| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
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The House returns from its summer recess this week, hanging over everything is a brewing challenge from the right to Speaker Kevin McCarthy. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | ANNIVERSARY READ — “The 9/11 Speech That Was Never Delivered,” by Jeff Nussbaum in the Atlantic: “The long-hidden drafts of CONDOLEEZZA RICE’s remarks offer a portrait of a lost world — and some lessons for the present.” McCARTHY’S MESS — The House returns from its summer recess this week, with 19 days to avert an Oct. 1 government shutdown. On top of passing a short-term funding patch, lawmakers have to deal with White House requests for Ukraine and disaster aid as well as the need to reauthorize farm programs and the FAA. It’s a daunting to-do list. Hanging over everything is a brewing challenge from the right to Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY. Conservative hardliners who only reluctantly backed him for speaker have spent weeks hearing from unhappy constituents back home — many who are itching for a funding fight and salivating over an impeachment of President JOE BIDEN. And McCarthy’s plan for the fall — punting a funding fight into December while letting his committee chairs dig further into Biden — is not passing muster with his critics, some of whom are openly threatening a “motion to vacate” (i.e., to oust McCarthy) if he cuts a deal with Democrats to keep the government open. “You're going to fight for something, or you don't have any business continuing to lead the Republican Party,” Rep. CHIP ROY (R-Texas), who is fiercely pushing McCarthy to include a southern border crackdown in any shutdown-averting measure, told us last night. Sure, McCarthy has heard these sorts of threats before. Similar rumblings, you’ll recall, petered out quickly the last time they bubbled up back in June, after McCarthy inked a debt ceiling deal with Biden. But this time, McCarthy’s own allies say things feel different. And to understand why, start by reading this deep dive into the speaker’s predicament from our colleagues Sarah Ferris and Olivia Beavers, which gets at several key factors that set this moment apart.
- The rhetoric has been ratcheted up. Earlier this summer, even McCarthy’s fiercest critics — such as Rep. BOB GOOD (R-Va.) — weren’t openly threatening his gavel. Asked now about the prospect of McCarthy cutting a bipartisan spending deal, he said, “I don't think that's a sustainable thing for him as speaker.”
- The numbers aren’t in McCarthy’s favor. As Sarah and Olivia point out, Rep. CHRIS STEWART (R-Utah) is set to resign later this week, and at least four other House Republicans are sidelined for health or family reasons — further thinning McCarthy’s already slim majority.
- The right isn’t buying what McCarthy’s selling. The speaker’s practical suggestions — such as regrouping for a funding fight later in the year and separating out Ukraine aid — have been panned by conservatives, as have his rhetorical gambits — such as suggesting that a shutdown would harm the GOP’s Biden probes.
REALITY CHECK: We spoke to many other Republicans on both sides of the clash, and even McCarthy allies are sensing a shift — and raising red flags about his team’s approach. “I don't think they are taking this nearly as seriously as they should be,” said one member close to the speaker. The funding fight could come to a head this week, with the House set to consider the Pentagon spending bill. It’s chock-full of goodies for conservatives and should be the easiest of the 12 bills to clear, but the hard-liners are already threatening to block it in order to force McCarthy’s hand on spending cuts. One problem for McCarthy is that conservatives are demanding things he can’t easily give — further slashing discretionary spending levels, defunding the DOJ’s Trump probes or zeroing out Cabinet member salaries — concessions that Senate Democrats would never agree to and Biden would never sign into law. He doesn’t currently have the votes to launch a Biden impeachment inquiry, either. The bigger problem he is facing is that, after an eight-month honeymoon, he risks becoming a target of the GOP’s conservative base just like JOHN BOEHNER, PAUL RYAN and MITCH McCONNELL before him. We spoke last night with several conservatives, including one who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe rising discontent with McCarthy on the homefront: “There's now enough support from the base to be like, ‘Look if we're not going to get results from McCarthy, we can get the results from somebody else.’” NO ESCAPE HATCH: McCarthy’s latest trial balloon has been to pair Ukraine funding with the right’s border policy proposals in hopes of landing some sort of win for the House. But two senior Republicans told Playbook even that is a likely no-go. House GOP leadership ”has grossly underestimated the resistance with some of these guys to aiding Ukraine,” one said. Added the conservative, “He can’t touch that. … If that gets passed in any way like that, that's going to be really bad for him.” And Roy said separating the border fight from the shutdown fight would only “set up future probable capitulation.” That has left McCarthy with few viable options, leaving some senior Republicans resigned to a dismal month ahead. “I can't wrap my head around exactly how we're going to get out of this,” one senior GOP leadership aide said. “I don't see how we can [avoid a shutdown], and then I don't know how we get out of it other than admit defeat.” His critics, meanwhile, are not in a sympathetic mood. Roy shied away from overtly threatening McCarthy’s gavel but made clear he has no fear of a shutdown. “There will be blowback, and I don't give a damn,” Roy told Playbook. “I can promise you the people that I represent are 100% on board with going full-scale, full-tilt at stopping the continued status quo. …The people I represent will be saying, ‘Please keep it up and keep going.’” Related reads: “‘Perfect storm’ brewing in House, Colorado Republican says,” by Kelly Garrity … “McCarthy juggles government shutdown and Biden impeachment inquiry as House returns to messy fall,” by AP’s Lisa Mascaro … “‘Politically, That’s Not a Winner.’ A Warning for Kevin McCarthy Ahead of the Looming Shutdown,” by Ian Ward: “ERIC CANTOR offers lessons from the 2013 shutdown.” Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Google: Google expands Cybersecurity Clinics for critical jobs. To help thousands of students gain real-world experience for jobs critical to national security, Google in collaboration with the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics is awarding over $20M to support the creation and expansion of cybersecurity clinics at 20 higher education institutions. Learn more. | | | A PROGRAM NOTE: You’ll notice some exciting new changes with Playbook and across POLITICO today as we deepen our commitment to providing the most distinctive, compelling and comprehensive coverage of Congress anywhere to Hill insiders, policy professionals and political obsessives everywhere.
|  | The new centerpiece is “Inside Congress Live,” launching later today, which will showcase the essential work of Washington’s largest congressional reporting team, with buzzy, in-the-moment reporting and insights that will be easy to digest and easy to find on POLITICO’s home page. Bookmark it Our long-running Hill newsletter, Huddle, relaunches today with a new evening publication time and fresh ambitions to break news, explain the day and set the table for the next day’s action in the Capitol. Led by author Daniella Diaz, it will feature the collective reporting firepower of Congressional Bureau Chief Burgess Everett and our entire Congress team. And here at Playbook, we’re expanding our attention to Congress for our morning audience. Alongside Rachael’s exclusive reporting and expert analysis, we’re launching a new “3 Things to Watch” feature to help you understand the day ahead on Capitol Hill. You’ll also notice a new format for our Playbook Reads section that offers a streamlined guide to the most essential stories in our core coverage areas of Congress, the White House and the campaign trail. Please have a look, and let us know what you think! THE WEEK — Tomorrow: House returns from six-week recess. … Wednesday: August inflation numbers released. Tech moguls attend private AI briefing for senators. … Thursday: Big Three automakers’ labor contract expires at 11:59 p.m. Trump is interviewed by Megyn Kelly. DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee meets on New Hampshire primary. … Friday: Trump headlines Family Research Council’s Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington. … Saturday: Multiple GOP presidential candidates appear at Iowa Faith & Freedom Banquet in Des Moines.
| | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | | On the Hill The Senate will meet at 3 p.m. to take up TANYA BRADSHER’s nomination as deputy VA secretary, with a cloture vote at 5:30 p.m. The House is out. 3 things to watch …
- The return of the House means new energy for the GOP’s Biden impeachment push, and Democrats are starting their pushback early. Rep. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) is out this morning with a 14-page rebuttal memo that seeks to paint the GOP campaign as a “complete and total bust” and an attempt at distracting from the “overwhelming evidence of [Trump’s] criminal and corrupt conduct during his term of office.” Read the full memo
- The Senate is back this evening for a bed-check vote. With Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL having successfully quieted (public) chatter about his health, expect senators to be quizzed anew about Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE’s (R-Ala.) Pentagon nominee blockade, especially with the Joint Chiefs chair, Gen. MARK MILLEY, just weeks away from retirement and the confirmation of his successor, Gen. C.Q. BROWN, in limbo.
- Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER’s crusade to put curbs on artificial intelligence gets into high gear this week. Tech moguls SAM ALTMAN, ELON MUSK, MARK ZUCKERBERG and BILL GATES are among the luminaries set to attend a private briefing for senators Wednesday. There’s also a trio of AI-themed hearings in Senate committees this week, with the Commerce and Judiciary panels tackling the issue tomorrow and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Thursday.
At the White House Biden just left Hanoi, Vietnam, where earlier today he met with PM PHẠM MINH CHÍNH, CEOs, President VÕ VĂN THƯỞNG and National Assembly Chair VUONG DINH HUE. He also visited the John McCain Memorial. Next up: Anchorage, Alaska, where he’ll deliver remarks on the anniversary of 9/11 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson at 4:45 p.m. Eastern time. He’ll return to the White House late tonight. VP KAMALA HARRIS is going to NYC this morning to attend the 9/11 Commemoration at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
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Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) speaks with reporters as she boards an elevator at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 7. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | KISSING THE RING — Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-Alaska) is one of the most essential GOP senators for the Biden administration, and they know it: Nearly a dozen Cabinet secretaries or other top officials have trekked to the Last Frontier just since last month, Jennifer Haberkorn reports this morning. Biden himself is the latest and, of course, most important to arrive there today. Murkowski and fellow Republican Sen. DAN SULLIVAN have sometimes provided crucial votes for Biden nominees or priorities, and have in turn amassed notable influence. The rush of visits gives Murkowski an opportunity to impress upon, say, Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG or AG MERRICK GARLAND how uniquely difficult it can be for transit connections or law enforcement to reach remote communities across the vast state. Says Murkowski about the visits, notably timed to Alaska’s best stretch of weather: “I’m sure it’s just my charming personality that attracts them all.” More top reads:
2024 WATCH
|  Former VP Mike Pence walks to the Spin Room following the first Republican Presidential primary debate at the Fiserv Forum on August 23. | Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images |
ON A SHOESTRING AND A PRAYER — They’re not close to an actual polling lead, but NIKKI HALEY and MIKE PENCE so far take the cake for the most frugal and cost-effective GOP presidential operations, Bloomberg’s Hadriana Lowenkron and Laura Davison report. It’s a “point of pride” for both campaigns and a distinction from the heavy-spending ways, to varying effect, of Trump, Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS, Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) or North Dakota Gov. DOUG BURGUM.
Quite the statistic: In Bloomberg’s analysis, Pence has spent about $104,000 per percentage point in the polls — the most bang for his buck of any campaign. Burgum, on the other hand, has shelled out $30.6 million per point. IT’S 2020 SOMEWHERE — In the GOP primary over the past few days, Republicans are making hay anew over the threat of resurgent pandemic restrictions and public health measures, as NYT’s Nicholas Nehamas documents from Grundy Center, Iowa, and WaPo’s Maegan Vazquez and Amy Wang cover. More top reads:
- PETER DAOU is the new campaign manager for CORNEL WEST’s Green Party bid, the campaign announced last night. Notably, Daou was MARIANNE WILLIAMSON’s campaign manager until he left her operation in the spring.
MORE POLITICS
|  Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed listens to Police Chief Darryl J. Albert speak to the press on Aug. 8, in Montgomery, Ala. | Julie Bennett/Getty Images | BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — Thanks to several recent developments, mid-decade revisions to several states’ district lines could flip the chamber back to Democrats without a single voter’s mind changing, Zach Montellaro and Ally Mutnick round up this morning. Dems could benefit from new boundaries in New York, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and/or Georgia, while a countervailing shuffle in Ohio was taken off the table, leaving North Carolina as Republicans’ main hope to redistrict their way to more seats. Though final rulings could still go the other way, Democrats are licking their chops in particular about increasing their ranks in the South and boosting the number of Black representatives. Click through for some notable names in the mix More top reads:
- Rep. BARBARA LEE (D-Calif.) is not happy about California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM’s comment that he would appoint a caretaker, not Lee, to fill Sen. DIANNE FEINSTEIN’s (D-Calif.) seat if the nonagenarian resigned. “Black women deserve more than a participation trophy,” Lee said in a statement.
| | | | A message from Google:   Students get hands-on experience at the cybersecurity clinics. Learn more. | | | VALLEY TALK SO MUCH FOR FREE SPEECH — Musk’s X (nee Twitter) seems to have significantly limited users’ access to the NYT over the past month and a half, Semafor’s Max Tani scooped. Engagement on posts that link to the Gray Lady’s articles plummeted starting in late July, and the Times is investigating whether X has throttled its reach — though it’s “not a major audience problem” for the newspaper. THE BIOGRAPHY — “‘Elon Musk’ Takeaways: Book Paints Complicated Picture of the World’s Richest Man,” by WSJ’s Alexa Corse, Rebecca Elliott and Micah Maidenberg: “WALTER ISAACSON’s new biography of Elon Musk goes on sale Tuesday.” THE BIOGRAPHER — “The Journalist and the Billionaire,” by N.Y. Mag’s Shawn McCreesh: “Isaacson is a man with a golden rolodex, impeccable establishment credentials, and world-class schmoozing skills. Now he has written a biography of Elon Musk, who despises all those things.” AMERICA AND THE WORLD DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “Biden meets Li Qiang, says China economic ‘crisis’ makes Taiwan invasion less likely,” by Reuters’ Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt: “The talks were the highest level meeting between the two powers in nearly 10 months … ‘It wasn't confrontational at all,’” Biden recounted. NICE STORY — “A U.S. Navy veteran got unexpected help while jailed in Iran. Once released, he repaid the favor,” by AP’s Eric Tucker FOR YOUR RADAR — “North Korean train presumably carrying leader Kim Jong Un departed for Russia, South Korea media say,” by AP’s Kim Tong-Hyung JUDICIARY SQUARE STARTING TOMORROW — “Biden admin takes its first big shot at Big Tech,” by Josh Sisco: “A landmark trial in Washington sets the stage for a wave of anti-monopoly litigation against tech giants.” POLICY CORNER NOT A LEDE THE ADMINISTRATION WANTS — “When Secretary of Energy JENNIFER GRANHOLM set out on a four-day electric-vehicle road trip this summer, she knew charging might be a challenge,” NPR’s Camila Domonoske reports in a parable about the clean-energy transition. “But she probably didn’t expect anyone to call the cops.” LOOKING A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH — “Atop the State Department, Democracy’s Treasures Can Complicate or Clarify Messages,” by NYT’s Julie Lasky: “The Diplomatic Reception Rooms house one of the finest art and design collections in the world. But are 18th-century heirlooms a history visitors want to remember — or forget?” THE ECONOMY VOTE OF CONFIDENCE — Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN told Bloomberg’s Viktoria Dendrinou that she’s “feeling very good” about the country’s chances of sticking a difficult “soft landing” in which inflation falls without a recession. BEYOND THE BELTWAY BLUE STATES’ NEW MIGRANT REALITY — “As Migrants Are Placed Around Massachusetts, Towns Are Welcoming but Worried,” by NYT’s Jenna Russell: “The mayor of Woburn, where hotels are housing 150 migrant families, said the state’s 40-year-old right-to-shelter law ‘was not meant to cover what we’re seeing now.’” MEGATREND — “Red States Are Rolling Back the Rights Revolution,” by The Atlantic’s Ronald Brownstein
| | | | Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of the first episodes in September – click here. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Robin Roberts got married. Benjamin Netanyahu plans to meet with Elon Musk. Tammy Duckworth has Covid. Kamala Harris enjoyed hanging out with two Dougies. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a 50th birthday celebration for Frank Fannon at Lucha Rosa on Saturday evening: Peter Pham, Nathan Sales, Manisha Singh, Carrie Cabelka, Cale Brown, Lucas Tomlinson, Melissa Simpson, Mike Catanzaro, Louis Renjel, Francis Brooke, David Livingston, Kristin and Shawn Whitman, Kevin Book and Dan Yergin. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — A.B. Stoddard is now a columnist at The Bulwark. She previously has been an associate editor and columnist at RealClearPolitics. TRANSITIONS — Nicole Isaac is now VP of global public policy at Cisco. She most recently was at Google, and is a Meta, LinkedIn and Obama White House alum. … BCom is adding Tanner Holcomb as a digital strategy director, Nijeria Boone as a digital strategist and Rochelle Drouin to the paid media practice. Holcomb and Boone are both DCCC alums. … … Connor Vargo is joining the Transportation Communications Union as legislative representative. He previously was senior legislative assistant for Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.). … Tony Ficarrotta is rejoining the Network Advertising Initiative as VP and general counsel. He most recently was assistant general counsel at the Interactive Advertising Bureau. ENGAGED — Jeff Daker, executive director for commercial research and insights at POLITICO, and Joy Lee, general counsel for the Republican State Leadership Committee, got engaged Tuesday in Lake Como, Italy, under the Nesso bridge and waterfall. They first met during dinner at Zaytinya, followed up by a dog park date in Arlington. Pic WEEKEND WEDDING — Claire Osborn, legislative director for Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), and Michael Case, a senior professional oversight staffer for the House Financial Services GOP, got married at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, with a reception at River Farm. They met working for Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.). Pic … Another pic … SPOTTED: Derrick Van Orden, Mary Rosado, Tatum Dale, Madeline Gale, Hunt VanderToll, Liz Thomas, Dave Clarke and Paige Rusher. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Matthew Wester, press secretary for Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), and Lauren Wester, client and talent acquisition manager for Babbage LLC, welcomed Valleigh Hope Wester on Wednesday. She joins big brothers Knox, Penn and Dawes. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) … Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo … WaPo’s Ben Terris and Robin Givhan … Barbara Starr ... Matt Johnson of the Klein/Johnson Group … POLITICO’s Meredith Lee and Joe Schatz … Lee Verstandig … Michael Hardaway … Michael Maitland … Claude Marx … Eric Lausten … Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies … former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson … former Solicitor General Ted Olson … former Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) ... Sammy Yaish … Jon Downs of FP1 Strategies … NBC’s Pete Breen … Cyrus Artz … DLA Piper’s Tom Boyd ... Emy Lesofski ... Kyle Gerron … Bob McNally … Markos Moulitsas … Rebecca Angelson of Rep. Bob Latta’s (R-Ohio) office … Precision Strategies’ Rebecca Brubaker 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 producer Bethany Irvine.
| | | | A message from Google: In 2022, cyber attacks increased by 38% globally compared to 2021, and have cost the U.S. economy billions. But while the risk of cybersecurity threats continues to grow, the number of cybersecurity workers has not kept up with the pace of demand. The U.S. alone needs to fill more than 650,000 roles to help secure critical systems and infrastructure. Without a robust cybersecurity workforce, these trends will only continue. To help reverse them, in 2023 Google.org in collaboration with the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics is committing over $20 million in grants for cybersecurity clinics at 20 higher education institutions across the U.S. By introducing students to the many opportunities of cybersecurity careers, these programs are helping to close the industry’s talent gap and empowering the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. Learn more about this collaboration. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
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