Playbook scoop: Republicans to push balanced-budget amendment Presented by Amazon

House Republicans, led by Speaker Paul Ryan, will take up a balanced-budget amendment when they return from recess, sources tell Playbook. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

Driving the Day

BRING ‘EM TO THE BALLOT BOX! -- THE PRESIDENT at 5:52 a.m.: “THE SECOND AMENDMENT WILL NEVER BE REPEALED! As much as Democrats would like to see this happen, and despite the words yesterday of former Supreme Court Justice Stevens, NO WAY. We need more Republicans in 2018 and must ALWAYS hold the Supreme Court!”

-- HE’S RIGHT. There is basically no chance Congress is going to repeal the Second Amendment. It's a fantasy.

Welcome to baseball season. BAD NEWS FOR CRAFT BEERS LOVERS like PLAYBOOK NATIONALS CORRESPONDENT LUKE RUSSERT … Beer is $15 and $16 at Nats Park. Pic from last night’s exhibition game against the Minnesota Twins, which the Nats lost 3-1 http://bit.ly/2E1sfpY

POST “60 MINUTES” POLL -- TRUMP will like this one, via Steven Shepard: “Teflon Don? Poll finds Trump weathering Stormy just fine”: “Voters believe adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. They believe her claim that she and Donald Trump had sex before he ran for president, and that Trump has been unfaithful to his wife. Only a third think the president is honest. More than half think he has low morals.

“But a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, conducted after Daniels’ appearance on ‘60 Minutes’ this weekend, suggests that despite that litany of sins, the Daniels revelations are unlikely to significantly alter Trump’s political standing.

“The president’s approval rating -- 42 percent in this week’s poll -- remains largely unchanged from 44 percent last week. Fewer voters support beginning impeachment proceedings against Trump than last year. And voters are split on whether Trump should even answer Daniels’ assertions at all. Taken together, the data suggest Trump’s past behavior with women is already known among voters — and many are willing to overlook it.” https://politi.co/2GcZSel

SCOOP -- HOUSE REPUBLICANS will take up a balanced-budget amendment when they return from recess, several sources tell us. This follows on the heels of their $1.3-trillion budget bill and their massive tax bill. WHY DO THIS NOW? Here's what we think: It’s almost election season, and it would be helpful if GOP lawmakers could go home and be able to say they voted to support balancing the federal budget, even though they voted boosted discretionary spending by a ton, and have not touched entitlement spending, which, they have said for years, is the driver of U.S. budget deficits.

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ALL THE PRESIDENT’S ADVISERS -- “Mattis predicts partnership with Bolton despite differences,” by AP’s Robert Burns: “‘I look forward to working with him — no reservations, no concerns at all,’ Mattis told reporters at an impromptu news conference. ‘Last time I checked he’s an American. I’m not in the least bit concerned.’

“Mattis said he has never met Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations and conservative firebrand. He said he expects Bolton to pay a visit to the Pentagon soon, perhaps this week, to begin developing a relationship. ... When a reporter mentioned that people see his world view as significantly different than that of Bolton, Mattis replied, ‘That’s the normal thing you want, unless you want group-think.’” http://bit.ly/2pIYMwO

-- “Wilbur Ross Overruled Career Officials at Census Bureau to Add Citizenship Question,” by ProPublica’s Justin Elliott: “Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross’ decision Monday to add a controversial question on citizenship to the 2020 census came in the face of opposition from career officials at the Census Bureau who fear it will depress response rates, especially from immigrants. Two people with knowledge of the deliberations said career leaders in the Census Bureau, which is part of the Commerce Department, had scrambled to come up with alternatives to adding the question. Those efforts were unsuccessful.” http://bit.ly/2I9KVq3

-- WAPO’S Lisa Rein, Josh Dawsey and Emily Wax-Thibodeaux: “‘He knows he is done’: Veterans Affairs chief lies low amid rumors he’ll be ousted”: “The president has told a number of advisers that he wants to oust Shulkin, once a favorite in his Cabinet. But the White House has sent mixed messages publicly, and it remains unclear to what extent the secretary still has President Trump’s full trust.” https://wapo.st/2GjhaTh

WSJ: “Sheldon Adelson Facilitated EPA Connection for Israeli Firm: Agency to test water-purification system after casino magnate urged chief Scott Pruitt to meet with Water-Gen executives,” by Timothy Puko: “The EPA agreed to test a water-purification system developed by Water-Gen Ltd., an Israeli technology company whose board includes Harvard legal scholar and television pundit Alan Dershowitz. …

“The deal comes after the company’s executive chairman, Maxim Pasik, met with Mr. Pruitt at the EPA’s headquarters at least twice in the spring of 2017, according to the administrator’s calendar released by the agency’s Freedom of Information Act office. ‘This came as a request of Sheldon Adelson,’ reads a note on the entry for their first meeting March 29, 2017.” https://on.wsj.com/2E0sphD

BIG, BUT UNDER-THE-RADAR, NEWS -- “Mulvaney nears victory in struggle with Mnuchin on tax rules,” by Nancy Cook and Aaron Lorenzo: “The White House is poised to give its budget office greater control over some of the Treasury Department’s regulations, handing budget director Mick Mulvaney a victory in a months-long power struggle with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, according to three sources familiar with the discussions. The move, which could come in the next few weeks, would end the autonomy the Treasury Department has enjoyed since the 1980s when it comes to issuing tax rules, while giving greater power to one of Trump’s favorite Cabinet members at the expense of another. The highly sensitive debate has consumed the attention of top officials at both agencies.” https://politi.co/2DZqQ3p

-- THIS IS ALSO A WIN FOR CAPITOL HILL, which fretted about Treasury’s autonomy in implementing the tax bill.

THE FIRST TRADE DEAL -- “Trump gets South Korean concessions in first trade deal,” by Doug Palmer: “President Donald Trump has reached the first trade deal of his administration, getting South Korea to make a few changes to a six-year-old pact he said was a horrible deal.

“Trump had largely criticized the previous agreement largely because of the U.S.’s auto trade deficit with South Korea, which has grown significantly since the deal went into force in 2012. At his insistence, the two countries launched talks last year to renegotiate the pact. Senior administration officials Tuesday night outlined the details of the revised U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, known as KORUS, most of which were announced over the weekend by the South Korean government.” https://politi.co/2GBVlBN



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THE CONFIRMATION BATTLE ON THE HORIZON … “How Gina Haspel is trying to overcome her past to become the next CIA director,” by CNN’s Manu Raju, Jeremy Herb and Jenna McLaughlin: “Haspel, who is under scrutiny because of her past oversight of a CIA ‘black site’ in Thailand, has told senators over the past two weeks that she understands waterboarding is illegal and that she would follow the law if confirmed, according to two sources with knowledge of the conversations. She has also distanced herself from the destruction of CIA tapings of harsh interrogations, saying she didn’t order the tapes to be destroyed, the sources said. And she has argued that the post 9/11 mindset in the CIA and federal laws over interrogation tactics are far different today.” https://cnn.it/2pOkb6X

AMAZING, via Matt Dixon in Tallahassee: “Rubio: ‘I don’t campaign against Bill Nelson’”: “As Florida’s Republican establishment prepares to rally around Gov. Rick Scott in his forthcoming bid to knock of Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, one of the state’s most well-known Republicans does not seem poised to help lead the charge: Sen. Marco Rubio.

‘I don’t campaign against Bill Nelson,’ Rubio said Tuesday during a sit-down with reporters in his Tallahassee office. ‘Bill Nelson and I have a very good working relationship.’ …

“Rubio did say, ‘I’ll support the Republican nominee,’ the sort of answer that almost nearly mirrors his tepid public support in 2016 of then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. He called his relationship with Scott ‘positive,’ and said that he thought he would have a good relationship with Scott if the two were in Washington together in the Senate. But he noted that with Nelson he could not ‘have a better partner.’ ‘I don’t work as close with him [Scott] because he’s a state official, and I’m a federal official,’ Rubio said.” https://politi.co/2GdPzXz

DAVID SIDERS in LOS ANGELES: “Obama will appear at McCaskill fundraiser in Beverly Hills”: “Obama is listed as a special guest at the May 6 fundraiser hosted by the actress Katie McGrath, film studio executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, filmmaker Steven Spielberg and others Los Angeles-area heavyweights. This is his first post-presidential fundraising event for an individual candidate -- and it goes to the female senator who very notably backed him early over Hillary Clinton in 2008.” https://politi.co/2urU3UT

ALERT -- TO ZUCKERBERG, from Nancy Scola and Steven Overly: “Watch out, Zuckerberg — Congress is a trap” https://politi.co/2Gz1QFA … He is expected at House E&C on April 12 https://politi.co/2IbV7OH

BY THE WAY … HERE are all the D.C. firms that FACEBOOK employed for lobbying last quarter: Ogilvy, Peck Madigan Jones, Signal, Subject Matter, Stewart Strategies and Solutions, Baker and Hostetler, Blue Mountain Strategies, Harbinger, Dave Wade/GreenLight Strategies, theGROUP DC, and Steptoe & Johnson. This might not include comms firms, and Facebook also has its own in-house lobbyists.

BLOOMBERG’S PULITZER WINNER ZACH MIDER: “Robert Mercer is the Richest Gun in the West: The Enigmatic Investor Was Secretly Volunteering as a Cop in a Tiny Desert Town. Why? To Obtain an Item That’s Impossible to Buy” (online headline: “Robert Mercer’s Secret Adventure as a New Mexico Cop”): “For most of the past six years, as Mercer became one of the country’s political kingmakers, he was also periodically policing Lake Arthur, according to the department. If he followed Norwood’s protocols -- and Norwood insists no volunteers get special treatment -- he would’ve patrolled at least six days a year. He would’ve paid for travel and room and board, and supplied his own body armor and weapon ...

“During the two and a half years I’ve covered Mercer, I’ve come to think of him as a hard-right version of that guy in the beer commercials, the Most Interesting Man in the World. There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of incredible-but-true Mercer stories, including his pioneering research that begat Google Translate, his funding of a stockpile of human urine in the Oregon mountains, his million-dollar model train set, and his habit of whistling constantly, even during work meetings. ...

“[I]n 2004, Congress passed the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, declaring that police officers can carry concealed guns in any state with no need of a local license. The law applies to officers who are off-duty and out of their jurisdiction—and includes volunteer reservists. The law made a police badge an immeasurably valuable item in places such as Suffolk County, N.Y., where Mercer lives, and where concealed-carry permits are granted only rarely.” https://bloom.bg/2pJDb7u

NEWS -- NORTH DAKOTA DEMOCRATIC SEN. HEIDI HEITKAMP DOUBLES DOWN ON GUNS POSITION -- HEITKAMP talked with ANNA earlier this week at a live WOMEN RULE podcast taping in Los Angeles. ON GUN RIGHTS: “I think sometimes people have a diminished sense of the Second Amendment,” Heitkamp said. Further, she said that she has “a real kind of visceral reaction to the lack of appreciation – or understanding – about how people feel about the Second Amendment, and how people feel about restrictions on the Second Amendment.”

-- MORE: Heitkamp compared her feelings to those of abortion-rights supporters: “Restrictions on your reproductive rights – think about how strongly you feel about evaluating those restrictions. That’s how strongly people in North Dakota and Indiana and other places feel about restricting their Second Amendment.” Listen to the full podcast on how Heitkamp has disagreed with fellow Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), her relationship with Trump and much more https://politi.co/2GjcWek

-- NBC’S JON ALLEN: PENCE whacks Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota. https://nbcnews.to/2GeN2s3

THE SUMMIT -- “Kim Jong-un Met With Xi Jinping in Secret Beijing Visit,” by NYT’s Steven Lee Myers and Jane Perlez in Beijing: “North Korea’s enigmatic young leader, Kim Jong-un, made an unannounced visit to Beijing, meeting with President Xi Jinping weeks before planned summit meetings with American and South Korean leaders, Chinese and North Korean state news media reported on Wednesday. The visit amounted to Mr. Kim’s international debut: It was the 34-year-old leader’s first trip outside North Korea since he took power in 2011, and his first meeting with another head of state. ...

“Mr. Kim’s trip unfolded in extraordinary secrecy and security; it was confirmed only after he left Beijing on the same armored train that stirred speculation when it arrived mysteriously in the Chinese capital on Monday. ... Mr. Kim told the Chinese leader that he was open to dialogue with the United States, including a potential summit meeting with President Trump, and was committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to an account published by China’s news agency Xinhua.” https://nyti.ms/2I8qny7

-- GOOD CATCH BY THE FT: “However, [Kim Jong-Un’s] comments contained caveats. For North Korea, phrases such as ‘simultaneous steps for peace’ are likely to mean the removal of U.S. forces from South Korea -- a scenario that is highly unlikely.” https://on.ft.com/2pNiEin

-- THE PRESIDENT at 6:05 a.m.: "For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility. Now there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity. Look forward to our meeting!" ... at 6:16 a.m.: "Received message last night from XI JINPING of China that his meeting with KIM JONG UN went very well and that KIM looks forward to his meeting with me. In the meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost!"

YOU’RE INVITED … Join us TOMORROW for our first Playbook University in North Carolina with GOV. ROY COOPER at Penn Pavilion at Duke University. Doors open at 11:45 a.m. RSVP http://bit.ly/2IqsO09 … BOOKMARK THE LIVE STREAM https://politi.co/2G9RaxB

WHAT RACHAEL BADE and JOHN BRESNAHAN ARE READING -- “Map locates 301 bar, restaurant and cigar lounge visits by Rep. Duncan Hunter,” by San Diego Union-Tribune’s Morgan Cook, Joshua Stewart and Lauryn Schroeder: “A recent report in Politico delved into the drinking habits of Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, who is under federal criminal investigation for alleged personal use of campaign contributions. …

“U-T Watchdog decided to review reported campaign spending with an eye toward visits to bars and restaurants that market their bar prominently. A review of records that Hunter’s campaign filed with the Federal Election Commission between March 2008 and November 2017 shows at least 301 transactions totaling $138,666 at bars, cigar lounges, liquor stores, bar-dominant restaurants and similar businesses. ...

“Of the 72 charges below $100 at Washington, D.C. bars, almost half were at Bullfeathers, which has a reputation as a popular hang-out for lobbyists, next to House office buildings. ... FEC records show that between March 12, 2008 and Oct. 18, 2017, Hunter’s campaign reported making 126 payments totaling $105,352 to the Capitol Hill Club.” http://bit.ly/2E1jcW2 … Read Rachael and Bres’ original story http://politi.co/2EPnp1e

TRUMP'S WEDNESDAY -- He is hosting a credentialing ceremony for new ambassadors at 11:30 a.m., then having lunch with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at 12:15.

THE JUICE …

-- THE CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP FUND is opening five new field offices around the country. The Republicans that will benefit are Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-Maine), Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio). CLF is opening one in the open eighth district of Washington, and to try to knock off Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.). The group says it’s contacted 8 million voters. They have 31 offices. List of offices http://bit.ly/2pMNWoS



Playbook Reads

PHOTO DU JOUR: In a photo provided by China's state news agency on March 28, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands in Beijing, China. The Chinese government confirmed that the reclusive North Korean dictator went to Beijing, which is his first known trip to a foreign country since he took power. | Ju Peng/Xinhua News Agency via AP Photo

YIKES – NYT’s ALAN BLINDER in ATLANTA and NICOLE PERLROTH in BOULDER, COLORADO: “A Cyberattack Hobbles Atlanta, and Security Experts Shudder”: “The City of Atlanta’s 8,000 employees got the word on Tuesday that they had been waiting for: It was O.K. to turn their computers on.

“But as the city government’s desktops, hard drives and printers flickered back to life for the first time in five days, residents still could not pay their traffic tickets or water bills online, or report potholes or graffiti on a city website. Travelers at the world’s busiest airport still could not use the free Wi-Fi. Atlanta’s municipal government has been brought to its knees since Thursday morning by a ransomware attack — one of the most sustained and consequential cyberattacks ever mounted against a major American city.” https://nyti.ms/2pMKPNL



WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE – “Former Disney star joins White House press team,” by CNN’s Betsy Klein: “The White House press office is getting a bit more Sunshine these days -- former Disney Channel star Caroline Sunshine, that is. She’s joining the team as a press assistant. Sunshine, 22, is known for her role alongside Zendaya as Tinka Hessenheffer in ‘Shake It Up,’ a Disney Channel show about teen dancers that ran from 2010 to 2013. ... The California native has established her career apart from the entertainment industry; she was most recently a White House intern.” https://cnn.it/2I8JGrg

MEDIAWATCH – Per Michael Calderone’s Morning Media: “NBC News and MSNBC will host a White House Correspondents’ Dinner after party again this year. The network’s plans hadn’t been clear as some outlets that have held WHCD-related events in the past, like The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, said they wouldn’t be doing so for next month’s dinner. NBC and MSNBC will also make a donation again to the National Press Club’s Diversity Scholarship.”



Playbookers

SPOTTED: Mike Pompeo on Tuesday in the C Street lobby of the State Department. He was there for meetings with staff to prepare for his confirmation hearings. … Valerie Jarrett at Bombay Club dining with Lyft co-founder John Zimmer and Lyft general counsel Kristin Sverchek and others. Zimmer, Anita Dunn and Jarrett -- a board member of Lyft -- hosted a lunch with reporters on Tuesday at Lincoln restaurant. … Don Jr. at the Trump Hotel last night.

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Stefanie Berger Lechter (hat tip: Irene, who was on time)

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Tevi Troy, presidential historian and former Bush WH aide, VP of public policy at JUUL Labs and author of “Shall We Wake the President? Two Centuries of Disaster Management from the Oval Office,” is 51. A fun fact about Tevi: “I’ve played tennis on the White House court, the U.S. Senate court, and the Federal Reserve’s court — yes, they have one.” Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: https://politi.co/2Gh3yYD

BIRTHDAYS: WaPo alum Ed O’Keefe, who is soon joining CBS News as a political correspondent, is 35 ... Rob Nabors ... Ben Porritt, partner at Outside Eyes (h/ts Kevin Madden and Blain Rethmeier) ... Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is 73 ... Aaron Davis, national political director at J Street and an Obama FEMA alum ... former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, now a senior fellow at the Harris School of Public Policy Studies and chairman of the Paulson Institute at U Chicago, is 72 ... Peter Ambler, co-founder and executive director of Giffords ... Hadassah Lieberman, wife of former Sen. Joe Lieberman, is 7-0 ... Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va) is 71 ... Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) is 65 ... Ian Blue, member relations director at Wine Institute ... Cheryl Oldham of the U.S. Chamber ... Pat Ryan, who's running for Congress in New York's 19th District, is 36 (h/t Hanna Trudo) …

… Jackie Hassell, Team Romney alum now SVP for partnerships at Tribeca Enterprises … Alexander Grieve ... former Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) is 85 ... McCain alum Keith Nahigian, president and founder of Nahigian Strategies, is 5-0 (h/t Cassie Williams) … Ricky Moxley of Rep. Ted Budd’s office (h/t Todd Poole) ... Josh Cook, SVP at Berlin Rosen ... Rob Garza (h/t Ben Chang) ... Dennis Sills ... James Singer, deputy research director at the DGA (h/t Rob Flaherty) ... Janine Benner ... Todd Piro ... Allegra Hewell Wilson … John Geis, director for South Asia and Oceania at the office of the Secretary of Defense ... Jennifer Cook of UPS … Anne Marie Malecha ... Hailey Lann ... Karin Socci ... Kevin Sessums is 62 ... Katherine Berland ... Scott Becher ... Cathleen Duffy Leuba ... Brianna Alcorn (hubby tip: Josh) ... Roger Simon … Josie Gilbert ... Molly Scherrman.

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