| | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears before the Senate Finance Committee in Washington, on Sept. 4, 2025. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | SENATE PULSE CHECK: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sat down for a contentious faceoff with the Senate Finance Committee this morning, where lawmakers aired out their fears and frustration with the secretary’s leadership of the nation’s top health agency — including some notable trepidation from top Republicans on the panel, POLITICO’s Shawn Zeller and colleagues write. In his own words: Despite waves of concerned responses from lawmakers following the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, Kennedy defended the ouster, saying it was “absolutely necessary” to “restore the agency to its role as the world’s gold standard public health agency.” “We are the sickest country in the world. That’s why we have to fire people at the CDC. They did not do their job,” Kennedy later said. “I need to fire some of those people to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” Shortly before Kennedy sat before the panel, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by Monarez, titled: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC and Me.” In it, Monarez laid out her own version of events leading up to her dismissal, arguing Kennedy is politicizing public health. “Reporters have focused on the Aug. 25 meeting where my boss … pressured me to resign or face termination. But that meeting revealed that it wasn’t about one person or my job. It was one of the more public aspects of a deliberate effort to weaken America’s public-health system and vaccine protections,” Monarez wrote. When Kennedy was asked directly about Monarez’s claims, he continued to deny the meeting ever happened. “No, I did not say that to her and I never had a private meeting with her,” he said, “other witnesses will say I never said that.” The doctors are in: The most notable pushback from the session came from the Republicans on the committee, who largely pressed Kennedy over his approach to vaccines. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a doctor and frequent critic of Kennedy, grilled the secretary over the ousting of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and cancellation of Covid-19 vaccine contracts. But in a sharp line of questioning, Cassidy managed to thread the needle between jamming Kennedy and currying favor with Trump, whom he is seeking support from in a contentious primary race, POLITICO’s Amanda Friedman reports. Cassidy asked whether Kennedy agreed with him that Trump was deserving of a Nobel Prize for his Operation Warp Speed push to develop Covid vaccines during the pandemic. Kennedy said yes, an answer that Cassidy replied appeared to directly contradict Kennedy’s past work for an anti-vaccine group, his decision to cancel $500 million in federal mRNA vaccine research funding and his statement that “the Covid vaccine killed more people than Covid.” Meanwhile, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, an orthopedic surgeon, said he has “grown deeply concerned” over HHS’ policies under Kennedy’s tenure. “Americans don’t know who to rely on,” Barrasso said. “There are real concerns that safe, proven vaccines like measles, like Hepatitis B, could be in jeopardy. That could put Americans at risk and reverse decades of progress.” In response, Kennedy reiterated his plans to remake the CDC and restore trust, POLITICO’s Simon Levien writes. INDEPENDENCE’S DAY: In another closely watched hearing this morning, the Senate Banking Committee took up the nomination of Trump’s hand-picked economic adviser Stephen Miran to fill a vacant seat on the Fed’s Board of Governors, which has garnered increased attention amid Trump’s attempts to exert his influence against the Federal Reserve’s position as an independent agency. Miran testified that he would maintain the board’s independence if confirmed. And despite Trump’s wishes to push out Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other officials over what he perceives as a sluggish response to rate cuts, Miran (who was under oath) said that no one in the administration had asked him to commit to lowering interest rates, POLITICO’s Victoria Guida writes. “That said, I’m always happy to hear views from every source possible,” Miran said. Miran also said he would take an unpaid leave of absence from his current role at the White House rather than resign. The backdrop: The Justice Department has issued subpoenas today as part of a criminal investigation into claims that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook submitted fraudulent information on mortgage applications, WSJ’s Brian Schwartz and colleagues scoop. House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.), meanwhile, said the Senate should wait to confirm a replacement for Cook until her legal challenge to the ousting is determined in court, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill reports, noting that Hill’s stance “shows a growing unease among key GOP lawmakers.” Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
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President Donald Trump spoke by phone with European leaders in the “Coalition of the Willing” who were gathered in France today. | Aaron Schwarz/CNP | 1. RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST: Trump spoke by phone with European leaders in the “Coalition of the Willing” who were gathered in France today to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump warned on the call that Europe must cease purchasing Russian oil that’s “helping Moscow fund its war against Ukraine,” a White House official told Reuters’ Steve Holland. The official said Trump “emphasized that European leaders must place economic pressure on China for funding Russia’s war efforts” and “made clear that this is not his war, and the Europeans must step up as well.” In addition to the meeting between Europe’s top leaders, “Andrii Yermak, Zelenskyy's powerful chief of staff, said Thursday that he had met with Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Paris,” NBC’s Alexander Smith reports. “The security guarantees ‘must be strong and effective — in the air, at sea, and on land,’ he said in a statement. ‘The war launched by Russia must be stopped. President Trump’s principle of “peace through strength” is exactly the kind of approach that can influence the aggressor.’” 2. TRADING SPACES: Newly released Commerce Department data shows that U.S. trade saw a slight uptick in July ahead of Trump’s August deadline for tariffs on foreign goods. Imports of goods and services in the U.S. rose by 5.9 percent and exports grew 0.3 percent in July compared with the previous month, according to the latest Bureau of Economic Analysis report. In total, the U.S. trade deficit sat at $78.3 billion in July, up $19.2 billion from June’s revised number. Still, the White House’s tariff dealings have skewed the way we understand the numbers. Though Trump’s tariff pause earlier this summer “helped buoy U.S. trade in July, the effect may be temporary,” NYT’s Ana Swanson reports. “Far steeper tariffs went into effect on Aug. 7, raising the tariff that the United States charges on exports from dozens of nations to between 10 and 50 percent.” Related read: “India, bruised by US tariffs, cozies up to Russia, China,” by POLITICO’s Megan Messerly 3. IMMIGRATION FILES: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is creating its own armed enforcement body to investigate immigration application fraud and make arrests, WSJ’s Michelle Hackman scoops: “Agents who go through training will be allowed to arrest people for immigration violations or other criminal charges, and will carry guns. The move is significant because, until now, USCIS was explicitly kept separate from immigration enforcement, so that immigrants could feel comfortable submitting their personal information to the government and showing up for their interviews.” 4. THE EPSTEIN FILES: Capitol Hill remains abuzz with questions over the Jeffrey Epstein files. This morning, Speaker Mike Johnson said he didn’t think it was likely Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) would secure enough GOP signatures on his discharge petition to trigger a vote on the release of the files, per POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill. Johnson also said Massie’s effort is “superfluous” after Republicans approved a GOP-led measure green-lighting the House Oversight Committee’s continued investigation. The speaker also told reporters that he suspects Trump “probably will” meet with the Epstein survivors who have gathered in D.C. this week and yesterday lent their support to Massie’s effort.
| | | | Playbook isn’t just a read — it’s a daily listen. Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns bring unmatched reporting and analysis on the power plays shaping Trump’s Washington. Hear the latest now. | | | | | 5. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: In the latest legal action against the White House’s federal takeover, D.C. AG Brian Schwalb filed a suit against the Trump administration today claiming Trump’s use of the National Guard “infringes on [D.C.’s] sovereignty and right to self-governance,” POLITICO’s Nicole Markus and Kyle Cheney report. The White House pushed back that it is “well within his authority” to deploy the guard in D.C., though a federal judge ruled this week that Trump’s use of National Guard to carry out police work in California was illegal. On the ground in Washington: “With no end in sight, National Guard troops deployed to DC grow weary,” by CNN’s Isabelle Khurshudyan and colleagues 6. JUDICIARY SQUARE: A group of federal judges say they are increasingly concerned about the Supreme Court’s growing pattern of overturning lower court rulings, with many arguing Chief Justice John Roberts should be doing more to push back against Trump, they told NBC’s Lawrence Hurley in a series of exclusive and highly rare interviews. “Ten of the 12 judges who spoke to NBC News said the Supreme Court should better explain those rulings, noting that the terse decisions leave lower court judges with little guidance for how to proceed. But they also have a new and concerning effect, the judges said, validating the Trump administration’s criticisms.” The effect: “A short rebuttal from the Supreme Court, they argue, makes it seem like they did shoddy work and are biased against Trump. ‘It is inexcusable,’ a judge said of the Supreme Court justices. ‘They don’t have our backs.’” But some judges were “more reluctant to criticize the justices,” Hurley reports. A Barack Obama appointee, for instance, told NBC “the whole ‘Trump derangement syndrome’ is a real issue. As a result, judges are mad at what Trump is doing or the manner he is going about things; they are sometimes forgetting to stay in their lane.” 7. TRAIL MIX: As Republicans ramp up recruiting for a challenging midterm cycle, party officials have spoken to two Michigan state senators to jump into the race for Rep. Bill Huizenga’s seat if he chooses to forgo a reelection bid, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller and Burgess Everett scoop. “Huizenga has not made a decision yet” on his future, though “Republican leaders have asked him what they can do to entice him to remain in the House.” Empire state of mind: New York Assemblymember Micah Lasher has opened up a new campaign committee, marking the first formal step toward a run to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), City & State New York’s Peter Sterne reports. … In the increasingly dramatic mayoral race, Trump has set a deadline of next week for the longer-shot candidates challenging Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani to exit the race and line up behind a single candidate, NY Post’s Craig McCarthy scoops. 8. FOR YOUR RADAR: “Suspect in killing of Israeli Embassy staffers in DC pleads not guilty to all charges,” by 7News: “During the arraignment, the judge designated this case as complex because of the amount of evidence to go through, including more than 1.5 million pages of data, an iPhone, and 450 MB of additional data plied more to be provided. The Justice Department has announced its intention to pursue the death penalty in this case.”
| | | | Want to know how policy pros stay ahead? Policy Intelligence Assistant — only with POLITICO Pro — merges trusted reporting with advanced AI to deliver deeper insights, faster answers, and powerful report builders that drive action. Get 30 days free. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | OUT AND ABOUT — Uber and Uber Eats hosted a pop-up event yesterday on Capitol Hill welcoming members and staff back from August recess. The event featured giveaways from local vendors Toastique and MOLTN Cookies and Uber-branded swag. SPOTTED: Javier Correoso, Brielle Hopkins, Brandi Pensoneau, Greg Nasif, Philip Swartzfager, Roberto Lugones, Jacob Zane, Jackie Schmitz and Matt Furlow. — SPOTTED on H street last night at chef Rock Harper’s new bar, Hush Harbor’s soft-opening: Reps. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), David Hogg and Danny Hogenkamp. MEDIA MOVES — Greta Lawn is now president for North America at the Daily Mail. She previously was general manager for North America media and ad tech solutions for Microsoft’s advertising arm. … Tom Latchem is now lead global correspondent for The Daily Beast. He is a BBC, Mirror and Daily Mail alum. TRANSITIONS — Reilly Richardson is now southern regional press secretary at the NRCC. He previously was comms director for Rep. Derek Schmidt (R-Kan.). … Emily Collins is joining Caliber Contact as the creative director. She’s an NRSC and RNC alum. … Maureen Elinzano is now creative director for Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.). She previously was deputy press secretary and digital director for Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and is a Harris campaign alum. … … Chris Brown is joining the XR Association as VP of public policy. He most recently was at the Association of Value Airlines and the National Air Carrier Association and is an FAA alum. … Mary Beth Schultz is now a partner at Wiley in the food and drug practice. She previously was acting general counsel and principal deputy general counsel at the USDA. … Michael Thadani is now VP for public affairs and comms at Tiger Hill Partners. He previously was an associate director at WestExec Advisors and is a Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments alum. WEEKEND WEDDING — Denise Grace Gitsham, founder of Vitamin D Public Relations and NewsNation contributor, and Jeff Hasselman, founder of 926 Ventures, got married this weekend at Villa Valentini Bonaparte in Italy in a ceremony officiated by Greg Hendricks. The couple met on Bumble. SPOTTED: Sophia Cai, Hugo Lowell, Ed Moy, Stephanie Carlton, Patrick Bumatay, Carrie Batson, Roberta Shea, Abigail Robertson Allen, Alyssa DaCunha, Andrea Hailey, Anne Ferrell Tata, Samantha Dravis, Emma Sharma, Greg Mauro, Margaret Sales, Katie Biber, Morgan Daughtridge, Ivette Fernandez and Jessica Himanga Miller. Pic via Wurzbach Fisher Photography … 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 editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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