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Presented by Amazon: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross and Eli Okun | | | Weak. That was the way several news outlets characterized the September jobs report released this morning. The details: — The U.S. economy added 194,000 jobs last month. For perspective, August saw a gain of 366,000 jobs — which even then was touted as a meager total that fell short of economists’ expectations. September’s number is the lowest number since December 2020, when employers cut jobs. — But the unemployment rate fell to 4.8%. In August, that number sat at 5.2%. — “The proportion of Americans who either have a job or are looking for one — known as labor participation — declined in September from 61.7% to 61.6%, well below the pre-pandemic level of 63.3%,” per AP. The takeaway: Today’s numbers suggest that any expectation that the economy was out of the woods after a pandemic-ravaged year may have been premature. — WaPo’s Eli Rosenberg paints the big picture: “September was supposed to be a big month for the labor market, with widespread coronavirus vaccinations, falling caseloads and the return of normal functions like in-person schooling allowing the economy to rev back up. The country is still about 5 million jobs below where it was before the pandemic, and needs to gain back an even bigger number to stage a full recovery.” — Our colleagues Rebecca Rainey and Megan Cassella look at how specific segments of the population fared in the latest numbers. — NYT’s Nelson Schwartz and Coral Murphy Marcos have a story showing that hiring for college grads “is running well above last year’s levels, and in some cases surpasses prepandemic activity in 2019.” Thought bubble: This report could be a big blow to President JOE BIDEN, who has endured months of less-than-stellar approval ratings amid a surge of coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant and the much-criticized Afghanistan withdrawal. Add in his languishing (and shrinking) agenda in Congress, and there’s not much good news for the White House these days. Biden tried to keep things rosy in remarks at the White House, touting the lowered unemployment rate and the overall jobs increases since he took office, but largely ignoring the September total. “Right now things in Washington, as you all know, are awfully noisy,” Biden said. “Turn on the news and every conversation is a confrontation. Every disagreement is a crisis. But when you take a step back and look at what’s happening, we’re actually making real progress.” WHAT’S ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK? — As Democrats continue to thin out their massive reconciliation bill to get everyone on board, more and more features are falling by the wayside. — Hundreds of billions in proposed tax hikes on the rich are likely to be dropped, Brian Faler writes — a loss that’s sure to sting progressives who saw this as their best chance to push the increases through. — Meanwhile, a multibillion-dollar “new health agency that would work with the private sector to treat cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and other ailments” is also on its way out of the package, Sarah Owermohle and Alice Miranda Ollstein report, “jeopardizing whether the initiative can be launched this year.” — A DEVELOPING DYNAMIC: Senate moderates vs. House moderates. The push by Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) to means-test certain provisions in the reconciliation bill is creating trouble for his fellow moderate Democrats — those who represent relatively affluent House districts, reports Mother Jones’ Kara Voght. Voght talks with Rep. MIKIE SHERRILL (D-N.J.) about her own promotion of universal child care — a policy popular among the suburban women critical to electing the Democratic House majority, and which could be a sticking point in intraparty negotiations between House and Senate Dems over the reconciliation package. PEACE PRIZE AWARDED — MARIA RESSA of the Philippines and DMITRI MURATOV of Russia — two journalists — were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this morning, honoring “their courageous fight for freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” More from the NYT … Ressa was on a live webinar when she found out — video here Happy Friday afternoon. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Playbook PM will not publish on Monday, Oct. 11. We’ll be back in your inbox on Tuesday afternoon. | | A message from Amazon: Amazon Career Day 2021 attracted over 1 million job applicants. The virtual event attracted job seekers from more than 170 countries around the world. The event provided career coaching and hosted top business leaders who offered career advice during speaking sessions, which are now available for replay. In the span of 24 hours, more than 2,000 Amazon recruiters held 30,000 career coaching sessions with individual participants. Learn more about Amazon Career Day 2021. | | | CONGRESS MANCHIN VS. SANDERS — CNN’s Manu Raju has a look at the beef between Sens. Manchin and BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) as the two spar over the scope of the Democratic agenda in the reconciliation package. “Rep. RO KHANNA had a suggestion for President JOE BIDEN on a private conference call earlier this week: Have Sens. Joe Manchin and Bernie Sanders sit in the same room and try to cut a deal on the Democratic Party’s massive social safety net expansion. Because once they do, the California Democrat suggested, it would almost certainly satisfy the moderate and liberal wings of the Democratic caucus, which have been battling over the size, scope and details of the plan for months. “But Biden, according to multiple sources in the virtual meeting, told the progressive House Democrats that he’s been in politics a long time — and getting them together in the same room would almost be like ‘homicide.’ The group laughed, as Biden then made a joke about getting into the boxing ring with Khanna himself.” — “This is not a movie,” Sanders said this morning when asked if he simply needs to sit down with Manchin and sort things out, per Caitlin Emma. “This is what happens in the real world.” ANOTHER MODERATE TO WATCH — In an op-ed this morning in the Portland Press Herald, Rep. JARED GOLDEN (D-Maine) wrote that he won’t back the reconciliation package without a lot more work. More on that from Anthony Adragna at Congress Minutes TRUMP CARDS TRUMP INC. — According to new documents released by the House Oversight Committee, former President DONALD TRUMP’s D.C. hotel was a big money loser during his years in office, CNN’s Katelyn Polantz and Veronica Stracqualursi . Between 2016-2020, Trump’s income from the Trump International Hotel totaled more than $156 million, according to financial disclosure documents. But the hotel suffered a net loss of more than $70 million in that same timeframe, and “had to be loaned more than $27 million from one of Trump’s holding companies, DJT Holdings LLC, from 2017 to 2020, according to hotel financial statements the committee obtained.” — More from WaPo’s Jonathan O’Connell and David Fahrenthold: “[New York Rep. CAROLYN] MALONEY and Rep. GERALD E. CONNOLLY (D-Va.) allege the documents show that Trump received an estimated $3.7 million from foreign governments and received preferential treatment from Deutsche Bank when the bank allowed Trump to defer payments for six years on the principal of the property’s $170 million loan.” — Maloney and Connolly, in a letter to GSA Administrator ROBIN CARNAHAN : “The documents provided by GSA raise new and troubling questions about former President Trump’s lease with GSA and the agency’s ability to manage the former President’s conflicts of interest during his term in office when he was effectively on both sides of the contract, as landlord and tenant.” BANNON TO DEFY SUBPOENA — At least two of Trump’s associates have responded to the congressional panel investigating the events of Jan. 6, saying that they intend to defy subpoenas, as Trump suggested they do. “STEVE BANNON has informed the House committee investigating the US Capitol riot that he will not cooperate with their subpoena to provide related documents, according to a source familiar with the matter,” CNN’s Sara Murray, Katelyn Polantz and Ryan Nobles report. “Another source confirmed Bannon responded, as did former White House chief of staff MARK MEADOWS.” | | | | 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. | | | | | ALL POLITICS THE 2024 SHADOW CAMPAIGN — Trump will travel to Iowa this weekend, hosting a rally on Saturday, in his latest and “most affirmative step yet toward a possible 2024 campaign,” WSJ’s John McCormick writes. But on the ground, the reception is likely to be mixed. “Iowa Republican activists express varied views when asked how much support Mr. Trump would likely receive in the state for a third White House campaign.” ZINK OR SWIM — RYAN ZINKE is running for Congress in Montana. But the former Interior secretary is rarely there. “It’s long been known that Zinke splits his time between Whitefish and Santa Barbara, California, where his wife owns property and a yacht,” Miranda Green writes for POLITICO Magazine. “But when I visited the state over the summer, a half-dozen residents of Whitefish and the closest city, Kalispell, told me that, until Zinke launched his most recent campaign, they hadn’t seen him around much since he left Washington in late 2018.” THE SWITCH-UP — JOY HOFMEISTER, the Oklahoma state superintendent, is switching parties to run as a Democrat in a bid to unseat Republican Gov. KEVIN STITT, Tulsa World’s Andrea Eger and Randy Krehbiel report. THE PANDEMIC THE VACCINATION EFFORT — The campaign to inoculate children in the U.S. could begin as early as November, WaPo’s Lena Sun reports. “The federal government plans to allocate shots in the initial rollout according to a formula to ensure equitable distribution, likely based on a state’s population of eligible children.” — Customs and Border Protection is one of the agencies that has been most affected by the coronavirus, with dozens of employees dying from the virus, “marking the deadliest span in the agency’s history,” WaPo’s Maria Sacchetti and Nick Miroff write . Despite those numbers, there’s still dissension and hesitancy to get vaccinated. “President Biden’s order mandating federal employees to be fully vaccinated next month has generated anger in CBP’s ranks, particularly among conservative-leaning U.S. Border Patrol agents and the union that represents them.” — ICYMI: “Where Biden’s vaccine mandate will hit and miss,” by Taylor Miller Thomas, Ming Li, Rebecca Rainey and Lauren Gardner DISINFO DIGEST — One sector of the health care industry has emerged as a consistent culprit in disseminating disinformation on vaccinations: chiropractors. “They have touted their supplements as alternatives to vaccines, written doctor’s notes to allow patients to get out of mask and immunization mandates, donated large sums of money to anti-vaccine organizations and sold anti-vaccine ads on Facebook and Instagram,” AP’s Michelle Smith, Scott Bauer and Mike Catalini report in Providence, R.I. FLU SEASON IS COMING — Health officials are urging Americans to get their flu shots ASAP, WaPo’s Fenit Nirappil writes, “warning the flu season that didn’t materialize when most of society was shut down last year could come roaring back and strain hospitals in the months ahead.” | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | BEYOND THE BELTWAY WHERE CRIME PAYS — Despite an executive order signed by Biden ordering DOJ not to renew any contracts with private prisons and jails, many prison companies “are plugging some of the revenue gaps created by the expiration of federal contracts by signing new deals known as intergovernmental agreements involving cities and counties,” WSJ’s Alexander Saeedy writes . “These three-way agreements allow the federal government to hand off custody of prisoners serving time for federal crimes or awaiting sentencing from a federal judge to localities. City and county law enforcement then transfer those inmates to private detention facilities they have contracted with.” AMERICA AND THE WORLD GLOBAL TAX OVERHAUL — “More than 130 nations agreed on Friday to a sweeping overhaul of international tax rules, with officials backing a 15 percent global minimum tax and other changes aimed at cracking down on tax havens that have drained countries of much-needed revenue,” NYT’s Alan Rappeport and Liz Alderman report. FOR YOUR RADAR — China is telling the U.S. to back down and cut off military ties in Taiwan “in a cautious response to reports that U.S. Marines have been stationed on the self-ruled island for more than a year to strengthen its defenses against intensifying Chinese aggression,” WaPo’s Christian Shepherd and Michael E. Miller write in Taipei. PLAYBOOKERS TRANSITIONS — Colleen Bell is now a managing director at Finsbury Glover Hering. She most recently was a senior advisor and legislative director for Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). … Maura Quint is joining Americans for Tax Fairness as wealth tax campaign director. She most recently was executive director of Tax March. … Ronald Baumgarten Jr. has rejoined BakerHostetler as of counsel on the international trade and national security team. He most recently was deputy assistant USTR in the Office of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Maria Fernanda Bozmoski, deputy director of programs with the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council, and Alex Bozmoski, VP for programs at DEPLOY/US, welcomed Pia Julia Bozmoski this morning. Pic BONUS BIRTHDAY: State Department’s Sofia Ramirez | | | | A message from Amazon:   Amazon employees have seen the difference $15/hr can make. | | | | | | | 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 | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
