Axios Sneak Peek

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients' first appointment in the morning is reserved for himself: 20 minutes of transcendental meditation at 4:30am.

• For the rest of the day, inclusivity is his mantra, Axios' Hans Nichols reports.

Why it matters: As White House officials adjust to new management under Zients, who succeeded Ron Klain in early February, they're in more meetings than before, according to administration officials. Zients, a longtime management consultant, is a big believer in delegating.

• The new approach puts more officials directly before the president and appears to be leading to some faster decisions from Biden.
• Two early examples: The announcement of Julie Su for Labor secretary and Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank, just weeks after their predecessors indicated they were leaving. That's lightning speed for a personnel decision in Biden world.

Yes, but: There has been at least one unforced error in Zients' tenure so far — Biden infuriated vulnerable House Democrats when he announced that he would not veto Republicans' D.C. crime bill after first indicating he opposed it.

• Some progressives, who counted Klain as an ally, have been grumbling about Zients' political instincts, according to Politico.

Behind the scenes: After his daily meditation and ritual workout, Zients is at the White House by about 7am.

• His first official meeting takes place in his corner office at 8:15am, with fewer than a dozen participants, including senior adviser Anita Dunn and counselor Steve Ricchetti.
• At 8:40am, the meeting expands to around 30 and moves to a crowded Roosevelt Room, with roughly two-thirds of the participants attending in person and the rest, like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, attending virtually.
• Mid-morning, it's time to brief Biden in the Oval Office. Zients starts on his own, but then policy experts or senior advisers are summoned to discuss specific issues.
• Presentations are tight — as short as two minutes — but the president can always linger on an issue if he wants to. The goal is to reach a decision.

Between the lines: Klain's morning sessions with Biden tended to be more one-on-one.

• Current officials are reluctant to publicly compare the two leaders, but privately, the differences are obvious and frequently discussed.
• Klain — supremely confident in his abilities to do just about every White House job — made many decisions on his own, or in direct consultations with the president.

The intrigue: At Klain's happy hours, french fries from the White House mess were washed down with beers.

• In Zients' White House, the offerings include charcuterie boards and South African wines (as well as beer).

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The Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Trump's alleged hush money payments to a porn star is expected to break until the end of April for a hiatus tied to the religious holidays, Politico first reported.

Why it matters: It's been just over a week since the date Trump predicted he would be arrested — a stunning declaration that produced a monsoon of media coverage, created new tension with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and helped Trump raise millions of dollars from his supporters.

Between the lines: 62% of Americans believe Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's case is motivated mainly by politics, compared to 32% who believe it's mainly motivated by the law, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

• That majority includes 93% of Republicans, 70% of independents and 29% of Democrats.
• If criminal charges are brought against Trump in either Manhattan, Georgia or the two special counsel investigations, 57% of Americans believe it should disqualify him from running for president.

Full poll results.

A banner day for the "world's greatest deliberative body":

• The Senate voted 66-30 to repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of force (AUMF) in Iraq, a historic bipartisan vote that comes 20 years after the U.S. invasion.
• Four Senate Democrats and independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona voted with all Republicans to overturn the Biden administration’s signature water policy, setting up a likely veto.
• Over a dozen Democrats voted with all Republicans to end the COVID-19 national emergency earlier than the White House planned, after Biden signaled he would not veto the GOP-led measure.
• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked an attempt by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to unanimously pass his bill banning TikTok — citing concerns about censoring speech and alienating millions of young Americans.

What we're watching: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is expected to return to the Senate the week of April 17. He checked himself into the hospital in mid-February to receive treatment for clinical depression.

House Republicans' H.R. 1 bill — a label historically used to signal the party in power's top legislative priority — may get bipartisan support for the first time since 2007, Axios' Stef Kight reports from Quorum data.

Driving the news: At least two Democrats — Texas Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez — will support the sweeping GOP energy bill when it receives a floor vote as soon as this week.

Why it matters: The past four H.R. 1 bills received entirely partisan votes. Republicans' energy package would slash environmental regulations, expand oil and gas drilling on public lands and waters, and repeal parts of Democrats' signature climate law.

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Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who was resuscitated after suffering a cardiac arrest during an NFL game in January, joined Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to promote a bill establishing grants for AED and CPR programs in schools.