| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine Good Sunday afternoon. This is Adam Wren. Drop me a line: awren@politico.com.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Gridiron Club President Judy Woodruff told club members that the Trump administration would not have a speaker at the dinner, and the toast would be to the First Amendment instead. | Brynn Anderson, Pool/AP Photo | For the first time in the 140-year history of the Gridiron Club Dinner, those gathered did not offer the traditional toast to the sitting U.S. president. Instead, leading members of the Washington press corps paid tribute to the First Amendment. The broken ritual capped off a night of ominous signs about the state of the Washington media’s fraught relationship with the Trump administration. At the annual white-tie, off-camera and bipartisan dinner, where the guidance for jokes is to “singe, not burn,” a coldness marked the moment instead. Here’s the backstory — as told to POLITICO by two people close to the planning — of how planning for the event in the days before led to an evening unlike anyone in the room could recall. By Friday before the dinner, Gridiron President Judy Woodruff, the PBS journalist, announced to club members that the Trump administration would not have a speaker at the dinner, and the toast would be to the First Amendment instead. Two sources told Playbook that President Donald Trump and VP JD Vance both declined invitations last month. “Nobody went because either we were busy working or we just don’t care to be recognized by that crowd,” one White House official told Playbook this morning. A spokesperson for the VP did not immediately return a request for comment today. The snubs were, in many ways, mutual. In addition to inviting Trump and Vance, the Gridiron Club also invited chief of staff Susie Wiles, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, communications director Steven Cheung and national security adviser Mike Waltz, among others. The administration didn’t send a representative to speak for the first time in recent memory. It’s usually the president or the VP: During Trump’s first term, the duty fell to Mike Pence in 2017, Trump himself in 2018, senior adviser Ivanka Trump in 2019, and would’ve included national security adviser Robert O’Brien in 2020 before the dinner was canceled due to the pandemic. Trump’s own remarks in 2018 are a time capsule of just how much the rift between him and the press has grown. Back then, he thanked the press “for all you do to support and sustain our democracy. I mean that. I mean that. Some incredible people in the press. Really, I don’t get to say it often. But you have some incredible, brilliant, powerful, smart and fair people in the press. And I want to thank you.” Last night, that wasn’t the case. Traditionally dozens of White House advisers fill the room, but there were scant few in attendance. The dinner still featured a Cabinet secretary — HUD Secretary Scott Turner — and speakers and lawmakers from both parties, as well as skits skewering Democrats and Republicans, maintaining a long tradition on each of those fronts since 1885. To substitute for an administration speaker, Woodruff went into the Gridiron archives to show a video featuring comments from the last four Republican presidents — including Trump speaking to the importance of a press in democracy. It’s unclear why Turner’s presence at the event as a member of the administration wasn’t enough to toast. Woodruff didn’t immediately respond when asked. “At most of the Gridiron Club’s Spring Dinners, the President of the United States has spoken. In some years, the Vice President has filled in, and on occasion a high-level Administration figure,” she told Playbook in a statement. “I invited the President, the Vice President, the National Security Adviser, and the Interior Secretary — all declined. I was told the Secretary of State would not be available. To close the evening — when the sitting President usually speaks — we showed video and audio excerpts of the past four Republican presidents, starting with President Trump in 2018. These demonstrated the good humor and fellowship this dinner is all about.” A spokesperson for Turner didn’t respond to a request for comment by publication time. In her remarks, Woodruff thanked her predecessor, WaPo’s Dan Balz. “Boy has this city changed. Last year, we were celebrating the accomplishments and leadership of Dan Balz,” she said. “Today, we’re trying to figure out just how our government came to be run by a 19-year-old who goes by ‘Big Balls,’” she said of the now-infamous Department of Government Efficiency staffer.
| | A message from the American Bankers Association: Support the ACRE Act. Congress has a great opportunity to lift up rural America. By supporting the bipartisan Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act, lawmakers can lower the cost of credit for farmers and ranchers trying to navigate a challenging economic cycle. The legislation will also drive down the cost of homeownership in more than 17,000 rural communities across the country. Learn more about this important effort to support farm country. | | | Gridiron members drew applause for stating their support for the AP, currently barred from covering official White House events, and Voice of America, which the White House yesterday said would be stripped back by executive order to “ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.” It’s also worth noting that more than a decade after journalist Austin Tice was kidnapped in Syria, his mother Debra attended the event and received a standing ovation. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, a friend of Vance’s, walked out during Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s jokes, some of which included ribald punchlines at Vance’s expense. “Speaking of couches,” Moore said, after referencing Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Oval Office meeting with Trump, Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “I hear JD Vance was supposed to be here tonight. But I heard he pulled out at the last minute.” A spokesperson for the Army inside the Pentagon said they could not provide comment by Playbook’s deadline. The vibes inside the Grand Hyatt Washington were some of the weirdest anyone in the room could recall. Throughout the evening, journalists and their guests had uncomfortable conversations about the jarring environment in which they operate, with media organizations being blocked across the Trump administration. All of this comes just weeks ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 26, an event that Trump did not attend throughout his presidency — breaking tradition from his predecessors. Already, Leavitt said on “The Sean Spicer Show” on Friday that she will not attend. More from the NYT: “At Gridiron Dinner, Jokes About Trump, Musk and Russia Abound,” by Shawn McCreesh SPOTTED: Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Dina Powell McCormick, French Ambassador Laurent Bili, Suzanne Clark, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Hogan Gidley, Kellyanne Conway, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Deputy AG Todd Blanche, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Jan Neuharth, Josh and Marjorie Harris, David Rubenstein, Edward Cohen, Sheila Johnson, John Riggins, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, Canadian Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, Mexican Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng, British Ambassador Peter Mandelson, Saudi Ambassador Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd, EU Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė, Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, Japanese Ambassador Shigeo Yamada, Jordanian Ambassador Dina Kawar, Taiwanese representative Alexander Yui, NASA Administrator-designate Jared Isaacman and Surgeon General-designate Janette Nesheiwat. SUNDAY BEST … — Special envoy Steve Witkoff on his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “The meeting was somewhere between three and four hours. It was positive. … It was a solution-based discussion. … [Trump is] involved in every important decision here. I expect that there will be a call with both presidents this week, and we’re also continuing to engage and have a conversation with the Ukrainians. We’re advising them on everything we’re thinking about.” — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the stock market dive, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “Not at all [worried]. I’ve been in the investment business for 35 years, and I can tell you that corrections are healthy. They’re normal. What’s not healthy is straight up, that you get these euphoric markets. That’s how you get a financial crisis. … Over the long term, if we put good tax policy in place, deregulation and energy security, the markets will do great. … One week does not the market make. … We are going to have a transition, and we are not going to have a crisis.” — Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s leadership, on “Meet the Press”: “Leader Schumer has a very difficult job. I don’t envy the job that he has. And the question is really for the members of his Democratic caucus: Are we willing to fight, right? I admit that it would take some risk-tolerant behavior in order to effectively stand up to this president.” … Kristen Welker: “Do you think that Leader Schumer is the best person to lead your caucus in this moment?” Murphy: “Sen. Schumer certainly can lead this caucus.” … Welker: “Would you consider that role?” Murphy: “I don’t think anybody’s having that conversation right now.” — Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s CR move, on “State of the Union”: “I understand that the American people are frustrated. Please believe many of us did not sleep because we were calling and trying to impress upon the senators the importance of pushing back in this moment. … The idea that Chuck Schumer is the only one that’s got a brain in the room and the only one that can think through all of the pros and cons is absolutely ridiculous. And, Jake, you and I both know that this administration could [not] care less about whether or not they violate the law.” — Crockett on Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) criticism of House Dems’ “choose your fighter” video: “He’s not the one to talk about anything. … I don’t show up in hoodies when I’m going on the floor.” — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on whether he’s talked to Schumer, on MSNBC’s “The Weekend”: “We haven’t had a conversation since that vote. … I do expect to have a conversation with him at some point later on today. Look, Chuck and I disagreed as it relates to the approach and outcome relative to what we viewed as a reckless Republican spending bill and the effort to try to jam these cuts down the throats of the American people. … Chuck and I agree on the overwhelming majority of issues moving forward.”
| | | | A message from the American Bankers Association:  
The bipartisan Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act of 2025 would provide critical economic support to rural communities. Learn more. | | | TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
- “D.C. Is Becoming Another Hollowed-Out Company Town,” by Alec MacGillis in the NYT
- “Cutting Columbia’s Aid Over Alleged Antisemitism Is Illegal,” by Bloomberg’s Noah Feldman
- “Covid fractured American society, and five years later, we still haven’t healed,” by Kavita Patel in MSNBC
- “My living wish for the America I know,” by Mia Love in the Deseret News
- “What gets sacrificed in the name of government efficiency,” by Raffi Krikorian in the Chicago Tribune
- “Trump and Rubio Used an Obscure Law to Attempt to Deport a Columbia Protester. In the Past, the Same Law Excluded Jews,” by POLITICO Magazine’s Joshua Zeitz
- “Invading Canada Is Not Advisable,” by The Atlantic’s Eliot Cohen
- “We Were Badly Misled About the Event That Changed Our Lives,” by NYT’s Zeynep Tufekci
- “Musk’s Tweet-Fueled Bubble May Be About to Burst,” by Mihir Desai in the NYT
9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK: “White House seriously considering deal from Oracle to run TikTok,” scoop by POLITICO’s Dasha Burns, Megan Messerly, Brendan Bordelon and Meredith Lee Hill: “The software company Oracle is accelerating talks with the White House on a deal to run TikTok, though significant concerns remain about what role the app’s Chinese founders will play in its ongoing U.S. operation … Vance and national security adviser Mike Waltz … are taking the lead in negotiations, while senators have voiced a desire to be read in on any talks … [T]he deal would essentially require the U.S. government to depend on Oracle to oversee the data of American users and ensure the Chinese government doesn’t have a backdoor to it.’ 2. IMMIGRATION FILES: For the first time since World War II, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to gain extraordinary wartime powers to deport members of a foreign invading force — this time Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang — without going before judges, POLITICO’s Myah Ward, Kyle Cheney, Ali Bianco and Josh Gerstein report. But federal judge James Boasberg immediately blocked the move, going so far as to order that planes in the air be turned around. His temporary restraining order will last two weeks, during which he’ll decide whether Trump’s move was legal. The Trump administration has appealed Boasberg’s order already. Trump has long promised to use the Alien Enemies Act to amass more power for rapid deportations, and he labeled Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization. DOJ says he has unilateral authority to determine who poses a threat to the U.S. But opponents warned that Trump’s proclamation would allow him to deport Venezuelans without due process. Recent news reports have raised serious questions about the validity of some of the administration’s designations of migrants as Tren de Aragua members. (See this WaPo story for the latest instance in D.C.) Before Boasberg’s order, the U.S. had struck a deal with El Salvador to send 300 alleged Tren de Aragua members to the country’s notorious prison, AP’s Matthew Lee and Regina Garcia Cano report. The U.S. was set to pay $6 million for a year’s imprisonment. It’s not yet clear what the U.S. evidence of their gang membership is. Leavitt announced this morning that the 300 had been sent to El Salvador. Two MS-13 members were also to be included.
| | | | Policy moves fast—stay ahead with POLITICO’s Policy Intelligence Assistant. Effortlessly search POLITICO's archive of 1M+ news articles, analysis documents, and legislative text. Track legislation, showcase your impact, and generate custom reports in seconds. Designed for POLITICO Pro subscribers, this tool helps you make faster, smarter decisions. Start exploring now. | | | | | 3. WAR REPORT: In the most significant strikes of Trump’s presidency so far, the U.S. bombarded Houthi targets in Yemen from the air, POLITICO’s Paul McLeary reports. Trump said the purpose was to undermine the Iranian-supported militants’ ability to attack shipping in the region. He warned Iran explicitly to stop backing the Houthis. The airstrikes kicked off a major campaign that could last weeks, Reuters’ Phil Stewart and Mohammed Ghobari report. The Houthi-run health ministry said the strikes killed at least 31 people and injured 101, most of them women and children, though that hasn’t been independently verified. The U.S. said they’d killed Houthi leaders. The Houthis said they’d respond with retaliatory escalation. The U.S. attacks come amid a growing series of strikes on the Islamic State in Syria and al-Shabab in Somalia. Those are the first to result from Trump’s new policy allowing the military to conduct more strikes without getting White House sign-off first, Paul reports. 4. ‘BLOODY SATURDAY’: The hammer of federal government cuts fell this weekend on U.S.-funded media networks, with more than 1,000 federal employees at Voice of America placed on leave, NPR’s David Folkenflik reports. As Trump dismantles the U.S. Agency for Global Media, all contracts for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia were also canceled, though NPR writes that Kari Lake, who is a special adviser to the agency, doesn’t actually appear to have the authority to do that. One former agency leader said it was “Bloody Saturday.” It’s an existential moment for these media outlets that reach 420 million people weekly. Their mission has long been to provide accurate news in countries where the free press has been stifled, but Trump and his allies have expressed concern for years about their editorial decisions. The outlets have also been unpopular with authoritarian leaders abroad with whom Trump has sought closer ties. And Lake said much of their spending was a waste of taxpayer dollars. Advocates for the organizations said their dismantling was a gift to America’s adversaries and a self-inflicted wound to its national interests, press freedom and the promotion of democracy, POLITICO’s Ali Bianco, Phelim Kine and Gigi Ewing report. 5. TO RUSSIA, WITH LOVE: “Trump Narrows Role of Envoy to Ukraine War After Russian Rebuff,” by Bloomberg’s Jennifer Dlouhy: “Trump on Saturday said he was naming Keith Kellogg his special envoy for Ukraine, narrowing the retired general’s portfolio after reports he was sidelined during recent US-Russia talks at the Kremlin’s request. Trump characterized the shift as a positive development … At least informally, it’s expected to further elevate the role of Witkoff.”
| | | | A message from the American Bankers Association:  
Urge Congress to support the ACRE Act which will lower the cost of credit in rural America. Learn more. | | | 6. SURVEY SAYS: There are striking new poll results out this morning from NBC and CNN/SSRS, both of which find the Democratic Party’s favorability at a record low. That’s driven in part by anger from Democratic voters, who — in a reversal from Trump’s first presidency — don’t want their party to compromise with Trump, both surveys find. Nonetheless, NBC has Dems up by 1 point on the generic ballot for the midterms. Also showing just how different this Trump term is: With Republican voters jubilant over Trump’s early moves, NBC finds his approval rating at an all-time high (though, at 47 percent, it’s still underwater). And the percentage of voters who say America is on the right track is at its highest level since 2004. But but but: Fifty-four percent of voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, the first time he’s ever had majority disapproval on that metric. It’s a reversal from his first term, when polls showed many Americans disapproving of Trump overall but appreciating his approach on the economy. The poll also shows voters liking DOGE more in theory than in practice. 7. CHAOS AT THE IRS: “‘“Delete” is one of their favorite terms’: Inside DOGE’s IRS takeover ahead of tax season,” by CNN’s Rene Marsh and Marshall Cohen: “Within minutes of showing up, a twenty-something software engineer dispatched from DOGE began demanding access to the tax collection agency’s most protected internal databases … Another DOGE staffer sought to shut down nearly all of IRS’s congressionally funded programs and initiatives planned for this fiscal year … While the business of processing returns and issuing refunds has been ongoing, sources say these DOGE actions could undermine the long-term operations of the IRS … [Officials] described an atmosphere of intimidation, especially of career staffers.” 8. KASH FLOW: “Kash Patel Pushes Command Changes at F.B.I.,” by NYT’s Adam Goldman: “[I]n effect, the top agents in 52 field offices around the country will no longer answer to the deputy director, a significant departure from the way the bureau has done business. Instead, those field offices will report to three branch directors at headquarters who will be in charge of the East, West and Central regions. … [E]ven former senior executives skeptical of Mr. Patel’s leadership and relative lack of experience believe the new model, while imperfect, could be an improvement.” 9. HEADS UP: The Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze has undermined work that fights drug trafficking across Latin America, WaPo’s Samantha Schmidt, Katharine Houreld, Karen DeYoung and Mary Beth Sheridan report from Bogotá, Colombia. The halt to U.S. funding has forced the suspension or curtailment of a training program that helped Colombia capture a notorious kingpin, fentanyl screening in Mexico and coastline operations in Ecuador, among many others. Some have been granted waivers, but the funding remains inaccessible for other programs. “The freeze has revealed the region’s deep dependence on U.S. counternarcotics programs — and upended it.”
| | | | California's tech industry is shaping national politics like never before. We’re launching California Decoded to unpack how the state is defining tech policy and politics within its borders and beyond. Sign up now to get it free for a limited time. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Anthony Fauci’s mural has been removed at the NIH. IN MEMORIAM — “Nita Lowey, first woman to chair House appropriations panel, dies at 87,” by WaPo’s Noel Rubinton: “The cause was complications from metastatic breast cancer … [The New York Democrat] was widely regarded as a workhorse legislator — energetic and unflashy — and became known especially for her work on women’s issues, such as increased funding for breast cancer research. She sponsored more than 500 pieces of legislation and co-sponsored thousands more, with more than 400 becoming law … Her most notable position was on the Appropriations Committee.” PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION: President Donald Trump wants to make changes to give him greater influence over the selection of the Kennedy Center Honors, altering a process that has been free of White House interference for its nearly 50-year history, NYT’s Javier Hernández reports. Trump will speak at its board meeting tomorrow, when it will consider a resolution that would put the honors advisory committee under Richard Grenell’s control. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a party for Cal Hoffman’s new novel, “Easy to Slip” ($28), at Politics and Prose at the Wharf with Maria Manuela Goyanes: Victoria Leacock Hoffman, Christina Sevilla and Steve Rochlin, Michael Isikoff, Emily Lenzner, Vivek Jain, Margaret Talev, Jon Garcia, Neil Grace, Fin Gómez and Sarah March-Gómez, Philippa Hughes, Alec Wild, Shanara Gabrielle, Baudouin Carrard, David Lunderquist and Nancy Elam. — SPOTTED at Shaun and Laura Modi’s “Rebels & Revolutionaries” St. Patrick’s Day (and 10-year anniversary) party: Dasha Burns, Rachel Loeffler, Kathy “Coach” Kemper, Jill Hazelbaker, Sam Feist and Nand Mulchandani. TRANSITION — Abraham Ourth is joining the EPA general counsel’s office. He previously was a senior associate on the federal outreach team at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) … AP’s Julie Pace … former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg … MSNBC’s Amy Shuster … Art Collins … Jeff Nussbaum … former Reps. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) … WHCA Secretary Sara Cook … Andy Lewin of BGR Group … Ian McCaleb … WaPo’s Dalton Bennett and Ellen McCarthy … Scott Simon … Adam Blickstein … TechNet’s Carl Holshouser … Brian Young … NYT’s Neil Vigdor and Brian Rosenthal … Gary Emerling … Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Ben Steinhafel … Rebecca Coffman … Gabriella Hoffman … Kate Brown Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misstated the number of top law firms that have been targeted by the Trump administration. There are three of them.
| | A message from the American Bankers Association: Support the ACRE Act. Farmers and ranchers play a critical role in ensuring America maintains its food independence and all Americans have affordable access to fresh, healthy food at their local grocery store. Congress can support our farmers and ranchers and lift up our rural communities by lowering the cost of credit for loans secured by rural or agricultural property. The Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act of 2025 is a commonsense, bipartisan approach to help lower interest rates for rural borrowers. ACRE allows banks to offer lower interest rates on all loans secured by farm real estate and aquaculture facilities. ACRE would also reduce the cost of homeownership for people living in more than 17,000 thousand rural communities. Urge Congress to support our farmers and ranchers by passing the ACRE Act. Learn more here. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
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