| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
| 
Rival campaigns have started plotting an effort to halt Tim Scott’s momentum and drag him back into the pack. | Charlie Neibergall, File/AP Photo | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | JUST POSTED — “Bellwether? Ohio voters back abortion rights amendment in a test case for other states,” by USA Today’s Susan Page: “A new USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University survey of Ohio showed the amendment guaranteeing access to reproductive services backed by a double-digit margin, 58%-32%. Significant support crossed partisan lines, including a third of Republicans and a stunning 85% of independent women, a key group of persuadable voters.” MAKING SCOTT SWEAT — Sen. TIM SCOTT is having a moment on the campaign trail. A new Fox Business Iowa poll is the latest survey showing the South Carolinian Republican gaining on RON DeSANTIS in early-voting states. Since launching his bid in May, Scott’s been on a slow but steady rise and has consistently notched the highest favorability ratings in the field. He’s also amassed an impressive war chest that’s already allowed him to bombard early states with his story of going from “cotton to Congress” — with more to come this fall. Rival campaigns have noticed. And now, like the proverbial crabs in a pot, they have started plotting an effort to arrest Scott’s momentum and drag him back into the pack. In recent days, super PACs associated with DeSantis and NIKKI HALEY have singled out Scott for criticism. Operatives in multiple campaigns, we’re told, are beefing up their oppo files on the senator, and some briefed Playbook in recent days about the likely lines of attack. “He’s never really had a real challenger in terms of a serious primary or general, so in that sense he’s pretty unvetted,” said one ally of a rival candidate. “The scrutiny will come.” Yes, there are reasons to doubt it will fundamentally alter Scott’s trajectory. The underlying material has already, by and large, been publicly documented. And none of his rivals have so far been willing to go on the record taking a punch at the man who’s become the Mr. Congeniality of the 2024 field, let alone spend money to amplify the attacks. “It does show who they are most afraid of,” former Sen. CORY GARDNER (R-Colo.), who is co-chairing a super PAC backing Scott, said of the threats. “It does show that he is eating into their support.”
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Explore more possibilities with the metaverse. | | | Still, with Scott already ensconced on the debate stage and rising in the polls, he’s certain to see incoming fire from his rivals in these three areas: — FOREIGN POLICY: After Scott appeared at the TUCKER CARLSON-moderated Christian Family Leadership Summit in Iowa last weekend, some conservative commentators bemoaned that he dodged tough questions — such as whether to arm Ukraine with cluster munitions — with the Washington Examiner’s BYRON YORK chiding him for trying to “joke his way out of difficult situations.” The performance fueled a perception that Scott is a step behind on foreign policy experience in a field that includes a former president (DONALD TRUMP), a former vice president (MIKE PENCE) and a former UN ambassador (Haley). Will it stick? There’s no doubt that Scott’s focus in Congress has been on domestic issues. But he’s recently joined the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is seeking to use his post as the top Republican on the Banking Committee, which oversees tariffs and sanctions, to burnish his credentials — particularly by cracking down on China. One speed bump is that he’s alone among major candidates in not supporting a total ban on Chinese-owned TikTok — raising questions about his close ties to Oracle CEO LARRY ELLISON, whose company hosts TikTok’s U.S. data. — CRIME AND POLICING: With 2024 contenders racing to out-tough each other on crime, expect Scott’s rivals to highlight his record as one of Capitol Hill’s greatest champions of police and criminal justice reform. Scott was an original cosponsor of the 2018 First Step Act, which reduced some mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related crimes and allowed some already in prison to seek shorter sentences — a bill that has since become a bugaboo for Republicans. Even more sensitive was Scott’s work on police reform after the death of GEORGE FLOYD in 2020. While he ultimately pulled out of negotiations with Sen. CORY BOOKER (D-N.J.) and accused Democrats of seeking to “defund the police” with the legislation, he’d previously supported exactly that approach — conditioning federal grant funds on reforms. Another episode ripe for campaign scrutiny surrounds Scott’s effort to secure a pardon for his cousin, OTIS GORDON, who served six years in federal prison after a 1991 drug conspiracy conviction. Questions were raised about the propriety of Scott seeking a pardon, which Trump granted in 2020, for a blood relative who also worked on his campaigns. Will it stick? Anyone who wants to argue Scott is soft on crime would have to say the same of Trump, who signed the First Step Act, as well as the scores of fellow Republicans (such as DeSantis) who voted for it or similar bills in Congress. The policing reform issue is dicier — Scott spoke urgently about the need for reform after Floyd’s death and spent months exploring proposals but ultimately walked away. — RACE AND AMERICA: Scott has made his rise from poverty to the Senate the centerpiece of his campaign, arguing “my life disproves the lies of the radical left” that America is a fundamentally racist country. In an attempt to undercut that message, his rivals have reached back nearly 30 years, to a 1995 story in the Charleston Post and Courier where Scott took a swipe at his own party early in his political career. “The Republican Party by and large has been a racist organization and still to this day exists as a racist organization to a large extent,” he said, adding, “Being a Republican shouldn't mean being a racist. I don't think it should be an oxymoron for a black to be a Republican. It should mean that you are pro-business, pro-family and that you are anti-tax.” Will it stick? Scott’s critics think the remark could be potent at a moment where Republican primary voters are hyper-attuned to so-called “woke” ideology. But it could be a stretch to slag Scott for a comment made at a very different point in his career as a part of a broader critique — “Democrats kept blacks out [of politics] completely,” he added in the interview. Moreover, Scott claims the quote was miscast — recalling through a campaign rep that the interview centered on public perceptions of the party, not his own perceptions of the party. Said NATHAN BRAND, Scott’s communications director: “This bottom-feeding oppo is so weak and dishonest that even Tim Scott’s political opponents won’t put their names on it. Clearly, those seeking to slow Tim’s momentum are seeing the same polling we are.” Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | THE WEEK AHEAD — Wednesday: Fed announces interest rate decision. HUNTER BIDEN appears in Wilmington, Del., federal court to face criminal charges. Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS testifies before House Judiciary Committee. … Thursday: President JOE BIDEN hosts Italian PM GIORGIA MELONI at the White House. DeSantis begins two-day bus tour in Iowa. Scott hosts town hall in Ankeny, Iowa, with Gov. KIM REYNOLDS. … Friday: Biden travels to Maine for an event on the economy. GOP presidential candidates appear at Iowa GOP’s annual Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines. … Saturday: Trump holds campaign rally in Erie, Pa. SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN — With a possible shutdown looming in September, a much-anticipated fight over government spending will kick off this week among House Republicans, Caitlin Emma and Jennifer Scholtes preview. Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY will try to pass his conference’s version of two of the least fraught spending bills — the starting gun in his effort to build leverage for negotiations with Biden, like he pulled off this spring on the debt limit. But it isn’t clear yet whether McCarthy can marshal the votes to pass them this week, as Freedom Caucus members want deeper cuts and moderate front-liners recoil from the cuts already proposed. There could also be dozens of tricky amendment fights. On the flip side: “[T]he Senate’s spending debate is looking as bipartisan and cooperative as it has been in years.” Health care policy fights will be a major part of several appropriations bill fights — well beyond just the health care spending bill, Alice Miranda Ollstein writes this morning. Republicans are looking to insert language on abortion in nearly every one of the spending bills, while other culture wars play out on gender-affirming care, the WHO, tobacco and more. Susan B. Anthony List and the America First Policy Institute are working with House Republicans on the plans, while Democrats worry that some of the riders might ultimately make it through negotiations. “They’re the ones that have changed the game and the rules of the game, not us,” House Appropriations Vice Chair TOM COLE (R-Okla.) says of the Biden administration’s growing efforts to protect abortion access through the executive branch — and congressional Republicans’ response.
| | BIDEN’S MONDAY — The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10 a.m.
Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 3:30 p.m.
VP KAMALA HARRIS’ MONDAY (all times Eastern):
10:55 a.m.: The VP will leave Washington for Chicago, arriving at 12:55 p.m.
2:20 p.m.: Harris will speak at the UnidosUS 2023 Annual Conference at the McCormick Place Lakeside Center.
4:45 p.m.: Harris will speak at a campaign reception.
6:15 p.m.: Harris will leave Chicago to return to Washington, arriving at Joint Base Andrews at 7:45 p.m.
THE HOUSE and THE SENATE are out. | | | | | | STOP SCROLLING (for just a minute!). Introducing a revamped California Playbook newsletter with an all-new team and a sharpened mission! Join Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner as they take you on an extraordinary journey through California's political landscape. From inside the Capitol in Sacramento to the mayor’s office in Los Angeles, and from the tech hub of Silicon Valley to even further beyond, we're your front-row ticket to the action. Subscribe for access to exclusive news, buzzworthy scoops and never-before-revealed behind-the-scenes details straight from the heart of California's political arena. Don't miss out — SUBSCRIBE TODAY and stay in the know! | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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A destroyed stove sits amongst the burned remnants of a historic grange after the Newell Road Fire moved through on Sunday, July 23, in Dot, Wash. | David Ryder/Getty Images | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH STATE OF PLAY — From Des Moines, Natalie Allison, Sally Goldenberg and Adam Wren talked to dozens of plugged-in Republicans for an insightful, comprehensive guide to who’s building a successful campaign — and who’s not — in Iowa. Among the takeaways:
- Trump’s organization is way more sophisticated than in 2016, with exhaustive planning for caucus night and contact info of 100,000 Republicans across the state. An Iowa campaign office grand opening is expected soon, and there are already a dozen paid staffers.
- DeSantis is leaning on the Never Back Down super PAC for his Iowa ground game — and targeting political figures whom Trump has alienated. Evangelicals are looking at DeSantis favorably.
- All other candidates are simply hoping to beat expectations, not necessarily win the state. MIKE PENCE has more riding on Iowa than perhaps anyone else. VIVEK RAMASWAMY’s barnstorming events have built an impressive network of support. Scott has focused on evangelicals and ads, but his ground game has been slow to ramp up. Haley has just one paid Iowa staffer and is “still trying to catch fire.”
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — North Dakota’s whole congressional delegation (all three of them) is hosting a fundraiser for Gov. DOUG BURGUM’s presidential campaign tomorrow evening at the Capitol Hill Club. GOP Sens. KEVIN CRAMER and JOHN HOEVEN and Rep. KELLY ARMSTRONG have all endorsed Burgum. The invite THE DeSANTIS PIVOT — At a donor retreat in Utah yesterday, DeSantis’ campaign leaders pledged changes afoot, including leaner spending, more prominence for the governor and — like every campaign says at some point — a plan to “let Ron be Ron,” Alex Isenstadt reports. Campaign manager GENERRA PECK didn’t provide many details, but she indicated that anything was on the table. In particular, the campaign signaled an intention to redirect some money from event planning and fundraising to ground operations in early-voting states. One message they sent loud and clear: Peck’s role atop the campaign is not endangered, despite some recent reporting that knives were out for her. MORE POLITICS BIG MONEY — “Club for Growth readies $20m fund to boost Boebert, Gaetz and other McCarthy antagonists,” by Ally Mutnick: “The Club’s primary goal will be to defend the five freshmen members of the group who are especially vulnerable: Reps. ELI CRANE (R-Ariz.), ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-Fla.), JOSH BRECHEEN (R-Okla.), ANDY OGLES (R-Tenn.) and KEITH SELF (R-Texas). [President DAVID] McINTOSH wrote the Club would also closely monitor any primary challengers to the 15 other members, a group which includes some of the biggest congressional rabble rousers.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Ohio Republican CRAIG RIEDEL is getting a big boost for his congressional campaign with a suite of endorsements today from Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY, House Majority Leader STEVE SCALISE, House Majority Whip TOM EMMER (R-Minn.) and House GOP Conference Chair ELISE STEFANIK (R-N.Y.). Riedel is running to unseat Democratic incumbent MARCY KAPTUR, who was initially seen as vulnerable last year but cruised to victory over scandal-ridden J.R. MAJEWSKI. HOW THE WEST WAS WON — “Urbanization, Latinos and a far-right GOP. How New Mexico went from battleground to blue,” by the L.A. Times’ Mark Barabak in Albuquerque: “To a large extent, it’s a story of movement. People relocating from more liberal climes, like California. Newcomers filling up cities and suburbs, as rural areas recede. Latino influence expanding. And, not least, Republicans shifting dramatically rightward.” THE WHITE HOUSE BIDEN GETS RESULTS — A pair of new stories highlight how the big-ticket legislative achievements of Biden’s first two years in office are already helping to reshape America: As the Inflation Reduction Act reaches its first anniversary, the law’s clean energy investments have supercharged the industry, AP’s Isabella O’Malley and Michael Phillis report from Frankfort, Ky. One tally puts the number of new projects at equivalent to the prior seven years together. But plenty of capacity questions linger, too. The manufacturing renaissance under Biden has especially benefited Southern and Western states, Axios’ Hans Nichols reports in a new analysis. Nevada, Montana and Wyoming lead the way with percentage increases in new manufacturing jobs above 10% since Biden took office, while Texas is No. 1 in absolute numbers. Only Alaska and Vermont have seen declines. CONGRESS TALES FROM THE CRYPTO — “Crypto’s House win collides with Senate skepticism,” by Eleanor Mueller: “House Republicans are about to hand the cryptocurrency lobby a big win via legislation that would set up special rules for trading digital assets. There’s just one problem: A growing and bipartisan group of senators … is rallying behind a crackdown that crypto firms hate … Even allies like Sen. CYNTHIA LUMMIS (R-Wyo.) — dubbed the Senate’s ‘crypto queen’ — are warning that the industry needs to accept the emerging political reality.” TRUMP CARDS MR. SMITH CAME TO WASHINGTON — Special counsel JACK SMITH’s investigations into Trump have imposed significant staffing and financial demands on the Justice Department, NYT’s Glenn Thrush, Ben Protess, Alan Feuer and Adam Goldman report in a big story that puts some price tags on the probes. Smith’s initial spending rate appears to set him up for spending $25 million annually, including a staff of 40 to 60. (Trump is already crowing about these stats on Truth Social.) POLICY CORNER BIG INVESTIGATION — “Losing track: Pens, paper and ‘old school’ practices degrade government security clearance tracking,” by Raw Story’s Alexandria Jacobson with the first in a three-part series
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD ISRAEL’S BIG DAY — As the Israeli Knesset prepares to vote today on PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU’s controversial judicial overhaul, Biden is upping the public pressure on Israeli conservatives to relent. In a new statement to Axios’ Barak Ravid yesterday, he criticized the bill for “becoming more divisive, not less,” and said “it doesn’t make sense for Israeli leaders to rush this — the focus should be on pulling people together and finding consensus.” The Israeli proposal — which supporters say is a necessary rebalancing but critics call a threat to democracy — could have other ramifications for the U.S., too. As thousands of Israeli reservists threaten to quit if it passes, the Pentagon is concerned about its effects on regional military stability, per Axios. And more broadly, it’s become the latest rift in U.S.-Israeli relations — though, unusually, the fracas this time centers on Israeli domestic instead of foreign policy, NYT’s Peter Baker and Lisa Lerer write. But “longtime advocates and analysts said they remained confident that the relationship between the United States and Israel would endure.” NORTH KOREA LATEST — “UN Command says it’s communicating with North Korea over detained US soldier,” by AP’s Kim Tong-Hyung: “Gen. ANDREW HARRISON said the process has started through communications lines set up at the Joint Security Area between the Koreas under the armistice agreement that stopped the fighting of the 1950-53 Korean War. He said the well-being of Pvt. TRAVIS KING remains the command’s primary concern, but refused to provide more details, citing the sensitivity of the discussions.” DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “U.S., Allies Hold Record-Setting Military Exercise in Australia in Message Aimed at China,” by WSJ’s Mike Cherney at Shoalwater Bay Training Area, Australia THE ECONOMY FED UP — “U.S. Economic Soft Landing Hinges on Fed’s Tolerance of Inflation,” by Bloomberg’s Rich Miller: “After taking a break from tightening credit last month, Fed Chairman JEROME POWELL and his colleagues look locked in to raising interest rates by a quarter percentage point this week.” MEDIAWATCH WHERE CNN GOES NOW — “Life After Licht Isn’t a Picnic,” by Puck’s Dylan Byers: “The defenestration of CHRIS LICHT temporarily calmed the waters around Hudson Yards, but the future of the network, and DAVID ZASLAV’s plans for it, are as uncertain as ever. Herewith, a close look at the not-so ‘interim’ executive team, the KAITLAN COLLINS dilemma, and more.” VALLEY TALK X MARKS THE FRAUGHT — “Elon Musk says Twitter’s blue bird to be replaced by an X,” by Reuters’ Mrinmay Dey and Michelle Conlin
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | London Breed could face a challenging reelection bid. Lisa Murkowski is going Gen Z. Doug Emhoff is making foreign policy history in Samoa. Dick Durbin is out with Covid. SOLD! — Twelve Books has purchased the rights to the memoir of Jonathan Capehart, MSNBC anchor and longtime WaPo opinion writer. The book will cover his childhood being raised by a widowed mother and Jehovah’s Witness grandmother to becoming a Pulitzer Prize winner. The memoir promises to be juicy as Capehart will reveal the backstory to him leaving his perch on WaPo’s editorial board. OUT AND ABOUT — Kathy “Coach” Kemper hosted Tech Congress Fellows at the Congressional Country Club on Saturday for Seabreeze cocktails and snacks. SPOTTED: Pranay Mittal, Devanshi Nishar, Frances Schroeder, Sarthak Agrawal, Kelvin Yu, Matthew Spence, Sunmin Kim, Logan Warberg, Anita Rao, Joanne Ke Edelman, Michelle Holko, Kazakh Ambassador Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Dinara Ashikbayeva, Austrian Ambassador Petra Schneebauer, Albanian Ambassador Floreta Faber, Thai Ambassador Tanee Sangrat and Cholatip Kambhu Sangrat. TRANSITION — Jason Somensatto is joining Chainalysis as head of policy for North America. He previously was an adviser to CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam. ENGAGED — Bryan Hood, director at Flexpoint Media, proposed to Casey Nelson, deputy comms director for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), over the weekend at the Library of Congress, with a dinner celebration in the Kennedy proposal booth at Martin’s Tavern. They first met professionally while he was managing a congressional campaign in her home state of Alabama and reconnected when he moved back to D.C. last year. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Andy Barr (R-Ky.) … NYT’s Zolan Kanno-Youngs … WSJ’s Kim Strassel … Joel Benenson of Benenson Strategy Group … The Washington Free Beacon’s Brent Scher … Robert Hoopes of Vox Global … CNBC’s Eamon Javers … Hillary Parkinson of Rep. Keith Self’s (R-Texas) office … former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) … Margo Martin … Ryan Sims … John Brabender of BrabenderCox … Juergen Baetz … Megan Ruane of Rep. Madeleine Dean’s (D-Pa.) office … Allie Bedell of Canvass America … Ann Berry … WaPo’s Veronica Bautista … Chris Bond of Plus Communications … former Reps. Vin Weber (R-Minn.) and Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) … CBS’ Michelle Kessel … Matt Joseloff of “Morning Joe” … David Fuscus of Xenophon Strategies … Agustina Pardal of the Bipartisan Policy Center … former RNC Chair Marc Racicot … Pat Oliphant … Christianné Allen … FT’s Molly Eisner … Adriane Casalotti of the National Association of County and City Health Officials 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 Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misidentified the origin of new early-state GOP presidential primary polls. They came from Fox Business Network.
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Students learning about prehistoric eras will use virtual reality to take field trips to the Ice Age and visit the woolly mammoths. As a result, students will not only learn their history lessons - they’ll experience them.
The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real.
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