President Donald Trump values loyalty among his top lieutenants — a dynamic that was on full display today as three of his nominees tried to toe the line between demonstrating fealty to the boss without burning their support from GOP lawmakers who have broken with him at times. Todd Blanche, Trump’s pick to take over as AG, emphasized he hopes to bring trust back to the Justice Department — but unintentionally undercut that premise when he accidentally referred to himself as Trump’s lawyer, before clarifying that he “was Trump’s lawyer.” DNI nominee Jay Clayton declared he’s “not an election denier” — but repeatedly refused to answer who won the 2020 election. And Erica Schwartz, Trump’s latest pick to lead the CDC, assured senators she would “never compromise on the science” — but also said she believed Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would never implement policies that aren’t scientifically sound. Taken together, today’s hearings underscored the complicated position the White House, nominees and Senate Republicans find themselves as the president seeks to confirm permanent replacements for three posts steeped in controversy. The president is facing a GOP-controlled Senate that appears newly empowered to break with him — particularly on key committee votes from Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.) and John Cornyn (Texas), both of whom will be out of a job in November after Trump-endorsed opponents wiped them out in primaries. The nominees must balance a fickle Trump, who demands fidelity, and a rhetorical tightrope as senators mine their statements and stances. Whether each nominee did enough to win over their skeptics remains to be seen. Cornyn appeared at Blanche’s confirmation hearing with a poster-sized copy of Trump’s settlement agreement with the IRS that established the highly controversial “Anti-Weaponization Fund” Trump’s DOJ planned to use to pay anyone it deemed a victim of so-called “lawfare.” Blanche emphasized to Cornyn that “it’s not moving forward” after sharp bipartisan backlash — hoping to satisfy Cornyn’s demand that no funds ever be dispersed. More from POLITICO’s Chris Marquette While Blanche fended off questions about his department’s botched handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files — claiming his current role barred him from meeting directly with 10 of Epstein’s victims gathered in the room — House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) called for him to testify before the panel about Epstein “as soon as possible,” Playbook’s Ali Bianco reports. Cassidy, meanwhile, grilled Schwartz about whether she would “stand up” to RFK Jr. — a vaccine skeptic who built his public profile around elevating disproven science. “We’ve got thousands of kids hospitalized because people have promoted that immunization is bad, and now kids have died because of it. It is evil to do that, and people persist,” Cassidy said. “You are the bulwark, so I’m asking: Will you have the ability and the firmness to stand up to that political meddling — to say ‘No, that’s wrong and this is right?’” “I will never compromise on the science,” Schwartz replied. Schwartz is hoping to replace Susan Monarez, who told the Senate she was fired after refusing to green-light Kennedy’s vaccine recommendations. “He just wanted blanket approval,” Monarez told the same panel in September. “Even under pressure, I could not replace evidence with ideology.” (The White House said she was “not aligned with the president’s mission to Make America Healthy Again.”) And Clayton, Trump’s nominee to permanently take over as the country’s spy chief after Tulsi Gabbard’s departure, faced repeated calls from Senate Democrats to admit Trump lost the 2020 election. He refused to do so, though he acknowledged it was certified to Joe Biden. More from POLITICO’s John Sakellariadis and Gregory Svirnovskiy Gabbard attended an FBI search of an elections facility in Fulton County, Georgia, in February. She told lawmakers Trump requested she be there “under my broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security.” Trump plans to deliver a primetime address tomorrow, when reports indicate he may move to declassify intelligence appearing to support his longstanding — and long-discredited — claims Democrats “stole” the 2020 election. Clayton told senators today he’s “not involved in that.” “Isn’t it humiliating to be unable to answer this question, to have to indulge the president’s delusions?” asked Sen. John Ossoff (D-Ga.) after an extended back-and-forth with Clayton. “We know, you know, everybody in this room knows the truthful answer to that question.” “I think I gave you the answer,” Clayton replied. Good Wednesday afternoon. This is Irie Sentner. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Get in touch.
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1. IRAN LATEST: The U.S. conducted a fresh round of strikes against Iran — marking a fifth consecutive day of attacks since Trump declared the ceasefire “over” and the war effort renewed. The strikes targeted Iranian military sites on Greater Tunb Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Central Command, and “degraded Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping” in the strait. More from POLITICO’s Emilio Perez Ibarguen 2. PUMP THE BRAKES: Trump this morning declared ICE must not stop conducting traffic stops — contradicting a directive the agency issued agents yesterday temporarily ending the tactic in the wake of two fatal ICE-involved shootings this week, POLITICO’s Myah Ward reports. “Once we [halt the practice], we are playing right into the criminal’s hands,” Trump said on Truth Social. “The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch.” The reversal “underscores the tension inside the administration between those who want maximal enforcement and those who worry such tactics will lead to public clashes and political blowback,” Myah writes. 3. CASH DASH: The House GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund raised a record $53 million in the second quarter, Playbook’s Eli Okun scoops. The super PAC entered the second half of the year with $141.8 million in the bank — its highest-ever level at this point in the cycle and a significant rampart against Democrats’ efforts to flip the chamber. Sunshine State skirmish: Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) brought in over $3.6 million in the second quarter, and will report $10.3 million in cash on hand, Ali scoops. It brings her total campaign haul to more than $14 million across all committees. The Q2 haul is well below Democratic challenger Alex Vindman’s $8.5 million, Playbook previously scooped. But Moody’s campaign was quick to note Democrat Val Demings’ Senate bid failed despite her sizable war chest.
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4. ENDORSEMENT WATCH: Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is announcing yet another stamp of support from a prominent House progressive: Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), Ali scoops. It marks his 10th endorsement from a House member in as many weeks, as he faces off in the contentious primary against Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens. “At a time when too many politicians answer to outside interests or the status quo, Abdul is building a campaign that answers to the people,” Simon said in a statement shared with Playbook. 5. NEWSOM’S NEW TECH TAKE: California Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to be staking out a defining populist cause ahead of an expected 2028 presidential campaign: giving the American public shares of large AI companies, POLITICO’s Jeremy White reports. Newsom spent years championing the Golden State’s AI boom — but ahead of a likely White House bid, he’s “working to temper his pro-tech instincts with an alloy of economic populism.” 6. DATA CENTER OF THE WORLD: Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, all Republicans, have signed on to Trump’s pledge committing data center developers to pay for their fair share of resource use and electric grid improvements and maintenance, POLITICO’s Jason Plautz and colleagues report. The Ratepayer Protection Pledge is the Trump administration’s latest attempt to quell voters’ concerns over data centers and rising energy prices. Meanwhile, the focus is turning to New York after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the country’s first one-year pause on data center construction. That move could embolden other state leaders and national Democrats to put more restrictions in place — and serves as a bridge between moderates like Hochul and progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who’s pressed for a nationwide moratorium. More from POLITICO’s Katherine Long and Shelby Webb 7. MYSTERY SOLVED?: “Mystery Freedom Fuel stations that sold discounted gasoline tied to NFL coach and commodities trader,” by POLITICO’s James Bikales: “Baltimore Ravens senior special teams coach Randy Brown and former commodities trader Yoni Gontownik signed the certificate of formation to incorporate the Freedom Fuels Network LLC on June 23, just a week before President Donald Trump touted it on social media.”
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BIDEN IS BACK — Former President Joe Biden plans to release a new memoir just after the midterm elections, all-but promising to reignite debate and recriminations over his presidency just as the party turns to the next cycle. The book, titled “Promise Me, America,” will address the most consequential parts of his presidency, Biden said in a video posted to X, including his response to the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, conflicts in Afghanistan and Ukraine and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The book, out Nov. 17, will also address “why I chose to run for re-election and why I chose to step aside,” Biden said. MONEY MOVES — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced this morning that the U.S. Mint will begin striking a $1 “gold” coin with Trump’s face on it, Emilio reports. The coin “celebrates the strength of American values, and the promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all,” he said on X. But WSJ’s Gareth Vipers and Richard Rubin note “The federal law that enabled new one-dollar coin designs for the country’s 250th birthday requires design review by the bipartisan Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. That panel has so far refused to consider putting Trump on a coin.” BOOK CLUB — Brett McGurk, a longtime Middle East adviser and diplomat who helped negotiate the release of hundreds of hostages taken by Hamas, on Oct. 6 is releasing an inside-the-room account of the talks, called “Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7 Hostages.” More from AP’s Hillel Italie WELCOME TO THE FUTURE — A fleet of small robots today will begin mapping out the Logan Circle neighborhood in preparation to make deliveries for Uber Eats and DoorDash, City Cast DC’s Jaclyn Peiser reports. People within about one square mile of Logan Circle — U Street NW down to E Street NW — will be able to select a “robot” option in their delivery apps. Coco Robotics, the company behind the robots, soon hopes to expand to other neighborhoods in D.C. IN MEMORIAM — “Pat Oliphant, fearless Pulitzer-winning political cartoonist, dies at 90,” by AP’s Wufei Yu: “A multidimensional artist who also created sculptures, lithographs and oil paintings, Oliphant was widely considered the most syndicated editorial cartoonist in the U.S. During the 1980s, his daily political cartoons appeared in more than 500 publications in the country and around the world.” TRANSITIONS — Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has joined Red Cell Partners as a partner, chair and board member. … James Bair is now a partner and head of congressional investigations at Crowell & Moring. He previously worked at Google and is a House Foreign Affairs and State Department alum. … … Jonas Poggi is now Rapid Response Strategist for Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-Calif). He previously served as press secretary for Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott DNC and is a DNC and Biden White House alum. … Aidan Hyman is now Digital Assistant for Garcia. He formerly worked on Campaign Operations for Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.). … Kris Havens has joined ROKK Solutions as EVP for Intel and Insights. She most recently was a partner at Penta Group and previously held marketing and communications leadership roles at AFT and the National Principals Association. OUT AND ABOUT — The Washington AI Network and General Catalyst Institute hosted cocktails and a conversation with cybersecurity founders at Pubkey last night. Maryam Mujica delivered opening remarks, and Tammy Haddad interviewed the CEOs Sam Jones, Dave Gerry, Brian Dye, Arjun Bhatnagar, Bill Robbins and Aida Baradari. SPOTTED: Seval Oz, Delany Higgins, Joseph Cutler, Robert Malpass, Robert Hayes, Mike Caswell, Josh Kriss, Mark Crane, Jason Geske, Andrew Bohn, Suhail Khan and Ian Foley. — The Washington Government Relations Group hosted its 15th Anniversary Tin Cup Awards Dinner on Tuesday evening. SPOTTED: Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.), Tasia Jackson, Tia Mitchell, Alexander Washington, Lance D. Mangum and Charlyn Stanbury. — Robotics and industrial AI policy wonks gathered for dinner at Cafe Milano last night, hosted by NVIDIA’s Rev Lebaredian, who leads the company’s physical AI and simulation work. Steve Clemons moderated the discussion. SPOTTED: Omar Vargas, John Hewitt Jones, Alexandra Alper, Maria Curi, Anna Johnson, Laura Davison, Michael Shepherd, Angela Greiling Kane, Kapil Katyal, Diego Areas Munhoz, Andrew Murray, Liz O’Bagy, Brie Sachse, Patrick Rutherford, Sophie Shulman and Sara Weinstein. BONUS BIRTHDAY: Mary Thien Hoang of Thorn Run Partners 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. |
