| | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
President Donald Trump said he'd ordered a new and altered census. | John Raoux, File/AP | TRUMP’S NEW TARGET: Amid a national furor over President Donald Trump’s efforts to gerrymander Democrats out of more House seats mid-decade — and Dems’ efforts to respond in kind — he raised the stakes again this morning with a call for a new census, per POLITICO’s Nicole Markus. The demand: Trump said he’d ordered the Commerce Department to start a new census that would take the unprecedented step of excluding undocumented immigrants from its count — and that would be, “importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024.” At stake is the federal government’s allocation of billions of dollars in funding, as well as the apportionment that determines each state’s number of House seats. (In 2020, though, Pew projected that removing undocumented people from the census would be a partisan wash in terms of redistribution of House seats.) Huge questions remain: It isn’t clear yet whether Trump is demanding a new census now or changes for the 2030 count. Either way, his plans would face massive logistical, legal and political hurdles, AP’s Josh Boak and colleagues report. The Constitution says the census must count “whole persons,” and courts blocked Trump from adding a citizenship question in his first term. Under current law, a mid-decade census has to be done in a year ending in 5 — and only for funding, not apportionment, purposes. Planning for and pulling off one this year would be next to impossible. The Texas fight keeps escalating: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) announced today that the FBI had said yes to helping find the Democratic state legislators who have blocked Republicans’ gerrymander by fleeing the state, NYT’s David Goodman and Julie Bosman report. But it’s not clear yet what grounds the bureau would have to get involved or what crime has been committed. There’s now the prospect of “a standoff between the Trump administration and state leaders in Illinois,” as Gov. JB Pritzker pooh-poohed Cornyn’s news as “a lot of grandstanding” and said the FBI wouldn’t arrest the Texans. How it’s playing: “We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities,” Cornyn said in his announcement. But Democrats held firm: “The Trump administration continues to weaponize law enforcement to target political adversaries,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted. “These extremists don’t give a damn about public safety. We will not be intimidated.” In the spotlight: Texas Dems’ protest to avoid a quorum will quickly become costly — and they’re seeking lots of small-dollar donations to keep their effort afloat, AP’s David Lieb and Jonathan Cooper report. Dem Caucus leader Gene Wu has become the unlikely man at the center of the fight, NYT’s Pooja Salhotra reports. But Texas Republicans are still expected to triumph in the end, snatching five seats from Democrats. Hoosier hullabaloo: VP JD Vance is in Indiana today, huddling with Gov. Mike Braun to push Republicans to gerrymander another seat there. But he didn’t break through immediately, as Braun said simply that “we listened” and remained noncommittal about whether Republicans would redistrict, POLITICO’s Adam Wren and Andrew Howard report. Meanwhile, GOP former Gov. Mitch Daniels told Adam and Cheyanne Daniels that “it would be just wrong” to do it. First in Playbook: After huddling with Braun and legislative leaders, Vance raised just under $1 million for the RNC at the InterContinental Hotel in Indianapolis during a fundraiser organized with 48 hours’ notice. How we got here: “A decade of Supreme Court rulings have given states increasingly unfettered power in redistricting,” by NBC’s Lawrence Hurley: “With technological advances making it increasingly easy to surgically draw districts to maximize partisan advantages, both Republican and Democratic states have continued the practice.” Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from American Beverage: No spin. No judgments. Just the facts from the experts.
When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you decide. That's why America's beverage companies have launched GoodToKnowFacts.org – a new website that puts easy-to-understand details about the ingredients in our beverages right in your hands, all in one place. For over 140 ingredients, you can find common uses, alternative names and safety assessments from food safety authorities at GoodToKnowFacts.org. | | | | | | 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. NOT SO FAST: After reports that Trump planned to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days, the White House today said Putin would need to also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the N.Y. Post’s Caitlin Doornbos scooped. That could be a tough condition for Putin to meet. 2. FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK: Trump today is signing an order directing the Labor Department to make it easier for private equity, cryptocurrency and other assets to be included in 401(k)s, as Bloomberg’s Jennifer Dlouhy and Allison McNeely scooped. The goal is to allow alternative asset industries, including real estate, to access these retirement plans, which have long centered on stocks and bonds. Another crypto win: Trump is also signing an EO addressing conservative claims of “debanking” by telling regulators not to include “reputational risk” language in banks’ guidance, Fox Business’ Preston Mizell reports. Banks say they have not discriminated against conservatives or on the basis of ideology — though debanking does broadly affect poor and undocumented people. But the crypto industry and conservatives have argued that they were being blocked from accounts. School daze: Trump is also signing a presidential memorandum to force all universities receiving federal funding to provide admissions data, to make sure they’re not using race-based affirmative action, The Daily Caller’s Reagan Reese scooped. 3. THE CHIPS ARE DOWN: Trump demanded that Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan step down immediately, after Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) raised concerns about his past work as a venture capitalist investing in Chinese companies, per the WSJ. The semiconductor chipmaker, which is a major recipient of federal funding to build out domestic manufacturing, has said Tan’s business history doesn’t raise any security concerns for the U.S. But Trump declared that he is “highly CONFLICTED.” 4. THE PURGE: Former acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll and at least one other agent are being pushed out of the bureau by tomorrow, NYT’s Adam Goldman and colleagues report. Though the reasoning wasn’t immediately clear, Driscoll had defended agents who investigated Jan. 6, and Walter Giardina has been targeted by Republicans after he worked on Trump-related cases. CNN’s Evan Perez and colleagues report that acting Washington field office leader Steve Jensen is being ousted too. Meanwhile, as many as 300 GAO staffers are being offered buyouts, Punchbowl’s Samantha Handler reports. And more: “Pro-Trump group wages campaign to purge ‘subversive’ federal workers,” by Reuters’ Linda So, Peter Eisler and Ned Parker: “175 federal employees, mostly civil servants, named on ‘watchlists’ posted online by the American Accountability Foundation, which wants them removed from their jobs for allegedly promoting liberal ideologies. Many are women and people of color with long careers under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Most have little or no public profile and have spent their careers in behind-the-scenes government roles. … Some described a quiet unraveling of their lives, experiencing depression, feeling a need to disappear.” Who’s in: NPR’s Tom Dreisbach revealed new footage of Jared Wise shouting, “Kill ’em! Kill ’em!” to encourage Jan. 6 rioters fighting against police officers at the Capitol insurrection. He’s now a senior adviser at the Justice Department. At his trial, Wise said he didn’t literally mean it.
| | | | Did you know Playbook goes beyond the newsletter—with powerhouse new co-hosts at the mic? Tune in to The Playbook Podcast every weekday for exclusive intel and sharp analysis on Trump’s Washington, straight from Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns. Start listening now. | | | | | 5. TRADING PLACES: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business today that he expects the U.S.-China truce limiting tariffs to be extended another three months beyond its current deadline of Tuesday. But he also didn’t take off the table penalties for China buying lots of oil from Russia. The scramble: Major U.S. trading partners now facing steep tariffs are racing to respond with a mixture of dealmaking and threats. Indian PM Narendra Modi said he’ll “never compromise” on farmers, per Reuters. A Taiwanese official said they’re still pressing hard for a deal. And the government of Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, who failed to land an agreement or even meet with Trump in D.C. this week, said it’s nonetheless “firmly committed” to talks to lower the levies, per Bloomberg. But in Bern, some politicians across multiple parties — especially on the left — are urging the government to scrap a deal to buy F-35 fighter jets, Bloomberg’s Levin Stamm and Bastian Benrath-Wright report. 6. TRAIL MIX: Both of the fall’s gubernatorial races are heating up a bit. In Virginia, Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger is going up with her first big negative TV ad, NBC’s Bridget Bowman scooped. It slams GOP Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears for trying to pivot away from a question about federal worker layoffs to “real issues.” And in New Jersey — a typically bluer state that Dems worry could be closer than Virginia this year — the DNC is pushing an unusual $1.5 million investment into the party’s coordinated campaign, per the New Jersey Globe’s Zach Blackburn. Om Savargaonkar will be director of the coordinated campaign. 2026 watch: Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) is facing new ads from the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund that criticize him for making lots of stock trades in office, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller scooped. First in Playbook: Slightly more than a day after launching his California congressional campaign, Democrat Jake Levine has pulled in more than $250,000. 7. FED UP: As Trump’s team weighs potential replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell, central bank governor Christopher Waller is becoming a leading contender, Bloomberg’s Saleha Mohsin reports. They like his “willingness to move on policy based on forecasting, rather than current data, and his deep knowledge of the Fed system as a whole.” 8. FILLING THE SWAMP: “Trump Delayed a Medicare Change After Health Companies’ Donations,” by NYT’s Ken Vogel and colleagues: “[O]ne of [Oliver] Burckhardt’s biotech companies had donated $5 million to MAGA Inc. … About one month later, the Trump administration announced it would delay until next year the Biden administration plan to limit Medicare’s coverage of the bandages, known as skin substitutes, saying that it was reviewing its policies. It was the culmination of an expensive influence campaign by Extremity Care that underscored Mr. Trump’s willingness to grant access and preferential treatment to people and companies that fill the coffers of his political groups.” 9. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: AARP Foundation warned that it will have to furlough staffers tomorrow if the Labor Department doesn’t start releasing hundreds of millions of dollars for job training for low-income seniors that it froze earlier this summer. Without action by DOL, AARP Foundation says it would have to start ending the program, which serves nearly 7,000 people, next month. The letter More notes from the freezer: At Harvard, the federal government’s funding freeze means that some of the world’s top scientific and health research remains paused and could be set back years, AP’s Leah Willingham and Michael Casey report.
| | | | A message from American Beverage:  
America's beverage companies are making it easier than ever to find transparent information about the ingredients in your favorite beverages. Learn more at GoodToKnowFacts.org. | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Spencer Pratt was in town this week to meet with Pam Bondi and others about the LA wildfires, as he slams Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass for mismanaging the crisis. Donald Trump will honor more than 100 people who’ve received Purple Hearts at the White House this afternoon. Bill Clinton is shaking up this year’s Clinton Global Initiative meeting. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “Inside one pastor’s crusade for Christian domination in the age of Trump,” by CNN’s Pamela Brown and Jeremy Herb: “The inaugural service of Christ Church Washington DC, an extension of an Idaho-based Evangelical movement, took place in a building owned by the Conservative Partnership Institute … [Douglas] Wilson advocates for the idea that America should adopt a Christian theocracy and adhere to a biblical interpretation of society. The new church in Washington is part of that mission, he says. … Wilson’s most prominent and public follower in the Trump administration is [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth.” AFTER DOGE — Katie Miller is launching “The Katie Miller Podcast” with a focus on reaching conservative women, Axios’ Mike Allen scooped. The former special government employee and Elon Musk adviser has stopped working for him full time to focus on entrepreneurship. Her first guests are VP JD Vance, Mike Tyson and Sage Steele. HOLLYWOODLAND — “Skydance Takes Over Paramount, and a New Era Begins,” by NYT’s John Koblin and Ben Mullin: “The $8 billion merger of Paramount and the media company Skydance closed early Thursday morning, catapulting new power players to the top of Hollywood and ending a tortuous process that had lasted well over a year. Gone are the Redstones, whose family controlled CBS and Paramount Pictures for decades. In are the Ellisons.” TRANSITIONS — Laura Flores is now digital director for Colin Allred’s Texas Senate campaign. She previously was digital comms director at Student Turnout Projects by Strategic Victory Fund and is a David Trone alum. … Thomas (Ted) Dunlap is now of counsel at Wilson Elser. He previously was at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and is a National Transportation Safety Board alum. 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 editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook PM misspelled Kristi Johnston’s name.
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