Good Thursday morning. I'm Anna Palmer. And welcome to your Politico Playbook audio briefing sponsored by Postmates.

And I'm Jake Sherman. Our colleague Nahal Tussie scoop this morning that while former Secretary of State

Tillerson promised a leaner State Department, he spent around $12 million on private consultants,

who at times billed more than $300 an hour. Most of that money has gone to Deloitte as part of a pre-existing federal contract whose ceiling

was lifted to $265 million.

As many as 90 consultants worked on the project, she reports.

The Washington Post lays out Trump's reality check moment, with Trump finding out that his campaign promises are much more

complicated in reality. Ben White and Nancy Cook, meanwhile, report that Trump's new NEC advisor,

Larry Cudlow, tried to tamp down Trump's trade war on day three of his new gig, going on TV

defending the president's proposed tariffs. And the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the

tariff fight has moved into an intense negotiation period. And then it doesn't appear the White

House will back town anytime soon. Nancy Cook has a piece this morning that is very this town

focused on Trump's dinner diplomacy. He is ramping up the number of private dinners he partakes in

while withdrawing from the types of public dinners he partakes in while withdrawing

from the types of public events that were standard for his predecessors. CNBC is reporting that

John Bolton is running into potential ethics issues ahead of becoming Trump's national security

advisor. Another day, another bad news cycle for Scott Pruitt. But before we get into the slu of

stories, here's the thought. EPA administrator Scott Pruitt. But before we get into the slew of stories, here's the thought.

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt defenders keep saying that Trump won't get rid of him because he's following through on promises and enacting policies that Trump likes.

He's rolled back a raft of Obama-era regulations.

Well, duh.

Any Republican EPA administrator can and would do the same thing. The idea that Pruitt has some unique power that others don't isn't reality.

...