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By Ali Bianco |
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With help from Eli Okun and Irie Sentner Good Sunday afternoon. This is Ali Bianco, taking the reins today with a look at the crucial Senate race that could get a big shakeup this week. Send me your thoughts, but first … PALACE INTRIGUE: POLITICO’s Myah Ward, Diana Nerozzi, Sophia Cai, Daniel Lippman and Marcia Brown have a deeply reported must-read up for POLITICO Magazine, diving deep into what life is like as a member of Trump’s Cabinet, “where the job description is whatever the president says it is that day, and a secretary’s role can expand or veer with his latest fixation,” they write. It’s “unexpected assignments, late-night phone calls seeking their input on matters beyond their official remits and major policy announcements on Truth Social,” they add. “If Trump’s first presidency started with an aspiration to be built like a corporation, where headhunters looked for the most impressive résumés to fill top jobs, his second is structured like a family business. A small cast of trusted characters — true believers, there more for their familiarity and loyalty than any objective qualifications — are always at hand, ready to be put on whatever project comes up,” they write. Come for the deep insights into the West Wing, and stay for the custom cartoons from none other than POLITICO’s Matt Wuerker.
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DRIVING THE DAY |
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Jon Husted knows he’s been running uphill for much of his campaign. But he’s betting that a possible vote slated for this week could change that. Husted’s been outraised and battered by negative ads from his challenger, former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. He’s been lambasted as the “face of data centers” that have eaten taxpayer dollars and spiked energy bills. He’s been dragged for backing President Donald Trump’s war with Iran that’s raised gas prices. And he’s been at a disadvantage in both cash and across public polling that’s consistently shown the race as a jump ball, with several public polls putting Brown slightly ahead. Internal polling from top Senate Republicans also showed Husted trailing Brown, as POLITICO has reported. “I’ve always known for a year and a half it would be a tough race,” Husted told Playbook in an exclusive interview. “We were really getting outspent June through August, and now starting literally like two weeks ago, we started to equalize the spending and then slightly move ahead. It takes time.” But Republicans are gunning to deliver Husted a win on the issue that’s been drowning out the Ohio airwaves and quickly defining the race. The Senate is expected to take up Husted’s Ratepayer Protection Act, which aims to curb energy costs on taxpayers associated with the data centers. Many Republicans see the Ratepayer Protection Act as an opportunity, especially for Husted, to exit with affordability legislation they can then message in the midterms’ final sprint. Husted’s first attempt to fast-track the bill failed, just shortly after the bill passed with near-unanimity in the House. “I am responding to what the voters want: they want the data centers to be held accountable for the costs of new electricity and infrastructure,” Husted told Playbook. “I thought, ‘Well, if Democrats say they care about affordability and stopping data centers from running up electric costs, and Republicans say the same thing, well, then let's just get this done.’” But the potential salve is coming months into Brown’s campaign hammering Husted for his tenure as Ohio’s lieutenant governor, during a period when the state ushered in several billion dollars in tax incentives and additional investment in data centers. “Jon Husted led the charge to bring data centers to Ohio, forcing Ohioans to pay thousands more in higher electric bills and giving giant out-of-state corporations billions of dollars in out-of-control tax breaks,” Lauren Chou, a spokesperson for Brown, said in a statement. “Ohioans should get to decide if data centers are built in their communities and should never be forced to subsidize the electricity costs of big corporations.” When pressed on his previous support for the state’s data center expansion, Husted told Playbook: “I’m not the one making the attacks. I’m not the one lying about it.” Husted has accused Brown of the same, pointing to a 2015 press release from Brown welcoming the investment and telling Playbook that Brown “celebrated data centers when he was in the Senate.” Brown is facing his own pain points due to his longstanding support from labor unions, who cheer jobs coming in from the tech projects. Yet the tech centers have become so politically toxic for Husted that the NRSC warned in August it had become a major liability that could ripple out to other races. “Sherrod has been beating the crap out of him for six months, lie after lie after lie, after lie,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, Husted’s fellow Ohio Republican, told Playbook.
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If the GOP can muscle it through this week with no changes, the bill could land on Trump’s desk before Election Day, and Husted will make the case to voters that he’s the candidate who’s cracking down on the emerging technology. And if it fails, Moreno outlined the hints of the next attack the GOP might wield: “Sherrod Brown would have blocked it just like the other Democrats, so he’s not for lowering electricity prices.” But Husted has no illusions about the political calculations at play. “The voters just need to know that the Democrats aren’t serious about solving this problem. They’re serious at exploiting it,” he said. “They own it now.” The GOP is almost certain to face resistance from Democrats — and they’ll need seven to clear even the first procedural hurdle. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the bill as a toothless “fraud.” Husted’s bill would have states “consider” — but not mandate — a framework for data centers to shoulder energy costs and grid updates. Several Democrats believe the bill doesn’t go far enough, and many haven’t decided if they’ll back it, especially with the stakes hanging over a race that could determine control of the chamber. While the bill’s fate this week looks dicey, getting members on the record if they sink it is also partly the point. “We have to put a roll-call vote to put the Democrats on record,” Moreno told Playbook.
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Either way, Husted is poised to head home at the end of next week with an answer to the onslaught of ads that have painted him as a friend to data centers. And now, he also has the financial edge to make his case across the state just as early voting in Ohio kicks off on Oct. 6. Indeed, the cavalry has finally arrived for Husted to the tune of $189 million in ad reservations. The Senate GOP’s biggest campaign arms, Trump’s affiliated super PAC’s, Elon Musk’s America PAC and others are injecting more and more into the state, making it the most expensive Senate race this cycle. Perhaps most critical for Husted will be the barrage of spending that’s just now hitting Brown from Fairshake, the pro-cryptocurrency PAC, which just last week committed $30 million against the Democrat. That money uncorked shortly after a crypto bill backed by the industry (and by Husted) fell apart in the Senate. The spending advantage has some Republicans more hopeful after many GOP operatives spent the spring and summer sweating they could lose the state Trump carried three times. “The 30 million dollars from Fairshake is a big deal,” GOP Sen. Jim Banks from neighboring Indiana told Playbook, noting that Husted’s race was a key topic during the NRSC lunch last week. “I’m more optimistic for Jon Husted than I’ve been in a year,” he added. “Yeah, I feel better about Jon’s race than I have for a long time.” But Ohio voters have been feeling the pinch from more than just high energy costs. While Husted has not gone as far in criticizing the war in Iran as some other Republicans running for Senate in the Midwest, he told Playbook he believes the war “needs to come to an end as quickly as possible” so gas prices can come down. Last week, he voted against the war powers resolution rebuking the war again. Husted is also pointing to a pattern of polling from when his Ohio colleague ousted Brown two years ago. Moreno, Husted noted, was down in multiple polls against Brown in the final days before the 2024 election. “And he ended up winning by three and a half,” Husted said, “in a better environment.” (Moreno, for his part, told Playbook “I have PTSD” from the operatives worried about losing Ohio.) Both Trump and Vance are expected to travel to Ohio before the midterms to support Husted, who indicated their presence can only help him. “I look forward to it,” he said. “President Trump has won Ohio three times by 8, 8, and 11 points,” Husted said. “And you know, the people that voted for him in the last election, if they turn out in this election, we will win.”
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A message from Anthropic:  
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SUNDAY BEST … — AG Todd Blanche on the White House’s media ban, and CNN being denied entry to Air Force One as the TV pool yesterday, on ABC’s “This Week”: “There's still obviously litigation going on, but the important thing, Martha, is to know that being in the White House is a privilege. It's not a right. … It's not unusual, and as a matter of fact, it's common every time the president travels that he and his team decide which reporters get to travel with the president.” More from POLITICO’s David Cohen — U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz on the deal proposed on the Iran war that Trump said he rejected yesterday, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “This was I think a pretty cynical attempt to put something on the table that they knew was unacceptable. That to ask for the release of the blockades, the sanctions, international sanctions and access to billions in assets … I think it's kind of common sense that the president doesn't have a lot of confidence this time after we just tried a few months ago. … But he's going to leave all options on the table to get there.” — Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on whether the GOP can win the Senate race in North Carolina and whether it should be a priority, on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “We've seen sea changes before, and it's still early. … Members of the other party making a mistake could actually help [Michael Whately] maybe get some steam here … But the reality is we have to keep a majority. We've got to make sure Susan Collins wins. We've got to focus on Alaska. We got to focus on Ohio.”
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The outsider Democrat making the case for 2028 Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu joins On The Road with Jonathan Martin at Mosca’s Restaurant for a conversation on Trump, Democrats’ future, 2028 speculation and what he says it will take to rebuild trust in American institutions.
Watch the episode now. |
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6 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. VIBE CHECK: A Senate Republican pollster’s presentation to GOP operatives and donors at the NRSC’s Sea Island retreat this weekend was met with wide skepticism for arguing the party could grow its majority this year, Axios’ Stef Kight scoops. One attendee called it "delusional," as the GOP confronts significant headwinds in November. "I told attendees that I think all incumbent Republican Senators will hold their seats because we have good candidates who are well funded," pollster Erik Iverson told Axios. Meanwhile the GOP is pouring money into House seats it previously considered “safe” after internal polling showed possible vulnerabilities in the red territories, per Reuters’ Dawn Kopecki and Nolan McCaskill. 2. THE NAME OF THE GAME: Trump’s MAGA base doesn’t believe the president has an affordability problem, with just 28% of self-identified MAGA voters saying they believe life has gotten more expensive under Trump, according to the latest POLITICO Poll. MAGA voters are more likely to say life has gotten more affordable, at 39%. The bulk of the disillusioned Trump voters, the poll suggests, are the voters that don’t identify as part of the MAGA base, POLITICO’s Jessie Blaeser writes. Trend to watch: Farmers have been one of Trump’s most loyal voting blocs for years, and many remain skeptical of the Democratic Party, aligned with the GOP on many social and cultural issues. But they’ll also be ground zero for possible MAGA erosion, as Republicans face the worst political environment in farm country in decades, WSJ’s Patrick Thomas and Lindsay Wise report. 3. IMMIGRATION FILES: “ICE puts vulnerable Republicans in a bind weeks before midterms,” by POLITICO’s Sam Benson and Eric Bazail-Eimil: “Battleground Republicans across the country are on defense as ICE operations keep finding their way into local headlines. A flurry of ICE activity in four rural Kansas towns this week prompted businesses to shutter and public schools to urge families to identify who could pick up children from schools in case their parents were detained. … [DHS Secretary Markwayne] Mullin took over DHS in March with a mandate to keep immigration enforcement out of the news … but ICE’s recent record-high arrest rate is still landing hard in some communities.” |
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A message from Anthropic: How a small lab is giving more patients next-day answers
A kidney disease diagnosis is hard enough without a long wait for answers. As case loads grow at Arkana Labs, they’re using Claude to help process referral paperwork with 97–98% accuracy, so patients still get results the day after a biopsy.
Learn more |
| |
|
4. NEVER A DULL FLORIDA MOMENT: In a series of reposts last night on Truth Social, Trump escalated his attacks against Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) after she aired a direct-to-camera ad breaking with him on immigration, POLITICO’s Ben Johansen and your author report. Among the over a dozen posts criticizing Salazar were calls to primary and replace her. But when asked for clarification on if Trump would be removing his endorsement, a White House official dodged the idea and instead said, “It’s unfortunate she has her view, but that is not the President’s.” Her Dem opponent, Eliott Rodriguez, is already seizing on the Trump posts. On the flip side: Responding to reports that Florida GOP gubernatorial hopeful Byron Donalds scrubbed his campaign website of mentions of the president, Trump touted two upcoming rallies in Florida. Trump is heading to Mobile, Alabama, on Friday, just north of the Florida panhandle, but it’s not immediately clear when Trump plans to rally within the state. “If Florida thought the story that Byron ‘dropped’ me was true, he would lose the Election, and that would be a terrible thing because he’s going to be a fantastic Governor!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.More from the Miami Herald 5. CUTTING DEEP: “Trump slashes Biden-era fuel economy standards for cars,” by POLITICO’s Jean Chemnick: “Trump announced Saturday that he has approved new fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles, in another move meant to take aim at Biden-era policies supporting electric vehicles. … The final rule was not immediately available, and officials from the White House did not immediately respond to questions. … The new regulation is expected to slash fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles by nearly one-third through model year 2031.” 6. THE NEXT LEFT: Democrats may have a new line to attack VP JD Vance ahead of 2028 — homing in on his ties to Silicon Valley executives. POLITICO’s Owen Dahlkamp scoops a new speech from Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) last night that billed AI as an economic issue, while slamming Vance’s support from industry heavyweights. House Democrats have already begun their planning for pushback on the greater administration, and impeachment of Trump and other Cabinet officials hasn’t been ruled out, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told AP’s Lisa Mascaro. |
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Introducing Decoded by POLITICO Technology is reshaping politics, business and global power. Decoded brings together reporting from across POLITICO’s newsroom to help you understand the policy fights, market shifts and key players driving what comes next.
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TALK OF THE TOWN |
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PANDA DIPLOMACY — Two new giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, have arrived in the U.S. from China and are headed to the Atlanta Zoo. WEDDING BELLS — Alina Habba, the Trump loyalist and former U.S. attorney for New Jersey, and Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon got married last night in a $10 million wedding at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC. The wedding had a star-studded guest list of foreign dignitaries coming off of the U.N. General Assembly, with rap star Nelly performing. Also invited were AG Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, Nick Luna, Will Scharf, Harmeet Dhillon and Margo Martin. The couple met earlier this year at the Kennedy Center. Pics and more from the Correspondent BATTER UP — Major League Baseball has courted the Trump administration about hosting a possible game at a national park, scouting locations in Grand Teton National Park to build a baseball field to hold the game, WaPo’s Jake Spring and Stephanie Apstein scoops. It’s one of several ideas the MLB is exploring, with no final decision yet and no permits yet from the Park Service. MEDIA BAN LATEST — “Networks to Resume Trump Coverage, Even as White House Excludes CNN,” by NYT’s Michael Grynbaum and Erik Wemple: “The major networks are set to resume their collective television coverage of President Trump on Sunday, even though the White House blocked CNN from participating in the TV pool over the weekend … Each time that CNN comes up in the pool rotation, the group of networks will decide whether to provide a substitute crew. Otherwise, CNN’s slot will be left unfilled.” OUT AND ABOUT — The Human Rights Campaign’s national gala drew around 1,800 people to the Washington Hilton last night, with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivering the keynote remarks. Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden received the Ally for Equality Award, while LGBTQ+ icons André De Shields and Junior LaBeija each received the HRC Legendary Visibility Award. Guests were greeted with a stirring rendition of “Memory” from Cats by Chasity Moore, and the night ended with a Dolly Parton singalong led by Nina West of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” SPOTTED: Rep. Everton Blair Jr. (D-Ga.), James Costos, Charlotte Burrows, Shawn Skelly, Diana Rodriguez, Ann Marie Gothard, Judy Shepard, Russell Davies, Qween Jean, RaeShanda Lias, Richard Fowler, Aaron Parnas, Robert Edmonson and Jordan Dashow. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and Ed Case (D-Hawaii) … Juleanna Glover … NYT’s Tony Romm … Abby Curran Horrell … WSJ’s Meridith McGraw … Geoff Burgan … Energy Department’s Charles Moran … CBS’ Ellee Watson … Anne-Marie Slaughter of New America … BGR Public Relations’ Jeff Birnbaum … Zach Barnett … POLITICO’s Steven Overly, Nick Tedesco, Molly Fruits, Mandara Regan and Riya Misra … League of Conservation Voters’ Sara Chieffo … Madison Group’s Marcus Sebastian Mason … Dan Raviv … Brendan Dunn of Phronesis DC … American Cleaning Institute’s Kristin DiNicolantonio … René Carbone Bardorf … Matthew Vann … former Rep. Peter Kostmayer (D-Pa.) … Caitlyn Schneeweiss … Axios’ Cuneyt Dil … Alexa (Wertman) Brown … Curtis LeGeyt of the National Association of Broadcasters … Josh Mandel … Allie Owen … T. Dean Reed Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editors Giuseppe Macri, Garrett Ross and Kyler Alvord. |
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