| | | |  | | By Rachel Umansky-Castro and Ali Bianco | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after taking off from Busan, South Korea, en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Oct. 30, 2025. | Mark Schiefelbein/AP | WHAT TRUMP IS RETURNING TO: President Donald Trump is on his way back to D.C. following a rollicking trip across Asia that was packed with plenty of pomp. Although Trump is returning with a few feathers in his cap, he will land back in a Washington that is filled with pain points for his administration. THE GOOD: Trump punctuated his tour with a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea — one which allowed both leaders to declare victory, NYT’s Lily Kuo and David Pierson write. The view from Beijing: “By flexing China’s near monopoly on rare earths and its purchasing power over U.S. soybeans, Mr. Xi won key concessions from Washington — a reduction in tariffs, a suspension of port fees on Chinese ships and the delay of U.S. export controls that would have barred more Chinese firms from accessing American technology.” The view from Washington: “The outcome allowed Mr. Trump to claim a win for American farmers and companies, even though China had largely restored the status quo by agreeing to buy soybeans and to hold off on further restricting the export of rare earths.” TikTok on the clock: China “pledged to work with Washington to resolve the fate of TikTok’s US business, stopping short of saying it’s agreed to a deal touted by President Donald Trump to spin off ByteDance Ltd.’s crown jewel,” Bloomberg’s Mark Anderson report. But no specifics were offered. Fun read: “U.S. Beef and Thousand Island Dressing: Trump’s Food Tour of Asia,” by NYT’s John Yoon THE BAD: When Trump touches down, it’ll be well through the 30th day of the government shutdown, and the fallout is only spreading as lawmakers grasp for any potential deal. Word of caution: Senate Majority Leader John Thune struck a cautionary note this morning while bipartisan talks to end the standoff “kick into a higher gear, warning that a deal to advance full-year spending bills would move forward only after Democrats agree to a stopgap measure reopening federal agencies,” POLITICO’s Jordain Carney and Meredith Lee Hill report. “Thune told reporters it would likely take days, if not weeks, for the Senate to pass a package of larger spending bills.” Health care heartburn: In California, premiums for nearly 2 million people buying insurance through the state marketplace are set to nearly double, while more in the state are facing more drastic spikes, POLITICO’s Rachel Bluth reports from Sacramento. The shutdown has also frozen Medicare telehealth programs, leaving patients in need without critical care, AP’s Ali Swenson and Obed Lamy report. The SNAP snafu: A federal judge in Boston “appeared to lean toward requiring the Trump administration to use emergency funds to at least partially fund food aid for millions of Americans in November,” POLITICO’s Kelly Garrity and Marcia Brown report. The judge is planning to issue a ruling later today. Meanwhile, food banks across the country are preparing for a new surge as SNAP benefits are set to run out on Saturday. Cities with large populations of federal employees like D.C., Atlanta, Houston and Boston are “racing to stock their pantries with extra supplies to support thousands of furloughed government employees who aren’t getting paid,” WaPo’s Mariana Alfaro writes. Trade tumult: But it’s not just the shutdown that is posing a thorn in the administration’s side. “For the third time in three days, the Senate was asked whether it approves of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. And for the third time, they said ‘no,’” POLITICO’s Daniel Desrochers reports. “This time, the vote was to end the national emergency Trump used to declare global ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, the sweeping duties of between 10 and 50 percent that he imposed on nearly every country in the world this summer.” The steady stream of “symbolic rebukes this week in the Senate stood in stark contrast to Trump’s nearly weeklong trip to Asia, where he touted his use of tariffs as a means to secure new trade agreements and unprecedented foreign investment commitments.” But it’s unlikely to go much further: House GOP leaders have blocked votes on Trump’s tariffs until March. THE UGLY: A handful of Trump’s latest moves are also facing increasing public pushback. First in Playbook — Don’t cry for thee, Argentina: House Majority Forward, the nonprofit affiliated with House Majority PAC, is circulating research to Democratic House members this week that found contrasting Trump’s $40 billion bailout of Argentina — propping up the volatile Argentinian economy with an “economic stabilization agreement” — to “rising healthcare costs” as “some of the most effective messages tested this year,” according to a memo obtained by POLITICO’s Elena Schneider. The polling, conducted by Blue Rose Research in late October, found 80 percent of voters “believe the federal government should be prioritizing domestic issues over the Argentina bailout,” and only 27 percent of Trump voters back it. The messaging guidance comes amid backlash from farm-state Republicans and agriculture industry groups who have criticized the bailout, as well as Trump’s plans to purchase 80,000 metric tons of beef from Argentina. The farm fights back: Trump’s plan to import beef from Argentina has also sparked strong opposition from farm-state Republicans, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill reports. “So far, the burst of objections has not generated a U-turn from the administration,” Meredith writes, but “it has exposed the limits of GOP lawmakers’ tolerance for policies that have especially tested states heavy on agriculture.” The ballroom brushback: And a majority of Americans oppose Trump’s plan to replace the East Wing with his grandiose White House ballroom, with 56 percent saying they disapprove of the project in a new WaPo-ABC-Ipsos poll, POLITICO’s Jacob Wendler writes. “Sixty-two percent of Republicans support it, while 88 percent of Democrats oppose the ballroom. Independents were more divided, with 17 percent supporting the project and 61 percent disapproving.” Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop us a line at rumansky-castro@politico.com and abianco@politico.com. 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People recover belongings from a home flooded by Hurricane Melissa in Santiago de Cuba on Oct. 29, 2025. | Ramón Espinosa/AP | 1. HURRICANE HELP: “Rubio says White House is ready to help fund Cuba’s hurricane recovery,” by POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy: “The White House is ready to send humanitarian aid to Cuba as it recovers from Hurricane Melissa, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media Thursday, a commitment that comes despite the administration’s hardened stance against Havana and its wholesale cuts to foreign aid. Hurricane Melissa battered Cuba Wednesday while on a dayslong rampage through the Caribbean, making landfall in the country as a Category 3 storm. It has killed at least dozens throughout the region.” 2. WAYS AND MEANS: Casey Means, Trump’s nominee to serve as surgeon general, postponed her confirmation hearing this morning because she went into labor, POLITICO’s Amanda Friedman reports. She was 40 weeks pregnant and due to appear virtually. Means to an end: Calley Means, a top adviser to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Casey’s brother, has left the White House after his term as special government employee ended last month, NYT’s Benjamin Mueller reports. 3. 2025 WATCH: With five days to go until Election Day, Emerson College’s latest polling numbers have some staggering projections for next week: Zohran Mamdani leads the New York City mayoral race by 25 points, coming in with 50 percent of support from respondents versus 25 percent for Andrew Cuomo. (The Marist poll has Mamdani up by 16 points.) In the New Jersey governor’s race, Emerson has Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) up by only one point — with 49 percent support to GOP nominee Jack Ciattarelli’s 48 percent, which is well within the poll’s margin of error of plus-or-minus three points. Redistricting rodeo: As California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California Democrats sprint toward the Election Day referendum on the new state maps, WaPo’s Maeve Reston breaks down how Newsom leveraged anger against Trump to rally the state around Prop 50. Newsom’s redistricting push has also expanded his roster of donors ahead of the 2028 presidential election, tapping into more than 100,000 new grassroots donations that could set him up for a future primary, POLITICO’s Melanie Mason and Jessica Piper report. 4. WAR AND PEACE: A plan for Gaza’s international security force is coming in the next few weeks as U.S. officials have been engaging with multiple countries on the next phase of the peace process, Axios’ Barak Ravid scoops. Meanwhile, Hamas is handing over two more bodies of deceased hostages today, following criticism that the group has been slow to follow through on the terms of the ceasefire and one day after the ceasefire faced its biggest test with Israeli military strikes, Reuters’ Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Haseeb Alwazeer report. Boat briefings: Hill Republicans were briefed yesterday on the U.S. military’s recent boat strikes — but no Democratic senators were included, CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Natasha Bertrand report. | | | | As the shutdown fight deepens, stay on top of every twist with POLITICO’s essential newsletters.
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➡️ Subscribe to West Wing Playbook | | | | | 5. LAW AND ORDER: The Pentagon is readying thousands of National Guard members for civil unrest training — with the “quick reaction force” pushed to be prepared and equipped with riot gear by Jan. 1, WaPo’s Alex Horton and David Ovalle report. It opens the possibility of the National Guard deployments across the country growing in size and scope, while also expanding the responsibilities of the guards — who have largely been a defensive force. Meanwhile, FBI investigations have slowed or stalled from a lack of funding for undercover work or to pay informants due to the shutdown, Reuters’ Jana Winter writes. 6. IMMIGRATION FILES: “Trump administration slashes number of refugees, prioritizes Afrikaners,” by POLITICO’s Eric Bazail-Eimil: “The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will slash the number of refugees the United States will accept in the coming year and prioritize white South Africans it alleges are facing discrimination in their country. … The White House said that only 7,500 refugees will be accepted during the coming fiscal year, which runs from October 2025 to September 2026. … That’s a dramatic drop from the Biden administration, which regularly accepted around 100,000 refugees a year. It also represents the lowest number of refugees to be admitted since the 1970s, when there was a cap of 17,000 a year.” Related read: DHS made the case in federal court to deport a man to Afghanistan, where he faces risk of death from the Taliban — but the case centered on Afghanistan being a safe country for him to return to, WaPo’s John Woodrow Cox reports. The case could set a precedent for thousands of Afghan refugees who came to the U.S. in 2021. 7. SCHOOL TIES: The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to kick some nonprofits off the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program if they hold a “substantial illegal purpose,” primarily targeting organizations that work with immigrants and transgender youth, AP’s Collin Binkley reports. … Six Latino Republican members of Congress who have vocally opposed diversity and inclusion programming are now calling for funding to be restored to Hispanic-serving institutions, per WaPo’s Rachel Hatzipanagos. Meet the education czar: Bloomberg’s Liam Knox writes about Nicholas Kent, the under secretary of education who’s behind the administration’s effort to overhaul the university accreditation system, which could deal a lasting blow to the nation’s biggest colleges and their federal funding. “We can no longer nibble around the edges. We need a reset of the whole system,” Kent told Bloomberg. “You could call it a revolution.”
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Optum Rx supports 62 million Americans with transparent real-time pricing and personalized care, showing up when it matters most. Learn more at optum.com/stories. | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | HOUSE CALL — A growing number of top Trump officials are now “living in Washington-area military housing, where they are shielded not just from potential violence but also from protest,” The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer and colleagues report. Among those who have moved into military housing are Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Dan Driscoll and plenty more. “These civilian officials can now depend on the U.S. military to augment their personal security. But so many have made the move that they are now straining the availability of housing for the nation’s top uniformed officers.” OUT AND ABOUT — The Recording Industry Association of America held its annual RIAA Honors celebration at its D.C. HQ last night celebrating Christian artist Lauren Daigle as artist of the year. The event also honored Jackie Patillo and Ed Leonard as RIAA’s industry executives of the year, while Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) were named policymakers of the year. Both senators spoke about the importance of music and establishing legal protections for artists as AI expands. Guests enjoyed cocktails and light bites in the packed event, which included performances from both Daigle and Jon Batiste. SPOTTED: Mitch Glazier, Morna Willens, Michele Ballantyne, Melinda Newman, Jamie Krents, Erin Burr, Tom Readmond, Jen Jacobsen, Amy Isbell, Charles Wadelington, Jennifer Chase, Kelly Sagaser, Charlotte Sellmeyer, Diane Blagman, Linda Bloss-Baum, Audrey Cook, James Barton, Alissa Clees, Alencia Johnson and John O’Neill. — Tina Brown and John Micklethwait hosted an event last night at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC to celebrate the launch of Bloomberg’s new podcast, “The Mishal Husain Show.” Brown interviewed Mishal Husain during the cocktail event. SPOTTED: British Chargé d'Affaires James Kariuki, Jacob Weisberg, Perri Peltz, Matthew O'Neill, Andrew Wylie, Richard Edelman, Henry Timms, Gary Ginsberg, Marie Brenner, David Kuhn, Janine di Giovanni, Holly Peterson, Steven Rattner, Alan Patricof, Joel Simon, Steven Brill, Vicky Ward, Lizzie O’Leary, Megan Twohey, Reto Gregori, Karen Saltser, David Merritt, Katherine Bell, Jason Schechter, Julia Beizer, Christine Cook, David Westin, Caroline Gage, Kristin Powers, Julie Alnwick McHale, Anthony Mancini and Katie Boyce. — SPOTTED at the launch of the D.C. presence of Sunset Lane Media in Arlington at Dufour Collaborative last night: Don Baer, David Leavy, Amb. Capricia Marshall, Amb. Dennis Ross, David Castagnetti, Kevin McGrann, Brittany Martinez, Stephen Goodin, Julie Mason, Ryan Whalen, Dan Rosenthal, Aviva Rosenthal, Lorraine Voles and Dan Smith, April Mellody, Kathy McKiernan, Hardy Merriman, Melissa Moss, Mary Morrison Alberg, Kris Balderston, Julia Payne, Nicole Elkon, Stephen Spaulding, Marcia Hale, Susan McHugh and Lynda Carter, Anita McBride, Jonathan Spalter, Carrie Goux and Steve Silverman and Philip Dufour. ADMIN MOVES: Rachel Riley, a top HHS adviser who joined as part of DOGE, has left the agency and is now replacing Rear Admiral Kurt Rothenhaus as chief of naval research at the Navy, POLITICO’s Tim Röhn and Erin Schumaker report. MEDIA MOVES — Cheyenne Haslett has joined POLITICO’s White House team, where she’ll cover health care and technology policy from the administration. She previously worked at ABC. BONUS BIRTHDAY: Steven Umansky 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.
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