| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | HEEL TURN — NIKKI HALEY went there. In a “Daily Show” appearance late last night, guest host CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD asked the surging South Carolinian about Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS’ rumored use of height-boosting lifts in his omnipresent cowboy boots. Charlamagne: “Are you wearing higher heels than Ron DeSantis next week at the debate so that you can look taller than him on the stage?” Haley: “I don’t know. We’ll have to figure that out. I can tell you: I’ve always talked about my high heels. I’ve never hid that from anybody. I’ve always said, ‘Don’t wear ’em if you can’t run in ’em,’ so we’ll see if he can run in ’em.” Video
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Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on May 16, 2023. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | SENATE REPUBLICANS TURN ON TUBERVILLE — For weeks now, Senate Democrats and the White House have lambasted Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE for holding up military promotions in protest of a controversial military policy on abortion care for service members. Now, the Alabama Republican’s blockade is running headfirst into a new wave of resistance from his own party. A group of Senate Republicans took to the chamber floor last night to ask for unanimous consent to confirm dozens of the more than 350 nominations languishing in the backlog. One by one, they read service members’ bios and praised their acumen. And one by one, Tuberville objected. The intraparty conflict got ugly. Sen. DAN SULLIVAN (R-Alaska) — who had been trying to work with Tuberville to assuage his concerns, but ultimately led the GOP confrontation of him last night — accused his colleague of conducting a “national security suicide mission.” “I’m as pro-life as they come!” Sullivan insisted, a reference to Tuberville’s indignation over the Pentagon paying for abortion-related travel for troops stationed in states where the procedure is banned. “America needs to have … our most combat-capable leaders on the field” ASAP, he said, going on to accuse Tuberville of endangering the nation. At one point, Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM held up a photo of LAURA LENDERMAN, who is supposed to be promoted to lieutenant general and deputy commander of Pacific Air Forces. While the South Carolina Republican noted that she’s flown “thousands” of hours and has “zero” to do with the Pentagon’s abortion policy, Tuberville still objected. "You just denied this lady a promotion — you did that," Graham snarled, launching into a tirade about how Tuberville is setting a new precedent of holding service member advancements hostage over policy disagreements — one that Democrats could adopt someday when Republicans control the White House. “Who the hell wants to serve in the military when your promotion can be canned over something you have nothing to do with? … If you think it’s illegal, go to court!” Democrats have pulled such stunts before on the floor to showcase Tuberville’s blockade, which military leaders have argued undermines U.S. military readiness and operations as well as long-term retention efforts. But yesterday was the first time we saw such a public split within the Senate GOP. So what’s different this time? Frustration with Tuberville in GOP circles has been simmering on the back burner for months. But with war in the Middle East, Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, escalating tensions between China and Taiwan, and even FBI Director CHRISTOPHER WRAY warning lawmakers this week of new threats to the U.S. following Hamas’ attack, it finally boiled over. And there’s new pressure inside the Senate, too. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER backed a proposal to temporarily change chamber rules to allow most military promotions to be confirmed en bloc; that is, with a single vote. The idea — proposed by Sens. JACK REED (D-R.I.) and KYRSTEN SINEMA (I-Ariz.) — would need 60 votes on the floor, meaning nine Republicans. So will irritated GOP senators join with Democrats to circumvent Tuberville’s holds? It’s suddenly not inconceivable. Keep watching this space. Related read: “GOP senators push back but can’t get past Tuberville on military blockade,” by Connor O’Brien and Joe Gould Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Amway: At Amway, our commitment to growth drives a better world. Powered by the passion of our people, Amway’s practices, like restorative farming, positively impact communities. We reveal real-life examples in our 2023 U.S. Impact Report here. | | | GOP INFIGHTING, PART II — Even beyond the Tuberville confrontation, Republican infighting continues to be the theme of Capitol Hill this week — never mind GOP lawmakers’ claims to be unified behind their new speaker. Last night in the lower chamber, Republicans teamed with Democrats to sink their own colleagues’ efforts to (1) expel indicted Rep. GEORGE SANTOS (R-N.Y.) and (2) censure Rep. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-Mich.) over her criticisms of Israel. The latter result has Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.), the author of the Tlaib censure, in a bit of a tizzy. CNN’s Mel Zanona and Annie Grayer had a juicy little nugget about Greene going after swing-district Rep. YOUNG KIM (R-Calif.) for speaking out against her resolution on a private call. After the effort went down, the Georgia Republican tweeted out the list of names of her colleagues who opposed her resolution. “This is why Republicans NEVER do anything to stop the communists Democrats or ever hold anyone accountable!!” she wrote on X. “PATHETIC.” All of this is in addition to the bicameral fight happening between Republicans about whether Ukraine aid should be tied to funding for Israel. Speaker MIKE JOHNSON made a bit of an about-face on the Ukraine matter yesterday, telling Senate Republicans in a private lunch that he now supports such funding. But he doesn’t want to move it right now, and has not committed to advancing it by a certain time in the future — putting him at odds with Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL, who’s a staunch Russia hawk and Ukraine defender. What’s more, behind the scenes, the story in the House is turning to a GOP divide over the future of SNAP benefits, or food stamps, as our colleague Meredith Lee Hill writes in a story that just posted. Johnson, a fiscal conservative, has long supported steep cuts to the program that feeds 41 million low-income Americans. Some Republicans in swing districts fear he could endorse a farm bill that rolls back the program to historic levels. Meanwhile, Meredith reports that some Republicans are pushing for Johnson to attach a temporary extension of current farm policy to the next continuing resolution — a timeline that would kick the fight over food stamps to smack in the middle of the 2024 election cycle. THURSDAY LISTEN — British PM RISHI SUNAK talks AI, VP KAMALA HARRIS and the role he sees for the U.S. on the newest episode of POLITICO’s Power Play podcast. Listen here
| | | | A message from Amway:   Powered by the best of our business & the passion of our people, Amway’s practices like restorative farming, positively impact communities every day. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate is in. The Finance Committee will hold a hearing on MARTIN O’MALLEY’s nomination as Social Security commissioner at 10 a.m. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on HARRY COKER JR.’s nomination as national cyber director at 10 a.m. The Judiciary Committee will consider an authorization for Supreme Court ethics subpoenas at 10 a.m. The House will meet at 9 a.m. 3 things to watch …
- The I-word is back. After a nearly monthlong hiatus for — well, you know — House Republicans have rekindled talk of impeaching President JOE BIDEN. House Oversight Chair JAMES COMER (R-Ky.) yesterday rolled out a new video accusing Biden of accepting $40,000 in “laundered” Chinese money via his brother JAMES. White House spokesperson IAN SAMS quickly noted that (a) the check in question was a loan repayment, (b) Biden was not in office or running for office at the time, and (c) this is all quickly approaching PEPE SILVIA territory. But the story has legs in the House GOP: During last night’s “Hannity” special with Republican members, the vast majority raised their hands when asked if the House was headed for impeachment.
- A new carbon tax proposal? From Republicans? Well, kinda: Sens. BILL CASSIDY (R-La.), ROGER WICKER (R-Miss.) and Graham are introducing legislation that would levy a new fee on imports from high greenhouse gas-emitting countries, our Josh Siegel scoops this morning. The bill is squarely aimed at China and “represents the first GOP-led proposal to inject climate change policy into U.S. trade rules through so-called carbon adjustment fees,” he writes. The proposal is winning praise from climate hawk Sen. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-R.I.), even though it stops well short of imposing domestic carbon pricing.
- Johnson’s big promotion means an opening in the lower rungs of the House Republican leadership, and seven members are looking for a foothold. Reps. MARK ALFORD (Mo.), MIKE COLLINS (Ga.), MICHELLE FISCHBACH (Minn.), NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (N.Y.), BRIAN MAST (Fla.), BLAKE MOORE (Utah) and BETH VAN DUYNE (Texas) made yesterday’s 5 p.m. deadline to file for GOP conference vice chair; the election will be settled next week.
At the White House Biden will hold bilateral meetings with Dominican President LUIS ABINADER and Chilean President GABRIEL BORIC at noon and 2:45 p.m., respectively. Harris will be in Bletchley Park, U.K., today for the Global Summit on AI Safety. By late afternoon, she’ll return to London and then travel to LA via Minneapolis.
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Palestinians carry a wounded girl after being rescued from under the rubble of buildings that were destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Jabaliya refugee camp, Nov. 1, 2023. | Abed Khaled/AP | MIDDLE EAST LATEST — Some American citizens finally made it out of Gaza yesterday, Olivia Olander reports, though the U.S. said others are still waiting on guidance for how to get to Egypt. The crossings followed “weeks of intensive, multi-party diplomatic efforts,” led by Qatar, CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez, Jennifer Hansler and MJ Lee report. Biden said the U.S. had worked hard to secure the diplomatic breakthrough, per Bloomberg. Those who got out are escaping utter devastation. Israel has decided that it will hammer Hamas “at all costs,” WSJ’s Dov Lieber, David Cloud, Chao Deng and David Luhnow report — and the cost seems to be thousands of Palestinian lives, plus a growing international backlash. Another Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp, which Israel said killed key Hamas targets, killed more than 80 people, most of them civilians, a hospital director told CNN. U.S. officials warned Israel against blocking the internet in Gaza again. But analysts tell the AP that Israel, the U.S. and other allies have acted with “questionable assumptions and short-term thinking” — because they have no clear plan for what will happen in the region after the war. Biden is now talking about a long-term peace deal, NYT’s Michael Crowley reports — a shift for a president who had de-prioritized the Middle East until a few weeks ago. The White House is also discussing the possibility that Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU won’t be able to hold onto power, Jonathan Lemire, Nahal Toosi and Alex Ward report. The intense U.S. political fallout continues to be supercharged on all sides. A rabbi confronted Biden at an event yesterday to demand that he call for a cease-fire. … Mast and Fox News’ JESSE WATTERS both ventured into outright Islamophobia, respectively questioning the concept of innocent Palestinian civilians and saying “we’ve had it” with Arab Americans and Muslims. … AIPAC and progressive House members feuded on X, calling each other bigoted, anti-democratic and/or anti-Israel. … … Muslim leaders in Minnesota are vowing that Biden will suffer the wrath of voters: “There is literally a c(4) being created every day to run the ‘Abandoned Biden’ campaign across the country,” one tells NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald, Julia Jester and Gabe Gutierrez. … Deep anger and a “storm of dissent” at the State Department have created “one of the largest challenges to [Secretary ANTONY] BLINKEN’s tenure at the State Department so far,” Foreign Policy’s Robbie Gramer reports. “In 25 years working at the Department of State … I’ve never seen anything like this,” one expert says. Related reading: “House Passes New Sanctions on Hamas Backers Like Iran,” The Messenger … “U.S. officials hold their breath for Iranian cyberattacks,” by Maggie Miller … “In Protests Against Israel Strikes, G.O.P. Sees ‘Woke Agenda’ at Colleges,” NYT … “Sen. John Fetterman faces a left-wing backlash over his stance on Israel. He isn’t budging,” NBC … “Patrick Dai ’24 Arraigned in Federal Court in Connection with Antisemitic Threats,” The Cornell Daily Sun DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “China, U.S. to Meet for Rare Nuclear Arms-Control Talks,” by WSJ’s Michael Gordon THE WHITE HOUSE
|  White House deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed and his wife Bonnie LePard arrive for a White House state dinner April 26, 2023, in Washington. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | THE EDUCATION OF BRUCE REED — The White House deputy chief of staff is steering the administration’s artificial intelligence policy, which takes a tough approach to guard against potentially catastrophic ramifications for the nature of truth, Nancy Scola reports in a major POLITICO Magazine profile this morning. Reed, a longtime Democratic policy leader who granted rare interviews for the story, has transformed from moderate friend of Big Tech t o tough antitrust advocate aligned with progressives. In part, that’s born out of Reed’s sense that Washington failed to regulate sufficiently on the last major tech issue — the rise of social media — and the public square has suffered the consequences. “The White House’s AI strategy also reflects a big mindset shift in the Democratic Party,” Nancy writes. “Underlying it is Biden’s and Reed’s belief that Big Tech has become arrogant about its alleged positive impact on the world and insulated by a compliant Washington from the consequences of the resulting damage.” MEANWHILE IN BLETCHLEY PARK — “Kamala Harris seizes agenda as Rishi Sunak’s AI summit kicks off,” by Eugene and Vincent Manancourt: “[F]or all the brouhaha around Sunak’s summit — and notable diplomatic breakthroughs with the Bletchley Declaration signed by Beijing, Washington and others — Britain is falling behind the likes of the EU, Canada and now the U.S. in bringing through concrete rules around AI.” “Harris also urged the international community to focus on the 'full spectrum' of artificial intelligence risks, including existing threats like bias and discrimination. It was a gentle rebuke to Sunak’s summit, which has courted controversy due to its laser focus on the unrealized existential risks of the tech.” FOR YOUR RADAR — “Biden and the first lady will travel to Maine to mourn with the community after the mass shooting,” by AP’s Darlene Superville
| | | | A message from Amway:   | | | TRUMP CARDS CANNON FODDER — “Judge indicates she may delay Trump trial on charges he hid classified documents at Mar-a-Lago,” by AP’s Terry Spencer and Eric Tucker: “Judge AILEEN CANNON appeared ready to side with Trump’s attorneys in their request to postpone the trial” beyond May 20. THE BUSINESS FRAUD TRIAL — DONALD TRUMP JR. took the stand yesterday in the New York civil case against the Trump Organization, defending his role and actions, per CBS. Also, one expert testified that the Trumps “benefited more than $168 million by obtaining favorable loan terms,” per CNN. ALL POLITICS
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Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) speaks with reporters after a House Speaker candidate forum on Capitol Hill on Oct. 10, 2023. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — The House GOP will see another big departure next term as Rep. KEN BUCK (R-Colo.) announced he won’t run for reelection, The Denver Post’s Nick Coltrain reports. The Freedom Caucus member has lately broken repeatedly with his party over widespread Republican falsehoods about the 2020 election, and his announcement video didn’t hold back: “Too many Republican leaders are lying to America,” Buck warned. “These insidious narratives breed widespread cynicism and erode Americans’ confidence in the rule of law.” Buck has reportedly been circling a commentator gig at CNN. Ironically, his departure could pave the way for a crowded primary in his conservative district of Republicans who propagate the lie. Meanwhile, there were a lot of familiar names launching or considering bids for the House yesterday: Former Rep. TRENT FRANKS (R-Ariz.) is seeking a comeback five years after his ignominious departure, which followed the news that he’d asked two female staffers to carry his baby, the Arizona Republic’s Ryan Randazzo reports. Former Nashville Mayor MEGAN BARRY may be seeking a comeback five years after her ignominious departure, which followed the news that she’d had an affair with her head of security, the Nashville Banner’s Steve Cavendish and Connor Daryani scooped. Her potential House bid would be an uphill battle against GOP Rep. MARK GREEN, though. DAN COX is seeking a comeback after losing badly in the Maryland gubernatorial election last year. This time, he’s jumping into the competitive 6th Congressional District race, per CBS Baltimore’s Adam Thompson. And SUSHEELA JAYAPAL, sister of Rep. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.), stepped down from the Multnomah County, Ore., Commission yesterday to run in a newly open seat, The Oregonian’s Jamie Goldberg reports. More top reads:
- “Republicans claw back control of elections in key states,” by Zach Montellaro: “Unlike prior pushes that have focused on poll access and voting requirements, the current focus is on offices or agencies that have oversight of actual elections and that tend to operate in obscurity.”
- CURTIS HERTEL JR., a Democrat in a key Michigan congressional race, moved in just a few days from a top government role lobbying on the state budget to a position at a nonprofit that will get money from it, The Detroit News’ Craig Mauger reports.
- BARACK OBAMA is jumping into crucial Virginia state legislative races with a pair of robocalls that will reach more than 100,000 households, Zach Montellaro reports.
2024 WATCH SURVEY SAYS — A new Quinnipiac poll finds a chaotic four-way race breaking down as 36% Biden, 35% Trump, 19% ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. and 6% CORNEL WEST. THE POLICY PRIMARY — “Trump wants to build a free online university — and make Harvard pay for it,” by Meridith McGraw and Michael Stratford: “Trump’s latest policy proposal proposes taxing large private university endowments to pay for a new institution called ‘American Academy.’ … Using the federal government to create an entirely new educational institution aimed at competing with the thousands of existing schools would drastically reshape American higher education.” DeSANTIS’ DECLINE — Trump is making a big push to flip Florida state lawmakers’ endorsements from DeSantis to him — and perhaps five to 10 could be announced soon, NBC’s Matt Dixon and Dasha Burns scooped. HOW ABOUT A FIVE-WAY RACE? — “Inside the White House’s No Labels strategy,” by Axios’ Hans Nichols: “Team Biden’s goal is to avoid antagonizing No Labels’ founder and CEO NANCY JACOBSON, a former Democratic political operative whom many senior Biden officials know well. The hope is that Jacobson will eventually look at the polling and pull the plug.” CONGRESS SPENDING SHOWDOWN — Both chambers moved forward with spending bills yesterday, inching closer to a clash over resolving their very different versions of keeping the government open. The House passed the Legislative Branch bill, its sixth of 12, with mostly GOP votes. And the Senate passed its “minibus” of Military Construction-VA, Agriculture and Transportation-HUD bills in a bipartisan 82-15 vote. YIKES — “Capitol Police knew security precaution lapsed ahead of Paul Pelosi attack,” by Roll Call’s Chris Marquette POLICY CORNER FED UP — The central bank kept interest rates steady at its meeting yesterday — and Fed Chair JEROME POWELL indicated that they may not rise again, Bloomberg reports (though various outlets parsed his words differently).
| | | | PLAYBOOK IS GOING GLOBAL! We’re excited to introduce Global Playbook, POLITICO’s premier newsletter that brings you inside the most important conversations at the most influential events in the world. From the buzzy echoes emanating from the snowy peaks at the WEF in Davos to the discussions and personalities at Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to the heart of diplomacy at UNGA in New York City – author Suzanne Lynch brings it all to your fingertips. Experience the elite. Witness the influential. And never miss a global beat. BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Donald and Melania Trump made a rare joint public appearance for Halloween, with the former president blasting Adele’s “Hello.” Ken Griffin is in D.C. tonight for a Griffin Catalyst/Smithsonian dinner focused on AI. Mike Johnston, Eric Adams, Karen Bass, Brandon Johnson and Sylvester Turner want to meet with Joe Biden about their cities’ migrant surges. IN MEMORIAM — “Ady Barkan, Activist Who Used His Illness To Advance Progressive Causes, Dies,” by HuffPost’s Daniel Marans: “Over the course of a career cut tragically short by illness, Barkan managed to shape policy debates on workers’ rights, the Federal Reserve, the Trump tax cuts, Medicare for All and civil liberties.” — “Union-side labor lawyer, Brandeis University professor, and NYT best-selling author Linda Redlick Hirshman died on Tuesday, October 31. … As a lawyer, she represented labor unions in three cases before the Supreme Court. Later, she used her gift for storytelling to explain social movements and the people who lead them.” Full obituary NEW NOMINEE — The White House made it official: Biden nominated Kurt Campbell as deputy secretary of State. More from WaPo FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Shomari Figures will announce a decision to run for Alabama’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District within the next week, Playbook has learned. He left his role as deputy chief of staff and counselor to AG Merrick Garland last month. More from AL.com — Boyden Gray is adding Laura Ruppalt and Andrew Smith as associates and James Conde as counsel. Ruppalt most recently clerked for Justice Samuel Alito. Smith and Conde most recently clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. TRANSITIONS — Speaker Mike Johnson announced his new leadership team of senior staffers: Hayden Haynes as chief of staff, Garrett Fultz as deputy chief of staff, Raj Shah as deputy chief of staff for comms, Chris Bien as director of floor operations, Courtney Butcher as director of member services, Ashley Callen as general counsel, Hannah Fraher as director of House operations and Dan Ziegler as director of policy. … … Kiara Pesante Haughton is now VP for campaigns and comms at the National Women’s Law Center. She previously was chief of comms and advancement at Demos. … Lori Prater is now deputy chief of staff and tax and trade counsel for Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.). She previously was deputy chief of staff for Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.). … John Major is joining SMI as senior director. He most recently was VP for manufacturing and programs at Carbon Robotics and is co-founder of Comprehensive Carbon Impact. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Playbook’s own Eli Okun and Bethany Irvine … Pat Buchanan … former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker … Jonathan Stahler of the U.S. Mission to the U.N. … Jen Dlouhy … Makan Delrahim … Roger Dow … Fox News’ Cam Cawthorne … AARP’s Bill Walsh … John Sampson of Microsoft … Melanie Tiano of T-Mobile … BBC’s Anthony Zurcher … Kevin Cirilli … WaPo’s Adam Kushner and Ava Wallace … Semafor’s Jay Solomon … Natalie Johnson … Catherine Lyons … Matt Bisenius of the National Automatic Merchandising Association … Daniela Pierre-Bravo … NYT’s Celeste Lavin … EPA’s Nicole Berckes Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Bethany Irvine and Andrew Howard.
| | | | A message from Amway: At Amway, our commitment to growth drives a better world. Powered by the passion of our people, Amway’s practices, like restorative farming, positively impact communities. We reveal real-life examples in our 2023 U.S. Impact Report here. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | 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 political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
