| | | |  | | 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 charges against former FBI chief James Comey, U.S. military on the streets of Chicago … and why every Republican is being forced to learn about Bad Bunny.
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| Good Wednesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard. Important question of the day: Who’ll be the next politician forced to take a stance on Gen Z favorite Bad Bunny? “I don’t know who he is,” Donald Trump admitted on Monday night, when asked about the NFL’s controversial pick for the Super Bowl halftime show. But of course, the president still had a view. “I don’t know why they’re doing it,” Trump said. “It’s crazy. They blame it on some promoter … I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.” And Speaker Mike Johnson yesterday offered a similarly unconvincing takedown. “I didn’t even know who Bad Bunny was,” Johnson told reporters, “but it sounds like a terrible decision.” At this rate we’ll soon have Chuck Schumer telling us that no, he hasn’t heard “Me Porto Bonito,” but boy he’s excited to finally get some reggaeton at the Super Bowl. These culture wars get sillier by the day. In today’s Playbook … — James Comey makes his first appearance in court. — Chicago braces for the arrival of U.S. troops on its streets. — Dems may actually be winning the shutdown war.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
James Comey is due to be arraigned on Wednesday morning. | Alex Wong/Getty Images | COMEY IN THE DOCK: At 10 a.m. this morning, former FBI Director James Comey will appear in a Virginia courthouse to face federal charges. The hearing will be brief. Comey will be formally charged with lying to Congress and with obstruction of justice, and he will plead not guilty. A trial date may be set. The whole thing should be over in a few minutes. But this is a momentous day for America — and not just because Comey is the first former FBI chief to be arraigned since Richard Nixon’s fall guy L. Patrick Gray in 1978. (The charges against Gray were later dropped.) Today’s proceedings matter because after years of threats, Trump is following through on something he has long vowed to do: criminally prosecute his political foes. It’s a moment many believed would never come. An expert view: “The Comey case is hugely significant because it appears to be the culmination of a presidentially-directed personal vendetta,” POLITICO’s legal ace Josh Gerstein emails Playbook to say. “For the last half century, post-Watergate norms put insulation between presidents and the charging decisions of the Justice Department. Those aren’t just being defied here, but brazenly so.” Trump and his supporters utterly reject such “norms,” insisting the president himself was politically persecuted by former President Joe Biden’s DOJ (and before that by Comey’s FBI) with endless investigations and prosecutions. But there’s a big “but”: Biden never made public calls for his opponents to be prosecuted, as Trump has done from the “lock her up” chants aimed at Hillary Clinton in 2016 right through to last month’s still-extraordinary Truth Social post berating AG Pam Bondi. Comey has long been in Trump’s sights, of course, having helped trigger the so-called Russiagate inquiry, which hobbled much of the president’s first term. There’s plenty of reporting from that period suggesting Trump wanted Comey prosecuted as long ago as 2018, but was being held back by his legal team. There has been no such pushback this time around. But but but: That doesn’t mean this process has been easy. Last month, Trump installed a White House aide, Lindsey Halligan, as the top federal prosecutor in Virginia’s eastern district after losing faith in her “WOKE” predecessor’s willingness to “do his job.” Within days, Halligan had taken up the prosecution of Comey, winning a grand jury indictment on two of three proposed charges. But she’s since been forced to bring in federal prosecutors from neighboring North Carolina, after some in her own office reportedly balked at the task in hand. The case against Comey is that he made a false statement to Congress at a hearing in September 2020, a few months before the election. A Republican member asked Comey if he had authorized leaks to the press. Comey denied he had done so. The case will hinge on the truth of that answer. The hearing will be presided over by U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, a Biden appointee. Walking the walk: After much speculation, Deputy AG Todd Blanche told Fox News last night there will be no “perp walk” for Comey in Virginia, following reports last week that an FBI agent was relieved of duty for refusing to arrange one. Comey will, however, have his mugshot and fingerprints taken. Federal mugshots are no longer routinely made public, Josh notes — but let’s see if the Justice Department casts aside another norm today. Either way, we can safely assumeTrump will be watching. “Comey’s arraignment won’t be packed with much in the way of legal substance, but for Trump it will offer a delicious spectacle,” Josh writes. “It’s not only the fact of Comey being hauled before a court, but also where it’s happening — at the Alexandria, Virginia, federal courthouse where the trial of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort took place in 2018. Manafort’s conviction was arguably the high-water mark of the special counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller. Trump followed that trial closely, often offering commentary, and is sure to follow Comey’s case as well.” As will we all.
| | | | A message from The National Retail Federation: Retail touches everyone, everywhere, every day. NRF's mission is to advocate, educate and communicate the vital role retail plays in driving local communities and global economies. That's why we're funding the NRF Business of Retail Initiative at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. Learn more. | | | | THE MAGA MILITARY BOOTS ON THE GROUND: After months of spiraling threats from the White House, the first U.S. troops will hit the streets of Chicago today. It’s the third American city to receive the Trump treatment in four months — over the heads of fierce protests from state and civic leaders — and marks another major escalation by the president. Trump insists the National Guard are in town to fight crime and support ICE operations.. But unlike previous deployments in Los Angeles (billed as a specific response to rioting) and here in D.C. (a federally run city, where Trump can largely do what he wants) the basis for today’s move is less clear. But the tensions in Chicago have been building for a while. “Operation Midway Blitz” — the ICE-led deportation drive across the Chicagoland area that has preceded the National Guard incursion — has resulted in clashes so severe that Block Club Chicago and other news organizations are suing the Trump administration over “extreme brutality” against journalists. The city has had to enact protesting hours for public safety due to the outcry over ICE presence in the area, per the Chicago Sun Times. Johnson signed an executive order Monday barring federal immigration agents from city-owned property, and is now threatening to press criminal charges against those who violate it, Chicago Tribune’s Jake Sheridan and Alice Yin write. Out of the loop: Local city and state officials were kept in the dark as troops arrived yesterday at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles from Chicago, The Chicago Tribune’s Alicia Fabbre and colleagues report. “They have not communicated,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. The latest: The troops were spotted carrying riot shields at Elwood, with a combination of 500 troops from Illinois and Texas set to deploy this week and the first group moving today, per NYT. The U.S. Northern Command said the troops will be mobilized for 60 days. FBI Director Kash Patel was on the ground in Illinois yesterday, where he visited the agency’s field office. View from the ground level: “The National Guard is in Illinois whether we like it or not,” POLITICO's Illinois Playbook author Shia Kapos writes in from Chicago. “It pretty much depends on your political persuasion how you feel about it. But elected officials in this blue state see it as raw, unaccountable federal power being shoved down the throats of residents under the guise of ‘order.’ Trump couldn’t wait to paint our city as a war zone, and now he’s treating it like one.” But but but: “Escalating protests only fuel the Trump administration’s view that troops are needed,” Shia notes. “Around town, tensions are high, with every conversation wondering what’s next, and (crucially, with the MLB playoffs now underway) — will it affect the Cubs game?” The mayor can offer reassurance on that front, at least. “We hold large scale events in our city all the time, and we do it better than anyone else,” Johnson said. The Cubs need back-to-back wins against Milwaukee tonight and tomorrow to keep their World Series hopes alive. Good luck, as they say, with that. Just the start?: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker suggested yesterday that Trump’s real plan is to intimidate voters ahead of 2026 — and predicting further deployments next year, WSJ’s Victoria Albert and colleagues report. “You are going to see soldiers outside your polling place. That’s going to intimidate a lot of people,” Pritzker said. More from POLITICO’s Blake Jones and Shia Meanwhile in Portland: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem paid a visit to the Portland ICE facility and met with Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, KATU reports. And she brought a gaggle of MAGA influencers with her, who documented the experience on social media, per The Guardian’s Robert Mackey. Kotek said she told Noem there is no “insurrection” in Portland against ICE agents or anyone else, per the NYT. WHAT COMES NEXT: Both Chicago and Portland will confront the legality of the National Guard presence tomorrow. U.S. District Judge April Perry in Chicago declined to immediately block the National Guard during an initial hearing on Monday, but set a Thursday hearing to rule on the state’s request for a temporary restraining order, per Block Club Chicago. And the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will have its own oral arguments Thursday on the DOJ’s appeal of the order blocking the National Guard in Portland, per POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Trump’s plan B: Trump this week floated invoking the Insurrection Act if courts block his efforts to deploy the troops, POLITICO’s Myah Ward writes this morning — but Trump allies are confident he won’t need it, with SCOTUS on his side. “To be frank, if somebody wants 20-1 odds that this temporary restraining order [obtained by Oregon leaders] would survive Supreme Court review, I’d give it to them,” Will Chamberlain, senior counsel at The Article III Project, told Myah. “That’s how strongly I think this is doomed to be reversed.” | | | | A message from The National Retail Federation:  
| | | | SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN ANOTHER DAY: On the eighth day of shutdown, a truly unlikely question emerges — are Democrats actually winning the shutdown war? Stop sniggering at the back: For the first time in forever, Dems are actually the side looking more united, for now at least — while among GOP leaders, cracks are beginning to form. Indeed, Republicans appear “to have lost the plot” as Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune struggle to sing from the same hymnal, Playbook’s Dasha Burns and POLITICO’s Jordain Carney report in a must-read piece last night. Divided we fall? First Trump said he would like to see a deal on healthcare with Democrats — but then walked it back after a call from GOP leaders on the Hill. Then the White House suggested it might deny back pay to furloughed federal workers, something explicitly ruled out by Johnson and Thune. The two sides have gone back and forth on that, too — and as of this morning, the White House has yet to send out the reduction-in-force notices it’s been threatening, CNN’s Alayna Treene and Annie Grayer write. Finally, Johnson and Thune appear unaligned on the idea of standalone legislation to cover pay for military troops, per POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy. More from POLITICO’s Inside Congress. On top of all that we have maverick Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who doubled down on her support for addressing the expiring ACA subsidies in an interview with NBC’s Ryan Nobles and colleagues last night. “What I am upset over is my party has no solution,” she said. “The health insurance issue, it’s happening right now. These premiums are going to go up.” And the fundamental problem for Thune and Johnson is that Trump also shares those concerns, the NYT’s Catie Edmondson and Carl Hulse repor t, and it’s unclear how the GOP will navigate its way through. Reality bites: But now crashing into this political debate come the real-world impacts of shutdown — which are getting louder by the day. Federal workers will start missing paychecks on Friday, a moment which might yet be the catalyst for bipartisan negotiations, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told Burgess “it only gets ugly once people start missing their paychecks.” Just as significantly, flight delays are now racking up across the country and affecting several major airports. Bosses are blaming “staffing issues” — unsurprising, given so many air traffic controllers are working without pay, POLITICO’s Sam Ogozalek and Chris Marquette report. Last night the FAA ordered a ground stop of all flights heading to Nashville due to traffic control shortages, per CNN’s Pete Muntean. Both sides know these grim real-world impacts will only get worse — which in turn will amp up pressure on politicians to end the shutdown fast. And that means the blame game is only getting louder. Trump called the airport issues “Democrat delays” yesterday … Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will seek to paint the opposite picture at an 8 a.m. press conference at Baltimore Washington International Airport. How today pans out: The Senate is planning a sixth vote on Republicans’ stopgap funding bill, set for midday today. Before then, House GOP leadership is holding a news conference at 10 a.m., and House Democrats are holding a hearing on “the Republican healthcare crisis” at noon. The end is not in sight. | | | | Global Security is POLITICO’s new weekly briefing on the policies and industrial forces reshaping transatlantic defense. From Washington to Brussels and beyond, we track how decisions ripple across borders — redefining the future of security and industry. Sign up for the free preview edition. | | | | | TRAIL MIX GOING VIRAL: If you watch one piece of political TV today, make it this clip. California Governor hopeful Katie Porter endured a truly catastrophic interview last night with ace CBS News California journo Julie Watts, who’s been interviewing 2026 gubernatorial candidates ahead of next month’s redistricting vote. First Porter bristles at a question on how she might attract Trump voters — and then visibly frustrated, suddenly tries to end the interview half-way through. “I don’t want to have an unhappy experience with you,” Porter tells the journalist, icily. “I don’t want to have an unhappy experience with you either,” Watts smiles back. It’s toe-curling stuff for the Democrat. Notable: Porter did eventually stick around to answer more questions, at any rate. Watch the full segment here. ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Matt Van Epps won the crowded GOP primary race for the Tennessee seat vacated earlier this year by GOP Rep. Mark Green, per AP’s Jonathan Mattise. Van Epps will face off against the Democratic nominee, state Rep. Aftyn Behn, in a special election in December. Trump carried the 7th District by more than 20 points in 2024, making Van Epps — a former commissioner in Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s administration — a likely shoo-in for the seat. INCOMING: Maine Gov. Janet Mills will announce her campaign for Senate as soon as next week, Axios’ Stephen Neukam reports. It marks another recruitment victory for Democrats who have been pushing Mills to enter the race, but will see her pitted against more progressive, populist candidates all looking to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). ACROSS THE POTOMAC: The Republican Governors Association is pouring another $1.5 million into Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ campaign, despite yawning cash and polling deficits against Democrat Abigail Spanberger in the Virginia gubernatorial race, POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky scoops. Republicans want to build momentum off the scandal surrounding Democratic AG candidate Jay Jones — who canceled a Thursday night fundraiser as his campaign reaches crisis point, per Axios. | | | | A message from The National Retail Federation:  
| | | | BEST OF THE REST ENTER THE BIG GUNS: Negotiations over the release of all remaining Israeli hostages in Hamas’ custody, and the IDF’s withdrawal lines in Gaza, have entered their third day — and it seems we’re approaching the end game. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner join the talks today, along with Qatari PM Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani. Hamas said yesterday it’s ready to reach a deal but is still working through Trump’s demands, per Reuters’ Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell. State of play: Trump’s team has dramatically changed its approach to ending the war — and it seems to be working, POLITICO’s Eli Stokols and Felicia Schwartz write this morning. “Trump has laid the groundwork for the moment by squeezing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and showing new deference to Arab allies who are expected to coax Hamas to halt the fighting.” BALE-OUT: The Trump administration has pushed back plans to roll out economic aid for farmers, citing the government shutdown, POLITICO’s Grace Yarrow scoops. Around $12 billion and $13 billion has been prepared to be allocated from an internal USDA account to bail out farmers feeling the heat from the China boycott due to Trump’s tariffs. FOR YOUR RADAR: “Hunter Biden Pursued a Deal to Sell Land Around the U.S. Embassy in Romania,” by NYT’s Kenneth Vogel: “While his father, Joseph R. Biden Jr., was vice president, Hunter Biden began developing relationships that led to an audacious proposal to sell the land around the United States Embassy building in Romania to a group that included a Chinese company. Hunter Biden was involved in the proposed deal from multiple perspectives, creating what he privately acknowledged to an associate was an ethical quagmire.” | | | | Want to know how policy pros stay ahead? Policy Intelligence Assistant — only with POLITICO Pro — merges trusted reporting with advanced AI to deliver deeper insights, faster answers, and powerful report builders that drive action. Get 30 days free. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT — “More than 200 handmade ‘grenades’ found in tent outside DC cathedral after man’s arrest,” by ABC 7’s Winston Rogers: “More than 200 destructive devices were found inside the tent of a New Jersey man set up on the steps of St. Matthew's Cathedral in Northwest D.C. Sunday, hours before hundreds gathered for the annual Red Mass signaling the start of the new Supreme Court session, according to court documents. The handmade devices found inside the tent appeared to be ‘fully functional,’ and parts intended to be converted into a destructive device were also found.” OUT AND ABOUT — The U.S. Navy held a ceremony last night celebrating the promotion of Sean Spicer to the rank of captain at the Army Navy Country Club, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presiding over the ceremony. SPOTTED: CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, Tony Teta, Vince Haley, Dina Powell McCormick, Tony Sayegh, Shannon McGahn and Mike Dubke. ALSO SPOTTED: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) having dinner last night at Officina. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Maryam Cope has joined Arm to head its government affairs and innovation policy efforts in D.C. She previously worked on the Senate Commerce Committee. MEET THE INTERNS — POLITICO welcomed its newest fall editorial interns last month. The interns: Rachel Umansky-Castro, here on Playbook, Lauren Brensel on health care, Caroline McCarthy in our New York bureau, Riya Misra on the magazine, Finya Swai with E&E News, Juliann (Annie) Ventura in our California bureau and Faith Wardwell on breaking news. See their bios MEDIA MOVES — Paul Beckett is now a senior editor at The Atlantic. He previously worked at the WSJ. And Lily Meyer, Alex Reisner, Simon Shuster and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez are joining The Atlantic as staff writers. … Michael Calderone is now a media editor at The Wrap. He previously worked at Vanity Fair. … Rachel Tashjian has joined CNN as senior style reporter. She previously worked at WaPo. … Bakari Sellers is joining “Native Land Pod” as a new host. He is a CNN commentator. TRANSITIONS — Dan Jarrell is now director of federal affairs at the National Beer Wholesalers Association. He previously worked at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America. … Sarah Iskander is now government relations manager for climate and energy policy at The Niskanen Center. She previously worked at the Department of Energy. … Robert Rische is now deputy assistant secretary for oversight in the congressional affairs office at the Department of Education. He previously worked for the House Administration Committee. ENGAGED — Annaliese Yukawa, senior policy adviser for Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), and Claire Mufson, producer at PBS NewsHour, got engaged this week with a double proposal. Claire put together a scavenger hunt through their neighborhood, and Annaliese proposed during a sailing excursion in Annapolis. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong … Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.) … FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro … Adrienne Watson … Rev. Jesse Jackson … Dan Dunham … former Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) … Shripal Shah of House Majority PAC … Larry Calhoun of the USTR’s office … Steve Coll of The Economist … Axios’ Mackenzie Weinger … Brianne Gorod of the Constitutional Accountability Center … POLITICO’s Andrew Howard and Katherine Herbert … Caroline Nonna Holland … Aaron Hiller of House Judiciary … Kirk Schwarzbach … Joe Gilson of the Department of Agriculture … Nicole Schlinger … Bully Pulpit International’s Ivanka Farrell … Abdul Dosunmu … former HHS Secretary Tom Price … Brian Frosh … LSG’s Caroline Carpenter … Adam Weiss of Penta Group … Grace Chapman of Rep. Mike Ezell’s (R-Miss.) office … CBS’ Victoria Correia … Sofia Ramirez … Jordan Marsh of Thorn Run Partners … VoteHub’s Luke Wines … Blain Rethmeier 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. | | | | A message from The National Retail Federation: The NRF Business of Retail Initiative will support academic research and integrate retail across Georgetown's business centers. It will convene diverse voices to address challenges and opportunities in personalization, customization, logistics, frictionless commerce, artificial intelligence applications and agentic shopping. Learn more. | | | | | | | | 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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