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Presented by Facebook: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | | 
Much of the GOP is rallying around Donald Trump. | Morry Gash/AP Photo | One of the most striking features of contemporary American politics is the degree to which its participants cast their work in existential terms for democracy. Policy achievements, campaign disputes and even law enforcement activities play out not just for their own sakes but on the grander battlefield of the American republic’s future. Republicans’ reaction to the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago has been a prime example. National figures (and not just the Trumpiest ones) are warning — as yet, without any evidence — that it could constitute politicization of the Justice Department and undermine the rule of law. Today, everyone from former VP MIKE PENCE to Virginia Gov. GLENN YOUNGKIN jumped aboard that train — though Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) and former New Jersey Gov. CHRIS CHRISTIE , other 2024 possibilities, notably did not. DONALD TRUMP put out a new video on Truth Social that feels like a campaign ad, per Fox News , covering everything from Ukraine to inflation and intoning, “We are a nation that has weaponized its law enforcement against the opposing political party like never before.” As the GOP rallies around Trump, Republican Study Committee members are scheduled to dine with him tonight at his club in Bedminster, N.J., per Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman . And Trump world is watching which Republicans have leapt to his defense quickly enough, Meridith McGraw reports . “It’s all a reminder of the state of our current politics — any allegation that Trump committed wrongdoing is treated by most Republicans as a loyalty test of the former president,” NBC’s Chuck Todd, Ben Kamisar, Bridget Bowman and Alexandra Marquez wrote this morning. “Lather, rinse, repeat.” Reality check: If the FBI search does turn out to be just about improperly taking classified White House materials, “bringing a case will be difficult and — if successful — even the punishment would be open to legal fights,” Bloomberg’s Erik Larson and Zoe Tillman report . MEANWHILE, AT THE WHITE HOUSE — President JOE BIDEN signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law this morning. Fighting off a lingering cough, the president touted the law’s impact on creating jobs and inspiring a new generation of innovation. Taking a victory lap after a string of legislative victories, Biden said Washington had met the moment: “a moment when we bet on ourselves, believed in ourselves and recaptured the story, the spirit and the soul of this nation.” Here too, Democratic leaders lauded domestic semiconductor chips manufacturing as proof of concept for democracy working. “We will show that democracy will always be the best system to govern in a tumultuous world,” Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER declared. “We are showing the world that America can get things done in a bipartisan way when it manners,” said Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO. Already, the industry announcements are rolling in, per Bloomberg’s Jenny Leonard : Micron Technology pledged to plow $40 billion into manufacturing, creating a whopping 40,000 jobs. And Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries are announcing a $4.2 billion manufacturing plan. A TAXING BATTLE — The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the House Ways and Means Committee can obtain Trump’s tax returns from the IRS. It’s the latest twist in a yearslong saga after Trump refused to make them public — and though the panel said they expect to get the forms “immediately,” it’s likely not the last one, as the former president is expected to appeal. More from CNN … The ruling Good Tuesday afternoon. The White House monkeypox response team and public health officials will brief at 3:30 p.m. (ICYMI: They’re expected to announce a new dose-sparing strategy to administer vaccines differently and stretch limited supplies across more people.) BULLETIN — Average gas prices nationwide have now dropped below $4 per gallon for the first time in five months, per GasBuddy .
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Learn more about our work ahead. | | | JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH COMMITTEE LATEST — Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial nominee DOUG MASTRIANO cut off his interview today with the House Jan. 6 committee after 15 minutes, vowing to sue the panel and declining to answer their questions, per NYT’s Luke Broadwater . — A new Monmouth poll finds that the committee’s blockbuster recent hearings haven’t changed public opinion about Trump and Jan. 6 much. Americans’ overall favorability rating for Trump sits at about the same level it did after he lost reelection two years ago. CONGRESS SPEAKER SPEAKS — Speaker NANCY PELOSI defended her Taiwan trip as “worth it,” and said the visit had received disproportionate attention in interviews this morning on NBC’s “Today” show and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” She also hammered Chinese President XI JINPING as “acting like a scared bully,” “in a fragile place,” struggling with the economy and “his own insecurities.” More from NBC Asked about the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search, Pelosi largely demurred: “No one is above the law — not even a president or a former president of the United States. But all of this will, I’m sure, be made known to us over time.” THE WHITE HOUSE WHAT COMES NEXT — The president is riding somewhat high after a series of victories, but now he’s about to embark on a lengthy vacation, which “has increased questions about whether the president will begin to reap political benefits of the successes,” report Chris Cadelago and Jonathan Lemire . Now Democrats are working hard to figure out how to translate the legislative wins into a political boost, lining up ad campaigns, new events, Cabinet travel and a narrative shift for the fall. “Already the victories have enlivened beleaguered supporters and injected new optimism across the West Wing. Aides describe a burst of energy in the executive mansion.” — Now, there’s “a frenetic 91-day sprint to sell the [reconciliation] package by November — and win over an electorate that has grown skeptical of Democratic rule,” NYT’s Shane Goldmacher and Katie Glueck report . Dems are feeling a sudden burst of hope. “For Democrats, the best salespeople may not be the political leaders at all,” they add — like seniors advocacy groups on drug pricing reform and environmentalists on climate action. BEHIND THE BILL — The reconciliation bill’s historic climate investments mark the apotheosis of a revamped Democratic strategy on fighting climate change that shifted from penalties to incentives over the past decade, AP’s Chris Megerian reports . Scarred by the failures of Obama-era cap and trade legislation and a 2018 Washington state carbon tax effort, the Biden White House pushed to organize green groups, unions and industry behind clean energy carrots. STEF FELDMAN, domestic policy adviser: “He had seen President [BARACK] OBAMA work very hard to get cap and trade over the finish line … He knew that we had to try something different.” MEMEOLOGY — The Daily Beast’s Sam Brodey, Ursula Perano and Will Sommer unpack Democrats’ embrace of the “Dark Brandon” Biden alter ego meme, as the White House and its allies try to reclaim a taunt with some wind in their sails. “A half-joking attempt from Democrats to match MAGA trolling with trolling of their own has now, unexpectedly, become a somewhat legitimate messaging strategy,” as Dems look to build momentum off their recent successes. “Dealing with Trump and Republicans during and after the 2020 campaign convinced the Biden team that mockingly embracing the other side’s online attacks could have a strategic advantage.”
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today . | | | | | ALL POLITICS RED WAVE — Internal GOP polls show tight races in four House seats that Biden won by double digits across California, Colorado and Oregon — a potential harbinger of major Republican gains in November, Ally Mutnick reports . That includes a 7-point lead for Republican MIKE ERICKSON over progressive Democrat ANDREA SALINAS for a Biden +14 open seat in Oregon “that Democrats drew to be safe.” GOP polling also shows Democrats up just 2 points in retiring Rep. ED PERLMUTTER’s Colorado district and up 5 in retiring Rep. PETER DEFAZIO’s Oregon district. Grain of salt for internal polls, of course, but “the surveys are also an encouraging sign” for the GOP in blue areas post-Roe v. Wade. ABORTION IMPACT — Michigan Democrats are seeking to mobilize and persuade women in the midterms around the end of Roe, WaPo’s Hannah Knowles reports from Mason. She talks to one “pro-life,” Trump-supporting mom who says she’ll vote for a ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights — and isn’t sure if she’ll support Republicans because of their opposition. “Democrats expect [the ballot question] to supercharge an issue they have already been emphasizing in their campaigns and turn out voters who will also pull the lever for their party’s candidates.” AD WARS — The DSCC is going up with its first general-election ads against Sen. RON JOHNSON (R-Wis.) across TV and digital, hammering the incumbent over tax breaks for the wealthy and abortion. More from NBC — Rep. JARED GOLDEN (D-Maine), is largely running away from his party in a new ad : “I was the only Democrat to vote against trillions of dollars of President Biden’s agenda because I knew it would make inflation worse. I stood with law enforcement against defunding the police. I support cutting the gas tax and increasing domestic oil production.”
| | | | A message from Facebook:   | | | TRUMP CARDS DISCLOSED — After another lengthy legal battle, the Trump campaign said in a new filing that it won’t enforce NDAs, per OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN’s attorney, JOHN PHILLIPS . GUNS IN AMERICA UVALDE FALLOUT — The school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, has prompted a wave of advocacy for gun regulations and renewed political engagement in a Trump county, WSJ’s Elizabeth Findell reports from the town. That’s “pushing local political leaders, including Democrats and Republicans, to embrace moderate changes to gun laws.” And Democrat JOHN LIRA, a long-shot contender against GOP Rep. TONY GONZALES, is trying to draw a contrast with the congressman by calling for red-flag laws and other restrictions. AMERICA AND THE WORLD FOR RUSSIA, WITH LOVE — BEN SWANN, a U.S. journalist who promoted Pizzagate and other conspiracy theories, is creating four anti-American TV shows backed by Russian state media to be aired across Asia, Africa and South America, Axios’ Lachlan Markay reports . “Swann’s production company will receive more than $5 million to produce the four shows, each of which will consist of 50 episodes … The topics set to be covered in Swann’s new shows mirror Russian state talking points on the pernicious roles of the U.S. and NATO in global affairs.” CLIMATE FILES — U.S. restrictions on imports from Xinjiang are hampering the solar industry as it tries to figure out how to manage supply chain disruptions, WSJ’s Phred Dvorak and Katherine Blunt report . “Companies must prove that imports weren’t produced by forced labor, and the level of documentation required by authorities so far has caught many in the industry off guard, analysts say.”
| | | | INTRODUCING 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 OUT AND ABOUT — A #BringAustinHome banner was unveiled this morning at WaPo’s headquarters, as we hit the 10-year mark since journalist Austin Tice was abducted in Syria. SPOTTED: Debra Tice, Fred Ryan, Sally Buzbee, Josh Geltzer, Bill McCarren, Clayton Weimers, Katherine Jacobsen and Stephen Dreyer. Pics ENGAGED — Bryn Woollacott , military legislative assistant for Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), and Patrick MacDonnell, speechwriter for Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), got engaged July 31 in Georgetown. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Sophia Lalani, senior national security adviser to USAID Administrator Samantha Power and a Cory Booker alum, and Ali Cumber , VP of the industrial goods and services group at Kaiser Associates, welcomed Kais Yaqim Cumber on July 30. He came in at 5 lbs, 15 oz, and joins big brother Reza. Kais is an Arabic name meaning “wise,” and Yaqim is the name of his maternal grandfather.
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