| | | |  | | By Ali Bianco and Makayla Gray | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
President Donald Trump on Truth Social announced the U.S. had “very good and productive conversations” with Iran over the weekend. | Mark Schiefelbein/AP | DON’T SAY TACO: President Donald Trump backed down this morning from his threat of significant strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, just hours before his own deadline for Iran to effectively reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Markets breathed a temporary sigh of relief. Oil prices dropped. But questions abound about how much of this is real progress, and whether it’ll stick beyond this week. Trump on Truth Social announced the U.S. had “very good and productive conversations” over the weekend, and that consequently the U.S. would pause “any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure” for the next five days, POLITICO’s Eric Bazail-Eimil and colleagues report. Talks will be ongoing this week, he wrote. This all follows the standoff over the strait, which is a key transport zone for oil exports that Iran has been using as a chokepoint — setting off alarms for weeks in the oil market and among major U.S. allies. The possibility of negotiations to end the war, conveniently announced prior to the markets opening, saw stocks jump and the S&P leap to one of its best days since before the war started, per AP. The price of crude oil fell to around $100, down from its $120 peaks last week. Not so fast: Iranian state media quickly contradicted Trump’s post, raising doubts about how far along any negotiations actually are. They denied that direct talks have happened between the U.S. and Tehran, labeling Trump’s statement as a bid to lower energy prices and buy time, per Axios’ Barak Ravid. And another grain of salt: This is the latest war assessment we’ve gotten from the president, which has so far ranged from the U.S. “winning” to the military potentially “winding down” to more promises to “obliterate” Iran’s energy sector. All the while, the Pentagon has Marines en route to the region, and while Trump may see an off-ramp, Israel does not. They plan to continue operations while avoiding Iran’s energy sector, though they were told about Trump’s post ahead of time, Bloomberg’s Dan Williams reports. But Trump doubled down today, telling reporters before boarding Air Force One to Memphis that both sides have engaged in “very, very strong talks” with “major points of agreement.” Trump’s diplomacy duo — Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — are leading the talks, which kicked off yesterday and will continue by phone today. “We have a very serious chance of making a deal,” Trump said. He insisted that “they called.” Asked about Iran’s denial, Trump said “they're going to have to get themselves better public relations people,” adding the conflicting reports may have been a miscommunication. Trump declined to specify who the U.S. is talking with on the Iranian side but that they’re “very solid” people. Axios reported Turkey, Egypt, and Pakistan indirectly passed messages between Washington and Tehran over the weekend. Iran also doubled down: “No negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote on X. Trump left the door open to the U.S. jointly controlling the Strait of Hormuz, which would be a significant change to the regional power dynamic. “Maybe me, me and the Ayatollah ... whoever the next Ayatollah is,” Trump said. The leadership question is looming over Iran as Trump continues to dangle the specter of regime change. He told reporters he doesn’t consider Mojtaba Khamenei to be Iran’s new supreme leader. The five-day trial period for talks could set the groundwork for settling the war — or risk further bombing, as Trump framed it. But the president signaled that the deal Iran is “very willing” to make includes an agreement to get rid of their nuclear weapons — a central sticking point. But he also said he can’t “guarantee” a deal. One to watch: Axios’ Ravid reports that the key mediating countries are trying to put together a meeting in Islamabad later this week, with Witkoff, Kushner — and possibly VP JD Vance. Good Monday afternoon. This is Ali Bianco and Makayla Gray. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Send us your thoughts at abianco@politico.com and mgray@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Venture Global: Who says Americans don't build big things anymore? Through innovation, Venture Global is delivering American energy at a fraction of the cost, in a fraction of the time. That's Venture Global. That's Unstoppable Energy. ventureglobal.com | | | | | | 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. SHUTDOWN FALLOUT: ICE agents are being deployed to airports to assist TSA amid the ongoing DHS shutdown, WaPo’s Amy Wang reports. So far, ICE has been deployed to 13 airports across the country this morning, CNN reports. Trump also hinted at the potential for the National Guard to be sent to airports if ICE isn’t enough to help bring down the long wait times. Back on the Hill: Senate Majority Leader John Thune offered Trump a proposal to fund all of DHS except ICE — potentially unlocking Democratic support — but Trump said no, Punchbowl reports. Trump wants Republicans to stick around to continue piling the DHS pressure on Democrats and push forward on the SAVE Act. “Not only that, Trump warned that he’d publicly slam Senate Republicans if they left town for the upcoming recess,” Punchbowl notes. “Trump also said he’d invite all the GOP senators and their families for Easter dinner at the White House. Some Republicans took that as a threat, not a reward.” Make way for Mullin: Markwayne Mullin is awaiting his Senate confirmation tonight as the new DHS secretary after advancing in yesterday’s session, AP’s Rebecca Santana writes. Immigration files: At least 11,000 U.S. citizen children with immigrant parents have had their parents arrested or detained by ICE, an amount that doubled after Trump's second term began, ProPublica’s Jeff Ernsthausen and colleagues found. 2. SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court today “appeared poised to reject Mississippi’s mail-in ballot law, a decision that could upend mail-in voting throughout the country,” per NYT’s Abbie VanSickle. “The justices appeared divided along partisan lines, with the court’s six conservatives expressing deep skepticism with Mississippi’s law during arguments held on Monday. The state’s law allows ballots to be counted if they are postmarked by Election Day but received within five business days afterward.” ICYMI: Read more on the case from this morning’s Playbook 3. ORBITING THE WHITE HOUSE: “The Trump-inspired realignment of the conservative think tank world,” by POLITICO’s Alex Gangitano: “Three new groups – the America First Policy Institute, American Compass and Advancing American Freedom – have formed since 2020, seeing an opening to create a home for their type of conservative policy that didn’t exist with the GOP old guard, like the Heritage Foundation. The battle for lasting influence is on, and who ends up on top in this new realignment of conservative think tanks will not only determine who is most influential in Trump’s second term but could also mold the shape of conservative policy in the post-Trump era.” 4. 2026 WATCH: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is avoiding questions about the amount he’s previously donated to AIPAC — dodging a hot topic that is opening up a new front in the Democratic Party debate, Axios’ Holly Otterbein and Alex Thompson report. Pritzker, who is Jewish, has attempted to detach with AIPAC for over a decade for its right lean and amid the group’s support of Israel’s actions in Gaza. A Pritzker spokesperson insisted that the governor “withdrew his support” from AIPAC when it “became a pro-Trump organization.” An AIPAC super PAC spox said it is “extremely bipartisan.” GOP jitters: Georgia Republicans are growing wary of their potential to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff after GOP Gov. Brian Kemp couldn’t be coaxed into a crowded GOP primary field that isn’t showing signs of separating, WaPo’s Liz Goodwin reports. “‘I’m not feeling bullish about it,’ said one Republican strategist who was granted anonymity to provide a more candid assessment. ‘[Ossoff] has wisely avoided the temptation of going on cable news for six years and playing to the base for social media likes. ... I think he’s going to reap the benefits of that.’”
| | | | POLITICO's Economy Summit Join POLITICO’s Economy Summit on March 25 for discussions with government and industry leaders about the policy decisions that will determine tomorrow’s market risks and opportunities. Hear from Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Gary Cohn, and more. RSVP to attend in person or virtually. | | | | | 5. HEALTH OF A NATION: Casey Means’ nomination last year to become surgeon general was a feather in the MAHA movement’s cap. “But more than 10 months later, the controversial surgeon general pick has yet to assume the position advising Americans on how to improve their health. Her nomination has stalled as some Republicans question her stance on vaccines, her medical credentials and her pushes against the medical establishment,” WaPo’s Lauren Weber and Rachel Roubein report. “Means probably cannot afford to lose the support of a single Republican on the Senate health committee, which has yet to schedule a vote to advance her nomination to the full Senate.” Life inside RFK’s CDC: More than 40 current or former CDC staffers spoke to NYT’s Jeneen Interlandi about how the agency functioned prior to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation, and where it’s headed under his leadership. “Now, they argue, agency scientists are being sidelined, political appointees are taking charge and a vital public health institution is being remade into a vehicle for ideologues.” 6. BET ON IT: “Lawmakers to Introduce Bipartisan Bill Banning Sports Bets on Prediction Markets,” by WSJ’s Krystal Hur: “A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators are introducing legislation Monday to prohibit entities regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, including prediction-market exchanges Kalshi and Polymarket’s U.S. platform, from listing contracts related to sporting events. … The legislation is the first bipartisan Senate bill seeking to regulate prediction markets. The bill also seeks to prohibit ‘casino-style games’ from being listed on the platforms.” 7. LOOKING AHEAD: Washington is beginning to visualize “rebuilding” the DOJ in a post-Trump world, POLITICO’s Ankush Khardori writes in his latest Rules of Law column. “DOJ alumni across the ideological spectrum — including some who held senior career or political positions — have told me that they are ready and willing to come back to the department to set things straight after Trump leaves office.” 8. UNDOING A LEGACY: “The California reckoning after Cesar Chavez’s fall,” by POLITICO’s Melanie Mason: “There are few figures as quintessentially Californian, who have done more to shape the political and social forces that define the state today. And there are few people so mythologized that they are transformed from a flawed human to a symbol for an entire community. … And it has left the state’s Democratic power structure, especially Latinos, grappling with how to proceed with this uglier understanding of the leader of the farmworker movement.”
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| | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | IN MEMORIAM — “Lionel Jospin, France’s Former Prime Minister, Dies at 88,” by NYT’s David Andelman: “Lionel Jospin, the political tactician who helped lay the foundations of French socialism, then set its agenda and secured its success over four decades, has died. He was 88. … In a political career that began in the mid-1950s and continued through the triumph of two socialist presidents of France, Mr. Jospin served from 1997 to 2002 as prime minister and stood twice for the presidency.” EXTREME MAKEOVER: D.C. EDITION — “Kennedy Center renovation hit with lawsuit filed by preservationists,” by WaPo’s Kelsey Ables: “A group of eight associations representing preservationists and architects asked a federal district court to halt the Trump administration’s renovation of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which was announced suddenly last month … In the lawsuit, filed Monday morning, the coalition requests that the court require the administration to comply with historic preservation laws and obtain permission from Congress to undertake the renovation … The group is seeking a preliminary injunction that would immediately stop any destruction of the structure or significant redesign.” PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “As mayoral election looms, D.C.’s business class worries about what’s next,” by WaPo’s Paul Schwartzman: “Choosing the wrong mayor, wrote [Paul Dougherty], a longtime developer, invoking the specter of historically troubled cities like Detroit, risks propelling D.C. into ‘a period of instability, rising crime, and weakened governance.’ … Dougherty’s warning reflects the unease percolating within Washington’s business class as the city — only months from choosing its first new mayor in a dozen years — faces a potential leftward shift in its policies while it struggles to recalibrate in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and the Trump administration’s cutting of thousands of federal jobs.” MEDIA MOVE — Scott MacFarlane is joining MeidasTouch as chief Washington correspondent. He previously worked at CBS News. TRANSITIONS — Douglas Gansler and Stephen Ruckman are joining Greenberg Traurig LLP as co-chair of the state attorneys practice and as shareholder, respectively. They both previously worked at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. 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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