Driving the Day
Good Monday morning. MEN’S BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TONIGHT … No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 1 Villanova. … 9:20 p.m. on TBS from San Antonio … Villanova is a 6.5-point favorite.
ANOTHER RECESS WEEK in Washington. SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MASS.) just returned from a three-country trip to Asia, visiting Japan, South Korea and China.
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SPOTTED: Gary Cohn Sunday sitting in first class “talking on his cellphone and covering his mouth so you couldn’t see his lips” on the American shuttle from New York to D.C. Pic http://bit.ly/2uCP4RF
BURGESS EVERETT: “‘It sucks’: Senators fume over McConnell’s tight grip”: “Republican John Kennedy has served in the Senate a full 15 months -- and not once received a roll call vote on one of his legislative amendments. ‘I think it sucks,’ the Louisiana senator fumed as Congress headed home in March for a two-week recess. The Senate has voted on only six amendments this year. ‘All I hear is, ‘Well, it’s not done that way,’’ Kennedy said of his call for a more robust debate of ideas on the Senate floor. ‘Well, the way we’ve been doing it for a long time sucks.’
“When Mitch McConnell took over as majority leader in 2015 after years in the minority, he vowed to make good on a central campaign pledge of returning to a more ‘free-wheeling’ Senate. And in the early days of his tenure, he did: McConnell presided over open, raucous floor debate on the Keystone XL Pipeline, winning praise even from some Democrats.
“But the Senate has reverted to form. The body has taken just 25 roll call votes on so-called binding amendments so far during this two-year Congress, a sharp decrease from the 154 amendments voted on by this point during the 114th Congress under Barack Obama. Each year since McConnell took over, the Senate has voted on fewer nonbudget amendments: 140 in 2015, 57 in 2016, 19 in 2017 and six so far this year. ‘There’s a lot of weeks I’m not sure why I show up,’ said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).” https://politi.co/2q2PQTl
STORY OF THE DAY … ESCALATING TRADE WARS -- “China to retaliate with tariffs on 128 U.S. products beginning Monday,” by Megan Cassella: “China is moving forward with its plan to counter President Donald Trump's new tariffs on steel and aluminum, levying duties that will take effect Monday on more than $3 billion in U.S. exports to the country. In a statement Sunday, the Chinese government said it would impose the retaliatory tariffs on 128 products, according to an informal translation.
“China will impose a 15 percent tariff increase on goods including American fruit and nuts and add a 25 percent tariff on pork, recycled aluminum and other goods, the government said. The move to impose the duties comes just over a week after the Chinese Commerce ministry had announced it was considering tariffs on the goods. Just over a week later, those tariffs are taking effect.
“The move is expected to lead to escalating tensions between the two large trading nations, leading many to worry that American farmers will be casualties in a tit-for-tat trade war. The U.S. shipped more than $1 billion of pork products to China last year, making it the No. 3 destination for exports after Japan and Mexico. The U.S. was China’s top supplier of apples, cherries, walnuts and almonds.” https://politi.co/2q2JoM7
-- FT: “Who will fare worse in a China-US trade war?: China seen as vulnerable, but critics say Trump has squandered a strong hand”: “Donald Trump earned ridicule for declaring on Twitter that for the US, a trade war would be ‘easy to win.’
“But economists say there is some truth to the observation that in a trade war, deficit countries hold an advantage over those with trade surpluses. China’s trade surplus swells its economy each year, while net imports subtract from the US growth. From this perspective, economists say Mr Trump is correct that he has less to fear from a decrease in trade with China than President Xi Jinping.” Story for FT subscribers https://on.ft.com/2IkZBmf
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LOUISE LINTON PROFILE – ELAINA PLOTT in April’s Washingtonian, “Is DC Being Too Mean to Louise Linton?: Trumpworld sees the actress-turned-cabinet-spouse as a victim of the Beltway’s mean-girl social set. Le tout Washington disagrees”: “There’s a running line inside Treasury that Linton is the agency’s ‘first lady.’ This is not meant as a compliment. Linton spent part of that lonely initial stretch in Washington making what some call ‘frequent’ appearances in the building. Treasury employees recall the signs of her arrival, including the sound of ‘incredibly high heels’ clicking down the hallway. And then her unmistakable silhouette, the big bag and structured coat and long hair and beautiful sheath dress ...
“Linton would not be the person she is today, in Washington, were it not for SoulCycle. In the same way that many find their friends at work or book club or Bible study, Linton socializes at spinning class. She’ll go there many mornings with Amy Baier, wife of Fox News anchor Bret Baier, or her wedding planner, Ramsey Ratcliffe. … A source who took an afternoon session with them tells me Mnuchin sat on the bike behind Linton. Between songs, she’d turn around and blow him a kiss. …
“According to White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, the ‘mean girls’ of DC were on edge about Linton well before Instagramgate: ‘I always wanted to say to others, ‘I’m sorry she’s gorgeous, she’s skinny, she’s young!’ It was easy for those already prone to jealousy and cattiness to be gratuitously unfair or uncool to Louise when she got here, since she’s prettier, younger, and skinnier than the rest of us.’” http://bit.ly/2pTBXGY
KNOWING BRIAN BALLARD -- THEO MEYER in Politico Magazine -- “The Most Powerful Lobbyist in Trump’s Washington”: “Ballard is a veteran Florida lobbyist who’s been in Washington for barely a year — the blink of an eye in an industry in which many of the top practitioners have spent decades inside the Beltway. But Ballard is closer to the president than perhaps any other lobbyist in town. He’s parlayed that relationship into a booming business helping clients get their way with the Trump administration — and his clients and even some of his rivals say his firm has a better grasp of what’s going on in the West Wing than almost anyone else on K Street. …
“Ballard's relationship with Trump has helped him solve a lucrative puzzle that has frustrated more established players. For all of the president’s ‘drain the swamp’ rhetoric, the new administration has given corporate America and its lobbyists the opportunity to revive dreams of tax cuts, regulatory rollbacks and rule changes that were mothballed during the Obama administration. But Trump also presents a challenge for the influence business — a White House in which key positions at least initially were as likely to be staffed by Trump loyalistsas byold Washington hands with ties to K Street. Ballard has helped to bridge the gap.
“He’s a Trump-friendly out-of-towner who can connect with the establishment — he is a close ally of Senator Marco Rubio as well as Charlie Crist, the former centrist Republican governor of Florida who is now a Democratic congressman — and make corporate clients comfortable.” https://politi.co/2q0DHx5
2018 WATCH -- “In Missouri, GOP candidate for Senate walks Trump tightrope,” by AP’s Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri, and Steve Peoples in New York: “He is one of the Republican Party’s most-prized recruits, a young U.S. Senate candidate with an outsider resume and a populist message designed to appeal equally to farmers, suburban moms and the national GOP’s moneyed elite.
“But things get complicated when you ask Josh Hawley about President Donald Trump. Hawley, who launched a Republican Senate bid in Missouri less than a year after being elected state attorney general, won’t say whether he considers the Republican president a role model. In an interview with The Associated Press, the 38-year-old Yale Law School graduate also sidestepped questions about Trump’s behavior toward women.’No. 1, I am always my own man,’ Hawley said.
“‘I value my independence very highly,’ he added. ‘My loyalties as a U.S. senator would be first and foremost to the people of Missouri and their needs.’” https://bit.ly/2GsbPx9
A STORY REPUBLICANS SHOULD BE READING -- “How to make it as a maverick from Trump country,” by McClatchy’s Katie Glueck: “[Rep. Mike] Gallagher, of Wisconsin, has cemented his image as a rising star -- one with an unusually independent reputation in today’s Republican Party. In an era of intense political tribalism, Gallagher is the rare House member from a strongly pro-Trump district who has broken sharply with the White House over a range of issues, including the firing of ex-FBI Director James Comey and the Russia-related investigations. Even more rare: he has done it—so far—without sparking crippling conservative backlash. ...
“Republican donors and operatives see the freshman workaholic as the next sterling-credentialed member with a maverick streak who could shape the future of their deeply divided party—if he can outlast the turbulence and tribalism of the moment. ... Rep. Seth Moulton, another Ivy League-educated Marine veteran who has traveled with Gallagher, called him ‘witty, fun, engaging,’ but also ‘very intellectual, likes to read a lot, he tends to go to bed early, sometimes you have to work a little to get him to stay out.’ Like Gallagher, Moulton—a Democrat—is often mentioned as a future leader of his party.” http://bit.ly/2GtVW9h
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING IN MEXICO … DALLAS MORNING NEWS’ ALFREDO CORCHADO in Ciudad Juarez: “Presidential front-runner Andrés Manuel López Obrador kicked off his campaign Sunday in this prosperous but troubled border city, promising supporters higher wages, a tariff-free trade zone and a country that will ‘no longer serve as a piñata for foreign governments.’
“López Obrador said that he isn’t giving up on President Donald Trump and ‘his despicable attitude toward Mexicans.’ But he said he won’t tolerate Mexico and its people being trampled. …
“López Obrador also said that, if elected, his government would be intent on ‘having a good relationship’ with the United States. But issues are not resolved with ‘walls, or force,’ he said. ‘Those problems are solved with economic development and a good quality of life. Justice and tranquility are the fruits of justice.’” http://bit.ly/2uHdDNe
TRUMP’S MONDAY -- He and the first lady will host the White House Easter Egg Roll breakfast reception followed by the actual event. Trump will meet with National Economic Director Larry Kudlow in the afternoon.
Playbook Reads
AT THE PENTAGON -- “‘Fat Leonard’ affected Pentagon’s pick to lead Joint Chiefs,” by WaPo’s Craig Whitlock: “When the Pentagon last chose a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it was rattled by a last-minute surprise: A corrupt defense contractor known as ‘Fat Leonard’ confided to federal agents that he had an unsavory past with one of the finalists to become the nation’s top military officer.
“Leonard Glenn Francis, a maritime tycoon who had recently pleaded guilty to bribing Navy officers, told authorities in early 2015 that he had paid for opulent dinners and other favors for Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, then-commander of U.S. military forces in the Pacific, according to previously undisclosed documents and six people familiar with the case.Francis also shared with investigators several photographs of him drinking and socializing with Locklear, who was one of four contenders to head the Joint Chiefs.
“Some photos were from a banquet in Singapore that Francis had hosted for the admiral and other Navy officers that featured prostitutes as entertainment, according to the documents and people familiar with the case.Locklear told The Washington Post that he was at the party but was unaware of any prostitutes, and he said he had limited contact with Francis over the years.
“After separate investigations, the Justice Department declined to press charges, and the Navy cleared the four-star admiral of wrongdoing. But his association with the 350-pound contractor helped sink his chances to lead the Joint Chiefs, other documents show.” https://wapo.st/2uDShAa
KNOWING MOHAMMED BIN-SALMAN … DEXTER FILKINS in the New Yorker, “The Ascent: A Saudi prince’s quest to remake the Middle East”: “M.B.S. gives the impression of being comfortable with Western mores. In meetings with American women, he shakes their hands and looks them in the eye, which not every Saudi official will do.
“Once, during a meeting at the home of Secretary of State John Kerry, M.B.S. spotted a grand piano, walked over, and began playing the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata. His favorite diversion is Call of Duty, the video game. But his English is halting, and among his brothers—he has nine—he is unusually bound to Saudi Arabia. ‘M.B.S. is unlike his brothers, several of whom were educated in the West and one of whom has a doctorate from Oxford,’ a longtime friend of M.B.S. told me.
“‘If you look at them and you talk to them, they are basically soft. And there is this quality to M.B.S.—the guy’s not soft. He has a lot of charisma. He’s a lot like Bill Clinton. He makes you feel like you’re super important when you’re talking to him. He really puts on a charm that is unmistakable.’” http://bit.ly/2ImdWz2
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WSJ: “Trump Faces Test on Coal With FirstEnergy Appeal,” by Timothy Puko: “The Trump administration’s commitment to coal is under its stiffest test yet after an Ohio energy company made a plea to favor that power source over its many rivals, including oil and natural gas, in a clash that could end with higher costs for consumers.
“FirstEnergy Corp.’s fleet of coal- and nuclear-power plants filed for bankruptcy over the weekend, just days after the company asked the federal government for an emergency declaration that would keep many of them open. That forces President Donald Trump’s Energy Department into a decision on whether to intervene under a lightly used, 83-year-old law and compel the nation’s largest electric-grid operator to dispatch power from FirstEnergy’s coal and nuclear plants effectively before any other.” https://on.wsj.com/2Imdhh2
DEEP DIVE – “Anatomy of a Bomb Investigation: Inside an A.T.F. Lab,” by NYT’s Ali Watkins in Beltsville, Maryland: “About an hour outside Washington, tucked in a cinder-block building run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, orderly piles of charred and twisted matter are spread across a secure laboratory. Inside is evidence from Austin, Tex., where Mark Conditt, 23, terrorized the city for three weeks in March by setting off a half-dozen homemade explosives before blowing himself up. ... Evidence from hundreds of domestic bombing cases passes through A.T.F. labs every year. A few, like the one in Austin, attract widespread attention.
“The majority prompt no headlines: husbands trying to kill wives with amateur car bombs, rival motorcycle gangs lobbing improvised explosive devices, a mischievous student who accidentally blows up a mailbox. ... In the post-9/11 era, the notion of bombings has become almost inextricably linked to Islamic extremist terrorism, which the F.B.I. investigates. But the majority of bombings in the United States bear no nexus to Islamic terrorism. The evidence in those cases is sent to Beltsville, or one of its two sister labs, in Atlanta and Walnut Creek, Calif.” https://nyti.ms/2GMLTvf
HOLLYWOODLAND -- NYT’S BROOK BARNES profiles Charles Rivkin: “Hollywood’s Ambassador, Schooled in Diplomacy and the Muppets”:https://nyti.ms/2EgcMCQ
Playbookers
TRANSITION … Allison Jaslow, formerly the executive director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, is launching her own firm, Integrity Matters, which will consult for non-profit and corporate clients.
WEEKEND WEDDING – Lily Muntzing, senior account exec on the POLITICO Pro team, married Luke Lancaster, a software engineer at Google in New York Saturday night. “They got married at Summerour Studio in Atlanta - lots of family and friends - a large Politico presence was there to celebrate! … They leave Monday for their honeymoon in Mexico. They met at either a karaoke bar or the library at USC -- they argue over which is the accurate story.” Picshttp://bit.ly/2H4CddA … http://bit.ly/2JcVr1c ... Instapic http://bit.ly/2IoJKmX
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Meridith Webster, managing director of public affairs at the Emerson Collective. How she got her start in her career: “Walter Capps was my college professor at UCSB. He was a real inspiration to me and ran for Congress in 1996 while I was in school. I was lucky to be selected as one of his campaign’s interns and he won the race. I fell in love with campaigns and politics and then did a semester in D.C. as an intern in First Lady Hillary Clinton’s office, and then worked on Carol Moseley-Braun’s Senate race in 1998 right after college. After the campaign, I moved to D.C. for a job in the Clinton administration and have been here since.” Read her Playbook Plus Q&A: https://politi.co/2GNMjli
BIRTHDAYS: Dr. Jud Feldman ... Tim Pataki, a member of the Trump legislative affairs team, is 33 ... Brent Colburn, Princeton’s new VP for communications and public affairs and most recently of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and alum of the Obama administration and campaigns, is 43 (hat tips: Ben Chang and Jon Haber) ... Politico’s Dana Rubinstein, Danielle Muoio and Katya Moukhina ... Lynda Tran, 270 Strategies founding partner and CBS News contributor ... Caitlyn Morrison of Waxman Strategies ... Brian Austin, data scientist at Excella Consulting (h/t wife Emily Stephenson) ... NYT star reporter Emily Steel ... Evan McMullin is 42 (h/t Rachel Wein) … Chad Banghart, digital coordinator at the RNC, is 23 (h/t Alex Sarp) … Carl Kasell, formerly of NPR … Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Me.) is 63 (h/t Teresa Vilmain) … Naji Filali, partner at Percipient Strategies LLC … Alex Rosenwald, senior director of strategic comms and publicity at MediaDC (h/t Alice Lloyd) ... Jennifer Morrow ... former Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) is 68 … Josefa Velasquez … former Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) is 81 ... Robby Zirkelbach, EVP of public affairs at PhRMA ...
... Joe Hack, Sen. Deb. Fischer’s chief of staff (h/t Brianna Puccini) ... Dan Sallick, partner and co-founder of Subject Matter (h/t Peter Cherukuri) … Jeff Rosen, deputy secretary of transportation and a veteran of OMB and DOT under Bush 43, is 6-0 (h/t Tevi Troy) … David Bohnett, an entrepreneur and philanthropist … State’s David Shwiff (h/t Riley Brands) ... Michael David Morgan ... Edelman SVP Ryan Kuntz ... Apolitical’s Sean Long, a DOJ alum, is 25 ... John McCauley ... Jim O’Grady, WNYC reporter ... John Keener of the U.S. Navy ... Nikhil Joshi, corporate strategy at Bloomberg ... Emily Hartmann ... Marguerita ten Houten ... NBA’s Danny Kanner, alum of DGA and OFA ... Dan Reilly, NEA’s senior campaigns and elections specialist and a Teamsters alum … Christy Agner … Greg Boatright … Abe Dyk … Kimberly Woodard … Sarah Fenn ... Kristina Clara Konrad-Williams ... Clare Osdene Schapiro ... Carole Chouinard.
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