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President Biden’s reelection campaign launched an effort in battleground states this week to hit former President Trump over his threats to Social Security and Medicare, the campaign first told The Hill. The campaign will hold more than 13 press conferences through Friday across key swing states with local elected officials and seniors, all focused on protecting entitlement programs. The events will take place in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Milwaukee; Madison, Wisc.; Lansing, Mich.; Las Vegas and Phoenix. (Gangitano, 3/12)

Donald Trump has offered a new way to win over older voters: suggesting that the government gut Medicare and Social Security spending. While calling in to CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday, the former president brought up the idea of cutting  “entitlements” such as Social Security and Medicaid. (Oamek, 3/11)

Fueled by a distrust of the CDC’s handling of Covid-19 and the recommendations it made on measures like masking and vaccines, many conservatives want the agency dismantled — and hope a second Trump administration could make it happen. Their proposed approach, outlined in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project offered by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, would drastically reduce the CDC’s size by splitting it in two: One agency responsible for public health surveillance work, like data collection on outbreaks, and another responsible for “limited” public health recommendations — with a strict firewall between them. (Cirruzzo, 3/11)

Former President Donald Trump has been laser-focused on the abortion views of his potential VP picks, viewing the issue as a potential vulnerability for Republicans. In particular, he asked campaign aides and club members what they thought of the vocal anti-abortion-rights views of Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. (Burns, 3/13)

Not all viral attacks are damaging. But in 2020, the Biden campaign found that the “Sleepy Joe” storyline was — and came up with a plan to fight back. (Issenberg, 3/12)