| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | JUST POSTED — WaPo’s Ben Terris takes a deep dive into Sen. TIM SCOTT’s love life, a subject that has become something of a thing for the 57-year-old bachelor now that he’s running for the Republican presidential nomination. The whole piece is worth a read — for, among other things, a firsthand account of the South Carolina senator’s flirt game, a cringey MATT SCHLAPP anecdote and a thoughtful exploration of changing campaign-trail mores. Multiple Scott confidants go on record to attest that he’s not gay, just a workaholic who has put dating “on the back burner,” in his mentor’s words. And Scott himself sat down with Terris — reluctantly — to discuss his current, very serious girlfriend, whom he met through a church friend. And tough cookies if you want to know more than that: “He wouldn’t tell me her name, and the campaign declined to make her available to chat, even off the record,” Terris writes. “Technically I can’t verify that she exists, except to note that for a presidential campaign to essentially reverse-catfish America would be insane.” STRIKE WATCH — “UAW Bends on Wage Demands as Talks Progress in Detroit,” by WSJ’s Nora Eckert: “It is the first visible sign of progress on the wage issue since the sides began talks in earnest in July.”
|  Speaker Kevin McCarthy has yet to meet the hard-liners’ demands as he continues to insist a shutdown can be avoided. | J. Scott Applewhite, File/AP Photo | THE HOUSE’S SNEAK PREVIEW — We’re going to learn a lot about how this month is going to go down on Capitol Hill in the next few days, as Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY and his fellow GOP leaders stare down conservative hard-liners threatening to tank their own partisan appropriations bills. The House Rules Committee meets at 3 p.m. today to prepare the annual Defense spending bill for the floor. Now, passing this bill won’t directly do anything to avert a possible Oct. 1 government shutdown, but how it gets handled this week will offer clues on how the rest of this funding fight might play out. Passing Pentagon funding is typically an easy lift for Republicans, and this year’s bill is packed with policy goodies aimed at conservatives. But the hard-liners are continuing to press McCarthy for additional spending cuts — much as they are pressing for various other concessions to avoid a shutdown. — Related reads: “GOP senators: Next move to avert shutdown is on McCarthy,” by Caitlin Emma, Ursula Perano and Jennifer Scholtes … “White House threatens to veto House GOP defense spending bill,” by Connor O’Brien You could be forgiven for thinking this debate was already settled. McCarthy, after all, already reneged on the topline spending levels he negotiated with President JOE BIDEN earlier this year and, under conservative pressure, ordered his appropriators to write skinnier bills. But House Freedom Caucus members have been pushing for even more cuts. The crux of the debate is whether Republicans should count recouped money that had been authorized but never spent — known as “rescissions” — against those spending toplines. Conservatives argue that doing so amounts to bogus math. Here’s the problem: Centrist Republicans in Biden districts are already smarting over having to vote to gut various government programs. Adding further cuts, they worry, will just offer more fodder to Democrats trying to flip the House. If past is prologue, senior Republicans told us, those frontliners will get steamrolled — sacrificed to the demands of conservatives who are dangling threats to oust McCarthy. Yet the speaker has yet to meet the hard-liners’ demands as he continues to insist a shutdown can be avoided. To get a sense of where things are headed, keep an eye on today’s Rules meeting. The three conservative hard-liners sit on the panel — Reps. CHIP ROY (R-Texas), RALPH NORMAN (R-S.C.) and THOMAS MASSIE (R-Ky.) — and if they band together with Democrats who will oppose the rule for the partisan bill, they can keep the bill bottled up and off the floor. If that happens, as one senior Republican told us, “we’re going to know right away we’ve got a problem.”
| | | | A message from Google: Partnerships are key to building a Secure AI Framework (SAIF) Industry standards are essential for deploying AI systems securely, but it takes a community to support and advance the work. That’s why Google is partnering directly with organizations to conduct workshops, share insights, and develop best practices. Learn more. | | | When we talked to Roy over the weekend, he wouldn’t say how he intends to vote today. And even if the rule makes it out of committee, it’s not clear it will be adopted on the floor given the GOP’s slim majority and the growing number of conservatives griping about the toplines. Remember that the right flank kept McCarthy from moving spending bills before the summer recess, and there is little indication anything has changed since. “The things that we’re asking for ... are not unreasonable, and there’s been no movement to address them, in my opinion,” Rep. SCOTT PERRY (R-Pa.), the House Freedom Caucus chair, recently told POLITICO’s Hill team. To step back, remember this is an exercise in futility. The White House, congressional Democrats and Senate Republicans have shown no signs of abandoning the previously negotiated spending agreement. And senior House Republicans privately acknowledge that eventually the House will have to accept the deal McCarthy originally agreed to. The only question is what chaos will ensue before that happens. And we’re on a path for maximum chaos, have no doubt. The Freedom Caucus, allied grassroots groups and one of McCarthy’s fiercest internal critics are set to ratchet up pressure today (more on that below) as sparring between the House GOP’s factions enters a new and nasty phase. Good Tuesday morning (except for you, Jets fans). Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
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| TEST YOUR CAMPAIGN SMARTS — Imagine this scenario: There are just two months to go until Election Day, and you’re managing a presidential campaign. You have choices to make on where to invest your precious resources to both convince persuadable voters and turn out your base. What would you do? POLITICO has created a choose-your-own-adventure style exercise to test your mettle, in partnership with election analysis publication Split Ticket, that shows the electoral dynamics across states. Split Ticket defined eight clusters that group similar counties across the country based on political and demographic statistics like partisanship and racial demographics. Try your hand as campaign manager Related read: “The 8 places that will decide the 2024 election,” by Lakshya Jain, Harrison Lavelle, Leon Sit, Armin Thomas and Andrew Milligan JOIN US — Today at 5:15 p.m., Eugene is moderating a POLITICO event called “Business or Pleasure: Into the Age of the New Traveler.” It will feature a travel industry and labor panel, which includes SEIU International President MARY KAY HENRY, and a one-on-one interview with House Transportation and Infrastructure ranking member RICK LARSEN (D-Wash.). RSVP here
| | | | A message from Google:   A conceptual framework to help collaboratively secure AI technology. Learn more. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate will meet at 10 a.m. and hold a confirmation for TANYA BRADSHER’s nomination as deputy VA secretary at 11:30 a.m. The Senate will recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. for weekly conference meetings. At 2:15 p.m., the Senate will vote on JEFFREY CUMMINGS’ judicial nomination and on a procedural motion to advance the appropriations minibus. SEC Chair GARY GENSLER will appear before the Banking Committee at 10 a.m. The House will meet at noon and at 2 p.m. to take up various bills, including resolutions calling for the release of PAUL WHELAN and EVAN GERSHKOVICH in Russia, with last votes expected at 6:30 p.m. 3 things to watch …
- McCarthy’s critics on the right are set to lay down their markers. The House Freedom Caucus is hosting a 3 p.m. news conference on the spending fight with reps from the Heritage Foundation, FreedomWorks, Tea Party Patriots, Club for Growth and other activist groups. And Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.) is set to lay out a bill of political indictment against the embattled speaker in a noon floor speech, with a reporter conference call to follow.
- The Defense Department is making a new push to break the Pentagon nominee blockade, circulating a new memo to lawmakers today, obtained exclusively by Playbook, making the case that the holds “dangerously and needlessly weaken our national security.” The architect of the holds, Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-Ala.), told reporters yesterday he was unfazed by the impending lack of a confirmed chair of the Joint Chiefs, so don’t expect the missive to move the needle much.
- The Senate’s artificial intelligence week kicks off in earnest with hearings in the Judiciary and Commerce committees. Keep an eye on Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas), the Commerce ranking member, who is rowing against the pro-regulatory tide in a new letter obtained by Playbook that challenges FTC Chair LINA KHAN on her push to probe OpenAI and the industry in general. AI technology, Cruz tells Khan, “has no inherent ability to violate the Civil Rights Act or Section 5 of the FTC Act.” Read the letter
At the White House Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10 a.m. VP KAMALA HARRIS has nothing on her public schedule.
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|  Mitch McConnell confronted a recent moment of vulnerability in the way he knows best: by rallying his supporters to his side. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo | McCONNELL MEETS THE MOMENT — When the latest freeze-up came from Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL, the narrative of a longtime smooth operator losing his grip was almost writing itself. But the 81-year-old Kentucky Republican “confronted the moment in the way he knows best: by rallying his supporters to his side,” Burgess Everett writes in a new look at the fraught moment facing McConnell. How he did it: “McConnell ultimately had to get more personal with his members to quell a possible political threat stemming from his freeze-ups, releasing a doctor’s letter that ruled out graver diagnoses and delivering a private presentation to his members on his health.” Sen. JOHN BARRASSO (R-Wyo.) recounted a call with McConnell just after the August episode, during which McConnell said dryly as ever: “I just had another one of those.” And while there are, of course, still some lingering questions for the longtime leader, “McConnell’s allies dismiss any speculation that he might be forced to exit before he’s ready. And they may well be proven right: McConnell emerged from the past 10 days with his internal strength intact, according to interviews with more than a dozen senators.” More top reads:
- McCarthy is planning to tell his members this week that he endorses an impeachment inquiry as a “logical next step” in the House’s investigations of Joe and HUNTER BIDEN, Punchbowl reports. That’s similar to McCarthy’s previous public comments, and it remains unclear if he’d push for a politically tricky authorization vote.
- Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) is planning to introduce a bill “to cap the annual percentage rate of credit cards at 18%,” RealClearPolitics’ Philip Wegmann scoops. The last attempt to address the issue in Congress, interestingly, came from progressive Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.).
2024 WATCH
|  Andrew Yang has "had conversations with various folks who are associated with No Labels." | Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo | NOT SAYING NO — ANDREW YANG told our colleagues in an interview at POLITICO HQ that he has “had conversations with various folks who are associated with No Labels,” the centrist group pushing for a 2024 unity ticket. While Yang wouldn’t confirm he had been contacted about running, he “railed against the prospect that the 2024 presidential election is shaping up to be a rematch between Trump and Biden,” Brakkton Booker writes. Yang also laid out a detailed scenario in which third-party candidates could hurt the president’s campaign. And when asked about whether a third-party presidential bid has “a realistic shot,” he had this to say: “The question presumes that the goal of any third party is to win a presidential election, which is probably one of the mistakes [and] problems of the past.” More top reads:
| | | | A message from Google: AI-powered tools offer valuable assistance for defenders in situations where time is of the essence. Ensuring these tools are deployed responsibly is an essential piece of the Secure AI Framework, which aims to collaboratively secure AI technology. Google is taking the first steps to build a Secure AI Framework (SAIF) for everyone by partnering with organizations like National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to foster widespread alignment. Learn more. | | | MORE POLITICS FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Duty First Nevada, a super PAC supporting Nevada Senate hopeful SAM BROWN, is making an early TV ad reservation in the crowded GOP primary, our colleague Ally Mutnick reports. The $512,000 buy will begin Oct. 2 and run for seven weeks statewide on cable, a big opening play to boost Brown against former state lawmaker JIM MARCHANT and former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland JEFF GUNTER in the race to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. JACKY ROSEN. VIRGINIA IS FOR VOTERS — The stakes for Virginia’s off-year legislative elections “are unusually high, with Republicans in position to swing the entire state, just four years after Democrats did the same,” NYT’s Trip Gabriel writes from Prince George, Va., noting that abortion will play a big part in voter appeals and that the spotlight will shine on GOP Gov. GLENN YOUNGKIN. Related read: “Va. Dem. House candidate performed sex online with husband for tips,” by WaPo’s Laura Vozzella RED-LIGHT REDISTRICT — Alabama’s AG late yesterday asked the Supreme Court to “freeze a lower court ruling that blocks the state’s newly drawn congressional map, in a filing that critics say defies a Supreme Court opinion that was issued just three months ago,” CNN’s Tierney Sneed and Ariane de Vogue write. THE WHITE HOUSE
|  The Biden administration is reportedly weighing whether to send long-range missiles to Ukraine. | Susan Walsh/Pool via AP Photo | MORE AID ON THE WAY — Biden officials are in “active conversations about whether to send long-range missiles to Ukraine amid an intense campaign for the U.S. to transfer the weapon,” Alexander Ward, Paul McLeary and Lara Seligman report, adding that it’s unclear if a decision memo has reached the president’s desk and that a final call would be made with Ukraine’s input. The tricky timing: “Ukraine is pushing the U.S. to greenlight the delivery of ATACMS by next week’s U.N. General Assembly attended by Biden and Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY. … But U.S. officials say that timeline is too tight.” More top reads:
- Biden’s remarks in Vietnam were meant to be a rallying cry to counter China, but instead touched off a different direction of coverage among conservative media, which painted “his end-of-trip news conference as the latest evidence that he is too old to perform on the world stage,” NYT’s Michael Shear writes.
- HILLARY CLINTON returns to the White House today “to announce the recipients of the Praemium Imperiale, an annual global arts prize for lifetime achievement by the Japan Art Association,” with first lady JILL BIDEN, per AP’s Darlene Superville.
JUDICIARY SQUARE TRUMP’S LATEST MANEUVER — Trump’s legal team is requesting that U.S. District Judge TANYA CHUTKAN, who is overseeing the case over Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, step down because of her past comments about his responsibility for the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Trump’s attorneys wrote in a motion that “Chutkan’s comments about Trump during sentencing hearings for two Capitol riot defendants indicated she had already concluded that Trump is responsible for crimes related to the violence that took place that day,” Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney write, noting that the request is “a steep hurdle for Trump — recusal motions in criminal cases are rarely successful.” STARTING TODAY — “It’s Google versus the U.S. in the biggest antitrust trial in decades,” by AP’s Paul Wiseman and Michael Liedtke AMERICA AND THE WORLD FOR YOUR RADAR — “U.S. advances deal with Iran to swap prisoners, free frozen oil funds,” by WaPo’s John Hudson: “Congress was notified of the move on Monday, and it’s likely to come as a relief to U.S. prisoners’ families and supporters, many of whom have waited several years for the return of the detainees. It also is expected to come under harsh criticism from Republicans in Congress opposed to any agreement that allows for the release of frozen Iranian funds, money that is being transferred from South Korea to Qatar and limited for the purchase of humanitarian goods like food or medicine.” DISINFORMATION DIGEST — “China Sows Disinformation About Hawaii Fires Using New Techniques,” by NYT’s David Sanger and Steven Lee Myers: “For China … the effort to cast the wildfires as a deliberate act by American intelligence agencies and the military was a rapid change of tactics.” DANCE OF THE DESPOTS — “North Korea’s Kim is in Russia ahead of a meeting with Putin as their nations draw closer,” by AP’s Kim Tong-Hyung in Seoul Related read: “Kim Jong-un Has Something Putin Needs, and That’s a New Wrinkle,” by NYT’s Paul Sonne and Valeriya Safronova
| | | | 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 | | Joe Biden yesterday offered some contradictory comments on his whereabouts around 9/11. Jake Paul is a fan of Vivek Ramaswamy, but also plans to meet with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and says he knows the Donald Trump campaign personally. Madison Cawthorn shared a 9/11 remembrance post you don’t often see from a GOP politician. Members of the 118th Congress are featured in a new mural outside the Longworth Cafeteria. IN MEMORIAM — “Robert S. Bennett, Washington’s Go-to Lawyer in a Scandal, Dies at 84,” by NYT’s Neil Lewis: “Bennett most famously represented President Bill Clinton when he was mired in trouble after lying about having had an intimate relationship with a young White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. … Mr. Bennett was a robust warrior for his clients, not least for his ability to deliver an earnest defense of them not only inside the courtroom but outside it as well, before television cameras and reporters.” BOOK CLUB — WaPo’s Josh Dawsey, Isaac Arnsdorf and Tyler Pager are writing a new book on the 2024 elections, following the Democratic and Republican campaigns as well as the ongoing legal troubles facing Trump. The book will be edited by Penguin Press’ Ann Godoff, and the trio is represented by Elyse Cheney and Isabel Mendia. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a party Friday evening at Adam Kushner’s home to celebrate Laura Meckler’s new book, “Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity” ($31.99): Sally Buzbee, Ann Marimow, Annie Linskey, Griff Witte, Indira Lakshmanan, Jeff Mason, Josh Dawsey, Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Juliet Eilperin, Mike Isikoff, Molly Ball, Nedra Pickler, Tracy Jan, Wesley Lowery, Perry Stein, Kate Meissner and April Bethea. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Ali Rubin, Andrea Riccio and Kate Meissner have launched Velocity Partners, a public affairs firm. Rubin is a Hillary Clinton, Clinton Foundation, Axios, Pinterest and Quibi alum. Riccio was previously a principal at Michael Best Strategies. Meissner previously was an EVP at Edelman and is an Axios alum. — Molly Conway has launched a boutique public affairs firm, Conway Capitol Consulting. She previously was head of public affairs and comms for the Adecco Group and is a Labor Department alum. — The University of Chicago Institute of Politics is announcing its 2023 fall fellows: former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, former Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), Jeff Larson and Chase Strangio. — The Motion Picture Association is adding Alivia Roberts and Katherine Grayson as directors of federal government affairs and Charlie Schonberger as a manager of federal affairs and trade policy. Roberts previously was with VP Kamala Harris’ office. Grayson previously was with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office. Schonberger previously was with the National Governors Association. NEW NOMINEES — The White House announced several new nominations, including Basil Gooden as undersecretary of rural development at USDA and Colleen Kiko as a GOP member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority. WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Victoria Dillon is joining the Office of the National Cyber Director as deputy director for public affairs and press secretary. She previously was chief of external affairs at CISA. TRANSITIONS — Morgan Routman Hill is now a public affairs specialist/speechwriter for the FEMA administrator. She previously was comms director for Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.). … Christianna Barnhart is joining the Entertainment Software Association as SVP of government affairs. She most recently was senior counsel for the Senate Commerce Committee and is a Brian Schatz and FCC alum. … J.A. Green & Co. is adding a trio of former Pentagon officials: retired Lt. Gen. Dave Furness and retired Brig. Gen. Robert Lyman as EVPs of defense programs and Leonor Tomero as VP of government relations. WEEKEND WEDDING — Emily Vander Weele, director of public affairs at Weber Shandwick, and Michael Stablein, strategic business manager at Tata Consultancy Services, got married Saturday at the Perry Belmont House. They met at a White Ford Bronco concert in 2017; the band also played their wedding. Pic by Emily Gude Photo … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Trey Hollingsworth (R-Ind.) (4-0) and Jeff Jackson (D-N.C.) … Max Boot … The Daily Beast’s Matt Lewis … Fox News’ Andrea DeVito … POLITICO’s Ben Schreckinger, Walt Houseknecht and Derek Robertson … NBC’s Tom Costello … Greg Wetstone … Sam Brownback … Jason Stverak of Sen. Kevin Cramer’s (R-N.D.) office … Prism Group’s John Stanford … Emily Lampkin … Melissa Schulman … Liz Wroe of Leavitt Partners … Kimberly Breier … Brett Thompson ... VOA’s John Lippman ... Kelsi Browning … Venable’s Alex Botting ... Ed Moy … former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) … former Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ben Chandler (D-Ky.) … Pam Stevens ... Zack Pohl of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office … AP’s Ashraf Khalil … Jill Alper … Anne Johnson of Grassroots Solutions 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. | | | | 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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