| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | |  Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) immediately staked out a hard line on one big issue that will be front and center: Ukraine aid. | Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images | STATE OF PLAY — Rep. JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader STEVE SCALISE became the first congressmen to make their bids for the speakership official today, as the longtime arch-conservative and KEVIN McCARTHY’s No. 2 both seek to lead the House in the wake of his ouster. In a letter to colleagues, Jordan cited his work on “the strongest immigration and border enforcement bill ever” as “the most significant legislative accomplishment this Congress.” In his letter, Scalise projected above-the-fray unity: “Now, more than ever, we must mend the deep wounds that exist within our Conference and focus on our objectives so we can get back to work for the millions of people who are counting on us.” Read it via Punchbowl Jordan immediately staked out a hard line on one big issue that will be front and center — Ukraine aid — telling reporters outside a Texas delegation lunch that he’s against it outright. That stance could push other candidates in that direction on the issue, despite majority support for a new aid package among the House as a whole. Remember: Jordan, Scalise or any other potential speaker, will need to unify the party and get to 218 votes on the floor. That could be a tall order for Jordan, a veteran lawmaker with a well-earned reputation as a hard-right brawler. More on the jockeying across the GOP ranks … SPEAKER: Olivia Beavers and Anthony Adragna scooped last night that Scalise was calling around to shore up support, while NBC’s Scott Wong, Ali Vitali and Rebecca Kaplan suggest that Scalise is trying to “be seen as the inevitable successor to McCarthy.” The race may still expand: Rep. KEVIN HERN (R-Okla.), chair of the sprawling Republican Study Committee, is making noise, too. Jordan quickly sewed up support from some prominent members on the conference’s right flank, including Rep. JIM BANKS (R-Ind.), THOMAS MASSIE (R-Ky.) and DARRELL ISSA (R-Calif.). But Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.), who deposed McCarthy, has said he might be able to support Scalise, who also has the backing of Majority Whip TOM EMMER (R-Minn.). Other ideas … Rep. ANDY HARRIS (R-Md.) wants Rep. BYRON DONALDS (R-Fla.) in contention for speaker. … Rep. TROY NEHLS (R-Texas) is still pushing for DONALD TRUMP and says other members are interested. … Rep. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-Minn.) seemed to dangle the prospect of crossing the aisle to support a Republican focused on bipartisanship and integrity. Another sticking point … House rules could be a key issue in the speaker’s race: Establishment types want the rules changed so this week won’t be repeated, including calls for reform from Rep. KELLY ARMSTRONG (R-N.D.), MIKE LAWLER (R-N.Y.) and CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-Fla.), the latter of whom is insisting that the motion to vacate threshold be raised from one member to half the conference. But Rep. BOB GOOD (R-Va.) told Semafor’s Kadia Goba he won’t budge on keeping it at one. HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: Emmer is running for majority leader to replace Scalise, per Olivia Beavers. House GOP Conference Chair ELISE STEFANIK (R-N.Y.) won’t go for speaker, but she is thinking about other positions like majority leader or whip, per Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman. HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP: Reps. DREW FERGUSON (R-Ga.) and GUY RESCHENTHALER (R-Pa.) are both making calls about potential whip candidacies, Olivia scooped, and Reschenthaler confirmed he’s running. Ferguson narrowly lost the role to Emmer last time; Reschenthaler is currently deputy whip. Notably, Rep. GARRET GRAVES (R-La.) — a close McCarthy ally — doesn’t sound willing to just sign off on a coronation: “I think this whole narrative about every member of the existing leadership taking one step up is bullshit,” he said, per Meredith Lee Hill. More McCarthy fallout: McCarthy’s removal as speaker “leaves much uncertainty about who might step in to fill his fundraising shoes and what happens to McCarthy’s own remaining political money,” Bloomberg Government’s Kate Ackley reports. And it’s yet another blow for California Republicans, Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner report in California Playbook. The beleaguered state party has lost its foremost representative in Washington, to say nothing of a powerful force for fundraising and recruitment. The pettiness continues: The new House GOP leaders have told Rep. STENY HOYER (D-Md.) to vacate his Hill office, Jake Sherman reports, an act of vengeance that follows on a similar move against Rep. NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.) yesterday. (Graves told Axios’ Andrew Solender that Pelosi’s office is reserved for the “preceding speaker.”) Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
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Explore the impact. | | | AFTERNOON LISTEN — Even before this week’s crisis in Capitol Hill threw the U.S.’s long-term commitment to Ukraine into doubt, leading figures in the American foreign policy establishment have been coming to terms with the impasse on the ground. MICHAEL FROMAN, president of the highly influential Council on Foreign Relations, tells Anne McElvoy on POLITICO’s Power Play podcast: “I fear that this could be an extended conflict, a bit of a frozen conflict where neither side is making much progress.” Listen here TRUMP CARDS POLITICAL VIOLENCE WATCH — “Trump’s words turn violent as pressure on him builds,” by Axios’ Zachary Basu: “Trump’s violent rhetoric — a staple of his political brand dating back to 2015 — has grown more extreme as the walls have begun to close in on his business empire, livelihood and personal freedom. … [H]is words’ violent turn in recent weeks — calling for a U.S. military leader to be executed, mocking a potentially fatal assault on a congressional spouse, urging police to shoot shoplifters — suggest a line has been crossed.” DAILY RUDY — RUDY GIULIANI is on the verge of losing a second attorney defending him in the Fulton County, Ga., case, leaving him without a local lawyer in the state once a judge signs off on the departure, ABC’s Olivia Rubin reports. But Giuliani is reportedly close to securing new legal representation there. 2024 WATCH WATCHING LIKE A HAWKEYE — Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS’ presidential campaign and PAC raised $15 million in the third quarter, NYT’s Nicholas Nehamas, Jonathan Swan and Shane Goldmacher report. And along with that significant haul, the campaign told staffers today that it will relocate about one-third of them from Tallahassee to Iowa, as DeSantis goes all in on the caucus. He ended the quarter with $13.5 million on hand, with the latest infusion having “stabilized the situation,” the campaign says, though just $5 million of the money is allowed to be used in the primary. A NEW SILVER MEDALIST — A new survey in New Hampshire finds NIKKI HALEY leaping past DeSantis into second place in the GOP presidential primary, though she’s still miles behind Trump, USA Today’s Susan Page, Sudiksha Kochi, Savannah Kuchar and Rachel Looker report. It’s Trump 49%, Haley 19% and DeSantis 10% in the USA TODAY/Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll, with the vast majority of Trump supporters saying their minds are made up. ON THE TRAIL — DeSantis went after Trump more directly than usual at a campaign stop in Spartanburg, S.C., today, per CBS’ Aaron Navarro, hitting him for his failed promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
| | | | GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE. | | | | | THE WHITE HOUSE TODAY’S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT — With the Supreme Court having struck down President JOE BIDEN’s big student debt relief policy, the administration keeps hunting for smaller ways to ease borrowers’ burden. In the latest move, which Biden is promoting at a White House event now, the administration is forgiving $9 billion worth of loans held by 125,000 people, CNN’s Nikki Carvajal and Katie Lobosco report. It also follows the post-pandemic resumption of student loan payments last weekend. Today’s announcement comprises three different approaches to cancel student debt: the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, disabled borrowers eligible for a discharge and borrowers who suffered administrative errors previously. FIRST LADY FILES — First lady JILL BIDEN is putting out a new video announcement urging women to get mammograms and other screenings for cancer, to air on Lifetime, AP’s Darlene Superville reports. CONGRESS THE MENENDEZ MESS — The Record’s Katie Sobko reveals another dimension to the indictments of Sen. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.) and his wife NADINE ARSLANIAN: In 2018, she hit and killed a man with her car in New Jersey. Police determined she was “not at fault,” as the man was jaywalking and she didn’t see him. It didn’t become public. But the incident helps explain why Menendez is alleged to have taken a bribe shortly thereafter in exchange for a new Mercedes convertible for Arslanian. The loved ones of RICHARD KOOP, the 49-year-old who died, say they still haven’t gotten closure. An investigation from NYT’s Nicholas Fandos, Tracey Tully and Luis Ferré-Sadurní takes the questions one step further: Did Menendez inappropriately try to intervene to help his wife? Police reports indicate that the officers knew Arslanian, “treated her with striking deference,” didn’t test her for drugs/alcohol (of which there isn’t any evidence) and allowed her to leave the scene. Koop’s family says they never heard from the Menendezes. But some defense attorneys say the police actions don’t seem out of the ordinary or like special treatment.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | MORE POLITICS WILL SHE OR WON’T SHE — As newly sworn-in Sen. LAPHONZA BUTLER (D-Calif.) gets her bearings on the Hill, labor unions could be a powerful determining factor in any potential bid for a full term, Jeremy White reports. Butler hasn’t decided yet whether she’ll run in the election next year. If she does, her history of rising through unions “could be a decisive source of money, ground game muscle and credibility” as she takes on Reps. KATIE PORTER and ADAM SCHIFF — front-runners with big online fundraising chops. But many unions are already in the process of determining whom they’ll support, so Butler might need to move fast. CASH DASH — Rep. ELISSA SLOTKIN’s (D-Mich.) Senate campaign raised $3 million last quarter and has $5 million on hand, The Detroit News’ Melissa Nann Burke reports. BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — Pennsylvania Democrat JANELLE STELSON today jumped into the race to take on GOP Rep. SCOTT PERRY, WHTM-TV’s George Stockburger reports. A longtime local news anchor, Stelson will first face a crowded primary field. Launch video — NANCY GOROFF, a Democratic chemist who lost a congressional race to LEE ZELDIN in 2020, is trying again against his successor, GOP Rep. NICK LaLOTA. She announced a bid for the Long Island-based seat today. Campaign site KEYS TO THE KEYSTONE STATE — The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is putting a six-figure investment into the Pennsylvania state Supreme Court race this fall, The Hill’s Caroline Vakil reports. Though the election won’t change the partisan balance of power on the court, Republicans could move one step closer to flipping the court by winning this seat. JUDICIARY SQUARE HUNTER GATHERING — “Hunter Biden weighs fundraising options as legal bills top $10 million,” by CNN’s Paula Reid and Kayla Tausche: “HUNTER BIDEN’s allies had hoped that fundraising help would have come by now from top supporters of his father, President Joe Biden, but that hasn’t happened. … The financial burden is raising worry among friends.”
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO APP: Stay in the know with the POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | WAR IN UKRAINE FINDING ALTERNATIVES — Congress may not have passed a new aid package to Ukraine this weekend, but the Biden administration is getting creative: It plans to send thousands of weapons and ammunition seized from Iran to Kyiv, CNN’s Natasha Bertrand scooped. The announcement is expected as early as this week from U.S. Central Command. BEYOND THE BELTWAY STATE OF THE UNIONS — “Thousands of U.S. health care workers go on strike in multiple states over wages and staff shortages,” by AP’s Stefanie Dazio in LA: “Picketing began Wednesday morning at Kaiser Permanente hospitals as some 75,000 health care workers go on strike in Virginia, California and three other states.” PLAYBOOKERS OUT AND ABOUT — Hillary Clinton and Keren Yarhi-Milo hosted the inaugural summit of Columbia’s Institute of Global Politics yesterday. SPOTTED: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Larry Hogan, Jacinda Ardern, Stacey Abrams, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Marie Yovanovitch, John Sullivan, Maria Ressa, Jack Lew, Tim Wu, Andrea Mitchell and Debora Cahn. MEDIA MOVES — CBS announced its roster of 2024 campaign embeds: Nidia Cavazos, Shawna Mizelle, Allison Novelo, Olivia Rinaldi, Jake Rosen and Taurean Small. In addition, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Aaron Navarro, Zak Hudak and Cristina Corujo will take on expanded political/campaign roles. TRANSITIONS — Kelly Cushman is joining the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association as VP of political affairs. She most recently was VP of domestic policy for the National Pork Producers Council. … Jordan Lubowitz is joining Ogilvy as EVP for corporate affairs. She previously was an EVP and head of public affairs at Edelman. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producer Bethany Irvine.
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