Japan has gifted Washington 250 cherry blossom trees to mark America's 250th anniversary this year. Our @sophiacai.bsky.social was at the planting ceremony watching this gift take root. Watch👇

NEW: President Trump tells me: “I really don’t care” if Iran plays in the World Cup this summer. “I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.” Iran is also absent from a FIFA team planning event that is going on in Atlanta right now. www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

🚨NEW: Trump tells me in an interview that Iran “is running out of launchers” and he’s open to working with some of the surviving members of the Iranian regime. www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

NEW: Lutnick in hot water - Trump confronted Lutnick at Mar-a-Lago over how much money Lutnick’s sons were making - Cabinet members, senior WH officials wary of his brash,controlling style. “No one’s allowed to talk to the interagency w/o Howard’s explicit approval.” www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

NEW: Trump shakes hands with Supreme Court justices he called a "disgrace" just days ago over their ruling striking down a key part of his signature tariff policy. w/ @sophiacai.bsky.social www.politico.com/live-updates... #SCOTUS

New: Trump’s SOTU speech is the product of two men who’ve been crafting Trump’s messaging for the past decade: Ross Worthington & Vince Haley. Ross is the chief architect and main writer, and Vince advised on policy, particularly new policy announcement. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

NEWS: The White House wants big tech companies to commit to a data center compact to ensure data centers do not raise household electricity prices, strain water supplies or undermine grid reliability. w/ @jasonplautz.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

🚨NEW: Beyond ICE shootings, Rs are furious at Kristi Noem on a host of issues including FEMA disaster response & $100k sign off rule, the state of CISA under her handpicked chief & dismantling of counter weapons of mass destruction office www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

👀 Dozens of secretaries of state gathered Friday expecting to hear from Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi & Tulsi Gabbard. State election officials had Qs. But the cabinet members were a no show. Harmeet Dhillon & Heather Honey cancelled on them too. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

"I sent a message to high-place people in the administration with three letters, W.T.F." Fascinating look at a possible fracture on the right. @sophiacai.bsky.social

SCOOP: I obtained the State Department’s “Sports Diplomacy Playbook” ahead of the World Cup. This and other scoopy details in this story w/my amazing colleague @sophiacai.bsky.social — www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

🚨NEWS: President Trump told me “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran” and hit back at a series of hostile X posts from Khamenei. “What he is guilty of…is the complete destruction of the country & the use of violence at levels never seen before.” www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

NEW: President Trump tells me in an interview the construction of the Triumphal Arch is expected to begin “sometime in the next two months.” www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

🚨NEW: TRUMP told me he delayed Nigeria strikes by a day so they would occur on Christmas. “They were going to do it earlier, and I said ‘Nope, let’s give a Christmas present.’ ….They didn’t think it was coming but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated.” www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

Trump to POLITICO: Zelenskyy ‘doesn’t have anything until I approve it’

NEW: President Trump tells me that he will be the ultimate arbiter of any peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, including Zelenskyy’s 20-point plan. “He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump said. “So we’ll see what he’s got.” www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

More signs the Trump administration is leaning into regime change for Venezuela. It's trying to entice U.S. oil companies that were pushed out years ago to go back in. Scoopy stuff here from @benlefebvre.bsky.social @sophiacai.bsky.social and jbikales.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

NEW: Most of Susie Wiles’ comments were batted away as "inside jokes" or part of a "hit piece" from the media but privately those inside the White House and others close to the president were aghast when the Vanity Fair profile dropped. www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

So Trump receives a trophy, a medal (which he puts around his own neck) AND a certificate for winning the FIFA Peace Prize.

Very interesting interview with Japan Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, who will be present at the 2026 final draw, on how the lessons of 2002 can be applied to next year's tournament - in @politico.com of all places. Great stuff by @sophiacai.bsky.social!

NEW: Elon Musk predicted the start of a “great 12-year span” of Trump-Vance-Vance. He made a video appearance at a Thanksgiving-themed DOGE reunion in Bastrop, Texas, saying he couldn’t come in person because he’s a top three assassination target. www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

New: The America 250 Commission is betting big on the Iron Bowl today, with an America250 tailgate at Auburn, branding on TV screens, and an oral history trailer on campus. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

NEW: The White House intends to work with Congress on a health care bill either by teaming up with Democrats or thru reconciliation, @JamesBlairUSA said at a policy breakfast. w/ @gregsvirnovskiy.bsky.social @jordainc.bsky.social www.politico.com/live-updates...

Our White House reporter @sophiacai.bsky.social is traveling with President Trump on his trip to Asia. She explains what it’s like to fly on Air Force One for 23 hours 👇

NEW: Trump threatened to move World Cup matches over crime. Host cities are responding with a shrug. “Our agreements are between FIFA and the host cities,” one host city official told me. “The bid itself was endorsed by the first Trump admin.” www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

'The boys are fighting' --> Scoopy stuff on tensions inside the Trump administration over the billions of dollars in clean energy cuts. From Politico's @sophiacai.bsky.social and @benlefebvre.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

TRUMP opens door to not back-paying furloughed employees “We’ll take care of our people,” he says. “But there are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”

The White House is targeting smaller, independent agencies first as it tries to balance making the shutdown as painful as possible for Democrats without making sweeping cuts to more popular and well-known programs w/ @meganmesserly.bsky.social @myahward.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

NEW: Biden’s OMB Director responds to Trump’s OMB directing agencies to prepare RIFs in event of shutdown: “A negotiation, a real one, has to happen,” Shalanda Young tells me. “In what world do you ask people for their votes without sitting down and having a conversation with them?” t.co/C275xnPTGX

SCOOP: The White House budget office is instructing federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, according to a memo obtained by Politico. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

DOGE is plowing on without Elon Musk, according to Rep. Pete Sessions. “They meet on a regular basis. They are made up of professionals who have a mission. They are people who sincerely want to change the system," he told our @sophiacai.bsky.social. More: politi.co/3Iqv3Ei

NEW: U.S. host cities are confronting FIFA about the cost of hosting the World Cup including Fan Festivals. LA organizers are considering their own watch parties beyond FIFA’s control, and FIFA has countered with threats to deny public-viewing licenses. t.co/CDfI89O2ej

Trump is pushing for Fed control. Our @sophiacai.bsky.social explores what could happen next 👇

Scoop: DOGE has brought on at least three foreign nationals including an Uruguayan X employee and two Canadians who did stints at Airbnb to cut federal spending and make the government more efficient, a dynamic that has angered some inside the White House. www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

NEW: Donald Trump’s encroachment on Congress’ power of the purse has raised increasing alarm in courts and the Capitol — but a crucial legal. victory today may help him stave off challenges. w/ @sophiacai.bsky.social and crew. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

NEW: The White House has conducted a de-Muskification of GSA by detailing over nine employees, most of whom have ties to the first Trump administration — not to Musk’s world. www.politico.com/news/2025/07...

Trump ally is launching a super PAC called FSD PAC to counter Musk A play on Tesla’s “full self-driving,” it stands for Full Support for Donald Will spend in races where Musk backs a 3rd party hopeful or primary challenger by @sophiacai.bsky.social‬ www.politico.com/news/2025/07...

a real headline I filed today

When Lori Chavez-DeRemer served in Congress, she was honored for championing the Job Corps program. As Labor Secretary, she’s initiating a full-scale shutdown of the $1.7B program that trains & houses 25k low-income youth each year. w/ @nickniedz.bsky.social www.politico.com/newsletters/...

It’s Friday with @waytooearly.bsky.social: ☀️ @sophiacai.bsky.social ☕️ Matt Gorman 🌞 @jonathankott.bsky.social 🫖 @brandonwolf.bsky.social 🌅 @allieevolpe.bsky.social Why are you ending your week awake with us? Reply here or email [email protected]. #WayTooEarly

🚨🚨100 days of DOGE: — 250,000 workers exiting — 11 agencies gutted — 64 lawsuits filed — $160B in claimed savings — 8,500 contracts + 10,000 grants killed Yet government spending is still higher than last year. t.co/spexOMt2rR

NEW: The Trump administration has just placed the entire AmeriCorps agency (except a few senior leaders) on administrative leave

How Musk’s influence will endure - DOGE insiders feel their work is far from finished & most are political appointees, not SGEs - Musk’s installed many chief info officers across agencies - Beyond cutting, DOGE will consolidate gov and help set policy www.politico.com/news/2025/04...

News: In a private meeting with Senate Finance staff, RFK Jr. expressed openness to progressive proposals for using march-in rights and compulsory licensing to lower drug prices w @sophiacai.bsky.social: www.politico.com/news/2025/01...

Trump gets specific on tariffs: A tariff of 25% on all goods coming from Canada and Mexico would take effect on Jan. 20 Imports from China would face a 10% tariff "above any additional Tariffs," he wrote. www.axios.com/2024/11/26/t...

NEW: Friction between Elon Musk & longtime Trump advisor Boris Epshteyn led to a “massive blowup” at dinner at Mar-a-lago last week. It was no surprise to senior staffers who've seen tension between the two bubble up during transition meetings. t.co/oXieLCamzp