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By Eli Okun |
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THE CATCH-UP |
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BULLETIN: The contested-election litigation has really begun now, as the Justice Department preemptively sued to potentially delay the certification of Alaska’s Senate race if incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan loses, per POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy and colleagues. The lawsuit centers on the presence of independent Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot, which the Trump administration contends is confusing to voters. It seeks any vote for the latter to be investigated, to see if the voters actually meant to vote for the incumbent. And President Donald Trump just told reporters that the order came directly from him, another breach of DOJ independence: “I’m the one that said, ‘Do it.’” The senator’s campaign said it had no prior knowledge of the complaint and is not working with DOJ. “We’ll let the DOJ complaint run its course,” campaign spokesperson Nate Adams said in a statement. One law professor told the AP the lawsuit is likely meritless and would fail in court. But it could signal a contentious post-election period.
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Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek said it would be smarter to implement temporary suspensions of the gas tax and diesel exports — and above all end the Iran war. | Charlie Neibergall/AP |
MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — Trump is scrambling to blunt the effects of rising oil prices in the heart of election season and the heartland of the country. Josh Turek isn’t impressed. As Iowa strains under high gas prices and diesel costs that have hammered farmers, the Iowa state representative and Democratic Senate nominee said Trump’s newest gambit — invoking the Defense Production Act to try to bolster domestic oil production and refining capacity — won’t help much. “I don’t think that’s going to provide any immediate impact to individuals,” Turek told Playbook this afternoon, before heading into a coffee shop stuffed with supporters. He’s no fan of Trump’s Russia diesel deal either, which whirred to life overnight: The first tanker with diesel bound for the U.S., thanks to Trump’s agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, is now en route, Reuters scooped. It’s the first such import in four years. The series of policy changes amount to an eleventh-hour bet that the administration can provide Americans some relief from stubborn wartime inflation. Turek said it would be smarter to implement temporary suspensions of the gas tax and diesel exports, potentially open up strategic oil reserves — and above all end the Iran war, the original source of high energy costs. “I’m hearing over and over from Iowans telling me they are struggling to keep gas in their tank,” he said, slamming his Republican opponent, Rep. Ashley Hinson, for opposing war powers resolutions to rein Trump in. Trump touted the Defense Production Act announcement on stage in Sioux City last night, along with a recent increase in oil exports from the Strait of Hormuz. “Ashley supports using the Defense Production Act to bolster American energy production and lower gas and diesel prices for consumers, farmers, and truckers,” Billy Fuerst, her campaign comms director, said in a statement. “She does not support sanction relief on Russia or Putin. On September 21st, she rolled out a policy plan to lower fuel prices, which included the diesel rebate program that President Trump moved forward with this week.” The congresswoman, who’s generally seen as one of Republicans’ stronger Senate candidates, has broken with Trump publicly at some high-profile moments related to the war. “I’m not sure, frankly, that he’s always happy when we’re talking because I ask him for a lot of things for Iowa when we’re on the phone,” she told the crowd in Sioux City. Hinson also urged the crowd not to “elect a tax-and-spend liberal to the U.S. Senate” and to “keep Iowa Iowa.” That comment landed with a thud for Turek. “That’s ridiculous,” he told Playbook. “I’m quintessentially and classically Iowa: born, raised here, lived here my whole life. … She’s gone up to D.C. and become D.C.” He released a new ad today accusing Hinson of making herself richer during her time in office. The final sprint in Iowa comes right as the oil squeeze escalates again: Brent crude prices today are heading to their highest level in five months, triggered by market fears that another escalation by the U.S, Iran and/or Israel is coming soon. Though gas prices leveled off a bit in recent weeks, the effect of oil shifts on U.S. consumers can be a little delayed — so a higher level of pain at the pump could hit Americans right in the final days of the campaign. And the Trump administration isn’t signaling that an end to the war is in sight soon. On the contrary: U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz told FT’s Abigail Hauslohner that though he hopes Iran will relent and return to the negotiating table, the stalemate could continue. The U.S., he said, will keep cranking up the economic pressure on Tehran: “The president and the U.S. Navy can maintain this blockade [on Iranian ports] for the foreseeable future.” Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
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8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW |
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1. THE MAINE LIFELINE: As soon as today, Trump will issue a proclamation backing down on some 50% Canada tariffs, an effort that could give Republicans a political boost — especially Maine Sen. Susan Collins, WSJ’s Gavin Bade scooped. It’ll likely be targeted to specific forestry and agricultural levies, possibly offset by increases elsewhere. 2. THE FAULT IN OUR STARLINKS: Ukraine said today its military is still struggling to get Starlink to work at high speeds, raising the question of whether Elon Musk really has stopped throttling it at Trump’s request, per the WSJ. It’s been nine days since the limits on drone operations went into place, hampering Ukraine’s ability to fight back against Russia’s invasion. An unlikely diplomat: First lady Melania Trump, in an unusual statement, announced that she has secured a localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the city of Oleshky. The pause starting next week is meant to ensure humanitarian aid and civilian evacuations. More from POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy A quiet linchpin: Behind the scenes, CIA Director John Ratcliffe has kept essential intelligence support flowing to Ukraine — with the agency actually now “much more aggressive” in pushing back against Russian influence than it was under Joe Biden, one Baltic intel officer tells The Atlantic’s Shane Harris. But Ratcliffe has to walk a delicate tightrope, answering to an often Ukraine-skeptical president. 3. HEADS UP: “DOJ brings criminal charges against FBI officials it believes hampered Biden corruption investigation,” by CNN’s Katelyn Polantz and colleagues: “Two former FBI officials [Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides] are facing charges for allegedly lying to Congress as part of a probe that focused on whether FBI investigators sought to minimize allegations of Biden family corruption and evidence of Hunter Biden’s laptop.” Floris’ lawyers said she’s being falsely accused as a political move right before the election. 4. IMMIGRATION FILES: The Trump administration has significantly slowed naturalizations and the processing of people to be U.S. citizens — with approvals down 72% in the first several months of this year, WaPo’s Ted Hesson reports. The delays have significantly altered the lives of those waiting; they’ve also prevented many people from becoming new voters. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s crackdown on Californians who allegedly committed voter fraud largely centered on people who’d applied for citizenship, AP’s Olga Rodriguez and colleagues report from San Francisco. Some said they didn’t know they’d registered to vote or believed they were citizens. Up next: “Democrats want Mullin in the hotseat in the next Congress,” by POLITICO’s Eric Bazail-Eimil: “A top priority for Democrats if they get more power in Congress in November: Forcing the Trump administration’s controversial and unpopular immigration crackdown back in the headlines. … A House Democratic aide said that committees plan to look at how DHS under [Secretary Markwayne] Mullin has failed to deploy body cameras to many immigration agents, allowed dismal conditions at immigration facilities and failed to cooperate with the department’s Inspector General.”
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Thom Tillis warns Republicans ahead of the midterms In the latest episode of On the Road, Jonathan Martin sits down with retiring Sen. Thom Tillis in Charlotte to discuss why he expects Republican losses in November, his relationship with Trump and what he believes the party needs to do differently moving forward.
Watch now. |
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5. KFILE STRIKES AGAIN: Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) has a history of comments about the executions of political opponents, CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski digs up. During the deadly U.S. pullout from Afghanistan in 2021, the now-Senate nominee suggested online that U.S. leaders should be hanged from a helicopter. And he joked on a radio show that he might push Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) out of a plane. 6. FOR YOUR RADAR: “Ken Paxton Says He’s Tough on Crime. His Trust Invested $600,000 in a Convicted Fraudster’s Company,” by Alexandria Glorioso and colleagues for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune: “The blind trust’s investment in Wildcatter offers a new, unreported look at the attorney general’s financial ties with the very type of business executives whose prosecutions he typically celebrates.” 7. TOMORROW IN PHOENIX: Democrats are planning what they call the largest political mobilization event in Arizona history tomorrow morning, with Lucha and Activate 48 expecting 2,000 attendees to gather downtown for their “Arizona People’s Convention,” POLITICO’s Samuel Benson writes in. On the agenda: training 1,000 “constitutional defenders” as poll watchers, as Democratic election officials worry about potential interference. Notable: Arizona AG Kris Mayes and Reps. Adelita Grijalva and Yassamin Ansari plan to attend, Lucha said. 8. POLL POSITION: A new Democratic poll finds the Mississippi Senate race within the margin of error, as GOP incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith leads Democratic challenger Scott Colom 43% to 40%. The survey, shared first with Playbook, was commissioned by the Government that Works PAC and conducted by Change Research. The details
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A message from OpenAI:  
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TALK OF THE TOWN |
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OUT AND ABOUT — The Jefferson Education Association in Erie, Pennsylvania, held a panel discussion last night on lessons learned from 9/11, with Tom Ridge, Jeh Johnson and Asa Hutchinson, moderated by SiriusXM’s Steve Scully. SPOTTED: Ed Cash, Duncan Campbell, Tim Stout, Stewart Verdery, Jim Williams, Josh Filler, Chris Furlow, Tim Wachter, Todd Jeffords, Nuala O’Connor and James McCament. — Penta Group hosted a fall reception yesterday evening at the Glass House at Dirty Habit, where guests sipped themed cocktails for a final toast to the midterms. The firm also showed off its proprietary policymaker research findings from dozens of interviews with members of Congress and their senior staff, and Jim O’Leary, Tucker Warren and Kevin Madden spoke about what to expect from the next Congress. SPOTTED: Bruce Andrews, Eamon Javers, Julie Davis, Maria Curi, Jena Gross, Julia Lawless, Jeff Sadosky, Megan Whittemore, Scott Stephanou, Jose Castaneda, Jeff Anderson, Oliver Edelmann, Ximena Bustillo, Brian Pomper, Conor Daly, Ian McKendry, Cole Kline, James Sonne, Andrew Lott, Alicia Mitchell, Gary Nuzzi, Ben Corb, Helen Dubas, Brad Bosserman, Kate Meissner, Will and Rachel Caggiano, Sean Harper, Andrea Christianson, Victoria Nolte, Joe Kingsbury, Matt Castaldo and Casey Foss. — Washington Women in Public Relations hosted its annual Woman of the Year Awards luncheon today, honoring finalists Sheila Brooks and Shakirah Hill Taylor and naming Mission Partners’ Carrie Fox the 2026 Woman of the Year. The event also included a keynote from Karen Finney and a fireside chat with Ashley Allison. SPOTTED: Charmaine Riley, Adiya Mobley, Phil Lewis, Jess Arnold and Natalie Adler. — SPOTTED last night at a party at Busboys and Poets celebrating Joe Buccino’s new book, “When Every Word Counts: How to Earn Trust, Command Attention, and Communicate Clearly in Any Situation” ($32.99), with an interview by NYT’s Helene Cooper: Tom Bowman, Joe Gould, Matt Viser, Eric Pahon, Missy Ryan, David Martin, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Kadia Goba. — SPOTTED at Kramers’ 50th-anniversary celebration last night: Steve Salis, Nick Salis, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Wolf Blitzer, Bob Woodruff, Vida Ali and D.C. Council Member Brooke Pinto. WHITE HOUSE MOVE — Owen Klinsky is now deputy director of rapid response at the White House. He previously was a research assistant at the White House communications office. TRANSITION — Anders Vendt is now associate director at Government Affairs Solutions. He previously worked for the House Education and the Workforce Committee. 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 editors Giuseppe Macri, Garrett Ross and Kyler Alvord. |
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