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VP JD Vance spent hours with Republican lawmakers in Indiana amid a remarkable effort to ply two more congressional seats for the party. | Leon Neal/Getty Images | HOOSIER HYSTERIA: VP JD Vance once again descended on barn-red Indiana yesterday to make the case for mid-cycle redistricting to reluctant Hoosier lawmakers, his second trip to the state and third meeting with them in three months. In a trip that was neither advised nor confirmed by his own office until Air Force Two appeared in the Indianapolis skies, Vance spent hours with Republican lawmakers amid a remarkable effort to ply two more congressional seats ahead of the 2026 midterms from a state delegation that currently sees a 7-2 split already favoring Republicans. Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana, a longtime Vance ally who traveled with the VP yesterday, has warned allies that the Hoosier State “could be ground zero for keeping the House of Representatives,” depending on whether state lawmakers act on President Donald Trump’s demand. Specifically, Republicans are targeting two additional seats — the 1st Congressional District in the northwest corner of the state currently represented by Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan, and the 7th Congressional District held by Democratic Rep. Andre Carson — which could result in Republicans holding control of the House. Vance’s rescue mission came during a week that brought otherwise good news for national Republicans looking to bolster their map ahead of 2026. As my colleague Andrew Howard reported, when the Supreme Court on Wednesday re-hears Louisiana v. Callais — a case that has major implications for the Voting Rights Act — they could rule in a way that lets “Republicans redraw up to 19 House seats to favor the party and crush minority representation in Congress.” In recent days, Hoosier Republicans sent word to the White House that the mid-cycle redistricting effort risked stalling, despite threats of legislative primaries against holdouts. So, yesterday, amid the din of protesters, Vance met with Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and members of the state House and Senate as Braun weighs whether to call a special session next month to force reopening the 2021 maps. The meetings, described to Playbook as productive, had no immediate deliverable, according to four Republicans present and one later briefed on the proceedings, and granted anonymity to discuss sensitive talks. “I feel like we made progress,” one of those Republicans allied with Trump’s efforts told Playbook. “I don’t feel like it’s a slam dunk yet, but I think we definitely made progress. I think they definitely get that we’re not going away.” Inside the meeting, Vance made a “compelling” case and Banks outlined big federal projects the Trump White House was sending to Indiana, according to one of the Republicans who spoke to Playbook. The Republican also said White House deputy chief of staff James Blair presented persuasive private polling that showed “once you tell voters why you’re doing it, which is about fair representation, combatting Gavin Newsom and what liberals are doing elsewhere to basically rig the maps — it’s about bringing fairness and balance to that — that’s persuasive and it moves people to support it overall, including statewide. You can get independents to split on it, which is good, and you can actually pick up a few Democrats.” White House allies did not take a threatened public whip count. The individual caucuses are set to meet next week. After the meeting yesterday, state Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, whom Trump allies have accused of slow-walking the process in the chamber and who is most resistant to the idea, said “no decisions were made.” Both Bray and state House Speaker Todd Huston used the word “soon” in their statements yesterday addressing when to expect a final decision. In perhaps the most significant development, state GOP Chair Lana Keesling issued a statement arguing it’s “time for Indiana Republicans to punch back and stand united to ensure Hoosiers have a fair voice in our nation's capital.” “I think we’re probably reaching a critical mass where, you know, the governor and leadership will feel like it’s time to pull this trigger and move forward with this thing,” one of the Republicans said. As one GOP state senator told Playbook, yesterday’s meetings “should give those on the fence some good encouragement to support redistricting.” Another Republican briefed on the meeting said Vance’s meetings with the House went better than with the Senate, which was still “pretty stiff.” Amid it all, primary threats for holdouts remain real, if unconvincing to some Republicans. State Sen. Dan Dernulc told The Indianapolis Star before the meeting he didn’t “feel any pressure” to oppose redistricting. Likewise, state Sen. Aaron Freeman told the Star, “If that’s something I gotta face, then I’ll deal with it.” All of these competing tensions are leading to what could be a historic showdown between Trump and Hoosier Republicans.
| | | | A message from the National Retail Federation: Georgetown University and the National Retail Federation announced last week the launch of the NRF Business of Retail Initiative at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. NRF is endowing a first-of-its-kind chair in retail studies, connecting faculty and retail leaders to explore emerging trends, drive innovation and shape the future of retail. Learn more. | | | | Beyond the Midwestern stubbornness and sense of fairness, Indiana has routinely produced Republicans that defy the MAGA caricature: Think former VP and Gov. Mike Pence or former Gov. Mitch Daniels or even Sen. Todd Young. On top of that, Braun, a staunch Trump ally who owes much of his political success to Trump, is a constitutionally weak governor who could call a special session only to have Republican legislative supermajorities convene at the statehouse, stare politely at each other for several seconds, and then gavel out. Braun “really feels that this needs to be litigated sometime in early November,” said one of the Republicans who spoke to Playbook. What would it say if the biggest Republican pushback to Trump and MAGA in 2025 turned out to be coming from inside the house — and a red state like Indiana? “It would clearly demonstrate that Hoosier Republicans are common-sense people,” David Shelton, the Knox County GOP chair and a candidate for secretary of state, told Playbook. “We will consider this request but it’s not in the best interest of our people. We’re free thinkers. We’re not cult members like some people like to portray us as being.” SPOTTED: On Thursday evening before the meeting, Blair, White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Alex Meyer, Political Director Matt Brasseaux and RNC Chief of Staff Michael Ambrosini dined at the world-famous steakhouse St. Elmo in downtown Indianapolis. They all arrived in their personal capacity to shepherd the effort. First in Playbook — Related read: “Midwestern Democrats go it alone in redistricting fight,” by POLITICO’s Aaron Pellish: “Party leaders in [Missouri and Ohio] are mobilizing campaigns to prevent the Republican-drawn maps from going into effect ahead of next year’s midterms, but both efforts have seen only modest support from Washington for their efforts. The relative lack of investment, compared with the millions of dollars directed toward Democrats seeking to redraw California’s maps, reflects the uncertainty clouding Democrats’ endeavor.”
| | | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. PAIN POINTS: The White House escalated its government shutdown pressure tactics by beginning to lay off more than 4,000 federal employees across several departments, per NBC. According to a court filing, OMB Director Russ Vought’s reductions in force — both retaliating for the shutdown and capitalizing on the opportunity to continue his project of shrinking the government — were slated to come down especially hard on HHS and the Treasury Department, with more than 1,000 firings each. A Friday night massacre swept through the CDC, canning top scientists, the staff who publish the prominent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and the entire D.C. office, NYT’s Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports. And that’s not all: Trump yesterday said the firings would be conducted with a partisan slant, calling them “Democrat-oriented.” Semafor’s Shelby Talcott reports that this is just the beginning — the shutdown layoffs will grow “much larger.” Labor unions that had already sued over the RIF plans said the firings were illegal. The chaos: Some civil servants are now scrambling to figure out if they still have jobs, amid furloughs and a lack of access to their accounts in some cases. Per NYT’s Tony Romm, initial firings may also include workers at multiple EPA offices, DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Education Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the CDC, Commerce, HUD and the Energy Department. In many cases, those “appeared to mirror the sort of changes that Mr. Trump had envisioned as part of his 2026 budget submission to Congress.” The reaction: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) became the first top Republican to break with Trump on the mass layoffs, per POLITICO’s Jordain Carney, saying she “strongly” disagrees with the action by Vought, whom she voted to confirm. But the firings didn’t immediately appear to dislodge Democrats from their shutdown position, with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) saying that “this is nothing new, and no one should be intimidated by these crooks.” Virginia Democrats, who represent some of the populations hardest-hit by layoffs, said they would only strengthen their resolve not to give in, NYT’s Catie Edmondson reports. Not budging: Republicans are still waiting for Democrats to fold, hoping the increasing pain to the federal workforce and the country will shake the opposition party. Meanwhile, the White House has decided it won’t look to Congress to pass legislation to pay the military during the shutdown and is instead exploring alternatives, POLITICO’s Diana Nerozzi reports. Eyes on the skies: Air traffic continued to be affected by delays, likely due to unpaid air traffic controllers not showing up. The FAA said a dozen “facilities were short-staffed” yesterday, per CNN. 2. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: U.S.-China trade tensions skyrocketed further yesterday as Trump warned he’ll add another 100 percent tariff on Chinese imports if a solution isn’t reached by Nov. 1, per the AP. The proximate cause was U.S. anger at Beijing’s new restrictions on rare-earth exports. But the back-and-forth this week risks inflaming Trump’s ongoing trade war back to the high levels of this spring, with potential impacts on inflation and economic growth. Stock markets plunged on the news, with some suffering their worst day in half a year, per Bloomberg. China’s rupture of the trade peace “is a particularly sophisticated show of force,” POLITICO’s Megan Messerly and Phelim Kine report, “one that underscores a growing mismatch between China’s long-term strategy and the Trump administration’s more improvisational approach.” 3. HEADS UP: John Bolton may be the next political opponent of Trump’s to be criminally charged by his Justice Department, as early as next week, MSNBC’s Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian scooped. But unlike with James Comey and Letitia James, career prosecutors here think the document-handling case is stronger and has “some factual merit.” Bolton’s team has denied any wrongdoing by him. An indictment or a rushed complaint could come next. Weaponization watch: Legal experts say a document DOJ cited to encourage an investigation of George Soros actually “does not show evidence that Mr. Soros’s network knowingly paid for its grantees to break the law,” undermining the case for criminal charges, NYT’s David Fahrenthold and Andrew Duehren report. Meanwhile, the indictment of James won’t likely hamper any of her office’s work, including lawsuits against the Trump administration, POLITICO’s Bill Mahoney reports. In fact, James raised more than a half million dollars in her best fundraising day ever, CNN’s Isaac Dovere and Gloria Pazmino report. Lede of the day: “Before Bill Pulte started targeting President Donald Trump’s political enemies, he practiced on his own family,” AP’s Brian Slodysko and Chris Megerian report. “He accused his grandfather’s widow of insider trading. He was allegedly the driving force behind a website trashing an aunt as a ‘fake Christian.’ And he publicly blasted another relative as ‘a fat slob,’ ‘weirdo’ and ‘grifter,’ according to court records from a bitter legal feud pursued by Pulte that ensnared PulteGroup, the multibillion-dollar homebuilding giant his grandfather founded.” Pulte pre-butted the story by writing on X that it was a “hit piece, filled with falsehoods”; he then deleted the post.
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| | | | 4. CLIMATE FILES: “Interior cancels largest solar project in North America,” by POLITICO’s Scott Streater: “The Trump administration’s cancellation of what would have been one of the world’s largest solar power projects has some industry observers fretting over the future of renewable energy on public lands. … It was one of a number of Nevada desert solar projects that had been steadily advancing through regulatory review by the Biden administration.” 5. DEPORTATION DIGEST: “Trump administration has failed to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Africa,” by POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein in Greenbelt, Maryland: “A senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement official testified that efforts to get the African countries of Uganda and Eswatini to accept the high-profile deportee have foundered in recent days. Another potential destination, Ghana, also seemed to fizzle Friday … The meager and unsuccessful deportation efforts could lead to Abrego being released from immigration detention within days.” 6. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: The Israel-Hamas ceasefire so far held overnight, as thousands of Palestinians began to return to their homes in Gaza. Now as Trump plans to travel to the region, he and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi working on a summit of world leaders in Egypt during his trip next week, Axios’ Barak Ravid scooped. It’ll likely include heads of state or foreign ministers from France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE and the U.K. 7. JUDICIARY SQUARE: A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to block the Trump administration from conditioning domestic violence-fighting grants on the recipients not engaging in diversity efforts or abortion resources, per AP’s Michael Casey. … A woman who pleaded guilty to spitting on Ed Martin was sentenced to time served, per WaPo’s Olivia George. … A California man was hit with federal charges for threatening violence against Benny Johnson, per NBC’s Ryan Reilly and Victoria Ebner. Trouble in the courts: A growing number of federal judges are outright questioning whether the Trump administration is being truthful and credible in court, and Stephen Miller’s aggressive rhetoric against judges may further undermine their trust in the Justice Department, WaPo’s Perry Stein reports. A survey of dozens of federal judges by NYT’s Mattathias Schwartz and Zach Montague also finds widespread, somewhat bipartisan frustration with the Supreme Court and its shadow-docket rulings: Many say the justices are damaging the judiciary’s reputation and inappropriately handling the emergency docket. 8. FROM 30,000 FEET: “Trump, Feeling Emboldened, Pushes Agenda Into Higher Gear,” by WSJ’s Josh Dawsey: He’s “feeling as though he has faced surprisingly little resistance to his ambitious agenda in the first nine months. He has even remarked to aides that he is shocked how easy it has all proven to be. … Inside the White House, top advisers joke that they are ruling Congress with an ‘iron fist’ … Steve Bannon, the influential Trump ally, likened Congress to the Duma, the Russian assembly that is largely ceremonial. … Trump’s attacks against particular companies, ordering them to fire employees or change policies, have sent shock waves through much of corporate America.” 9. THE RESISTANCE: At the Illinois Democratic Party gala last night in Chicago, Gov. JB Pritzker rallied more than a thousand Democrats with a fiery rebuke of Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump, POLITICO’s Shia Kapos writes in. Pritzker accused Johnson of blocking the swearing-in of Arizona Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election last month to succeed her late father in Congress. “Mike Johnson won’t swear her in. Why is that? Because he and Trump know that the moment that she takes her oath, she’ll be the 218th signature forcing a vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files,” Pritzker said. “Trump and Mike Johnson are working awfully damn hard to keep a sexual predator’s files from being released. Makes you wonder why.” He also led the audience in a chant: “Epstein’s victims deserve justice. Sexual predators deserve to be revealed, whoever they may be, no matter what high office they may hold. I say release the Epstein files. Let’s say it together — release the Epstein files.” Later in the program, Grijalva, a headliner for the event, confirmed she’d vote to release the Epstein files, saying, “Speaker Johnson has messed with the wrong one.” CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 16 funnies
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Michael de Adder - cagle.com | GREAT WEEKEND READS: — “Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar,” by AP’s Kristen Gelineau in Mae Sot, Thailand: “Health care services have been hobbled, and, in some places, vanished. The sick and the starving have wasted away, and people must forage for hours in the jungle each day to find food. Violence and stealing have surged, and young people are huffing glue to numb their hunger pains.” — “These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department,” by ProPublica’s Megan O’Matz and Jennifer Smith Richards: “It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars. And the end of public schools as we know them.” — “How a Gen Z Revolution Spiraled Out of Control,” by NYT’s Hannah Beech in Kathmandu, Nepal: “Young people in Nepal rose up against corruption and inequality. But they say they did not expect the bloodshed, arson and government downfall that followed.” — “The Myth of Mad King George,” by Rick Atkinson in The Atlantic: “He was denounced by rebel propagandists as a tyrant and remembered by Americans as a reactionary dolt. Who was he really?” — “What Zohran Mamdani Knows About Power,” by The New Yorker’s Eric Lach: “The thirty-three-year-old socialist is rewriting the rules of New York politics. Can he transform the city as mayor?” — “English football, right-wing politics, and a new front in the culture wars,” by The Athletic’s Philip Buckingham
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| | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Donald Trump’s doctor said the president is in “exceptional” health — and, yes, he got a Covid vaccine booster. Joe Biden is now getting five weeks of radiation therapy, a new step in his fight against cancer. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — The Trump administration is working on plans for a celebratory triumphal arch in Memorial Circle to mark the country’s 250th anniversary — and it could be permanent, WaPo’s Dan Diamond reports. SCENE SETTER — “The Beauty Queens of MAGA World,” by WSJ’s Joshua Chaffin: “From cabinet secretaries to state legislators, many women in today’s GOP have one thing in common: They got their start in public life by winning pageants.” OUT AND ABOUT — Hundreds of Presidential Leadership Scholars alumni celebrated the program’s 10th anniversary last night at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, where Bill Clinton and George W. Bush addressed attendees via video. Plenty of chatter in the crowd centered on whether bipartisan compromise can still be achieved in today’s political climate. SPOTTED: David Kramer, Stephanie Streett, Alice Gonzalez Yates, Margaret Spellings, Josh Bolten, Jim Cicconi, Fred McClure, Lyndon Olson and Mack McLarty. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) … Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) … Robert Lighthizer … Prime Policy Group’s Charlie Black … Kristina Costa … WSJ’s Tarini Parti … Katie Boyd of CGCN Group … Joel Riethmiller … former Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) … Alana Conant … former Defense Secretary William Perry … JetBlue’s Robert Land … Bruce Bartlett … Lauren Culbertson Grieco of the Ledyard Group and the Blue Owl Group … Jamie Weinstein … Libra Group’s Emily Teitelbaum … Mike Riggs … Maura Gillespie … Andrew Block of America First Legal … David Callaway … Martin LeBlanc of LBC Action THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): POLITICO “The Conversation”: Oregon AG Dan Rayfield. ABC “This Week”: VP JD Vance … Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Panel: Donna Brazile, Chris Christie and Sarah Isgur. NBC “Meet the Press”: VP JD Vance … Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). Panel: Lanhee Chen, Ashley Etienne, Amna Nawaz and Kelly O’Donnell. CBS “Face the Nation”: VP JD Vance … Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) … Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.). FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Speaker Mike Johnson … House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries … Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears … Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Panel: Mark Bednar, Annie Linskey, Josh Kraushaar and Meghan Hays. Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: VP JD Vance … Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) … Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). Panel: Matt Taibbi and Mike Davis. Fox News “The Sunday Briefing”: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy … Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) … Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt … Ryann McEnany. MSNBC “The Weekend”: Kamala Harris … Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) … Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.). CNN “State of the Union”: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) … Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) … Jake Sullivan. Panel: Jamal Simmons, Scott Jennings, Nayyera Haq and Rebeccah Heinrichs. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) … Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) … Daniel Shapiro. Panel: Megan McArdle, Margaret Talev, Brendan Pedersen and Sam Brodey. 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 deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Corrections: Yesterday’s Playbook misstated which show Reps. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.) and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) will appear on tomorrow. It is MSNBC’s “The Weekend: Primetime.” It also mistakenly left off NBC’s “Meet the Press” from the lineup.
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