| | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
Texas' Republicans new congressional map was blocked today in federal court. | Eric Gay, File/AP | BREAKING: A flurry of huge news just landed on multiple fronts — and that’s even before we get to the House’s Jeffrey Epstein files vote this afternoon. Strap in: Texas: A federal court panel has blocked Texas Republicans’ new congressional map — the redraw that sparked a nationwide political land grab — and ordered the midterm election to be held along the state’s previous district lines, per POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and colleagues. Trump-appointed judge Jeffrey Brown wrote that the map was not only a partisan gerrymander but likely an illegal racial one. This will almost certainly be appealed. The order Khashoggi: President Donald Trump sided with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over U.S. intelligence agencies today, saying that Mohammed “knew nothing about” the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Sitting next to MBS in the Oval Office, Trump dismissed Khashoggi as an “extremely controversial” person whom “a lot of people didn’t like” and upbraided ABC’s Mary Bruce, who asked about him: “You don’t have to embarrass our guest.” During Trump’s first term, the CIA concluded that Mohammed had approved the killing of Khashoggi, which Mohammed has denied. Trump also said Mohammed has been “incredible” on human rights. More from POLITICO’s Irie Sentner Meta: Federal judge James Boasberg concluded that Meta didn’t make an illegal monopoly when it bought WhatsApp and Instagram, a major victory for the tech behemoth and a blow to antitrust efforts at the FTC that might have led to the company’s breakup, per POLITICO’s Aaron Mak. Education: The Trump administration is moving forward with its unprecedented plan to close the Education Department, spinning off crucial offices to four other agencies, POLITICO’s Juan Perez Jr. reports. The announcement is officially coming this afternoon.
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Explore Phil's story. | | | | Phew. And now on to the afternoon’s next big event: The House will finally vote on a measure to demand that the Justice Department make public its Epstein files. But as the pre-vote squabbling on the Hill today made clear, this debate over the late convicted sex offender — which has riven Republicans and forced a rare 180 from Trump — is far from over. What to expect: After Trump gave his OK to the discharge petition, once viewed as a long shot, it’s anticipated to have lopsided support from not only Democrats but Republicans in the House, who have reversed course en masse. Speaker Mike Johnson said he will vote for the legislation from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) — despite his concerns about some of its provisions, including around victims’ privacy, whistleblowers and classified records. Behind closed doors today, Johnson said GOP members should vote their “conscience,” POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs and Meredith Lee Hill report. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise will also vote yes. This is “a political show vote” forced by Democrats, Johnson told reporters. But he said Senate Majority Leader John Thune told him that the Senate would make changes to address those issues. Johnson rejected a reporter’s contention that a vote for the bill constituted a reversal from his previous position. And he slammed Massie and Khanna for having given leadership the “middle finger” over changes to the bill. The survivors: At a press conference this morning, Epstein survivors again shared their stories and called for transparency. One, Jena-Lisa Jones, urged Trump to “please stop making this political. It is not about you, President Trump. You are our president. Please start acting like it.” The mavericks: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) emphasized that in addition to the Senate vote, supporters of the bill will be watching to see whether DOJ actually releases all the documents they want. Legal experts have warned that the new Epstein investigation Trump has demanded into Democrats could allow the federal government to limit the release of files that are the subject of an ongoing probe. Greene said Trump’s fight with her over the Epstein files has damaged his movement. “This has been one of the most destructive things to MAGA,” she said of Trump’s long-lasting opposition to the bill. “Watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart.” The Trump administration, of course, has the power to release the files without an act of Congress if it so chose. “He was a sick pervert,” Trump said of Epstein today. Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
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Subscribe now for the free preview. | | | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. BILL OF HEALTH: On the Hill, there may be an opening for a bipartisan deal on health care premiums, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reported this morning. Though Republican senators won’t likely support the clean extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that Democrats want, some are open to negotiations for a package including reforms. But the clock is ticking before the end-of-year expiration, and Dems would like to haggle with Trump directly. Moderate House Republicans want movement: Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) implored her colleagues to support her one-year extension bill or craft an alternative quickly, per NBC’s Sahil Kapur, and Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) told the Des Moines Register’s Marissa Payne that he’s on board. Popping that bubble: Trump made clear on Truth Social that he’s hardening his position against extending the subsidies. “THE ONLY HEALTHCARE I WILL SUPPORT OR APPROVE IS SENDING THE MONEY DIRECTLY BACK TO THE PEOPLE,” he wrote. “Congress, do not waste your time and energy” on the alternative. But it would be an uphill battle for Trump to get Democrats on board with this path, which some health experts warn could create an Obamacare death spiral if healthy Americans switch to skimpier, cheaper plans. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) said “there is no way a clean extension comes to the House floor,” per Kapur. The latest in Congress: A presentation from House GOP leaders this morning made clear that they too prefer a bigger overhaul to an extension of the subsidies, clean or otherwise, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill and Benjamin Guggenheim report. The party’s path forward still looks pretty unclear, with plenty of divergent opinions. The White House plan: This morning, deputy chief of staff James Blair told Bloomberg Government’s Jack Fitzpatrick that they plan to put out a health care legislative plan and are open to passing it through a party-line reconciliation bill if Democrats don’t get on board. “The president probably would like to go bigger than the Hill has the appetite for,” Blair said. More from POLITICO’s Sophia Cai and colleagues Also looming: A new analysis lays out the 109 hospitals most vulnerable to be damaged by Republicans’ Medicaid cuts, which are largely urban safety-net hospitals with precarious finances and many low-income patients, NYT’s Emily Badger and colleagues report. The lost revenue will force many of the hospitals to shutter departments and services, and some could be forced to close altogether. 2. IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID: Blair also said today that sending Americans tariff dividend checks would likely require Congress to get involved — with a reconciliation bill as one possible vehicle. But the administration will try to see if there’s a creative solution without Congress, too. Johnson said today that he thinks Congress would have to pass legislation, and that he’ll meet with Blair. The impact: Cost-of-living struggles, combined with the effects of tariffs, have seriously squeezed many small businesses, CNN’s Matt Egan reports. And the latest ADP data shows the private-sector labor market slowing down through October, with an average of 2,500 jobs lost weekly, per Bloomberg.
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| | | | 3. KFILE STRIKES AGAIN: “Trump pick for deputy UN job questioned loyalty of American Muslims,” by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck: Tammy Bruce “for years promoted inflammatory, anti-Muslim and conspiratorial claims, including suggesting that former President Barack Obama was a secret Muslim bent on harming America. A CNN KFile review of Bruce’s blog posts, social media posts, columns and radio commentaries starting in the early 2000s shows a pattern of demeaning language about Muslims, including suggesting that American Muslims needed to prove their loyalty after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.” Bruce didn’t respond for comment. 4. THE CRACKDOWN: Having already come to Charlotte, North Carolina, over the weekend, a federal immigration enforcement surge is expected to expand to Raleigh today. Mayor Janet Cowell gave the heads-up to Indy Week that Border Patrol and ICE agents have already arrived and will likely start making arrests today. DHS told CBS’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez that the number of arrests in Charlotte has now topped 200. Timely listen: The most recent episode of “This American Life” centers on a Raleigh-area family trying to decide whether the father, an unauthorized immigrant, should self-deport over the past year. More immigration reading: A big new national poll by the NYT and KFF of both documented and undocumented immigrants finds that Trump’s seismic systemic changes have made many of them more concerned — half say they’re fearful or angry, while 22 percent are satisfied. Three-fifths think the U.S. has lost its former status as a “great place” for immigrants. But a large majority still feel optimistic about their futures and say they would do it again. … Increasingly, foreign professionals like doctors and engineers are finding it harder to immigrate to and work in the U.S., WaPo’s Lauren Kaori Gurley and colleagues report. 5. WATERSHED MOMENT: “First doses of HIV prevention drug lenacapavir delivered to Zambia, Eswatini,” by Reuters’ Daphne Psaledakis and colleagues: The roughly 1,000 doses are “the first delivery under a U.S. scheme to supply the HIV prevention drug to countries with a high prevalence of the virus … Gilead is working to receive regulatory approval for distribution in other so-called high-burden sub-Saharan countries … But the United States will not provide U.S.-funded doses to South Africa.” 6. 2026 WATCH: Cameron Kasky officially jumped into the crowded Democratic primary for an open congressional seat in Manhattan, Vanity Fair’s Dan Adler reports. The 25-year-old Parkland massacre survivor and activist is running from the left as a democratic socialist, with a focus on Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, Gaza, abolishing ICE and more. 7. BIG MONEY: Since the 2024 election, Trump’s political fundraising tally is now getting close to $2 billion, The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker report. It’s an unprecedented windfall for a president who can’t run again — and a lot of the money is coming from industries seeking to land government contracts or favorable treatment. “Trump has kept careful track of the money coming in,” they report. “He monitors who is giving, who is not, and the role of lobbyists who bundle donations … At times, the actual donation amount is less important to the president than the percentage of the donor’s overall assets.”
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➡️ Explore POLITICO Pro Briefings | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | SPOTTED: Paul Dans holding a fundraiser for his South Carolina Senate bid upstairs at Butterworth’s last night, his first event outside the state. More than 100 people attended, including Trump administration staffers. Dans began his remarks, “I’m supposed to tell you what makes me different from Lindsey [Graham], so I’d like to introduce my pregnant wife …” OUT AND ABOUT — The Patriotic Millionaires held an event called “Money. Message. Millionaires” at the Hamilton Live last night, with conversations focused on the economy and a keynote discussion with Erica Payne and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). SPOTTED: Reps. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.) and John Mannion (D-N.Y.), Virginia state Del. Irene Shin, Morris Pearl, John Driscoll, Stephen Prince, Ashley Craig, Chuck Collins, Pierre Hollis, Ana María Archila, Terrance Woodbury, Vanessa Williamson, Michael Huttner, Brian Komar, Mike Lux, Tiffany Muller, Svante Myrick, Michelle Ringuette, John Robinson, Richard Sullivan, Shaunna Thomas, Michael Tomasky, John Neffinger, Ryan Grim, Adam Green and Michael Isikoff. — Comcast NBCUniversal and the Motion Picture Association hosted an advance screening of “Wicked: For Good” last night at MPA’s D.C. headquarters. Guests enjoyed “Wicked”-inspired cocktails ahead of the screening like the “Ozmopolitan” and “Shizz Fizz” and dined on pork belly, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, sliders and other appetizers. SPOTTED: Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), German Ambassador Jens Hanefeld, James Lloyd, Charles Rivkin, Phil Tahtakran, Peter Alexander, Andrea Mitchell, Alessandro Gonzales, Ronald Neumann, Phil Kerpen, Riley Kilburg, Christine Chen, Madalene Mielke, Susan Weinstock, Stephanie Haridopolos and Kris Schneider. TRANSITIONS — Micah Ketchel is now a partner at Ballard Partners, leading its new critical minerals practice. He previously worked at the State Department and the NSC. … Phil Newland is now VP of comms for the Americas at Swiss Re. He previously worked at the American Flood Coalition. … … Bryan Ricker is joining Winning Strategies Washington as a principal. He is a Mike Crapo alum. … Barnes & Thornburg is adding Joe Donovan and Margot Laporte as partners. Donovan previously worked at Pierce Atwood. Laporte previously worked at Dorsey & Whitney. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Heather (Rawls) Hawthorne, a senior manager in Deloitte Federal Health, and Brian Hawthorne, a specialist leader at Deloitte and a command sergeant major in the U.S. Army Reserve, welcomed Brooks Alexander Hawthorne on Nov 6. 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.
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