| | | |  | | By Ali Bianco | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | DEVELOPING: “Bomb threat at DNC sparks Capitol Police response” by NewsNation’s Meg Hilling and Libbey Dean: “Capitol Police responded to a bomb threat at the Democratic National Committee headquarters but determined the threat was not credible, according to a spokesperson.” “Out of an abundance of caution, Capitol Police is conducting an interior sweep of the building,” the DNC spokesperson said. “As DNC Chair Ken Martin has said, political violence in every form has no place in our country.”
| 
At the time of publishing, the shooter was still at-large almost a full day after the single shot fired at Utah Valley University hit MAGA activist Charlie Kirk. | George Frey/Getty Images | A DAY OF TRAGEDY: The aftershocks of the death of MAGA figurehead Charlie Kirk are rippling across the nation today as a bipartisan reckoning with the reality of political violence takes hold, touching nearly every corner of the political world. But much is still unknown about the shooting and its perpetrator. What we know: At the time of publishing, the shooter was still at-large almost a full day after the single shot fired at Utah Valley University hit the MAGA activist. Though the identity of the shooter is still not known, the FBI this morning released two images of the “person of interest” wanted in connection to Kirk’s killing, offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to identification and arrest. Details from the scene: FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls said this morning that the FBI recovered “a high-powered, bolt-action rifle” near the site of the shooting, but so far there is scant public information about how the events unfolded. Authorities also “recovered a screwdriver near the rifle,” CNN’s Evan Perez reports. “Investigators believe this to be an indication that the shooter may have used it to disassemble and reassemble the firearm before using it.” Rumors rampant: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives walked back preliminary reporting that alleged the ammunition that was recovered from the scene was branded with statements “expressing transgender and anti-fascist ideology.” But ATF officials told NYT that the report “had not been verified by A.T.F. analysts, did not match other summaries of the evidence, and might turn out to have been misread or misinterpreted.” THE REACTION: VP JD Vance, who was close to Kirk, this morning decided to forgo his visit to Ground Zero in Manhattan to commemorate the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to instead travel with second lady Usha Vance to pay their respects to Kirk's family in Salt Lake City, POLITICO’s Irie Sentner writes. Vance, along with Kirk’s wife Erika, will escort Kirk’s body on Air Force Two back to Arizona, Playbook’s Dasha Burns reports. President Donald Trump paid tribute to Kirk during his speech at the Pentagon during a 9/11 anniversary service. “Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people,” Trump said. He announced that he is posthumously awarding Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, per POLITICO’s Sophia Cai. Trump told reporters after the event that he will speak with Kirk’s family “later this afternoon.” For many within the MAGA movement, Kirk dies a martyr — a spearheading figure for a set of conservative values that have come to define young conservative Christians across America, NYT’s Elizabeth Dias and Ruth Graham capture in this look at how Kirk’s followers are remembering him. But the fallout continues to splinter conversations over how to proceed. Exercising caution: Speaker Mike Johnson said that he spoke with Hill officials about planning a review of lawmakers’ security, as more members have come to him today with concerns over extra security following Kirk’s death, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill and Jennifer Scholtes report. Lawmakers in both parties are making immediate changes to their schedules over security fears. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) rescheduled a planned event in Raleigh this weekend, and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is moving away from outdoor events and canceling a speaking engagement, per NBC’s Melanie Zanona. Reps. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) both moved press conferences indoors today, with at least Kamlager-Dove’s relocation motivated by security concerns, POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs and colleagues report. Rhetorical tensions rise: Despite Johnson’s call to turn down the temperature, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) castigated members of the media this morning, saying “every one of you” is responsible for Kirk’s death for “echoing the horrifically horrible political violent rhetoric produced by the Democrat Party,” according to the Washington Examiner’s Rachel Schilke. That mirrors a similar criticism growing in prominence among MAGA influencers and activists online, tying escalated tensions and rhetoric from Democrats to trends of political violence. “You use more hyperbolic and divisive rhetoric than arguably anyone else,” Alex Bruesewitz, a top Trump adviser, said on X in response to a video from Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). PICKING UP THE PIECES IN UTAH: Spencer Cox, the second-term Republican governor of Utah, has emphasized depolarization as a central theme of his governorship. “As chair of the National Governors Association, his initiative — ‘Disagree Better’ — focused on building cross-aisle collaboration with blue states,” POLITICO’s Samuel Benson writes. “The Kirk killing Wednesday, though, posed the largest trial yet for Cox’s vision — and made Cox’s state the epicenter for the political divide he has long warned against.” Following Kirk’s death, Utah Democrats have received a flood of menacing messages, including death threats, to their personal emails and office voicemails, Samuel writes in to Playbook. “You should leave the f--king state. You should find somewhere else to f--king live, you murderous, terrorist animals,” one voicemail on the Utah House Democrats voicemail said. The wave of vitriol has sent a chill through the state's minority party, which has caused some Democratic lawmakers to cancel events through the weekend. “I just want our members to be safe,” said Utah House Democratic Leader Angela Romero. Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Send me your thoughts at abianco@politico.com. | | 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. INFLATION NUMBERS ARE HERE: Consumer prices jumped slightly in August, according to the latest Consumer Price Index that dropped this morning. The CPI rose at a rate of 2.9 percent in August, and the measure excluding food and energy costs remained above 3 percent, POLITICO’s Sam Sutton reports. A separate report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics out today showed unemployment claims also jumped last week, rising to its highest level in four years, per Bloomberg’s Michael Sasso and Jarrell Dillard. The breakdown: “The crosscurrents of higher inflation and a softening labor market pose a major headache for [Fed Chair] Jerome Powell as he navigates the final months of his term,” Sam writes. “While markets still expect the Fed to lower short-term borrowing costs at a meeting next week, moving too aggressively to cut rates could cause inflation to reaccelerate. But keeping rates too high will make it more difficult for employers to bring on more workers.” The FT’s Monetary Policy Radar is still anticipating cuts next week, but predicts the Fed will be cautious and cut rates by a quarter point. 2. REMEMBERING 9/11: Trump, along with first lady Melania Trump, attended the service at the Pentagon this morning honoring the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which marked the 24th anniversary. “Trump briefly veered into politics during his remarks, repeating his refrain that the US was a ‘dead country’ under his predecessor and touting his effort to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War,” CNN’s Betsy Klein reports. “‘Last year, we were a dead country. Now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world,’ he said.” 3. TRAIL MIX: Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas) announced he is not running for reelection next year, per Axios’ Andrew Solender. In his announcement, Luttrell said the deadly flooding in Texas that he witnessed over the July Fourth holiday made him realize “Texas is where I belong” — presumably leaving the door open to a future run for office. … Virginia GOP Lt. Gov Winsome Earle-Sears is still seeking Trump’s endorsement in her gubernatorial campaign. She has “met with Trump in the Oval Office at least once to discuss her challenging campaign, and her team has coordinated daily with the White House’s political operation for months,” Bloomberg’s Mica Soellner scoops. Still, Trump has so far declined to get involved. 4. TRADING SPACES: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth both spoke with their Chinese counterparts, a “rush of high-level diplomacy” raising hopes that Trump will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month, WaPo’s Katrina Northrop and Lyric Li report. Russia and China have been progressively deepening their ties, from energy projects to defense coordination to easing visas, but Beijing continues to hold the cards in the relationship, as WaPo’s Katrina Northrop and colleagues write.
| | | | Introducing Global Security: POLITICO’s weekly briefing on the policies, regulatory fights and industrial shifts shaping defense and security across continents. We connect what happens in Washington, Brussels and beyond to what gets funded, what gets built and who benefits. Subscribe this week for daily coverage from DSEI. | | | | | 5. ON THE HILL: Top Democrats are coalescing around one message to Hill Republicans ahead of the looming Sept. 30 shutdown deadline: extend the insurance subsidies to protect Medicaid, or you won’t have the votes, POLITICO’s Nick Wu and colleagues. The ultimatum comes after a closed-door meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, among others. “If they try to jam something down our throats without any compromise … they ain’t going to get the votes, plain and simple,” Schumer said after the meeting. Jeffries told reporters that Dems are united “in defense of health care” after the meeting, per Punchbowl’s Laura Weiss. 6. THE EPSTEIN SAGA: British Ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson has been fired over his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, following revelatory reports this week about his personal communications with the convicted sex offender, including emails that showed Mandelson stayed close with Epstein after his indictment, POLITICO’s Noah Keate reports. The dramatic ousting comes as Trump is set for an official state visit to the U.K. next week. Related read: “Epstein’s Inbox: A trove of emails reveals Ghislaine Maxwell’s secrets,” by Bloomberg’s Jason Leopold and colleagues 7. WEAPONIZATION WATCH: “U.S. diplomats say they are reluctant to share inconvenient truths with the Trump administration,” by NBC’s Abigail Williams and Dan De Luce: “‘What we’re seeing in the diplomatic corps right now is fear,’ John Dinkelman, a retired career diplomat who is now president of the American Foreign Service Association, told NBC News. … Trump and his team have pushed for political allegiance in an unprecedented way, demanding career civil servants jettison impartiality for a more partisan stance backing the administration’s agenda … [Dinkelman] declined to say how many diplomats have been reassigned for offering candid assessments, to avoid exposing his colleagues to potential further retaliation.” 8. GEORGIA RAID LATEST: Trump temporarily delayed the repatriation of the hundreds of South Korea immigrants detained after an immigration raid at a Hyundai battery plant in Georgia, to explore whether the workers could remain in the U.S. “to educate and train American workers,” WaPo’s Michelle Ye Hee Lee reports. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in D.C. yesterday and stressed that they wanted the South Korean nationals back home, but left open the door to the skilled workers returning to the U.S. in the future. The workers are due to fly to South Korea today.
| | TALK OF THE TOWN | | THE D.C. TAKEOVER CONTINUES — “Kennedy Center fires head of jazz programming, adding to a string of staff exits” by WaPo’s Travis Andrews and Janay Kingsberry: “The Kennedy Center has fired the administrator overseeing its jazz offerings, the latest in a string of staff shake-ups since President Donald Trump took control of the institution in February. Kevin Struthers — whose title was senior director, music programming — told The Washington Post he was terminated on Wednesday.” OUT AND ABOUT — Cassidy & Associates marked its 50th anniversary last night with a rooftop celebration at the Capitol View at 400. Guests gathered to toast Cassidy’s five decades of bipartisan impact in Washington. SPOTTED: Kai Anderson, Jordan Bernstein, Chad Sydnor, Jed Dearborn, Ryan Mulvenon, Julie Eddy Rokala, Barry Rhoads, Barbara Sutton, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.), Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Drew Brandewie, Tricia Russell and Jon Cardinal. — The National Confectioners Association hosted its Power of Sweet reception last night at the Hart building on Capitol Hill as part of its annual Washington Forum. SPOTTED: John Downs, Christopher ‘Gindy’ Gindlesperger, Brian McKeon, Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Courtney Clark, Brent Cotton Caitlin Boon, Sylvia Buxton, Niccolo Starace, Blair Klein, Kelly Smith, Pat Egan, Ed Schultz, Kirk Vashaw and Bill Martin. — SPOTTED at Third Way’s 20th Anniversary Party at the Rubell Museum last night: Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif,) Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Adam Gray (D-Calif.), Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.), John Mannion (D-N.Y.), Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.), Deborah Ross (D-N.C.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) and George Whitesides (D-Calif.), Thurgood Marshall Jr., Susan McCue, Raj Date, Stephanie Schriock, Emily Cain, Reema Dodin, Illyse Hogue, Helen Milby, Debbie Cox Bultan, Kurt Bardella, Bruce Andrews, Paul Brathwaite, Mo Elleithee, Navin Nayak, Melissa Moss, Jef Pollock and Rachel Laser. MEDIA MOVES — Elex Michaelson is joining CNN as a Los Angeles-based anchor. He previously worked at KTTV. … Thomas Evans has been tapped as NPR’s new editor in chief. He previously worked at CNN before moving to NPR last year. TRANSITIONS — The National Geographic Society is adding Jennifer Chick as chief marketing and brand officer and elevating Duncan Phillips to chief comms officer. Chick most recently worked at Hilton. … Peter Vassalo is joining Littler as senior counsel. He previously worked at the Labor Department’s Office of the Solicitor in the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. … … James Ritchotte is now legislative director at Americans for a Clean Energy Grid. He previously worked at Nexamp. … Deborah Lehr will be interim CEO at Meridian International Center. She previously worked at the Paulson Institute and the Antiquities Coalition. … Meredith Aronson is now VP for corporate affairs at Stagwell. She previously worked at JPMorgan Chase. 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.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | | Follow us on X | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
