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By Eli Okun |
Presented by |
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THE CATCH-UP |
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BREAKING — “Supreme Court keeps White House ballroom construction on track for now,” by USA Today’s Maureen Groppe: “Chief Justice John Roberts prevented [a] judge’s order from going into effect as scheduled on Aug. 21, giving the justices more time to consider the Trump administration’s appeal.”
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Workers are seen in the stands ahead of visit from Vice President JD Vance at Cleveland Cliffs Middletown Works, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Middletown, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry) | Jon Cherry/AP |
HOMECOMING VANCE: Republicans need an economic lifeline in the midterms. VP JD Vance went home to find — or deliver — one. Vance is in Middletown, Ohio, this afternoon to trumpet a $1 billion investment announced today by Cleveland-Cliffs, which is splitting the cost with the Energy Department to make upgrades at the Middletown Works steel facility. It’s the kind of flashy industrial investment — a revision of a Biden-era green energy project — that the Trump administration has made a centerpiece of its efforts to revitalize manufacturing and sell voters on a conservative economic vision. The investment, which isn’t yet finalized, doubles down on the coal-powered furnace rather than moving toward clean energy sources, which was initially projected to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 1 million metric tons a year. For Vance, the personal stakes are also high. Middletown’s economic and cultural malaise, and the woes of the broader industrial Midwest and Appalachia, was at the heart of the “Hillbilly Elegy” memoir that rocketed him to pre-politics fame. His grandfather used to work at this plant. “That’s going to protect and create tons of new jobs,” Vance said. “As much as the far left says that you can’t have industry but also clean air and water, we’re going to show in this facility that’s exactly what you can have.” He also touted progress on housing affordability — and took time out for jabs at Sherrod Brown, Abdul El-Sayed and immigrants, sharpening a populist line of attack against Democrats: “At every step of the way, these Democrats have voted for foreign workers and fraudsters over American citizens and hard-paying taxpayers.” But the GOP faces deep voter discontent with the economy, fueled above all by fallout from the Iran war. And the administration is scrambling for other ways to blunt the cost of living. President Donald Trump announced today he’ll allow hundreds of thousands of tons of foreign beef into the U.S., exempted from higher tariffs, over the next three months — another attempt to bring down stubbornly high beef prices. Under the deal, he said, this ground beef will be sold at 25 percent below market prices. The administration has toggled for months between opening up to foreign beef to ease pain at the grocery store and fending off pressure from domestic cattle ranchers who protested the imports. And the move incited a quick backlash from rancher allies like Montana GOP Sen. Tim Sheehy. Meanwhile, trade talks with Canada are going down to the wire ahead of tonight’s 12:01 a.m. deadline, at which point major new U.S. tariffs will kick in on $20 million of Canadian goods. Representatives from both countries are meeting in Washington today to strike a deal to slash the levies, which negotiators said is close — despite some backlash inside Canada. If they can’t, new tariffs could drive prices up for American consumers again. One spot of relief for the GOP: After the bond market incited a Wall Street freakout this week, it’s looking steadier today (while still jumping around somewhat), leading stock markets to climb higher. More from the AP But Republicans also risk backlash from their cuts to the social safety net. The latest SNAP numbers show enrollment in the food aid program plunged 13 percent in the past year amid the GOP’s stricter work requirements, AP’s Geoff Mulvihill and Mikella Schuettler report from Phoenix. (Arizona saw the steepest decline at 55 percent.) The food-stamp dropoff came more sharply than the government anticipated, and some former recipients say they’re skipping meals after being stymied by paperwork. But advocates for the changes argue the tighter eligibility cutoffs root out fraud and push people to work. Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Programming note: We’ll be off next week for a summer hiatus, but Playbook will still be in your inbox every morning. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
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7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW |
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1. WAR REPORT: As the Trump administration threatens to unleash “economic D-Day” on Iran with a suite of intense new measures Monday, there were some mixed messages today coming out of the various factions in Tehran. Iranian Armed Forces chief of staff Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi vowed “crushing, punishing and devastating responses.” Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, “We must plan for the unjust sanctions so that we can overcome them.” But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, contradicting the hardliners in power, called for the country “to end the war today, when we have power and dignity.” The big question for Washington is whether another round of sanctions and financial penalties can succeed in pushing Iran into concessions, where previous efforts have fallen short. Experts tell AP’s Farnoush Amiri more “maximum pressure” and secondary sanctions will steer both sides into “uncharted waters.” The ongoing blockade is having an effect: Iran is close to running out of easily available oil to supply to Chinese refiners, per Bloomberg’s Rong Wei Neo. The fallout: The U.S. pressure campaign has seriously strained Iranian life, with people facing way higher prices and skyrocketing unemployment, AP’s Mehdi Fattahi and David Rising report. Meanwhile in the Strait of Hormuz, more ships are going dark to attempt dangerous secretive crossings — raising the risk of a horrible oil spill, NYT’s Lisa Friedman reports. 2. WEAPONIZATION WATCH: The Trump administration’s effort to investigate New York AG Letitia James’ lawsuits against Trump and the NRA hit another wall in court today. An appellate court agreed with a lower court’s decision to prevent the subpoenas to James’ office from embattled John Sarcone. More from Reuters 3. WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN: The executive branch’s IGs are becoming very politicized under Trump, whose unprecedented mass firings of former watchdogs paved the way for administration “lapdogs,” NOTUS’ Natalie Alms and Eric Katz report. OIG employees say the new IGs are “openly suggesting they should work hand-in-glove with the Trump administration to advance its goals” and altering or sidelining reports. Cheryl Mason, the VA’s IG, tied up an office move for months over her demand that the new space include a personal bathroom for her, NOTUS reports; Mason denies this. She also “commissioned a flag for herself, telling staff she was serving in the equivalent role of a four-star general and therefore required one.”
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Where energy, tech and policy connect POLITICO Surge launches August 31 with reporting and analysis on rising power demand, AI infrastructure, electrification, grid constraints and the politics shaping energy’s next chapter.
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4. THE RUNOFF: One of the last big remaining endorsements came on board today ahead of the South Carolina Senate GOP runoff. Mark Sanford, who placed fourth in the primary, threw his support behind Rep. Ralph Norman rather than Sen. Darline Graham. He cited grave concerns about the national debt and said Norman “holds the best shot at holding the line on government spending.” More from POLITICO’s Aaron Pellish … Jaime Harrison and Marc Lotter discuss Graham’s Taiwan gaffe with Dasha for C-SPAN’s “Ceasefire” tonight 5. A SHIFTING NARRATIVE: Progressive Democrats’ fight for “Medicare for all” used to mean an end to most private health insurance and transition to a federal system. But increasingly, Democrats may be converging on offering a robust public option (and taking on the health care system in other ways) without jettisoning private insurance, Vox’s Rachel Cohen Booth reports. That’s what Abdul El-Sayed now envisions, for instance, in a shift toward the center-left from where Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) famously stood in the 2020 presidential primary. 6. THE REVOLVING DOOR: “White House official’s move to oil company she aided raises ethics questions,” by POLITICO’s Ian Stevenson and colleagues: “During the tour of oil facilities run by Sable Offshore Corp., a company that owns an offshore pipeline which the Trump administration had recently helped to get oil flowing through, [White House staffer Brittany Kelm] sported a Sable-branded cap and a Sable-branded shirt with her name embroidered on it … Less than three months later, Kelm would announce her departure from her job at the council to take over Sable’s Washington policy office. “The move, even by Washington’s normally swampy standards, threatens to erode the lines between public officials and the industries they interact with. … Kelm and Sable did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. The White House said Kelm did not work on ‘official’ matters with Sable while negotiating a job with the company.” 7. SCHOOL DAZE: Even though Harvard got a federal court to block Trump’s funding freeze, the administration has found other ways to dry up the flow of research dollars, NYT’s Mark Arsenault and Irena Hwang report. NIH grants to the school are down 18 percent from the Biden administration, as the agency says no to or postpones more requests for funding. That may be more difficult for Harvard to stop via legal battles, and the uncertain funding environment has already caused layoffs and reductions.
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A message from The Alzheimer's Association:  
More than 9 in 10 Americans say they would want a simple test for Alzheimer’s. Learn more. |
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TALK OF THE TOWN |
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IN MEMORIAM — “Nancy Kissinger, Wife of Former Secretary of State, Dies at 92,” by NYT’s Robert McFadden: She was “the widow of former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, who shared his whirlwind life of international diplomacy — and then of tarnished celebrity, as a controversial elder statesman — for half a century … Politically savvy, well versed in global issues and fiercely protective of her husband’s name, Mrs. Kissinger traveled widely with him on diplomatic missions after their 1974 marriage. And when Mr. Kissinger stepped down three years later, they became a familiar Washington couple at state dinners, embassy parties and Republican White House receptions.” PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — The Freedom 250 Grand Prix race is expected to bring plenty of tourism and revenue into D.C. this weekend. But inside the secure “Red Zone” around the track, some restaurants say they’ve actually had a significant business slowdown amid street closures and other restrictions, WaPo’s Liam Scott and Liam Bowman report. Others have seen Grand Prix workers come in, helping keep sales afloat. One nearby school had its first week of classes disrupted. But Joe Manchin is enjoying the festivities: The former senator posted that he flew down Independence Avenue at 165 miles per hour. TRANSITIONS — Amber Bland is now deputy chief of staff for policy at the Department of Energy. She previously was legislative director for Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), a role Erin Dempsey is now taking over. She most recently worked for the Senate Finance GOP. … Roy Milan Schultheis is now VP of strategic partnerships and public affairs at Nopetro Energy. He most recently worked at NextEra Energy Resources. WEEKEND WEDDING — Nandita Bose, White House correspondent at Reuters, and Rich Luchette, SVP at Precision Strategies, got married Saturday at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Andy Michael officiated. Pic, via Ed and Aileen Photography … Another pic … SPOTTED: David Cicilline, Nicole Kayner and Eric Hyers, Matt McGrath and Lourdes Duarte, Francis Grubar and Helena Rodriguez, Kevin and Gloria O’Brien, Steve Holland, Jeff Mason, Darlene Superville, Jarrett Renshaw, Colleen Jenkins, Trevor Hunnicutt, Nikki Schwab, Francesca Chambers and Michael Moroney, Eric Cortellessa, Rachel Palermo and Colby Moore, and Jaidan Idarraga. 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 Giuseppe Macri and deputy editor Garrett Ross.
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