| | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine and Rachel Umansky-Castro | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | TESTING THE FRAGILE CEASEFIRE: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the immediate launch of “forceful” airstrikes into Gaza, marking a major test of the fragile ceasefire, POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy reports. “The Israeli government gave the U.S. advance notification of the attacks, a U.S. official said. The official said that the U.S. expected the strikes to be targeted and that Israel isn’t looking to upend the cease-fire,” WSJ’s Anat Peled and Lara Seligman report. The strikes came after Israeli officials accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire after it “shot at troops who are stationed in Israeli-controlled territory in southern Gaza.” That was the second allegation of crossing the truce terms today, after Hamas “handed over body parts on Monday that Israel said were the partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war,” which Netanyahu said was a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement, AP’s Melanie Lidman reports. The Israeli military earlier attacked the West Bank with its first airstrike in months, killing three, NYT’s Liam Stack and Fatima AbdulKarim reports.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks alongside other House Republicans during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on the 28th day of a government shutdown, Oct. 28, 2025. | Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images | THE THIRD RAIL: As President Donald Trump continues to test the limits of executive power in his second term, Speaker Mike Johnson dumped cold water on any talk of Trump running for an unconstitutional third term. “Well, there’s the 22nd Amendment,” Johnson said when asked about Trump’s recent floating of a third presidential bid, noting that he doesn’t “see the path” for the idea to become reality, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill reports. Johnson added that he recently spoke with Trump on the matter. “It’s been a great run, but I think the president knows, and he and I’ve talked about, the constrictions of the Constitution,” Johnson said. SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: Meanwhile, it’s day 28 of the federal shutdown and the grim prospect of funding for the critical Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program running out this weekend is dominating the Hill. The steady speaker: Though lawmakers across both parties have introduced some piecemeal measures to rescue SNAP and other programs that are due to run out on Nov. 1, Johnson urged House GOP members on a private call today to stay the course as “pressure mounts on Democrats,” Meredith reports. Johnson also told the conference that party leaders have no plans to put a SNAP rescue plan up for a vote before the deadline. “The pain register is about to hit level 10,” Johnson said, adding that “sadly” 42 million Americans will feel the impact of the funding running out this weekend. “We deeply regret it on our side,” Johnson added, while pointing fingers to Democrats for their refusal to negotiate. Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are set to meet to talk shutdown strategy, per Meredith. Across the Capitol: Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) latest measure to reinstate SNAP benefits for the duration of the shutdown picked up some momentum, with 10 new sponsors, and Senate Republicans were expected to discuss any more piecemeal measures during their closed-door lunch with VP JD Vance today. After the lunch, Vance told reporters that “the White House has found a way to pay troops amid the shutdown,” per Punchbowl’s Max Cohen. Though Democrats have dug their heels in on a full funding patch, a growing number in the party “have signaled they’d be willing to back Hawley’s bill” to save SNAP. Still, Thune has indicated “there’s not a high level of interest in doing carve outs” for programs. “Republicans are not expected to give Hawley’s proposal a vote this week,” POLITICO’s Jordain Carney reports. Beyond the beltway: Democratic state leaders are launching their own move to save SNAP funds. Governors and AGs from 25 states filed a lawsuit against the Department of Agriculture today over its claim that it can’t tap into emergency money for SNAP aid, per POLITICO’s Grace Yarrow. The details: “Officials — including those from California, New York, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia — argued that USDA violated federal law” by planning to suspend SNAP benefits, claiming it will “delay SNAP benefits for the first time in the program’s history.” The group has asked a federal judge in Massachusetts to overturn prior directives and require the department to use available money to fund the program. Up in the air: Amid growing concerns over the shutdown’s impact on air travel, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters today that the White House’s push to pull together the money to pay air traffic controllers during the federal shutdown has hit a dead end, POLITICO’s Sam Ogozalek reports. “‘The answer is open up the government,’ he said, or that Senate Democrats vote for legislation that would ensure essential workers get their paychecks during the lapse in appropriations.” Meanwhile, despite a recent demand from the largest union for federal employees to end the impasse, Senate Democrats rejected for the 13th time this morning the GOP-led funding patch that would end the shutdown. Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop us a line at birvine@politico.com and rumansky-castro@politico.com. New from POLITICO Canada — The “Playbook Canada” podcast: Our colleagues Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric, the plugged-in reporters behind Canada Playbook, are bringing their sharp political insight to a new weekly podcast. Each Thursday morning, they’ll unpack the stories driving the news in Ottawa and beyond — the characters, conflicts and conversations setting the national agenda — plus a fan-favorite feature: their 200-second interviews with the people shaping Canadian politics. The first episode drops Thursday. Listen to the trailer and subscribe on Apple,Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. | | | | A message from Optum: Across the country, Optum Rx supports more than 62 million Americans, helping consumers save over $1 billion last year.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth talks to soldiers and servicemen ahead of the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump to the USS George Washington at the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Oct. 28, 2025. | Eugene Hoshiko/AP | 1. ROCKING THE BOAT: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on X this morning that the U.S. military carried out strikes on four more vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing 14 people. The latest round of strikes marks the largest death toll in the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign against alleged drug-smuggling boats in international waters. “The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth wrote, adding: “A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed during the three strikes, with one survivor. All strikes were in international waters with no U.S. forces harmed.” Hegseth added that Mexican search-and-rescue authorities “assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue” of the survivor but didn’t clarify who’d ultimately take custody of the survivor or his condition, per AP. In the dark: U.S. military officials involved in the operations “have been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements, three U.S. officials say, a development that raises new questions about a military buildup that Venezuela fears may lead to an invasion,” Reuters’ Phil Stewart scoops. “The step is highly unusual, given that U.S. military officials are already required to shield national security secrets from public view, and comes as lawmakers in Congress say they are being kept in the dark about key aspects of the mission.” Zooming out: “Trump’s Feud With Colombian Leader Threatens U.S. Antidrug Efforts,” by NYT’s Edward Wong and colleagues: “President Trump said he is cutting U.S. aid. Gustavo Petro, a leftist guerrilla turned president, has called Mr. Trump’s boat strikes murder.” 2. WILD STORY: “US sought to lure Nicolás Maduro’s pilot into betraying the Venezuelan leader,” by AP’s Joshua Goodman: “The federal agent had a daring pitch for Nicolás Maduro’s chief pilot: All he had to do was surreptitiously divert the Venezuelan president’s plane to a place where U.S. authorities could nab the strongman. In exchange, the agent told the pilot in a clandestine meeting, the aviator would be made a very rich man. … “The untold, intrigue-filled saga … has all the elements of a Cold War spy thriller — luxury private jets, a secret meeting at an airport hangar, high-stakes diplomacy and the delicate wooing of a key Maduro lieutenant. There was even a final machination aimed at rattling the Venezuelan president about the pilot’s true loyalties. More broadly, the scheme reveals the extent — and often slapdash fashion — to which the U.S. has for years sought to topple Maduro, who it blames for destroying the oil-rich nation’s democracy while providing a lifeline to drug traffickers, terrorist groups and communist-run Cuba.” 3. TRUMP IN ASIA: “Japan, US Name First Projects in Flagship $550 Billion Fund,” by Bloomberg’s Yoshiaki Nohara: “Japan and the US unveiled a list of potential projects for their $550 billion US investment vehicle, providing a first look into what specific proposals could be funded by the mechanism that’s a key part of the two countries’ trade deal. At a signing ceremony Tuesday in Tokyo, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick outlined many of the highest-profile commitments. The corporate names included SoftBank Group, Westinghouse and Toshiba Corp., and the size of the potential projects ranged from $350 million to as much as $100 billion.” One to watch: Ahead of Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s closely watched meeting set for Thursday, China’s foreign minister told Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the phone today that he hopes both countries “meet each other halfway” amid growing trade tensions, NBC’s Peter Guo reports from Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung also told reporters that the island nation’s U.S. ties are “very stable” amid reports that Trump may make concessions on Taiwanese sovereignty in his meeting with Xi.
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➡️ Sign up for West Wing Playbook | | | | | 4. COURT IN THE ACT: U.S. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino appeared in federal court this morning, where he agreed to meet with U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis to give updates every weekday “over the feds’ treatment of protesters during the ongoing immigration blitz” in Chicago until his next hearing on Nov. 5, per the Chicago Sun-Times. “Ellis has asked that by the end of the week, Bovino provide all use of force reports and body-worn camera footage since Sept. 2, and wear a body camera himself,” per the Sun-Times. “Ellis is not granting a motion to ban the use of tear gas, but is also not denying it, either. ‘If [federal agents] are using tear gas, they better be able to back it up.’” 5. TRAIL MIX: Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), announced on X that he will be running for governor. He said he plans to work with Trump to “build a stronger Iowa and keep the liberal, progressive agenda out of our state” and “advance the America First agenda in Iowa,” the Des Moines Register’s Brianne Pfannenstiel reports. In Arizona: Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA influenced the face of local Republican politics in Arizona. But a local election in the state next week “may be the first test of the organization’s influence after his killing,” POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy reports. The organization has “cast a recall vote this November for a Republican city councilmember as a crucial stepstone in preserving Kirk’s legacy. … In Mesa, City Councilmember Julie Spilsbury faces a recall vote driven by TPUSA, due in large part to her support of former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race.” Empire State of mind: Regardless of which candidate wins the NYC mayoral election next week, Trump is set to be a winner, POLITICO’s Nick Reisman reports. “If Zohran Mamdani prevails, the president gets a hard-left foil to demonize as he uses federal power to punish deep-blue cities. If Andrew Cuomo pulls off a comeback, Trump will gain new leverage over an old rival who is facing a potential Department of Justice inquiry into whether he lied to Congress.” 6. DEMOCRACY DIGEST: “Maine and Texas are the latest fronts in voting battles, with voter ID, citizenship on the ballot,” by AP’s Patrick Whittle and John Hanna: “Maine is one of two states with election-related initiatives on the Nov. 4 ballot but is putting the most far-reaching measure before voters. In Texas, Republicans are asking voters to make clear in the state constitution that people who are not U.S. citizens are ineligible to vote. … Critics say the Maine voter ID requirement and Texas noncitizen prohibition are solutions in search of a problem and promote a longstanding conservative GOP narrative that noncitizen voting is a significant problem, when in fact it’s exceedingly rare.” 7. JAGGED LITTLE PILL: Texas AG Ken Paxton is officially suing Tylenol maker Kenvue and former parent company Johnson & Johnson for not disclosing the alleged ties between autism and acetaminophen use during pregnancy, The Houston Chronicle’s Benjamin Wermund reports. The suit marks the first time a state has taken legal action against the company on the unproven link to the condition, and comes two days after Trump repeated warnings on Truth Social that pregnant women should not take the drug. 8. PLEASE HOLD: WaPo’s Meryl Kornfield and Hannah Natanson have a must-read account of the “maddening” experiences that millions of seniors and disabled people have calling Social Security’s 1-800 number. “The Trump administration has said it is improving Social Security customer service and dramatically cutting wait times to build on a phone experience that callers have complained about even before Trump. But the agency’s public reporting doesn’t count the time people wait for callbacks from humans, and nearly three dozen callers who spoke with The Washington Post or let a reporter join their calls said their experiences have not matched the agency’s claims.” “The average wait time for a callback peaked at about 2½ hours from January to March, according to internal agency data obtained by The Post. The average time dropped to about an hour since July, when the agency added more field office workers to the 1-800 number, even as the agency has sought to reduce its workforce by thousands.” | | | | A message from Optum:  
Optum Rx supports 62 million Americans with transparent real-time pricing and personalized care, showing up when it matters most. Learn more at optum.com/stories. | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Lindsey Graham had a Siri mishap at the Capitol today, per Punchbowl’s Andrew Desiderio: “Graham whispered something into his phone and then Siri responded with full volume: ‘Calling Sean Hannity mobile.’” MEDIA MOVE — Anthony Adragna is now a reporter at Punchbowl covering defense. He previously worked at POLITICO. TRANSITIONS — Lisa Hofflich will be managing director at Bolton-St Johns. She previously worked at Public Partnerships LLC. 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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