| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco On today’s Playbook Podcast, Adam Wren and Megan Messerly talk about the redistricting war between Texas and California, the town hall scene during recess and the plans to build a nuclear reactor on the moon.
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| Good morning. It’s Tuesday, I’m Adam Wren. Get in touch. In today’s Playbook … — Was last night’s raucous town hall in Nebraska a harbinger of what the rest of recess will be like for Republicans? — AG Pam Bondi’s move to open a grand jury investigation into Barack Obama’s administration over the Russia-2016 investigation sparks new fears of government weaponization. — Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch cut a deal postponing the media titan’s planned deposition in Trump’s suit against the WSJ.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Republicans may have a town hall problem on their hands, as evidenced by one GOP Rep. Mike Flood hosted in Nebraska last night. | Margery Beck/AP | IN AND OUT: Congress is out on recess. Texas Democrats remain out of state. California Republicans may be out of luck. And voters at town halls are out of patience. After months of Washington intrigue, the central stories driving American politics right now have moved from inside the Beltway to outside it — even as the passions animating politics at the local level are increasingly nationalized. FLOOD WATCH: Let’s start in Nebraska. Even before the doors opened for Republican Rep. Mike Flood’s town hall last night in Lincoln, the energy was palpable: A line of voters hundreds of yards long wound across a swath of the University of Nebraska’s campus, waiting for admission. “I’ve never seen a crowd like this for a town hall for a House member,” NYT’s Annie Karni tweeted. “Looks like a presidential campaign event.” Things started out civil enough — for the first two minutes and 49 seconds. When Flood mentioned he wanted to talk about “health care,” Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and what he said was “a lot of misinformation,” he found himself on the receiving end of a hail of boos. A few minutes later, it was bad enough that Flood pleaded with the audience: “The only way we’re going to get through tonight is if I get a chance to tell you why I voted, because ultimately I represent you — and you will have your say.” For the next 80 minutes or so, it careened downhill. At one point, the 700-plus-strong audience began chanting “tax the rich,” per the Times. One attendee asked about the migrant detention camp in the Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz; “How much do the taxpayers have to pay for a fascist country?” the attendee asked, as the crowd erupted in applause, per CNN’s David Adkins and Alison Main. “Fascists don’t hold town halls with open question-and-answer series,” Flood responded. Where there was agreement: Seemingly only a handful of Flood supporters were in attendance, but there was one question that appeared to bring the crowd’s disparate factions together, reports KOLN’s Matthew Mittlieder: the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which Flood said he would support. Here’s why this scene matters: Altogether, it was something of a trial run for the dynamics likely to shape the midterm election. The crowd, a stand-in for the 2026 electorate, which is likely to be disproportionately Democratic and angry about Trump. The incumbent Republican trying to calmly sell voters on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, heeding the NRCC’s advice for how to message during the August recess — as outlined in a memo we shared First in Playbook one week ago today. And the thing that everyone seems to agree upon is something that President Donald Trump absolutely does not want to give any more oxygen to: the Epstein files. It also suggests that Republicans may have a town hall problem on their hands. Will other members see Flood’s performance and alter their recess plans? The NRCC tells us they have heard of no planned town halls pulled down.
| | | | A message from American Beverage: No spin. No judgments. Just the facts from the experts.
When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you decide. That's why America's beverage companies have launched GoodToKnowFacts.org – a new website that puts easy-to-understand details about the ingredients in our beverages right in your hands, all in one place. For over 140 ingredients, you can find common uses, alternative names and safety assessments from food safety authorities at GoodToKnowFacts.org. | | | | Operatives from both parties were eager to spin the Flood town hall to Playbook. From the Democratic side: “If any vulnerable Republican thought it might have been a good idea to host a town hall to defend this trash bill — they don’t anymore!” one national Democratic strategist told Playbook. “The campaign ads basically write themselves.” From the Republican side: “It’s a shame that billionaire-funded Democrat activists are drowning out real constituents at town halls,” NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella told Playbook. “The fact is, most Nebraskans agree with Congressman Flood, not the mob.” We also detect something subtle but notable in those answers: Democrats are eager to nationalize the election, while Republicans are trying to localize it. That could suggest that both sides see the national trend for 2026 headed in the Democrats’ favor. THE GERRYMANDER TIT-FOR-TAT: Democrats’ efforts to forestall the Republicans’ mid-cycle gerrymander of Texas continues to hoover up media attention — both because of the stakes, and because of the provocative response of the state’s GOP leaders. Yesterday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott “ordered the arrest of delinquent Texas House Democrats,” and directed the Texas Rangers to “investigate fleeing Texas House Democrats for potential bribery and any other potential legal violations” related to the quorum break. Many of the quorum-breaking Dems remain in Chicagoland, and intend to remain there for the foreseeable future. It’s worth noting: A White House official told POLITICO’s Jake Traylor that Trump’s team is taking “a pretty hands-off approach” to the brewing battle, deferring to Texas Republicans. “We made our case and now we’re counting on them to get it done,” added the person, who was granted anonymity to freely discuss a matter being privately negotiated. We’ve been struck that Trump — who, as a reminder, pushed this gerrymandering plan on Texas leaders, opening the Pandora’s box of mid-cycle redistricting playing out now between red and blue states — has been fairly quiet on this issue. He’s due to sign an unrelated executive order today at 4 p.m.; could we hear him opine on the Texas standoff for the first time in recent days? On the gold coast: This brings us to California, where in response to Texas the state’s Democratic leaders are moving to redraw maps in a way that would effectively oust a number of Republican incumbents and result in as many as five new blue seats. Under the proposal, Democrats would hold all but four of California’s 52 congressional districts. Gov. Gavin Newsom says he plans to call for a special election in November to get it done. Much more from Jeremy White, Melanie Mason and Nicholas Wu
| | | | A message from American Beverage:  
America's beverage companies are making it easier than ever to find transparent information about the ingredients in your favorite beverages. Learn more at GoodToKnowFacts.org. | | | | MAGA IN POWER WEAPONIZATION WATCH: AG Pam Bondi personally directed a federal prosecutor to open a grand jury investigation into accusations that members of then-President Barack Obama’s administration broke the law while investigating Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election to aid Trump’s campaign, Fox News’ Ashley Oliver and colleagues scooped. Grand jury proceedings are a necessary step for the Department of Justice to secure an indictment and allow prosecutors to subpoena documents and testimony. No charges have yet been brought, and it’s unclear precisely whom the target would be. The bigger picture: The development marks “a significant escalation in the Justice Department’s push to relitigate one of President Donald Trump’s long-standing grievances and comes as critics have argued those efforts are an attempt by the White House to use the department to punish Trump’s political foes,” WaPo’s Jeremy Roebuck and colleagues report. Federal investigations have found “no significant evidence undermining the basic conclusion [of earlier investigations] that Moscow had sought to interfere in the 2016 election in favor of Trump.” ON DEFENSE: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s acting chief of staff, Ricky Buria, recently attempted to oust Matthew McNitt, a senior White House liaison who coordinates personnel policy at the Pentagon, WaPo’s Dan Lamothe scooped — the “latest instance of infighting among a staff plagued by disagreement and distrust.” The dispute “appears to have shaken a fragile agreement between Hegseth and the White House, which allowed Buria to serve as chief of staff only unofficially after several other people were considered for the position but declined to take it,” Lamothe writes. During Hegseth’s rocky first months in the job, “Buria has been at the center of much of the turmoil, seeking to isolate Hegseth from other senior advisers on his staff and assert control over the Pentagon’s inner workings.” COMING SOON: “White House Preps Order to Punish Banks That Discriminate Against Conservatives,” by WSJ’s Dylan Tokar and Alexander Saeedy: “A draft of the executive order, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal, directs bank regulators to investigate whether any financial institutions might have violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws or consumer financial protection laws. Violators could be subject to monetary penalties, consent decrees or other disciplinary measures, according to the draft.” TRAVELERS CHECK: The State Department may start requiring travelers entering the U.S. from certain countries to post a bond of between $5,000 and $15,000 as the Trump administration works to crack down on travelers who overstay their visas. “Applicants for business and tourist visas from countries with high overstay rates would provide the funds to the U.S. Treasury and get them back if they exited before their visas expired,” WSJ’s Robbie Gramer reports. IMMIGRATION FILES: Rwanda has agreed to accept up to 250 migrant deportees from the U.S. “in part to strengthen relations” between both countries, Reuters’ Daphne Psaledakis scooped. A Rwandan official said the U.S. will provide money to support these efforts, POLITICO’s Felicia Schwartz reports — though unlike El Salvador, Rwanda has no plans to imprison deportees. THE DOGE DAYS AREN’T OVER: Though the influence of the Department of Government Efficiency has waned since Elon Musk’s departure from Washington, the group’s push to digitize the federal government’s retirement system has plowed ahead, POLITICO’s Sophia Cai reports. “Unlike many of DOGE’s controversial initiatives, this one is widely supported,” thanks to “both an impending flood of retirement applications and the absurdity of the current system, which relies in large part on Iron Mountain, a decommissioned limestone mine in western Pennsylvania, to store records.” RISING AGAIN: “Protesters toppled this Confederate statue. Now, it’s coming back to D.C.,” by WaPo’s Olivia George: “A Confederate statue in D.C. that was toppled, graffitied and set alight five years ago is being repaired and returned to its perch, the National Park Service said Monday. The statue of Albert Pike, a Confederate Army brigadier general whose wartime career lasted less than two years, is scheduled to be back on its plinth about a mile east of the White House in October.”
| | | BEST OF THE REST OVERNIGHT: Trump and Rupert Murdoch cut a deal postponing the media titan’s planned deposition in the $20 billion libel case stemming from the Wall Street Journal’s reporting on a birthday letter Trump purportedly sent Jeffrey Epstein, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein reports. The deposition is postponed “until after WSJ's forthcoming motion to dismiss. Barring health issues, neither Murdoch nor Trump will be deposed for months,” Josh reports. QUEENS VS. BROOKLYN: Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer “went head-to-head last week for the first time in nearly six months. Turns out they were only shadow-boxing — and the real bout is still to come,” POLITICO’s Jordain Carney writes this morning. “Now, the two men are headed toward a fall rematch with much higher stakes: whether to keep the federal government open past a Sept. 30 funding deadline.” The looming fight: “The unraveling of a typical pre-summer-recess nominations deal has many on Capitol Hill concerned about what is to come. While other congressional leaders are sure to figure into the negotiations, it’s Schumer — who will determine whether Senate Democrats filibuster spending legislation — and Trump — who has to sign any shutdown-averting bill — who will be the key players.” More on the rematch from our Inside Congress colleagues DAMNED LIES AND STATISTICS: Trump’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer last week after a weaker-than-expected July jobs report has left White House officials scrambling to find a permanent replacement to head up the bureau, per NBC’s Jonathan Allen and colleagues. A name for your radar: Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon is “pushing hard for E.J. Antoni, the chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation,” though it’s unclear if Antoni has been formally considered for the gig. Trump has said he plans to announce a pick by midweek. Whoever he chooses has a giant task ahead, POLITICO’s Sam Sutton and Nick Niedzwiadek report this morning: Even before the firing, budget constraints and workforce cuts took a toll on BLS’ production of economic data, and now, “efforts to modernize and improve the quality of vital reports on unemployment and inflation may also be under threat.” In brief: “The agency has spent decades building up firewalls from political interference to preserve the public’s confidence in its economic reports. But it also faces massive challenges caused in part by years of declining survey response rates and a hiring freeze imposed by the Trump administration that have raised questions about the quality of its work.” SURVEY SAYS: This morning, Gallup released a new poll surveying the favorability of various newsmakers among the American public. Three figures with a net-positive favorability: Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV (+46 percentage points), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (+18) and Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (+11). On the other end of the spectrum: Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (-16), Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (-23) and, at the bottom of the list, Elon Musk (-28). ONE GIANT LEAP: Transportation Secretary and interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy “will announce expedited plans this week to build a nuclear reactor on the moon,” POLITICO's Sam Skove scooped. Documents show that NASA has already weighed installing a reactor on the lunar surface, though Duffy’s plan laid out a more specific timeline: “The reactor directive orders the agency to solicit industry proposals for a 100 kilowatt nuclear reactor to launch by 2030.” THE COMEBACK KID?: Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is reportedly interviewing campaign managers for a 2026 comeback attempt in an obvious sign he’s readying a challenge to incumbent Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Axios’ Hans Nichols and Stephen Neukam scoop. “Given his long-standing pro-tariff and trade-skeptical positions, Democrats think that Brown can outperform a generic Democrat and appeal to some MAGA voters.”
| | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Saquon Barkley said he declined an invite from Trump to join his sports, fitness and nutrition council, with the Eagles RB saying he was “shocked” his name was mentioned as part of it at all. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at Mike and Jodi Rizzo’s charity blackjack tournament and BBQ bash at MGM National Harbor on Sunday night, emceed by Mike Beezley: Terry McAuliffe, Peter McAuliffe, Lynn Jacquez, Lyndon Boozer, David Jones, Ashley Forrester, Mark Scialabba, Gerardo Parra and Tania Victoria Marin Carrizo, Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard, MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, Paul DeJong, Jacob Young, Trevor Williams, Brian Mitchell, Lee and Stacey Shenker, Robert Materazzi, Chris Petersen, Chris Lansburgh, Mike and Morgan Brand, Ed Carp and Nick Kelly. MEDIA MOVES — Carol Leonnig will be a senior investigative correspondent at MSNBC. She previously was an investigative reporter for the Washington Post and is a Charlotte Observer and Philadelphia Inquirer alum. … Francesca Tucker is now a booking producer for Newsmax. She most recently was a booking producer for Scripps News. TRANSITIONS — The DNC is adding Ally Livingston as director of surrogate comms, Rahma Ahmed as director of booking and Jaelin O’Halloran as deputy rapid response director. Livingston most recently was deputy comms director for Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Ahmed most recently was an editorial producer for CNN. O’Halloran previously was Arizona press secretary for the Harris campaign. … … Christopher Dauer is now president and CEO of State Policy Network. He previously was COO and chief program advancement officer at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. … Lauren Gillis is now senior director of the U.S. government relations at Albemarle. She previously was special assistant to Defense Lloyd Austin and is a State and USUN alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón … A.G. Sulzberger … Planned Parenthood’s Alexis McGill Johnson … Rufus Gifford … Blake Masters … Ryan Wrasse of Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office (4-0) … Sharon Weber … POLITICO’s Meredith Jolivert … Nick Raineri … Crooked Media’s Matt Berg … Kristofer Eisenla … Boston Globe’s Jim Puzzanghera … Jeremy Flantzer … Meta’s Monique Dorsainvil … Cicely Simpson … Molly Donlin of Regent Strategies … Laura Chace … ABC’s Luis Martinez … Caroline Ehlich … Mark Brunner of PsiQuantum … Michael Chandler … Katie Vlietstra Wonnenberg of Public Private Strategies … former Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) … Pete Snyder … former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval 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.
| | | | A message from American Beverage: When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, we know you make the decisions.
That's why America's beverage companies are empowering you with the choices you want and the information you need to decide what's best for your family.
Good to Know is a new transparency initiative from America's beverage companies. At its center, GoodtoKnowFacts.org puts easy-to-understand information about the ingredients in our beverages right in your hands, all in one place. For more than 140 ingredients, you can find common uses, alternative names and the safety behind our ingredients, including what food safety agencies around the world say.
No spin. No judgments. Just the facts from the experts. It is intended to be a first stop to learn more about our beverages. This is another step in our long history of working together to bring you more beverage choices and clear information. | | | | | | | | Follow us on X | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Canada Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
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