Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the 12:30 Report newsletter Subscribe It’s Wednesday. Hey, if the House gets to cancel its work for this week, can we all go home, too? In today's issue: Trump’s sweeping tariff rollout New report: Musk leaving 'soon'? How Cory Booker spoke for 25+ hours House in a standstill over GOP rebellion Obama photobombs cherry blossom photos THE FIRST 100 DAYS Happy ~Liberation Day~ to all who celebrate: President Trump is planning a splashy Rose Garden event this afternoon to announce sweeping tariffs on imported goods. What to expect: The details of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs have not been announced, but Trump is reportedly deciding between a tariff on the U.S.’s major trading partners or a broad tariff on all countries. It’s also unclear whether there will be any exemptions — the auto industry has pleaded to be exempt. What to watch today 💻 Watch it live at 4 p.m. 🗨️ Follow today’s live blog Why this is splashy: Trump will be flanked by his Cabinet for his first Rose Garden event of his second administration. (Don’t forget that he’s planning to eventually pave over part of the Rose Garden and add a ballroom.) It’s sure to be a public spectacle, putting Trump front and center of a precarious economic policy. Economists are nervous: Economists expect tariffs to raise prices — it’s the importer paying the tax, not the exporter, after all — and the stock market has been jittery because of it. Trump was hyper focused on the economy during his campaign and Republicans acknowledge these tariffs will inflict temporary pain on the economy. So, why is Trump doing this? Trump thinks it will help American manufacturing in the long run and has argued that current trade policy hurts the U.S. But the risk of these tariffs backfiring is enormous. The Hill’s Niall Stanage wrote a helpful column on the best- and worst-case scenarios for Trump’s tariffs. Read: ‘Inside Trump’s big gamble on tariffs’ 📝 15 countries that could be hit the hardest Wait, is Elon nearing the exit?: Politico’s Rachael Bade reports that “President Donald Trump has told his inner circle, including members of his Cabinet, that Elon Musk will be stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role as governing partner, ubiquitous cheerleader and Washington hatchet man.” Why?: Both mutually agree Musk should return to his businesses but will keep a smaller role, according to Bade. Trump said as much earlier this week, noting, "At some point he’s going to be going back," reported The Hill's Alex Gangitano. Trump is also apparently very happy with everything Musk has done. Read: ‘Trump Tells Inner Circle That Musk Will Leave Soon’ Keep in mind: Musk's status as a special government employee runs for 130 days and would be due to expire in late May or early June. ➤ HAPPENING TODAY: President Trump and Vice President Vance are meeting with senior White House officials to discuss the potential sale of TikTok, according to media reports. Keep in mind that the popular social media app’s ban was delayed until this Saturday. A last-minute bid to buy TikTok: The New York Times reports that Amazon has put in a last-minute offer to buy TikTok. ^ Yes, but: “Various parties who have been involved in the talks do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously, [sources] said. The bid came via an offer letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, according to a person briefed on the matter.”  🧊️ ON CAPITOL HILL The House floor is frozen: The House left town yesterday (yes, it ended work on ~Tuesday~) after Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and eight of her GOP colleagues staged a rebellion and bucked Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) by moving forward with a proposal to allow new parents to vote remotely. Basically, Johnson opposes a proposal to allow proxy voting. Republicans tried to block it, but nine Republicans voted with Democrats, so that blockade failed. Now, because of congressional procedure, the House is unable to continue its business. Speaker Johnson met with Republicans on the House Rules Committee this morning, per The Hill’s Mychael Schnell. I’m tired just watching Cory Booker: (Senate Television via AP Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) broke the record Tuesday for the longest Senate floor speech in history, speaking for 25 hours and 5 minutes (!) to protest the Trump administration’s policies. Democrats are *thrilled*: Democrats are thrilled there was “finally some fire” in pushing back against the Trump administration, reports The New York Times’s Tracey Tully. Booker's speech got more than 350 million likes on his TikTok live, and his office has received more than 28,000 voicemails of encouragement, according to NBC News. He’s been fundraising online, including for other Democrats. The last record: In 1957, Sen. Strom Thurmond (S.C.) spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes. What makes this particularly historic is that Thurmond was protesting the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and his record was just broken by the first Black senator from New Jersey. Booker didn’t sit, eat or go to the bathroom for more than 25 hours. If he sat or left his desk, he would lose his floor time — so a few hours in, he had a Senate page remove the chair to take away the temptation to sit down. How did Booker physically do that??: He told reporters he stopped eating on Friday and stopped drinking water the night before. He said the dehydration gave him cramps. “That was the biggest thing I was fighting. Different muscle groups were trying to cramp up.” 📹 Watch Booker explain his preparation Booker told lawyer Aaron Parnas after that he started noticing signs of dehydration toward the end, so Senate pages brought him cold water. “The coldness of it and the need for it, it was like they were giving me the best ambrosia to drink.” 📹 Watch Booker shortly after his speech ^ I can’t believe he was able to sit for an interview shortly after. I would be lying down in a dark room surrounded by a buffet of food. One of my favorite moments: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) jumped in on Tuesday evening and asked, “Would the senator yield for a question?” Booker responded: “Chuck Schumer, it's the only time in my life I can tell you no.”  Schumer then said, “I just want to tell you, do you know you have just broken the record? Do you know how proud America is of you?” 📹 Watch the clip ➤ CAPITOL HILL TIDBITS: An awkward mix-up: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) appeared to confuse filmmaker Oliver Stone (who was testifying) with political strategist Roger Stone during a hearing on the assassination of JFK. 📹 Watch the clip— oooof A Jan. 6 plaque in limbo: “Two years after law required the display of a plaque at Capitol to honor police who responded to Jan 6 attack ... The plaque has yet to be hung,” posted CBS News’s Scott MacFarlane. 📸 The plaque 🖊️OTHER NEWS I haven’t seen Democrats this cheery in a while: Republicans unsurprisingly kept control of both open House seats in Florida, but Democrats are thrilled that liberals will keep their 4-3 majority in the Wisconsin Supreme Court following Susan Crawford’s win Tuesday night. Why this is a loss for Elon Musk: Tech billionaire and Trump ally Musk had poured a lot of money into this race, including giving out $1 million checks to voters. Five takeaways from Tuesday’s elections ➤ HOW THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EXPLAINS THE ELECTION RESULTS: The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal called Tuesday’s election results a “warning to the GOP.” Excerpt: “But the elections are a warning to Mr. Trump to focus on what got him re-elected—especially prices and growth in real incomes after inflation. His willy-nilly tariff agenda undermining stock prices and consumer and business confidence isn’t helping.” Read the op-ed: ‘The MAGA Backlash Arrives’ COMING UP The House is out. The Senate is in. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EST) 2:15 p.m. Two Senate votes. 📆 Today’s agenda4 p.m. Trump makes his tariff announcement in the Rose Garden. 💻 LivestreamTomorrow p.m. Vice President Vance will be on "Fox & Friends" at 8 a.m. 🐝 INTERNET BUZZ 🥪 Celebrate: Today is National PB&J Day. 🌸 What an incredible photobomb: A family was taking photos at the Tidal Basin — and former President Obama walked right behind them, per NBC Washington’s Joseph Olmo. 🛶 Holy cow: ABC News posted video of a world champion extreme freestyle kayaker dropping down a 92-foot waterfall. 📹 Watch 👋 AND FINALLY… To keep my daily promise of leaving you on a happy note, enjoy this dog slowly nibbling an ice cream cone. An intuitive eater, if you will.  Stay Engaged  📺 Miss yesterday's edition? Catch up with a 1-minute video recap. Send feedback, tips and cookie recipes 🍪 to cmartel@thehill.com. Check out more newsletters. See you next time! ...read more read less