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How Schumer is prepping for Trump 2.0

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In less than a month, elected Democrats will find themselves with a lot less power in Washington, with a GOP-controlled House, Senate and White House resulting in a landscape in which their ability to tussle with President-elect Donald Trump will be largely rhetorical.

But if Dem leaders have learned one thing from Republicans over the years, it’s that sometimes, the judiciary can be the best bulwark against the opposing party getting what it wants. As our Anthony Adragna reported Friday, Senate Democrats have approved 235 of Biden’s judicial picks, eclipsing Trump’s 234 first term judicial nominations.

“I don’t know exactly what [Trump will] do. But I can tell you this: The judiciary will be one of our strongest — if not our strongest — barrier against what he does,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Playbook in an exclusive interview this week.

Four years ago, Schumer launched a plan (along with President Joe Biden) to use the party’s Senate majority to prioritize not just passing legislation, but also pushing through as many judicial nominations as possible.

The result?

“When we started out, we knew it would be a very difficult job to do more than Trump had done,” said Schumer. “But we did: We got 235 — more than a quarter of the federal judiciary was appointed by our Senate and by the president.”

Read the rest of POLITICO’s interview with Schumer in Thursday’s Playbook. And ICYMI, more judicial nominee coverage from the past week:

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Congress

Senate GOP ready to move on elections bill

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Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso told reporters Monday the chamber will vote Tuesday to take up a House-passed elections bill known as the SAVE America Act.

The Wyoming Republican, whose job it is to help round up support, said he is “doing everything I can to make sure we get on this bill tomorrow.”

Republicans will need a simple majority to begin debate on the partisan legislation; they can lose three members and still let Vice President JD Vance break a tie.

So far, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has said he’s a “no,” while Republicans are also watching GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

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Jesse Jackson’s family withdraws posthumous endorsement in Illinois Senate primary

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The family of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson walked back a posthumous endorsement of Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s Senate campaign on Monday, after the family said Jackson’s endorsements for Tuesday’s primaries were not completed before his death.

On Saturday, Stratton’s campaign touted an endorsement from Jackson, who died last month, and his son Yusef. The announcement came after Stratton saw Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Jackson family’s organziation, passing out sample ballots — which were also obtained by Blue Light News — that recommended Stratton.

“[Jackson’s] example has been a north star for me, and I’m deeply honored to have received his trust, support, and endorsement before his passing,” Stratton said in a statement on Saturday.

But on Monday, Yusef Jackson, who is the organization’s COO, said the draft sample ballot was “released without authorization” and that the Jackson family and Rainbow PUSH Coalition are not making political endorsements this cycle.

His father “began the process of reviewing candidates and identifying those he intended to support in the upcoming primary election,” Yusef Jackson said in the statement. “However, given his passing just over a month ago, the process was never fully completed. Out of respect for my father, we decided not to publicly release his intended selections given the process had not been finalized.”

The Stratton campaign said on Monday that officials with Rainbow PUSH Coalition said she had been endorsed by Jackson.

“Juliana spoke on Saturday at Rainbow PUSH for a Women’s History Month event and officials told her she received the endorsements. Organizers shared the sample election ballot that was already being distributed and encouraged her to share the news,” the Stratton campaign said in a statement.

The endorsement mix-up draws further scrutiny on the split among Black Democrats in Illinois between Stratton and Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), who are both seeking to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. Some Democrats in the state have expressed concern that Stratton and Kelly could split the vote in Tuesday’s primary, creating a path for Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) to win the nomination.

Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) told Blue Light News prior to the family’s statement that his father “never got in on Black-on-Black fights.”

Jonathan Jackson added that the races the late Jesse Jackson “was excited about” were himself and former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s comeback bid.

“He wouldn’t do that. He was always pushing the community forward,” Jackson said. “This smells of desperation.”

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Johnson on Trump’s Hormuz plan

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Speaker Mike Johnson said he supports President Donald Trump’s effort to build a global coalition ensure safe passage of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz — even if Trump “didn’t anticipate it” being necessary before launching airstrikes against Iran.

Speaking to reporters after attending a Washington event with Trump, Johnson said the president told him that “he anticipated the strait of Hormuz would be closed.”

“I don’t know that he didn’t anticipate it in the front end, but now it’s necessitated,” Johnson said. He added that the coalition is “a reasonable thing” for other countries to assist with and “it would be helpful.”

Asked about how much a potential supplemental package to fund the military action would cost, Johnson said, “We don’t know yet.” Estimates for the cost of the war have exceeding $1 billion per day.

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