| | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine and Rachel Umansky-Castro | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | DEVELOPING: Details of President Donald Trump’s new proposed plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine are starting to emerge as a delegation of top Trump emissaries meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today. Trump’s plan would reportedly include major territorial concessions of Ukrainian land to Russia, in exchange for a promise from Moscow to end its aggression, FT’s Christopher Miller and colleagues report. But one source familiar with the plan “said it would amount to Ukraine giving up its sovereignty if Kyiv accepted the plan as such and called the effort a Russian attempt to ‘play’ the Trump administration, which they said was eager to ‘show progress’ on a deal.” The draft details, via FT:
- The framework plan “would require Ukraine to cede the remainder of the eastern Donbas region — including land currently under Kyiv’s control — and cut the size of its armed forces by half.”
- The plan “also calls for Ukraine to abandon key categories of weaponry and would include the rollback of US military assistance that has been vital to its defence, potentially leaving the country vulnerable to future Russian aggression.”
- “Additionally, no foreign troops would be allowed on Ukrainian soil and Kyiv would no longer receive western long-range weapons that can reach deep inside Russia.”
What Trump is saying: The president, speaking at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum this morning, recounted a phone call that he held with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he praised Trump for ending decades of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “I said, ‘Don't worry about that, just let me settle your frickin’ war,” Trump said. “And it’ll get done.”
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U.S. District Judge questioned the validity of the grand jury indictment charging FBI Director James Comey with lying to and obstructing Congress. | Carlos Osorio | AP Photo | INVESTIGATION STATION: Another day, another sign that the Trump administration’s criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey could be in serious hot water. During a hearing in Alexandria this morning, U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff sharply questioned the validity of the grand jury indictment charging Comey with lying to and obstructing Congress, POLITICO’S Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report from the scene. Nachmanoff pressed prosecutors on the chain of events during the September grand jury trial. In a remarkable moment displaying how intent the judge was to establish the precise sequence, Nachmanoff “briefly called Halligan to the courtroom lectern, prompting her first substantive public remarks since she secured the charges,” Kyle and Josh write. Halligan was asked to explain whether grand jurors beyond the foreperson were present when the original indictment and a narrower substitute one were presented to a magistrate judge. “The foreperson and another grand juror was also present,” Halligan said, apparently confirming that grand jury members did not review an updated version of Comey’s indictment after they voted against one of the counts against him. What comes next: Nachmanoff, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, “did not say precisely what action he was contemplating about the possible irregularity in the grand jury process, but his intense focus on the issue suggested he may view it as critical and, perhaps, fatal to the government’s case,” Kyle and Josh write. Another significant moment: Federal prosecutors also told Nachmanoff that they were under orders from the Deputy AG’s office “not to disclose whether career prosecutors wrote a memo recommending against indicting Comey” prior to his indictment. Comey’s lawyer, Michael Dreeben, told Nachmanoff that prosecutors had not shared whether such a memo existed. “If career prosecutors initially urged against bringing the case, it could support Comey’s claim that the charges against him were brought with a political motive,” Kyle and Josh write. Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop us a line at birvine@politico.com and rumansky-castro@politico.com.
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Republican Sen. John Cornyn is holding on to a clear lead against Texas AG Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | 1. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Deep in the heart: Republican Sen. John Cornyn is holding on to a clear lead against Texas AG Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, according to a new poll from Ragnar Research Partners shared with Playbook. The survey of 1,000 likely voters shows that Cornyn would lead in a race against Democratic Rep. Colin Allred by seven percentage points (47 percent to 40 percent), and in a race against Democrat James Talarico by six points (46 percent to 40 percent). Paxton, according to the poll, is “statistically tied with either of the Democrat candidates and jeopardizes the ability of Republicans to hold the seat.” The poll carries a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percent. Read the topline memo 2. POLL POSITION: A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll of registered voters has Democrats holding a 14-point lead over Republicans in a generic congressional ballot ahead of next year’s midterm elections. The survey of over 1,400 voters found that 55 percent of voters would back a Democratic candidate if the congressional elections were held today, while 41 percent would back a Republican. Three percent of those surveyed said they’d back a different candidate. The 14-point lead marks Democrats largest advantage on this question since 2017, NPR’s Domenico Montanaro and Elena Moore report. More numbers: A new national poll from Marquette Law School finds that 49 percent of registered voters expect to vote for a Democrat and 44 percent expect to vote for a Republican in the 2026 midterms. Among those who say they’re certain to vote, 53 percent said they’d cast their ballot for a Democrat, while 44 percent say the same for Republicans. Meanwhile, Trump’s “approval rating among independent voters is languishing below 30%” Craig Gilbert writes for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “In other words, the polls and the off-year elections are telling the same story — a story of growing vulnerability for the GOP.” The wind in Dems’ sails: Sabato’s Crystal Ball has updated six House race ratings in favor of Democrats today across Michigan, Texas, Virginia and Washington. The new ratings come as a half-dozen states continue with the redistricting battles — and are based on the assumption that the contested Texas maps will remain in place for next year. The group also recalculated that its “median” House seat — now Ohio’s redrawn 1st District — has moved slightly left. 3. TRADING SPACES: The White House is signaling that industries shouldn’t expect more tariff cuts after they eliminated duties on some agricultural products, POLITICO’s Daniel Desrochers reports. A White House official said the latest tariff cuts “are entirely consistent with the president’s long-term trade agenda and do not signal a comprehensive move away from tariffs.” Industries that didn’t receive relief in the latest moves “remain hopeful, however, that Trump is cracking the door open” as some question “just how firm a red line the White House is drawing on its tariff policies.” Digging into the data: A report from Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis that was long delayed due to the government shutdown shows that the U.S. trade deficit dropped in August amid Trump’s sweeping set of global tariffs, Bloomberg’s Mark Niquette reports. “The goods and services trade gap narrowed almost 24% from the prior month to $59.6 billion, the Commerce Department said.” Looking ahead, “an updated release date for the September trade data, initially slated for Nov. 4, has yet to be determined. … Separately, the Census Bureau announced Wednesday that it will issue the September retail sales report on Nov. 25, and durable goods orders data for the same month on Nov. 26.” 4. THE EPSTEIN SAGA: Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.) defiantly defended her prior text communications with Epstein during a 2019 House Oversight Committee hearing in an interview this morning on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” per POLITICO’s Cheyanne Daniels. “I believe that Jeffrey Epstein had information, and I was going to get information to get at the truth,” Plaskett said. “I’m moving forward, and I think that that’s what we as American people should do.” Plaskett also admitted that she “probably” would not have asked Trump fixer Michael Cohen about former Trump executive assistant Rhona Graff if Epstein had not mentioned it to her first in their text exchange. Meanwhile: Larry Summers said today he will step down from OpenAI’s board of directors, “the latest development in the fallout following the release of emails showing that he sought romantic advice from” Epstein, POLITICO’s Sam Sutton reports. “In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” Summers said in a statement. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress.”
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Subscribe now for the free preview. | | | | | 5. FOR YOUR RADAR: House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has referred a top aide to former special counsel Jack Smith to DOJ for allegedly obstructing a congressional investigation, POLITICO's Hailey Fuchs reports. In a letter to AG Pam Bondi, Jordan wrote that former senior assistant special counsel, Thomas Windom, declined to answer questions in his September deposition “by citing a lack of authorization from her department, along with other justifications.” Jordan claimed that Windom’s attorney claimed “an unspecified First Amendment privilege, attorney-client privilege, a misguided belief that the Committee had no legitimate legislative purpose for the inquiry, and his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.” 6. FED UP: Trump continued his fixation on the Federal Reserve this morning during remarks at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center. “To me, it’s the easiest job in the world,” Trump said of being Fed chair. “You play golf for 28, 29 days and then you go and make a little speech. Tell everybody, in the case of the current guy, the wrong information cause he has no clue. But if you have good instincts, you know it's all based on instincts. I see they want to hire 3,000 economists — 3,000! — to report to the Fed chairman. What are they going to do?” Next man up: Trump also ruled out tapping Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s replacement: “We’re thinking about him for the Fed. But he wants no part of it,” Trump said. “So let’s cross your name off, right?” 7. CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer is officially entering the California governor race, POLITICO’s Jeremy White reports. Steyer’s announcement video casts the megadonor and onetime presidential hopeful as an outsider and delivers an opening message dialed in on the cost of living. “Independent polling suggests Steyer will have had a steep path to contention,” Jeremy writes. “A November survey from U.C. Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies put him at one percent.” Steyer’s campaign is working with Fight Agency, “the punchy progressive strategists that brought you Zohran [Mamdani], Graham Platner, and other insurgent candidates,” Semafor’s David Weigel notes. 8. ANYBODY HAVE A MAP?: A federal court’s decision striking down Texas’ newly drawn congressional map has brought the issue to the Supreme Court’s doorstep, forcing justices into a high-stakes redistricting fight that could shape control of Congress, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney reports. Texas is racing against a Dec. 8 filing deadline as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seeks an emergency reversal, while the justices have to weigh whether the map amounts to racial gerrymandering and if changing election rules this late would violate the so-called Purcell Principle, “a reference to the high court’s holding in a 2006 emergency-docket dispute that courts should butt out of voting-related cases as an election nears.”
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| | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | | | | | Sponsored Survey WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Please take a 1-minute survey about one of our advertising partners. | | | | OUT AND ABOUT — Executive Branch, the private members club in Georgetown, was the destination for all Saudis and Americans after the White House’s lavish dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. SPOTTED: Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi, Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Princess Haifa bint Mohammed Al-Saud, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, Sens. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) and Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, Donald Trump Jr., Bettina Anderson, Omeed Malik, David Sacks, Garrett Ventry, Dan Holler, Adam Stahl, Dave Levy, Dina Powell McCormick, Greg Brockman, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Richard Attias, Cody Crowell, Pakistani Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, Bret Baier, Laura Ingraham and Tony Sayegh. — Center Forward hosted its anniversary celebration at the Royal Norwegian Embassy last week, commemorating 15 years of bipartisan convening in D.C. and honoring members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. SPOTTED: Norwegian Ambassador Anniken Huitfeldt, Reps. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), Ami Bera (D-Calif.), Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Troy Carter (D-La.), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Vince Fong (R-Calif.), Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.), Adam Gray (D-Calif.), Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Young Kim (R-Calif.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.), Dave Min (D-Calif.), Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas) and Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), Cori Kramer, Riley Kilburg, Libby Greer, Jeff Murray, Jason Pray, Rob Runyan, Marc Short, Jeff Zeleny, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Ed Luce, Tyler Pager, Josh Dawsey, Niamh King, Sumi Somaskanda, Alex Ball, Laurie McKay, Artur Orkisz and Suzanne Beall. — The Digital Chamber hosted its “Capitol Cheers: Staff Appreciation Happy Hour” last night at the office of Sidley Austin LLP. SPOTTED: Nick Rockwell, Jack Solowey, Lindsey Kelleher, Jared Evans, Mike Robertson, Andrew Guffee, Nolan Brown, Cody Carbone, Taylor Barr, Andres Velasco and Zunera Mazhar. — Puck hosted a power breakfast this morning at The Riggs with Leigh Ann Caldwell interviewing House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.). SPOTTED: Kristin Whitman, Mollie O’Dell, Lance West, Victoria Garrastacho, Doug MacGillivray, Matt Gorman, Andrew Wills, Sumi Somaskanda, Matt Glassman, Jared Powell, Lauren Gillis, Kelley Hudak, Jonathan Van Buren, Kent Knutson, David Leiter, David Abadir, Alex Nason, Brielle Hopkins and Alex Allaire. 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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