| | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | BREAKING — President Donald Trump on Truth Social at 1:30 p.m.: “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them.” INCOMING: Federal prosecutors intend to seek a criminal indictment today of former national security adviser John Bolton on classified document handling charges, including under the Espionage Act, Bloomberg’s Benjamin Penn and Chris Strohm report. If they’re successful, that could lead to a Bolton surrender and court appearance tomorrow. Bolton has denied any wrongdoing. His indictment would follow the recent criminal charges against James Comey and New York AG Letitia James, also perceived political enemies of Trump. But this case is different: The investigation began before Trump returned to office, it’s led by a career prosecutor, and the charges are more serious.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune's move to tee up a vote on a regular, bipartisan defense spending bill today will provide the next test for Democrats. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP | SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: The 10th time wasn’t the charm as senators yet again failed to advance the Republican “clean” continuing resolution to reopen the federal government, per POLITICO’s Jennifer Scholtes and Jordain Carney. And though there are some glimmers of movement around the edges, both parties continue to look pretty dug in — so the shutdown will likely stretch to at least three full weeks when the Senate reconvenes early next week. Thune’s first gambit: After Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on MSNBC that he’s offered to guarantee Democrats a future vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies as part of a shutdown deal, the needle doesn’t seem to have moved much. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had rejected the offer — and Johnson wouldn’t commit to Thune’s proposal himself. “If they will reopen the government, we’ll look at that,” he said. “It’s a question of whether or not they’re willing to take yes for an answer,” Thune said, while noting that he couldn’t guarantee the vote would pass. The Dems: Schumer, for his part, said it had never even been offered: “Leader Thune has not come to me with any proposal.” And Trump-state Democrats didn’t sound very trusting: “That’s not a solution,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said. “If we trusted some future unknown date, then, you know, I got a bridge I got to sell people,” said Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.). The votes would have to “be nearly simultaneous,” she added. Thune’s second gambit: This afternoon’s vote on a regular, bipartisan, full-year defense spending bill will provide the next test for Democrats to see whether individual funding bills can gain any traction despite the shutdown. At least one Democrat who’s opposed the Republican CR votes, Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), said she’ll flip to yes for the defense procedural vote. But mostly, no one’s budging. And the American people have plenty of blame to spread around. The latest AP-NORC poll shows fairly similar proportions of Americans placing significant onus for the shutdown on Trump (58 percent), congressional Republicans (58) and congressional Democrats (54). Dems’ theory of the case: Democrats in Congress continue to believe broadly that, as one aide tells MSNBC’s Kevin Frey, “the temporary pain of a shutdown pales in comparison to the permanent pain of insurance premiums doubling.” New stories from WaPo’s Peter Whoriskey and AP’s Ali Swenson and Kendria LaFleur lay out the stakes: Many people who work for small businesses or themselves and have Obamacare fear much higher costs, as they’re stuck between Medicaid and private insurance. And they’ve depended on the more generous subsidies for the past four years. The other costs: But there are serious and growing negative effects from the shutdown, too. Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned on Bloomberg Television that furloughs at the National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the country’s nuclear weapons, will have to begin tomorrow or Monday. And House Republicans aren’t willing to grant Sen. John Kennedy’s (R-La.) wish for a vote to reopen the National Flood Insurance Program, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill reports. Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
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See how Express Scripts Pharmacy Benefit Services is advocating to make GLP-1s more affordable for millions here. | | | | | | 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. TO RUSSIA, WITH LOVE: Trump spoke today with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and announced that he and Putin will meet in Budapest, Hungary, at a date TBD as Trump seeks to end Putin’s war on Ukraine. The call came ahead of tomorrow’s White House visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And the Republican drive to amp up the pressure on Moscow to end the war is intensifying elsewhere: The White House has been privately increasing interest in the dormant, bipartisan Russia sanctions bill in Congress, AP’s Aamer Madhani and Seung Min Kim report. And Thune told Punchbowl’s Andrew Desiderio today that he’s finally ready to pull the trigger. “I think the time’s right” to bring the legislation up, he said. “We need to move.” Not so fast: After Trump said India had committed to stop purchasing Russian oil, New Delhi today tried to offer some subtle resistance while not outright denying Trump’s claim, given delicate trade negotiations, NYT’s Mujib Mashal and Pragati K.B. report. “In a statement, India’s foreign ministry made no mention of any such promise by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but noted that the country had always sought a diverse range of suppliers … Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesman for the Indian foreign ministry, said in a news conference on Thursday that he had no knowledge of a call between the two leaders in recent days.” 2. LIFE AND DEATH: In Lesotho, U.S. foreign aid cuts have upended a tide that was turning against one of the world’s worst HIV epidemics, AP’s Renata Brito and colleagues report from Ha Lejone. Months of chaos from PEPFAR losses disrupted treatment and prevention efforts for people with or at risk for HIV, damaging trust in public health systems among vulnerable communities. Deaths are projected to skyrocket if the funding isn’t replaced. The State Department is working on a six-month bridge effort for lifesaving programs to continue as costs shift to Lesotho, but “restarting them on the ground takes considerable time.” But but but: In neighboring South Africa, the government today reacted positively to the prospect of a half-year, $115 million bridge program that will keep lifesaving PEPFAR money flowing through March, AP’s Michelle Gumede reports from Johannesburg. Indeed, not winding down foreign aid funding more gradually — to give countries time to replace it — had previously been one of the chief criticisms lodged against Trump’s abrupt shuttering of USAID. 3. THE CRACKDOWN: A federal judge in Illinois today expanded her order to mandate that federal law enforcement agents in Chicago wear body cameras, per CNN’s Bill Kirkos and Andy Rose. And she warned that she was “profoundly concerned” the government was flouting her previous order not to target reporters and peaceful protesters with violent confrontations. More broadly across the country, experts tell CNN’s Emma Tucker that ICE is increasingly using harsher and more aggressive tactics against immigrants. DHS responds that such a claim is “smearing” agents who use minimal force. Up next? As Trump threatens to send the military into San Francisco, DA Brooke Jenkins told our California Playbook colleagues Melanie Mason and Dustin Gardiner that she “won’t hesitate” to bring criminal excessive-force charges against federal agents or troops if warranted. That “would be unprecedented … and would face major legal hurdles,” Melanie and Dustin note.
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➡️ Subscribe to West Wing Playbook | | | | | 4. TOP TALKER: “‘I got older and became a communist’: Deleted posts show Maine Senate hopeful’s raw views on politics, war, and police,” by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck: “Graham Platner, a Marine veteran turned oyster farmer who is now a rising Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, once called himself a ‘communist,’ dismissed ‘all’ police as bastards, and said rural White Americans ‘actually are’ racist and stupid, according to deleted social media posts … In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Platner disavowed his posts, saying they came from a time when he felt disillusioned and angry.” More from the campaign trail … Who’s in: With Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) primarying Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Dan Koh quickly became the newest Democrat to jump into the race for Moulton’s seat, joining Jamie Zahlaway Belsito, our Massachusetts Playbook colleague Kelly Garrity reports. Who’s out: Des Moines school board leader Jackie Norris dropped out of the Iowa Senate Democratic primary, the Des Moines Register’s Stephen Gruber-Miller reports. And it’s the end of an era in Georgia, where the Stacey Abrams-founded New Georgia Project, which helped turn the state purple, is closing, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein. Who’s ahead: In four of the five top Senate races, Democrats raised more than Republicans in the third quarter, CNN’s Fredreka Schouten and Alex Leeds Matthews report. Out of the top 10, Dems led in six, National Journal’s Nicholas Anastácio reports. In the House, frontline Republican incumbents generally pulled in more money than frontline Democratic incumbents, but the prospect of widespread gerrymandering makes the landscape uncertain, per National Journal’s James Downs. Who’s on the airwaves: A new $1 million ad campaign from One Nation boosts Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) by quoting Gov. Janet Mills’ recent positive comments about her, Semafor’s Burgess Everett scooped. In Virginia, Barack Obama is officially backing Abigail Spanberger’s Democratic gubernatorial campaign; he stars in two new digital spots, NBC’s Bridget Bowman scooped. Who’s polling well: If Larry Hogan runs for Maryland governor again, he’d trail incumbent Wes Moore by 8 points, The Baltimore Banner’s Lee Sanderlin reports. Still, that’s much closer than Moore’s 18-point lead over a generic Republican. Who’s plotting for 2028: Some leading Democrats in Pennsylvania are already talking about supporting a primary challenge against Sen. John Fetterman, Axios’ Holly Otterbein scooped. 5. TENSIONS RISING IN VENEZUELA: “U.S. Special Operations helicopters near Venezuela expand Caribbean mission,” by WaPo’s Alex Horton and Samuel Oakford: “The U.S. military’s elite Special Operations aviation unit appears to have flown in Caribbean waters less than 90 miles from the coast of Venezuela in recent days.” 6. HEADS UP: “Trump diverts anti-terror funds from Democratic strongholds to Republican states,” by Reuters’ Courtney Rozen and Jason Lange: “The Trump administration released estimates in late summer for how much money each state should expect to receive from the program. But it later changed the totals … Wisconsin, North Carolina and Ohio, which Trump won in 2024, saw the biggest percentage increase … Washington, D.C., Illinois and New Jersey saw particularly sharp decreases … ‘It is flatly untrue to suggest that these changes are arbitrary or politically motivated,’ a DHS spokesperson said. … But Trump has linked funding decisions to politics [in other cases].” 7. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: In a matter of days, the U.S. and partners will stand up a coordination center to help guide the logistics of postwar rebuilding of Gaza and ceasefire implementation, ABC’s Anne Flaherty reports. An American three-star general will be in charge. 8. SURVEY SAYS: “Axios-Ipsos poll: Trump, RFK Jr. lose America’s trust on health care,” by Axios’ Adriel Bettelheim and Margaret Talev: “Americans who say the U.S. is less healthy under the leadership of President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now outnumber believers 2-to-1 … [A]bout 1 in 5 Americans buy Trump’s recent claim about Tylenol and autism … [But] 26% of respondents … said they favor ending vaccination requirements for kids to attend public schools. That's up from 19% in February.”
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See how Express Scripts Pharmacy Benefit Services is advocating to make GLP-1s more affordable for millions here. | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Sarah McBride, Evan Low, Kat Abughazaleh, Cesar Toledo, V Spehar, Alvaro Huerta and Andry Hernández Romero were included on this year’s Out100 list. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “A C.I.A. Secret Kept for 35 Years Is Found in the Smithsonian’s Vault,” by NYT’s John Schwartz: “Jim Sanborn is auctioning off the solution to Kryptos, the puzzle he sculpted for the intelligence agency’s headquarters. Two fans of the work then discovered the key.” OUT AND ABOUT — Chris Cuomo hosted a NewsNation town hall yesterday evening at the Kennedy Center with Stephen A. Smith, Bill O’Reilly, border czar Tom Homan, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Joe Manchin, Andrew Kolvet and Adam Mockler. Notable moments included Homan denying in his most explicit terms yet that he had taken $50,000 from undercover agents, and Smith walking off the stage in anger at Washington after an air traffic controller said he was driving for DoorDash to pay for his daughter’s school during the shutdown. Also SPOTTED: Ameshia Cross, Perry Sook, Michael Corn, Cherie Grzech, Chris Cillizza, Sean Spicer and Kurt Bardella. — The Motion Picture Association and Netflix co-hosted a screening of the third-season premiere of “The Diplomat” at the MPA last night. SPOTTED: Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Charles Rivkin, Clete Willems, Gail MacKinnon, Carla Sanchez Armas, Beth Jones, Maltese Ambassador Godfrey Xuereb, Peruvian Ambassador Alfredo Ferrero, Moroccan Ambassador Youssef Amrani, Colombian Ambassador Daniel García-Peña, Petra Hanefeld and Ronald Neumann. — K&L Gates hosted an “Artists in Residence” event at its D.C. office last night, featuring the work of Natalie Abrams, Sharapat Kessler and Paco Lane. SPOTTED: Brian Wohlert, Paul Levitan, Caroline Frauman, Wendy Lewis, Jake Eigner, Scott Aliferis, Tison Campbell, Varu Chilakamarri, Darrell Conner, Meg Laurent, Vishal Mehta, David Wochner, Andy Wright, Daniel Zanger, Jeffrey Himstreet, Marisa Michnick, Rebecca Kennedy, Estefania Torres, José Luis Sardón, Vince Martinez, Esther Smith, Addie Moore, Scarlett Bickerton, Abby Hopper, Katie Yanushonis and Rishi Sahgal. TRANSITIONS — Nicole Vele is now a shareholder at GrayRobinson in its D.C. office. She previously worked at Holland & Hart and is an Air Force JAG veteran. … Maura Rezendes is now a partner in Sidley’s global arbitration, trade and advocacy practice. She previously worked at A&O Shearman. 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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