| | | |  | | By Irie Sentner | | Presented by: |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem testified this week before the House and Senate judiciary panels. | AP | OH NOEM: Kristi Noem is out as DHS Secretary — President Donald Trump’s highest-profile scalp yet of his second term following months of scandal at the agency leading his marquee immigration crackdown. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) will take over DHS at the end of the month, Trump announced moments ago on Truth Social. Noem will now serve as “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” Trump said, previewing an explanation for what that actually means coming Saturday. Noem is the second Cabinet-level official — and the first Cabinet secretary — to lose her job in scandal after U.N. Ambassador Michael Waltz was reassigned from national security adviser in the aftermath of Signalgate. The demotion caps off a rough month for Noem. Her department remains unfunded as Democrats refuse to back down on reforms they say are necessary to rein in the federal agents she oversees, including those who killed two American citizens in Minneapolis. Gregory Bovino, the architect of the botched Minnesota operation who reported directly to Noem, is now under investigation for antisemitism. And a steady drip of unflattering headlines has painted a portrait of disarray at DHS and accused Noem (married) of having a barely-veiled affair with her (married) adviser Corey Lewandowski. Noem’s troubles crescendoed this week as she faced a grilling from both Democrats and Republicans before the House and Senate judiciary panels. In two particularly tense exchanges with members of her own party, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) threatened to derail business across the Senate if she did not answer his questions, and Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) pressed Noem on a $220 million ad campaign, subcontracted to a company run by one of her former top aides, which he said had been “effective in [boosting] your name recognition.” Trump wasn’t happy. “I never knew anything about it,” Trump told Reuters’ Steve Holland in a phone interview today, referring to the ad blitz. Kennedy confirmed to CBS News’ Alan He that Trump had called him after the hearing and that “his recollection and her recollection are different.” Following the hearings, Trump called Republican lawmakers to privately ask if he should fire Noem, Punchbowl’s John Bresnahan and colleagues scooped this morning. The president was particularly peeved by the secretary’s response to Kennedy’s questioning about whether Trump had approved the expensive ad blitz. Noem replied multiple times that he had. A DHS spokesperson said in a statement to Playbook before Trump’s announcement that Noem “serves at the pleasure of the President. She is honored to serve the American people and lead DHS.” The spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the president announced Noem’s ouster. Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. This is Irie Sentner. Get in touch at isentner@politico.com.
| | A message from Anthropic: MagicSchool uses Claude, built by Anthropic, for lesson plans and IEPs across 5,500 districts, so teachers can focus on the students in front of them. Learn more | | | | | | 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. EXCLUSIVE TRUMP INTERVIEW: The president today spoke with Playbook’s Dasha Burns for an exclusive interview in which he dismissed concerns about the Iran war, said the United States would help choose Iran’s next leader, predicted the downfall of the Cuban regime and attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the tech giant Anthropic. - On spiking gas price concerns: Trump brushed off worries about the impact of the Iran war on gas prices and U.S. ammunition reserves, and he insisted that the military onslaught was popular with voters. “People are loving what’s happening,” Trump insisted.
- On new leadership for Iran: Trump emphasized the U.S. is going to “work with them to help them make the proper choice” because he wants to avoid having a head of Iran “that’s going to lead to having to do this again in another 10 years.”
- On Cuba: Trump confirmed the U.S. is in touch with Cuba’s communist leadership as instability on the island intensifies following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. “They need help. We are talking to Cuba,” Trump said. Read the full story
2. GONZALES, GET OUT: “House GOP leaders ask Tony Gonzales to drop reelection bid,” by POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill and Cheyanne M. Daniels: “Speaker Mike Johnson and other House Republican leaders asked Rep. Tony Gonzales to end his reelection bid, they said Thursday, after the Texas lawmaker admitted to an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.” 3. IRAN LATEST: The House is set to vote on a bipartisan Iran war powers resolution, but GOP leadership is confident it will fail like the Senate vote. Meanwhile, stocks continued to plummet, with the Dow dropping by more than 700 points, while oil prices pushed higher, with U.S. crude prices rising above $77 a barrel, per WSJ’s Joe Wallace. In the Middle East, Israel ordered an evacuation of southern Beirut, sparking a panicked mass exodus of hundreds of thousands out of Lebanon’s capital, NYT’s Euan Ward reports. And the Trump administration is in talks with the Iranian regime’s domestic opposition, WaPo’s Karen DeYoung and colleagues report, offering “extensive U.S. aircover” to Kurdish minority leaders if they take over portions of western Iran. 4. TRAIL MIX: As Trump mulls his endorsement in the Republican Senate primary in Texas between Sen. John Cornyn and AG Ken Paxton, he told Dasha today that Paxton’s assertion that he would stay in the race even without the endorsement is “bad for him to say,” Trump said in the interview. “So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction.” NRSC annoyance: Frustration is growing among Republicans who say the NRSC isn’t taking the midterms seriously, NOTUS’ Reese Gorman and Alex Roarty report. “NOTUS talked with over a dozen Senate GOP aides, strategists and other sources with knowledge of the NRSC. They described an organization that has devolved into dysfunction. Both senators and the White House are growing more incensed with the campaign arm by the day, the sources say.” Let the sunshine in: “Florida Dems look to catch Texas’ midterm energy,” by POLITICO’s Kimberly Leonard: “Tuesday’s primary for Senate showed that, for now, everything’s bigger in Texas when it comes to attention for Democrats. … ‘We need something similar in Florida,’ said one Democratic county leader, granted anonymity to speak candidly. ‘We need candidates who are willing to engage everywhere and with everyone.’” Down-ballot digest: “A Political Earthquake Rattles the North Carolina Legislature,” by NYT’s Eduardo Medina and David W. Chen: “Three veteran Democrats in safe seats who tended to vote with the G.O.P. all lost their primaries by as much as 48 points, as their challengers promised to push back harder against Republicans’ steamrolling approach to legislating. Five Republican incumbents … were also swept from the State Legislature.”
| | | | POLITICO Live Event Washington has made bold promises to revitalize American infrastructure. On March 6, POLITICO will bring together key stakeholders from government and industry at the 2026 CONEXPO-CON/AGG show to discuss the policy decisions being made today that will shape infrastructure — and the construction industry — tomorrow. Register to watch. | | | | | 5. STATE OF THE STATES: Blue state governors have a common refrain in their 2026 State of the State addresses: “Trump is screwing you over, but we have things under control,” POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky and Liz Crampton report. 6. THANKS, OBAMA: Former President Barack Obama is jumping into the Virginia redistricting race, lending his support for the constitutional amendment going before voters that could net Democrats up to four seats in the coming midterm elections, per POLITICO's Gregory Svirnovskiy. “We can’t afford two more years of unchecked power and zero accountability in Washington,” he said in a video released on X today. Obama’s involvement comes as early voting on the referendum kicks off tomorrow. 7. LABOR CHAOS CONTINUES: Melissa Robey, a top aide to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, has been placed on leave amid an IG investigation into allegations of misconduct by Chavez-DeRemer and her inner circle, NYT’s Rebecca Davis O’Brien scooped — a move that came two days after the White House forced two other top aides in the department to resign or be fired. POLITICO’s Nick Niedzwiadek reported this week that Robey had stepped into an expanded role after those aides were placed on leave in early January. A DOL spokesperson declined to comment to NYT. 8. BRINGING THE RECEIPTS: “Documents Reveal a Web of Financial Ties Between Trump Officials and the Industries They Help Regulate,” by ProPublica’s Corey Johnson and colleagues: ProPublica today is making public “a trove of nearly 3,200 disclosure records that … detail the finances of more than 1,500 federal officials appointed by President Donald Trump. … The documents reveal a web of financial ties between senior government officials and the industries they help regulate — relationships that have drawn scrutiny as Trump has dismantled ethics safeguards designed to prevent conflicts of interest.” Here’s the database
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| | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | STRICTLY BALLROOM — The National Capital Planning Commission is meeting now for a public hearing about whether to approve Trump’s proposed 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom replacing the demolished East Wing. Although they were expected to vote today on the project, Chair Will Scharf — a top Trump aide — delayed the vote until April 2, POLITICO’s Michael Doyle reports. Expect a long and contentious meeting — more than 100 people are registered to speak about project, and first up is a rep from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued to halt construction. The White House’s proposal is expected to be approved by the panel. But public sentiment is not on the White House’s side. More than 97 percent of the more than 35,000 public comments sent to the NCPC were negative, according to a WaPo analysis. Read all 9,388 pages of public comments What to expect: “Trump’s Lopsided Vision for the White House,” by NYT’s Junho Lee and colleagues: “The president’s East Wing plan upends the symmetry that was once fundamental to the People’s House, our analysis shows. See the design in 3-D.” SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL FEUD — “Trump allies expand role in planning America’s 250th anniversary,” by WaPo’s Dan Diamond and colleagues: “Two groups — one with the imprimatur of Congress, the other with President Donald Trump’s blessing — are jockeying to host celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary, sparking confusion, muddled messages and new scrutiny from Democrats who ask why the Trump-aligned group is receiving federal money.” OUT AND ABOUT — Defend The Vote Action Fund and Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) hosted a Conversation on Democracy yesterday as part of their Democracy Defenders Series. SPOTTED: Reps. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Brian Lemek, Amy Williams Navarro, Jess Floyd, Stephen Spaulding, Omar Noureldin, Aaron Scherb and Jocelyn Hunt. — The Hill hosted an event yesterday honoring 50 women as part of its inaugural Top Women Shaping Policy. SPOTTED: Utah state Rep. Cheryl Acton (R), New York state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D), Kentucky state Sen. Julie Raque Adams (R), Michigan state Sen. Sarah Anthony (D), Skye Perryman, Stefanie Spear and Kristen Waggoner. — SPOTTED at last night’s Vienna Philharmonic concert at the Kennedy Center: Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Tiia Larsen, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) and Wendy Murphy, Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas), Austrian Ambassador Petra Schneebauer, Swiss Ambassador Ralf Heckner, Latvian Ambassador Elita Kuzma, Slovenian Ambassador Iztok Mirošič and Miloslav Stašek, USTR Jamieson Greer, Andrew Giuliani, Ann Marie Hauser and Peter Rough. — SPOTTED at TikTok USDS Joint Venture’s “Architects of Influence” event last night celebrating Black creators driving culture and community: Reps. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) and Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.), Jackie Aina, DeAndre Brown, Michael Bloom, Talia Cadet, Daven Gates, Jason Gyamfi, Tiffany Jones-Lewis, Kim Lipsky, Tamsy Kambi, Tyrone Marcell, Reggie McCrimmon, Nicole Nason, Ziad Ojakli, Destiny Owusu, CJ Pearson, L’Allegro Smith and Janiyah Thomas. MEDIA MOVE — Aaron MacLean is joining CBS as a national security analyst, a columnist at The Free Press and the host of the podcast “School of War.” He is currently a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and is a Tom Cotton alum. TRANSITION — Allie Raffa is joining Seven Letter as senior director. She most recently was a White House correspondent for NBC News. 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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