Meijer ends senate bid in
Michigan.

Jordan will fundraise for Massie next month >

Massie is actively trying to oust Mike Johnson as speaker

Jordan said he is aiming to help anyone in the conference as he told us in Punchbowl News

Whip Emmer announces the cancellation of votes next Thursday May 2 to accommodate Rep. Payne’s funeral

🟡SCOOP: Panicked donors made a push to install Rahm Emanuel as Biden campaign chief when he was at his polling low point
semafor.com/article/04/26/…

Brooklyn Dems lookin good just months before the election brooklyndems.com

Can we just normalize wearing the same thing every year to these events?

Per WH:

The President is doing a live interview with Howard Stern on Sirius XM radio.

Adrian Smith (presiding over House's Friday pro forma session) notes House is now formally down to 429 members.

First pro forma session since Gallagher formally resigned on Wednesday and the passing of Rep. Donald Payne Jr.

I am 100% convinced at this point Kristi Noem doesn’t want to be Trump’s running mate, but doesn’t want to offend him by turning it down, and is pulling a Producers instead theguardian.com/books/2024/apr…

🟡 Today in Principals:

•Speaker Johnson’s fundraising
•Jack Smith’s SCOTUS setback
•NYT defends its Biden reporting
•Blinken meets Xi
US builds Gaza pier
•USAID to Moldova
+ one good text w/ Nina Jankowicz
semafor.com/newsletter/04/…

Tune into CNN this hr for a piece of my intv w/ Sec Blinken in Beijing. He said there’s evidence of China attempting “to influence & arguably interfere” in US elections.. & “it’s a concern” that China is seeking to mirror Russia’s playbook of influence campaigns in the US.

NEW: Passing the supplemental could allay concerns of big donors suspicious of Speaker Johnson’s ability to navigate his conference.

It’s the base he may have to worry about for Q2 and Q3. semafor.com/article/04/25/…

🟡New: What’s next on Capitol Hill’s to-do list w/Kadia Goba

- FY2025 approps (yes, already!)
- FAA reauthorization
- Farm bill
- NDAA
- Baltimore bridge $$

Not on the list: Picking a new House speaker with Ds inclined to rescue Johnson
semafor.com/article/04/24/…

Today in Principals

What’s left for Congress
Arizona’s shock abortion vote
US sends weapons to Ukraine
TikTok’s legal battle
SCOTUS hears Trump arguments
Mike Johnson’s Columbia visit

+ One Good Text w/ Rep. Pete Aguilar

Very sad news: Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. has died at 65.

newjerseyglobe.com/in-memoriam/do…

As WH worked to pass Ukraine aid, it made sure to keep talking with Johnson, lay off targeted pressure and accommodate the speaker's requests.

One of those asks: have the admin brief Chip Roy + Ralph Norman, who had so often foiled Johnson on Rules. apnews.com/article/joe-bi…

Speaker Mike Johnson confirming our reporting just now with Hugh Hewitt.

Per a letter from the State Dept to the speaker, any decision to sanction an IDF battalion won’t block U.S. funding to Israel.

New: Don Jr. and Eric Trump have become key players in the early planning for Trump’s transition, and would focus on vetting potential officials and staffers for ideology and loyalty, sources tell Axios

axios.com/2024/04/24/tru…

Speaker Johnson on Hugh Hewitt when asked if he is considering removing any members from the House Rules Committee: He points to a one-vote margin and says if he starts kicking members off committees right now, he will get more problems than solutions

Today in Principals:

McConnell’s Ukraine win
Ammunition for Kyiv
FTC’s noncompete ban
Blinken’s China trip
Behind the protest masks
National Enquirer’s 2016 scheme
Pennsylvania primary results
semafor.com/newsletter/04/…

+ ONE GOOD TEXT w/ Judy Chu