“A loss in a high-stakes Wisconsin judicial contest has left some Republicans questioning the heavy involvement of billionaire Elon Musk, whom Democrats view as the perfect villain to galvanize their voters in races to come,” the Washington Post reports.
“But Musk and his political action committee plan to remain deeply involved in boosting GOP candidates.”
Said one person close to Musk: “This is not deterring him at all. He’s still wanting to be heavily engaged in politics going forward.”
“President Trump’s sweeping tariffs announced Wednesday extend to countries and territories across the world — including the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean,” Axios reports.
“The remote UNESCO World Heritage-listed Australian territory, which features a mostly barren landscape, was included in the list of baseline 10% taxes on U.S. imports, along with mainland Australia.”
“The Senate on Wednesday approved a measure that would block some of the tariffs President Trump has imposed on Canada, with a handful of Republicans joining Democrats to pass a resolution that would halt levies set to take effect this week,” the New York Times reports.
“The measure is all but certain to stall in the House, where G.O.P. leaders have moved preemptively to shut down any move to end Mr. Trump’s tariffs. But Senate passage of the measure on a vote of 51 to 48 — just hours after Mr. Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on more than 100 trading partners, including the European Union, China, Britain and India — sent a signal of bipartisan congressional opposition to the president’s trade war.”
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Politico: “For a month, neighbors in Washington’s upscale Woodland Normanstone neighborhood have speculated about the unidentified buyer who paid $23 million in cash for a 15,000-square-foot mansion.”
“The sale was the third-most expensive in city history and was shrouded in secrecy, with real estate agents muzzled by non-disclosure agreements. Soon after the deal went through in early March, images of the house became pixelated on Google Maps.”
Paul Krugman: “I guess it’s just possible that when we get details about the Trump tariffs they will be lower than what he just announced, but based on what he said, he’s gone full-on crazy. It’s not just that he appears to be imposing much higher tariffs than almost anyone expected. He’s also making false claims about our trading partners — not sure in this case whether they’re lies, because he may be truly ignorant — that will both enrage them and make it very hard to back down…”
“If you had any hopes that Trump would step back from the brink, this announcement, between the very high tariff rates and the complete falsehoods about what other countries do, should kill them.”
Calling his announcement a “declaration of economic independence,” President Trump imposed sweeping retaliatory tariffs at a Rose Garden ceremony, the New York Times reports.
“He said he would establish a universal baseline tariff of 10 percent, and additional rates that apply to certain countries. Some of the rates he announced — 34 percent for China, 26 percent for India, 24 percent for Japan — were much higher than what some economists and policymakers had been expecting.”
Wall Street Journal: “The plan represents a fundamental rethinking of U.S. trade policy on a scale not seen since the post-World War II era, when the U.S. and other nations in 1947 signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, a treaty aimed at lowering tariffs and trade barriers between nations.”
Washington Post: “The president’s latest trade initiative represents a breathtaking political gamble. After returning to the White House on a wave of public anger over inflation, Trump is now asking voters to put up with a renewed period of rising prices in return for the distant promise of rebuilding domestic manufacturing.”
A new Marquette University Law School poll finds Elon Musk with an upside down 38% to 60% approval rating.
Politico: “Musk’s latest approval rating spells trouble for the Trump special adviser, who just suffered a personal defeat in Wisconsin’s Tuesday state Supreme Court election.”
“Mark Zuckerberg is lobbying President Trump and White House officials to agree to a settlement that would prevent Meta Platforms from facing an antitrust trial later this month,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Meta and its representatives have met with the president and his senior advisers ahead of an April 14 Federal Trade Commission trial that could force the company to unwind its acquisition of the messaging platform WhatsApp and image-sharing app Instagram. The terms of a potential settlement weren’t immediately clear.”
“National security adviser Mike Waltz’s team regularly set up chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues including Ukraine, China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe, according to four people who have been personally added to Signal chats,” Politico reports.
“Two of the people said they were in or have direct knowledge of at least 20 such chats. All four said they saw instances of sensitive information being discussed.”
“It’s a more extensive use of the app than previously reported and sheds new light on how commonly the Trump administration’s national security team relies on Signal, a publicly available messaging app, to conduct its work.”
“A high-stakes contest to decide who gets to build a casino in New York City could potentially result in a $115 million jackpot for President Donald Trump,” the AP reports.
Axios: “The White House is still engaged in an internal debate between those who think a deal is achievable and those who see talks as a waste of time and back strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. In the meantime, the Pentagon is engaged in a massive buildup of forces in the Middle East. If Trump decides the time is up, he will have a loaded gun at the ready.”
“Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the Trump administration’s looming tariff hikes are set to impose an oil crisis-like shock to the economy that shrinks its productive capacity — boosting both prices and unemployment,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Summers: “This is the kind of thing you discuss in the way we would usually discuss an oil-price spike or earthquake or a drought, as a supply shock. The question is mostly how much damage is going to be done.”
“Hunter Biden has agreed to give up his license to practice law in Washington, D.C., as a result of his criminal record,” Politico reports.
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday is reviewing a strategy to avert a TikTok ban scheduled to take effect Saturday, in a critical political test that will force the president to weigh the interests of China hawks in his own party against the online MAGA supporters who helped deliver him the White House,” the Washington Post reports.
“The White House has considered a menu of options in recent weeks, including a scenario where investors outside of China would increase their ownership of TikTok while Beijing-based ByteDance would retain ownership of the powerful algorithm that recommends what people see on the popular video app.”
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis escalated his attacks against Randy Fine on Wednesday, blaming the representative-elect’s ‘unique problems’ for a special election victory he said should have been won by a higher margin,” Politico reports.
He said voters did not want to support Fine and that President Trump “really had to bail him out in the end.”
Said DeSantis: “These are voters who didn’t like Randy Fine but who basically are like, ‘You know what? We’re going to take one for the team. The president needs another vote up there, and so we’re going to do it.’”
More: “Just the way he conducts himself is somebody — he repels people.”
“Speaker Mike Johnson and his Republican leadership team think that the House is completely paralyzed for the time being,” Punchbowl News reports.
“Top aides and allies to all three men – Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer – say they believe they can’t bring any legislation to the House floor until the GOP leadership is able to turn off Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-FL) discharge petition to allow proxy voting for new mothers and fathers…”
“The GOP leadership has discussed trying to kill the proxy voting resolution again next week. They would up the ante by including language in a rule that would also allow for consideration of the House-Senate budget resolution.”
Punchbowl News: “Thune confirmed the plan to release text today and told us he plans to file the budget resolution text on the floor once it’s out, a sign a vote could come quickly. Thune told colleagues on Tuesday that he didn’t have 50 votes yet. The GOP leadership’s goal was to use today’s meetings to help assuage deficit hawks’ concerns in particular.”
“The timing remains fluid, but GOP leaders are aiming to hold the first procedural vote on Thursday, with a vote-a-rama expected to begin Friday evening. That timeline could get pushed back if Thune can’t lock up the requisite votes.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) privately indicated to Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) he would back the Virginia Democrat’s resolution to undo President Trump’s Canada tariffs, Politico reports.
McConnell’s support means Kaine’s resolution will likely have the votes it needs to advance in the Senate.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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