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Presented by Amway: The unofficial guide to official Washington. | | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | |  Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on a potential “humanitarian pause” in Gaza, but he publicly rejected it. | Abir Sultan/Pool/AFP via Getty Images | TAKING STOCK — Today marks four weeks since Hamas fighters carried out the most shocking attack on Israel in 50 years. A sobering litany of consequences has ensued: Regional tensions in the Middle East have skyrocketed. A global wave of antisemitism has been unleashed. Hundreds of hostages remain in Hamas’ custody. And thousands of Palestinian civilians are dead as a humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in Gaza, where Israel shows no sign of letting up on its retaliatory military campaign. Here in the U.S., President JOE BIDEN’s immediate and full-throated support for Israel is giving way to a more nuanced position on the part of the administration. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN traveled to Tel Aviv yesterday to push Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU on a potential “humanitarian pause” in Gaza, which Netanyahu then publicly rejected. The domestic political backdrop is getting more complicated, too. While calls for a full cease-fire remain mostly confined to the hard left, a host of mainstream Democrats now advocate a temporary pause in Israel’s bombing campaign. Meanwhile, the push for billions of dollars in military aid for Israel has gotten snagged in partisan politics on Capitol Hill. Amid all of this, a senior Biden administration official briefed reporters last night on how the White House is viewing things ahead of the one-month milestone:
- On the hostages: “We are using unarmed [Department of Defense] assets to try to locate some of the American hostages that we believe are in Gaza. Hamas needs to release the hostages. And we are going to do all we possibly can to make sure that all the hostages of all nationalities come out of Gaza.”
- On the prospects for a pause: “Any arrangement to get 200 hostages out of Gaza is going to require a fairly significant pause. … Should we get to that point, that would obviously go into place.”
- On Israel’s tolerance for civilian casualties: “It is not our military. It is not a U.S. military campaign. And so I don’t want to be here armchair quarterbacking, but I will say when there are incidents, very certainly we have conversations with the Israelis.”
- On why a cease-fire isn’t happening: “A situation in which a terrorist group takes 200 hostages and kills 1,400 people and is hiding under tunnels, including the leaders — cease-fire is not really the word to use. … A cease-fire depends on the Israelis feeling secure and ensuring something like this cannot happen again.”
Related reads: “US anticipates shift in Israel’s tactics in the coming week, senior US official says,” CNN … “Hamas put wounded fighters on departure lists, delaying efforts to evacuate foreigners, a U.S. official says,” NYT … “Biden under pressure from within his own party to use leverage on Israel,” POLITICO
| | | | A message from Amway: For decades, Amway has lowered barriers for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to explore small business ownership, without facing the costs of starting a business from scratch. Amway provides high-quality products, online storefronts, a dependable supply chain, top-notch customer care, and a supportive community of entrepreneurs – allowing popular health and wellbeing products to reach customers across the country. Hundreds of thousands of Americans choose to be Amway Independent Business Owners. | | | AN ‘ANTISEMITISM CRISIS’ — DOUG EMHOFF is typically a pretty happy guy. But that energy has been replaced by a heaviness over the past four weeks, the second gentleman said in an exclusive interview with POLITICO. That emotional transformation started with the “absolute shock” of learning about the Hamas attack early on the morning of Oct. 7, he said, and it only continued with the wave of antisemitic incidents that followed. As the most prominent Jewish person in the White House orbit, Emhoff had already taken on a special role combating an “epidemic of hate,” including antisemitism and Islamophobia. But he said the tenor of some of the recent protests over Israel’s response to the attacks shocked him. “It’s an antisemitism crisis, to be clear, on our campuses and even in our K-through-12 schools, on our streets and our markets, wherever you go,” he said, speaking this week in London. “It’s unprecedented.” He added: “There seems to be a conflation of not being able to separate the actions of the Israeli government and Jewish people and taking out feelings that they have about the actions of the Israeli government on all Jews, irrespective of how those Jews may also feel about the actions of the Israeli government. And that is very concerning.” The remarks are a notable rebuke of the campus rhetoric, which has included students and professors defending Hamas, accusing Israel of conducting genocide and calling for the elimination of the Jewish state. Emhoff has also held several events over the past month to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia, including one this week in London. NATHAN DIAMENT, the executive director of public policy at the Orthodox Union, said Emhoff’s concerns about the current moment are intensely personal. “Just as a father, he’s shocked that kids like his, who not too long ago were on these college campuses, are getting intimidated and harassed because of what's going on in Israel,” he said yesterday. Emhoff said his concerns are also historical, rooted in a “false sense of security” that many American Jews might have grown accustomed to: “We haven’t really had to experience this type of antisemitism or hate. And then all of a sudden it’s so in everyone’s face,” he said. “So what do you do about it? We’ve got to collect ourselves and fight back and also not lose the joy in who we are,” he added. “I love being Jewish. I want everyone to still feel that pride and not hide.” Related read: “U.S. envoy for combating antisemitism decries rise in anti-Jewish incidents,” by WaPo’s Michael Birnbaum Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. MORE MIDDLE EAST FALLOUT — U.S. political furor over the Israel-Hamas war reached a new fever pitch yesterday. Among the most striking moments:
More reading: Tens of thousands of people are expected downtown today for a major pro-Palestine rally, NBC Washington’s Walter Morris previews. … The burgeoning social media and generational divide over the war is worrying Democrats about their coalition, Semafor’s Dave Weigel reports. … NYT Magazine’s JAZMINE HUGHES resigned from the newspaper after signing public letters that broke newsroom policies, per NYT’s Katie Robertson. … The U.N. is mired in utter chaos over the war, with deep rifts in Turtle Bay and already several dozen employees killed in the war, Nahal Toosi reports.
| | | | A message from Amway:   New Amway data shows 58% of Americans want to start their own business. For many, the question is not whether they will start a business, but when. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden has nothing on his public schedule. VP KAMALA HARRIS has nothing on her public schedule. On the trail DONALD TRUMP, Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS, VIVEK RAMASWAMY, CHRIS CHRISTIE, Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.), North Dakota Gov. DOUG BURGUM and ASA HUTCHINSON are all in Kissimmee to speak at the Florida GOP’s Freedom Summit.
| | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | | 
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) accused President Joe Biden in a new video yesterday of supporting genocide against Palestinians. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. STARTING TO GO THERE: “U.S., European officials broach topic of peace negotiations with Ukraine, sources say,” by NBC’s Courtney Kube, Carol Lee and Kristen Welker: “The conversations have included very broad outlines of what Ukraine might need to give up to reach a deal … They began amid concerns among U.S. and European officials that the war has reached a stalemate and about the ability to continue providing aid to Ukraine … Biden administration officials also are worried that Ukraine is running out of forces … And there is unease in the U.S. government with how much less public attention the war in Ukraine has garnered since the Israel-Hamas war began.” 2. A TALE OF TWO GAG ORDERS: Judge ARTHUR ENGORON, who’s overseeing the Trump civil business fraud trial in New York, broadened his gag order yesterday to encompass Trump’s attorneys, citing concerns about threats to his staff, per CNN. But Judge TANYA CHUTKAN’s gag order on Trump in his federal criminal election subversion case was temporarily paused yesterday by an appeals court, which scheduled expedited oral arguments for Trump’s appeal for Nov. 20, per the WSJ. The appellate judges didn’t weigh in on the merits of the gag order/appeal. More Trump legal news: The jury in E. JEAN CARROLL’s second trial against Trump will remain anonymous due to safety concerns, per Reuters. … Special counsel JACK SMITH submitted a filing to oppose televising the election subversion trial, per CNN. 3. THE BIG LIE NEVER DIES: “A novel defense in Trump’s Georgia case: The 2020 election really was stolen,” by WaPo’s Amy Gardner and Holly Bailey: “Lawyers for one of those defendants, HARRISON FLOYD, appeared in court Friday morning to argue that their client is entitled to thousands of pages of election records from Fulton County and the Georgia secretary of state. … The argument serves as a major test of the breadth of the Fulton indictment. Because prosecutors have alleged that Floyd and the other defendants ‘knowingly’ lied, his lawyers say they have the right to try to prove it wasn’t a lie at all.” 4. BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE: Rep. GEORGE SANTOS (R-N.Y.) told CNN’s Manu Raju that even if the House expels him, he’ll still keep running in 2024. … JOHN McGUIRE is likely to launch a primary challenge against Rep. BOB GOOD (R-Va.) after Good broke with the GOP establishment to buck Trump and then-Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY, Olivia Beavers reports. … Texas state Rep. CRAIG GOLDMAN is jumping into the GOP primary to succeed retiring Rep. KAY GRANGER (R-Texas), per The Texas Tribune. 5. SCOTUS WATCH: “Supreme Court will rule on ban on rapid-fire gun bump stocks, used in the Las Vegas mass shooting,” by AP’s Mark Sherman: “The justices said they will review the Biden administration’s appeal of a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans that invalidated the ban. … A decision is expected by early summer in Garland v. Cargill.” 6. WHAT TO KNOW FOR TUESDAY: It’s an off year, but there are still plenty of consequential elections happening next week, as Steve Shepard rounds up. Gubernatorial elections in Kentucky and Louisiana, state legislative battles in Virginia and New Jersey, the Ohio abortion referendum and the Pennsylvania state Supreme Court race have gotten lots of attention. But there will also be clues for next year in a Rhode Island special congressional election and the Suffolk County, N.Y., executive race. The various outcomes will especially provide insight into how, and how much, abortion is still motivating voters, NYT’s Lisa Lerer and Shane Goldmacher report. In Virginia, Gov. GLENN YOUNGKIN — the GOP’s “great hope” — faces a major test of his power, WSJ’s Molly Ball reports from Chantilly. And in New Jersey, both abortion and the sudden collapse this week of a wind energy project loom large, NYT’s Tracey Tully writes.
| | | | A message from Amway:   | | | 7. WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH (EVERYONE BUT) KANSAS — “Kansas might have an answer to Democrats’ rural voter problem,” by Zach Montellaro in Topeka: Gov. LAURA “KELLY’s playbook is in some ways the antithesis of the national political moment: Avoid culture war fights, focus on local economic issues, and spend a lot of time talking to the wheat and soybean farmers you know mostly won’t vote for you. … In a break from many other Democrats last year, Kelly did not emphasize abortion rights during her campaign.” 8. UP FOR DEBATE: The RNC laid out its qualification criteria for the fourth GOP presidential debate, which are getting even tougher, per Reuters. Candidates will need to crack 6% in two national polls or one national and one early-state poll. They’ll also have to demonstrate support from 80,000 donors, including at least 200 across 20 different states. The debate is Dec. 6 in Alabama. 9. ENDORSEMENT WATCH: “During strike talks, Biden worked to build ties to the UAW’s leader. They have yet to fully pay off,” by AP’s Josh Boak and Joey Cappelletti: “Biden called the head of the United Auto Workers union to congratulate him this past week on getting a new contract with General Motors and to wish him a happy 55th birthday — a sign of how the relationship had evolved. … But even as Biden’s sympathies publicly shifted toward union workers during the standoff, there are few signs that the UAW fully warmed to the Democratic president. Biden has yet to receive the union’s endorsement.” CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 17 funnies GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza: — “The Club No School Principal Wants to Join,” by Gloria Liu in Men’s Health: “Each of these principals led a school traumatized by a shooting. Now they’re finding a way forward through a unique support group — an unlucky club — where they talk about recovery, courage, and healing.” — “The people who ruined the internet,” by Amanda Chicago Lewis in The Verge: “As the public begins to believe Google isn’t as useful anymore, what happens to the cottage industry of search engine optimization experts who struck content oil and smeared it all over the web? Well, they find a new way to get rich and keep the party going.” — “As billions roll in to fight the US opioid epidemic, one county shows how recovery can work,” by AP’s Geoff Mulvihill and Carla Johnson in Findlay, Ohio: “Here, conservative Hancock County has built a comprehensive system focused on both treatment and recovery by adding housing, a needle exchange, outreach workers and a community center.” — “Some Ukrainians Helped the Russians. Their Neighbors Sought Revenge,” by James Verini in the NYT Magazine: “For people in Bilozerka, the invasion began a cat-and-mouse game of collaboration and resistance.” — “Peter Jackson Takes Us Inside the Music Video for Beatles' Final Song,” by Rob LeDonne in Esquire: “Marking the iconic director’s first-ever music video, Jackson says he originally tried getting out of the gig: ‘I was really, really nervous.’” — “These Moons Are Dark and Frozen. So How Can They Have Oceans?” by Robin George Andrews in Quanta Magazine: “The moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn appear to have subsurface oceans — tantalizing targets in the search for life beyond Earth. But it’s not clear why these seas exist at all.”
| | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Glenn Youngkin is breaking out the red vest. Michael Dukakis, at 90, still believes in government service. Nikki Haley is getting support from Ron Cameron and interest from Ken Griffin. Kimberly Mata-Rubio, who lost a child in the Uvalde massacre, is running for mayor. Mark Meadows is getting sued by his book publisher over 2020 election claims. Tom Daschle will be awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by Japan. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — President Joe Biden is participating in a fundraiser hosted by entrepreneur Glen Tullman on Thursday in Chicago, our colleague Daniel Lippman has learned. Prices range from $3,300 to be an attendee to $200,000 to be a co-host. SPOTTED: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) at Union Square Cafe in NYC on Thursday night. … Robert F. Kennedy Jr. working out in jeans and Tevas at a gym in Portland, Ore., on Thursday. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a party Molly Jong-Fast hosted Wednesday night at her NYC apartment: Joe and Mika Scarborough, George Conway, Phil Griffin, Rev. Al Sharpton, Margaret Sullivan, Andrew Weissmann, Derek Blasberg, Marci Klein, Randi Weingarten, Timothy O’Brien, E. Jean Carroll, Jessica Pressler, Mara Gay, Katie Benner, Michael Calderone, Nati Bru, Roberta Kaplan, Lydia Polgreen, Joey Scarborough, Jonathan Lemire, Kurt Andersen, Al Franken and Radhika Jones. — SPOTTED at an Obama comms/press alumni party last night at Avec River North in Chicago: Dan Pfeiffer, Jen Psaki, Ben LaBolt, Josh Earnest, Jay Carney, Robert Gibbs, VA Secretary Denis McDonough, Brian Deese, Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Ben Rhodes, Eric Schultz, Herbie Ziskend, Andrew Bates, Nick Shapiro, Clark Stevens, Katie Hogan, Kevin Lewis, Eric Lesser, Dag Vega, Brandon Shaw and Shin Inouye. — Concordia CEO Matthew Swift hosted a reception at Marco Margheri’s D.C. residence Thursday night to inaugurate their new Washington branch and toast to Concordia’s U.S. summit in North Carolina on Tuesday. SPOTTED: Paula Dobriansky, Josh Dawsey, Catie Edmondson, Caroline Scullin, Charity Wallace, Stuart Holliday, John McCarthy, Evan Hollander and Eli Yokley, Abdulaziz Al-Thani, Cory Crowley, David Livingston, Kate Friedrich and Tatiana Torres. — The recently launched Workshop initiative celebrated Mary Beth Maxwell taking the reins as executive director with a rooftop reception Thursday night at Open Society Foundations. SPOTTED: Tom Perez, Pronita Gupta, Shilpa Phadke, Shayna Strom, Carmen Rojas, Laleh Ispahani, David Weil, Indi Dutta-Gupta and Rebecca Dixon. MEDIA MOVES — Wired is launching a new politics vertical, adding Leah Feiger as politics editor and William Turton as a senior writer, Axios’ Sara Fischer reports. Feiger is joining from Vice, and Turton previously was a cybersecurity reporter at Bloomberg. David Gilbert is also joining the team to cover extremism and mis/disinformation on social media. TRANSITIONS — Mariza Smajlaj is now comms director for Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.). She previously was editor of the Daily Skimm at theSkimm. … The Treasury Department has added Harry Seavey as special adviser for the Office of Financial Stability Oversight Council and Austin Tyree as special assistant to the acting assistant secretary for legislative affairs. Seavey most recently was a special assistant and adviser to the president and CEO of the Asia Society. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Playbook’s own Mike DeBonis … Reps. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) … Semafor’s Ben Smith … Laura Bush … WaPo’s Catherine Rampell … former Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) … AP’s Alex Sanz … Treasury’s Addar Levi … OMB’s Julie Siegel … Michael Clauser … Jessica Reis of Bully Pulpit Interactive … Gabby Orr … API’s Casey Martel … Rick Ungar … Morgan Mohr of the White House … Carlos Gutierrez of EmPath … Maggie McNerney … Amanda Thayer … Jean Roseme of Rep. Frederica Wilson’s (D-Fla.) office … Tim Saler … Aaron White of Sen. Peter Welch’s (D-Vt.) office … Julie Tippens … Amanda Eisenberg … Avi Berkowitz … Georgetown Law’s Rima Sirota … Ashley Estes Kavanaugh … Blair Latoff Holmes … Global Counsel’s Joe Armitage … Kevin McVicker of Shirley & McVicker Public Affairs … Michael Hough of Rep. Alex Mooney’s (R-W.Va.) office THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Speaker Mike Johnson … Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) … Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. Panel: Michael Allen, Olivia Beavers, Guy Benson and Juan Williams. NBC “Meet the Press”: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy … Steve Kornacki. Panel: Cornell Belcher, Sara Fagen, Julio Vaqueiro and Amy Walter. CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) … Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) … Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan. Panel: Karen Finney, Kristen Soltis Anderson, Barbara Comstock and Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). ABC “This Week”: Jon Finer … Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin … House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Panel: Jonathan Karl, Donna Brazile, Julie Pace and Reince Priebus. CBS “Face the Nation”: Jon Finer … Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog … Palestinian Ambassador to the U.K. Husam Zomlot … Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) … Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova. Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) … Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) … Ben Carson … retired Adm. Michael Mullen … Mike Pompeo. CNN “Inside Politics Sunday”: Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.). Panel: Daniel Strauss, Seung Min Kim, Melanie Zanona and Natasha Bertrand. MSNBC “The Sunday Show”: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) … Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) … Lawrence Tribe. 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.
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