| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Rachael Bade | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | AND SO IT BEGINS — Mail ballots for the general election are now starting to go out: Yesterday, Alabama became the first state to start sending them to absentee voters, per NBC’s Jane Timm — overtaking North Carolina, whose high court ordered ballots reprinted to remove ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. AS GO THE CHENEYS — Former AG ALBERTO GONZALES endorses VP KAMALA HARRIS in a new POLITICO Magazine op-ed this morning. He warns that DONALD TRUMP is “perhaps the most serious threat to the rule of law in a generation.”
|  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer aims to force Republicans to vote on a measure mandating insurance coverage of IVF treatments. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | HITTING WHERE IT HURTS — Four stories worth your time this morning as reproductive rights take center stage in the election: — Trump’s bind on IVF: At Tuesday’s debate, Trump called himself a “leader” on IVF — his latest attempt to parry an issue with incredible salience among moderate women voters. But his move on IVF is “angering swaths of the Republican Party,” Alice Miranda Ollstein and Megan Messerly report this morning. Key to that backlash are two pillars of the GOP: small-government deficit hawks outraged by the idea of a sweeping new federal mandate on IVF coverage (as Trump has floated) and religious conservatives who oppose the procedure as is commonly practiced. — The Senate GOP’s bind on IVF: Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER aims to force Republicans to “vote on a measure that mirrors former President Trump's proposal to mandate insurance coverage of IVF treatments,” Axios’ Stephen Neukam reports. “Senate Republicans are likely to kill it,” he notes, but the tactic will “be a helping hand to Schumer's Democratic Senate candidates, particularly those running against two incumbent GOP lawmakers,” Sens. RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.) and TED CRUZ (R-Texas). — Massive ad buy in the “blue wall” states: This morning, American Bridge 21st Century announced a new $15 million digital and TV ad buy “focused entirely on contrasting Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on abortion,” Elena Schneider scoops. The ads will air in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, and target “white women who live in exurban and suburban areas.” — Vibe check: “A Republican in a Tight House Race Is Borrowing Abortion Rights Terminology,” by NOTUS’s Oriana González: “‘A woman’s right to choose? I’m pro-choice. I believe abortion should be safe, legal and rare,’ says MATT GUNDERSON, a Republican challenging Rep. MIKE LEVIN [(D-Calif.)], in a television ad released Wednesday. ‘I don’t want politicians dictating health care for my daughters.’” GARLAND’S WARNING — One of the defining characteristics of AG MERRICK GARLAND’s tenure at the Justice Department is a sense that he approaches his role in a method detached from the rough and tumble of politics. (Bug or feature? You decide.) But in a speech today to DOJ staff, Garland will deal with a decidedly more overtly political topic than usual: how the department’s workforce can Trump-proof itself and serve as a bulwark against the worst potential abuses related to the Supreme Court’s immunity decision. We got a preview of Garland’s speech. Here are a few highlights:
- “Our norms are a promise that we will fiercely protect the independence of this Department from political interference in our criminal investigations. Our norms are a promise that we will not allow this Department to be used as a political weapon. And our norms are a promise that we will not allow this nation to become a country where law enforcement is treated as an apparatus of politics.”
- “Over the past three and a half years, there has been an escalation of attacks on the Justice Department's career lawyers, agents and other personnel that go far beyond public scrutiny, criticism and legitimate and necessary oversight of our work. These attacks have come in the form of conspiracy theories, dangerous falsehoods, efforts to bully and intimidate career public servants by repeatedly and publicly singling them out, and threats of actual violence.”
- “Through your continued work, you have made clear that the Justice Department will not be intimidated by these attacks. But it is dangerous — and outrageous — that you have to endure them. It is dangerous to target and intimidate individual employees of this Department simply for doing their jobs.”
It’s quite the tonal contrast from then-AG BILL BARR’s message to the DOJ workforce almost exactly four years ago, in which he said that Justice has “recently acted ‘more like a trade association for federal prosecutors than the administrator of a fair system of justice’ and equated some prosecutors to preschoolers and ‘headhunters,’” NBC’s Pete Williams wrote at the time. Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Novo Nordisk: At Novo Nordisk, our majority shareholder is a charitable foundation committed to improving people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet. That lets us invest in early science and take risks for the benefit of patients as we drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases. | | | HIT THE ROAD — The sprint to Election Day is on, and both major presidential candidates are embarking on post-debate road trips into the swing states. Where Harris’ campaign is focusing:
- Later today, VP Harris will hit Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina. Then the Dems turn their attention back to the so-called “blue wall” states. On Friday, Harris will visit Johnstown and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
- Running mate TIM WALZ will be in Grand Rapids, Michigan, today and tomorrow with stops in Lansing and Wausau, Wisconsin. Saturday, he’ll hold a rally at the University of Wisconsin, Superior.
- Second Gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will hit Arizona, Nevada and Florida over the next two days, while GWEN WALZ is headed to New Hampshire and Maine.
Worth underlining: If you had doubts about the central importance of the so-called “blue wall” states, look no further than the fact that Harris and Walz themselves will be barnstorming those states exclusively later this week, while their spouses head for states that are either less competitive or less central to the path to victory. Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin? That’s the ballgame. (See also: American Bridge 21st Century’s new $15 million ad buy.) The media: The campaign boasts that it will have some type of event in every media market in all of the battlegrounds over the weekend, including a “Republicans for Harris” event in Phoenix. The message: We’re told that Harris, Walz and surrogates will focus on the economy, abortion rights and Project 2025 in their swing-state appearances. As our colleagues Chris Cadelago and Megan Messerly report, “the campaign knows … they still have work to do to make sure voters are ready to back Harris — not just oppose Trump.” Meanwhile, Trump is on his own blitz. Today, he’ll rally supporters in Tucson, Arizona, at an event his campaign bills as focusing on Latino voters. On Friday, he heads to Las Vegas, where his rally ostensibly centers on inflation and the economy — though these things sometimes have a way of veering onto other topics. POLITICO’s AI & TECH SUMMIT: American Leadership, Security and Democracy — Join us on Tuesday at noon for exclusive conversations on U.S. global competitiveness, election security, AI rulemaking, TikTok-era campaigning and what policies to expect from Harris or Trump administrations. Keynote guests include DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, Congress’ AI rule-writers Sen. MIKE ROUNDS (R-S.D.) and Rep. JAY OBERNOLTE (R-Calif.), Deputy AG LISA MONACO, Biden’s chief science and tech adviser and former DARPA director ARATI PRABHAKAR and more speaker announcements to come. RSVP to attend or watch here
| | | | A message from Novo Nordisk:   Through revolutionary research, Novo Nordisk is transforming the lives of Americans with obesity and diabetes. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The House will meet at 9 a.m. to take up a bill barring incentives for electric vehicles with batteries made abroad, which the White House opposed yesterday. Votes are expected at 10:40 a.m. and no later than 3 p.m. Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES will hold his weekly news conference at 10 a.m. The Senate is in. 3 things to watch …
- As we suggested yesterday, the House continuing resolution got pulled from the floor before it could get voted down by Democrats and GOP dissidents. That’s left leaders and appropriators scrambling for a Plan B, Caitlin Emma reports. Some House GOP appropriations are wondering if a shorter CR paired with the SAVE Act could pick up a few Democratic votes and get over the hump. But the Senate and House Democrats are ready to move forward with a bipartisan, bicameral December CR, with no voting bill attached. Read on for more on how all this is weighing on Speaker MIKE JOHNSON.
- The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates next week — a decision that is destined to be fraught with politics in an election year. But Jasper Goodman and Eleanor Mueller report that there’s a growing number of Republicans — including the likes of Sens. JOHN KENNEDY (R-La.) and JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) — who are acknowledging that even a super-sized half-point cut might now be justified due to the softening in the labor market.
- With football season upon us, American sports fans are getting bombarded once again with ads for online betting platforms. At a news conference today, Rep. PAUL TONKO (D-N.Y.) and Sen. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-Conn.) are set to unveil revised legislation, the SAFE Bet Act, that would place new guardrails around the online betting industry — a previous version, for instance, would ban ads during live sporting events and otherwise police the language they use to entice bettors.
At the White House Biden will speak on the South Lawn at 5:45 p.m. ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act. On the trail Harris will travel to and from North Carolina, where she’ll speak at campaign events at 3:40 p.m. in Charlotte and 6:50 p.m. in Greensboro. Trump will speak about the economy and housing in Tucson, Arizona, at 4 p.m. Eastern. Walz will travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a rally at 6:30 p.m.
| | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH
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Some of Donald Trump's opponents have lawyers telling them to prepare for low-grade bureaucratic bullying. | Matt Rourke/AP | DEMOCRACY WATCH — On the cover of The New Republic, Greg Sargent today sketches out a potential scenario that many Trump critics fear: “a kind of lower-profile, slow-burn authoritarianism,” in which the rule of law and other guardrails degrade gradually. Some Trump opponents, against whom he’s vowed retribution, have lawyers telling them to prepare for “low-grade bureaucratic bullying,” like passports or security clearances being revoked, while bureaucrats fear “the corruption of official information to serve the autocrat in chief’s whims and propagandistic needs.” Democratic state AGs are making plans to shield their National Guards from Trump’s control. Plenty of attention will center on the election certification in January, as officials fear a repeat of Jan. 6, 2021. WaPo’s Peter Hermann and Jackie Alemany scooped that DHS has officially designated the certification on this upcoming Jan. 6 as a National Special Security Event for the first time. That will provide way more security for Congress during this once-routine formality, which will be led by the Secret Service. Still, Congress needs to make sure the Secret Service has the funds to do so. When the transfer of power comes, “the people gaming out the 2024 post-election landscape are determined to avoid the pitfalls they experienced the last time around.” More top reads:
- Siren: “Election officials warn that widespread problems with the US mail system could disrupt voting,” by AP’s John Hanna and Christina Cassidy: “In an alarming letter [to Postmaster General LOUIS DeJOY, state and local] officials said that over the past year, including the just-concluded primary season, mailed ballots that were postmarked on time were received by local election offices days after the deadline to be counted. They also noted that properly addressed election mail was being returned to them as undeliverable, a problem that could automatically send voters to inactive status through no fault of their own.”
- Spoiler alert: A judge disqualified CORNEL WEST from the Georgia presidential ballot — even though it’s too late to actually take his name off the ballot, AP’s Jeff Amy reports from Atlanta. West’s paperwork issues mean that, under the current ruling, there will be signage at polling stations telling Georgians that votes for him won’t count.
BEYOND THE BELTWAY DOWN BALLOT — The Forward Majority super PAC has surged its planned spending to $45 million to elect Democrats to statehouses, Time’s Philip Elliott scooped, thanks to Democratic enthusiasm about Harris turbocharging fundraising. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona are top priorities. POWERING DOWN THE MACHINE — “A ballot fight in New Jersey nears an end as 2 counties prepare settlement for new design,” by Daniel Han and Matt Friedman: “If approved, it could spell the end of a system that gives party bosses unique power.” CONGRESS
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Speaker Mike Johnson is getting a taste of GOP disarray — and anger — on all sides. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN — After a member revolt forced Johnson to pull his spending plan from the floor yesterday, the speaker is getting a taste of GOP disarray — and anger — on all sides, Jordain Carney, Olivia Beavers and Sarah Ferris report. Both right-wingers and centrists criticized Johnson’s approach, especially since the GOP bill stands no chance of becoming law and many Republicans don’t want a shutdown in the throes of the presidential campaign. Republicans are still trying to move forward with a vote on a partisan spending bill — and Johnson’s allies argue that he would have been excoriated had he cut a deal with Democrats right away. GOP backers of the SAVE Act continued to try to, well, save it yesterday, saying it was important to pass before the election, Roll Call’s Chris Johnson reports. But the bill to prevent non-citizens from voting in federal elections has no shot at getting past Democrats — especially since it’s already illegal and there’s no evidence that it’s widespread, as Pennsylvania Secretary of State AL SCHMIDT tells Scripps News’ Liz Landers, Cameron Couvillion and Nick Refuerzo for their Disinformation Desk. MOVE MITCH, GET OUT THE WAY — Sen. MIKE LEE (R-Utah) tried to lengthen the timeline to choose a successor to Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL, but McConnell rejected it, Axios’ Stef Kight reports. POLICY CORNER DIDN’T THEY HEAR THE BOOM WAS OVER? — The NSA has just launched a podcast, a remarkable step into the public eye for the famously secretive agency, WaPo’s Ellen Nakashima reports. And former officials tell her more details for the first time about how they assisted in the operation to find OSAMA BIN LADEN. They want “to publicize the role that signals intelligence, or SIGINT — the collection and analysis of electronic communications — plays in keeping America and its allies safe,” especially as it comes under political attack. MAN OF STEEL — “Biden Is Urged to Reconsider $14 Billion US Steel Takeover,” by Bloomberg’s Josh Wingrove and Sana Pashankar: “Nippon Steel Corp. is mounting a last-ditch push to muster support for its $14.1 billion takeover of United States Steel Corp.”
| | | | A message from Novo Nordisk:   Novo Nordisk's revolutionary pharmaceutical research is transforming the lives of Americans with obesity and diabetes. At Novo Nordisk, we take the long view of health. | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD
|  Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced another $700 million in U.S. humanitarian aid heading to Ukraine. | Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images | WAR IN UKRAINE — On the ground in Kyiv, Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN announced another $700 million in U.S. humanitarian aid heading to Ukraine, along with a similar commitment from his British counterpart DAVID LAMMY, per AP’s Matthew Lee and Illia Novikov. The money is especially focused on the energy grid. They affirmed their solid commitment to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion. But the big question is whether these countries will allow Ukraine to use Western missiles to launch attacks further into Russia. Kyiv has been begging for permission to use them for longer-range targets, but the U.S. and Europe have worried about escalation. Now, though, the White House is getting close to signing off on some expanded use of the weapons, Erin Banco, Joe Gould and Paul McLeary scooped. It’s “a significant change in tenor” from the U.S., with urgency growing after Iran sent ballistic missiles to Russia. The Guardian’s Luke Harding and Dan Sabbagh report that the decision is “understood to have already been made in private.” More top reads:
- Middle East latest: An aircraft carrier the U.S. had deployed to the Middle East is beginning its journey back home, per AP’s Lolita Baldor. Meanwhile, as the U.S. increasingly partners closely with Egypt on trying to end the Israel-Hamas war, the Biden administration told Congress yesterday that it’s sending Cairo $320 million in military assistance, WSJ’s Jared Malsin and Lara Seligman report. Sens. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.) and CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) slammed the decision, saying Egypt had not met the necessary conditions in making human rights progress.
MORE POLITICS BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — The House GOP-linked super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund rolled out a new round of ads across a wide range of competitive races, criticizing Democrats on everything from immigration to crime, Punchbowl’s Max Cohen reports.
| | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Monica Lewinsky actually found common cause with Matt Drudge. Patrick Mahomes is staying out of the election. Linsey Davis got some debate help from Carole Simpson. Donald Trump ticked off Germany. Eric Sorensen plays personal weatherman for other members of Congress. IN MEMORIAM — “Jim Sasser, three-term U.S. Senator from Tennessee and former ambassador, dies at 87,” by The Tennessean’s Vivian Jones and Angele Latham: “When a newspaper story announced he was running for chair of the state Democratic party, it was news to Sasser. … ‘I thought, “why not?”’ … Sasser went on to serve three terms in the U.S. Senate from 1977 to 1995, rising to chair the Senate Budget Committee. … In 1996, Clinton appointed Sasser to serve as the 6th U.S. Ambassador to China.” SPOTTED: Darryl McDaniels (DMC), Melle Mel and MC Lyte dining last night at Shōtō, ahead of Hill advocacy today for the American Music Fairness Act. … Philippe Reines on the Acela back from Philly yesterday. BOOK CLUB — NYT’s Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater are writing a new book, “Mad House: How Donald Trump, Maga Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man with Rats in his Walls Broke Congress” ($32). It’s due out in April from Penguin Random House. TRANSITIONS — Adam Yezerski is joining Cornerstone’s federal government relations team. He previously was a longtime GOP professional staff member for the Senate Appropriations State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee. … Scott Gemperline is now director of U.S. government affairs and energy policy at Norsk Hydro. He most recently was at the National Mining Association, and joins Ryan Modlin in the company’s new Washington office. … Natalie Armijo is now a director of federal legislative affairs at T-Mobile. She previously was a Democratic strategist and lobbyist at Federal Street Strategies, and is a Michelle Lujan Grisham alum. … … Anisha Singh is now chief of staff at the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She previously was executive director at the Sikh Coalition, and is a Planned Parenthood and Center for American Progress alum. … Debbie Witchey will be the next president and CEO of the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness, as longtime head Pamela Greenberg retires. Witchey most recently was EVP and COO at the Healthcare Leadership Council. … Alice Marwick has been appointed director of research at Data & Society. She previously was an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill’s department of communication. ENGAGED — Pete Muntean, aviation correspondent at CNN, proposed to Melia Manter, who works in stakeholder engagement for the Department of Energy, at Lake Como in late August. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-N.C.) … Max Boot … The Daily Beast’s Matt Lewis … Fox News’ Andrea DeVito … POLITICO’s Ben Schreckinger, Walt Houseknecht, Sarah Hansen and Derek Robertson … NBC’s Tom Costello … Greg Wetstone … Sam Brownback … Jason Stverak … Prism Group’s John Stanford … Emily Lampkin … Melissa Schulman … Liz Wroe of Leavitt Partners … Kimberly Breier … Brett Thompson ... VOA’s John Lippman ... Kelsi Browning … Venable’s Alex Botting … former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) … Ed Moy … former Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Ben Chandler (D-Ky.) and Trey Hollingsworth (R-Ind.) … Pam Stevens ... Zack Pohl of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office … AP’s Ashraf Khalil … Jill Alper … Anne Johnson of Grassroots Solutions.
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