| | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine and Rachel Umansky-Castro | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill Oct. 7, 2025. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) | AP | SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: And on the seventh day, the government is still shut down as the White House ups the ante again. Hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers may not be eligible for back pay once the lights are turned back on, according to a memo circulated by the White House, “another escalation in its pressure campaign against Senate Democrats,” POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy reports. Document details: “The memo appears to contravene the 2019 ‘Government Employee Fair Treatment Act,’ signed by Trump during his first term after a partial shutdown that stretched over 35 days. And it paints a cloudy economic picture for the 750,000 federal workers currently under furlough,” Gregory writes. When asked about the memo in the Oval Office this morning, Trump said his administration wants to take “care of our people,” but he added that “there are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.” He continued: “I would say it depends on who we’re talking about.” The Interior Department, meanwhile, told POLITICO in a statement that it is planning to “ensure pay and back pay authorized under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act are issued as quickly as possible” once the shutdown is over. On Capitol Hill: Speaker Mike Johnson said “there will be a lot of discussion about” the memo, though he noted that he hopes furloughed workers get back pay. “There are legal analysts who think that that is not something that government should do,” Johnson said. “If that is true, that should turn up the urgency and the necessity of the Democrats doing the right thing here.” Notably, the White House memo is a direct pivot from Johnson’s own congressional website and the Office of Personnel Management's shutdown guidance issued last month, per The Bulwark’s Sam Stein. The pushback: “If you’re talking about my staff and other staff, that’s probably not a good message to send right now to people who are not being paid,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told reporters. “I’m not an attorney, but I think it’s bad strategy to even say that sort of stuff.” Meanwhile, Johnson shrugged off Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) criticism that Republicans don’t have a plan to address the expiring Obamacare subsidies, POLITICO’s Nick Wu reports. “[Greene] does not serve on the committees of jurisdiction to deal with those specialized issues, and she’s probably not read that in on some of that,” Johnson said. Friends for a day: Greene found a rare show of support from across the aisle when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer quoted from the Georgia Republican’s lengthy social media post on the subsidies in his floor speech today. “Hold on to your hats,” Schumer said, “I think this is the first time I’ve said this, but on this issue, Representative Greene said it perfectly.” BONDI’S BIG DAY: The blockbuster moment on the Hill today is AG Pam Bondi’s ongoing testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Throughout much of the questioning this morning, Bondi largely dodged a range of inquiries from Democrats, who tried to press Bondi on the politicization of the Justice Department, nationwide immigration raids and her discussions with the White House over investigations into President Donald Trump’s perceived enemies. When ranking member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) pushed Bondi on the legal rationale for sending National Guard troops to Chicago, Bondi quipped back: “I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump. If you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.” She later repeated the quote when asked about the state of California. Bondi also urged Durbin to “condemn [Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker] for not cooperating with our law enforcement officers,” and claimed there had been “a 1,000 percent increase in violent attacks against our ICE officers” in Chicago. In the room, Durbin “seemed surprised by the intensity of Bondi’s posture in response to a relatively mild question about the work of the department,” POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney reports. “That’s the kind of testimony you expect from this administration,” Durbin said. “A simple question as to whether or not they had a legal rationale for deploying National Guard troops becomes grounds for personal attack.” The AG also turned the spotlight back on the government shutdown when asked about the firing of senior prosecutors for alleged political purposes, telling senators that “the main personnel issue that I’m having right now is that all of my agents, all of my lawyers” are working without pay. Bondi also refused to answer questions over DOJ’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, telling Durbin: “I’m not going to discuss anything about that with you, senator.” She went on to skirt inquiries over the legality of strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats in Venezuela, though she described Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as a “narcoterrorist” who is “currently under indictment.” Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop us a line at birvine@politico.com and rumansky-castro@politico.com.
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Canadian PM Mark Carney met with Trump at the White House this morning to discuss trade. | AP | 1. O CANADA: Trump heaped praise on Canadian PM Mark Carney in the Oval Office this morning, “avoiding blow-ups or embarrassment, even though he fell short of a breakthrough in the trade stand-off between the two North American neighbors,” POLITICO’s Mike Blanchfield writes. “‘We’ve come a long way over the last few months, actually, in terms of that relationship,’ Trump declared, adding that he considered Carney ‘a world-class leader’ and a tough negotiator: ‘I think they’re going to walk away very happy.’ ‘We have great love for each other,’ Trump told Carney after the prime minister lauded Trump’s peace efforts around the world, including the Middle East. But the president added: ‘We have a natural conflict.’” The view from Ottawa: “In response, Carney called Trump a transformative president,” Reuters’ Maria Cheng and Andrea Shalal report. “A Canadian government official and several analysts played down the chances of an imminent trade deal with Trump and said the fact discussions are continuing should be considered a success for Carney.” 2. MILITARY MATTERS: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is heading to Portland today “to visit with federal employees at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building amid protests and occasional clashes between demonstrators and federal officers,” while FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy AG Todd Blanche travel to Chicago, NYT’s Anna Griffin reports. Under pressure: As the administration leans on leaders of sanctuary cities to capitulate to Trump’s wishes, most aren’t budging, WaPo’s David Nakamura reports. “Just two jurisdictions — Louisville and the state of Nevada — have agreed to drop key policies that had restricted police and sheriffs from assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in making arrests. And Trump has faced a string of losses in court.” The persistent pressure from Trump on these states is “shattering a decades-long norm of cooperation between presidents and governors,” POLITICO’s Blake Jones and Shia Kapos write. 3 SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court’s conservative justices appear set to rule against Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ minors, NYT’s Ann Marimow reports. “In a lively argument, which lasted an hour and a half, the justices debated whether the so-called conversion therapy covered by Colorado’s law causes harm to minors. Lawyers for the therapist and the Trump administration said there were no studies indicating such therapy causes harm. The state’s lawyer countered that there is a ‘mountain of evidence’ that conversion therapy is ineffective and harmful.” 4. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: On the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel, officials are plowing ahead with the second day of negotiations in Cairo over Trump's proposed peace plan. A senior Hamas official announced in a televised statement today that the militant group continues to work to “overcome all obstacles” to reach an agreement. He also reiterated Hamas’ position that any “deal must ensure an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip,” per Reuters. “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately comment on the status of the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh.” More on the way: Egyptian officials say special envoy Steve Witkoff is due to arrive in the country in the coming hours while Trump’s son-in-law and former Middle East adviser Jared Kushner was also expected to join the negotiations, NYT’s Adam Rasgon reports from Tel Aviv. “As architects of Mr. Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war, their presence at the talks would signal progress, one of the officials said.” Related reads: “Two years after she was pictured in grief, Gaza woman faces more misery,” by Reuters’ Ramadan Abed … “Pro-Palestinian videos dominate those supporting Israel on TikTok,” per WaPo … “Here in Israel, the Divide Is Growing,” by Constantin Schreiber for POLITICO Magazine 5. FOR YOUR RADAR: “Biden didn’t want intel disseminated showing Ukrainian concerns over family's 'corrupt' business ties: records,” by Fox News’ Brooke Singman: “Then-Vice President Joe Biden in 2015 told the CIA he would ‘strongly prefer’ an intelligence report documenting Ukrainian officials’ concerns with his family’s ties to ‘corrupt’ business deals in the country ‘not be disseminated’ — and so it wasn’t, according to a newly declassified email and records made public by the agency. CIA Director John Ratcliffe declassified the heavily redacted records, which he said he believes is an example of ‘politicization of intelligence.’ … Representatives for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.” 6. TRAIL MIX: GOP Sen. John Cornyn brought in a haul of $3.4 million in the third quarter, The Washington Examiner’s David Sivak scoops. Cornyn’s campaign did not provide an exact breakdown of the amount raised by each account in his heated GOP primary fight against Texas AG Ken Paxton. Paxton hasn’t reported figures for the third quarter yet. 7. TRUMP’S NEXT ENDEAVOR?: “If Trump convinces China to abandon force against Taiwan he deserves Nobel prize, Taiwan president says,” per Reuters: “[Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te], speaking this week on ‘The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,’ which is carried on more than 400 talk radio stations, referred to comments Trump made in August in which he said [Chinese President Xi Jinping] told him China would not invade Taiwan while he was U.S. president.”
| | TALK OF THE TOWN | | CULINARY CORNER: After a quarter-century of reviewing restaurants, WaPo food critic Tom Sietsema is stepping down from the role — but not before dropping his anonymous identity in a farewell column. “Far from retiring, I’ve got plans to cook more, travel more and stay connected with fellow food enthusiasts,” Sietsema writes. “I still plan to eat out, just not 10 or so meals a week. Oh, and I’ll be paying for it all myself. That’s going to sting.” OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a dinner at Cafe Milano last night hosted by Sheikha Rima al-Sabah: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Dina Powell McCormick, Mehmet Oz, James Blair, Stephen Miller, Kellyanne Conway, David Zervos and Laura Ingraham. — SPOTTED at Meridian International Center’s annual Congressional and Ambassadorial Spouses Luncheon yesterday, with guest of honor Dina Powell McCormick: Victoria Dutari de Aleman, Figen Onal, Liis Prikk, Petra Hanefeld, Kay Xuereb, Angela Padilla, Kelley Paul, Laina Marshall, Tiia Karlen, Megan Beyer, Corlie McCormick, Allison Lutnick, Ritu Banga, Caroline Landau, Deborah Lehr, Dede Lea, Jean Case, Marie Royce, Ada Vargas, Susanna Quinn, Abby Blunt, Betsy Fischer Martin, Laura Cox Kaplan and Gwen Holliday. TRANSITIONS — Kate Beale is now VP of strategic partnerships at the Meridian International Center. She previously worked at Crowell Global Advisors. … Alexandra Valdes is now a development associate at Club for Growth. She previously worked for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. … … Kathryn Cyr is now portfolio director for Message Lab at Orchestra. She previously worked at the Aspen Institute. … Melissa Shute is now SVP of corporate affairs for RWE Clean Energy. She previously worked at Chevron New Energies. 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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