| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
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The proposed federal budget will constitute the crux of Biden’s pitch as he’s expected to launch his reelection campaign in the near future. | Patrick Semansky/AP Photo | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | McCONNELL HOSPITALIZED — Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL was hospitalized after tripping and falling during a private dinner on Wednesday night. “He has been admitted to the hospital where he is receiving treatment,” a McConnell spox said in a statement. Background: McConnell, who battled polio as a child and eventually regained full use of his paralyzed left leg, has been known to struggle with climbing stairs, as he told the AP in 2020. In August 2019, he fractured his shoulder after tripping and falling on his patio. SECRET REVEALED — “A Startling Document Predicted Jan. 6. Democrats Are Missing Its Other Warnings,” by Alexander Burns: “Weeks before the 2020 election, a secret 87-page document outlined in matter-of-fact language the threat posed by DONALD TRUMP’s still-to-come campaign of election denial. The private paper — the existence of which has not been reported before — forecast with chilling confidence the likelihood of violence during the presidential handover and proposed a far-reaching set of political reforms to thwart Trumpism in the future.” INSIDE BIDEN’S BUDGET — It’s the day all of D.C. has been waiting for with bated breath. Around noon, President JOE BIDEN will release his proposed federal budget. No one in the White House seriously believes that Congress will adopt it in its current form. In private, administration officials readily admit that they know it’s not going anywhere. So why does it matter? Beyond the obvious implications for governing, we’re told it’ll constitute the crux of Biden’s pitch as he’s expected to launch his reelection campaign in the near future. (We’re sure it’s purely coincidental that he’ll be unveiling the budget in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania.) It’s a messaging exercise. And as such, the White House sees no downside whatsoever to throwing out things that will never pass the Republican-controlled House. The fight is the point.
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See the results. | | | A White House official told us last night that Biden’s budget proposals will fall into essentially four main categories: 1. Reduce the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over 10 years.
- Partially reversing former President DONALD TRUMP’s corporate tax cuts, “raising the corporate income tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent,” per NYT’s Jim Tankersley.
- Saving money by negotiating down the cost of prescriptions: “A series of new prescription drug-related proposals would save more than $200 billion over a decade by imposing new rules on the pharmaceutical industry,” reports the WSJ. “The budget plan would allow Medicare to negotiate prices for more drugs and bring them into negotiation sooner after they launch.”
- Less money for Covid: Biden is not expected “to seek significant new Covid funding as part of his forthcoming budget proposal, the latest sign that the White House is preparing to wind down its emergency response operation later this year,” reports Adam Cancryn.
2. Reduce costs for families.
- More money into child care and education: Reuters’ Andrea Shalal reports that Biden will include $22.1 billion for existing early care and education programs. Biden is also expected to advocate the expansion of the child tax credit.
- Insulin price caps for all: “President Biden will use the release of his FY2024 budget Thursday to pressure Republicans to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for all Americans,” reports Axios’ Hans Nichols. That will expand the insulin price cap for Medicare beneficiaries that was enacted as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Watch for: Paid family and medical leave. The original Build Back Better plan included a lot of money for family leave and the “care economy.” We’d be surprised if it didn’t show up today in some form.
3. Protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security.
- New taxes to shore up Medicare: “Biden’s budget will propose hiking payroll taxes on Americans making over $400,000 per year and allowing the government new power to negotiate drug prices as part of an effort the White House says will extend the solvency of a key Medicare program for another quarter century,” report Bloomberg’s Justin Sink and Josh Wingrove.
4. Invest in America.
- A huge defense budget: Biden is expected to request a defense budget of more than $835 billion, which administration officials note is one of the largest peacetime defense budgets in history. More from Lara Seligman
- Watch for: “The Unity Agenda.” Biden loves to talk about bipartisanship and unity. And even at a particularly partisan time in American life, there are a few policy categories where the administration believes substantial investments won’t cause a lot of debate: cancer research, veterans, mental health services and the opioid epidemic.
- Watch for: Community college funding. It’s another one of those priorities that hit the cutting room floor during the Build Back Better negotiations.
Sounds like a reelection pitch to us. Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
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Amazon offers free skills training and mentorship opportunities to support our military community and veterans like Anthony, who started as a temporary associate and is now a site safety manager thanks to free skills training. Read Anthony’s story. Sponsored by Amazon   | | | FORCING THE CONTRAST — House Republicans, meanwhile, have promised to propose a budget that balances within 10 years. The problem is that in promising not to raise taxes, and not to cut Social Security, Medicare or defense spending, there’s just not a lot left to cut to make good on that promise. The White House is “trying to bait Republicans into showing that they have no plan, because the White House knows that the math does not add up for them,” one person familiar with the administration’s thinking told us last night. “We can all do the math.” This isn’t exactly a secret. “Joe Biden’s budget draws fiscal battle lines with Republicans ahead of 2024,” reads a headline in this morning’s Financial Times. Or from Reuters’ Trevor Hunnicutt: “Biden's focus on deficit in budget is targeted at Republicans.” Nevertheless, expect Republican outrage over the Biden budget to persist. Even before details of the White House blueprint leaked, Rep. BOB LATTA (R-Ohio), who used to serve on the House Budget Committee, was handing his GOP colleagues little pocket-sized cards detailing the rising national debt. But the challenge for Republicans is that they now control the House. And it’s not enough to simply oppose the president’s budget. They’ll soon have to propose — and attempt to pass — one of their own. While Republicans have blasted Biden for releasing his budget later than usual, Budget Chair JODEY ARRINGTON told CNN’s Mel Zanona yesterday that the House GOP may not even release their proposal until May — more than a month after they’d hoped to pass it. The Texas Republican’s office soon retracted those comments and claimed he “misspoke.” But Arrington’s prediction of a delayed GOP budget underscores the difficult task ahead for Republicans as they try to come up with a balanced budget that can also muster 218 votes. OVERNIGHT — “Major Russian missile barrage slams targets across Ukraine,” AP OPENING AT NO. 1 — Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS’ new don’t-call-it-a-campaign book debuted at the top spot on the NYT’s Best Sellers list — and did so without any indication it relied on bulk purchases to pad sales. (h/t Isaac Dovere) HAPPENING TODAY — “Norfolk Southern CEO to apologize to Senate for East Palestine wreck,” by Tanya Snyder: “ALAN SHAW will ‘pledge that we won’t be finished until we make it right,’ according to testimony he plans to deliver before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where he will tick off the $20 million in financial support the company has provided for the community in ‘reimbursements and investments’ so far.”
| | BIDEN’S THURSDAY:
9 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief.
11:50 a.m.: Biden will depart the White House en route to Philadelphia.
2:30 p.m.: Biden will deliver remarks on his fiscal year 2024 budget.
4 p.m.: Biden will depart Philadelphia to return to the White House.
Principal deputy press secretary OLIVIA DALTON will gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Philadelphia.
VP KAMALA HARRIS’ THURSDAY: The VP has nothing on her public schedule.
THE SENATE will meet at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of DANIEL WERFEL’s nomination to be IRS commissioner, with a vote on confirmation at 11:30 a.m., followed by judicial confirmation votes. The Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on the Norfolk Southern train derailments at 10 a.m.
THE HOUSE will meet at 10 a.m. to resume consideration on various legislation, with first and last votes expected at 4 p.m. The Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing on global threats at 10 a.m., with testimony from DNI AVRIL HAINES, CIA Director WILLIAM BURNS, FBI Director CHRISTOPHER WRAY, NSA Director Gen. PAUL NAKASONE and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. SCOTT BERRIER. OPM Director KIRAN AHUJA will testify before the Oversight Committee at 9:30 a.m. | | | | | | We’re spilling the tea (and drinking tons of it in our newsroom) in U.K. politics with our latest newsletter, London Playbook PM. Get to know all the movers and shakers in Westminster and never miss a beat of British politics with a free subscription. Don’t miss out, we’ve got some exciting moves coming. Sign up today. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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First lady Jill Biden congratulates Malaysian Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi during the 17th annual International Women of Courage Award ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday, March 8. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH HEADING TO IOWA — “DeSantis Will Meet GOP Lawmakers in Iowa, a Crucial 2024 State,” by Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs and John Harney: On Friday, Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS “will greet members of the state House and Senate at the Capitol … engaging in the sort of retail politicking that’s expected in the Iowa caucuses.” Also: “Iowa Governor KIM REYNOLDS, who has said she would remain neutral before the caucuses, is scheduled to join” DeSantis at book events in Davenport and Des Moines. ALREADY IN IOWA — “Nikki Haley draws large crowd at early campaign stop in Council Bluffs,” KMTV BOTTOMS UP — “Keisha Lance Bottoms is leaving the W.H. but Biden team eyes 2024 role for her,” by NBC’s Mike Memoli: “[T]op officials are in discussions with her about serving in a senior role either with President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign or with the Democratic National Committee.” JUST POSTED — “Seeking Evangelicals’ Support Again, Trump Confronts a Changed Religious Landscape,” by NYT’s Charles Homans: “White evangelical voters were central to Mr. Trump’s first election, and he remains overwhelmingly popular among them. But a Monmouth University poll in late January and early February found Ron DeSantis … leading Mr. Trump by 7 percentage points among self-identified evangelical Republican voters in a head-to-head contest.” MORE POLITICS SCHLAPP ACCUSER COMES FORWARD — The man suing prominent Republican campaign operative MATT SCHLAPP over an alleged sexual assault came forward publicly yesterday after a Virginia judge ruled that his case could not proceed anonymously. “CARLTON HUFFMAN, 39, … said he plans to amend the previously anonymous lawsuit, which seeks $9.4 million in damages for alleged sexual battery and defamation,” WaPo’s Beth Reinhard and Isaac Arnsdorf write. “‘I’m not backing away,’ Huffman said in an interview with The Washington Post. ‘I’m not going to drop this. Matt Schlapp did what he did and he needs to be held accountable.’” In interviews with the Post, “Huffman added new detail to his claims against Schlapp and provided texts, phone logs and videos that broadly match his accounts of quickly sharing the allegation. Six family members and friends and three [HERSCHEL] WALKER campaign officials confirmed to The Post that Huffman told them about the alleged incident that night or the next day. “But Huffman’s reputation suffered a major blow earlier this year, when his past racist writings were exposed by an anonymous email account. Huffman had frequently glorified the Confederate flag, blamed Black people and illegal immigrants for violent crime, and called for ‘preserving the European American culture of the United States.’ “Huffman immediately resigned from his job with the North Carolina General Assembly in late January after the email with links to his commentary was circulated. ‘That was an ugly chapter of my life that I am personally ashamed of,’ Huffman said. ‘That is not who I am anymore.’” DEM DILEMMA — “Biden faces a Chicago mayoral race pickle,” by Shia Kapos and Chris Cadelago: “In the nation’s third-largest city, Biden doesn’t appear likely to endorse at all.” NOT WORKING OUT — “The conservative grassroots group FreedomWorks laid off 40 percent of its staff on Tuesday,” Caitlin Oprysko and Daniel Lippman report for POLITICO Influence. CONGRESS DYNAMIC DUO — “How the House GOP's investigative tag team navigates the ring,” by Jordain Carney: Judiciary Chair JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio) and Oversight Chair JAMES COMER (R-Ky.) “speak constantly, describe themselves as good friends and take part in weekly planning meetings with other committee chairs. Yet despite those efforts to draw distinct investigative lanes, the more topics they tackle, the louder the echo across their early hearings and information requests: Both are touching on HUNTER BIDEN, Twitter and the administration’s border policies. … Democrats are watching closely, eager to eke out political advantage from any tension points and toe-stepping between the GOP duo.” CRIME PAYS — “D.C. crime rollback energizes House GOP efforts to squeeze Dems,” by Marianne LeVine, Sarah Ferris and Nicholas Wu: “Democrats insist the effort turned to their advantage, since plenty of their incumbents welcomed the chance to distance themselves from President Joe Biden. Still, Wednesday’s vote ended weeks of Democratic angst over D.C.’s liberal crime bill, a particularly potent subject after their party’s humiliating losses in deep blue New York that ultimately cost them control of the House last November.” DOCU-DRAMA — “Dem Intel chair: Biden admin position on classified docs fails ‘the smell test,’” by Anthony Adragna STATE OF THE UNIONS — “With voluntary recognition, Ed Markey’s staff will be the first in the Senate to unionize,” by Roll Call’s Jim Saksa DATA DUMPED — “House members, staff personal data compromised in health insurer breach,” by Maggie Miller
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The unemployment rate is two to three times higher for military spouses than the general public. Amazon is committed to helping the military community with the military spouse fellowship, which provides professional training, networking, and job experience. Read more. Sponsored by Amazon   | | | THE WHITE HOUSE NAME TO KNOW — “Northwestern University Professor JANICE EBERLY is the frontrunner in the White House search for a successor to LAEL BRAINARD as vice chair of the Federal Reserve,” Bloomberg’s Kate Davidson, Josh Wingrove and Jennifer Jacobs report. She previously served as Treasury’s chief economist during the Obama administration. WAR IN UKRAINE WHERE DoD WON’T GO — “Pentagon Blocks Sharing Evidence of Possible Russian War Crimes With Hague Court,” by NYT’s Charlie Savage: “American military leaders oppose helping the court investigate Russians because they fear setting a precedent that might help pave the way for it to prosecute Americans. The rest of the administration, including intelligence agencies and the State and Justice Departments, favors giving the evidence to the court, the officials said.” STUCK IN THE MIDDLE — “Caught between the West and Russia, could Georgia be the next Ukraine?” by CNN’s Sophie Tanno and Niamh Kennedy AMERICA AND THE WORLD SUBMARINE SCOOP — “Australia to Buy U.S. Nuclear-Powered Submarines in Naval Expansion,” by WSJ’s Michael Gordon and Nancy Youssef: “The arrangement is part of a multifaceted plan to be announced Monday in San Diego at a meeting attended by President Biden, Australian Prime Minister ANTHONY ALBANESE and British Prime Minister RISHI SUNAK.” HOW IT’S PLAYING — “Israel’s Judicial Overhaul Plan Ignites Debate Among American Jews,” by NYT’s Michael Crowley and Ruth Graham MEDIAWATCH PANDORA’S FOX — “‘We’re All Embarrassed’: Inside Fox News As Dominion Revelations Rattle The Network,” by Brian Stelter for Vanity Fair: “Fox producers are getting libel law training, and staffers are (cautiously) gossiping about filings exposing the likes of RUPERT MURDOCH and TUCKER CARLSON. ‘We’re very careful when we’re miked up,’ one on-air personality tells Vanity Fair. ‘And we’re not texting.’” — “Fox News Journalists Sound Off on ‘Soul-Crushing’ Dominion Filings,” by The Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona and Diana Falzone: “‘It’s just a really bad time to be working here,’ one news producer told The Daily Beast in the wake of bombshell legal filings on the network’s inner machinations.” Related Reads: “How Murdoch Runs Fox News, in His Own (Often Terse) Words,” by NYT’s Jeremy Peters … “Court records show political pressure behind Fox programming,” by AP’s Nicholas Riccardi and David Bauder
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Chuck Schumer saluted Ron Klain as “one of the fucking nicest people I’ve ever met.” Marty Walsh leaves the administration on Friday, and has "written a personal check for $1,467 to purchase the Cabinet chair he sat in during meetings at the White House to take with him as a souvenir," per the Boston Globe. Markwayne Mullin tried to pick a fight with a Teamster. Thom Tillis expressed doubt that he’s a ratings juggernaut for C-SPAN. Don Beyer compared notes with a fellow student as he pursues a master’s degree in machine learning at George Mason. Phillip Swagel has a stuffed skunk in his office and a “Swaggy P” nickname from his son’s friends. Sabrina Siddiqui detailed her return from maternity leave, which coincided with the president’s Ukraine trip. SPOTTED on Wednesday night at Cafe Milano: John Kerry and Amos Hochstein chatting with diners in the main dining room ... actress Sophia Bush (in town for a Nancy Pelosi event on Thursday night) and Grant Hughes, Kimball Stroud, Laurie Knight, Karen Finney, Cornell Belcher, Eve Maldonado O'Toole, Janet Donovan and Shanti Stanton. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a reception to honor Ron Klain yesterday evening at the Willard Intercontinental, where Klain participated in a conversation with Slate's Dahlia Lithwick and was presented with an award commemorating the first 100 judges of the Biden administration: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Anita Dunn, Neera Tanden, Andrew Bates, Paige Herwig, Brian Fallon, Russ Feingold, Mary Kay Henry, Bill Burton, Rashad Robinson, Deirdre Schifeling, Geoff Garin, Wade Henderson, Damon Hewitt, Svante Myrick and Rakim Brooks. — SPOTTED at a Puck News party celebrating the First Amendment at the French ambassador’s residence last night, where Gen. Mark Milley was applauded by attendees when he spoke about the importance of protecting the rights of Americans and the role of the military in fighting for those rights: French Ambassador Laurent Bili and Sabine Raczy, Jon Kelly, Joe Purzycki, Liz Gough, Max Tcheyan, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Kara Swisher, Chris Licht, Sophia Bush, George Conway, Pamela Brown, Jim Acosta, Ben LaBolt, Sara Fischer, Dafna Linzer, Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, David Leavy, Robert Draper, Michael Bender and Ashley Parker, Mike Allen, Jan Bayer, Sally Quinn, Juleanna Glover, Kevin Madden, Rob Flaherty, Leon Wieseltier and Col. Dave Butler. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Marcus Flowers, Olivia Troye and Fred Wellman are launching Mission Democracy, a new national political action committee supporting Democratic congressional candidates. Flowers is a former congressional candidate for Georgia’s 14th District. Troye is a former adviser to former VP Mike Pence and a George W. Bush administration alum. Wellman is a former Lincoln Project staffer. TRANSITIONS — Elisabeth Reynolds is now a partner at Unless. She previously was special assistant to the president for manufacturing and economic development at the White House. … Marcus Garza is now chief of staff for Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.). He previously was chief of staff for former Rep. Marie Newman (D-Ill.). … Stephen Cobb has joined the state attorneys general group at Cozen O’Connor. He most recently was a partner at Holland & Knight, and is a former Virginia deputy AG. … … Mandy Schaumburg is now a VP at Caprock Strategies. She previously was chief counsel and education deputy director with the House Education Committee. … Maya Cohn is now director of policy & programs at the Rachel Carson Council. She most recently was a legislative assistant for former Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). … Peter Monaco is now VP of comms & public affairs at J Strategies. He most recently was assistant director and full-time lecturer at the University at Albany, SUNY. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Conchita Cruz, co-executive director of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, and Brendan Kelly of Civitech welcomed Conchita Simard Cruz de Kelly on Feb. 21. Pic — Daniel Ulmer, deputy chief of staff for Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and Morgan Ulmer, clerk for the Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, welcomed Ellen Marie Ulmer on Tuesday at Sibley Memorial Hospital, weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces. Pic — Jamie Weinstein and Michelle Fields, media commentators and founders of JMW Strategies and JMW Productions, on Tuesday night welcomed William Arthur Weinstein, who joins Harry and Teddy. Pic … Instapics HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) and Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho) … Raj Shah of the Rockefeller Foundation (5-0) … NRDC’s John Bisognano … Tiffany Muller … Andrew Rafferty … Jake Lipsett … POLITICO’s Adam Aton … Laura Bamford … Leah Nylen … Warren Rojas … NBC’s Doug Adams … DOE’s Spencer Thibodeau … Katie Schoettler … Time’s Haley Sweetland Edwards … Tom Matzzie … GM’s Reagan Payne Wicker … Harry Fones … Meta’s David Ginsberg … Bailey Mailloux … Lauren Cozzi … Ryan Diffley … Russell Drapkin … Tony Harrington … Sarah Swinehart Massey … Didem Nisanci … Bianca Padró Ocasio … Sadie Weiner … David Hume Kennerly … Kimberly Guilfoyle … Charlie Gibson … Michael Kinsley … former Sen. James Buckley (Conservative-N.Y.) (1-0-0!) 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 editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
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