| | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine and Rachel Umansky-Castro | | Presented by |  | | | THE WRIGHT STUFF: “How Chris Wright went wrong with the White House,” by POLITICO’s Ben Lefebvre and Zack Colman: “A series of political missteps and policy disputes has strained Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s relationship with the White House, 10 people familiar with the dynamic told POLITICO — causing some to question how much longer he can last in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. The friction, these people said, includes complaints that Wright was too slow to loop in the White House on his plans to kill tens of billions of dollars in Biden-era clean energy grants — and too willing to defend the interests of industries that want some of that funding preserved.” | 
President Donald Trump, left, greets Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) | AP |
AMERICA AND THE WORLD: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving at the White House today with a pressing request for more arms from the U.S., which he is expected to discuss with Trump during a bilateral lunch meeting.
It’s the culmination of a week for Trump that has focused on foreign affairs — on the heels of a Middle East peace deal and negotiations with both Russia and Ukraine seeking an end to the war over the past 48 hours. Zelenskyy has repeatedly requested a fresh supply of weapons that would fortify Ukrainian forces as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues the war. It’s unclear how willing Trump will be to grant Ukraine’s request, but access to Tomahawk missiles “would be a boon to Ukrainian forces, which is increasingly focusing on long-distance missiles and drones to strike deep into Russia,” per WaPo. “Kyiv’s priority now is attacking Russian energy infrastructure, with markets showing a demonstrable impact.” The view from the Kremlin: Putin reportedly held a call with Hungarian PM Viktor Orban today to discuss a potential summit with Trump in Budapest in the coming weeks, per NYT’s Anton Troianovski. In a statement, the Kremlin said Putin did not commit to any imminent deal, telling Orban that Moscow and Washington need to first “discuss the algorithm for further actions.” MIDDLE EAST LATEST: As the tenuous ceasefire continues to hold in Gaza, Hamas reiterated in a statement today its commitment to fulfilling their side of the bargain after Trump's recent threats of retaliation, NBC’s Mithil Aggarwal reports. How it’s playing in Washington: Trump has garnered rave reviews from many GOP leaders on the ceasefire deal — despite its fragile nature. And yet, his foreign policy focus has angered some who wish he would shift his focus. “I’d be lying if I said none of us wish he would talk a little more about the economy and things back home,” one Trump adviser told Axios’ Marc Caputo. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) added: “It’s a revolving door at the White House of foreign leaders when Americans are, you know, screaming from their lungs.” How it’s playing beyond the beltway: A new AP-NORC Center poll conducted after the announcement of the ceasefire in Gaza finds that although Americans see Trump’s diplomatic victories as a success, it has not changed their perspective on his domestic issues. About half of U.S. adults, 47 percent, approve of how Trump is handling the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, up from 37 percent in September. But Trump’s overall approval rating — around four in 10 — remains unchanged from last month and only about one-third of those surveyed approve of Trump’s performance on the economy. Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop us a line at birvine@politico.com and rumansky-castro@politico.com
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John Bolton waves as the FBI searches his house in Bethesda, Maryland, on Aug. 22, 2025. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images | 1. BOLTON SURRENDERS: John Bolton, former national security adviser under Trump, surrendered to federal authorities today in Maryland following his indictment on 18 counts tied to mishandling classified information, including personal email to share Top Secret material with family, AP’s Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer report. Bolton denied the charges were politically motivated, saying, “Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts," per NBC’s Michael Kosnar and colleagues. 2. SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: With the government still in shutdown, Speaker Mike Johnson is “brushing off escalating threats of legal action from Democrats if Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva is not sworn in during Friday afternoon’s House pro forma session,” POLITICO’s Nicholas Wu and Meredith Lee Hill report. Johnson dismissed Arizona Democratic AG Kris Mayes’ threat of litigation over Grijalva’s seating as a “publicity stunt” as Mayes “sees a national moment and wants to call me out.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democrats are backing Mayes’ effort, telling reporters this morning that “all options are on the table.” The blame game: At his presser, Jeffries told reporters that Democrats are “not going to bend, not going to break” in the standoff. He also accused Johnson and GOP lawmakers of entering “the legislative witness protection program” by holding an indefinite recess. Johnson, meanwhile, said he felt “we ought to apologize” for the current situation. “It is so difficult to be a happy warrior when you know that so many millions of American people are … being made to suffer unnecessarily because [of] the Democrats’ political games.” The agency impact: The Trump administration is “planning to furlough the vast majority of the civilian staff at a key agency that helps manage the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile,” POLITICO’s Connor O'Brien and Meredith Lee Hill. The National Nuclear Security Administration will exhaust its funding tomorrow. The far-reaching impact: The mayors of Kansas City, Missouri; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Minneapolis and Cleveland told NBC’s Natasha Korecki that residents are full of questions around health benefits, uncertainty around the economy and “sheer anger over the chaos wrought by a standstill in the nation’s capital.” 3. THE EMPIRE STATE STRIKES BACK: “New York State Young Republicans disbanded after racist group chat,” by POLITICO’s Emily Ngo: “New York State Republican Party leaders voted unanimously Friday to disband an organization promoting younger members following POLITICO’s exclusive report on a Young Republican group chat filled with racist and antisemitic rhetoric. The executive committee of the state party suspended the authorization of the younger arm to operate at a statewide level. Leaders have signaled the step makes way for a fresh start.” 4. ROCKING THE BOAT: Two survivors from a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean hit by a U.S. strike yesterday are being held on a U.S. Navy ship, raising the possibility that the survivors are the first prisoners of war in Trump’s conflict on “narcoterrorists,” Reuters’ Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali scoop. Following yesterday’s strike, the military organized a “helicopter rescue to pick up the survivors of the attack and bring them back to the U.S. warship.” Meanwhile, a group of lawmakers is pushing back against Trump’s continued strikes on Venezuela, per Reuters. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have teamed up on a long-shot measure that would require Trump to receive congressional approval before engaging in any further strikes. The move comes after the Senate blocked a similar war powers measure last week, and just a day after the head of U.S. forces in the region abruptly stepped down.
| | | | POLITICO’s Global Security briefing connects the policies, deals, and industrial shifts shaping the global defense landscape. From Washington to Brussels, we follow who’s funding what, what’s being built, and how power moves across continents. Subscribe now for the free preview. | | | | | 5. TRADING SPACES: Trump said that the high tariffs he threatened on China are “not sustainable,” acknowledging in an interview with Fox Business this morning the pressure they place on both economies, Bloomberg’s Lauren Dezenski reports. Last week, Trump said he might impose an extra 100 percent tariff on Chinese imports by Nov. 1 and suggested he could call off his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump expressed “high confidence” that a fair deal with China could be reached through continued negotiations, promising he would “get this back to a place that’s good for both countries.” 6. RED-LIGHT REDISTRICT: Trump is escalating efforts to persuade Indiana Republicans for a mid-cycle redrawing of congressional districts. Trump phoned into a private Indiana Senate Republican caucus meeting this morning to press reluctant Hoosier lawmakers to undertake a gerrymander to carve out more GOP seats, POLITICO’s Adam Wren reports. “The call — which was Trump’s first-known call with rank-and-file Indiana state lawmakers on the matter following an August Oval Office meeting with state House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray — punctuated an intense period of national lobbying on redistricting.” Call to action: Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) is urging the White House to pressure South Carolina Republican leaders to pursue similar redistricting efforts, particularly targeting the seat held by Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, he wrote in an op-ed for the Post and Courier. 7. MORE PLATNER POSTS: “Graham Platner asked why Black people ‘don’t tip’ and referenced rape in old Reddit posts,” by the Bangor Daily News’ Sawyer Loftus: “Platner responded to a 2013 post on Reddit entitled ‘What is one question you have always wanted to ask someone of another race,’ writing, ‘Why don’t black people tip?’ … ‘I work as a bartender and it always amazes me how solid this stereotype is,’ he wrote. … That same year, he also responded to a post about underwear designed to prevent sexual assault saying people should ‘take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f—-ked up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to?’” Platner’s campaign had not responded to the Bangor Daily News’ report by the time of publication. 8. NOEM MORE: Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with Kristi Noem, accusing the DHS secretary of slow-walking expense reviews and closing off her lines of communication, NOTUS’ Reese Gorman and Anna Kramer report. “Most of the frustration centers around a rule Noem implemented that she must review and approve any expense over $100,000” at the agency. Lawmakers say the process has created a mess of delays for programs, including key Federal Emergency Management Agency contracts allotting money for state disaster assistance. The lack of information flow from DHS has also angered lawmakers and their staff. What they’re saying: “You would think a former member of Congress would have more f--king respect for the institution she used to serve in,” one GOP member told NOTUS. “She’s causing a lot of problems.” … “They’re very slow,” one senior Senate GOP aide said. “Getting the secretary on the phone is basically impossible.”
| | | | A message from Evernorth Health Services: Controversy around GLP-1s and how much pharmaceutical companies want Americans to pay for them continues to rise. Which is why we offer a benefit that ensures members pay no more than $200/month out of pocket for certain GLP-1s for weight loss. That's not a middleman. That's an advocate.
See how Express Scripts Pharmacy Benefit Services is advocating to make GLP-1s more affordable for millions here. | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Ramesh Ponnuru is undergoing treatment for cancer, but has “an excellent prognosis.” VANITY AFFAIR — “Trump’s focus on looks — from ‘central casting’ to ‘those lips,’” by WaPo’s Naftali Bendavid: “One of Trump’s most notable quirks is his willingness to comment publicly on people’s physical appearance — women or men, heads of state or military commanders, White House reporters or his own staffers. At a time when other public figures often minimize such comments to avoid appearing sexist or superficial, Trump seems to revel in such judgments.” OUT AND ABOUT — The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law held its annual Higginbotham Leadership Awards Gala at Cipriani Wall Street last night. SPOTTED: Yolanda Renee King, Martin Luther King III, Ashley Allison, Maya Wiley, Wendell Pierce, Alphonso David and Janai Nelson. — SPOTTED at a happy hour book launch for “Sea Change” ($32), by Environmental Defense Fund’s Amanda Leland and James Workman, at the Salt Line in Navy Yard yesterday: Tom Murray, Angela Churie Kallhauge, Caleb McClennen, Grace Yarrow, Sarah Close and Caitlin Lawrence. MEDIA MOVE — Tim Dickinson will be senior political writer and editor at The Contrarian. He previously worked at Rolling Stone. TRANSITIONS — Geo Saba and Mike Moriarty have co-founded Arsenal Pulse, with Moriarty serving as CEO. Saba previously worked for Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Moriarty previously worked at Human Capital. … Matt Thrasher is joining Fluet to build out the law firm’s cybersecurity practice. He previously worked at the NSC and DOD. WEDDING — Channing Pejic, senior director of political programs at the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributers, and Nicki Jackson, a psychotherapist, got married Oct. 6 at the Creta Maris Resort on Crete, Greece. They had their first date in 2020 at Chaplin’s. Pic … Another pic 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 Evernorth Health Services: Lowering costs. Improving patient access. Supporting long-term health. Express Scripts Pharmacy Benefit Services is making it all possible through better GLP-1 benefits. Benefits delivering better care for millions by ensuring members pay no more than $200/month out of pocket for certain GLP-1s for weight loss. And it's not just their patients who are benefiting from this first-of-its-kind offer. They're helping to lower costs for health plans, unions, government agencies, public sector organizations, and more. Savings that allow them to expand access to more patients without breaking their budgets. That's not a middleman. That's an advocate.
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