POLITICO Playbook PM: Trump wants to send checks to Americans Presented by

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the administration would soon like to send checks to U.S. households as part of its aid during the coronavirus crisis. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION just backed a massive plan to send cash to Americans. It is, probably, the most aggressive form of stimulus Congress has the capacity of taking. And Treasury Secretary STEVEN MNUCHIN and President DONALD TRUMP said they are looking for quick action from Congress. What Mnuchin said

THIS IS A RECOGNITION OF A FEW REALITIES: Number one, the administration’s initial cure for the melting economy -- a payroll tax cut -- would not take hold quickly enough, and faced uncertain prospects on Capitol Hill. Number two: Republican senators like MITT ROMNEY of Utah and TOM COTTON of Arkansas support direct payments to taxpayers, suggesting the GOP will go along. And number three: This is, theoretically, a way to bring Republicans and Democrats together quite quickly. Mnuchin suggested the checks would be means-tested -- he said people making $1 million a year would not get a check.

TRUMP SUGGESTED such a big package would prevent Congress from returning to the trough time and time again. And, most importantly, Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL is on board, the president suggested. Last week, during our conversations with House Democrats, nearly all of them suggested some policy like this.

THERE ARE STILL LOTS OF QUESTIONS, many of which we will get answered in the coming hours, after MNUCHIN meets with Senate Republicans. How will the administration structure this package? Will they combine it with the House-passed, $100-billion plus coronavirus bill -- as we reported was under consideration this morning -- or would they seek to move it as a stand-alone measure?

IT WILL BE UP TO MCCONNELL and Senate Minority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER to sort all this out.

THERE ARE MORE SUBSTANTIVE QUESTIONS. What will this government check-writing bonanza be coupled with? What other policies will ride alongside this? How big will the checks be? How will they decide who gets them?

AND SINCE THIS BILL IS STARTING IN THE SENATE, will it be something the House will accept? And, if not, will the House amend it, and send it back to the Senate? How long will that take, and how messy will it be? How many rounds will this go before it heads to TRUMP’S desk? Or will SCHUMER have Speaker NANCY PELOSI and House Democrats’ proxy, and not accept anything that doesn’t have the other chamber’s support? Congress is dancing on the head of a pin as it tries to get this done this week, with lawmakers increasingly fearful of getting sick and markets watching very closely.

THE ADMINISTRATION IS SEEKING ACTION from the Senate this week. Buckle up.

MORE NEWS from the president’s presser:

-- MNUCHIN ON KEEPING MARKETS OPEN “Everybody wants to keep it open. We may get to a point where we shorten the hours if that’s something they need to do. … We intend to keep the markets open.”

-- TRUMP said there would be a “dramatic expansion” of Medicare telehealth services, allowing Medicare patients to speak with doctors via services like FaceTime and Skype at no additional cost. He added that “applicable HIPAA penalties” would not be enforced for the time being.

-- THE PRESIDENT reiterated that people should work from home “if possible, postpone unnecessary travel and limit social gatherings to no more than 10 people. … We’ll see what happens after that. If we do this right, our country and the world, frankly, but our country can be rolling again pretty quickly.” He said this request is in place for the next 14 days.

-- VP MIKE PENCE said they spoke to the heads of every broadcast network, and they will be airing a public-service campaign. He asked construction companies to donate N95 masks to hospitals, and stop ordering new masks.

THERE’S ALREADY CONVERSATION in the White House about a Phase Four of stimulus, which would, in the administration’s view -- not surprisingly -- include some sort of infrastructure spending.

A message from Google: 50+ new features to help educators. As educators worldwide have reinvented their practices, Google products are also adapting to help them meet their evolving needs and challenges. At “The Anywhere School,” a virtual back-to-school event, Google introduced over 50 new features across Meet, Classroom, G Suite and more. Watch on demand.

KEVIN WARSH GETS RESULTS! … WSJ: “Federal Reserve to Launch Commercial Paper Funding Facility Amid Coronavirus Uncertainty,” by Nick Timiraos: “The Federal Reserve said Tuesday it would establish a lending facility to support short-term commercial debt markets to prevent intensifying funding strains from accelerating economic damage from the coronavirus.

“The Fed said it had established the new Commercial Paper Funding Facility, a version of which was last used during the 2008 financial crisis, after securing the approval of the Treasury secretary.”

Good Tuesday afternoon.

Playbook PM Sign up for our must-read newsletter on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

HEADS UP -- “States delaying primaries may face delegate penalty, warns DNC memo,” by The Guardian’s Daniel Strauss: “A new memo from the Democratic National Committee panel that handles delegate selection for the presidential nomination warns that state parties that hastily change the ‘first determining step’ of their own process could be subject to penalties – including a 50% reduction in delegates. The memo also says the panel is looking at ways to adjust how delegates are selected in response to the coronavirus pandemic.” Guardian

THE TEXAS TRIBUNE’S @PatrickSvitek: “[email protected] emails supporters that he's ‘suspending all campaign-related activities, including fundraising, volunteer efforts and special events.’”

FLASHBACK … NYT, MARCH 25, 2008: “Guidelines for Epidemics: Who Gets a Ventilator?”: “It may sound unthinkable: the idea of denying life support to some people in a public health disaster like an epidemic. But a new report says doctors, health care workers and the public need to start thinking about it.” ONE AUTHOR of said report? Tia Powell, sister of Fed Chairman Jay Powell. The report

HEADS UP -- GOLDMAN SACHS has revised its worldwide GDP growth predictions for the year downward to 1.25%. Its report today projects a recession somewhere between the 2001 recession and the 2008/2009 Great Recession -- though it notes that China is looking much weaker than in those downturns. The report

THE GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS FALLOUT -- “Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong Face Second Wave of Coronavirus Cases,” by WSJ’s Liza Lin and Joyu Wang: “Singapore reported 17 new cases late Monday, its highest daily count since the epidemic started. Taiwan recorded a single-day high of 10 cases of infection, bringing its total to 77. Hong Kong added five new cases—a day after it recorded nine—the most since Feb 9.

“Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong, which were hit early by the fast spreading coronavirus because of their close economic and social ties with China, have been lauded for effectively controlling initial outbreaks with fast and aggressive responses. Now, they face fresh challenges as coronavirus cases soar in Europe and the Middle East and returning travelers bring back new risks.” WSJ

-- WSJ: “A Generational War Is Brewing Over Coronavirus,” by Bojan Pancevski in Berlin, Stacy Meichtry in Paris and Xavier Fontdegloria in Barcelona: “Data released last week by the National Health Institute in Italy, currently the world’s worst-hit country, shows mortality rates starting at 0% for patients aged 0 to 29 and edging up to peak at 19% for those over 90.

“Yet scientists say tests have shown children and young adults are no less likely than older people to get infected and transmit the virus. Epidemiologists are growing concerned that the millennial pushback against social-distancing measures—and an emerging generational divide about how the disease is perceived—could undo all efforts to slow the spread of the virus and put vulnerable people at high risk.” WSJ

AP/TEHRAN: “Iran warns virus could kill ‘millions’ in Islamic Republic,” by Nasser Karimi and Jon Gambrell: “Iran issued its most dire warning yet Tuesday about the outbreak of the new coronavirus ravaging the country, suggesting ‘millions’ could die in the Islamic Republic if the public keeps traveling and ignoring health guidance.

“A state television journalist who also is a medical doctor gave the warning only hours after hard-line Shiite faithful the previous night pushed their way into the courtyards of two major shrines that had just been closed over fears of the virus. Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader issued a religious ruling prohibiting ‘unnecessary’ travel in the country.” AP

THE UPSHOT’S NEIL IRWIN: “One Simple Idea That Explains Why the Economy Is in Great Danger”: “One person’s spending is another person’s income. That, in a single sentence, is what the $87 trillion global economy is. … What is so deeply worrying about the potential economic ripple effects of the virus is that it requires this perpetual motion machine to come to a near-complete stop across large chunks of the economy, for an indeterminate period of time.

“No modern economy has experienced anything quite like this. We simply don’t know how the economic machine will respond to the damage that is starting to occur, nor how hard or easy it will be to turn it back on again.” NYT

-- AP/BERLIN: “As virus shuts down cities in Europe, pollution drops”: “The European Union’s space agency’s earth-observation satellites have detected a significant reduction in the pollutant nitrogen dioxide, a byproduct of the use of diesel motors and other human activities, in northern Italy as the advance of the COVID-19 has led to drastic measures curtailing ordinary life.

“The agency’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reported Tuesday that with the ‘abrupt changes in activity levels’ in northern Italy, it has tracked a ‘reduction trend’ of nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, for the last four to five weeks. … Similar drops in pollutants were detected in China after the government there implemented widespread shutdowns to try and slow the spread of COVID-19.” AP

-- WSJ: “U.S. Factories Work Around Coronavirus Impact,” by Austen Hufford and Bob Tita: “Manufacturers in the U.S. are improvising to keep factories humming as the coronavirus pandemic threatens one of the biggest disruptions in memory to supply chains, staffing and demand.

“Factories are staggering shifts, banning visitors and installing barriers between workers to protect them from infection. Some executives worry that might not be enough to maintain production as officials across the country advise more people to stay home, and schools and day cares shut down.” WSJ

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS -- “White House Privately Backchannels Its Coronavirus Messaging to Conservative Social-Media Influencers,” by The Daily Beast’s Asawin Suebsaeng and Erin Banco: “As the coronavirus has worsened, members of the task force President Donald Trump has assigned to combat the pandemic have reached out to prominent conservative social-media ‘influencers’ and right-wing TV and radio stars to offer them private briefings and information sessions with Vice President Mike Pence and other top administration officials, The Daily Beast has learned. …

“The communications strategy began backstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference … [A]ttendees included Fox New fixture and prolific MAGA tweeter Dan Bongino; former Trump adviser and current War Room: 2020 podcast host Jason Miller; Newsmax TV host and Trump’s former press secretary Sean Spicer; former White House official and Sinclair ‘must-run’ commentator Boris Epshteyn; Sinclair anchor and ex-Fox News host Eric Bolling; and former Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), a Trump surrogate.” Daily Beast

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL -- “Biden gets full Secret Service protection after security scares,” by CBS’ Grace Segers

-- ALLY MUTNICK: “This anti-abortion rights, Obamacare-opposing House Democrat is in trouble”: “For the second time in two years, Rep. Dan Lipinski -- one of the last members of a dwindling breed of conservative House Democrats who oppose abortion rights -- is at risk of losing his seat in a primary.

“The Illinois lawmaker faces a rematch Tuesday against Marie Newman, a progressive upstart who nearly unseated him in 2018. But what should have been the left’s clearest shot yet at the incumbent is mired in uncertainty, with high-profile progressives distracted by Sen. Bernie Sanders's floundering presidential campaign and the election itself enveloped by the coronavirus crisis. Both camps are at a loss for how to handicap the race.” POLITICO

FOR YOUR RADAR -- “Government Is Broadening Investigations of Spoofing-Like Practices,” by WSJ’s Dave Michaels: “Authorities are investigating whether traders at JPMorgan Chase & Co. manipulated the market for Treasury securities and futures contracts, according to regulatory disclosures and people familiar with the matter.

“The investigation shows that federal prosecutors and regulators continue to expand a campaign against an illicit practice known as spoofing, which has mainly focused on wily trading in derivatives. A move to scrutinize whether similar practices have affected the $17 trillion market for Treasury securities would open a new, and potentially more complicated, front in the war on spoofing.” WSJ

TRANSITIONS -- Howard Dean and retired Army Gen. Mark Bowman are now co-chairs of the advisory board at the technology logistics company GetSwift.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Jamie Mageau, director of research products for the U.S. Travel Association, and Mike Mageau, managing director at the Soter Group, welcomed Grant Abel Mageau on Thursday. He came in at 6 lbs, 14 oz, and joins big sister Addison. Pic … Another pic

BONUS BIRTHDAY: Ben Carlson Yarkin (h/t Margaret Carlson)

A message from Google: Google tools like Classroom and Meet are helping educators teach from wherever they are. Read more.

Follow us on Twitter Anna Palmer @apalmerdc



Jake Sherman @JakeSherman



Eli Okun @eliokun



Garrett Ross @garrett_ross