| | | |  | | By Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco Good Monday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, back in D.C after some essential family time and thrilled to be back in your morning inbox. Eternal thanks to the Playbook team for holding the torch in my absence. Get in touch. MEDIA TALKER: Start your week with Semafor’s Max Tani’s dishy piece on Vanity Fair’s direction under new top editor Mark Guiducci, who’s got “charisma, youth, and far less editorial experience than his recent predecessors.” Guiducci has ousted longtime writers, shifted away from daily entertainment news coverage, and hopes to make the magazine more glamorous, more streamlined, “more swashbuckling” … and potentially more open to conservatives. There’s even talk of first lady Melania Trump on the cover. Eyes emoji: Guiducci wants new columnists covering Washington and AI, among other subjects. Among the names reported as having had conversations with Guiducci — or at least having been approached — about writing for the magazine: Olivia Nuzzi, Matthew Belloni, Jazmine Hughes, Allison P. Davis, Amy Kaufman, Chris Gardner, Emily Sundberg, Oliver Darcy, Chris Black and Jonathan Capehart. Watch this space. In today’s Playbook … — Armed troops on the streets of D.C. as kids return to school. — South Korea’s president is in town for talks. But the real question is: Where’s Putin at? — Dems head for summer camp amid yet another crisis.
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Some of the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. are now armed. | Rod Lamkey Jr./AP Photo | THE SCHOOL RUN, 2025: Washington kids are headed back to school this morning after the summer break … to the sight of armed military personnel patrolling their streets. The Defense Department confirmed an NBC News scoop that Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to arm some of the 2,000-plus National Guard troops deployed to D.C. went into effect last night. NBC reports “the majority” of guard members will be carrying M17 handguns, while “a small number” will be armed with M4 assault rifles. Expect to hear more detail from President Donald Trump if he takes questions at an executive order session at 10 a.m. In pictures: Images of armed troops at Union Station and other locations started hitting the internet last night. Golden escalator: This all marks a significant — and still-unexplained — escalation from the initial deployment, when leaders said troops on the streets would not be armed. But it’s unclear how many Guardsmen are actually going to be carrying weapons. Reuters says the number remains “fluid.” AP is told that “only troops on certain missions would carry guns.” CBS suggests it will be “likely less than 50” to begin with. All the world’s a stage: This haziness only adds to the impression that the D.C. crackdown remains more performance art than serious policy initiative. As CBS notes dryly: “The troops have not taken part in law enforcement and largely have been protecting landmarks … Some troops have fed squirrels. One Guard member helped a woman carry her belongings down the stairs in a train station. Others have been seen taking photos with passersby, standing around chatting and drinking coffee.” Indeed: NYT’s Devlin Barrett spent a day in a federal courthouse to witness the types of cases actually being prosecuted as part of the wider crackdown. “One man had been arrested over an open container of alcohol,” he writes. “Another had been charged with threatening the president after delivering a drunken outburst … One defendant’s gun case so alarmed prosecutors that they intend to drop the case.” It’s pretty low-level stuff for a federal court. And if you needed further evidence: The fact Trump’s enforcement squads are taking in-house video teams along to their raids — and then pumping out viral social media content — offers another indication of what’s really going on here. The Post spoke anonymously to one of these videographers, who’d been pulled in at short notice for the job. “This is all just a show,” the employee said, expressing a wish to return quickly to their former tasks. “This is theater.”
| | | | A message from Booz Allen: Booz Allen uses the most advanced tech to engineer, build, and deploy what nobody else can. So our nation can stay ahead. It's how we win every time, everywhere. It's in our code. Learn more. | | | | But who cares? As far as the White House is concerned, it’s working. The pictures look dramatic, the MAGA base is lapping it up and Trump claims crime has plummeted in D.C. the past two weeks. Quite how this fits into some long-term policy solution is another matter, but in the meantime — as this White House X account illustrates — the case for fighting crime in big cities is easy enough for the administration to make. Most importantly, there’s less talk about the Jeffrey Epstein files right now. But definitely not performative … are the immigration raids being carried out as part of the crackdown, which look like the most serious aspect of this whole operation. WaPo is among the outlets reporting on a climate of fear among the city’s immigrant communities, especially as children return to school this week. So who’s next? Given all of the above, you shouldn’t expect Trump to rein it in any time soon. Troop deployments to Chicago are expected next and it’s also worth keeping an eye on Baltimore, where Trump spurred some social media sparring with Democratic Gov. — and potential 2028 contender — Wes Moore yesterday, with the two engaging in a little back-and-forth. Expect this one to run and run. Living their best lives: While Moore dips a toe into the world of online MAGA-baiting, over on the West Coast, another Democratic governor with an eye on 2028 is amping things up to the max. The widespread commentary about California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s hyperactive X account only seems to have encouraged his social media team, who cranked things up several notches yesterday with the launch of an online shop selling MAGA-fied hats and the like. Every other Newsom social media post got the all-caps, quasi-Trump treatment. They’re certainly having fun over there. Only problem: With wildfires ravaging parts of California, the rest of Newsom’s posts were serious messages about an unfolding natural disaster. Which made for a jarring juxtaposition, to say the least. Such is the lot of a governor-turned-troll. Back in D.C. Trump’s August law-and-order blitz has not stopped at performative clampdowns on Democratic-run cities, of course. As we’ve seen, the all-out effort to restore the MAGA faith following the Epstein meltdown has also extended to the attempted prosecution of Trump’s sworn enemies, and the president explicitly suggested last night that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie could be next in line. Trump appears to have been triggered — predictably — by watching Christie criticize him on ABC News’ “This Week.” (The network then came in for its own Truth Social onslaught.) It hardly needs spelling out, but it is no coincidence that people like Christie, former national security adviser John Bolton and New York AG Letitia James are being targeted, as the WSJ — hardly a liberal mouthpiece — noted in a scathing piece by its editorial board on Friday night. And this is more than just vindictiveness or a desire for revenge. As autocrats have long known, prosecuting critics both cheers supporters and quells future dissent. Of course, Trump’s pals (like Piers Morgan) insist that it’s no worse than what Trump’s opponents did to him after he lost the presidency. Now read this: Other Western democracies are watching all of this open-mouthed, as POLITICO’s Ankush Khardori notes in a new column out this morning. Indeed, he reckons European countries are starting to wonder whether they’ll be able to keep working with the U.S. Justice Department on international law enforcement.
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| | | | DIPLOMACY WATCH BIG KOREA MOVE: South Korea’s new president flies in for talks with Trump at lunchtime, with China, defense and trade tariffs all on the agenda. Lee Jae Myung will be welcomed to the Oval Office at 12.15 p.m. for the usual sit-down before cameras and the White House press pool. But let’s face it — the only world leader D.C. is actually waiting to hear from right now is Vladimir Putin … And for all Trump’s entreaties (not to mention that whole red carpet business), he doesn’t appear to be budging. Quick SK primer: Lee was elected back in June after his predecessor was impeached and removed from office for trying to invoke marital law. As the FT notes, he’s a former human rights lawyer and — importantly — is relatively pro-China, something that has unsettled parts of the GOP. Indeed, Lee’s government is looking to normalise relations with China this very week, Reuters reports. And there’s more: The American and South Korean governments are already embroiled in tense discussions over levels of Korean defense spending and the number and role of American troops in the peninsula, as well as over the detail of the vaguely worded trade agreement signed this summer. So it’s not impossible this one blows up today. On the other hand: British PM Keir Starmer has shown that being a lefty human rights lawyer is no impediment to befriending Trump, if you play your cards right. And Lee appears to have a plan, with both WaPo and WSJ detailing a pitch to invest bigly in U.S shipbuilding ahead of a trip later today to Philadelphia’s Korean-owned shipyard. The Koreans have even made “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” baseball caps. Diplomacy in 2025 is not the subtle art it used to be. SPEAKING OF DIPLOMACY: The silence from Putin is still deafening, 10 days on from his tête-à-tête with Trump in Alaska. Trump had initially hoped a follow-up summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could happen within hours, then within days … Then last Friday he gave Putin a(nother) couple of weeks. But there have been no positive noises from the Kremlin, and Putin’s top envoy Sergey Lavrov told NBC in an interview there were no plans to meet with Zelenskyy. It’s not looking great for Trump’s peace push. Viral clip of the day: VP JD Vance telling NBC that it’s right to negotiate with Putin because “if you go back to World War II, if you go back to every major conflict in human history, they all end with some kind of negotiation.” Which was certainly news to WWII historians, given the total capitulation of the Germans and the Japanese. MEANWHILE IN FRANCE: The French government has called in U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner today after he published an open letter accusing President Emmanuel Macron’s government of not doing enough to combat antisemitism. The French foreign ministry said it had summoned Kushner — father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — over what it called “unacceptable” allegations that “violate international law, particularly the duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of states.” POLITICO’s Zoya Sheftalovich has more
| | | | The California Agenda-- Don't miss POLITICO's inaugural California policy summit in Sacramento. Join us virtually to explore policy debates around tech, energy, health care and more. Hear from Sen. Alex Padilla (D), Katie Porter, GOP gubernatorial candidates and more! Register to watch. | | | | | NEWS FROM THE WILDERNESS MINNESOTA NOT SO NICE: The DNC’s summer meeting kicks off today in Minneapolis, with Chair Ken Martin speaking at 10 a.m. Eastern about the party’s future (you can watch via C-SPAN here). And though it’s not on the agenda, there will be plenty of behind-the-scenes scrapping over the party’s 2028 presidential primary schedule, POLITICO’s Elena Schneider and Lisa Kashinsky preview, with states including New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and Iowa pitching Democratic leaders on why they should go first (or at least early). One source says Martin wants to settle the matter as soon as the end of this year. Bigger fish to fry: In truth, the squabble over 2028 is the least of Martin’s headaches. The party is split — not just ideologically, but also over how aggressively to stand up to Trump. The Democratic brand is deeply unpopular, especially with younger, lower-information voters who were once seen as the building blocks of an “emerging Democratic majority” but have swung right. A voter registration crisis brews. The DNC’s fundraising has plunged, with many donors specifically unhappy with Martin. And Republicans’ unprecedented effort to seize House seats through partisan gerrymandering — which Dems are limited in their ability to counteract — could be the start of a decadeslong GOP hold on the House, Reuters’ David Morgan writes. Reality check: Democrats see no silver bullet to solve their woes, amid some angst around Martin’s leadership, AP’s Steve Peoples reports. A no-confidence vote in Martin this week — over the money struggles — was floated but abandoned for a lack of support. And two competing resolutions at the DNC meeting about the Israel-Hamas war, as well as one about diversity, equity and inclusion, could make members squirm further. But but but: Even as Democrats stare down what some see as a full-blown crisis, the party is buoyed by other successes. Senate Dems have scored a number of recent recruitment coups to get big names running for competitive (or stretch) seats. By historical standards, Republicans should suffer the midterm penalty of incumbency. And many of Trump’s key polling numbers are underwater — including on the economy and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — while Democrats lead on the generic congressional ballot. It’s the hope that kills you, as they say. On the trail: For an example of Democrats’ opportunities, look to New Jersey, where Democratic candidate recruitment/enthusiasm for competitive House races is far outpacing Republicans’, POLITICO’s Matt Friedman reports. And for an example of Democrats’ challenges, look to Nevada, where conservatives are going after AG Aaron Ford on immigration “sanctuary” policies in the early days of his gubernatorial campaign, The Nevada Independent’s Isabella Aldrete reports. Blast from the past: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), offering Democrats an alternative path on the left, continued to pull huge crowds in Wisconsin and Chicago this weekend for his “Fight Oligarchy” tour, per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles. First in Playbook: Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) is launching his reelection campaign today, after avoiding a potential Austin primary with fellow Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett under Republicans’ newly gerrymandered map. He’ll hold a press conference midday at the Texas AFL-CIO. Casar’s ad — made by Morris Katz of Zohran Mamdani fame — plays up his origins as a labor organizer to push progressive, populist economic messaging. Watch it here
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| | | | BEST OF THE REST IMMIGRATION FILES: Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s long journey through the U.S. immigration system will twist again today, as his lawyers expect ICE to detain him again when he reports to a Baltimore facility, per NPR. Abrego’s team fears that the Salvadoran native and Maryland resident will be deported to Uganda if he doesn’t plead guilty to criminal human smuggling charges he denies. The bigger picture: The court case over immigration enforcement in Los Angeles could turn into a major Supreme Court shadow-docket decision, the LA Times’ David Savage reports. If the justices give authorities broad discretion to stop and question Latinos on the basis of “reasonable suspicion,” the ruling could affect enforcement tactics nationwide. CNN’s Catherine Shoichet and colleagues capture how Trump’s sweeping immigration arrests and mass deportations have already reshaped lives, families and communities across the country. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: A group of four journalists “were among at least eight people killed on Monday in a strike on a hospital in southern Gaza,” per the AP. “Mariam Dagga, 33, freelanced for the AP since the Gaza war began, as well as other news outlets. … Al Jazeera confirmed that its journalist Mohammed Salam was among those who were killed in the Nasser hospital strike. Reuters reported that its contractor cameraman Hussam al-Masri was also killed in the strike. Photographer Hatem Khaled, who was also a Reuters contractor, was wounded, the news agency reported.” THE MEGABILL IN ACTION: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s cuts to Medicaid payments that kept many rural hospitals alive could mean that one in Erwin, Tennessee, that had to close due to Hurricane Helene will never reopen, POLITICO’s E&E News’ Ariel Wittenberg reports. BLEEDING CUTS: “At Harvard, Trump administration cuts hit young scientists hard,” by WaPo’s Susan Svrluga. Cuts could threaten experiments targeting cancer, autism, military robotics and hundreds of other realms, she reports. At Harvard, more than 700 graduate students and nearly 800 postdoctoral researchers get their salaries, stipends or tuition support from federally funded research. 2026 WATCH: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA allies believe he’ll play a key role in boosting Republicans in the midterms, Axios’ Alex Isenstadt reports. RFK allies want Kennedy hitting the campaign trail hard to promote his agenda, backed by millions in ads from outside groups — along with a push for ideologically aligned legislation in state capitals. “Top Republicans say it’s hard to overstate the importance of the MAHA movement to the party’s future,” he writes.
| | | | Want to know how policy pros stay ahead? Policy Intelligence Assistant — only with POLITICO Pro — merges trusted reporting with advanced AI to deliver deeper insights, faster answers, and powerful report builders that drive action. Get 30 days free. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Donald Trump demanded that Roger Clemens be added to the Baseball Hall of Fame after golfing with him. Josh Green, Josh Shapiro and Josh Stein have a group chat for Jewish, male, Democratic governors named Josh, NBC reports in a light-hearted story suggesting — yes, really — that we’re entering “the golden age of ‘Josh.’” TRANSITIONS — Casey Hood is now chief of staff for Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas). She previously was comms director for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and is a Trump 2020 alum. … David Huff is now national finance director for Jordan Wood’s Maine Senate campaign. He most recently was campaign manager for Daniel Hernandez’s Arizona congressional campaign and is a Harris campaign alum. … Douglas Dziak is now a principal at Invariant. He previously was a commissioner on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and is a Senate Budget GOP alum. ENGAGED — Marc Rod, senior congressional correspondent for Jewish Insider, and Olivia Truesdale, a program manager for FMC (Former Members of Congress), got engaged over the weekend on vacation in Venice, Italy. He proposed during a private breakfast at their hotel. They met in 2018 as editors for the Claremont Colleges’ student newspaper. — Nandita Bose, White House correspondent at Reuters, and Rich Luchette, a comms strategist, got engaged Aug. 16 during a picnic on the Chicago lakefront. They started dating in 2022. Pic … Another pic WEEKEND WEDDING — Sarah Miller, staff director for the House Foreign Affairs Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee Republicans, and Sean Connor, associate account executive at POLITICO, got married in Plymouth, Massachusetts. They met in their teenage years and reconnected in his hometown of Hull, Massachusetts, in summer 2020. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Casey Christine Higgins, a senior counsel in Akin’s public law and policy practice, and Juston Johnson, a partner at Grassroots Targeting, welcomed Rourke “Rory” Paul Johnson on Aug. 7. He joins big sister Saoirse. Pic — Liz (Butler) Eddowes, PAC fundraiser with American Gas Association and a Lloyd Smucker alum, and Chris Eddowes, VP of government affairs with Atlas Crossing and also a Smucker alum, recently welcomed Jane Margaret Eddowes. Pic — Helena Humphrey and Carl Nasman, both anchor-correspondents with BBC News in Washington, welcomed Carolina Amira Juliette Nasrey on Wednesday evening. She came in at 7 lbs, 7 oz. BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Amy Tejral HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) … Michael Cohen … Siemens’ Ryan Dalton … Elsa Walsh … Ben Dietderich of the Energy Department … Zach Cikanek … Will Stiers of Rep. Mike Rogers’ (R-Ala.) office … Sara Sendek … John Lin of House Energy and Commerce … Neal Rothschild … Eli Lilly’s Antoinette Forbes … Mike Burns … NBC’s Monica Alba … Jeff Choudhry … POLITICO’s Gary Fineout … Amanda Farnan … Daniel Barash of SKDK … Dave Hoppe … Chris Kaumo of Synchronicity Strategies … Leigh Claffey Brown … PwC’s Michael O’Brien … Mary Monica Palmer … former Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) … Jamie Jackson … former Reps. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), Susan Brooks (R-Ind.), Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.), John Faso (R-N.Y.) and Ron Barber (D-Ariz.) (8-0) … Avery Jaffe … former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal … Ashley Inman … Emerson Collective’s Britt Carmon 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 editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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