way Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Ryan Zinke, both Republicans, gave them up and chose their successors. In Daines' case, he withdrew his candidacy just minutes before the filing deadline.” New Hampshire watch: “Scott Brown isn’t leaving New Hampshire’s ‘weird’ Senate race,” by Semafor’s Burgess Everett: “It’s not hyperbole to call New Hampshire’s the strangest primary on the map, between two former senators — one of whom represented a neighboring state. Neither GOP candidate has served in Congress for more than a decade. Another odd fact: Both [Chris] Sununu and [Scott] Brown have lost to retiring New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.” Colorado watch: “DeGette at risk of getting knocked off ballot,” by Punchbowl’s Max Cohen and Ally Mutnick: “Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) faces a chance of failing to qualify for the primary ballot, a shocking predicament that could end the 15-term incumbent’s career. … Since DeGette didn’t attempt to gather petition signatures to qualify for the ballot, she needs to qualify via the caucus process. And if all the delegates attend, DeGette can only lose a handful of votes to hit the necessary threshold.” 4. THE INVESTIGATIONS: The Justice Department faces its first public court test in investigating Trump’s 2020 election defeat today, “as it fends off a lawsuit seeking a return of 2020 Atlanta-area ballots the FBI seized in an unprecedented move earlier this year,” CNN’s Tierney Sneed reports. 5. NOT ON HIS LIST: “Hegseth Strikes Two Black and Two Female Officers From Promotion List,” by NYT’s Greg Jaffe and colleagues: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is blocking the promotion of four Army officers to be one-star generals, a highly unusual move that has prompted some senior military officials to question whether the officers are being singled out because of their race or gender.” Hegseth was pressing senior Army leaders for months to remove the two Black and two women officers from the list. Ricky Buria, Hegseth’s chief of staff, said the report was “completely false.” The Pentagon did not respond to questions about the report, and the Army declined to comment. 6. THE EPSTEIN SAGA: “Epstein victim sues DOJ, Google over identifying information in Epstein files,” by POLITICO’s Erica Orden: “The lawsuit blames the Justice Department for violating the privacy of about 100 Epstein victims through the publication of identifying information released in the Epstein files, and Google for ‘continuously republish[ing] it, refusing victim’s pleas to take it down.” 7. RETURN OF THE ‘NO KINGS’: Tomorrow's third installment of “No Kings” day will kick off with a Bruce Springsteen concert in Minneapolis, serving as the flagship for the anti-Trump rallies along with thousands of events commencing across the country, AP’s Steve Karnowski reports. Protestors in D.C. “will be marching in support of abortion access, gun control and voting rights,” WaPo’s Casey Parks and colleagues report. 8. TRADING SPACES: “China Starts Trade Probes Against US Before Xi-Trump Summit,” by Bloomberg’s Josh Xiao and Nectar Gan: “China started a pair of investigations into US trade practices, retaliating against similar probes by the Trump administration as the superpowers stake out positions before an expected presidential summit in May.”
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| | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT — “Secret Service agent assigned to Jill Biden accidentally shoots himself in leg at airport,” AP: “A U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to protect former first lady Jill Biden accidentally shot himself in the leg at Philadelphia International Airport on Friday, authorities said. Biden was not in the area when the agent was injured during a ‘negligent discharge’ of his firearm Friday morning, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told The Associated Press. … He is being treated for his injuries and was in stable condition, Guglielmi said.” NEW CHAIR ON THE BLOCK — James Murphy is Trump’s new designated chair for the National Labor Relations Board, POLITICO’s Nick Niedzwiadek reports. NLRB has been without a chair since Marvin Kaplan’s term expired in August. PLAYBOOK REAL ESTATE SECTION — “Trump administration reignites effort to sell federal properties,” by WaPo’s Jonathan Edwards and Olivia George: “The Trump administration this week renewed its effort to scale down the federal government’s real estate footprint, announcing the sale of a nearly 1 million-square-foot vacant federal office building that once housed the Department of Homeland Security.” 50 YEARS OF METRO — The Metro rail embarked on its first trip from Rhode Island Avenue to Farragut North on March 27, 1976, operating on just the Red Line, and since then it’s taken more than 7 billion trips. WaPo’s Jasmine Golden recounts the history. VOLUNTEER FEAR — “The Kennedy Center’s longest-serving volunteer fears ‘this is the end,’” by WaPo’s Janay Kingsberry: “Marilyn Schoon has given her heart to the national cultural center since 1972, a year after its inception. But she no longer fully trusts it.” OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at Astranis Space Technologies’ opening for its new D.C. offices last night: Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), Trent Kelly (R-Miss.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Susie Lee (D-Nev.), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Tim Kennedy (D-N.Y.), Adam Gray (D-Calif.) and Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Jeff Denham, Susan Wild, Steve Southerland, Joe Crowley and Joe Donnelly. TRANSITION — J.P. Freire is now chief of strategic comms and public affairs for the U.S. Mission to the U.N. He most recently worked for the House Ways and Means Committee. 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. | | | | 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 politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
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