| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | HAPPENING SOON — The Senate is preparing to take up the House-passed foreign aid package shepherded by Speaker MIKE JOHNSON with the backing of Democrats. Senators are expected to send the bill through to President JOE BIDEN’s desk, but the timing for final passage is still unclear once the chamber moves through procedural votes. Anthony Adragna notes: “Each senator gets just up to one hour to speak after those procedural votes occur. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.), who is staunchly opposed to the Israel military aid piece of the puzzle, is among those interested in amendment votes. ‘The Senate should have a chance to debate and vote on the key components of such a massive package,’ he said in a statement Monday evening.”
|  Speaker Mike Johnson has come a long way on the foreign aid package set to pass through the Senate. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | HOW WE GOT HERE — In a column that just published and is already lighting up group chats on Capitol Hill, our Jonathan Martin ticks through the journey that brought Johnson to this moment: “‘It was the intelligence, it was the Europe generals who are in charge of the freedom of the world and of course it was the developments as well, everything has escalated,’ Johnson told me, alluding to the conversations he had with the American brass at European Command,” JMart writes. “If those developments, namely Ukraine running out of weapons, finally brought urgency to the speaker, his decision to call the foreign aid vote Saturday delivered a bracing dose of political clarity in Washington. … “It may seem hard to square the congressman who, only in September, opposed $300 million in Ukraine aid with the one who put his career on the line to deliver $95 billion to the battered country. It’s easier to grasp when you realize Johnson grew up in the shadow of B-52s at Barksdale Air Force Base during the 1980s. He’s a Republican of the ‘Red Dawn’ generation. It only took a higher level of intelligence briefings, granted to congressional leaders, for him to pick up that old Cold War hymnal. … Just days after his October election to the post, Johnson told Senate Republicans he supported Ukraine funding, so long as aid to Israel received a separate vote. “I was struck by the turnaround at the time and asked a savvy House GOP aide how to explain it. ‘Amazing what some intel briefs will do,’ the aide said. By spring, Johnson was sounding more like DICK CHENEY than RAND PAUL.” ON THE GROUND — “In Ukraine, New American Technology Won the Day. Until It Was Overwhelmed,” by NYT’s David Sanger: “Even with Congress on the brink of providing tens of billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv, mostly in the form of ammunition and long-range artillery, the question remains whether the new technology will be enough to help turn the tide of the war at a moment when the Russians appear to have regained momentum.”
|  The courtroom turned contentious this morning during a hearing on the gag order against Donald Trump. | Pool photo by Timothy A. Clary | TRUMP TRIAL, DAY 6 — The Manhattan courtroom hosting the hush money/election interference trial against DONALD TRUMP saw fireworks this morning as the former president’s legal team haggled with Judge JUAN MERCHAN over whether Trump has already violated a gag order in the case. Prosecutors leveled a claim that Trump has “willfully,” “flagrantly” and “repeatedly” violated his gag order in both posts on social media and comments to reporters outside of the courthouse. Trump’s team responded to the charge, arguing that he is “allowed to respond to political attacks” — referencing Trump’s remarks about his former attorney MICHAEL COHEN and adult film actress STORMY DANIELS. And although Merchan said he wouldn’t rule on the issue today, our colleague Erica Orden notes that at times during the arguments this morning Merchan became “exasperated” with lead Trump lawyer TODD BLANCHE. “Merchan has repeatedly asked Blanche to point to specific comments or posts by Michael Cohen or Stormy Daniels to which Blanche claims Trump has responded in his own social media messages. Blanche has offered few examples.” Then, after Blanche “claimed Trump was going to great pains to comply with the gag order, the judge lashed out, per Erica: “You’re losing all credibility, I have to tell you right now,” Merchan said. “You’re losing all credibility with the court.” Happening now: DAVID PECKER, the former National Enquirer chief and first witness to take the stand, is testifying on his history with Trump. Follow along for all the updates from the courtroom with our live blog Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@politico.com.
| | | | A message from TSMC: TSMC Arizona’s first fab is on track to begin production leveraging 4nm technology. The second fab will produce the world’s most advanced 2nm process technology in addition to the previously announced 3nm technology. Our newly announced third fab will produce chips using 2nm and/or more advanced processes, with production beginning by the end of the decade. The increased capacity will help our customers to unleash innovations in all different fields including mobile, AI and HPC. | | | | | 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Evan Gershkovich stands inside a defendants' cage next to his lawyers after a hearing to consider an appeal on his extended pre-trial detention in Moscow on Tuesday, April 23. | AFP via Getty Images | 1. EVAN GERSHKOVICH UPDATE: “Russian Court Rejects WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich’s Appeal Against Detention,” by WSJ’s Ann Simmons: “A Moscow court rejected an appeal by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich against his detention, meaning the U.S. citizen, who has been awaiting trial for over a year, will remain behind bars until at least June 30. Gershkovich, who appeared in court Tuesday, is being held on an allegation of espionage that he, the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny. The State Department has declared him wrongfully detained, a designation that commits the government to work for his release.” 2. KOCH SENDS THE CAVALRY: Americans for Prosperity, the Koch network group, is already canvassing neighborhoods in key battleground states — but not for the top of the ticket. “The conservative advocacy group, which endorsed NIKKI HALEY in the GOP presidential primaries, has no plans to endorse in the presidential general election this fall. Instead, it will focus all of its efforts on Senate and House races,” NBC’s Emma Barnett reports from Oakmont, Pennsylvania, where the group is pushing hard for GOP Senate candidate DAVE McCORMICK. “AFP Action, the super PAC affiliate of AFP, began door-knocking efforts in Pennsylvania on April 1, with the goal of knocking on more than 1 million doors ahead of the general election.” “The group wasn’t initially planning to sit out the presidential race. But after former President Donald Trump beat Haley in February in South Carolina, her home state, [CEO EMILY] SEIDEL wrote in an email that AFP Action would stop spending on Haley’s behalf and focus on other races in which it could make a difference on behalf of conservative candidates. In the email to staff members, Seidel wrote that ‘the U.S. Senate strategy has always been our top priority because it has the best chance of success and of making the greatest difference — it’s the “firewall.”’” 3. CRUZ CONTROL: “Democrats Like Ted Cruz, Says Ted Cruz,” by NOTUS’ Casey Murray: Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas) “has been known as a firebrand and a bomb thrower since he joined the Senate in 2013. He has now launched ‘Democrats for Cruz,’ a coalition meant to showcase his bipartisan support and credentials ahead of his November election against Democratic challenger COLIN ALLRED. … Some see Cruz’s new bipartisan push as evidence that Texas is changing. … “Cruz’s allies don’t think his effort signifies any dampening of the power of the Texas firebrand or Tea Party movement. ‘No, I think he’s, you know, in cycle,’ [Republican] Rep. CHIP ROY said. But to his critics, the line between hard-right conservative and bipartisan seems difficult to walk after years of culture wars and Tea Party behavior. ‘Honestly, my response would be my laughter,’ said [Democratic] Rep. VERONICA ESCOBAR when asked about Cruz being bipartisan. Escobar now holds the El Paso seat vacated by [BETO] O’ROURKE.”
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | 4. THE POST-ROE REALITY: “Abortion Data Wars: States and Cities Debate How Much Information to Collect,” by NYT’s Pam Belluck and Emma Fitzsimmons: “Some states with Republican-controlled legislatures have moved to require more information about each abortion, while some states where Democrats dominate are reducing the information they collect, fearing that it may be used to identify patients or to prosecute abortion providers. … Abortion rights supporters say they are especially concerned about the potential for anti-abortion states to use data to track patients who travel out-of-state for abortions or receive pills shipped from other states. Such concerns are also spurring action at the federal level.” Related reads: “Watchdog group asks 5 attorneys general to investigate crisis pregnancy center privacy practices,” by NBC’s Abigail Brooks … “As Trump mulls his VP pick, an abortion-rights group warns about ‘extremist’ candidates,” by NBC’s Alec Hernández 5. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: “U.S. Takes Aim at Chinese Banks Aiding Russia War Effort,” by WSJ’s Ian Talley and Alan Cullison: “The U.S. is drafting sanctions that threaten to cut some Chinese banks off from the global financial system, arming Washington’s top envoy with diplomatic leverage that officials hope will stop Beijing’s commercial support of Russia’s military production, according to people familiar with the matter. But as Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN heads to Beijing on Tuesday, the question is whether even the threat of the U.S. using one of its most potent tools of financial coercion can put a dent in complex and burgeoning trade between Beijing and Moscow that has allowed the Kremlin to rebuild a military badly mauled by more than two years of fighting in Ukraine.”
| | | | POLITICO IS BACK AT THE 2024 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO will again be your eyes and ears at the 27th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles from May 5-8 with exclusive, daily, reporting in our Global Playbook newsletter. Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground covering the biggest moments, behind-the-scenes buzz and on-stage insights from global leaders in health, finance, tech, philanthropy and beyond. Get a front-row seat to where the most interesting minds and top global leaders confront the world’s most pressing and complex challenges — subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Donald Trump is scheduled to meet former Japanese PM Taro Asolater today at Trump Tower. MEDIA MOVE — John Heilemann is joining Puck as chief political columnist. He is co-creator of Showtime’s “The Circus.” TRANSITION — Teal Baker is joining the Better Medicare Alliance as COO. She most recently was executive VP and COO at Invariant. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Liz Lewis, senior policy analyst for Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Kevin Boyle welcomed Randy Mercer Boyle on Wednesday. Pic 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 Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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