| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | ABOUT THAT INTERVIEW — VP KAMALA HARRIS and running mate TIM WALZ are set to tape their big joint sitdown with CNN’s Dana Bash at 1:45 p.m. today in Savannah, Georgia. The full interview airs at 9 p.m., but expect to see an excerpt or two trickle out ahead of the evening network newscasts. After several Republicans and conservative media personalities criticized Harris yesterday for sitting down with Walz as a “security blanket,” the Harris-Walz campaign last night provided a list of joint interviews conducted by every major party presidential ticket since 2004 — though a senior campaign official also made the important stipulation that “obviously she will do solo interviews too” over the course of the campaign.
|  Donald Trump's transition team is facing sharp questions over its structure, staffing and outside ties. | Julia Nikhinson/AP | DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN? — Democrats spent the summer making DONALD TRUMP’s presidential transition plans into a political headache — turning the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, the now-disowned policy and staffing blueprint crafted by scores of former Trump administration officials, into a infamous household name. Trump has now launched his own, officially blessed transition effort, headed up by former SBA Administrator LINDA McMAHON. But the new apparatus is facing sharp questions over its structure, staffing and outside ties — highlighted this week by Trump naming ex-Democrats ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. and TULSI GABBARD as “honorary co-chairs” of the effort. The tumult is prompting unpleasant flashbacks among some Republicans to Trump’s chaotic 2016 transition, which was marked by indecision and infighting and is widely seen as a singular failure among modern incoming administrations. There are fears Trump hasn’t learned his lesson and is again distracted from what could come after his campaign. Here’s a spin through what we’re hearing … — GOING IT ALONE: Typically, presidential transitions get a major helping hand from the federal General Services Administration, which provides office space, technology and other back end support that can be crucial to getting a transition operation up and running in the chaotic aftermath of an election. With an Aug. 31 deadline looming, the Trump campaign is poised to reject GSA assistance, multiple people in Trump’s inner circle tell us. For one, accepting GSA help means adhering to $5,000-per-donor contribution limits in funding overall costs that can exceed $10 million, and Trump allies would prefer to ease the fundraising burden by having fewer people cutting bigger checks. For another, Trump’s team simply does not trust the GSA after its 2016 experience, with some blaming federal workers for leaks of potential administration hires and widespread dismay with the agency’s decision to hand over transition records to special counsel ROBERT MUELLER. “The GSA presidential transition support model has run its course and either campaign should have the option to operate their transitions independently in order to have the most flexibility for fundraising, information security, and operations,” said KEN NAHIGIAN, who served as executive director of Trump’s 2016 transition, in a text to our colleague Hailey Fuchs. But there are reasons to be wary of sidelining the GSA. MAX STIER, president and CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, told us the agency can be especially helpful on the security front — both in helping officials quickly arrange security clearances and in preventing cyberattacks, like the recent suspected Iranian attempt to get inside Trump campaign. And then there’s the transparency concerns. No GSA process could also mean no public financial disclosures. For instance, if the organization is set up as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, the names of major donors and transition personnel could remain secret indefinitely. “There's a lot of jockeying for these jobs, and knowing who's involved in the process of setting it up is, I think, of public interest,” Stier said, adding that disclosure provides “confidence that decisions are being made on the basis of … good policy … rather than on who is able to fund the transition.” Trump campaign spokesman BRIAN HUGHES said last night that no final decision has been made on the GSA question: "With transition leadership in place, and many talented leaders to work with, President Trump will have what he needs to build a world-class and effective administration starting on day 1." — THE OTHER THINK TANK: While Heritage’s ill-fated Project 2025 has gotten all the headlines, another outside group has been quietly plugging away at transition efforts with much less fanfare. This morning our colleagues Hailey Fuchs and Meridith McGraw dive deep into the America First Policy Institute, which has (smartly) avoided Heritage’s braggadocio but has similarly done mountains of unofficial transition work while maintaining close ties to Trump: McMahon chairs the group’s board, and CEO BROOKE ROLLINS is Trump’s former Domestic Policy Council director and has been personally in touch with the former president. Operating outside the Trump campaign, they report, AFPI has interviewed more than 1,000 potential administration hires, drafted scores of executive actions Trump could quickly sign and solicited recommendations for the first 100 days of a second Trump term. “AFPI is not becoming the transition,” one insider told Hailey and Meridith. “But by virtue of how they are situated and that we are in a very late timeline for this work, AFPI and the transition may be a distinction without a difference.” Not everyone is happy with the arrangement. In GOP circles, we’re told, AFPI is seen less as a visionary policy shop than a ragtag collection of operatives. And Democrats will certainly seize on the group’s associations with 2020 election denialism and, a la Project 2025, their support for other hard-right positions. — WILL PERSONNEL BE POLICY? Back in 2016, the Trump transition mess was at heart a personality clash, with titular transition chair CHRIS CHRISTIE ultimately getting cast aside by MAGA loyalists after the election. This time, the problematic personnel situation involves Trump’s anointing of RFK and Gabbard with gold-plated titles on the transition team. The political logic of the move is sound enough: After taking a beating on Project 2025, Trump appears to be trying to signal some ideological flexibility. And one Trump insider told Playbook that the honorary co-chairs are just that — figureheads who won’t be doing much. But we certainly have to wonder if that is Kennedy and Gabbard’s understanding. And some traditional conservatives are nervous that either of those two are anywhere near the planning process for a second Trump administration. Trump and Republicans have been “rightfully critiquing the Harris campaign for being a ‘vibes campaign’ that doesn’t take policy very seriously,” said TIM CHAPMAN, who heads Advancing American Freedom, the group founded by former Trump VP MIKE PENCE. “Then we come back and we look at what's going on on our side.” “Is RFK going to have a role in staffing at the EPA?” Chapman continued. “Health and Human Services? Is he going to maybe lead one of those agencies? The CIA? … I would not be comfortable with either of them leading any agency.” Hughes said last night that Kennedy and Gabbard “are welcome additions to our campaign and the transition. They will play a meaningful role in both.” Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Evernorth Health Services:   | | | DEPT. OF COMMON GROUND — “One place Trump and Harris supporters agree: America might not be fixable,” by WaPo’s Philip Bump: “Both Harris and Trump supporters have about the same, pessimistic assessment of America’s ability to solve its intractable problems. Both on the left and right, most supporters of the major-party candidates think that America’s problems are unfixable. That presumably includes the rampant partisanship robustly demonstrated elsewhere in Pew’s analysis.” THE LONG ARM OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE — “Probe of high-profile ‘swatting’ incidents leads to men in Serbia, Romania,” by WaPo’s Tom Jackman: “The men obtained the private addresses of 101 victims, calling or texting fake threats to police or crisis hotlines for not only members of Congress but also houses of worship, the U.S. Capitol, state legislators and members of law enforcement, a state governor and a federal district judge, prosecutors said.”
| | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | | On the Hill The Senate and the House are out. What we’re watching … By this time next week, the dance of the continuing resolution will be well underway on Capitol Hill, and this morning, Jordain Carney, Nicholas Wu and Jennifer Scholtes walk through the steps to watch: Speaker MIKE JOHNSON is under pressure from conservatives to quickly pass a long-term spending stopgap with legislation cracking down on noncitizen voting (aka the SAVE Act) attached. That will be a no-go for the Democratic Senate and White House, so the question is just how confrontational House Republicans want to get right now. It’s the latest chapter in the spending struggles that ultimately ended KEVIN McCARTHY’s speakership, and “while this fight seems tame in comparison, it risks making the GOP look dysfunctional with less than two months until the election,” they write. At the White House Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief. On the trail Harris will continue her Georgia bus tour, and she and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will tape their CNN interview at 1:45 p.m.. Then he’ll head to Raleigh, North Carolina, for a political event and campaign reception. Harris will hold a rally in Savannah in the late afternoon, before returning to Washington. Trump will speak about the economy in Potterville, Michigan, at 3:30 p.m., and then head to La Crosse, Wisconsin, for a town hall moderated by TULSI GABBARD at 7 p.m. Eastern. Sen. JD VANCE (R-Ohio) will address the International Association of Firefighters in Boston, as Walz did yesterday.
| | | | CHECK OUT WHAT YOU MISSED IN CHICAGO!
On Thursday, POLITICO and Bayer convened four conversations at the CNN-POLITICO Grill at the DNC. The program featured Bayer’s Senior Vice President, Head of Crop Science and Sustainability Communications, Jessica Christiansen, as well as conversations with Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) about agriculture, food policy and how these issues will impact the November election. CATCH UP HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | TRUMP CARDS
|  Multiple probes into the deadly shooting that nearly killed Donald Trump are ramping up. | Nic Antaya/Getty Images | ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT FALLOUT — Multiple probes into the deadly shooting that nearly killed Trump are accelerating. But notably, the FBI still hasn’t established a clear motive for THOMAS CROOKS’ rampage in Butler, Pennsylvania, officials told reporters yesterday, per Betsy Woodruff Swan. Rather, law enforcement sees him as not particularly ideological; not linked to any other planners or foreign entities; and having perhaps considered a wide range of shooting targets. His online history included many searches for Trump’s and Biden’s schedules, as well as both parties’ conventions, and he looked for information about making a bomb as early as five years ago. The FBI also shared photos of his gun, backpack and more, per CNN. The congressional investigation led by Reps. MIKE KELLY (R-Pa.) and JASON CROW (D-Colo.) heated up yesterday with a panoply of requests for federal, state and local information and interviews, Jordain Carney scooped. They’re particularly focused on the security failures that paved the way for the shooting. TO TELL THE TRUTH SOCIAL — On his social media platform yesterday, Trump reposted comments and images that called for special counsel JACK SMITH and the House Jan. 6 committee members to tried or imprisoned; referenced QAnon; and suggested that Harris owed her political career to performing sexual favors, AP’s Michelle Price reports. ALL POLITICS BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — There are signs that swing-district races in blue states, especially New York and California, may once again be difficult terrain for Democrats to win, NYT’s Nicholas Fandos and Catie Edmondson report. The likes of Reps. MIKE GARCIA (R-Calif.), DAVID VALADAO (R-Calif.) and especially MIKE LAWLER (R-N.Y.) are looking resilient. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — democracyFIRST is putting $10 million into a nonpartisan ad campaign that warns Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin voters about creeping authoritarianism and politicians who try to undermine democracy. It particularly emphasizes the threat of public figures who target election administration and certification. Their goals include building a bipartisan coalition of members of Congress who have pledged to certify the election. DEMS’ BEST POLL OF THE DAY — In Florida, Democrat WHITNEY FOX is up by 4 points over GOP Rep. ANNA PAULINA LUNA in a new St. Pete Polls survey, Florida Politics’ Jacob Ogles reports. This is a seat that has been considered a reach for Democrats. 2024 WATCH
|  The scuffle over the Trump campaign’s decision to film footage for a TikTok at Arlington Cemetery continues. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo | MORE TRUMP TROOPS TROUBLE — The Trump campaign brouhaha at Arlington National Cemetery isn’t going away yet. The scuffle over his campaign’s decision to film footage for a TikTok video at Section 60, which has the graves of recently deceased veterans, has drawn the Pentagon into a situation they tried to avoid by setting out clear rules, WaPo’s Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey and Dan Lamothe report. Instead, the Trump campaign’s video ended up amounting to “a flagrant violation of the law,” after they were explicitly warned not to do so, defense officials tell the Post. The cemetery employee who tried to stop them — and was pushed by a campaign aide, she says — has declined to file charges out of fear of retaliation, NYT’s Chris Cameron, Maggie Haberman and Eric Schmitt report. The Trump campaign still hasn’t released any evidence to back up its allegation that she was at fault. The family of one deceased Green Beret, whose gravesite was filmed, raised concerns about the Trump team’s actions to the Times: “We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that these were real people who sacrificed for our freedom.” More top reads:
- Survey says: A new set of Fox News polls finds the presidential race essentially tied across the Sun Belt swing states. Harris leads by 2 in Georgia and Nevada and by 1 in Arizona, while Trump is up 1 in North Carolina. Down ballot, Democrats have some astonishing advantages: Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO is up by 15 in the Arizona Senate race, Nevada Sen. JACKY ROSEN has 14-point advantage for reelection, and JOSH STEIN leads by 11 for the North Carolina governor’s mansion.
- The right eats its own tail: Prominent anti-abortion advocate LILA ROSE tells Ian Ward that she won’t vote for Trump, and she’ll urge others to do the same, until he commits to the movement’s priorities.
- Notable quotable: Vance tells NBC’s Henry Gomez, Alec Hernández and Jillian Frankel that he doesn’t mind Trump’s position that abortion law should be left to the states. Citing his experience campaigning against an abortion rights referendum in Ohio, Vance says, “We got our asses handed to us. And so I think all of us who are pro-life have to kind of step back and say, ‘How can we better make a case to the American people here?’”
- Midnight train from Georgia: In the past few years, Bishop REGINALD JACKSON played a big part in mobilizing religious Black voters to turn out for Democrats in Georgia. But now his rotation is taking him out of the state before the election, which “creates a critical leadership void in the organizing infrastructure that Democrats are relying on,” NYT’s Maya King and Nick Corasaniti report.
| | | VALLEY TALK MUSK READ — GOP operative CHRIS YOUNG, who was most recently at PhRMA, has come aboard ELON MUSK’s team to help lead his political work, NYT’s Teddy Schleifer reports. His hiring indicates that Musk could be getting more serious about making a real impact on behalf of Trump and other Republicans in the election, especially with turnout operations. YOWZA — Trump’s new coffee table book, “Save America,” threatens that MARK ZUCKERBERG will “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he works against Trump in the election, Alex Isenstadt reports. JUDICIARY SQUARE SCOTUS WATCH — “Supreme Court won’t reinstate Biden administration’s latest student loan forgiveness plan for now,” by CBS’ Melissa Quinn: “The justices turned down a request from the Justice Department to lift a sweeping appeals court order that blocked the program, known as the SAVE plan.” POLICY CORNER
|  The Biden administration’s program offering homeowners tax credits for energy efficiency is disproportionately benefiting the wealthy. | Michael Conroy, File/AP Photo | THE RICH GET RICHER — The Biden administration’s huge project to offer homeowners tax credits for energy efficiency is disproportionately benefiting the wealthy, POLITICO’s E&E News’ Thomas Frank reveals in a new analysis. The incentives, bolstered by the Inflation Reduction Act, have accrued to the richest quarter of households to the tune of $5.5 billion. For the poorest quarter, that number is just $32 million. The disparity worries some experts, who warn that rich homeowners are getting aid they don’t need for solar panels and the like. And it could make the credits more politically vulnerable, too. “The federal government has two comparable federal programs aimed at helping lower-income households,” Thomas notes. “But neither program comes close to the largesse of the energy tax credits.” And some economists think a carbon tax would be “more effective and equitable” than these subsidies. Of course, in the long term, speeding the clean energy transition could benefit low-income Americans, who are likeliest to suffer from the effects of climate change. GOING HUNGRY — “USDA chief admits ‘mistakes’ as food shortages hit tribal populations, low-income seniors,” by Meredith Lee Hill and Marcia Brown AMERICA AND THE WORLD HE SAID, XI SAID — U.S. officials said Biden and Chinese President XI JINPING are due for one last call in the next several weeks before Biden leaves office, Phelim Kine reports. National security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN, who’s in China now, helped set the plans. Sullivan also met with a leading Chinese general, the first time a U.S. official has done so in eight years, per Bloomberg’s Jenny Leonard and Josh Xiao. FASCINATING HARRIS STORY — “Inside the White House Effort to Prevent a Coup in Guatemala,” by Foreign Policy’s Robbie Gramer: “Kamala Harris’s team helped deliver an overlooked foreign-policy win.” WOW — CIA Deputy Director DAVID COHEN said the agency was partially to credit for stopping a terrorist attack at a TAYLOR SWIFT concert in Vienna, as the U.S. shared spy intelligence to save hundreds of lives. More from Bloomberg CONGRESS ANNALS OF ‘WEAPONIZATION’ — “GOP Rep. Jim Jordan subpoenas company connected to daughter of judge in Trump hush money trial,” by CNN’s Annie Grayer
| | | | DON’T MISS OUR AI & TECH SUMMIT: Join POLITICO’s AI & Tech Summit for exclusive interviews and conversations with senior tech leaders, lawmakers, officials and stakeholders about where the rising energy around global competition — and the sense of potential around AI and restoring American tech knowhow — is driving tech policy and investment. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Sarah Palin isn’t done giving the NYT trouble. Felicia Sonmez isn’t done giving WaPo trouble. Dave McCormick mixed up his Philadelphias. Chris Christie will teach Yalies how to run a campaign. Barack Obama marked the 10th anniversary of the Tan Suit. SPOTTED last night at a 16th Street Heights house party: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) playing harmonica and singing about democracy with former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson, who wondered aloud whether America might get another VP from Minneapolis (h/t Andrew Beaujon). Pic by Robert Salsbury WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Erin Heeter is now an assistant press secretary and director for strategic comms at the NSC. She previously was deputy press secretary for DHS. WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Ali Nouri is joining Princeton as a lecturer of public and international affairs. He most recently was a deputy assistant to the president and a deputy director in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. TRANSITIONS — Brenda Abdelall has joined the Harris campaign to head Arab American voter outreach, per Reuters’ Andrea Shalal. She most recently was senior counselor to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. … Blake Nolan is now deputy chief of staff for Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.). He previously was tax counsel for Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) and is a Mike Ezell alum. … … Bob Torongo is now a principal at Benenson Strategy Group, leading its D.C. public affairs team. He most recently was an SVP at Ipsos Public Affairs. … Addy Allegretti is joining the America First Policy Institute’s transition team as a project manager. She previously was legislative director for Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio). WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Nick Solheim, co-founder and COO of American Moment, and Evie Solheim, a homemaker and Fox News alum, welcomed Nicholas Sawyer Solheim Jr., who will be known as “Sawyer,” on Aug. 17. He came in at 8 lbs, 8 oz, and joins big sister Margot. Pic … Another pic — Sara Pearl Kenigsberg, supervising producer at Democratic media company Hardpin, and Jonah Goldman, co-founder and director of marketing at PLNT Burger, welcomed Rose Merle Goldman on Aug. 21. Pic … Another pic — Kate deGruyter, senior director of comms at Third Way, and John deGruyter welcomed Henry Timothy on Aug. 20. He’s named after her dad, and joins big brother Isaac. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Justice Neil Gorsuch … Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.) … OMB Director Shalanda Young … U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew … U.S. Ambassador to Malta Constance Milstein … Nancy Scola … WSJ’s Paul Beckett … Clayton Cox of McGuireWoods Consulting … Garrett Arwa of Bryson Gillette … Lacy Nelson of Sen. Angus King’s (I-Maine) office… Alison Schwartz of Grow Strategic Solutions … Texas Tribune’s Sewell Chan … FGS Global’s Kyle Daly … Charlie Spies … Stacey Hughes of the American Hospital Association … IBM’s Ryan Hagemann … Matt Brush of Rep. Nikki Budzinski’s (D-Ill.) office … Ed Wyatt … PhRMA’s Tom Wilbur … Jerr Rosenbaum of HLP&R Advocacy … FTI Consulting’s Brian Kennedy … Duncan Neasham … Maurice Simpson Jr. … Nestle’s Molly Fogarty … Paul Coussan … Susan Markham … Paige Ennis … former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin … POLITICO’s Mandeep Kaur, Morgan Connolly and Noura Arzaz … Accenture’s Maddie Bedrick … Rich Cooper … former Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) … National Nurses United’s Amirah Sequeira … Sacha Zimmerman … Fannie Mae’s Anna English … Adam Shapiro … former Guam Gov. Eddie Baza Calvo … Wesley Dietrich … Uliana Pavlova … Connie Milstein … The Boston Globe’s Cristina Silva … Lauren Moore … Elliot Carter of the National Trust for Historic Preservation … PhRMA’s Cat Hill 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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