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DRIVING THE DAY
LATEST IN GAZA — “Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital Crippled as Power Runs Out and Israeli Forces Move Closer,” by WSJ’s Omar Abdel-Baqui, David S. Cloud, Chao Deng and Margherita Stancati: “Hospital officials said doctors were using scant remaining medical supplies to treat wounded people as the battle in the area intensified, the hospital largely operated without electricity and water ran desperately low. … The Israeli military contends that under the hospital complex is a Hamas command center with underground bunkers, a claim Hamas has denied.”
MR. TRANSPARENCY — “‘Travesty in darkness’: Trump backs drive to televise his D.C. election subversion trial,” by Josh Gerstein: “‘The prosecution wishes to continue this travesty in darkness. President [DONALD] TRUMP calls for sunlight,’ defense attorneys JOHN LAURO and TODD BLANCHE wrote. ‘Every person in America, and beyond, should have the opportunity to study this case firsthand and watch as, if there is a trial, President Trump exonerates himself of these baseless and politically motivated charges.’
“The five-page submission to U.S. District Court Judge TANYA CHUTKAN makes no mention of a federal court rule that has been in place for decades prohibiting broadcasting of criminal court proceedings.”
WHITE HOUSE PREPS WHILE WASHINGTON WAITS — Washington this morning is waiting for Speaker MIKE JOHNSON to release his plan to keep the government funded past Friday. We expect details later this afternoon when the speaker briefs House Republicans in a 3 p.m. call. Follow POLITICO for the latest
Given the timetable (less than a week), Johnson’s experience dealing with shutdown politics (near zero), and the level of disarray in the GOP conference (high), the chances of a shutdown are growing.
Sources on the Hill and at the White House said they are adjusting travel plans accordingly and preparing to spend the holiday in D.C. (For those sticking around, Stachowski’s does a nice Thanksgiving turkey.)
A last-minute short-term clean CR is always possible, but over at the White House they are not holding their breath.
Aides are betting on Johnson not being able to figure this out and are preparing along two tracks.
— First is the potential shutdown. Nobody is rooting for a shutdown, but it isn’t lost on Democrats that the recent political history of these funding standoffs is that they usually redound to the benefit of one party— and it isn’t the GOP.
BILL CLINTON’s comeback and road to reelection after the Republican revolution of 1994 started with the 1995-1996 shutdown. BARACK OBAMA was safely past reelection when he faced off with House Republicans over defunding Obamacare in 2013, but he was generally considered the political victor after a 16-day shutdown. In 2018-2019, DONALD TRUMP precipitated a shutdown with a Republican Congress over funding for a border wall. It ended after 35 days when Democrats, who had won the House in the midterms, took over. The public blamed Trump for the shutdown and his approval rating took a nosedive.
It goes without saying that given Biden’s approval rating right now, he is on the hunt for moments when he can be compared to the alternative rather than the almighty, and a shutdown could certainly do the trick.
The White House is prepping surrogates already, according to talking points distributed to allies and that were obtained by Playbook: “The clock is ticking. We are just X days from an Extreme Republican Shutdown that would: Force servicemembers and law enforcement officers to work without pay. Risk significant delays for travelers. Undermine public health. Cut off funding for small businesses.”
— And then there’s the supplemental. If a shutdown doesn’t materialize, or if it does and gets resolved quickly, the fight over Biden’s $106 billion national security funding request would return to the center of White House-Congress negotiations. And Johnson can expect to face a new foreign policy buzzsaw when it comes to aid to Ukraine.
Democrats are planning a pile-on focusing on Iran, one the White House has signaled in recent weeks.
There was a reference, for instance, buried in the Biden veto threat of Johnson’s Israel supplemental: “There is strong bipartisan agreement that it is in our direct national security interest to help Ukraine defend its freedom and its sovereignty, and protect its people against the appalling crimes being committed by Russian forces against thousands of innocent civilians — and against Russia’s attacks against the Ukrainian people with Iranian weapons.”
But expect to hear a lot more in the coming days and weeks about how opposition to Ukraine is tantamount to being soft on Iran, which the WaPo recently reported is helping Russia build thousands of attack drones for the war in Ukraine and is a country that President VLADIMIR PUTIN recently said Russia has “very good relations with” and that “we will enhance them in every possible way.”
Related read: “Mitch McConnell, standing apart in a changing GOP, digs in on his decades-long push against Russia,” by AP’s Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro: “‘Honestly, I think RONALD REAGAN would turn over in his grave if he saw we were not going to help Ukraine,’ [Senate Minority Leader MITCH [McCONNELL] said in an interview with The Associated Press this week.”
Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line and tell us how you are observing Veterans Day: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
FROM ‘UNHINGED’ TO ‘GRITTY’ — “Ramaswamy ditching Ohio headquarters, sending staff to Iowa and N.H.,” by Adam Wren: “In an interview with POLITICO ahead of the meeting, [VIVEK] RAMASWAMY senior adviser TRICIA McLAUGHLIN described the decision for a ‘bifurcated headquarters’ as a ‘gritty move that will only carry that momentum through to the caucuses and first primary.’”
WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY
At the White House
Biden and first lady JILL BIDEN will host veterans and members of the military community at the White House this morning. Later, the Bidens will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and Biden will deliver Veterans Day remarks where VP KAMALA HARRIS and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will attend. Later, the Bidens will depart for Newcastle, Del.
PLAYBOOK READS
9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US
1. INSIDE TRUMP’S 2025 PLAYBOOK: Trump is planning an “extreme expansion of his first-term crackdown on immigration” should he return to the White House, NYT’s Charlie Savage, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan report, “including preparing to round up undocumented people already in the United States on a vast scale and detain them in sprawling camps while they wait to be expelled …
“Mr. Trump wants to revive his first-term border policies, including banning entry by people from certain Muslim-majority nations and reimposing a Covid 19-era policy of refusing asylum claims — though this time he would base that refusal on assertions that migrants carry other infectious diseases like tuberculosis. He plans to scour the country for unauthorized immigrants and deport people by the millions per year.”
The piece, the latest in a series from the Times looking at a potential Trump second term, notes that the plan “amounts to an assault on immigration on a scale unseen in modern American history,” as “[m]illions of undocumented immigrants would be barred from the country or uprooted from it years or even decades after settling here” and that these “mass deportations would be a recipe for social and economic turmoil, disrupting the housing market and major industries including agriculture and the service sector.”
Lest you think the Times is being alarmist, the piece is based on on-the-record interviews, including a “wide-ranging” one with Stepehen Miller, “who remains close to [Trump] and is expected to serve in a senior role in a second administration” and has this to say:
“Mass deportation will be a labor-market disruption celebrated by American workers.”
2. POWER PLAY: Our colleague Steve Shepard takes stock of the balance of power in the redistricting races that will tip the scales ahead of next year’s election: “A Wednesday hearing will air arguments over whether New York should be allowed to redraw its congressional map — a process that could lead to Democrats aggressively gerrymandering it to seize enough seats to tip the balance of power.
“It’s by far the biggest outstanding question about control of the chamber after next year’s election. A green light would further inflame the escalating legal and political war playing out over the last two years over the country’s congressional maps, empowered by court decisions removing the judiciary’s role in policing gerrymandering.”
3. TALK TO THE HAND: Before Sen. JOE MANCHIN announced his Senate retirement earlier this week, top White House aides made a last-ditch effort to convince him to run again, Holly Otterbein and Jonathan Lemire report, including senior counselor STEVE RICCHETTI: “Their pitch to Manchin was that, while a reelection bid in a deep-red state would be difficult, he had a path to victory. They failed to convince him to run.” Now they are dealing with the possibility that Manchin might launch a third-party presidential run on the No Labels ticket, but “aren’t panicking” about it, they write: “There is a prevailing sentiment that while Manchin may be fond of the spotlight, he would not risk something that could tarnish his legacy, such as helping Trump return to office.”
4. FOR YOUR RADAR: Sens. JACKY ROSEN (D-Nev.) and MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.) will be holding a screening for their Senate colleagues on Thursday “of footage of Hamas’ attack on Israel,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod scoops. “The 47-minute video compiled by the Israeli government has been shown to select groups of journalists, diplomats, lawmakers and others in recent weeks. It includes, according to those who have seen it, graphic footage of a series of Hamas atrocities from Oct. 7, some of it compiled from body camera footage taken by the Hamas attackers themselves.”
5. LOWCOUNTRY OVER PARTY: Rep. NANCY MACE’s (R-S.C.) standing within the Republican Party as she increasingly stakes out positions at odds with the rest of her GOP colleagues is sinking her status among her colleagues, WaPo’s Jacqueline Alemany writes in a profile of the polarizing pol.
“Mace’s highly publicized flip-flops have given way to a reputation of an apostate more than a maverick, with no clear political identity or ideology, according to more than 30 lawmakers, staffers and operatives who work in South Carolina and on Capitol Hill. ‘Unserious people get found out here very quickly,’ one GOP lawmaker said. ‘She’s an unserious person.’”
What Mace says: “Mace, 45, sat for an extensive interview with The Washington Post earlier this year where she discussed her life in Congress, cautioned her party against taking extreme positions on abortion and expressed overall disappointment with the direction of Republican and Democratic leadership heading into 2024.
“‘It’s important to have women that are strong and don’t put up with the bulls—,’ Mace said this spring about the treatment she’s received from some of her colleagues. ‘If you’re going to treat me in a certain way, then I’m going to punch you in the face. I’ll punch you right back. It’s not okay.’”
6. BATTLE OF THE BRONX: Democratic New York Reps. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ and RITCHIE TORRES have positioned themselves on increasingly opposite sides of the debate over the Israel-Hamas conflict, with AOC urging a ceasefire and Torres taking a pro-Israel stance. The widening chasm could have lasting implications for the future of their party, NYT’s Nicholas Fandos writes. “It is a struggle not so much over traditional levers of power in Washington, but over who will shape the minds of a younger, diverse generation of voters that will soon steer the relationship to one of America’s closest allies. And it could have a profound impact on the two politicians’ trajectories.”
Meanwhile, Rep. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-N.Y.), another member of The Squad, is facing down the threat of a primary challenge over his support for Palestine. “In an interview, Bowman said a primary challenge was part of the process,” WSJ’s Jimmy Vielkind writes. “He said he supports Israel’s right to exist, ‘but I also support a Palestinian state — in a real way, not in a lip-service way. Not in a mythological way and not in a way that also simultaneously undermines a Palestinian state which is what’s been happening over several decades.’”
7. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: As Biden and Chinese President XI JINPING are set for a high-stakes and closely watched meeting this week, there is no room for error in the details — and it’s showing in the preparation, AP’s Will Weissert and Didi Tang write. “How they greet? If they eat? Where they sit? Will there be flowers? Bottled water or in a glass? ‘Pretty intense,’ senior administration officials say of navigating delicate protocols.
“Any encounter involving the president and a foreign leader means managing tricky logistics, political and cultural, and every occurrence or utterance can potentially jolt the world order. But few nations are more attuned to etiquette than the Chinese, and the often-conflicting interests between Washington and Beijing might mean the seemingly trivial becomes meaningful.”
8. ABORTION ON THE BALLOT: After yet another win for abortion-rights supporters in Ohio this week, activists are already looking forward to their next opportunity to enshrine abortion protections among the states. Top of the list: Florida. “Like in Ohio, Florida’s government is controlled by Republicans. Also like Ohio, Florida has put in place a six-week abortion ban, with its enactment pending approval by the state’s Supreme Court,” NYT’s Patricia Mazzei writes from Miami. “The parallels between the two states give Florida organizers hope for success, despite steep obstacles that include a court review of the proposed ballot measure and a costly petition-gathering process.”
9. BEHIND THE SCENES: “Meet Washington’s shadow diplomat. Spoiler … it’s NASA,” by Matt Berg: “NASA plays an unusual and often overlooked role in America’s global outreach. It’s influential but not explicitly aligned with the Pentagon, State Department or other makers of Washington’s foreign policy. And its ability to push the executive branch’s international objectives through other channels is a formidable tool in diplomacy efforts. Some of its latest wins: a rare data-sharing deal with Saudi Arabia and a satellite agreement with Brazil that could tilt the country further away from China’s orbit.”
CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 15 funnies
GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza:
— “The librarian who couldn’t take it anymore,” by WaPo’s Ruby Cramer: “She loved books. And in a time of spreading book bans in public schools, that’s why this Florida librarian had to quit.”
— “Hunted by Hamas: 27 hours of slaughter and survival inside Israel’s Kibbutz Be’eri,” by Reuters’ Stephen Grey, Maayan Lubell and Ryan McNeill: “Reuters reconstructs the life-and-death struggle at Kibbutz Be’eri, a main target in the Hamas assault that has set off a major war.”
— “The George Soros Partner Who Disrupted Right-Wing Publishing,” by Tablet’s Armin Rosen: “All Seasons Press, founded by billionaire investor Scott Bessent, has a funny habit of signing big-name MAGA authors to book contracts, then suing them.”
— “The Secrets of the JFK Assassination Archive,” by Scott Sayare in N.Y. Mag: “How a dogged journalist proved that the CIA lied about Oswald and Cuba — and spent decades covering it up.”
— “Peter Thiel Is Taking A Break From Democracy,” by The Atlantic’s Barton Gellman: “It’s one of his many, many disappointments.”
— “The Great Cajun Turtle Heist,” by Texas Monthly’s Sonia Smith: “Alligator snapping turtle populations in Texas were dwindling. One family of smugglers had been poaching them from the state for years.”
— “What Does the U.S. Space Force Actually Do?” by Jon Gertner for NYT Magazine: “Inside the highly secretive military branch responsible for protecting American interests in a vulnerable new domain.”
— “Bonefishing Off Bimini With Bobby Knight,” by GQ’s Kevin Koenig: “In 2015, I spent an intense, hilarious, and occasionally challenging week in the Bahamas with the legendary Hoosiers basketball coach, who more than lived up to his reputation.”
— “Grammar Changes How We See, an Australian Language Shows,” by the Scientific American’s Christine Kenneally: “An Aboriginal language provides unexpected insight into how language influences perception.”
PLAYBOOKERS
Jaime Harrison had some serious trouble with his dishwasher.
Brian Stelter last night made his first appearance on CNN since “Reliable Sources” ended.
IN MEMORIAM — “Roland Lajoie, Army general who helped manage Cold War tensions, dies at 87,” by WaPo’s William Branigin: Roland Lajoie “became one of the Army’s leading experts on the Soviet military, managed dangerous Cold War tensions between the two countries and implemented a historic program to destroy thousands of Soviet nuclear weapons after the breakup of the U.S.S.R. Gen. Lajoie died Oct. 28 in Manchester, N.H., of complications from heart surgery, said his daughter, Renee Lajoie Newell. He was 87.”
OUT AND ABOUT — Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama made a surprise visit at the D.C. special screening of “Rustin” hosted by the Obama’s production company Higher Ground and Netflix in partnership with HBCU First Look Film Festival last night at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. SPOTTED: Colman Domingo, George C. Wolfe, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Lonnie G. Bunch III, Susan Rice, Karine Jean-Pierre, Tom Nides, Vinay Reddy, Tonia Davis, Bruce Cohen, Eric Schultz, Jonathan Capehart, Hannah Hankins, Crystal Carson, Gia Peppers, Vinnie Malhotra, Mark Wright, Vinoda Basnayake, Nikki Braden, Virginia Moseley, Kyle Lierman, Shin Inoyue and Vann Newkirk. Pic … Another pic
— SPOTTED IN GERMANY: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) giving laudatory remarks for NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who received the Henry A. Kissinger Prize awarded by the American Academy in Berlin last night. Also in attendance: U.S. Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
— SPOTTED last night at Howard Fineman’s 75th birthday party at his and wife Amy Nathan’s house in Washington: Meredith Fineman, Nick Fineman and Summer Delaney, Al Franken, Chris and Kathleen Matthews, Mark Whitaker, Amy Dudley and Kip Wainscott, Sam Stein, David Corn, John and April Delaney, Mignon Clyburn, Mike Isikoff and Mary Ann Akers, Margaret Carlson and Lauren Weber.
— SPOTTED on Thursday night at the opening of Cuyana at Nordstrom in Tysons Corner with a conversation between Symone Sanders–Townsend & Cuyana co-founder Shilpa Shah: Opal Vadhan, Maude Okrah, Jess Morales Rocketto, Rohini Kosoglu, Alicia Leahy, Sarah Mucha, Chesley McCarty, Dunnie Onasanya, Shelly Kapoor Collins and Farah Pandith.
WEDDING — Katie Mitchell, partner and COO of Narrative Strategies, and Nick Williams, VP of technology and product development at X-COR Therapeutics, got married on Nov. 4 at Gravitas in D.C. The couple met through mutual friends at a beach weekend in the Outer Banks. Pic … Another pic
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Derek Lyons, president and CEO of Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections and a former Trump White House official, and Liz Lyons, comms director for the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and a former Trump White House official, on Nov. 2 welcomed Brigid Catherine Lyons. Pic … Another pic
— Kayla Tausche, a senior White House correspondent for CNN, and Jeff Izant welcomed Margaret “Maisie” McCall Izant on Wednesday. She came in at 7 lbs., 3 oz. and 20 inches and joins big sisters Grace and Catherine. More from People
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) (5-0), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) and Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) … Alec MacGillis … HHS’ Sarah Esty … POLITICO’s Matt Kaminski, John Hendel and Katie Millette … Norm Eisen of Brookings … Edgar Estrada … David Leiter of Plurus Strategies … Taylor Holgate … NYT’s Ruth Igielnik … Robert Raben of the Raben Group (6-0) … Elisabeth Conklin of the House Small Business Committee … Daniel Huey of Something Else Strategies … former Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) … Jen Brown of Targeted Victory … Jessica Jennings … Linda Rozett … former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) … Rebecca Sharer of Sunshine Sachs … BCW Global’s Jenna Sauber … New Height Communications’ Aurora Matthews … Austin Welch of DCI Group … Andrew Barnhill
THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here):
FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) … Nikki Haley … Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog. Panel: Francesca Chambers, Rich Lowry, Mario Parker and Kevin Walling.
CNN “State of the Union”: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu … national security adviser Jake Sullivan … Ronna McDaniel … David Axelrod and Larry Hogan.
CNN “Inside Politics Sunday”: Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Panel: Amy Walter, Jeff Zeleny, Tamara Keith and Marianna Sotomayor.
NBC “Meet the Press”: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu … Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) … Ronna McDaniel. Panel: Jeh Johnson, Carol Lee and Marc Short.
CBS “Face the Nation”: national security adviser Jake Sullivan … Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) … Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) … Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) … Alina Habba … Miranda Devine.
MSNBC “Inside with Jen Psaki”: Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) … Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
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