| | | |  | | By Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco On today’s Playbook Podcast: Jack and Dasha discuss the imminent government shutdown and the fallout from Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza. Plus — which hideous creature was leaping around Jack’s basement as they recorded the pod? Tune in.
| 
| SHUTDOWN SCOOP — Trump speaks to Playbook: Dasha got the president himself on the phone last night to talk shutdowns and Gaza. In an exclusive interview, Trump told Dasha why he believes the GOP will not be blamed for the looming government shutdown; and why this time, peace in the Middle East is genuinely within our grasp. Read on for more. Good Tuesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, back from a brief jaunt across the Atlantic to the ruling U.K. Labour’s party’s annual conference in Liverpool, where POLITICO has set up its own pub. (British PM Keir Starmer swung by on Sunday to watch football soccer with us.) U.K. party conferences are kind of like U.S. national conventions, but with way less money and way too much booze … Safe to say I’ll be on sparkling water for the rest of the week. In today’s Playbook … — Countdown to shutdown: No sign of a deal with mere hours to go. — Trump and Hegseth head to Virginia for major military address. — All eyes on Hamas after Trump’s Middle East peace breakthrough.
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
President Donald Trump told Playbook's Dasha Burns he's not worried that Republicans will be blamed for a government shutdown. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | OUT OF TIME: Barring an eleventh-hour miracle which nobody believes possible, the federal government will shut down at midnight tonight. The slow-motion car crash that has been unfolding on the Hill since the end of summer is now at the point of impact — and hundreds of thousands of federal workers across D.C. and beyond will bear the brunt. Today’s main event will be a vote in the Senate this afternoon, as Majority Leader John Thune makes a final attempt to pass the short-term spending plan agreed by the House earlier this month — daring Senate Democrats to again vote it down. Currently, there’s zero indication of either side stepping back from the brink. Some nerve-wracking hours lie ahead. POLITICO’s ace Hill team will have it all covered for Inside Congress Live Which means the storyline set to dominate the rest of the week and perhaps far beyond is a familiar one: the shutdown blame game, with each side pointing the finger at the other. Speaking to Dasha by phone last night, President Donald Trump said he was unconcerned that the GOP might end up carrying the can in the eyes of a frustrated public, even though the party holds a trifecta across government. “I don’t worry about that,” the president said during a brief call. “People that are smart see what’s happening. The Democrats are deranged.” And if those don’t sound like the words of a man about to cut a deal with the Democratic leadership, Playbook can also direct you toward Exhibit B: The made-to-outrage video posted on Trump’s social media page at 8:31 p.m. last night. It features an AI-generated, deep-faked version of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer supposedly making foul-mouthed remarks about the Dems and their love of undocumented immigrants, alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries mocked-up in offensive faux-Mexican garb. The fake video was posted just a few short hours after the two Democratic leaders had left the White House following their first proper meeting with Trump to discuss the shutdown. “Bigotry will get you nowhere,” a furious Jeffries responded last night. “Cancel the Cuts. Lower the Cost. Save Healthcare. We are NOT backing down.” What’s striking is how both sides are seeking to put their supporters’ core issue at the heart of this battle. The Dems’ line in the sand has always been over extending Affordable Care Act tax credits beyond Dec. 31 — and of course they want the debate to center on access to health care. Equally, the GOP’s talking point — a somewhat dubious claim that the Dems’ demands amount to a massive increase of taxpayer-funded health care for undocumented migrants — aims to keep the public's focus on immigration. To that end: “We don't want to give illegal aliens the health care of Americans,” Trump told Dasha last night. “[Democrats] want to destroy health care in America by giving it to millions and millions of illegal aliens. And there’s not money for that. Nobody has money for that.” Helpfully, the NYT has fact-checked this claim, and — spoiler alert — it’s misleading at best. But that won’t stop Republicans repeating it ad nauseum over the hours and days ahead. (VP JD Vance, Thune, Speaker Mike Johnson and others were all making a similar case yesterday.)
| | A message from PhRMA: The biopharmaceutical industry is answering President Trump's call to put America first. PhRMA member companies are investing $500B in new U.S.-based manufacturing and infrastructure, providing financial assistance to 10 million patients annually, and announcing AmericasMedicines.com to connect patients with manufacturer direct purchase programs. See all the ways biopharma is putting America first. | | | | And both sides believe they can win these spin wars: The GOP is supremely confident that given the Democrats are the party rejecting a clean, short-term funding bill, they will ultimately be blamed by the public. For their part, Dems hope the public will simply see yet more Trump-induced chaos from the party that controls the White House and both chambers of Congress, and pin this one on Republicans. Rallying cry: Speaking on her book tour in Los Angeles last night, former VP Kamala Harris urged Dems not to back down. “Republicans run the Senate. They run the House, and they run the White House,” Harris told an applauding crowd, urging her party to “stand firm as the Republicans shut down the government … Because it won’t be the Democrats, it will be the Republicans.” More from Harris' appearance via POLITICO's Melanie Mason First in Playbook — By the numbers: Yesterday’s Playbook PM revealed nonpartisan polling suggesting people are indeed more likely to blame the GOP for a shutdown. But Republicans are feeling buoyed by separate numbers from Republican polling firm co/efficient, Playbook’s Ali Bianco reports. The polling memo, shared exclusively with Playbook, shows that 34 percent of registered voters said they will blame Democrats for a shutdown, compared to 27 percent who said they will blame Republicans — which two Republican leadership aides touted to Playbook as a seven-point advantage for the congressional GOP. But there is another way to slice it: The question gave voters five options for who they’d blame for a shutdown: “Democrats,” “Republicans,” the “White House,” “everyone” and “unsure.” In addition to the partisan numbers, 8 percent of voters said they’d blame the White House; combine that with the number for the GOP, and 35 percent of voters blame either the Republicans or White House, while 34 percent blame Dems — a statistical tie in a poll with a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.5 points. Another 28 percent of voters said they’d blame everyone. Read the memo Back in the real world: Vast numbers of “non-essential” government employees will be furloughed once funding runs out tonight — more than 400,000 in total, per Bloomberg — with many more told they must keep working on zero pay. (Historically, they’ve received back pay after prior shutdowns were resolved.) Some government services will start to stutter and, eventually, grind to a halt — though given every shutdown is different, what that means in practice remains unclear. Areas to watch: Previous shutdowns have led to significant strains on air travel; the closure or collapse in upkeep of America’s national parks; big delays in obtaining Social Security cards and Medicare application approvals; the cessation of EPA inspections; and much more. Court hearings and trials may also be delayed, per ABC News. Military personnel will be among those who go unpaid for now. More on the Hill impact from POLITICO’s Katherine Tully-McManus It looks like the scheduled release this Friday of September’s hotly anticipated jobs figures will also be delayed. It's unclear what impact that might have on the Federal Reserve’s prospects of delivering another interest rate cut at the end of next month. And then … where’s the off-ramp? As Playbook noted last week, it’s hard to see the angry Democratic forces that are pushing Schumer into this shutdown suddenly letting him off the hook within a day or two. If the aim is to take a public stand and show supporters the party has some backbone, then folding inside 48 hours hardly squares. The Trump administration, meanwhile, seems almost pleased at the prospect of a shutdown — which again makes a quick deal hard to envisage. Nevertheless … The merest hints of compromise were floating around yesterday. Schumer privately floated a Plan B — a continuing resolution to open the government for just seven to 10 days post-shutdown, per Axios — but quickly disavowed it by late afternoon following backlash from the left of his party. Separately, Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, said he was ready to negotiate with the GOP over some of their Affordable Care Act demands, per POLITICO’s Nicholas Wu. But any agreement feels a long way off. More on the shutdown showdown from POLITICO’s Inside Congress
| | | | A message from PhRMA:  
Biopharmaceutical companies are doing our part to protect American patients and workers with innovative cures, infrastructure investments and providing patient resources. Learn more. | | | | MILITARY MATTERS WARRIORS, COME OUT TO PLAY: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dragged several hundred of the most senior U.S. military generals and admirals from around the world to Virginia this morning for what we are told will be a pep talk on "warrior ethos.” It’s a bold move from a 45-year-old ex-Fox News host. As has been widely reported, gathering so many generals at short notice is pretty unprecedented — and has provoked grumbling within the upper echelons of the military on grounds including national security, personal inconvenience and cost to the taxpayer. Some of those attending fear “hidden surprises” on arrival, per WaPo — perhaps an organizational shake-up, or another purge of top brass. Still: Whatever happens, the pics should look good on DoD’s social media — which may well be part of the point. Early start: Hegseth will speak at 8:15 a.m. in Quantico, with Trump in attendance and a livestream for news channels to follow. We learned last night that Trump himself will also address the crowd at 9 a.m. Surely he wouldn't want to overshadow Hegseth’s moment in the sun? Any questions for the press? The administration’s new National Defense Strategy, currently being drafted inside the Pentagon, has provoked unusually broad internal criticism, per WaPo’s Noah Robertson and colleagues. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine is among those concerned that the NDS retreats too far from the military’s current focus on China and other key global interests, they report, in favor of closer threats to the U.S. homeland. Also top of mind for military types: Recent airstrikes against alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers … the ongoing standoff with reporters over new access restrictions on their Pentagon coverage … and, of course, domestic deployments. Following military incursions into Los Angeles and Washington — and with Portland and Memphis next in line — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Trump now plans to send 100 troops to his state to protect ICE, POLITICO’s Shia Kapos reports from Chicago. The Democrat warned Trump is “normalizing the militarization of our cities.” Related: The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on “Blue City Chaos and Tragedy” at 9:15 a.m.
| | | | Join us for a POLITICO Policy Outlook: Cybersecurity: incisive conversations on how the U.S. and its allies can counteract looming security risks without hampering the pace of technological innovation. Don't miss Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Kemba Walden, former acting National Cyber Director and more. Register Now. | | | | | MIDDLE EAST LATEST PUSHING THE PEACE PLAN: All eyes are on Hamas today as the world awaits its response to the U.S. proposal to end the Gaza war. Despite much skepticism beforehand, Trump successfully got Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on board yesterday with the 20-point American plan to end the bombing, return the hostages and sketch out next steps for Gaza. After meeting with Netanyahu, Trump trumpeted that “we are beyond very close” to ending the war, per CNN. He also had a stark warning for Hamas: If it walks away, “Israel would have my full backing to finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas.” It sounded very much like an ultimatum. Staying positive: Trump told Dasha by phone last night that the meeting with Netanyahu “couldn’t be better” and that he believes Hamas will also accept the plan. “I think they will accept the terms,” the president said. “I think if it all works out, you can have peace in the Middle East for the first time in 300, probably 3,000, years. That's pretty good, right?” The reaction: The Palestinian government in the West Bank sounded positive, per the AP. But a top Hamas official complained that yesterday’s Trump-Netanyahu presser “leans toward the Israeli perspective,” The Times of Israel’s Nurit Yohanan reports, and notes the U.S. plan includes some things Hamas has previously rejected. POLITICO’s Eli Stokols and Nahal Toosi report Hamas leaders may take “a few days” to respond. The plan calls for Hamas to release hostages within three days of Israel publicly accepting it, so time is running short. This peace proposal is interesting in part because it combines the goals of a permanent ceasefire and a post-war reconstruction plan, Nahal writes in to Playbook. Its language is sufficiently broad and vague that both sides — except perhaps for the most hardline Hamas members — can potentially see whatever they choose to in it. One big question is how far Trump and his aides will go to ensure that the agreement and its various elements — many details of which have yet to be hashed out — is properly implemented, Nahal notes. Simply turning such deals into a reality often requires full-time attention from high-level diplomats, as well as continued, clear and consistent backing from the president. Former British PM Tony Blair is expected to play a key role. The backdrop: A new NYT/Siena poll finds the war has broadly tanked Americans’ support for Israel. Most voters now want to cut off U.S. aid to Israel, and say Israel should stop its campaign even without the end of Hamas. A 40 percent plurality of voters think Israel is intentionally killing civilians in Gaza.
| | | BEST OF THE REST RED-LIGHT REDISTRICT: Ohio state legislators have a deadline of today to pass a new bipartisan congressional map. It’s the next step in a lengthy process that’s expected to end with Republicans in Columbus passing an even more severe new gerrymander designed to snatch multiple congressional seats from Democrats. (Read the Plain Dealer’s Jeremy Pelzer on how Ohio got here, despite voters having approved reform to end gerrymandering.) FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Hot on the left: Way To Win and Swayable will host progressive leaders today in D.C. for a gathering that will chart a path out of Democrats’ political wilderness that bends to the left, POLITICO’s Elena Schneider scoops. The “Persuasion 2025” event, including big names like Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) and strategist Morris Katz (who has advised Zohran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral campaign), will discuss what went wrong in 2024 and how Democrats can seize an economic populist mantle moving forward. WHAT HOWARD LUTNICK IS UP TO: “A $7.4 billion tech initiative devised as the linchpin of America’s semiconductor resurgence is in limbo after the Commerce Department abruptly yanked its funding, triggering mass layoffs,” POLITICO’s Christine Miu reports. “POLITICO spoke with more than 50 people … for the most extensive account to date of the fallout from [Lutnick’s] bombshell decision to reclaim the billions of dollars approved under former President Joe Biden.” WHAT SCOTT TURNER IS UP TO: “Trump admin looks at deep cuts to homeless housing program,” by POLITICO’s Katherine Hapgood: “More than half of the 2026 funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s homelessness program designated for permanent housing projects will be cut and moved to transitional housing assistance with some work or service requirements … The funding cuts could put more than 170,000 people at risk of experiencing homelessness.” TRADING PLACES: Trump last night announced 10 percent tariffs on timber/lumber and 25 percent on upholstered wood products, starting Oct. 14 — another round of sector-specific levies justified under a national-security rationale, per Bloomberg. Canada will be particularly affected. THE GREAT GROVEL: “YouTube to Pay $24.5 Million to Settle Lawsuit Brought by Trump,” by WSJ’s Rebecca Ballhaus and Annie Linskey: The suit was “over its suspension of Trump’s account after [the Jan. 6] riot at the U.S. Capitol … Trump’s share of the settlement — $22 million — will go to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall, earmarked for the construction of a Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom.” CIVIL SOCIETY CRACKDOWN: The Trump administration is going further in its efforts to bring Harvard to heel, as HHS said it would refer the school to a debarment process that could ultimately block it from all federal grants and contracts, The Crimson’s Dhruv Patel and Saketh Sundar report. The “rarely used” tool could be a way for the administration to get around a recent court ruling that Trump must restore billions of dollars in research funding. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Ad it up: Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for Virginia governor, has a new seven-figure TV and digital ad out today touting her endorsement from the Virginia Police Benevolent Association, the largest police union in the state. The association endorsed Spanberger over her GOP opponent Winsome Earle-Sears, whom it previously backed in her run for lieutenant governor in 2021.
| | | | Introducing Global Security: POLITICO’s weekly briefing on the policies and industrial shifts driving transatlantic defense. We track how decisions in Washington, Brussels and beyond ripple across borders — shaping the future of security and industry. Sign up today for the free preview version. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Bob Fischer, manager of the House Democratic Cloakroom, is retiring. Alex Moore, the Jan Schakowsky comms director on this season of “Survivor,” told people on the island that he was just a “public affairs consultant.” IN MEMORIAM — “Lally Weymouth, Post journalist from storied Graham family, dies at 82,” by WaPo’s Harrison Smith: She was “a roving journalist and high-society fixture who interviewed diplomats, dictators and other world leaders for The Washington Post and Newsweek — publications that her family, the Grahams, owned for decades … As the granddaughter, daughter, sister and mother of five Washington Post publishers, Ms. Weymouth moved in social circles that helped shape American media and government, from the Camelot age of John F. Kennedy to the dawn of the Trump era more than 50 years later.” — Allyce Trapp Alexander, a government relations adviser at Adams & Reese and former Bill Cassidy intern, died at 31 from angiosarcoma. “She endeared herself to everyone in the legislature with her smile and kindness. A proud Louisiana native, she was always excited to go to work in the Capitol.” Full obituary OUT AND ABOUT — Robert and Elena Allbritton and Don Graham and Amanda Bennett hosted a dinner at Cafe Milano last night to celebrate Tom Johnson’s new book, “Driven: A Life in Public Service and Journalism from LBJ to CNN” ($34.95). SPOTTED: Wolf Blitzer, Frank Sesno, Bob Woodward and Elsa Walsh, Michael Beschloss, Margaret Carlson, Karen Tumulty, Lloyd and Ann Hand, Jim Rutenberg, Sam Feist, Robin Sproul, Shelby Coffey, Ben Chang and Bob Schieffer. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Alyssa Betz is joining DoorDash as head of federal affairs in the D.C office. She most recently worked at TikTok, and is an Amazon and Verizon Media alum. MEDIA MOVE — Sarah Adler Hartman will be the next CEO of The Texas Tribune. She most recently worked at the NYT. TRANSITIONS — Michael Friedman will be chief of staff for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as Dan Katz departs for the IMF, CBS’ Jennifer Jacobs scooped. Friedman most recently worked in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. … Josh Orton has been named the new president of Demand Justice, leading the progressive group’s work against Trump’s judicial nominees and for the rule of law, NYT’s Reid Epstein reports. He previously worked for then-VP Kamala Harris. … Marik String will rejoin WilmerHale as a partner. He most recently worked at the State Department. … … Steven Emme is rejoining Akin as an international trade partner. He most recently worked at the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security. … Jordan Brown is now an associate in the environmental group at Babst Calland. She previously worked at WilmerHale. … Komil Allamjonov is now a special adviser to the Central Asia Program at GW’s Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies. He is an entrepreneur, media professional and former presidential press secretary in Uzbekistan. WEDDINGS — Daniel Barnes, a law and lobbying reporter at POLITICO, and Jackie Ramsay, a talent acquisition manager at POLITICO, got married last weekend on Kent Island, Maryland. Pic, via United Photography … Another pic — Ian Russell, partner at Beacon Media and Digital, and Carina Butenko, client partner at VML, got married Friday in the bride’s hometown of Copenhagen. They became friends as teenagers after her family moved from Denmark to where he grew up in Michigan, and reconnected/started dating in fall 2022. Pic, via Margareta Strömbom … Another pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Kelly Laco, executive editor of politics for the Daily Mail, and Ben Steinhafel, senior director of federal affairs for Elevance Health, welcomed James Flynn Steinhafel on Sept. 10. Pic BIRTHWEEK (was Sunday): Catherine Finley of Thorn Run Partners ... Kelsie Wendelberger of the State Department HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) … Harrison Fields of CGCN Group … Ari Shapiro … POLITICO’s Sally Goldenberg … Jeff MacKinnon … Nate Tibbits of Qualcomm … The New Republic’s Perry Bacon Jr. … Bloomberg’s Josh Sisco … Mike Henry of Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) office … Greg Mecher of FTI Consulting … Edelman’s Emily Lippard … AT&T’s Lin Whitehouse … Bobby Donachie … Maggie Rousseau Sunstrum of Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D-Ore.) office … former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) … Craig Minassian of the Clinton Foundation and Minassian Media … Victor Melara of Leidos … Courtney Sanders Felts of the U.S. Chamber … Kodiak Hill-Davis … Business Insider’s Steve Russolillo … Shawn VanDiver … Slingshot Strategies’ Alyssa Cass … Sue Andres … Caroline Canfield of Canfield Consulting … Tom Johnson … Bradley Akubuiro of Bully Pulpit International … Burson’s Elena Palomino 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 PhRMA: Biopharmaceutical companies are doing our part to protect American patients and workers by investing in U.S.-based manufacturing and infrastructure, providing patient assistance and launching AmericasMedicines.com to connect patients and businesses to direct purchase programs.
We will also continue to work with the administration and Congress to address the real reasons U.S. medicine prices are higher by requiring PBMs to share savings with patients, fixing the 340B hospital markup program and forcing foreign governments to pay their fair share for medicines. | | | | | | | | 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 | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment