Politico Playbook Audio Briefing

For more than two weeks, the Jeffrey Epstein saga has blotted out the sun in Washington. But it’s only now — with the House heading out for a monthlong recess as GOP leaders adjourn the chamber rather than allow a floor vote that would hasten the release of the Epstein files — that the storyline is threatening to break out of the bubble and follow congressional Republicans back to their districts, nudged along by gleeful Democrats. Playbook contributing author Adam Wren and chief correspondent Dasha Burns talk through what that might look like, the potential pitfalls for Democrats and Republicans and what President Donald Trump finds especially frustrating about the whole ordeal.

With no new enterprise journalism published recently on the “Epstein files” front, President Donald Trump’s allies are catching their breath. Democrats are riding what could be a sugar high, having already cost the House GOP some votes this week. But as the aperture widens, are Republicans actually finding themselves in better shape than conventional wisdom would suggest ahead of the 2026 midterms? Playbook contributing author Adam Wren and chief correspondent Dasha Burns talk through that and two other key questions just now coming into focus about 2026.

As the Epstein storm bears down on the White House, some of the same dynamics that contributed to the president’s rise to power now threaten his administration. Among them is the attention economy, which has utterly transformed American politics — and which Trump's innate grasp of helped him secure a second term. Now, with 2024 behind them, have Democrats fully absorbed one of the lessons of their defeat — and is the Epstein story an example of just how much things have changed? Playbook contributing author Adam Wren and chief correspondent Dasha Burns talk it through.

Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt is a lawyer, former state attorney general and a skilled navigator of the old — and new — wings of the Republican Party. He also has another title: White House whisperer.  Schmitt joins POLITICO’s Dasha Burns to talk about his closeness with the Trump administration, driving the Senate’s $9.4 billion rescissions bill, his involvement with passing Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” his belief in Medicaid reform, the controversy over the release of the Epstein files and what he describes as his “America First” — but not isolationist — foreign policy approach.  “I think a slur that's often uttered is that it's an isolationist point of view,” Schmitt told Burns. “That's not true at all.” (Note: This interview was conducted before the Senate and House passage of the rescissions bill.) Plus, POLITICO reporter Ben Jacobs digs into his reporting on social media influencers running for office and how the phenomenon is reshaping electoral politics.  Listen and subscribe to The Conversation w

The longtime friendship between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein came in for a close-up in a much-anticipated Wall Street Journal report last night that detailed a long-ago “bawdy” birthday greeting the future president sent to the future convicted sex offender. Immediately, Washington was ablaze with chatter — about the reporting, about the White House’s response and about the story’s potential to reunite the deeply fractured MAGA movement that had recently seemed so divided over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files. POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly joins Playbook contributing author Adam Wren to walk through what we know and what to watch from here.

The Jeffrey Epstein news cycle is here to stay. And that’s increasingly frustrating President Donald Trump, who has grown accustomed to being able to exert control over the news cycle for much of the past decade. There’s a policy side to this, of course, as a number of prominent Republicans and MAGA figures are calling for a special counsel to investigate the files and the DOJ’s handling of them. But there’s also a pop cultural aspect to this, as the story has spilled over into the zeitgeist. Contributing author Adam Wren and chief Playbook correspondent Dasha Burns discuss how we got here and what comes next.

There’s a glut of action from Republicans throughout Washington — from new economic messaging from the White House to a big rescissions vote in the Senate to a new crypto bill in the House. But the big topic of conversation in D.C. continues to be the DOJ’s non-release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. That’s frustrating President Donald Trump, who has grown accustomed to being able to change the topic du jour when it doesn’t suit him, as POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly tells Playbook contributing author Adam Wren. It’s delighting Democrats, who continue to troll the GOP over it. And it’s splitting Republicans, including many prominent members of Congress who are calling on the Justice Department to release the files. Where do things head from here? Megan and Adam talk through the potential political implications.

What do Republicans need to do to outperform expectations in the coming midterm elections? According to new polling obtained exclusively by Playbook, the answer may in part rest in touting their support for a facet of Obamacare. Meanwhile, Democrats see a split among progressives in a major House primary today in Arizona, and the party seems to be sounding somewhat MAGA-fied when it comes to the Jeffrey Epstein files. What’s going on? Contributing author Adam Wren and chief Playbook correspondent Dasha Burns unpack it all.

For years, prominent voices from Trump world have agitated for the release of all files in the case of Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy and well-connected financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in prison. Which is a big part of the reason why the blowback is so ferocious to last week’s announcement from AG Pam Bondi that no further documents will be released in the case. If they thought that would end the story, they were wrong: Trump’s hyper-loyal base isn’t satisfied with the departments’ findings, and they’re taking it out on Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior administration officials. What sets this issue apart for the base, and will Democrats be able to capitalize on this fracture? Playbook contributing author Adam Wren and chief Playbook correspondent Dasha Burns walk through it all.

Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, is a longtime immigration law enforcement official now tasked with helping implement the administration’s massive deportation campaign. In a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns, Homan explains what will be done with the $170 billion recently passed by Congress to help the effort, defends the tactics of ICE agents, and has a message for those who say undocumented farmworkers should be spared. “People who say ‘don't arrest workers,’ they don't understand the whole ugly underbelly of illegal immigration the way I do,” he tells Burns.  Plus, on the one year anniversary of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, PA, journalist Salena Zito shares her first-hand account as described in her new book, “Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland.”

There has been a quiet shift in President Donald Trump’s Washington. Halfway through the first year of his second term, Trump can boast a list of successes, most recently the passage of the sweeping Republican megabill. Now, Washington’s attention is starting to pivot to the midterms. And what comes next for the president is less clear. He won’t be on the ballot in 2028, but in many ways he will in 2026. How is the White House navigating these new political straits, and how are they calculating which fights they want to pick? Playbook editor Zack Stanton and POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly discuss.

Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Malaysia, where the ASEAN Foreign Ministers summit is underway. On its surface, the Rubio-Lavrov meeting isn’t necessarily notable. But it comes as a seismic shift is underway in President Donald Trump’s approach to Russia and Ukraine — and as he seems to have finally reached the limit of his patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin. As Russia continues to attack Ukraine, Putin is putting Trump’s reputation as an expert negotiator — and his desire for a Nobel Peace Prize — on the line. Playbook author Jack Blanchard and chief Playbook correspondent Dasha Burns discuss how this could play out, and what it means for the future of Ukraine.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court eased the way for President Donald Trump to proceed with his plans to fire tens of thousands of federal workers by executive order. The implications for Washington — and the nation — are vast. But will the win — and the ensuing makeover of the bureaucracy — satisfy a disgruntled MAGA base? Playbook author Jack Blanchard and chief Playbook correspondent Dasha Burns talk it through. Plus, a peek at the growing daylight between the White House and members of Trump’s Cabinet.

After a few weeks during which things seemed to go more or less as the Trump administration had hoped, MAGA world is suddenly in revolt. Yesterday, the Justice Department announced that it would not release any further documents pertaining to its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious sex offender and wealthy financier whose 2019 death fueled conspiracy theories across the political spectrum. Many members of the MAGA base aren’t satisfied with the DOJ’s decision — and its conclusion that he died by suicide and did not maintain a long-rumored “client list” — and are aiming their ire at Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino. Playbook author Jack Blanchard and chief Playbook correspondent Dasha Burns discuss the potential political fallout.

For President Donald Trump, it’s a week of tests on several fronts. After deadly floods in Texas, his administration’s cuts to the NOAA and National Weather Service are receiving new scrutiny, with many critics calling for investigations into what went wrong — and wondering how to prevent more disasters in the coming hurricane season. Meanwhile, as the nation inches toward a new trade deadline and a wave of new tariffs, the economy is bracing for impact. And on the global stage, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit the White House this evening — his third such trip in the Trump 2.0 era. Playbook author Jack Blanchard and chief correspondent Dasha Burns walk through all you need to know to start the week.

As Congress wrestles over the GOP’s megabill package, President Donald Trump heads to Iowa for a major rally on the eve of the July 4 holiday. Playbook’s chief correspondent Dasha Burns joins author Jack Blanchard to talk through the ghosts of rallies past, what to watch for this time around and what some people misunderstand about Trump’s connection with his audience.

The GOP’s massive reconciliation package heads back to the House this morning after narrowly crawling to passage in the Senate yesterday. But it looks much different than the last time the chamber considered it: To get through the Senate, the bill underwent an major makeover that drastically increases the deficit and could complicate the voting math in the House. The implications — for everyday Americans, for President Donald Trump’s agenda and for the 2026 and 2028 elections — couldn’t be much bigger. POLITICO senior Congress editor Mike DeBonis joins Playbook author Jack Blanchard to talk through how it went down and what comes next.

While the GOP megabill continues to be the main event in Washington, President Donald Trump heads to Florida and the latest hotspot in his immigration crusade: “Alligator Alcatraz.” That’s the moniker of a new detention camp deep in the Florida swamplands that will house undocumented immigrants. It’s not just a facility, of course: It’s an attempt to control the narrative around immigration, promulgate fears among would-be migrants and ultimately focus attention on an issue Democrats would rather not discuss. POLITICO White House reporter Myah Ward and Playbook author Jack Blanchard discuss.

It’s crunch time on Capitol Hill as the clock winds down for the sweeping Republican-backed reconciliation bill ahead of President Donald Trump’s self-imposed July 4 deadline. At stake is the crux of his legislative agenda, with massive real-world implications for millions of Americans on topics ranging from health coverage to taxes to food assistance for the poor. With Democrats eager to hold Republicans’ feet to the fire, will the GOP stick together, or are the slowly developing fissure lines enough to crack apart their legislative majorities? Chief Playbook correspondent Dasha Burns and author Jack Blanchard talk through the angles. Plus, the fallout from the U.S. attack on Iran continues, and an appeals court in Louisiana will consider Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act in his immigration enforcement.

President Donald Trump firmly believes the GOP’s megabill can pass through Congress and land on his desk by July 4. But with just one week to go before that self-imposed deadline, the sweeping legislation faces a congressional obstacle course, with Republicans across Capitol Hill fighting over facets from Medicaid cuts to government spending to federal land sales. POLITICO Congress reporter Jordain Carney joins Playbook contributing author Adam Wren to break down everything the state of play and where things go from here.