| | | |  | | 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 new front opening up in Donald Trump’s gerrymandering push, the reemergence of law-and-order messaging from the White House and DHS’ latest plans for an immigrant detention center.
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| Good morning, and happy Wednesday. I’m Adam Wren. Send along your tips, scoops, etc. In today’s Playbook … — The next big gerrymandering fight isn’t in Texas, California or New York. We have the latest from Indiana, as VP JD Vance prepares to visit. — Tonight, Vance will reportedly host a clutch of top administration officials at the VP’s residence to sort out a strategy to deal with the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein ordeal. — Meanwhile, the Trump administration tries to turn the page with a major new push of “law and order” rhetoric.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
VP JD Vance is heading to Indiana this week to discuss a potential path to redraw the Hoosier State's map for Republicans' gain. | Matt Rourke/AP Photo | SEEING RED: The White House is tightening the screws on elected officials in its quest to pressure more red states to gerrymander ahead of the 2026 midterms. The latest flashpoint: Indiana. Last week, we reported that Hoosier lawmakers had no appetite for a costly and disruptive special session devoted to redistricting — especially as the state faces a budget crisis in Gov. Mike Braun’s first year in office. That’s still true: The appetite isn’t there. But that’s not deterring the White House. Tomorrow, in a dramatic escalation of its gerrymandering campaign, VP JD Vance will come to Indianapolis — he’s in town for an RNC fundraiser — and meet with Braun “and other state officials to discuss a variety of issues,” a spokesperson for Vance’s office confirmed to Playbook. Braun isn’t promising much — at least publicly. “If that topic comes up, it’s exploratory,” Braun said yesterday at the statehouse. “There’s been no commitments made other than that.” Trump world thinks it can bend state and local officials to draw new maps. “We’ll see how the conversations go,” a Republican close to the White House told Playbook late yesterday. “I certainly think the vice president and the president and the people around both of them can be quite persuasive.” And Braun doesn’t see the pressure campaign stopping with Indiana. “I think they’re going to come into every state that’s got the possibility of [redistricting] happening,” Braun said. Next on the list: “Ohio has to redistrict, so I expect to see that kind of unfold in the late fall,” the Republican close to the White House told Playbook. “And Missouri, there’s certainly rumors of it there. Things are just kind of percolating, and we shall see.” Could Vance be dispatched there, too? “We’ll see,” the Republican said. IN INDIANA: The Hoosier governor is a constitutionally weak position, so Braun would need the stamp of approval from somewhat-reticent Republican supermajorities in the state House and Senate in order to gerrymander ahead of 2026. (Braun nodded at this reality yesterday, saying that redistricting “will be a broad conversation with the speaker and [Senate] president pro tem.”) Up close in Indianapolis, we’ve seen no evidence that House Speaker Todd Huston — who backed and campaigned for former VP Mike Pence over Trump in the 2024 primaries — and Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray are enthusiastic about the idea; they have avoided Hoosier reporters on the topic for several days. Playbook couldn’t get either of them to comment. But it has the makings of a moment in which GOP electeds at the state and local level face the new reality of today’s GOP: Being a Republican in good standing with the base in 2025 is far less about ascribing to any particular belief system than it is about being on Trump’s side in whatever fight he chooses. “This is an easy lift for Indiana Republicans with no repercussions,” one Republican operative with experience working on national and statewide races — including some in Indiana — told Playbook. “Unfortunately, I think the legislature is led and infiltrated by spineless Republicans, many former Democrats, desperate to hold office. … If anyone can give them a spine to act, though, it’s President Trump.” IN MISSOURI: Republicans in the Show Me State are considering redrawing district lines to eliminate Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s (D-Mo.) Kansas City-based seat. Presently, Republicans control six of the state’s eight House seats. What’s behind it: Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe told a local Fox affiliate this week that the key question on redistricting is whether Missouri is “represented properly in Washington, D.C., and quite frankly, what can we do to support President Trump’s agenda?” State Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin told Bloomberg’s Joe Lovinger and Erik Wasson that Kehoe “wants to be sure Missouri’s representation matches Missouri’s Christian conservative majority.” In a statement to POLITICO’s Nicole Markus yesterday, she added that “no decision has been made” yet regarding redistricting, but that if Kehoe calls a special session, “the Senate will be ready to engage in those discussions.” White House pressure could prove decisive: A “GOP congressional aide to a Missouri member said it’s unclear whether the Missouri legislature will go along with the effort, and that it will need a real push from Trump to overcome inertia among lawmakers,” per Bloomberg.
| | | | 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 ongoing safety assessments from food safety authorities at GoodToKnowFacts.org. | | | | IN TEXAS: The Democratic quorum break has effectively ground the GOP’s gerrymandering gears to a halt — at least for now. But it comes at a hefty cost (literally). The penalty price tag: “Texas Democrats stand to be fined nearly $400,000 for fleeing the state in a gambit to stop Republican-led redistricting,” POLITICO’s Liz Crampton and Andrew Howard report this morning, drawing from calculations based on the fewest number of lawmakers needed to deny quorum, their anticipated length of out-of-state stays and the $500-per-day fine they’re incurring. If they stay away during “potential successive legislative sessions this year, they’d face more than $3.2 million in penalties.” Footing much of the bill so far: Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s (D-Texas) group, Powered by People, has “has emerged as a top funder covering the costs of Texas lawmakers’ out-of-state decampment,” the Texas Tribune’s Owen Dahlkamp reports. “O’Rourke’s organization, armed with a $3.5 million war chest, has covered much of the costs so far — including air transport, lodging and logistical support, a person involved with the fundraising said — though other groups have been in the mix.” Reaping the dividend: Even as the costs mount for Texas Dems, it’s Republicans in the state who see a potential political payoff in the showdown — especially in the unfolding GOP Senate primary between Sen. John Cornyn and state AG Ken Paxton. What Paxton is asking for: The state AG’s office will “begin asking Texas courts on Friday to remove the Democrats if they do not return to Austin,” POLITICO’s Andrew Howard and Aaron Pellish report. That comes as Gov. Greg Abbott “sought to accelerate the process by bypassing district courts and filing an emergency petition Tuesday with the state’s Supreme Court against Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu.” (Which itself provided fodder for Cornyn to take a shot at Paxton on social media: “Guess the Attorney General was too busy doing who knows what overseas so the Governor had to use his own lawyers.”) What Cornyn is asking for: Yesterday, Cornyn sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel asking for the Bureau to arrest Democratic legislators who left Texas. “These legislators have committed potential criminal acts in their rush to avoid their constitutional responsibilities and must be fully investigated and held accountable,” Cornyn wrote. But Cornyn and Paxton are far from the only pols who see a political upside in squaring up in the gerrymandering fight … FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Newsom’s calculus: Ahead of a likely presidential run in 2028, the “brawl over redistricting is handing Gavin Newsom something that has eluded Democrats since their 2024 humiliation: a shot at striking a tangible blow against Donald Trump,” POLITICO’s Melanie Mason reports this morning. “For Newsom, the showdown is an opportunity to feed red meat to Democrats across the country. Newsom’s maneuver is exceedingly risky. He is a polarizing figure, even among Democrats, and any suggestion of using redistricting to advance his own interests could set off rounds of party in-fighting. … ‘Gavin Newsom’s presidential campaign launch is predicated on the success of an initiative he says is saving democracy — an initiative which can only be successful if it’s not operating as a presidential campaign launch,’ said a Democratic strategist involved in both California statewide and competitive House seats.” The prevailing mood among Dems: “The fact is that collectively we're just tired of playing by the rules,” said pollster John Anzalone. “This is a ‘fuck you, we’re going to match your scorched earth with our scorched earth.’” Or, put differently: “If they’re going to do that and go nuclear, so am I,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) tells NBC’s Julie Tsirkin and Brennan Leach.
| | | | 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 THE REVOLUTION CONTINUES: While Congress is out for recess and lawmakers across the country are tearing into each other over gerrymandering, Trump world’s work continues in Washington. What they want to move on from: Tonight, Vance will reportedly host a clutch of top administration officials at the VP’s residence, where they’ll discuss how to handle the continuing fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files ordeal and the need for the administration to have a “unified response,” CNN’s Alayna Treene and colleagues report. Among the attendees will be Vance, AG Pam Bondi, deputy AG Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. One way they’re changing the conversation: A consistent throughline of a cascade of news is the return of “law and order” rhetoric as Trump tries to pivot to a topic he favors … A D.C. TAKEOVER: Yesterday, the president floated the idea of a federal takeover of Washington D.C. — effectively taking away local control. “If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore,” Trump posted on Truth Social. It comes after Edward Coristine, the former DOGE staffer and current administration employee known as “Big Balls,” was assaulted around 3 a.m. on Sunday by a group of juveniles near Dupont Circle, according to a police report obtained by POLITICO’s Ben Johansen and Sophia Cai. The incident also put Trump and Elon Musk back on the same page, as the world’s wealthiest human echoed Trump’s call to take over the city. Thought bubble: The “federalization” talk is striking for several reasons, but among them is the reality that, for generations, the Republican Party has advocated less federal power and more local control — a trend that seems to have really changed under Trump. (As our colleague Megan Messerly sagely notes on this morning’s Playbook Podcast, they are no longer particularly interested in limited government for purely limited government’s sake, but rather using government to advance the interests of the MAGA movement.) IMMIGRATION FILES: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced a second makeshift detention center is going up in Indiana: The so-called “Speedway Slammer.” Modeled after Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” — right down to the alliterative branding — the new 1,000-bed space will house what Noem described as the “worst of the worst” detained immigrants, Fox News’ Bill Melugin reports. For what it’s worth, IndyCar was apparently not aware of this branding, and is asking the administration to remove “Speedway” from the name, per WISH News 8’s Kyla Russell. SPORTS BLINK: Trump signed an executive order yesterday naming himself chair of the White House task force on the 2028 Olympic Games to be hosted in Los Angeles, LA Times’ Michael Wilner and colleagues write. He also left the door open to sending in the military or National Guard to LA (again) to “keep the Olympics safe.” FED UP: Trump said he’ll select the next Fed governor by the end of this week, as the administration is still deciding whether they’ll elevate someone permanently, Bloomberg’s Kate Sullivan reports. But Trump is giving consideration to appointing Adriana Kugler’s successor as his next Fed chair, a ripe opportunity for him to inject more influence in the Fed as he waits out Chair Jerome Powell’s term, WSJ’s Nick Timiraos and Brian Schwartz write. PEACE IN OUR TIME?: Trump will host Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the White House on Friday, WaPo’s Natalie Allison reports. It’s his latest attempt to play peacemaker in a longstanding international conflict. VAX NOT: HHS is yanking $500 million in funding and canceling contracts related to the development of mRNA vaccines used to treat viruses like Covid-19 and the flu, AP’s Amanda Seitz reports. Though HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said they would instead prioritize the “development of safer, broader vaccine strategies,” infectious disease experts blasted the decision as dangerous and unprecedented. OH, THE HUMANITIES: The National Endowment for the Humanities vowed to pivot to “the president’s agenda” in April, and yesterday announced $34.8 million in new grants for work centered on presidents, statesmen and the 250th anniversary of American independence, per NYT’s Jennifer Schuessler and Michaela Towfighi.
| | | BEST OF THE REST SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: The deadline to enter the race to succeed Michael Whatley as RNC chair came and went yesterday with only one man throwing his hat in the ring: Trump-endorsed Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters, POLITICO’s Gary Fineout writes from Florida. The formal vote will be at the end of August. TRADING PLACES: Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter is in Washington today for a last-ditch effort to avoid Trump’s 39 percent tariff. She flew to D.C. without a formal invitation from Trump, Bloomberg’s Bastian Benrath-Wright reports, amid hopes from Switzerland that it can “facilitate meetings with the US authorities at short notice and hold talks.” … Less concerned about getting facetime with Trump is Canadian PM Mark Carney, who said yesterday “we’ll speak when it makes sense,” POLITICO’s Mike Blanchfield reports from Ottawa. RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST: Special envoy Steve Witkoff is in Russia today to meet with officials, including potentially Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Trump’s sanction deadline of Friday nears, CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Kylie Atwood report. The Kremlin is considering a potential air truce with Ukraine to avoid the secondary sanctions without committing to a general ceasefire, per Bloomberg. THE EPSTEIN FILES: Ghislaine Maxwell told a federal judge yesterday that she opposes the DOJ’s effort to unseal grand jury testimony from her case, calling it a “broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy,” POLITICO’s Erica Orden writes. … Victims of Epstein and Maxwell said they’re appalled by the “public legitimization” of Maxwell and urged the federal judge to preserve their privacy, per CNN’s Kara Scannell. … And as she awaits her appeal before the Supreme Court, Maxwell is now serving her prison sentence at a Texas facility corrections experts liken to “a country club,” WaPo’s Derek Hawkins reports. THE DOGE DAYS ARE OVER: The now-infamous “five things” email requirement for federal employment is officially over, as the White House ended the program originally piloted under Musk’s reign of DOGE, Reuters’ Alexandra Alper scooped. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The recess messaging battle: Energy affordability advocates are announcing a new $8 million campaign targeting Republicans in 16 competitive congressional seats over rising energy costs tied to the passage of Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Organizers describe the push as a “full surround-sound effort” of advertisements, grassroots organizing, locally driven social media campaigns and in-person events throughout August recess. 2026 WATCH: The Senate GOP primary in Georgia is spurring fears of a proxy war between Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp on the future of the party, POLITICO’s Brakkton Booker reports. 2028 WATCH: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is calling on Trump to “flood the zone with aid” to Gaza, POLITICO’s Greg Svirnovskiy writes.
| | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Sean “Diddy” Combs’ defense team reached out to Donald Trump about a potential pardon. Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling on Donald Trump to commute the sentence of George Santos. Eric Schmitt was offered the position of either Trump’s AG or NRSC chair, and turned down both to push for Trump’s agenda on the Hill, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT — “Lindsey Langston, a Florida Republican state committeewoman and the reigning Miss United States, has filed a restraining order against Florida Republican Rep. Cory Mills, after reporting him to local and state law enforcement for harassment, threatening to release sexual videos, and to harm future boyfriends,” Drop Site News’ Roger Sollenberger reports. Meanwhile, Blaze Media’s Cortney Weil and Jill Savage report that Langston has now accused Mills “of threatening to send sex videos to anyone she tried to date after she broke up with him earlier this year, prompting an investigation by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.” Mills denied the claims and told POLITICO in a statement that he was unaware of the police report. “We have not been made aware of any report or allegations from law enforcement or the alleged complainant,” Mills said. “These claims are false and misrepresent the nature of my interactions. I have always conducted myself with integrity, both personally and in service to Florida’s 7th District.” MEDIAWATCH — “Why I left The Washington Post,” by Glenn Kessler: “I built and maintained one of the marquee brands of The Post and I fear it may be permitted to wither away. … I offered to stay on the job until the editors could find a replacement I would train. Foolishly, I thought it was a no-brainer. The Post’s motto is ‘Democracy Dies in Darkness.’ Why invite bad headlines if I left without a successor? In a sign of how financially strapped The Post has become, this was considered a difficult request.” OUT AND ABOUT — NobleReach, a nonprofit organization that helps to place recent tech graduates at federal, state and local agencies, held a reception last night to welcome its second class of scholars. SPOTTED: Ben Goldsmith, Bill McBride, Elham Tabassi, Christopher Upperman, Tammy Haddad, Govind Shivkumar, Kumar Garg, Arun Gupta and Rebeca Lamadrid. WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Austin Montini is now a presidential writer for the Office of Presidential Correspondence at the White House. He is a recent graduate of Yale. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Parker Mantell is now chief speechwriter and comms adviser to SEC Chair Paul Atkins. He previously was executive writer to the president at Yale University and is an NRSC press and Cavalry LLC alum. TRANSITIONS — Jackie Koo is now director of government affairs and policy at Mastercard. She previously was chief of staff and senior manager for global public policy at Boeing. … Amanda Coulombe is now CEO of the Democratic Data Exchange. She previously was a consultant with Movement Infrastructure Group and president of NGP VAN. … Arun Venkataraman is now a partner at Covington & Burling LLP. He most recently was assistant secretary of commerce for global markets and director general of the U.S. and foreign commercial service at the International Trade Administration. … … Zunera Mazhar is now VP of policy at The Digital Chamber. She previously was deputy director and deputy chief innovation officer at FDIC. … Ben Cassidy has launched Fifth Wave, a government affairs and strategic advisory firm focused on conservation, infrastructure and public-private partnerships. He most recently was chief policy officer at Nature Is Nonpartisan. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Becca Kelly Slaughter … Russ Anello of Co-Equal … WaPo’s Dan Diamond … David Maraniss … Axios’ Neil Irwin … Erin Karriker … Jonathan Riskind … K2 Space’s Corey Jacobson … Jill Farrell of Judicial Watch … Mike Melia … Steptoe’s Elizabeth Burks … Doug Stafford … Marta Hernandez … NASA’s Tom Brandt … Andrew Eisenberger … Amanda Brown Lierman … Adjoa Adofo Kyerematen … McClatchy’s Ben Wieder … Lindsay Bednar … Viktoria Seale … POLITICO’s James Bikales … Melissa Beaumont Boedigheimer … Klon Kitchen … Nicole Cohen … former Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.) … Nathan Baca … Democratic strategist Jeff Person … Newsmax’s Pat Reap and Krysia Lenzo … Everytown’s Morandon Henry … Allyson Gale … former EPA Administrator Michael Regan … Malika Saada Saar … former VA Secretary Robert Wilkie … Ashley MacLeay … North Carolina state Senate Democratic Whip Jay Chaudhuri … Rem Rieder … The Baltimore Banner’s Julie Bykowicz … EEOC’s Stacia Smith … Anna Sekulow 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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