| | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by: |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | BULLETIN: President Donald Trump just posted on Truth Social that he’ll weigh in with an endorsement soon for either Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) or Texas AG Ken Paxton — and that the other candidate should “immediately” drop out. The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker report that Trump’s advisers expect Cornyn to get the golden nod, as the Senate GOP establishment has urged, which could shake up the race. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said today he’ll stay neutral in the runoff, per Semafor’s Burgess Everett.
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Healthcare workers unload the bodies of Iranian sailors from a vehicle who died when their IRIS Dena warship sank outside Sri Lanka's territorial waters, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) | Eranga Jayawardena/AP | STATE OF PLAY: Half a week into the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, conflict across the Middle East shows few signs of contracting — instead pushing into new terrain (from Turkey to Sri Lanka) and longer time horizons. The timeline expands: Even as some Hill Republicans frame the fighting as a limited operation — not really a war and certainly not a forever war — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth left the timeframe open-ended and expansive, per POLITICO’s Paul McLeary. “You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three,” he told reporters at a presser this morning. More military planes are arriving to dominate Iran’s airspace today, Hegseth said, and the attacks on Iran will escalate, with “death and destruction all day long.” He trumpeted the killing of an unnamed Iranian official who’d allegedly led a Trump assassination scheme, among the latest casualties. Notable quotable: “This is not a ‘mission accomplished’ situation,” Hegseth said as he touted U.S. military successes thus far, with memories of Iraq looming over the GOP. “This is simply a reality check.” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine also sought to allay concerns about U.S. stockpiles, saying the military has “sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense.” The U.S. attacks are going “progressively deeper” into Iran, Caine said. The tactics expand: A U.S. submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian naval ship near Sri Lanka — the first such U.S. attack since World War II, Hegseth said. Sri Lanka said at least 87 of the 180 crew members on board died, and 32 were rescued. The Pentagon’s video is astonishing. The scope expands: The war touched NATO for the first time, as Turkey announced the military alliance had shot down an Iranian missile heading for Turkey. If Turkey does come under attack, it “would mark a major escalation and could activate NATO’s mutual defense clause,” NYT’s Ben Hubbard notes. Across the region beyond Iran, there were also fresh Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon (where officials said 72 people have now been killed) and Iranian attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Power went out across all of Iraq. The Human Rights Activists News Agency said the civilian death toll in Iran is now at least 1,097. Could talks be in the offing? NYT’s Michael Crowley and colleagues reported that Iranian operatives contacted the CIA indirectly shortly after the bombing started to offer discussions about finding an off-ramp. Iran rejected the reporting as “pure falsehood and psychological warfare,” and no serious talks appear to have resulted. The White House told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu there weren’t secret talks with Iran, Axios’ Barak Ravid reports. From the podium: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will attend the dignified transfer of the six U.S. service members killed in Kuwait. On the Hill: Speaker Mike Johnson said today that if the White House requests a supplemental funding bill for the war — perhaps as much as $50 billion — Congress will pass it “when it’s appropriate,” per POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill. The House tomorrow will vote on a resolution condemning Iran’s support for terrorism, Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced, per Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman. But the main action today remains the Senate vote on a war powers resolution to rein Trump in. Though Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) gambit looks set to win over almost all Democrats, broad GOP opposition will likely tank it, per Semafor’s Burgess Everett and Nick Wu. Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) indicated they’re disinclined to limit Trump, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is remaining tight-lipped. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) could be the only GOP yes vote. Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | A message from Anthropic: Qualified Health used Claude, built by Anthropic, to screen 1M+ heart failure patients in Texas. It surfaced life-saving interventions that were buried in fragmented data. See how | | | | | | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. IMMIGRATION FILES: House members sparred with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at respective appearances today. In Noem’s House Judiciary hearing (live NYT updates here), questioning broke down largely along partisan lines, with Democrats slamming her for aggressive immigration enforcement tactics and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and Republicans praising the crackdown. At House Oversight, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) got into it with Walz over the state’s fraud scandal being concentrated among Somali Americans, accusing Democrats of not tackling fraud because they’re “a key voting bloc,” per POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs. More pressure on Noem: ProPublica’s Joshua Kaplan and Justin Elliott raise questions about whether Noem was honest in her Senate testimony yesterday, when she said Corey Lewandowski has no role in approving contracts at DHS. Four current or former officials and records ProPublica reviewed say that Lewandowski has personally signed off on numerous major contracts. It’s a crime to lie to Congress. But DHS insists that Noem told the truth: “Mr. Lewandowski does NOT play a role in approving contracts,” a spokesperson said in a statement. Senate Dems also put out a report finding that Noem’s insistence on signing off on spending has led to delays in tens of millions of dollars in disaster aid, WaPo’s Brianna Sacks and Brady Dennis report. DHS denied the allegations and said “there are no systemic delays.” 2. ABOUT LAST NIGHT: While Cornyn awaits a possible Trump endorsement, Democrats are already focused on the general election in the Texas Senate race. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) officially conceded to state Rep. James Talarico this morning, saying Dems need to unify. The most uncomfortable runoff may lie ahead for Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas). The scandal-plagued incumbent only narrowly trailed far-right influencer Brandon Herrera in the first round of voting, but as the two men head into their second straight runoff, the House Ethics Committee announced today that it’s launching an official probe into Gonzales, POLITICO’s Chris Marquette reports. The investigation centers on Gonzales’ alleged affair with an aide who later died by suicide; he has denied wrongdoing. The latest race calls: Reps. Christian Menefee and Al Green are officially going to a Democratic runoff, with Menefee ahead by 2 points in the first round, per POLITICO’s Liz Crampton. So are Rep. Julie Johnson and former Rep. Colin Allred, who led the incumbent by 11 points yesterday, per POLITICO’s Jacob Wendler.
| | | | POLITICO Forecast The forces reshaping politics, policy and power are accelerating across regions and sectors. Drawing on POLITICO’s global reporting, Forecast connects the dots — from major global moments to behind-the-scenes developments — to help readers anticipate what comes next. Sign up for POLITICO Forecast. | | | | | 3. THE MIDTERMS PITCH: “Full economic turnaround will take time, Vance says in interview,” by WaPo’s Natalie Allison: “Vice President JD Vance argued voters should have patience with the pace of economic improvements, saying that despite what he described as progress, there was ‘no way’ the Trump administration would have been able to quickly reverse Biden-era cost of living setbacks. Officials ‘have to be honest with the American people’ about what is possible, Vance said.” 4. THE UNSINKABLE TRUMP TARIFFS: Trump’s new 15 percent global tariffs will go into effect this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” By August, Bessent said, the administration’s protectionist regime will have roughly returned to where it stood before the Supreme Court dealt a blow to Trump’s initial tariff plan. But EU sources tell Bloomberg’s Jenny Leonard they’ve gotten reassurances that the bloc’s tariff rate will remain at 10 percent. Knowing the Court of International Trade: “The Tiny Court at the Center of a Massive Scramble to Get Tariff Money Back,” by WSJ’s Lydia Wheeler and Louise Radnofsky: “Most lawyers know little, if anything, about the Court of International Trade. Fewer than 300 cases were filed there annually in 2023 and 2024. The court is tucked away in lower Manhattan, but not all of its judges live in the city, or even the region. … Now there are more than 2,000 lawsuits on the trade court’s doorstep … Lawyers who appear before the court describe its judges as no-nonsense and say they are unlikely to tolerate any attempt by the government to walk back previous assurances that the tariffs could be repaid.” 5. VENEZUELA LATEST: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is traveling to Venezuela today, with plans to meet with acting President Delcy Rodríguez and announce an oil agreement, Bloomberg’s Jennifer Dlouhy scooped. 6. THE MAHA AGENDA: “How Kennedy Is Trying to Revamp Medical School,” by NYT’s Alan Blinder and colleagues: “Under pressure from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dozens of American medical schools have agreed to rework their curriculums to teach more about nutrition … Many experts in the field have long argued that schools do not teach enough on the topic. But in shaping the new curriculum, the secretary has also tapped into voices and ideas from the Make America Healthy Again movement that sometimes deviate from established science.” What Boston is reading: After Kennedy last week threatened to crack down on excessive sugar in drinks at Dunkin’ and Starbucks, Massachusetts is watching to see whether HHS actually takes regulatory steps to try to limit unhealthful sweeteners, the Boston Globe’s Tal Kopan writes. “Come and take it,” Gov. Maura Healey posted. The Bulwark’s Sam Stein put it best: “An absolute crisis moment for Massachusetts as two of the state’s most storied institutions — Dunkin and the Kennedys — appear to be inching towards open conflict.”
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| | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | DOWNTOWN NEWS — “Precision Strategies to buy Firehouse Strategies,” by Axios’ Mike Allen: “Precision Strategies, co-founded by Democratic strategists Stephanie Cutter and Teddy Goff, is creating a bipartisan public-affairs powerhouse by acquiring Firehouse Strategies, co-founded by Alex Conant and other Republicans.” STAYING PUT — Gayle King won’t be among the high-profile departures amid the shakeup at CBS: She’s signed a new deal to stay at the network, WSJ’s Isabella Simonetti and Joe Flint scooped. “Rumors of my demise were inaccurate and greatly exaggerated,” King said. MEDIA MOVES — Yeganeh Torbati is joining the NYT as Iran correspondent. She previously worked at WaPo and is a ProPublica and Reuters alum. … Michael Schaffer is joining City Cast DC full-time as a host and executive editor, as the organization expands its local newsroom. He previously worked at POLITICO and is a Washington City Paper and Washingtonian alum. TRANSITION — Kate Schulman is now director of comms and marketing at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia and the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood. She previously worked for the U.N. Foundation. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Larkin Parker, senior director of comms at BIO and a Michael Bennet and Haley Stevens alum, and Syd Terry, a principal at BGR Group, welcomed Frances Miller “Millie” Terry on Feb. 24. Pic … Another pic 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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