| | | |  | | By Ali Bianco and Makayla Gray | | Presented by |  | | | | 
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - FEBRUARY 04: ICE agents depart the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on February 4, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. | Getty Images | The immigration faultlines are shifting ahead of the midterms as Republicans pivot and Democrats search for a winning message. That’s set off a growing trend of Democrats reckoning with their voting history on the issue — one that’s cropping up in some closely watched races across the country. Democrats like Shannon Bird in Colorado’s 8th District and Marni von Wilpert in California’s 48th are facing growing criticism from their rivals over their past votes on immigration legislation that drew controversy from immigrant communities in their districts. Their races are just two in a slew of primaries where crucial swing voters like Latinos make up a significant part of the electorate. The instinct from rival campaigns to slam candidates in Democratic primaries over the issue is a testament to just how important opposition to the administration’s immigration agenda has become in these contentious races. “When you're confronted with these harsh realities, how are you going to respond?” a Democratic strategist working on Latino voters told Playbook. “How are you actually going to take into account what the Latino community needs right now?” Colorado’s 8th is currently held by Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.) but is rated a toss-up this year. Bird, a former state legislator, is facing backlash from her Democratic primary opponents over her voting history. Last year, she was the only Democrat to vote against advancing a bill out of committee that codified civil rights protections for immigrants. The bill closed a loophole to stop local government collaboration with ICE, and passed the legislature with broad Democratic support. Bird missed the final vote. The legislation she voted against had broad support from local Latino community activists “They didn't feel like [Bird] showed up for them,” the strategist said. Her campaign bills her as a major defender for the state’s immigrant and Latino communities, pointing to her co-sponsoring other bills that stopped courthouse arrests and established a legal defense fund. “Shannon was the first candidate in this race to put out a comprehensive plan to overhaul ICE,” Bird campaign manager Eve Zhurbinskiy told Playbook. “Her opponents are clearly trying to confuse voters by distorting her record.” Her campaign added that Bird missed the final vote due to a family emergency and would have otherwise voted in favor.
| | | | 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. | | | | | In California, von Wilpert is a San Diego councilmember running in the similarly heated Democratic race for retiring Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) seat, where she faces perennial candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar. She’s built up a major platform focused on reining in immigration enforcement tactics. But she also voted in December to approve the continued use of a contract for automated license plate readers which have come under fire for ICE and DHS surveillance in the state. The concerns over the surveillance cameras brought in six hours of public testimony and significant opposition from the local Latino community. For von Wilpert’s critics, it’s a vote they’re pointing to and casting as a flip-flop on immigration. But her campaign told Playbook the surveillance system is widely used, and von Wilpert helped put in place safety guardrails, like weekly audits, to block information sharing with DHS. “Unlike everybody else in this race, Marni is helping to lead and protect public safety for one of the biggest cities in California,” her campaign consultant, Dan Rottenstreich, told Playbook. “The concerns about ICE are very, very legitimate, and Marni took them seriously … That's why she worked with the community to put these strong protections in place so we can keep people safe while protecting civil liberties and keeping ICE out of the community.” The debate has also hit Democrats who’ve taken similar votes in Congress. In a backtrack earlier this month, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) — who’s locked in a contentious Democratic primary battle for Minnesota Senate against Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan — said she regretted her vote in favor of the Laken Riley Act. Following the firestorm of controversy over “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota, Flanagan repeatedly attacked Craig for being among the group of moderate Democrats who helped advance Trump’s immigrant crime bill. And it’s hit incumbents over DHS funding, which remains gridlocked as a month of the partial shutdown for the department nears. Only a handful of Democrats voted to advance the original six-bill appropriations package in January that also funded DHS during the Minnesota fallout. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) was one of them — but quickly released a statement expressing regret over that vote. “I hear the anger from my constituents, and I take responsibility for that,” he wrote. It’s not just Democrats who are taking a hard look at how voters are trending on immigration. The GOP is reckoning with immigration enforcement following a “hiccup” with Latino voters, as Speaker Mike Johnson put it earlier this week at the House GOP’s policy retreat. “Everybody can describe it differently, but here's the good news: we're in a course-correction mode right now,” Johnson said. “You can't really deflect the fact that ICE is the central piece of the 2026 midterms, and that people are scrambling to make sure that their record is going to be clean come ’26,” the Democratic strategist working on Latino voters told Playbook. Good Thursday afternoon. This is Ali Bianco and Makayla Gray, both eternally confused about what season D.C. is in. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop us a line at abianco@politico.com and mgray@politico.com.
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Learn more. | | | | |  | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. IRAN WAR LATEST: The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,” the International Energy Agency said today, NYT’s Eshe Nelson reports. What once shipped about 20 million barrels of oil a day has diminished, per I.E.A's monthly report. Energy Secretary Chris Wright indicated the Navy isn’t ready to begin escorting oil tankers through the strait, but it may be by the end of the month, he told CNBC. And in his first statement as Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the strait should remain closed, Reuters reports. Intel assessment: Outdated intelligence is likely the reason the U.S. carried out a missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed over 165 people, AP’s Aamer Madhani and colleagues scoop. “U.S. Central Command relied on target coordinates for the strike using outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency, according to the person familiar with the preliminary finding. The agency did not respond to a request for comment.” How it’s playing: Americans’ views on the war may have shifted since last week. A new WaPo poll finds less opposition to military actions than when they began, but more people prefer the strikes to stop, Scott Clement and colleagues report. “A steady majority say the Trump administration has not clearly explained the war’s goals, and most say the number of U.S. casualties — including seven service members reported killed in action — is unacceptable.” For your radar: “U.S. sailors injured in fire aboard aircraft carrier supporting Iran war,” by WaPo’s Tara Copp and Noah Robertson: “Two U.S. sailors were treated for ‘non-life-threatening injuries’ after a fire broke out Thursday on board the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, a centerpiece of Trump administration’s war against Iran, officials said. The Navy acknowledged the incident in a statement, saying the fire occurred — and was contained — in the ship’s main laundry facility and was not a result of combat. The statement said the sailors are in stable condition; it did not specify the type of injuries they experienced.” The rhetorical question: “How Hegseth Came to See Moral Purpose in War as Weakness,” by NYT’s Greg Jaffe: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s bellicose and vengeful rhetoric describing the military’s war in Iran grew out of his experience in Iraq.” 2. THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE: “Trump’s silence leaves housing affordability bill in limbo,” by POLITICO’s Katherine Hapgood and Jordain Carney: “The bipartisan legislation sailed through the Senate Thursday, but its future in the House remains uncertain amid demands from GOP hard-liners for major changes. [Trump] could step in to break the impasse between the two chambers by expressing support for the Senate’s work — but so far has shown little interest … The GOP standoff over the once-in-a-decade housing bill, which passed by a vote of 89-10, illustrates a broader struggle among Republicans over how to address affordability concerns that could tip the balance in either chamber of Congress in November.” 3. FOR YOUR RADAR: Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Trump’s DHS secretary nominee, hired a supervisor at his plumbing business who illegally stored weapons and ammunition in an office safe in 2009, WaPo’s Isaac Arnsdorf and Maria Sacchetti report. Federal court records show that the employee, “Timothy L. Saylor, was previously convicted of felonies, barring him from owning firearms. He said Mullin knew his criminal history but nonetheless allowed him to store the weapons at Mullin Plumbing in Oklahoma.” Mullin was never charged with any crime, the court records show. Mullin denied knowing Saylor’s criminal background in 2012 during his congressional run and didn’t respond to WaPo’s requests for comment.
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➡️ Learn More about POLITICO Pro | | | | | 4. TRADING SPACES: The Trump administration had until midday today to provide the U.S. Court of International Trade an updated plan on tariff refunds for U.S. businesses that filed lawsuits after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s global tariffs last month, NYT’s Tony Romm reports. On the jobs: The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits last week came in at 213,000, the Labor Department said today. The figure was lower than the 214,000 reported a week prior, “signaling layoffs from employers remain modest,” WSJ’s Jessica Coacci writes. 5. CLYBURN IS COMING BACK: Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said he will run for an 18th term, “bucking calls for generational change in his party even as other longtime Democratic Party power brokers plan to leave Washington,” POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy writes. “What is there unfinished or what more you need to do?” the 85-year-old Clyburn said at the South Carolina Democratic Headquarters in downtown Columbia. “Well, it’s in the Preamble of our Constitution. We exist in pursuit of a more perfect union.” 6. KATZ OUTTA THE BAG: “Morris Katz backed Cuomo, criticized Sanders before political career,” by POLITICO’s Jason Beeferman: “Some of the posts show how Katz’s politics from his early 20s were more aligned with the well-connected world he grew up in — and stand in stark contrast to his present salad days, with Katz now in high demand to lead outsider, populist campaigns that highlight the divide between the wealthy and everyone else. … He told POLITICO in a statement that his old posts are not representative of his politics today.”
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| | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | IN MEMORIAM — “Former US Congressman Merrill Cook dies at 79,” by KUTV’s Megan Brugger: “Merrill Cook, a former U.S. congressman, died at 79 years old. In a press release, his son David said he passed away peacefully in Salt Lake City on Monday. … In 1996, Cook was elected to represent Utah’s Second Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1997 to 2001. … He served on the House Banking Committee, the Space Science Subcommittee, and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Additionally, David said Cook was ‘instrumental’ in securing funding connected with the Salt Lake Olympic Games.” EVERYBODY WAS UFC FIGHTING — FBI agents will be receiving training insights and techniques from UFC fighters this weekend, in what FBI Director Kash Patel is calling a historic seminar, Variety’s Ellise Shafer writes. And over at the White House, the UFC is pushing forward with plans to hold a fight on the South Lawn on June 14 without a permit from the D.C. Combat Sports Commission, WaPo’s Paul Schwartzman reports. ‘VEEP’ FILES — CNN’s Betsy Klein documents the latest instance of the realism that HBO’s hit comedy documented: “A Democratic congresswoman made a legal complaint against President Donald Trump for, in part, excluding her from an upcoming Kennedy Center board meeting. The invitation, it turned out, was in her spam folder. Aide filed an update today.” VEEP FILES — VP JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance were spotted dining at Divino last night. Luca Giovannini, the restaurant owner, said the second couple ordered filet mignon, with appetizers, pastas and pizza for the table, per the Washingtonian’s Jessica Sidman. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “Smithsonian museum will revamp its slavery exhibit after artifact loan runs out,” by AP’s Gary Fields and colleagues: “[The National Museum of African American History and Culture] exhibit about the maritime journey that millions of Africans were forced to take across the Atlantic to slavery in the Americas will change later this month, when a remnant from one of the first sunken slave ships ever recovered is taken off display in Washington. … The last day for museum visitors to see the timber piece on display is March 22.” OUT AND ABOUT — Nvidia hosted a policy happy hour at Dirty Habit and dinner at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco last night with a discussion on AI and the future of the U.S. workforce moderated by Widehall’s Steve Clemons with Nvidia’s Chris Malachowsky, former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe. Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) anchored and opened the dinner discussion. SPOTTED: Meghan Thurlow, Ali Emamdjomeh, Kevin Frazier, Ned Finkle, Katherine Long, Maria Flynn, Peter Dien, Aalok Mehta, Maggie Eastland, Michael Richards, Cy McNeill, Joe Miller, Melody Malachowsky, Chandler Morse, Maria Flynn, Petra Schneebauer, Jennifer Taylor, Steve Yates, Rishi Iyengar, David Shepardson, Robb Gordon, Mario Loyola, Patrick Rutherford, David Shahoulian, Johannes Bahrke, Diana Negroponte and Sarah Weinstein. — The Washington AI Network hosted a live podcast recording last night at the House at 1229 with Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel in conversation with the BBC’s Sumi Somaskanda about the future of travel and AI. SPOTTED: Sam Feist, Sarah Hudgins, Robert Hayes, Heather Kulp, Helen Milby, Meridith McGraw, Niamh King, Michael Petricone, Nicole Mortier, Jayne Sandman, Artur Orkisz, Matt Keller, Ruth Schipper, Angeli Chawla, Andrea Yang, Julian Ramirez, Sutton Tyson, T.W. Arrighi, Lisa Allen, Katy Balls, Christian Peña, Asad Ramzanali, Matt Gorman, Julian Graham, Danny Smith, Josh Randle, John McCarthy, Virginia Coyne and Chris Russo. — The Bipartisan Policy Center convened national and state policymakers, business leaders and education experts for its half-day summit, "America's Workforce: Blueprint for a National Talent Strategy," yesterday. SPOTTED: Margaret Spellings, Bill Haslam, Deval Patrick, Kristen Soltis Anderson, Katie Jenner, Tom Kane, Andy Rotherham, Matt Barnum, Christian Meisner, Catlin O’Neill, Scott Pulsipher, Paul Fain, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, Eric Garcetti, Henry Cisneros, Haden Polseno-Hensley, Erick Russell, Anna Steffeney, Abby McCloskey, Gina Raimondo, Jonathan Capehart and Cheryl Oldham. TRANSITION — Max Mandich has joined PPHC’s Concordant Advisory as a senior director. He previously was at Global Counsel and is a Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) alum. 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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