| | | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Tara Palmeri | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | Happy Monday morning. On Sunday, RYAN ZIMMERMAN was brought to tears by cheering fans in probably his last game for the Nats, the Facebook whistleblower made her public debut, and Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-Ariz.) was followed by protesters to a bathroom stall. More on (some of) that below, but first … WHERE DEMS GO FROM HERE — Now that the dust has settled from last week's drama on the Hill, let's take stock of where things stand with President JOE BIDEN's core legislative agenda. — Oct. 31 is the new Sept. 30: Congress extended the highway bill, which expired Thursday, until Halloween. Moderates tried to use the expiration of highway funding last week as a pressure point to pass the infrastructure bill. Obviously it didn't work. After Speaker NANCY PELOSI declined to put BIF up for a vote last week, she and Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER scrambled to extend highway funding to Oct. 31, thus creating a new deadline for a comprehensive deal on BIF and BBB. "Our goal is to get both bills done in the next month," Schumer said at an event in New York on Sunday. — The top-line number has been reduced by roughly 40%: From the moderates' perspective, this was their big achievement, one that they argue is under-appreciated. During his visit to the Hill on Friday night, Biden said the bill would be reduced from $3.5 trillion to somewhere in the $2 trillion range. "I think the brilliant move was to make $1.9 to $2.2 the progressives' number," one of the leading moderate House Democrats told Playbook. "They now embrace it. Progressives are with the president and Pelosi now at the reduced number." This was not an off-the-cuff comment from Biden — it's the new goal. (To be precise, the White House tells us that the target range is $1.9 to $2.3, not $2.2.) — The two bills are linked once again: From the progressives' perspective, this was their big achievement. Progressives wanted Biden to delay the BIF vote and they succeeded. Whether the White House did this because they secretly agreed with the progressive plan all along, as some House progressives insist, or whether Biden simply bowed to the reality of the situation, as the White House insists, progressives forced Pelosi to break her promise to hold the vote last week. And Biden made it clear that the two bills are tied together. "The key takeaway from Friday is that President Biden agrees that the fate of BIF and BBB are intertwined," Sen. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-Md.) told Playbook. "Next step is to get [JOE] MANCHIN and Sinema back to the table at the White House to compromise in order to salvage the core of Biden's BBB agenda. The president needs to make clear that they have an important role to play, but also need to listen to where the overwhelming majorities of the Democratic Caucus stand. It cannot be a one-way street." "The major error was creating an artificial expectation that [BIF] would pass by end of September," added Sen. BRIAN SCHATZ (D-Hawaii). In the near term, the two big things to watch are: 1) How do Democrats reduce the size of the bill? They can toss overboard entire policies. They can make some programs less expensive through means-testing (Manchin's preference). They can create programs with shorter lifespans and hope that they get renewed. They can engage in myriad types of budgetary gimmickry. 2) Does either camp of Democrats make a new hostage-taking demand? Keep your eyes on Sinema and Rep. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-N.J.). They both railed against the BIF delay last week, with Gottheimer calling it "deeply regrettable" and Sinema calling it "inexcusable," but so far they have not made new threats to force a stand-alone vote. While it is hard to make the case that Democrats are fully in array — we keep hearing all sides talk about trust issues — the path to a BIF-BBB deal this month seems possible. People always tell us we are cynical and pessimistic, so we'll give Schatz the last word with this positive spin on things: "If we finish both, and we will, and Covid drops as it is, and the economy is humming and we've passed BBB, ARP [American Rescue Plan], USICA [United States Innovation and Competition Act], etc., this year, that ends very very well." | | A message from Amazon: All Amazon employees earn at least $15 an hour —and more in areas where the cost of living is higher. In fact, our roles in fulfillment and transportation offer an average of more than $18 an hour. We invest in employee career growth and offer full-time employees benefits like health care on day one, and fully paid family leave. Learn more about Amazon's commitment to their employees. | | | DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE DEBT CEILING: We didn't spend as much time as others hand-wringing over the standoff on government funding, because it was clear the government was not going to shut down (and it didn't). We've been similarly skeptical that Democrats would blow the debt ceiling deadline, which will steal attention this week from the ongoing haggling over BIF-BBB. But a mistake here has much bigger consequences than the funding fight, both sides now seem very dug in, and the endgame is unclear. Here's where things stand: Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN recently said the government runs out of borrowing authority Oct. 18 , two weeks from today. The House passed a debt ceiling hike last week. Schumer will likely bring it up in the Senate this week. He's vowed not to use reconciliation, which would allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling on their own, with just 50 votes. Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL has promised not to supply any Republican votes to raise the ceiling, and a GOP filibuster remains likely. "Dems are not using reconciliation and pressure will be on Republicans to allow an up or down vote (at majority threshold) to let Dems raise debt limit on their own (what Republicans say they want)," one knowledgeable Democrat channeling Schumer's view told Playbook. "We're not doing the debt ceiling through reconciliation. Period. End of discussion," WARREN GUNNELS, the staff director of the Senate Budget Committee, recently told WaPo. Republicans tell us they still believe Schumer will cave and if he doesn't then Biden will force him to. They are buoyed by the fact that some prominent Democratic senators, like TIM KAINE (Va.), have said reconciliation remains the only option. Unsaid by all sides but worth pointing out: Having a debt ceiling, which does nothing to accomplish its original goal of limiting government borrowing but which regularly causes American politicians to flirt with economic catastrophe, is dumb. Thanks as always for reading Playbook. Drop us a line and tell us how you think the debt ceiling standoff will end: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. | | A message from Amazon: At Amazon, $15 an hour is just the start. We're committed to our employees' success—whether they're here for a season or a career. Learn more. | | | BIDEN'S MONDAY: — 9:35 a.m.: The president and first lady JILL BIDEN will depart Wilmington, Del., to return to the White House, where they are scheduled to arrive at 10:30 a.m. — 11:15 a.m.: Biden will deliver remarks on raising the debt ceiling in the State Dining Room. Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 1 p.m. THE SENATE will meet at 3 p.m. to take up JONATHAN MEYER's nomination as DHS general counsel, with a vote at 5:30 p.m. THE HOUSE is out. BIDEN'S WEEK AHEAD: — Tuesday: Biden will travel to Howell, Mich., to tout his agenda. — Friday: Biden will deliver remarks on the September jobs report. | | | | THE MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE 2021 IS HERE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from one of the largest and most influential gatherings of experts reinventing finance, health, technology, philanthropy, industry and media. Don't miss a thing from the 24th annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, from Oct. 17 to 20. Can't make it? We've got you covered. Planning to attend? Enhance your #MIGlobal experience and subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | 
PHOTO OF THE DAY: Crews work Sunday to contain one of the largest oil spills in recent Southern California history in the Wetlands Talbert Marsh in Huntington Beach. | Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP Photo | 2 BIG STORIES FROM SUNDAY THE PANDORA PAPERS — The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is out with a new dump of data on the rich and famous, and it's a doozy: "A 2.94 terabyte data trove exposes the offshore secrets of wealthy elites from more than 200 countries and territories. These are people who use tax and secrecy havens to buy property and hide assets; many avoid taxes and worse. They include more than 330 politicians and 130 Forbes billionaires, as well as celebrities, fraudsters, drug dealers, royal family members and leaders of religious groups around the world." The full report — More via WaPo: "The revelations include more than $100 million spent by KING ABDULLAH II of Jordan on luxury homes in Malibu, Calif., and other locations; millions of dollars in property and cash secretly owned by the leaders of the Czech Republic, Kenya, Ecuador and other countries; and a waterfront home in Monaco acquired by a Russian woman who gained considerable wealth after she reportedly had a child with Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN. "Other disclosures hit closer to home for U.S. officials and other Western leaders who frequently condemn smaller countries whose permissive banking systems have been exploited for decades by looters of assets and launderers of dirty money. "The files provide substantial new evidence, for example, that South Dakota now rivals notoriously opaque jurisdictions in Europe and the Caribbean in financial secrecy. Tens of millions of dollars from outside the United States are now sheltered by trust companies in Sioux Falls, some of it tied to people and companies accused of human rights abuses and other wrongdoing." THE FB WHISTLEBLOWER COMES FORWARD — WSJ's Jeff Horwitz profiles FRANCES HAUGEN, the whistleblower who provided the newspaper with documents that became critical in its explosive Facebook Files series. "Ms. Haugen kept expecting to be caught, she said, as she reviewed thousands of documents over several weeks. … On May 17, shortly before 7 p.m., she logged on for the last time and typed her final message into Workplace's search bar to try to explain her motives. 'I don't hate Facebook,' she wrote. 'I love Facebook. I want to save it.'" Haugen also appeared on "60 Minutes" on Sunday night, and is expected to testify on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, per Sen. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-Minn.). CONGRESS TRUST ISSUES — WaPo's Marianna Sotomayor looks at the state of Democrats after last week's setback on infrastructure and reconciliation — and concludes they're suffering from a serious lack of trust: "Many liberals don't trust moderates. Key moderates no longer trust congressional leaders or the White House. And few in the House trust the Senate," she writes. ON THE GROUND IN THE GARDEN STATE — Gottheimer has planted himself in the middle of the Democratic drama, generating headlines to match. But back in his district, voters worry the clash between moderates and progressives will end with only one winner: DONALD TRUMP. NYT's Tracey Tully has the story in Ridgewood, N.J. JAN. 6 COMMISSION GEARS UP FOR TRUMP — The congressional panel investigating the events of Jan. 6 sees itself as something of an unstoppable force. And the members are eyeing up the first immovable object: Trump. "For a panel that has worked briskly but methodically to gather records from federal agencies and scoop up voluntary testimony from friendly witnesses, the expected fight from Trump is likely to be the first test of its legal and political muscle," Kyle Cheney writes. | | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | ALL POLITICS 2021 WATCH — In 2020, Biden carried a strong portion of the Latino vote in Florida and Texas, but Trump did better than expected. Now, TERRY MCAULIFFE is heeding the lessons of last year in the Virginia gubernatorial race, recognizing he likely needs strong Latino turnout to win, Sabrina Rodríguez reports. 2022 WATCH — While all the attention has been trained on the race for Texas governor and who will challenge GOP Gov. GREG ABBOTT next year — BETO? MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY? — the undercard may be the real test of whether Democrats can finally win statewide. MIKE COLLIER, a Democrat, is jumping into the mix to unseat Lt. Gov. DAN PATRICK — setting up a rematch of a hotly contested race from three years ago, HuffPost's Travis Waldron reports. 2024 WATCH — Trump says he would beat Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS in a GOP primary, "like I would beat everyone else," he told Yahoo Finance. He added that he doesn't expect that he'll have to. MEDIAWATCH BEN SMITH INTERVIEWS CARLOS WATSON — In the latest installment of his reporting that caused the implosion of Ozy Media in less than a week, Ben Smith talks to the man at the center of the company: CARLOS WATSON. Despite a mountain of evidence of deceptive practices, "he conceded nothing," Smith writes. BEYOND THE BELTWAY REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT — Military bases across the nation are busing in thousands of Afghan refugees, providing them with a place to stay while they wait for more permanent solutions, NYT's Miriam Jordan and Jennifer Steinhauer report from Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. "While many Americans have turned their attention away from the largest evacuation of war refugees since Vietnam, the operation is very much a work in progress here, overseen by a host of federal agencies and thousands of U.S. troops." AMERICA AND THE WORLD FRANCE FRACAS — ANTONY BLINKEN called Paris his "second home" during a cheery visit earlier this year. As the secretary of State returns this week for an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development meeting, he will do so with a more frosty French contingent, NYT's Michael Crowley writes. CHINA GETS A TALKING TO — "Beijing flew 93 military sorties near Taiwan over three days as China celebrated its National Day holiday, its largest such prodding in the past year, prompting the U.S. to warn against what it called provocative military activity," WSJ's Liza Lin and James Areddy report. — USTR KATHERINE TAI is set to blast China today for not living up to a trade deal negotiated by Trump to buy more American products, WaPo's David Lynch reports. | | | | INTRODUCING CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. GET A FIRST LOOK AT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Kyrsten Sinema was followed by protesters into the bathroom at Arizona State University, where she teaches — sparking outrage across the political spectrum. Jeff Horwitz of the WSJ and NYT's Ben Smith both rocked headbands on different Sunday shows. Mark Barabak and Shane Goldmacher, old Golden State pals, were together at the Giants-Padres game. Meg Kinnard, a politics reporter for AP, talked to CNN about her battle with breast cancer ahead of National Breast Cancer Awareness month. SPOTTED: Justice Stephen Breyer and his wife, Joanna, at the finals of the Australian Embassy's inaugural Kangaroo Cup Tennis Tournament on Sunday. SPOTTED: The '70s, recreated at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse, during filming for HBO's upcoming Watergate miniseries. (h/t @JmartNYT) FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Elizabeth Goodman is joining Husch Blackwell Strategies to launch its Phoenix office as a principal. She previously was a partner at Christian Goodman PLC. MEDIA MOVE — Alex Rosenwald is now VP of marketing and community at Ricochet, a conservative podcast network and website. He previously was senior director of strategic communications and branding for MediaDC. TRANSITIONS — Ivelisse Porroa-Garcia is now director of government affairs at Ferox Strategies. She previously was policy director for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. … Austin Stonebraker is now digital director for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). He previously was digital director for the House Financial Services GOP. … … The Lukens Company is adding Sarah Curran as director of advocacy and Alex Meyer as senior political strategist. Curran previously was D.C. co-chair at Maverick PAC, and Meyer most recently was Missouri state director for the RNC. … Josephine Kalipeni is now executive director of Family Values @ Work. She previously was deputy director. … Allie Caccamo is now an associate doing tech policy strategy at Christoff & Co. She most recently was an account coordinator at Allison+Partners. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) … Katie Miller … Katie Purucker … Norm Pearlstine … Brynne Craig … Mirian Saez … Sonya McNair … CNN's Pervaiz Shallwani … AP's Holly Ramer … Patrick Wilson … Kelsi Daniell of Sen. Joni Ernst's (R-Iowa) office … ABC's Santina Leuci … Bill Gray … Sean Hackbarth … Liz Wolgemuth … Drew Willison … Edelman's Trisha Pascale … National Journal's Brian Dabbs … Steve Capus … Pete Davis … Tim Sparapani … Andrew Jay Schwartzman … Ryan Donmoyer … Francis Kruszewski of the American Cleaning Institute … Duke University's Chris Simmons … Melvin Steinberg … J Strategies' Francisca Cruz … former Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) … former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel … retired Navy Adm. Mike Mullen … DOJ's Josh Rothstein (4-0) … BBC's Kasia Madera … Elizabeth Bonner … Dane Waters … Paul Seymour … WaPo's Rachel Siegel … Todd Malan … Bridget Reed Morawski … Rob Shapiro Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com . Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. | | A message from Amazon: A recent independent study found that when Amazon raised their wage to $15 an hour, the average hourly wage in the surrounding area rose by 4.7% as other employers followed their lead.
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