| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray On today’s Playbook Podcast: Adam and Dasha discuss a newsy phone call with President Donald Trump — and the latest American export making waves across the pond.
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| Happy Friday. What a week. This is Adam Wren. Get in touch. FRIDAY LISTEN: Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) sat down with Dasha for this week’s episode of “The Conversation,” where she discussed the war with Iran, the affordability agenda, why she never watched the SNL spoof of her State of the Union rebuttal and much more. On whether she wants to see Trump on the campaign trail more: “Wherever he is the most effective — in the Oval Office or out — I think he can balance both beautifully. But there’s certainly no better messenger than him.” On stalled DHS funding negotiations: “At the end of last week, I said we’ve got to get some member-level engagement here because as much as I appreciate people’s teams … none of those people were elected to make a decision. ... Allowing a staffer to talk to another staffer and tell us that we can’t find a pathway forward, I think is unacceptable. And I think there is too much at stake right now to allow that to be the case.” Watch the full episode … Listen and subscribe on Apple and Spotify In today’s Playbook … — Meet the man who’s taking the Mamdani playbook across the pond. — Defense execs are headed to the White House as the war with Iran expands. — Early voting kicks off today for Virginia Democrats’ redistricting referendum.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | KATZ OUT OF THE BAG: One of America’s great exports has always been the star political consultant. In the grand national tradition, a buzzy new candidate captures global imaginations and the person who got him there becomes a valuable asset for international campaigns and consultants in far-flung corners of the globe. Morris Katz, a top adviser to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, quietly traveled to the U.K. last month to meet with local progressive politicians hoping to learn the tools of the trade from the young strategist — the latest in a long line of top American campaign aides to go global, your author reports with my colleague Chris Sommerfeldt this morning. Katz’s trip coincided with the rise of a new left-wing challenge to the embattled Labour government from the Green Party, which snatched away a Manchester-area parliamentary seat in a February special election. One of the architects of Mamdani’s stunning election last year, Katz confirmed to POLITICO that he ventured into British politics to offer members of the U.K.’s Labour and Green parties advice on mounting effective campaigns for elected office, and described it as part of a global political struggle. “The fight against the aligned interests of the oligarchy and the far right is an international one, and I’ll try to be helpful wherever I can,” Katz, the 26-year-old progressive political strategist, told Chris. Katz, who calls himself a populist politics “believer,” has been credited with spearheading the Mamdani campaign’s laser focus on promising to fight for a more affordable city by raising taxes on the rich to expand social safety nets, including making public transit and child care programs free. Though he hasn’t joined Mamdani’s administration, Katz is seen as very close with the mayor and continues to advise him on both governmental and political matters, joining him, for instance, for both of his high-profile meetings with Trump. The British left’s overture to Katz highlights how progressive movements around the world are looking at the Mamdani campaign’s populist playbook as ripe for replication. But it also speaks to how the American left is increasingly seeing itself as part of a global project — a vision that can come with potentially problematic associations. “The Brits can use some excitement in their politics,” Doug Muzzio, a longtime political scientist in New York who is not affiliated with Mamdani or his team, said when asked to opine on Katz’s U.K. moves. “So if Mamdani’s engaging style is something that can be replicated over there that would probably be very welcome.” It isn’t unusual for campaign consultants to embark on a traveling road show abroad after successful domestic stints. Chris LaCivita, Trump’s co-campaign manager, advised Sali Berisha of Albania’s opposition party after his 2024 White House run. Bob Shrum, the former Democratic presidential candidate adviser and speechwriter, advised Ehud Barak in Israel’s 1999 election for PM and the British Labour Party under former PM Tony Blair. And James Carville, the veteran political strategist, also advised Blair, along with having done work in more than 20 countries. But Katz’s adventures abroad likely say more about his principal than the consultant. Of Mamdani, Carville says: “He’s an object of curiosity.” In the same way that former President Bill Clinton’s popularity abroad juiced Carville’s prospects, Mamdani and his retinue are drawing longing glances from international compatriots. “A lot of people hired me just to say, ‘We got Clinton’s guy,’” Carville said. And now more than ever, an appetite for progressive insights is sweeping Europe: Just last month, organizers of the Munich Security Conference sought an audience with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who in her remarks connected income inequality to the global rise of authoritarianism. “I think voters in democracies in Europe and elsewhere are responding to a lot of the same things that American voters are,” said Matt Duss, who advised Ocasio-Cortez on her Munich trip and is EVP at the progressive think tank Center for International Policy. “That’s a system of government that has not delivered for them, that they see as captured by special interests that are not responsive to their needs.” Duss, who also previously served as foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), said there is a global appetite for that brand of progressivism. “I do think Bernie obviously has inspired a lot of colleagues in other democracies. AOC. Mamdani is a name that we hear a lot from our colleagues in Europe on the left,” Duss said. But it cuts both ways, too. “People are watching and learning from each other,” Duss added. “American progressives have things to learn as our colleagues in Europe innovate and vice versa.” Back home, Katz’s travels abroad posed some obstacles for at least one candidate in his stable. “It was very hard to communicate with him and his team during the January, February timeframe, because he was over there,” said Nathan Sage, the former Iowa Senate candidate and Katz client who dropped out of the race in mid-February. “I have no idea what he’s doing. I have no idea what that is, but I do know that it was difficult.” Despite that, Sage said he would recommend Katz’s firm to others.
| | A message from Anthropic: AI helps most with the hardest work, not the simplest. Anthropic analyzed 2 million conversations and found Claude's biggest impact is on complex, college-level tasks. The Economic Index tracks adoption across every state and occupation. See the data | | | | THE WAGES OF WAR THE BLOOD-DIMMED TIDE: Defense executives are reportedly heading to the White House today to talk weapons production, as the financial and material costs of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran rapidly balloon. Hegseth nonetheless said yesterday that the U.S. faces “no shortage” of munitions for the war. U.S. officials emphasized they have no plans to slow down: Firepower “is about to surge dramatically,” Hegseth said. He’ll meet with Trump at 2:30 p.m. Add it up: Congressional Republicans are steeling themselves for a White House supplemental funding request in the tens of billions of dollars — as the Pentagon burns as much $2 billion daily on the open-ended war, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill reports. House Republicans are also considering combining the war money in a package with aid for wildfire response and farmers struggling with tariffs, Meredith and Jennifer Scholtes scooped. The green light: As in the Senate, a war powers resolution to rein Trump in on Iran went down in the House yesterday, 212-219, attracting two Republican votes but losing four Democrats, including a surprise “no” vote from Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.). Quote of the day: Time’s Eric Cortellessa asked Trump if Americans should be concerned about attacks at home. “I guess,” the president said. On the ground: Overnight, Israeli bombs targeting Hezbollah flattened buildings in the Beirut suburbs and commenced a new wave of attacks in Tehran. The U.S. closed its embassy in Kuwait. Iranian missiles and drones went after Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — and Iran, too, said its attacks will get worse in the coming days. Everyone from Azerbaijan to Sri Lanka is trying to navigate the widening fallout. Meanwhile, the UAE is considering a major step to choke off Iran’s finances, WSJ’s Summer Said and colleagues scooped. But but but: Despite killing the ayatollah and dealing Iran huge setbacks, the U.S.-Israeli attacks still “have not threatened the Iranian regime’s grip on power,” WaPo’s Susannah George and Júlia Ledur report. Must-read: Though the U.S. hasn’t yet claimed responsibility for a lethal strike on a school in southern Iran, NYT’s Malachy Browne and Aaron Boxerman assembled evidence showing it was likely the Americans. U.S. military investigators have so far reached similar — though not yet final — conclusions, Reuters’ Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali scooped. If so, this could amount to one of the largest U.S. killings of foreign civilians in decades. More than 1,200 people are reportedly already dead in Iran this week. THE POLITICS: “GOP restrainers say Trump abandoned them,” by POLITICO’s Jack Detsch and colleagues: “The fissure within Trump’s foreign policy community, described by seven White House allies, threatens to splinter a key element of the administration — particularly as it faces pressure to execute the Iran war while keeping American troops from entering the country.”
| | | | A message from Anthropic:  
| | | | NOEM HOME ‘DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU’: Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Kristi Noem’s ouster as DHS secretary is the breadth of people dancing on her political grave — especially given that she was an aggressive enforcer of Trump’s agenda on his top domestic priority. There are Democrats, of course, who celebrated Noem’s firing while also calling for Stephen Miller, Greg Bovino, Hegseth, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and above all AG Pam Bondi to go next. They said this won’t move them off the DHS shutdown. But witness also: FEMA staffers (“Anyone is better than that dog murderer”). Republicans mad about disaster aid. Top DHS officials (“People in the office are actually crying out of happiness”). Trump allies close to the White House (“Hallelujah”). Corey Lewandowski is also expected to exit, per the NY Post’s Marisa Schultz and colleagues. Noem’s non-answer about whether she’s had an affair with him — and her performance more broadly at a pair of congressional hearings this week — was reportedly the straw that broke the camel’s back after months of White House frustration with Noem’s mounting controversies. And the scrutiny isn’t over: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he’d call for a Senate investigation into whether Noem lied under oath about Lewandowski approving contracts, per NYT’s Carl Hulse and Michael Gold. And NBC’s Julia Ainsley scooped that Noem chose the contractors for a $100 million ICE recruitment campaign herself rather than going out for competitive bids. DHS responds that acting ICE Director Todd Lyons’ office made the call, which NBC’s sources say is untrue. (This is a different ad campaign than the one whose contracts made waves on the Hill this week.) The pushback: Noem world has a different framing in an article by The Daily Caller’s Reagan Reese, in which sources say she was frustrated with the White House herself and felt made into the scapegoat after immigration agents killed Americans in Minnesota. THE REPLACEMENT: Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) should have a pretty easy time getting confirmed, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) already on board, POLITICO’s Jordain Carney reports. (As is often the case, hold space for a possible Rand Paul-sized delay.) The race to replace Mullin, in turn — after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s temporary pick makes way — could quickly comprise Stitt himself, GOP Reps. Stephanie Bice, Kevin Hern and Josh Brecheen, former state House Speaker T.W. Shannon and/or state Sen. Dusty Deevers, among others. DON’T LOSE SIGHT: Palace intrigue aside, the central policy pursuits of Trump’s intense anti-immigrant agenda — and the Democratic backlash to it — remain intact. A federal appellate court yesterday upheld Trump’s indefinite freeze of refugee resettlement. And the air travel industry is increasingly sounding the alarm about an extended DHS shutdown.
| | | | 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. | | | | | TRAIL MIX RACE TO THE BOTTOM: Early voting kicks off today on Virginia Democrats’ referendum asking voters to green-light the path to a new congressional map. If Virginians sign off, Dems could yank as many as four House seats away from Republicans. BREAKING LATE LAST NIGHT: “Tony Gonzales drops reelection bid among pressure from GOP,” by POLITICO’s Cheyanne Daniels and Mia McCarthy: “‘Through the rest of my term, I will continue fighting for my constituents,’ [Gonzales said] … Democrats believe that the seat in Texas’ 23rd congressional district could be competitive in the fall with [Brandon] Herrera as the nominee.” TEXAS FOREVER: Democrats still riding the high of James Talarico winning the Texas Senate primary as Republicans go to a runoff can sober up fast by reading this morning’s story from POLITICO’s Elena Schneider. National Democratic donor advisers and strategists tell her they’re still not sold on plunking down the money it would take to flip the state. Problem one: the decent odds that Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) will triumph in the runoff. Problem two: the massive state’s high cost of entry, when a cheaper race in Alaska or Ohio or even Nebraska or Montana would be just as valuable to flipping the Senate. “No one’s taking Texas seriously,” scoffs one bundler. It doesn’t help that Republicans already have a money edge. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Cash dash: In one of those cheaper-but-difficult races, Montana independent Seth Bodnar has pulled in more than $550,000 in his first two days in the now-open race. His campaign says it’s more than all the Democrats combined so far.
| | | | A message from Anthropic:  
| | | | BEST OF THE REST JOBS DAY: In such a news-jammed week, it’s easy to forget that the domestic economy still matters most to American voters. The February jobs report at 8:30 a.m. will provide the latest gauge: Economists predict a gain of 50,000 jobs and steady unemployment at 4.3 percent. FIRST AMENDMENT WATCH: The court case over the Defense Department’s new restrictions on press access will go before a judge today, NBC’s Gary Grumbach previews. WEAPONIZATION WATCH: Florida’s bar association is probing former interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan, the Trump loyalist who spearheaded criminal cases against his political opponents, NYT’s Devlin Barrett and Jonah Bromwich scooped. That means the prospect of disbarment is now in the ether, though an investigation can take a long time. Meanwhile, DOJ has not stopped investigating former Joe Biden aides for possible criminal prosecution related to the then-president’s use of an autopen, CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz and Paula Reid report. THE EPSTEIN FILES: “Justice Department publishes documents with sexual assault allegations against Trump,” by POLITICO’s Erica Orden THE ANTHROPIC FIGHT: The Pentagon made it official that it’ll label Anthropic a national security threat because the company refused to allow the Pentagon to use its AI tools without restrictions, per the WSJ. CEO Dario Amodei said the company will sue over the designation, though Axios’ Maria Curi scooped that Amodei also apologized for a leaked memo in which he sharply accused the administration of punishing him for not giving Trump “dictator-style praise.” AI industry advocates warn that the administration’s retaliation is like shooting itself in the foot on its AI policy goals, POLITICO’s Brendan Bordelon and colleagues report. TALES FROM THE CRYPTO: “SEC Dismisses Fraud Case Against Crypto Billionaire Justin Sun,” by WSJ’s Dave Michaels and Vicky Ge Huang: He “became a major investor in President Trump’s crypto projects as he pursued leniency from U.S. law enforcers.” POLITICO CONVENES LEADERS IN ALBANY: On Wednesday, March 11, POLITICO will convene policy and political leaders for the first “New York Agenda: Albany Summit.” Albany sets a policy agenda that ripples far beyond New York’s borders and, in the weeks ahead, state leaders will face pivotal budget and legislative decisions. Key speakers include: State Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D), state Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D), Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D), and more. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, and you can register here to attend in-person and to watch the livestream. THE WEEKEND AHEAD FRIDAY PROGRAMS … POLITICO “The Conversation”: Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.). Texas primary panel: Adam Wren, Elaine Godrey and Gabby Birenbaum. C-SPAN “Ceasefire”: Michael Rubin and David Satterfield … Joel Payne and Rina Shah. PBS “Washington Week”: Peter Baker, Susan Glasser, Karim Sadjadpour and Nancy Youssef. SUNDAY SO FAR … NBC “Meet the Press”: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries … Steve Kornacki with a new NBC News poll. Panel: Adrienne Elrod, Susan Page, Bill Stepien and Amy Walter. CBS “Face the Nation”: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) … Israeli Ambassador Michael Leiter. CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) … Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). Panel: Rebeccah Heinrichs, Jonah Goldberg, Karim Sadjadpour and Nayyera Haq. MS NOW “The Weekend”: Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) … Rep. Deborah Ross (D-N.C.) … Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) … Norm Eisen … Lupita Nyong’o. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) … retired Lt. Gen. Charles Moore. Panel: Michael Allen, Mollie Hemingway, Annie Linskey and Juan Williams. ABC “This Week,” with Martha Raddatz anchoring from Israel: retired Adm. Mike Mullen. Iran panel: Susan Glasser and Anne Applebaum. PBS “Compass Points”: Firas Maksad … Danielle Pletka … Wendy Sherman … Ray Takeyh.
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➡️ Get on the Invite List | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | IN MEMORIAM — “Ronnie Eldridge, a Fixture in N.Y. Politics, Dies at 95,” by NYT’s Sam Roberts: “She was an adviser to Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Mayor John V. Lindsay and Representative Bella S. Abzug before serving on the New York City Council from 1989 to 2001.” SPORTS BLINK I — HUD Secretary Scott Turner and VA Secretary Doug Collins will help lead the U.S. delegation to the Paralympics in Italy today. SPORTS BLINK II — Lionel Messi generally stays away from politics and politicians, but he appeared alongside President Donald Trump as he and his Inter Miami champions visited the White House yesterday, per Bloomberg’s Patrick Gillespie. Trump was thrilled that Messi showed up a year after declining an invitation from Joe Biden. SPORTS BLINK III — “White House to tackle likeness rights concerns with athletes, executives,” by POLITICO’s Ben Johansen: “On Friday, Trump is scheduled to gather sports executives, former professional athletes and coaches at the White House for a roundtable on the future of college athletics. NIL — the patchwork of state rules governing how schools can use student athletes’ names, images and likeness — is expected to be among the topics discussed.” OUT AND ABOUT — The Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition PAC, Chair Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) and her chief of staff John Lee hosted the PAC’s quarterly coffee yesterday. SPOTTED: Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Mike Levin (D-Calif.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Herb Conaway (D-N.J.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.), Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) and Tim Kennedy (D-N.Y.), Fatima Ahmad, Davis Bates, Katherine Gensler, Jason Gleason, Chris Hickling, Steven Kirsch, Yogin Kothari, Isaac Loeb, Alex McDonough, Ali McGuigan, Ryan McGuire, Helen Milby, John Mulligan, Bob Powers, David Schutt, Joanna Slaney, Kevin Stockert, Luca Vallada and Gary Whidby. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Netflix co-founder/chair Reed Hastings is joining the advisory board of Democrats for Education Reform. MEDIA MOVE — Kent Nishimura is joining AFP as a staff photographer in D.C. He previously worked at the LA Times. TRANSITIONS — Nate Soule is now executive director of the Campaign for America First International Assistance. He previously worked for Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.). CAFIA is also launching a $500,000 ad campaign to thank Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) and Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) for supporting foreign aid and local farmers. … Erik Balsbaugh, Sam Drzymala and Chris Ortman have launched At Dawn Campaigns, a public affairs firm focused on emerging media and internet culture. They’ve already worked with top Democratic politicians and influencers. … Kishore Thota is now a management consulting director at RSM US. He previously worked for Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. … … The International Stability Operations Association has added retired Lt. Gen. Michael Howard as CEO and elevated Roxanne Kaufman to president. Howard is a former deputy commanding general of U.S. European Command. … Fred Essis is now director of federal government advocacy at Cencora. He previously worked at the American College of Emergency Physicians. … The American Federation for Children has added Sara Yonker as senior director of content and Rob Rein as director of growth, both focused on the AFC Scholarship Fund. BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Vish Burra HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan (1-0-0) … David Urban … Brandon Chaderton … Jim Bourg … Anthony Foti … Elias Law Group’s Jacqui Newman … John Stossel … Jonathan Day … David Bradley … Sandra Salstrom … Parker Brugge … Joe Perticone … Brooke Gladstone … NFL’s Brendonb Plack … Emily Leviner … Anna Kopperud Jordan … Chris Leavitt … Co-Equal’s Karen Lightfoot … Katy Bayless … Tim Bergreen … NYT’s Eileen Murphy … Saul Anuzis … Pablo Chavez … Ari Spinoza … Albemarle’s Alex Stroman … Kara Carscaden … Kim Moxley … Minah Malik … Bill Huey … White House’s Tim Kurth … The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell 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.
| | A message from Anthropic: AI helps most with the hardest work, not the simplest. Anthropic analyzed 2 million conversations and found Claude's biggest impact is on complex, college-level tasks. The Economic Index tracks adoption across every state and occupation. See how your state is using AI. | | | | | | | | 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 political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
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