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Presented by Amazon: The unofficial guide to official Washington. | | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | November kicked off with a brief reprieve from the drama that engulfed the House — and all of Washington — last month. But we’re in for a nutso week ahead in the political world, from Capitol Hill and New York clear on down to Miami and the U.S.-Mexico border. And heck, that shutdown deadline isn’t even till next week.
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Former President Donald Trump buttons his suit during the Florida Freedom Summit at the Gaylord Palms Resort on Nov. 04, 2023, in Kissimmee, Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | IN THE BIG APPLE … The main event today takes place in Manhattan, where former President DONALD TRUMP takes the stand in New York AG TISH JAMES’ civil fraud case against Trump, his companies and his sons. It’s a huge moment for the former president. For one, it’s a sneak preview of the four potential criminal trials Trump is facing. The questions in New York will concern loan applications and property appraisals, not false electors and voting machine seizures, but, as CNN’s Jeremy Herb writes, it will be “the first chance to see how he responds in the face of hostile questioning.” With those criminal trials looming, it’s easy to forget that this case represents a dire threat to Trump’s business empire. The judge in the case has already ruled that Trump and the other defendants are liable for fraudulently falsifying financial documents. The question at hand is, how much will the Trumps pay? The price could be steep, as our colleague Erica Orden notes, unraveling his entire business empire, with prosecutors seeking $250 million in damages and an end to Trump’s ability to do business in the Empire State. Erica has much more this morning on what questions Trump will likely face, whether he’ll invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to answer them and whether he’ll use the witness stand as a campaign pulpit. Related reads: “Trump’s decades of testimony provide some clues about how he’ll fight for his real estate empire,” by AP’s Michael Sisak and Eric Tucker … “Tips for Questioning Trump Under Oath — From Someone Who’s Done It,” by Betsy Woodruff Swan IN MIAMI … On Wednesday, a slimmed-down stage of Republican presidential hopefuls will duke it out on a Florida stage, and with the Iowa caucuses just over two months away, the pressure to narrow the non-Trump field is rising quickly. As we dissected Friday, NIKKI HALEY has been the candidate to watch. But Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS reportedly earned one of the key endorsements still on the board over the weekend: that of Iowa Gov. KIM REYNOLDS. Playbook exclusively got its hands on two campaign memos this morning that preview the swings we’ll be seeing on stage later this week:
— In the first, Haley campaign manager BETSY ANKNEY argues her candidate is the “only” viable alternative to Trump, noting that recent polling shows her neck and neck with DeSantis in Iowa and already beating him in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“EVEN IF DeSantis were to do well in Iowa, which is a big ‘if’ given his current decline, he is in such a weak position in New Hampshire and South Carolina that it doesn’t matter,” she writes. “He has no end game.” The memo also points to DeSantis’ own polling to beat back suggestions that his supporters would turn to Trump if he dropped out. More would break for Haley in the early states, they show. — In the other, Sen. TIM SCOTT’s (R-S.C.) campaign manager JENNIFER DeCASPER previews her boss’ aggressive strategy for getting back into the game after slipping behind Haley and DeSantis in the early states. Haley and DeSantis will engage in a “slugfest” Wednesday, she writes: “She’ll attack him for the failing candidate that he is. He’ll attack her for being the moderate that she is. They’ll both be right.” Scott, meanwhile, will sell himself as a conservative who can actually win. And that will mean taking swings at both of those rivals, further abandoning the nice-guy persona Scott stuck to early in his campaign. Two bites from the memo offer a taste:
- “Does anyone actually believe that a moderate who is running as the darling of Never Trumpers can win the GOP nomination? Nikki’s canned lines can’t change the fact that her ceiling is low and getting lower.”
- “What about the man who spent $100 million to drop 30 points in the polls? The only thing consistent about Ron DeSantis’ campaign is how much it’s underwhelmed.”
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Read about employees who benefit. | | | ON THE HILL … With less than two weeks until government funding expires, Speaker MIKE JOHNSON appears to be pursuing a collision course with Democrats over the continuing resolution Congress will need to quickly pass. We’re told by a senior GOP aide that Johnson is prepared to discuss three potential paths at tomorrow morning’s Republican Conference meeting: (1) a clean CR into early next year, (2) a CR with across-the-board spending cuts, defense excepted, or (3) the “laddered” CR Johnson floated last week, which would stagger the funding deadlines for various government agencies. Only option 1 is going to get any cooperation from Democrats, and so far Johnson hasn’t been the go-along-to-get-along type, meaning we could be on track for a pre-Thanksgiving showdown. Meanwhile, Democrats have their own spending strategies to hash out — specifically over the prospect of a potential deal that would link Ukraine funding with border policy concessions. After our colleagues Myah Ward and Ursula Perano scooped that the White House was softening the ground for such a deal, key House lawmakers clapped back, hard. “Trying to appease Republicans with bad border policy attached to critical emergency spending or a continuing resolution will not work and is completely inappropriate,” the leaders of the progressive, Hispanic, Black and Asian Pacific caucuses wrote. We heard last night that the White House is denying to Hill staff that major asylum changes will be put on the table. But we’ll be listening closely as Democratic leaders CHUCK SCHUMER and HAKEEM JEFFRIES answer questions on the issue this week — and whether they set any red lines. AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY … Last but not least, voters head to the polls tomorrow to decide several key gubernatorial races, statehouse battles and hot-button referendums. Each one will be closely studied for clues about what awaits in 2024. We have more on those races below and much more to come tomorrow morning, but you would do well to dive into perhaps the most scrutinized contest on the ballot this year — the Kentucky race between incumbent Democratic Gov. ANDY BESHEAR and Republican challenger AG DANIEL CAMERON — with our Jonathan Martin this morning. Both men are made of national timber, JMart writes: “With the two presidential primaries dominated by a current and former president, and much of the next-generation talent in both parties sitting out the race, the future may be more easily glimpsed from the bluegrass than the cornfields this fall.” Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. THE WEEK IN SHORT — Tomorrow: Election Day. … Wednesday: Third Republican presidential debate in Miami. Trump holds campaign rally in Hialeah, Fla. HHS Secretary XAVIER BECERRA and DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS testify before Senate Appropriations Committee. Assistant Secretary of State BARBARA LEAF testifies before House Foreign Affairs Committee on U.S. support for Israel. … Thursday: Senate Judiciary Committee votes on subpoenas in Supreme Court ethics probe. Fed Chair JAY POWELL speaks at IMF research conference. … Friday: Veterans Day. … Saturday: Trump holds campaign rally in Claremont, N.H.
| | | | SPONSORED CONTENT “Before joining Amazon, I didn't have a clear path into design”
After college, Adrienne struggled to break into UX design. While working at an Amazon warehouse , she joined one of the free, on-the-job training programs and landed a UX design job with Prime Video. “Amazon helped align my passions to my career,” she said. See more. Sponsored by Amazon   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate will meet at 3 p.m. to take up MONICA BERTAGNOLLI’s nomination as NIH director, with a cloture vote at 5:30 p.m. The House will meet at noon and at 2 p.m. will take up several bills, including the Transportation-HUD appropriations bill, with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. The Rules Committee will meet at 4 p.m. to take up the Financial Services appropriations bill. 3 things to watch …
- Could this be the week Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE’s blockade of military nominations comes to a head? After fellow Senate Republicans publicly revolted last week — and Democrats vowed to move forward on an end-around — GOP members set a special conference meeting to discuss the matter tomorrow afternoon. Watch for them to stake out their positions as they arrive for tonight’s vote.
- Whither the motion to vacate? Johnson’s election as speaker quieted talk of House rules changes to prevent a reprise of the chaos that surrounded KEVIN McCARTHY’s ouster last month. It hasn’t gone away entirely, though, Jordain Carney reports this morning, and some of the eight Republicans who joined with Democrats to jettison McCarthy say they’re open to changes to the so-called “motion to vacate.” Finding consensus on precise reforms, however, will be tricky.
- It could be a milestone week for Senate Democrats after Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER teed up three more district judge nominees for votes, putting the chamber on track to complete 150 Biden judicial confirmations by Thursday. (For comparison, the Senate confirmed 234 of Trump’s bench nominees.) Also possible this week: Harris’s 32nd tie-breaking vote as vice president, which would break JOHN C. CALHOUN’s 191-year-old record outright.
At the White House President JOE BIDEN will head to New Castle County, Del., to greet Amtrak workers and deliver remarks about his infrastructure investments at 1:15 p.m. Afterward, he’ll return to the White House. VP KAMALA HARRIS will call foreign leaders in the afternoon about the Israel-Hamas war and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear responds to a question from the moderator during the Gubernatorial Forum in Louisville, Ky., Sept. 20, 2023. | Timothy D. Easley/AP | PREPPING FOR ELECTION DAY — Two very tight gubernatorial races tomorrow have pretty big stakes. In Kentucky, the election will test Beshear’s effort to keep the campaign focused on local issues versus Cameron’s effort to nationalize it, WaPo’s Hannah Knowles reports from Bardstown. Meanwhile, the Mississippi race will in part be a test of disillusioned Black voters’ reengagement with politics, thanks to a strong push by Democrat BRANDON PRESLEY and state constitutional changes, AP’s Ayanna Alexander reports from Jackson. Down ballot, there will be plenty of revealing — and impactful — election results, too: City Council races will measure NYC’s recent purpling from progressivism toward centrism, Emily Ngo reports. … The Virginia state legislative contests could have a significant effect on LGBTQ rights in the state if Republicans gain a trifecta, The 19th’s Orion Rummler and Mel Leonor Barclay write. … Democrats are highlighting LGBTQ issues in their push to flip the Central Bucks school board in Pennsylvania, WSJ’s Scott Calvert reports from Plumstead Township. … And school board elections are being hotly contested across Virginia, AP’s Calvin Woodward and Ali Swenson report from Fredericksburg. More top reads:
2024 WATCH HITTING THE PANIC BUTTON — In the wake of NYT polls yesterday that were disastrous for Biden, calls to consider stepping aside grew louder. BILL KRISTOL said “it’s time” for Biden to drop out of the 2024 race. DAVID AXELROD warned that “the stakes of miscalculation here are too dramatic to ignore. … What he needs to decide is whether [running] is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s?” Related read: “Trump Indictments Haven’t Sunk His Campaign, but a Conviction Might,” by NYT’s Jonathan Swan, Ruth Igielnik and Maggie Haberman DEEP DIVE — “When Tim Scott Tried to Appeal to Black Voters, and Lost,” by NYT’s Clyde McGrady in Bluffton, S.C.: “The Republican presidential candidate’s defeat in a largely Black South Carolina district in 1996 derailed his promise as someone who could expand the party’s appeal.”
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Adrienne joined Amazon because of “their career path programs, the pay, and to be able to support my son,” she said. Through one of Amazon’s free, on-the-job training programs Adrienne was also able to launch her UX design career at Prime Video. Read more. Sponsored by Amazon   | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards a military transport aircraft en route to Iraq for meetings amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, from Larnaca International Airport, on Nov. 5, 2023. | Jonathan Ernst/Pool/AFP via Getty Images | MIDDLE EAST LATEST — Biden administration officials worked furiously across the Middle East yesterday as the Israel-Hamas war raged on: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN met with Palestinian Authority President MAHMOUD ABBAS in the West Bank and then made a surprise trip to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi PM MOHAMMED SHIA AL-SUDANI, per CNN. (Notably, Abbas said the Palestinian Authority could take control of Gaza after the war only as part of a major shift to create an independent Palestinian state.) And CIA Director WILLIAM BURNS landed in Israel yesterday for the first in a multi-stop tour of the region, per Axios. Blinken’s whirlwind diplomacy sought to reassure Arab leaders about U.S. support for Palestinian civilians and warn Iran about proxy attacks on U.S. forces — a message backed up by the military’s “rare announcement” that it sent a guided missile sub to the region, per CNN. This comes as officials tell WSJ’s Nancy Youssef and Gordon Lubold that the U.S. is lucky not to have lost any forces in the attacks up to now. On the ground: Communications in Gaza were cut off yet again as Israel claimed to have encircled Gaza City, AP’s Najib Jobain, Wafaa Shurafa and Kareem Chehayeb report. Dozens more were killed in Israeli airstrikes on refugee camps. Experts tell WaPo’s Louisa Loveluck, Susannah George and Michael Birnbaum that Israel’s secretive guidelines for its airstrikes “appear to include a higher threshold for civilian casualties than in previous rounds of fighting.” Policy maneuvering: On the Hill and at the State Department, there’s growing concern about the wisdom of sending tens of thousands of assault rifles to Israel, NYT’s Edward Wong and Patrick Kingsley report. Though White House officials don’t like how Israel is conducting the war and killing Palestinian civilians, “they are unable to exert significant influence” to change it, WaPo’s Yasmeen Abutaleb reports. Political fallout: Biden world is conducting political outreach to try to smooth over deep Democratic divides on the war, even as the president remains firm in his position, CNN’s Isaac Dovere reports. Rep. RASHIDA TLAIB’s (D-Mich.) defense of the “From the river to the sea” chant invited more blowback yesterday from the likes of state AG DANA NESSEL and Rep. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-Fla.), per NBC. And an AIPAC-aligned super PAC is launching new attack ads against Reps. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-N.Y.), SUMMER LEE (D-Pa.) and THOMAS MASSIE (R-Ky.), Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel scooped. More top reads:
- Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN is hosting Chinese Vice Premier HE LIFENG for talks in San Francisco this week, she announced in a WaPo op-ed, as the administration tries to deepen the economic diplomacy thaw.
- “A Secret War, Strange New Wounds, and Silence From the Pentagon,” by NYT’s Dave Philipps: “Many U.S. troops who fired vast numbers of artillery rounds against the Islamic State developed mysterious, life-shattering mental and physical problems. But the military struggled to understand what was wrong.”
- Hundreds of migrants departed a southern Mexican city yesterday in a new caravan headed for the U.S., Reuters’ Jose Torres reports.
POLICY CORNER
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Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan speaks at the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Spring Meeting at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, March 31, 2023. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | ANTITRUST THE PROCESS — The growing U.S. antitrust fervor extends well beyond just FTC Chair LINA KHAN, JONATHAN KANTER and TIM WU. There’s now a burgeoning generation of aspiring regulators making the bureaucracy cool at law schools across the country, where Khan has seeded “scores of trustbuster mini-mes,” Marcia Brown reports in a POLITICO Magazine feature this morning. “Whether it’s a force with real staying power or a passing fad is yet unknown. But Khan, Kanter and their allies clearly hope that cultivating the next generation can help ground it.” More top reads:
| | | | PLAYBOOK IS GOING GLOBAL! We’re excited to introduce Global Playbook, POLITICO’s premier newsletter that brings you inside the most important conversations at the most influential events in the world. From the buzzy echoes emanating from the snowy peaks at the WEF in Davos to the discussions and personalities at Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to the heart of diplomacy at UNGA in New York City – author Suzanne Lynch brings it all to your fingertips. Experience the elite. Witness the influential. And never miss a global beat. BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Max Miller welcomed a baby girl, Ruth. John Eastman maintained his innocence on “60 Minutes.” Mike Johnson wants to tackle Social Security and Medicare in his debt commission. Paul Pelosi’s alleged attacker, David DePape, will stand trial this week. IN MEMORIAM — “Jeffrey A. Bader, Who Helped Steer Obama’s ‘Pivot’ to Asia, Dies at 78,” by NYT’s Clay Risen: “A veteran China expert, he advised Presidents Clinton and Obama as they navigated the complexities of Beijing’s rise to global power.” OUT AND ABOUT — Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) hosted the fall retreat for his leadership PAC, Liftoff PAC, this weekend in Tucson, where he brought in $250,000 at a Friday fundraiser and announced he’s raised $1 million this year for other Senate races and Dems. Bill Clinton was a special guest and had a fireside chat with Kelly. Other panels featured his admaker Pia Carusone, his pollster Anna Greenberg and Arizona Democratic Party Chair Yolanda Bejarano. Also SPOTTED: Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.). — Katherine Bradley hosted a party for David Brooks’ new book, “How to Know a Person” ($30), at her home Friday night. SPOTTED: Elisabeth Bumiller, Steve Weissman, Steve Smith and Sally Bedell Smith, Eric Motley, Francesca Craig, E.J. Dionne, Margaret Carlson, Ramesh Ponnuru, Scott Stossel, David Frum, Danielle Crittenden, Cathy Merrill, Steve Clemons, Ruth Marcus, Roy and Abby Blunt, and Adrienne Arsht. TRANSITIONS — Renata Miller is joining HHS as a press secretary. She previously was deputy press secretary for Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.). … Ben Haas is now chief of staff of the Bureau of Industry and Security at the Department of Commerce. He most recently was principal senior adviser at the Office of the National Cyber Director. … Former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern is joining Conservation International’s Arnhold Distinguished Fellowship Program. … … Melissa Wolfe is now director of digital operations for Rep. Scott Franklin (R-Fla.). She most recently was director of digital operations for Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.). … Quinting Lacewell is joining Wells Fargo as senior government affairs specialist. He previously was senior associate director of federal and regional affairs for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. … Amy Mastrine is now social media director at the American Conservation Coalition. She previously was social media manager at Fundfly. WEEKEND WEDDINGS — Lauren French, senior adviser for strategic comms at the State Department, and Jake Wilkins, associate director of comms at Axios, got married in Governor’s Harbour, Bahamas. They met through mutual friends five years ago and began dating after reconnecting at a wedding. Guests dined on lobster, stone crab and fresh fish caught by the bride’s family while dancing to the High Rock Band. Pic … Another pic … SPOTTED: Paul Kane and Kristin Wilson, Ali Vitali, Anna Palmer and Patrick Mellody, Brad Dayspring, Haley Talbot, Kristen Holmes and Noah Gray, John Bresnahan, Betsy Klein and Jeff Solnet, Rebecca Kaplan and Adam Levy, Adan Serna, Conner Swanson, Carlos and Alejandra Sanchez, Héctor Colón, Hannah Muldavin and Caroline Edwards. — Rachel Palermo, who most recently was deputy comms director and associate counsel to VP Kamala Harris and is heading to a law firm, and Colby Moore, a judicial law clerk in the Eastern District of Virginia, got married Saturday at Lioncrest at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. They met working at the DNC during the 2016 campaign. Pic … Pic of Team Biden … SPOTTED: Herbie Ziskend, John McCarthy, Ernie Apreza, Liza Acevedo, Sam Michel, Lauren McDevitt, Mark McDevitt, Margaret Mulkerrin, Hailey Barringer, Caroline Stonecipher, Josh Hsu, Caroline Bressman, Tom Walsh, Anne Evangelista and Jocelyn Hunt. — Gabriel Debenedetti, N.Y. Mag national correspondent and author of “The Long Alliance,” and Rebecca Welbourn, a manager at Bain & Company, got married Saturday at the Contemporary Austin - Laguna Gloria. They met at Princeton in 2009. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) … POLITICO’s Louis Nelson and Kristin Crofts … ABC’s Trish Turner … American Red Cross’ Eric Mondero … Katie Rosborough … JoJo Sears … Rachel Weiss of Arnold Ventures … LSG’s Blair Gremillion … Gresham Striegel … ACOG’s Rachel Kingery … Whitney Mitchell Brennan of Honeywell … Rick Nussio … Rob Jesmer of FP1 Strategies and Plus Communications … Austin Keyser of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers … Suzanne Granville … former Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul … Ashley Lewis … Diana Banister … former Education Secretary Arne Duncan … Sidney Blumenthal … former Rep. Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.) … Dan Senor … Alexis Gurganious of Cox Enterprises 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 producers Bethany Irvine and Andrew Howard. Correction: Saturday’s Playbook misspelled Laurence Tribe’s name.
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