| | | |  | | By Adam Wren with Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco On today’s Playbook Podcast, Adam Wren and Irie Sentner talk about JD Vance’s swing through Georgia, the latest in the gerrymandering tit-for-tat between Texas and California and the Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
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| Good morning, and happy Thursday. I’m Adam Wren. Send me your tips: awren@politico.com. In today’s Playbook … — In a speech in Georgia, VP JD Vance will try to revamp the GOP’s sales pitch to voters around Trump’s signature legislation thus far. Is it too little, too late for Republicans? — Texas and California will each take big steps forward today in their respective gerrymandering efforts. We have a new national poll on how Democrats feel about it. — The Federal Reserve’s annual policy symposium kicks off today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as Trump’s escalating campaign to exert control over the Fed colors the entire affair.
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VP JD Vance will be in Georgia on Thursday to tout the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. | Frank Augstein/AP Photo | ALWAYS BE CLOSING: President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is in for one big, beautiful rebranding effort. Today, Vance arrives in Peachtree City, Georgia, to visit a refrigeration manufacturing facility and reframe the sprawling Republican legislation. Out: “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” In: “working families tax cuts.” That’s a reaction in part to bleak polling numbers for Trump’s signature legislative accomplishment as the midterms heat up. But the changeup in approach is also a reflection of concerns among some prominent voices in Trump’s GOP over whether congressional Republicans have been sufficiently proactive in promoting the policy to voters. Steve Bannon spent a portion of his “War Room” show yesterday hitting Hill Republicans for failing to make the pitch, saying he “noticed a paucity of town halls during Speaker [Mike] Johnson’s August recess. I haven’t seen a massive effort to sell the bill and what it actually stands for.” “Johnson and Thune should cancel all overseas junkets for members and force them to have town halls, meet and greets, editorial board meetings — anything to get the word out on the BBB. The supply-side tax cut needs to be sold, and it ain’t gonna sell itself,” Bannon tells Playbook. “The 2026 midterms have started, and the Republicans are letting down the president.” Members of the president’s staff insist that Trump isn’t unhappy with Hill Republicans’ sales job. “Every day, the administration is working with Congress to highlight the One Big Beautiful Bill,” White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson tells Playbook. “From delivering that largest tax cut in history for working-class families to securing our borders, supporting small businesses and unleashing American energy, we are proud to champion this historic legislation.” A spokesperson for Johnson declined to comment on Bannon’s criticsm. House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) tells Playbook she disagrees with Bannon and said town halls are just one of many ways to sell the law. “There are so many different ways to market,” says McClain, who has recently been in New Jersey and Pennsylvania on a so-called “One Big Beautiful Tour” to pitch GOP policies to voters. “I don't really care how you market; I just want you to message it right. Whatever works for you in your district, do it right.” But as they try to do just that and reframe Trump’s keystone legislative accomplishment as “working families tax cuts,” Republicans are butting up against a reality of life in the attention economy era: How do you do that when attention is so scarce and amid your own administration’s maximalist, flood-the-zone approach?
| | | The messaging challenge: Republicans “are trying to get voters to focus on the yet-to-be-fully-seen wins of the megabill while voters are distracted by other, more tangible issues: the fight over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, recent developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and a move by at least two states to redraw their congressional maps mid-decade,” POLITICO’s Jordain Carney writes this morning. To wit: Vance appeared for a 25-minute interview last night with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, and topics stretched from his visit to Union Station for burgers with National Guard members, to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s X account, to immigration crackdowns, to possible Ukraine-Russia peace talks. Vance got roughly 35 seconds to talk about the legislation and his speech in Georgia. He said his goal is to talk about “the fact that it lowers taxes for the gross majority of Americans, the fact that we’re making it easier to build things in America again. … We’re gonna have a good time, and we’re going to talk about all the things the president’s doing just to make people’s lives better.” IN GEORGIA: Vance will arrive today in a key midterm battleground that has already seen a spate of negative coverage. “Georgia’s rural hospitals tighten budgets ahead of Medicaid, ACA,” blared a headline in the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week. Another one days ago noted that rural hospitals in the state are losing millions of dollars, despite a $50 billion fund for them. Against that backdrop, Vance is expected to talk about “the ways President Trump's Working Families Tax Cuts supports Georgia workers and families, including with bigger paychecks for working class Americans and ending taxes on tips and overtime,” according to a person familiar with his plans who was granted anonymity to discuss the speech ahead of time. The 2026 angle: And, of course, he’ll hit Democrats like Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is up for reelection next year. Ossoff is framing Vance’s visit differently, saying he is “coming on a damage control mission, because defunding hospitals and nursing homes to cut taxes for the wealthiest people in the country is not popular here in Georgia — not where we've lost nine rural hospitals in a decade … not when we already have… a health care access crisis in the state of Georgia, throwing 100,000 people off Medicaid,” Ossoff told reporters at a press stop in Columbus. “So the vice president is here because Georgians understand that defunding hospitals and nursing homes to cut taxes for the wealthiest people is bad for Georgia. The vice president’s here to defend that policy. I don’t think he’ll succeed.”
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From 2019-2023, Universal Orlando generated $44 billion in economic impact for the nation. Learn more. | | | | REDISTRICTING ROUNDUP THEY DON’T LOVE YOU LIKE I LOVE YOU: Texas and California are plunging ahead with their all-out mid-decade redistricting war. The power grab that Trump pushed Texas Republicans to make goes to the state Senate today, which is expected to pass a new map after the state House finally signed off on it yesterday. In Sacramento, Democrats are also likely to vote today to push through their reciprocal gerrymander as a counter to Texas. Each state’s dominant party could end up seizing five seats. More from the Houston Chronicle Tensions in both capitols were high yesterday — including intense protests and, as the AP captures, mandatory police escorts following Democrats around Texas to prevent them from leaving. In one case, a state rep said she was being threatened with a felony in the midst of a DNC zoom call, per the Washington Examiner. Pitched legal challenges notwithstanding — the California Supreme Court rejected an initial GOP challenge last night — the two states’ pathways will start to diverge soon. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature will seal the deal in Austin and Republicans will turn their partisan gerrymandering focus to other states, while California Democrats must kick off a sprint to November to convince voters to say yes to unlock the new map. Their hope is that not only will the special election be successful — but it’ll also turbocharge base enthusiasm and start to turn around Democrats’ dilapidated national brand, NOTUS’ Samuel Larreal reports. Added New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on X: “Game on.” Stamp of approval: Former President Barack Obama backed California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s tit-for-tat redistricting plan, saying the approach was “responsible” and necessary in the face of anti-democratic moves by Republicans, AP’s Meg Kinnard scooped. If Democrats “don’t respond effectively, then this White House and Republican-controlled state governments all across the country, they will not stop, because they do not appear to believe in this idea of an inclusive, expansive democracy,” Obama said at a National Democratic Redistricting Committee fundraiser. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — How it’s playing: A new POLITICO-UC Berkeley Citrin Center national poll conducted by TrueDot shows that Democrats across the country abhor partisan gerrymandering — but they make an exception for Newsom and other Democrats to fight Republicans’ fire with fire, POLITICO’s Jeremy White reports. Not so happy: Conservative voters in rural parts of California are already chafing at the prospect of being carved up into Democratic districts, the LA Times’ Jessica Garrison reports from Cottonwood. SPEAKING OF CALIFORNIA: On Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Pacific time, POLITICO will have its first-ever California Policy Summit in Sacramento. The summit will convene key leaders like Sen. Alex Padilla, gubernatorial candidates Katie Porter, Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton and more to dig into the debates on tech, immigration, health and AI. Register for the livestream here FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Texas Senate race: James Talarico has built a significant following as he runs in the Democratic primary and received a boost as one of the more prominent members of the Texas Democratic delegation that left the state in protest. But the state representative’s top donor last year was GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson’s PAC, POLITICO’s Holly Otterbein reports. He’d previously supported steps to legalize casino gambling in the state, a big priority for Adelson.
| | | | The California Agenda-- Don't miss POLITICO's inaugural California policy summit in Sacramento. Join us in-person or virtually to explore policyy debates around tech, energy, health care and more. Hear from Sen. Alex Padilla (D), Katie Porter, GOP gubernatorial candidates and more! Register to watch. | | | | | FED UP WHAT MARKETS ARE WATCHING: The central bank’s annual economic policy symposium kicks off today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where economists, bankers, reporters and more will gather to take stock of things at a politically fraught moment for the Fed. The big moment comes tomorrow, when Chair Jerome Powell gives a much-anticipated address. To cut or not to cut: The release of minutes from the Fed’s most recent meeting shows that despite prominent dissent from two Trump appointees, the vast majority of other Fed policymakers agreed with the decision to hold interest rates steady, per the WSJ. The minutes reflect a central bank that was still more worried about inflation than softening employment numbers, and waiting to see the impact of Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Nonetheless, “it was one of the most hotly contested monetary policy votes in decades,” amid heavy pressure from GOP politicians to cut rates, write NYT’s Ben Casselman and Colby Smith. And it’s only growing: Poor recent jobs numbers — and the arrival of Stephen Miran, Trump’s nominee to fill a new vacancy — will increase the heat on Powell to lower rates in September. “Analysts expect something like fireworks inside the ordinarily staid central bank,” FT’s Claire Jones and colleagues report. And that debate will loom over Wyoming this week. But Powell “doesn’t feel worn down by the pressure” and is holding firm, WSJ’s Nick Timiraos reports. Trump’s latest line of attack: The Bill Pulte-fueled campaign to push Lisa Cook out of the Fed suddenly sparked to intense life yesterday. Not only did Trump call for Cook, the first Black woman to be a Fed governor, to resign: He is weighing firing her for cause if she doesn’t, WSJ’s Matt Grossman and Brian Schwartz report. Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency head, accused Cook of mortgage fraud and said he was making a criminal referral to the Justice Department. Cook fired back in a statement: “I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet.” The revenge presidency: As two stories by Axios lay out, this is the latest culmination of a pair of trends in the Trump administration — seeking to undermine the Fed’s independence and install loyalists, and using allegations of mortgage fraud (often by Pulte) to target Trump’s political enemies. This is “a ruthlessness and creativity that few Fed watchers could have imagined,” Neil Irwin writes. The details: The accusation that Cook claimed two different homes both as her primary residence on mortgage documents echoes Pulte’s and Trump’s accusations against Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and New York AG Letitia James. Criminal cases on that basis are “unusual” but “not unheard of,” one lawyer tells Bloomberg’s Prashant Gopal and Alexandre Tanzi. NYT’s Ron Lieber reaches a similar conclusion: The issue “is a problem, even if prosecutions are rare.” The AP reported last month that Texas AG Ken Paxton may have committed more serious violations of a similar sort, but the Republican has not faced blowback from Pulte and Trump, raising questions about politicization.
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94K jobs created by Universal Orlando just in 2023. Learn more. | | | | BEST OF THE REST THE PURGE: DNI Tulsi Gabbard plans to slice her office in two, with mass layoffs shrinking the workforce by almost 50 percent, per ABC. Officials say the major restructuring (“ODNI 2.0”) will save $700 million a year. Weaponization watch: Gabbard also took new steps to retaliate against Trump’s perceived political opponents, yanking 37 more security clearances from people who investigated Russian election meddling in 2016, supported Trump impeachment proceedings or worked for Democrats, per WaPo. She accused some of them in turn of weaponizing intelligence, though without specifics. In one case, acting NSA Director Lt. Gen. William Hartman tried to save top scientist Vinh Nguyen from being included, asking Gabbard for evidence — to no avail, NYT’s Julian Barnes reports. At the CDC: An employee union said some 600 CDC employees are being fired permanently this week, AP’s Mike Stobbe reports. At the State Department: Press officer Shahed Ghoreishi was fired after disagreements about language regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — including his advocacy for saying that the U.S. doesn’t “support forced displacement of Palestinians,” which department leadership vetoed, WaPo’s John Hudson reports. Some officials told the Post that it sent “a chilling message … [about] straying from ardent pro-Israel messaging.” (Related: The U.S. sanctioned International Criminal Court officials because they had investigated Israelis and Americans, per AP’s Matthew Lee.) At the FBI: Weeks after five longtime FBI agents were fired, CBS’ Daniel Klaidman reports that people close to them question whether the motivation was political. Bleeding cuts: “RFK Jr. Vowed to Find the Environmental Causes of Autism. Then He Shut Down Research Trying to Do Just That,” by ProPublica’s Sharon Lerner CAPITULATION CORNER: Two more law firms that struck deals with Trump rather than fight his retaliation are now working for the Commerce Department for free, NYT’s Michael Schmidt and colleagues report. Paul, Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis “are working on a range of matters” for Trump now. IMMIGRATION FILES: A federal appellate panel for now gave the green light to the Trump administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status for some 60,000 Nicaraguans, Hondurans and Nepalese, per CBS. The crackdown is growing: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem now wants ICE to spend big on its own fleet of deportation planes, NBC’s Julia Ainsley scooped. ICE’s heavy recruitment campaign to beef up its ranks has yielded more than 100,000 applications, with 40 percent coming from the military and federal law enforcement, POLITICO’s Myah Ward reports. And the Education Department has stopped telling schools they must provide resources for English learners, WaPo’s Laura Meckler and Justine McDaniel scooped. But but but: Uganda denied reporting that it had agreed to accept deportees from the U.S. with no ties to the country, per Reuters. … Domestically, leaders of sanctuary states and cities rejected AG Pam Bondi’s deadline to drop their policies, with “uniform Democratic pushback” ranging from aggressive to polite, POLITICO’s Emily Ngo and colleagues report. HEADS UP: In an apparently unprecedented move, the Justice Department’s subpoenas to hospitals that provided gender transition-related medical care to minors included demands for lots of sensitive information, WaPo’s Casey Parks and David Ovalle report. The subpoenas “indicate the federal government is attempting to build cases against medical providers that allege they may have violated civil and criminal statutes while providing care that was legal in their states.” WAR IN UKRAINE: Leading Pentagon isolationist Elbridge Colby told European allies this week that any security guarantees for Ukraine will need to rely heavily on Europe, as the U.S. will maintain minimal involvement once Russia ends its war, POLITICO’s Paul McLeary and colleagues scooped. That’s not playing well with everybody in the administration: One official told Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich that Colby “is going to f*ck this up.” Meanwhile, CNN’s Jake Tapper reports that special envoy Steve Witkoff passed along a medal from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the family of an American who died while fighting for Russia. CASH DASH: The DCCC raked in $7.6 million in July and said it has $40 million on hand. That narrowly outstripped the NRCC, which raised $6.1 million and has $37.6 million in the bank. But the DNC money’s troubles keep getting worse: it ended July with $13.9 million on hand to the RNC’s $84.3 million, per NYT’s Teddy Schleifer. Tales from the crypto: The cryptocurrency industry’s sway over American politics keeps growing, as the Winklevoss twins announced they’ll fund a new Digital Freedom Fund PAC with $21 million to boost pro-crypto Republicans, POLITICO’s Jasper Goodman reports. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Expanding the zone: Run for Something, the progressive group that recruits and backs young candidates for state and local office, is expanding for the first time to start endorsing independents in addition to Democrats. It’s an indication that emerging political energy on the left may not always wear the Democratic label; Run for Something says it sees an “urgent need to meet the political moment we are in” and support all kinds of candidates who align with its values. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: Twenty military officers are shifting to work as special assistant U.S. attorneys in D.C., beefing up staffing to work civilian misdemeanor cases, NBC’s Ryan Reilly scooped. The view from Mount Pleasant: “Trump’s ‘Law and Order’ Push in D.C. Looks a Lot Like an Immigration Raid,” by WSJ’s Vera Bergengruen and colleagues FOR YOUR RADAR: “Judge dismisses defamation suit against US Rep. Nancy Mace brought by man she labeled a ‘predator,’” by The Post and Courier’s Caitlin Byrd EPSTEIN FILES: Another federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s effort to unseal grand jury info in the Epstein case, saying DOJ has much more info about him to release than those materials do, per CBS. Despite intense blowback over Epstein, Bondi has now “emerged from self-exile” and is seen within the administration as having righted the ship and triumphed over FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, CNN’s Evan Perez and colleagues report. THE ADAMS FAMILY: Multiple top allies, friends and supporters of NYC Mayor Eric Adams are likely to be charged with criminal corruption and surrender at arraignments today, NYT’s William Rashbaum and colleagues report. Meanwhile, The City’s Greg Smith and Yoav Gonen have a wild story of Adams ally Winnie Greco trying to slip a reporter a bag of potato chips with more than $100 inside. She was suspended from the campaign, per the NYT.
| | | | Don’t just keep up with policy shifts — set the pace. POLITICO Pro’s Policy Intelligence Assistant combines unmatched reporting with advanced AI to deliver sharper insights, faster answers, and two powerful report builders that turn intelligence into impact. Try it free for 30 days. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Amy Klobuchar responded to a deepfake of her purportedly talking about Sydney Sweeney’s jeans with policy plans: “It is time for members of Congress to stand up for their constituents, stop currying favor with the tech companies and set the record straight.” Rick Scott toured damage from the LA wildfires with Spencer Pratt. SHUT DOWN — “White House tours canceled indefinitely because of Trump’s ballroom,” by WaPo’s Jonathan Edwards: “The administration canceled tours scheduled for September and is not accepting tour requests beyond that … It is not uncommon for tours to be canceled, sometimes at the last minute. … Long-term suspensions of tours are rare, however.” OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at an advance screening of “The Roses” last night, hosted at the Motion Picture Association with Searchlight Pictures and Disney: Charlie Rivkin, Susan Fox, Jonathan Adler, Kuwaiti Ambassador Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah, Tammy Haddad, Kathy O’Hearn, Bob Mondello, Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Chris Klimek, André Hereford, Ross Bonaime, Fionnuala Quinlan, Crystal Carson, Retha Koefoed, Maria Kirby, Katie Rosborough, Jessica Moore, Larissa Knapp, John Mercurio and Josh Rubin. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service is announcing its fall fellows: NYT’s Jamelle Bouie; former Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.); Rob Flaherty, former deputy campaign manager on the Harris campaign; former USAID Administrator Mark Green; SCOTUSblog’s Amy Howe; and GOP strategist Scott Jennings. — The University of Chicago Institute of Politics is announcing its fall fellows: Dan Caldwell, former adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Yale Law School Chinese research scholar Yangyang Cheng; former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska); former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman; former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Alex Wagner; and Vince Warren, executive director at the Center for Constitutional Rights. MEDIA MOVE — Haisten Willis is now editor of American Compass’ Commonplace Magazine. He most recently was a White House reporter at the Washington Examiner. TRANSITIONS — Kendra Wharton has returned to Wharton Law, where she is founder and managing attorney. She most recently was associate deputy AG at the Justice Department. … EMILY’s List rolled out its new leadership team for the cycle, including new additions or promotions of Michelle White as executive director, Nick Schumaker as chief of staff, Adele Hixon-Day as chief development officer, Amanda Sherman Baity as chief comms officer, Christen Sparago as chief digital officer and Tiernan Donohue as chief campaigns officer. … Carter Elliott IV is now senior comms adviser on Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s reelection campaign. He previously was senior press secretary in the governor’s office. … … Emmett Shell is now campaign manager for Brian Varela’s New Jersey congressional bid. He previously was campaign manager for Emily Jabbour’s Hoboken mayoral campaign. … Laura Huerta Migus is now director of fellowship alumni engagement and national activation and impact at Ascend at the Aspen Institute. She most recently was deputy director of the Office of Museum Services at the Institute of Museum and Library Services. … Nick Simmons has been named CEO of tech workplace training firm Pursuit. He most recently ran for the Connecticut state Senate in Connecticut and is a Biden Education Department alum. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Patrick Svitek, a politics reporter at WaPo, and Camille Svitek, a financial planner at Evermay Wealth Management, recently welcomed son Preston. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: White House’s Thomas Bradbury … The Atlantic’s Elaine Godfrey … CBS’ Fin Gómez (celebrating by hiking in Yosemite this weekend) … Ryan McCormack of the Transportation Department … former Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) … Peter Hamby of Snapchat and Puck … Carli Kientzle … Steve Case of Revolution and the Case Foundation … Manuel Roig-Franzia … Ken Mehlman of KKR … Tericka Lambert … Arkansas AG Tim Griffin … Jana Winter … Brian Parks of LSG … Joe Minges … Stephen Neuman of American Airlines … Mary Ann Naylor … Rubén Olmos of Global Nexus … Ben Howard of the Duberstein Group … Bloomberg Government’s George Cahlink … Pamela Engel … David Heifetz of Breakthrough Energy … Deirdre Kelly … Mary Brady of the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. … Teresa Carlson … Alex DelPizzo of Thorn Run Partners … Jack Kelly … Richard Eddings of HB Strategies … Riter Hoopes … POLITICO’s Brandon Starks … Francine McMahon … CNN’s Cameron Hough … Adam Rosenblatt of Bold Decision (4-0) 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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