Playbook PM: Will Dems’ bailout of Johnson turn bitter?

By GARRETT ROSS 

Updated

Presented by the Financial Services Forum

THE CATCH-UP

CHILL PILL — “Israel’s Strike Was Smaller Than Expected, and So Was Iran’s Reaction,” by NYT’s Patrick Kingsley in Jerusalem

AISLE BE THERE FOR YOU — Speaker MIKE JOHNSON’s foreign aid package was rescued by Democrats on the House floor this morning, as they supplied enough votes to start debate on the supplemental — setting the legislation on track for passage and the speaker on a slippery path.

How it happened: “The House voted 316-94 to bring up the four-bill package, which includes aid for Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel, as well as GOP policy sweeteners. But underscoring deep intra-party frustrations with Johnson’s strategy, 55 Republicans voted against advancing the package — a once unheard-of GOP rebellion that has grown more common given their single-digit margin,” Caitlin Emma, Jordain Carney and Nicholas Wu write.

“Normally that would be enough to scuttle Johnson’s plan, but 165 Democrats voted to bring up the bills. It’s the first time they’ve done so during Johnson’s speakership — an alliance that is likely to fuel calls from his most vocal critics to strip him of his gavel.”

The timeline: “The House is now slated to vote on the bills early Saturday afternoon, and Johnson will once again need substantial help from Democrats to get them over to the Senate. Majority Leader STEVE SCALISE (R-La.) said Friday that he plans to support the package, while Majority Whip TOM EMMER (R-Minn.) declined to state his position when asked.”

But trouble remains for Johnson: The bipartisanship on display is roiling conservatives in his conference, who are threatening a vote to strip him of the gavel. Rep. PAUL GOSAR (R-Ariz.) became the third member to support Johnson’s ouster, joining Reps. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) and THOMAS MASSIE (R-Ky.). More from Olivia Beavers

Meanwhile at 1600 Penn: President JOE BIDEN is “considering more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel including tank ammunition, military vehicles and mortar rounds, U.S. officials said,” WSJ’s Jared Malsin and Nancy Youssef report. “The proposed weapons transfers — which would be in addition to those in a military aid deal currently before the Congress — would be among the largest” since Oct. 7.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Rep. BENNIE THOMPSON, the former chair of the Jan. 6 select committee, has filed legislation that would strip Secret Service protection for anyone sentenced to jail for a felony, our colleague Kyle Cheney reports.

It’s a not-so-subtle shot at DONALD TRUMP, who is sitting in an NYC courtroom facing felony charges this week. Under the Mississippi Democrat’s bill, Secret Service protection “shall terminate for any person upon sentencing following conviction for a Federal or State offense that is punishable for a term of imprisonment of at least one year.”

Thompson, whose panel recommended criminal charges against the former president,indicates that the measure is not meant to be punitive but rather would alleviate a conflict between the Secret Service’s mission and prison officials tasked with the protection of inmates.

TRUMP TRIAL, DAY 4 — Today, Judge JUAN MERCHAN is looking to select five additional alternate jurors in Trump’s hush money trial. If those individuals can be found today, the case is on pace to move to opening statements at the outset of next week.

The scene this morning: As he entered the courtroom this morning, Trump briefly addressed the throng of reporters gathered: “He complained about the trial affecting his campaign schedule and said he should be campaigning in swing states such as Pennsylvania and Georgia instead of participating in the trial, according to a pool report. He also bemoaned his gag order in the case: ‘I have a lot to say to you. And I’m not allowed to say it, and I’m the only one,’ he said.” Follow along with our live blog

Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Send me your honest reviews and favorite songs of “The Tortured Poets Department”: [email protected].

7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. THE ALCHEMY: Trump’s legal woes may actually be the most effective tool he has to rake in campaign donations, Jessica Piper and Natalie Allison report. Data from Q1 of 2024 show that happenings in Trump’s various legal cases have drawn “far more small-dollar donations than normal political developments,” while “Trump’s campaign believes the combination of constant coverage of Trump’s trial and their decision to release near real-time fundraising appeals throughout it could prove to be effective.”

By the numbers: “Of more than 150 fundraising emails sent by his affiliated committees in the past month, nearly one-third included the phrase ‘witch hunt,’ according to a POLITICO analysis. The messaging appears to be particularly effective when the former president faces new legal threats: Trump had his best online fundraising day of the first quarter — and his third best overall since he launched his presidential campaign — on March 22, when New York Attorney General TISH JAMES, a Democrat, took initial steps toward seizing his assets in the event he failed to make bond in a civil fraud case.”

2. SPOILER ALERT: The latest urging for ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. to drop out of the 2024 presidential race are coming from his former colleagues at the Natural Resources Defense Council, who are “calling on him to withdraw from the race, in full-page advertisements sponsored by the group’s political arm that are expected to appear in newspapers in six swing states on Sunday,” NYT’s Lisa Friedman reports. “Separately, a dozen other national environmental organizations have issued an open letter calling Mr. Kennedy a ‘dangerous conspiracy theorist and a science denier’ who promotes ‘toxic beliefs’ on vaccines and on climate change.”

What the ads say: “In nothing more than a vanity candidacy, RFK Jr. has chosen to play the role of election spoiler to the benefit of Donald Trump – the single worst environmental president our country has ever had. For years, RFK Jr. has been spinning anti-vaccination conspiracy theories, denying science, and putting lives at risk. Sadly, his dangerous candidacy is only about spreading misinformation and growing his brand. He can’t win.” See the full ad

3. E PRIEBUS UNUM: “Reince Priebus Was Pushed Out by Trump. Now He’s Raising Money for His Coronation,” by WSJ’s John McCormick in Milwaukee: “The former Republican National Committee chairman, Wisconsin GOP chairman and White House chief of staff is now deploying his diplomatic skills to raise roughly $70 million for the national convention here in July. As chairman of the host committee, Priebus is working — at least indirectly — for the man who unceremoniously pushed him out of the White House just six months after taking office.

“Priebus, in an interview at a downtown office building overlooking the convention center where Trump will be formally nominated, said his secret to successfully working around the former president’s large shadow is to never try to outshine him. ‘I watch my mouth pretty closely,’ he said. ‘I pick and choose my battles. And I’m willing to take a punch for the long haul. I didn’t write a book. Could have. I didn’t.’”

4. TENDING THE BASE, PART I: “Education Department boosts legal defenses for transgender students,” by Bianca Quilantan: “Education Secretary MIGUEL CARDONA is unveiling a final rule on Friday realigning the Education Department’s interpretation of Title IX to ban ‘all forms of sex discrimination,’ including discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy or related conditions. The administration is touting the rule as the ‘most comprehensive coverage’ students will receive in the nearly half-century of Title IX, the federal education law that bars sex-based discrimination.”

5. TENDING THE BASE, PART II: “Biden moves to limit oil drilling and mineral mining in Alaska, in latest win for greens,” by Ben Lefebvre: “The moves show the Biden administration continuing its efforts to win favor with the environmental voters put off by his administration’s approval of the massive Willow oil project in Alaska and its defense of an oil pipeline running through the Strait of Mackinac in Michigan. But it comes at the expense of angering Alaska’s Republican senators, including moderate Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI who has supported some of the administration’s policies and refused to back Biden’s opponent in November’s presidential race, former President Donald Trump.”

6. THE POST-ROE REALITY: “Emergency rooms refused to treat pregnant women, leaving one to miscarry in a lobby restroom,” by AP’s Amanda Seitz: “Complaints that pregnant women were turned away from U.S. emergency rooms spiked in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, federal documents obtained by The Associated Press reveal. The cases raise alarms about the state of emergency pregnancy care in the U.S., especially in states that enacted strict abortion laws and sparked confusion around the treatment doctors can provide.”

7. FOR YOUR RADAR: “China Orders Apple to Remove Popular Messaging Apps,” by WSJ’s Aaron Tilley, Liza Lin and Jeff Horwitz: “China ordered Apple to remove some of the world’s most popular chat messaging apps from its app store in the country, the latest example of censorship demands on the iPhone seller in the company’s second-biggest market. Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp and Threads as well as messaging platforms Signal and Telegram were taken off the Chinese App Store Friday. Apple said it was told to remove certain apps because of national security concerns, without specifying which.”

PLAYBOOKERS

Jim Banks is pushing a bill to defund NPR after Uri Berliner’s resignation.

David Zaslav is making big dough as CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Austin Smith resigned from Turning Point Action after being accused of voter fraud.

SPOTTED at breakfast at the Four Seasons this morning: Jim VandeHei and Geoff Morrell; Don Baer and Steve Lombardo; Adrienne Arsht; Samantha Dravis; Bruce Andrews and Costa Rican Trade Minister Manuel Tovar Rivera.

OUT AND ABOUT — Eric Hyers, campaign manager for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s reelection, celebrated winning the Pollie Award for campaign manager of the year at The Hamilton yesterday evening. SPOTTED: Nicole Kayner, Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.), Amy Soenksen, Adnaan Muslim, Chris Sloan, Edward Chapman, Rich Luchette, Nadia Garnett, Eric Goldman, Andrew Child and Sam Newton.

— SPOTTED at the Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin Program at the Capitol Visitor Center on Tuesday: Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Damon Jones, Leah Daughtry, Jena Roscoe and Chanelle Hardy

— SPOTTED at a reception hosted at Forward Global honoring the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders program: Lily Adams, Nilmini Rubin, Paul Smyke, Rebecca Chalif and Souad Mekhennet.

— Mayer Brown hosted an event on Wednesday, “Shaping Our Future in an Election Year,” at its D.C. offices, featuring an election-focused discussion about the impact of the U.S. election on global business. SPOTTED: Jon Van Gorp, Liz Espín Stern, Jennifer Jacobs, Josh Wingrove, John Sullivan and Andrew Olmem.

MEDIA MOVE — Michael Abramowitz will be director of Voice of America. He currently is president of Freedom House. Nicole Bibbins Sedaca will serve as interim president of Freedom House starting May 11. She previously was executive VP.

TRANSITIONS — Rebecca Ma is now regional campaign strategist at the ACLU. She most recently was manager of immigration advocacy at Asian Americans Advancing Justice. … Kelly O’Keeffe is now press secretary for Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). She previously was comms director and senior adviser for the House coronavirus select subcommittee Democrats. … Lynne Weil is now managing director of the government relations and public affairs practice of Perceptual Advisors. She is principal and founder of Citrus Strategies and is an Obama and Capitol Hill alum.

ENGAGED — Channing Pejic, NAW’s director of political programs, and Nicki Jackson, a private practice psychotherapist, got engaged in Azenhas do Mar, Portugal, on April 9. They had their first date at Chaplin’s Restaurant in D.C. in 2020. Pic

Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this newsletter misstated Morgan McGarvey’s party affiliation. He is a Democrat.