| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | |  The latest House GOP appropriations bill does not seek to defund special counsel Jack Smith. | Jacquelyn Martin, File/AP Photo | SPENDING SHOWDOWN — House Republicans unveiled their Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 ahead of tomorrow’s committee markup — and revealed that they sidestepped the far right’s most politically explosive demand. GOP appropriators will not seek to defund special counsel JACK SMITH, Manhattan DA ALVIN BRAGG or Fulton County, Georgia, DA FANI WILLIS, Jordain Carney and Jennifer Scholtes report. (At least for now: Republicans can certainly try again with amendments to the bill once it reaches the House floor next month.) It’s a striking punt to avoid language crafted by Rep. JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio) that would have targeted prosecutors who bring criminal cases against presidents. The legislation also doesn’t seek to undermine the Justice Department’s ability to appoint special counsels. After the idea to target prosecutors first bubbled up with DONALD TRUMP loyalists like Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.), Speaker MIKE JOHNSON told Playbook last month that he viewed defunding special counsels as an unworkable idea and wouldn’t put it into the appropriations bills. But after Trump’s criminal conviction in the hush money case enraged Republicans, Johnson vowed to go after Smith, and tabbed the approps process as one possible venue to “rein in” his work. (Of course, the idea that any of this could make it past Senate Democrats and President JOE BIDEN to become law was always far-fetched.) The big top-line number is $78.3 billion in funding, a proposed $1.3 billion cut across multiple agencies, including $988 million less for the Justice Department. House Appropriations Chair TOM COLE (R-Okla.) said the proposal “prioritizes fiscal sanity and the liberties of the American people.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The White House is blasting Republicans’ proposed cuts. “Yet again, this morning Republican officials attempted to defund law enforcement to the benefit of violent criminals and fentanyl traffickers, targeting federal agencies that are critical to stopping gun crime, terrorism, and child trafficking,” senior deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES said in a statement. “Congressional Republicans need to work with Joe Biden against crime — not the other way around.” Though House Republicans gave Smith a pass, they did include many other provisions that are sure to kick up a political storm. The bill would prevent Biden from rescheduling marijuana. It would also block the Justice Department from using money to move the FBI to its new headquarters, as the GOP’s relationship with law enforcement continues to deteriorate in the Trump era. The planned relocation to Greenbelt, Maryland, has infuriated the Virginia delegation and even FBI Director CHRISTOPHER WRAY. Under Commerce Department funding, the bill would make the controversial move to prevent the Census Bureau from counting undocumented immigrants, NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang flags. Though the 14th Amendment says the census needs to include the “whole number of persons,” Republicans have increasingly tried to exclude non-citizens or just unauthorized immigrants from the all-important count, which determines federal funding and political power. TO RUSSIA, WITH LOVE — Two top national security advisers to Trump, retired Lt. Gen. KEITH KELLOGG and FRED FLEITZ, are pitching Trump on a plan to stop sending more military aid to Ukraine until it begins peace talks with Russia, Reuters’ Gram Slattery and Simon Lewis scooped. That plan would call for a cease-fire in the Ukraine war at the “prevailing battle lines” under a second Trump administration, in which the U.S. would force Russia to the negotiating table by warning that it would otherwise restart assistance to Kyiv. (It would also entice Russia by postponing Ukraine’s NATO membership.) This would be an effort to bring the war to a rapid close — and a radical departure from Biden’s steadfast support for Ukraine. The Trump campaign, as always, emphasized that outside plans are just that, not official campaign positions. But Fleitz said Trump responded positively to the idea, and this is “the most detailed plan yet by associates of Trump.” The former president has indeed called for ending the war quickly to stop the bloodshed (and the money suck). But Ukraine backers say that would end up ceding parts of the country to Russia’s invasion, at least informally. FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE — Russia banned 81 European media outlets, including POLITICO and Agence France-Presse, in a retaliatory crackdown today, our colleague Pierre Emmanuel Ngendakumana reports from across the pond. Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from The American Petroleum Institute: Energy security is national security. Why is the government delaying new energy projects that can help America and our allies? [Get Answers Here] | | | | | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Ohio voters could decide on a change to redistricting this fall through a ballot initiative. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 1. DEMOCRACY WATCH: More ballot initiatives seeking to reform and strengthen democracy will go before voters this fall than in any previous year, NYT’s Michael Wines reports. The under-the-radar trend, centered largely in the West and Ohio, could shake up politics in several states in an effort to make government more representative or less partisan — if the referendums make it onto the ballot and succeed with voters. Among the initiatives to watch:
- Ohio: Voters would decide whether to undo the GOP’s gerrymanders and switch power over redistricting to an independent commission.
- Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and South Dakota: Voters would decide whether to turn closed or semi-closed primaries into open ones.
- Colorado, Nevada and Oregon: Voters would decide whether to institute ranked-choice voting.
“The stated goal of all these proposals is to draw more voters into the democratic process,” Wines writes, though he notes that the academic research is stronger in support of ending gerrymandering and ranked-choice voting than it is for ending closed primaries. Many of the citizen initiatives have bipartisan support, but Republican officials are also lining up in opposition in several states. And Alaska, Arizona and Missouri also have countervailing ballot initiatives that would ask voters to ban or repeal ranked-choice voting or force closed primaries. 2. THE BRAVE NEW WORLD: “ChatGPT gave incorrect answers to questions about how to vote in battleground states,” by CBS’ Haley Ott and Emmet Lyons: “CBS News asked ChatGPT a number of practical questions that a prospective voter might have about how and where to vote, deadlines to vote and other requirements for voting in the battleground states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. ChatGPT did give some correct answers … But it also gave a number of incorrect or incomplete answers.” 3. CLIP AND SAVE: The NYT has launched its 2024 poll tracker, which currently shows the race tied nationally at 46 percent apiece. Nate Cohn writes that the extremely close contest amounts to a slight improvement for Biden, who’d been trailing until Trump’s criminal conviction, though the former president still leads narrowly in the swing states/Electoral College. And with ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. included, Trump is up by 1 nationally. New surveys: A Nevada poll out today from AARP finds Trump leading by 3 head to head or by 7 with third-party candidates included, per The Nevada Independent’s Gabby Birenbaum, even as Democratic Sen. JACKY ROSEN leads SAM BROWN by 5. … The Atlanta Journal-Constitution finds Trump up by 5 in a multi-candidate field in Georgia, per Greg Bluestein.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | 4. TWO YEARS LATER: “More than 500 people have been charged with federal crimes under the gun safety law Biden signed,” by AP’s Colleen Long: “[Some were] linked to transnational cartels and organized crime rings … A White House report obtained by The Associated Press on the implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act also said that enhanced background checks under the new law have stopped roughly 800 sales of firearms to people under age 21 who would be prohibited from buying them.” 5. FACT CHECK: “Trump takes on the Pentagon’s (non-existent) electric tanks,” by Scott Waldman: “It’s part of Trump’s long-standing pattern of spreading misinformation about clean energy, a tactic he uses to downplay the benefits of shifting the economy away from fossil fuels. In recent months, Trump has added a new target: the military’s strategy to cut carbon emissions while delivering the next generation of war-fighting machinery.” 6. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: U.S. Ambassador to China NICHOLAS BURNS told WSJ’s Jonathan Cheng that Beijing is actively taking steps to damage relations between the two countries, despite Biden and Chinese President XI JINPING agreeing to strengthen citizen-to-citizen bonds. In unusually sharp and public criticism, Burns blasted the Chinese government for encouraging anti-Americanism, restricting the U.S. Embassy and undermining American events in China. “They say they’re in favor of reconnecting our two populations, but they’re taking dramatic steps to make it impossible,” he warned. Related reads: “Huawei’s Secret Ally in the US-China Tech War: A Science Nonprofit Based in DC,” by Bloomberg’s Kate O’Keeffe … “Historic Moon Mission Moves China Ahead in Space Race With U.S.,” by WSJ’s Stu Woo, Clarence Leong and Micah Maidenberg
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Paul Singer wants to make the Manhattan Institute into a Federalist Society for Wall Street. Donald Trump will likely bring families of people killed by immigrants to the debate. Brian Kemp says he’ll work hard to help Trump win Georgia. Doug Burgum has an awkward White House alliance on a carbon dioxide pipeline. Hunter Biden’s law license in D.C. was suspended. BOOK CLUB — Hillary Clinton is publishing a new collection of essays Sept. 17 from Simon & Schuster, titled “Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty.” More from Axios PLAYBOOK REAL ESTATE SECTION — “Washington Hostess Esther Coopersmith’s Mansion Is on the Market,” by Bloomberg’s James Tarmy FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Seth Schermer, a veteran political and nonprofit fundraiser, has launched fundraising consulting firm Schermer Impact Strategies, which will focus on nonprofits and social justice organizations. He most recently was chief development officer and COO of LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and will continue to consult with them. MEDIA MOVES — Uri Berliner is joining The Free Press as a senior editor. He previously was a senior business editor and reporter at NPR. … Semafor is adding Amna Nawaz, Jon Hilsenrath, Marcus Brauchli and Nayeema Raza as contributors, with a focus on events. WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Steph Guerra is now senior adviser at the U.S. AI Safety Institute at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. She most recently was assistant director for health security and biodefense at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. TRANSITIONS — Elliot Kaye is now a partner in Cooley’s transatlantic product safety, compliance and litigation group. He is a former chair and commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and previously was at World Central Kitchen. … Gina Mahony is joining Cogent Strategies as a managing director. She’s a veteran Democratic strategist who most recently has run her own consultancy, Domer Consulting. … … Izzy Olive is now comms director for Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.). She previously was press secretary for Brady: United Against Gun Violence. … Jerry Fritz is retiring from his role as EVP for strategic and legal affairs at One Media Technologies. He previously was general counsel and director of strategic affairs for Allbritton Communication Companies and POLITICO, helping to launch POLITICO, and is an FCC alum. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Amanda Elliott, founder of Anchor City Strategies and an RGA alum, and Nick Elliott, SVP at RumbleUp, recently welcomed Bishop Zwier Elliott. Pic — Lexi Branson, deputy VP for advocacy and strategic alliances at PhRMA, and Ross Branson, director of government relations at Saildrone Inc., on Friday welcomed Aria Renee Branson, who joins big brother Knox. Pic — Elle Segal, director of advocacy at Rails to Trails Conservancy, and Yoni Moskowitz, senior legal adviser at the Department of Energy, welcomed Mira Hazel Moskowitz on Thursday. 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 Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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