POLITICO Playbook

No better way to close out this jam-packed week than reading Playbook PM👇 politi.co/3Pg4qp9

New @playbookdc: A massively consequential horse race takes the stage in Kentucky today. Oh, and there’s also the Derby. On @AndyBeshearKY’s effort to win the @Carlos_E_Espina primary at Churchill Downs. politico.com/newsletters/pl…

Royals, they're just like us. politico.com/playbook

Mike Johnson got a late-night DHS breakthrough via a narrow vote to advance the budget resolution teeing up years of funding for ICE and Border Patrol. Our @Jack_Blanchard_ and @meganmesserly discuss that and more on today's @playbookdc podcast 👇 🎧 politi.co/3QCNTfq

King Charles III will deliver the first royal address to Congress in 35 years today, and it may require a little decoding. We’ve got you covered ⬇️ politico.com/playbook

A scoop-filled @playbookdc w/ @DashaBurns to get you ready for WHCD weekend. politico.com/newsletters/pl…

Scooplet in @playbookdc: The @WSJ has poached @karavoght from @washingtonpost: politico.com/newsletters/pl…

Some of the highlight tips for the weekend ⬇️

It’s prom weekend in Washington. The White House Correspondents’ Dinner and all its frenzied festivities have arrived. Playbook has the ultimate survival guide for you with all the best tips before you hit the town. politico.com/playbook

NEW: Tomorrow night's party at Executive Branch, the MAGA-friendly club co-founded by Donald Trump Jr. and business executive Omeed Malik, is shaping up to be one of the buzziest of the weekend. Sources tell me and @playbookdc that the guest list is surging past capacity, and even Fortune 15 executives are struggling to get in. Nelly will hit the stage around 9:30 or 10pm.

You never know who you'll run into prepping for White House Correspondents Dinner weekend. Here's an example from this morning's Playbook ⬇️politico.com/playbook

NEW: Several potential Dem 2028ers are headlining the @Center4USA’s revived Ideas Conference on May 19 — Gavin Newsom, Wes Moore, Ruben Gallego. Other speakers at the center-left convening include Sherrill, Spanberger, Warren, Jeffries. First in @playbookdc

White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend is upon us — and the hottest ticket on the circuit seems to be at the ultra-exclusive Executive Branch. We’ve got your WHCD weekend preview covered ⬇️ politico.com/playbook

Among this weekend's WHCA events is Grindr's inaugural party. The glitzy bash will be held in a $9 million, 10-bedroom Georgetown mansion and expects to reel in "very high level people from both sides," Playbook's @iriesentner reports in this morning's Playbook.

New in #KY04: AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, is up w/ an ad attacking Rep. Thomas Massie and boosting his Trump-backed primary challenger, Ed Gallrein. UDP putting ~$790K behind it this wk. Massie’s been critical of pro-Israel money in the race. From @playbookdc

“I want to find evidence of life on another world while I’m still alive,” @BillNye told me ahead of meeting with members of Congress urging them not to cut funding for NASA’s science budget. Read more in this afternoon’s @playbookdc @politico

I spoke with @BillNye today on Capitol Hill about NASA’s potential budget cuts. Follow @playbookdc to see more and the rest in this afternoon’s @politico Playbook. @exploreplanets

Scoop in @playbookdc: Tim Walz is launching Small Town PAC, a new federal PAC to recruit and support Democratic candidates and expand the map. It’s an indicator of how he’ll approach 2028.

NEW: “Tehran will not bargain away its sources of leverage,” CATO Institute’s @Hoffman8Jon tells me. “Tehran believes it is creating a new status quo between it and Washington. Tehran likely feels it has not inflicted a sufficient level of pain to keep this [war] from happening again and will therefore want real concessions and guarantees from the United States during negotiations. Absent that, they'll return to war, since this is a war of attrition they are better suited to win. All they have to do to win is survive.” Latest in @playbookdc: politico.com/newsletters/pl…

NEW: Strategists in and around the White House are under no illusions about how the midterms will likely play out if energy prices don't come down. "If we don't see the $3 gallon of gas, we’re gonna get killed," one person close to the White House told me. Latest in @playbookdc: politico.com/playbook