| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray On today’s Playbook Podcast: Adam and Megan Messerly discuss President Donald Trump’s high-cost, low-stakes political revenge campaign in deep-red Indiana, and how VP JD Vance really feels about the Iran war.
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| Happy Friday from basketball-crazed “Indianoplace,” as Hillary Clinton once called it. This is Adam Wren. March Madness can’t get here soon enough. Get in touch. TOP TALKER: “How a top DC strategist courted Jeffrey Epstein,” by POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman: “Leading Washington strategist Juleanna Glover publicly argued for a third-party presidential candidate halfway through Donald Trump’s first term, calling for a ‘morally lucid’ leader akin to abolitionist Abraham Lincoln. At the same time, she was privately trading emails with Jeffrey Epstein — a decade after he went to jail on child prostitution charges — to share possible presidential tickets ‘outside the partisan lanes.’” “Their workaday messages about third party campaigns, conversations that could have easily been with a well-regarded opinion columnist, underline the degree to which a large number of influential people treated Epstein as if he was just another rich guy to be courted rather than a convicted sex criminal with a troublesome reputation. Glover’s response: “Glover, who has long been a leading Never Trump figure, told POLITICO in an interview that her motivation for engaging with Epstein was solely focused on unearthing any potential information that could sink Trump’s reelection. Despite that claim, there are no emails between Glover and Epstein that show her soliciting information from him about Trump. … And in an interview, Glover acknowledged she had also asked Epstein for help in a business matter in 2017 involving her most prominent client, Elon Musk, and Saudi Arabia.” In today’s Playbook … — Trump’s revenge tour lands in Indiana. — What VP JD Vance really thinks about the Iran war. — The DHS shutdown hits the one month mark … with no end in sight.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | HOOSIER DADDY: Trump hasn’t forgotten about the political defeat a group of Hoosier Republican state senators dealt him in December when they voted down his plan to redraw the state’s congressional map. Now, MAGA’s best effort at retribution is hurtling toward them in the form of a more than $5 million national money parachute into the Hoosier State ahead of Indiana’s May 5 primary. Hoosier Leadership for America, Sen. Jim Banks’ political nonprofit run by Andrew Surabian, the longtime Team Trump operative and close adviser to JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr., plans to carpet-bomb seven state Senate races with $3 million alone, according to a person familiar with the strategy. Turning Point USA and Club for Growth are expected to join the effort. The eye-popping splash of cash in a collection of down-ballot races is the latest sign Trump and top allies so far are willing to fund retributive campaigns during a midterm year that’s darkening for the GOP rather than wage political war in more competitive spots. (“We’re gonna do both, I assure you,” one White House-aligned Republican strategist said). But the operation also poses a granular, ground-level test of Trump’s political standing in a barn-red state that voted for him by double digits in 2016, 2020 and 2024. Those involved in the effort say the push is worth every penny. “Every RINO who was foolish enough to oppose redistricting will be crushed in their upcoming primaries,” Alex Bruesewitz, the Trump adviser who came to Indiana twice last year to rally support for a redraw, told Playbook. “They’ve betrayed not only their constituents but the entire nation.” “Hoosiers deserve a more conservative state Senate,” Banks told Playbook. “We’re coming,” a source familiar with Club strategy told POLITICO’s Andrew Howard. A TPUSA spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Randy Gentry, a longtime GOP county chair in west central Indiana, learned how closely the White House was watching the state Senate primaries last month. Gentry was sitting on the couch in his Terre Haute home when he received a call from an unknown number. On the other end was James Blair, the White House deputy chief of staff and one of Trump’s top political advisers. Gentry also took calls from Matt Brasseaux, the director of the White House Office of Political Affairs. The purpose of the call — reported here for the first time and based on conversations with multiple people briefed on the matter — was Blair trying to clear a path to the ballot for Brenda Wilson, Trump’s chosen candidate to challenge Greg Goode, Sen. Todd Young’s own state director running for reelection for the state Senate. (Another GOP candidate running in the race is Alexandra Wilson.) The White House political shop has made between half a dozen and a dozen inquiries across the state to monitor the situation, according to a person familiar. “We’re keeping our fingers on the pulse,” this person said. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Trump invited six of his handpicked challengers to the White House last week, including Wilson, Michelle Davis, Paula Copenhaver, Jeff Ellington, Blake Fiechter and Tracey Powell, as they prepare to take on the slate of incumbents who resisted the White House’s pressure campaign. “Simply put, they’re about to face a wave of conservative activism that they’ve never had to see and compete with in their careers,” Brett Galaszewski, Turning Point Action’s national enterprise director, told Playbook. A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Indiana Senate Majority Campaign Committee said they were “working” to protect incumbents.
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Learn more. | | | | MAGA world is still smarting from the December redistricting defeat, particularly as Virginia Democrats eye their own redraw. “I’d like to thank [Indiana state Sen. Rodric Bray] for not even trying to fight back against this extraordinary Democrat abuse of power,” Vance tweeted in January. “Now the votes of Indiana Republicans will matter far less than the votes of Virginia Democrats. We told you it would happen, and you did nothing.” But fighting longtime incumbents in sluggish state Senate districts poses a challenge for MAGA. “I will predict that none of them lose,” said Mike Murphy, the former Indiana state Republican lawmaker and Marion County GOP chair, before name-checking the Club for Growth president who mounted failed Indiana gubernatorial bids in 2000 and 2004. “What’s David McIntosh gonna do? Come on TV and say, ‘Hey, I’m David McIntosh. Remember me? I got my ass kicked’?” The retribution effort is also notable because the relatively enormous sum of money is being spent in a safe-red state — cash that could otherwise be deployed in a midterm battleground. “The amount of sweat equity that’s going to be poured into these races is unprecedented,” Turning Point’s Galaszewski said. “I want this to be talked about in political science textbooks for decades to come as a cautionary tale of deviating away from the conservative platform.” Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, an opponent of mid-decade redistricting who privately counseled a handful of state senators against it, agreed to appear as a surrogate or have his name listed as a host of fundraisers for several Republican redistricting holdouts before the primary. Asked about the retributive campaign in a competitive midterm year, Daniels — who served as President Ronald Reagan’s political affairs director — was perplexed by the strategy guiding MAGA. “I’ve been reminded of a lesson I learned in business a long time ago: Revenge is not a strategy,” Daniels told Playbook. “I do find it hard to understand.” MEANWHILE IN MISSOURI: A state circuit judge upheld a congressional map redraw that’s expected to net Republicans one more seat in the House in the midterms, Delaney Eyermann reports for Kansas City’s FOX 4. AND WAY DOWN IN MAR-A-LAGO: “The local special election sparking intrigue in Donald Trump’s backyard,” by POLITICO’s Kimberly Leonard and Gary Fineout: “A Democratic win on March 24 in the District 87 special election would embolden Florida’s beleaguered Democratic Party ahead of the midterms and add to a string of recent nationwide victories and overperformances. … And in the district hosting Trump’s home and private club, the symbolism of a Democratic win could be overshadowed by a broader signal that Democrats have a chance to expand their midterm opportunities — across Florida’s gubernatorial and Senate races as well as nationwide.”
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| | | | THE WAR AT HOME JUST VANCE: The VP has publicly supported the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, but he was skeptical and concerned behind closed doors before the strikes began, POLITICO’s Diana Nerozzi and Eli Stokols reveal this morning. Vance, a Marine veteran and longtime skeptic of U.S. military adventurism overseas, “just opposes” the war, one top Trump official said, though another source said Vance understood the importance of not postponing the attack and has been “fully on board” since the decision was made. The Vance view: “The Vice President has been the focus of constant leaks left and right by people trying to project their views onto him,” Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk said. “And as a result, there have been countless inconsistent accounts of the Vice President’s views published, which shows the mainstream media has no idea what they’re talking about.” Hear for yourself: Vance will have his next big opportunity to speak about the war — or, alternatively, any number of domestic political and policy priorities — when he hits the road for an event in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, at 2 p.m. (This is in a crucial Democratic-held House district that Republicans are seeking to flip, aided by a fresh gerrymander.) Meanwhile, all eyes will be on the latest war briefing at 8 a.m. from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine. Congressional fallout: Lawmakers aren’t exactly scrambling to pass supplemental funding request for the war expected to come down from the White House, POLITICO’s Leo Shane III and colleagues report. The Pentagon’s deep pockets have left many Republicans without a sense of urgency for a new package, while most Democrats oppose the war. Meanwhile, bookmark this: Speaker Mike Johnson says on Reese Gorman’s NOTUS podcast this morning that “the mission is virtually accomplished now” and the war will likely end soon. Economic fallout: With global oil markets in utter turmoil due to the war, the Trump administration is scrambling to blunt the impact. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced last night that the U.S. will lift sanctions for a month on Russian oil already at sea, per CNBC. (Oil prices remained stubbornly elevated in the immediate aftermath.) The White House is also weighing a Jones Act waiver to ease global shipping. But analysts tell Reuters’ Shariq Khan that moves like this will likely offer only partial and temporary relief. Behind the oil drain: “The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes while planning the ongoing operation,” multiple sources tell CNN’s Zachary Cohen and colleagues. War report: The latest trouble came last night in Iraq, where U.S. Central Command said an American refueling aircraft crashed and rescue efforts were ongoing for the multi-person crew, per the Washington Examiner. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned it would destroy regional oil and gas infrastructure if Iran’s comes under fire. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes intensified in downtown and suburban Beirut, per Reuters, as Lebanon urged the U.S. and Europe to get Jerusalem to back down after several hundred people were killed, WaPo’s Mohamad El Chamaa and colleagues report. The latest investigation: “Bombed Iranian girls school had vivid website and yearslong online presence,” by Reuters’ James Pearson and Ryan McNeill: “The school’s online activity calls into question how the American military vets and reviews strike locations.”
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| | | | HOUSING & HOMELAND SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: The DHS shutdown pain will crank up to a new level today as TSA screeners and other affected employees miss their first full paycheck. Tomorrow marks one month of the agency being shuttered, with Senate Democrats again defeating a bill to reopen it yesterday. And yet … Washington is still “nowhere near close” to figuring out a solution, POLITICO’s Jennifer Scholtes and colleagues report this morning. Could longer airport lines dislodge the stalemate? Don’t count on it in the short term. “Senate Republicans are standing in the way,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told WSJ’s Anvee Bhutani. “Democrats, regrettably, have chosen to punish the American people,” a White House official told our colleagues. First in Playbook — Ad it up: Americans for Prosperity is launching a digital and TV ad campaign with an initial six-figure buy that aims to push key Democratic senators on the shutdown. The spot starkly warns that Democrats are threatening Americans’ security in wartime “by holding the government hostage,” and it’ll air during all four major Sunday shows this weekend in D.C., Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Virginia. (The ads will call out Sens. Mark Kelly, Jon Ossoff, Gary Peters and Tim Kaine directly.) Watch it here BATTLE FOR THE BALLOT: What’s really consuming the GOP is the SAVE America Act, the party’s sweeping voter ID and proof-of-citizenship package. Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced he’ll bring it to the floor next week — when the Republican squeeze on Democrats could last for days or longer — teeing up a lengthy talkathon. But the legislation still has no clear pathway to passage. Many Hill Republicans are exhausted and concerned about this gumming up other legislation. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) called for a vote on ending the filibuster, per POLITICO’s Jordain Carney. In the states: Florida Republicans passed their version of the bill, though it doesn’t go into effect until next year, POLITICO’s Gary Fineout reports from Tallahassee. Democracy watch: The White House is weighing whether to choke off money for an Office of Personnel Management election observer program that seeks to protect against discrimination at the ballot box under the Voting Rights Act, CBS’ Sarah Lynch scooped. A HILL TO DIE ON? The Senate’s passage of a housing package yesterday in a lopsided, bipartisan vote put House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) in a tight spot, our Inside Congress colleagues write this morning. “Hill has to decide to what extent he’ll stand in the way to address problems he sees with the Senate’s approach.” And though Hill has left himself some wiggle room as he hopes to make changes to the affordability-focused legislation, senators will be eager for Trump — distracted by the SAVE Act — to side with them and put the issue to bed. FRONTIERS OF ISLAMOPHOBIA: “In anti-Muslim post, Tuberville suggests New York’s Mamdani is ‘the enemy,’” by WaPo’s Mariana Alfaro
| | | | POLITICO's Economy Summit Washington power players are transforming the economy with consequences that reach well beyond Wall Street and Silicon Valley as upcoming midterms add to mounting political pressures. Join POLITICO’s Economy Summit on Wednesday, March 25 for urgent conversations with government and industry leaders about the policy decisions that will determine tomorrow’s market risks and opportunities. RSVP to attend in person or virtually. | | | | | BEST OF THE REST TRAIL MIX: Four days out from the Illinois Senate Democratic primary, some top Black Dems are worried about Rep. Robin Kelly and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton splitting the vote and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi landing the nomination, POLITICO’s Shia Kapos and Brakkton Booker report from Chicago. The contest pitted the Congressional Black Caucus (pro-Kelly) against Gov. JB Pritzker (pro-Stratton), whose sway also faces a high-profile test. Super PACs are spending big. And the representational stakes are high: Either woman would be just the sixth Black female senator ever, while Krishnamoorthi would be just the second Indian American. The Kelly-Stratton divide is also “a classic tale of Chicago politics,” NYT’s Reid Epstein and colleagues write, “with yearslong personal animosity and a refusal by Democratic leaders to coalesce behind a single candidate.” Big Mike: Manhattan’s crowded open-seat Democratic House primary is about to get a Michael Bloomberg-sized imprint. The former mayor endorsed Assemblymember Micah Lasher and intends to seed a super PAC to back him with perhaps $5 million, NYT’s Nicholas Fandos scooped. Stitt happens: After meeting with Trump yesterday, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said he’ll name his appointment to the Senate following incumbent Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation as DHS secretary. More from the Tulsa World OF JAGS AND JAGOFFS: “The Pentagon’s Lawyers Are Now Under Review,” by The Atlantic’s Sarah Fitzpatrick and Missy Ryan: “They are known as judge advocates general. Hegseth calls them ‘jagoffs.’ This week, Hegseth proposed a ‘ruthless’ overhaul of how the military’s thousands of lawyers in uniform, and their civilian counterparts, are organized, part of his campaign to move from, as he has called it, ‘tepid legality’ to ‘maximum lethality.’ … [H]is plans have alarmed many current and former military lawyers, who see the bureaucratic justifications as cover for what they suspect Hegseth really wants to do: reduce the ranks of lawyers, purge internal dissent, and eliminate guardrails.”
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Learn more. | | | | THE WEEKEND AHEAD FRIDAY PROGRAMS … C-SPAN “Ceasefire”: Leon Panetta and Mark Esper … Deval Patrick and Bill Haslam. PBS “Washington Week,” guest-moderated by Vivian Salama: Steve Inskeep, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Mark Mazzetti and Felicia Schwartz. SUNDAY SO FAR … Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy … Interior Secretary Doug Burgum … Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) … Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) … retired Gen. Jack Keane. CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) … Pete Buttigieg. Panel: Brad Todd, Karen Finney, Adam Kinzinger and Nazila Fathi. CBS “Face the Nation”: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) … National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. MS NOW “The Weekend: Primetime”: Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) … Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) … Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.). NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) … Mike Pence. Panel: Sabrina Siddiqui, Margaret Talev and Bill Sammon. PBS “Compass Points”: Ray Takeyh … Suzanne Maloney … Alex Vatanka … Reuel Marc Gerecht. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) … Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) … Brent Sadler. Panel: Francesca Chambers, Meghan Hays, Josh Holmes and Josh Kraushaar.
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➡️ Learn More about POLITICO Pro | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | THE BILLIONAIRE AND THE JOURNALISTS — WaPo owner Jeff Bezos gathered top editors and reporters from the paper yesterday at his D.C. home, where he told them he still supports the organization’s “vigorous reporting” despite the recent newsroom decimation, per NYT’s Ben Mullin. Bezos also said he’d turned aside seven offers to sell. FIRST AMENDMENT WATCH — Jeremy Adler is joining CBS News’ comms team, which has infuriated some White House officials because he’s a Liz Cheney alum, Axios’ Alex Isenstadt and Sara Fischer report. “What the hell is Bari Weiss thinking?” one fumed. SPORTS BLINK I — A White House social-media montage of college and pro football hits interspersed with footage of the war against Iran drew sharp rebukes from some of the players involved, WaPo’s Robert Klemko reports. “For that play to be associated with bombing human beings makes me sick,” said Kenny Bell. “I’m at a loss for words,” said Mason Foster. SPORTS BLINK II — At a White House event yesterday, U.S. Olympic bobsledder Kaillie Humphries gave her “Order of Ikkos” medal to Trump, thanking him for opposing transgender women playing in women’s sports, per the Washington Examiner. SPORTS BLINK III — “One’s a Republican, one’s a Democrat. They captain the same team,” by Roll Call’s Nina Heller: “Reps. Jimmy Panetta and Tracey Mann … are on shared turf as they co-captain the Mean Machine, the members’ team for the Congressional Football Game. … Their squad of lawmakers will face off against a team of Capitol Police officers, aptly nicknamed the Guards, on March 17 at Nationals Park.” OUT AND ABOUT — Italian Ambassador Marco Peronaci, and Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels co-hosted a celebration of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics last night at the ambassador’s residence, where guests dined on Italian delicacies and cocktails. SPOTTED: Sarah Rogers, Andrew Baker, Michelle Bowman, Robert Placek, Jennifer Belair, Slovenian Ambassador Iztok Mirošič, Estonian Ambassador Kristjan Prikk, Austrian Ambassador Petra Schneebauer, Latvian Ambassador Elita Kuzma, Wolf Blitzer, Anna Palmer, Francesca Chambers, Anna Johnson, Kasie Hunt, Kaitlan Collins, Gerald Kunde, Anita McBride, Robert Allegrini, Heather Nauert, Adrienne O’Hara, Alexa Verveer and Janet O’Callaghan. — D.C. AG Brian Schwalb held a fundraiser for his reelection campaign last night at Capitol Counsel, pulling in more than $10,000. SPOTTED: Lyndon Boozer, Julie Eddy, Mike Monroe, Jill Daschle, Anne Olaimey, Kimball Stroud, Jim Doyle, Fran and John Cox, Tamara Buchwald, Henry Daschle, Barbara Sutton, Becky Orloff, Liz Sizer, Reynolds Olaimey, Austin Brown and Mickie Simon. MEDIA MOVE — Lauren Bulbin is joining POLITICO as news editor for visuals. She previously worked at WaPo. TRANSITIONS — Retired Gen. Joseph Dunford, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be the next CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He most recently was at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. … Trump has tapped Jeffrey Miller as the new chair of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, and appointed Edward Glazer and Elizabeth Pipko as members. ENGAGED — Kyle Klein, deputy director at the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security and a House Homeland Security Committee alum, and Sean Elias, executive director at the DC Arts Center, got engaged Feb. 20 at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre. They met through a mutual friend. Pic, via Tristin Markham … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) (favorite birthday treat: apple pie) … Jeff Weiss … CNN’s Katelyn Polantz … Ari Rabin-Havt … POLITICO’s David Lim and Tamar Barsamian … Maya James … Kiki McLean … Ashley Hoy of Monument Advocacy … Erin Billings of LSG … former Reps. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), Joseph Cao (R-La.) and Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.) … Joe Rubin … Ryan Tracy … MS NOW’s Yelda Altalef … Brian Gaston … Lauren Inouye of the American Academy of Nursing … Chris Gaspar … Tres York of the American Gaming Association … More Perfect’s Christina Roberts … JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon … Mike Murphy of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget … Erin Harbaugh … Will Thomas … James Wesolek 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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