Good Wednesday morning. I'm Anna Palmer and welcome to your Politico Playbook audio briefing. Stay tuned after the show for a message from Jewel Labs. And I'm Jake Sherman. Tell us if you've heard this one before. Capitol Hill Republicans seem united. They don't want Donald Trump to do what he's about to do. They know he's been spurned on by some of his most aggressive advisors and a few House Republicans, but the extreme action he is on

the brink of taking is ill-conceived and seems unlikely to work. The warnings are coming from every

quarter on Capitol Hill. Do not do it, they are saying. White House officials have been feeble in

their explanations of what they're trying to achieve and how they'll achieve it. Trump has enlisted

Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to take a hard

line with their negotiating partners. But there's no turning back. The president is on the brink and everyone

around and believes he's about to do it. Okay. Well, this time we're talking about slapping 5%

tariffs on goods from Mexico come Monday. But we might as well be talking about ending DACA.

We're withdrawing from TPP,

or instituting steel tariffs, or the December into January government shutdown, or the national emergency. Each time Capitol Hill warned Trump not to, said he'd lose. Instead, he listened to a

small clutch of advisors, lost the showdown, and emerged from

it wounded, unable to achieve his desired ends. This time, Trump wants Mexico to stop illegal

immigration and stop drugs from flowing into the United States. All of his advisors and allies

tell us he's dead set on the new terrorists. Despite evidence, it would hurt U.S.

consumers and could stunt the economy, all without exacting a meaningful concession.

What to watch today, Congress is begging out of town early, so keep an eye on what comes at the

Pence-Pompayo meeting with Mexican officials. We were told they will hold fast to Trump's

tough negotiating position and not to expect a deal.

Burgess effort in James Arkin reported yesterday that during a closed door lunch Tuesday,

Trump officials laid out the president's reason for the tariffs,

but GOP senators push back aggressively with some threatening Trump could actually face a veto-proof majority

to overturn the tariffs.

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