| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | |  Rep. George Santos’ (R-N.Y.) expulsion from Congress has the votes to pass. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | HILLS TO DIE ON — Two of the year’s longest-running congressional dramas are about to reach their season finales. Rep. GEORGE SANTOS’ (R-N.Y.) expulsion from Congress has the votes to pass, Olivia Beavers and Jordain Carney reveal from an internal POLITICO whip count. They find that more than 75 House Republicans intend to vote to expel Santos for his alleged financial crimes and serial lies, and a dozen more are leaning in that direction. Assuming that all Democrats vote for expulsion, Santos will be out of the House this week once it comes up for a vote. Santos’ opponents need to muster two-thirds of the chamber to oust him. Don’t expect the resolution from Rep. ROBERT GARCIA (D-Calif.) to be the vehicle: Republicans are likelier to support Rep. MICHAEL GUEST’s (R-Miss.) expulsion push. Santos is holding a press conference tomorrow morning; vote timing is up in the air, though Punchbowl reports that it could be Friday. Never before has a House member been booted without a criminal conviction or Confederate membership during the Civil War, and many House Republicans say it’s bad precedent to kick Santos out until he has his day in court. (He’d also be the first Republican ever expelled.) Speaker MIKE JOHNSON told reporters today that he has “real reservations” about the prospect, without saying how he’d vote or whether he’d vote at all (the speaker usually doesn’t). But leadership isn’t whipping the vote, and in the 118th Congress, the exhaustive House Ethics Committee report appears to have been enough for most members. Across the Capitol, Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-Ala.) indicated to Burgess Everett that the end of his mass blockade of Pentagon nominations will come “soon, but not today.” Tuberville is negotiating with members of the Armed Services Committee and expects to reach some accommodation before the holiday break. The exact mechanism to clear the blockade isn’t clear yet, but he doesn’t embrace one, Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER appears to have the 60 votes for a resolution from Sens. JACK REED (D-R.I.) and KYRSTEN SINEMA (I-Ariz.) to get around Tuberville. MIDDLE EAST FALLOUT — In a major speech today, Schumer denounced rising antisemitism, which he framed as a dangerous scourge through the lens of history. Drawing from his own family’s tragic experience in the Holocaust, Schumer lamented the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, excoriated a “double standard” for Israel and Jews, and criticized leaders who don’t condemn chants like “From the river to the sea.” “The normalization and exacerbation of this rise in hate is the danger many Jewish people fear most,” Schumer said, adding that it was especially painful coming from “people that most liberal Jewish Americans felt previously were their ideological fellow travelers.” Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL praised it as an “extraordinary” speech. More from Jewish Insider On the ground in Israel and Gaza, the latest batch of Hamas hostage releases is expected to include an American today, CNN’s Alex Marquardt and Kaitlan Collins report. And though the truce in its current form is in its final day, Qatari mediators tell CNN that they’re “very optimistic” it will be extended again. That’s what Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN is working for as he heads to the Middle East for another visit, AP’s Matthew Lee reports. Blinken also wants to move toward longer-range discussions about who will lead Gaza after Hamas. On the Hill, discussions about attaching conditions to military aid for Israel have “gathered steam” among Senate Democrats, WSJ’s Paul Kiernan reports. That could be a new complication for efforts to pass the Biden administration’s supplemental funding request, including Israel assistance, as progressives want to make sure new U.S. supplies don’t fuel more aggressive tactics and more Palestinian deaths, NYT’s Karoun Demirjian notes. Related read: “Gaza war complicates U.S. efforts to normalize Arab relations with Israel,” by WaPo’s Susannah George in Manama, Bahrain Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Google: HomeTeam is an AI-powered training tool designed to help veterans navigate mental health conversations with their peers. Last year, Google.org gave a $1.5 million grant and deployed nine Google.org Fellows to support ReflexAI, a social enterprise that uses AI-powered tools to help emergency response, public safety, and healthcare organizations train counselors to better serve people in crisis. Together, they built HomeTeam. Learn more. | | | CONGRESS IMPEACHMENT IS COMING — House Majority Whip TOM EMMER (R-Minn.) told Republicans today that an official vote on the JOE BIDEN impeachment inquiry could come in the next few weeks, Olivia Beavers, Katherine Tully-McManus and Jordain Carney report. The Biden administration has resisted subpoenas because of the lack of formal authorization, which a vote would address, but it’s an open question whether Republicans have the votes to pass it. House Republicans also launched a website today that combines all their Biden impeachment info for Americans to see, Fox News’ Brooke Singman scooped. SUPPLEMENTAL LATEST — Rep. MIKE GARCIA (R-Calif.) in a new memo is suggesting that a much lower price tag for Ukraine aid — $15 billion to $20 billion instead of Biden’s $61 billion ask — might be able to win GOP support, Connor O’Brien reports. He says Republicans want to see an endgame for the war and force Europe to step in on humanitarian aid. Read it here … Meanwhile, the Biden administration is sending around a graphic that shows how much various states are benefiting economically from the effort to arm Ukraine, Lara Seligman reports. THE SECTION 702 FIGHT — A bipartisan letter from dozens of lawmakers today warns preemptively that a short-term reauthorization of the Section 702 surveillance authority should not be attached to the National Defense Authorization Act, Jordain Carney scooped. Reps. WARREN DAVIDSON (R-Ohio) and ZOE LOFGREN (D-Calif.) lead the effort. But linking 702 to the NDAA with a one- or two-month extension is indeed the plan, Jordain adds. HEADLINE OF THE DAY — “Baboons, self-owns and smut: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Facebook page is a hot mess,” by Raw Story’s Mark Alesia and Alexandria Jacobson FOR YOUR RADAR — Rep. LORI TRAHAN (D-Mass.) triumphed over Rep. JASON CROW (D-Colo.) to become a new House Dem Policy and Communications Committee co-chair, per Nick Wu. ALL POLITICS PRIMARY COLORS — New York Democrat LIZ WHITMER GEREGHTY dropped out of a Hudson Valley congressional race today, likely clearing the way for former Rep. MONDAIRE JONES to win the nomination to take on GOP Rep. MIKE LAWLER. Whitmer Gereghty said the party needed to prioritize unity to flip the seat. BATTLE FOR THE SENATE — Abortion rights could be key to the reelection campaigns of the most vulnerable Democratic senators, Ohio’s SHERROD BROWN and Montana’s JON TESTER, NYT’s Michael Bender and Anjali Huynh report. The issue has proven popular even in red states, but Brown’s and Tester’s usual MOs have been to localize, not nationalize, their races. Brown, for one, says he plans to talk about it more in the wake of his state’s referendum this month.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes. | | | | | THE ECONOMY 5% GROWTH — New revisions to Commerce Department data showed that GDP grew 5.2% annually in the third quarter, up from the initial 4.9% estimate, per Axios’ Courtenay Brown. It’s the latest sign of an economy that remains quite strong. REALITY CHECK — If the Fed pulls off a “soft landing” of lowering inflation without triggering recession, an “economic miracle” that now seems plausible, it may still do nothing to help Biden’s political fortunes, Sam Sutton reports. Voters’ perceptions of the economy remain poor, as people still struggle with high prices in particular. AMERICA AND THE WORLD WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE — U.S. prosecutors today unsealed their indictment against an Indian man accused of plotting to murder a Sikh activist in America, a major new sticking point in U.S.-India relations, WSJ’s Aruna Viswanatha reports. To make matters even more cinematic, NIKHIL GUPTA was arrested in June while Indian PM NARENDRA MODI was on a state visit in Washington. U.S. authorities allege that Gupta was recruited by an Indian government official. And in a sign of the Biden administration’s anger, CIA Director WILLIAM BURNS and DNI AVRIL HAINES separately traveled to India in recent months to demand answers and investigation, WaPo’s Ellen Nakashima, Gerry Shih and Amanda Coletta report. THE WAR ON TERROR — “Maps show U.S. counterterrorism efforts across globe, spanning 78 countries,” by USA Today’s Kim Hjelmgaard and Karina Zaiets: “The findings cover the first three years of the Biden administration.” WHAT JOE MANCHIN IS WATCHING — As the Biden administration works on rules for electric vehicle manufacturing, expected Friday, the question of how thoroughly to exclude China from supply chains looms large, NYT’s Ana Swanson and Jack Ewing report. How they define a “foreign entity of concern” will determine “whether electric vehicle makers seeking to benefit from [subsidies] will have the flexibility to get cheap components from China, or whether they will be required instead to buy more expensive products from U.S.-based firms.” Meanwhile, the U.S.-China fight over critical minerals for electric vehicles and semiconductors is ramping up: China is slapping new export restrictions on graphite, which “could strike at the heart of American efforts to create green jobs while weaning the country off fossil fuels,” WaPo’s Lily Kuo reports. 2024 WATCH MOOD MUSIC — From Keene, WaPo’s Kara Voght captures the scene from a Biden-less Democratic campaign trail in New Hampshire, where his party’s voters are dismayed and confused by their unceremonious decapitation from the front of the primary pack. Should they go for MARIANNE WILLIAMSON instead? Rep. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-Minn.)? The primary season now “about relevance, entitlement and the civic truisms people take for Granite.” BILLIONAIRE BLUES — Megadonor BILL ACKMAN wants Biden to step aside and is “impressed” by Phillips, Bloomberg’s Laura Davison reports. ON THE TRAIL — NIKKI HALEY’s rise in the polls is translating as “a palpable shift in energy” at her campaign events, where excitement and crowds are growing, NYT’s Jazmine Ulloa reports from South Carolina and New Hampshire.
| | | | GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | BEYOND THE BELTWAY THE BRAVE NEW WORLD — “Michigan to join state-level effort to regulate AI political ads as federal legislation is pending,” by AP’s Joey Cappelletti and Ali Swenson in Lansing IMMIGRATION FILES — “States thought fast work permits would solve their migrant problems. It hasn’t,” by Katelyn Cordero and Janaki Chadha in New York: “Governors and mayors said they need to put migrants to work so they can move them out of shelters. But they’re vexed by the lengthy process of securing work permits for asylum-seekers.” CALIFORNIA DREAMING — “Gavin Newsom has defended California’s homelessness crisis. Now he’s embracing controversial policy changes,” by Rachel Bluth in Sacramento: “California Democrats are remaking the state’s mental health care system.” JUDICIARY SQUARE WHERE THERE’S SMOKE, DON’T FIRE — Medical marijuana users can’t have or buy guns under federal law. But court challenges to that setup are growing around the country, and they could become the next significant expansion of Second Amendment rights, NYT’s Serge Kovaleski reports. “You are starting to see cracks in the dam,” one lawyer says. PLAYBOOKERS HAPPENING TODAY — Former first lady Rosalynn Carter is being laid to rest with a funeral in Plains, Georgia. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has live updates. OUT AND ABOUT — The Beer Institute and National Beer Wholesalers Association hosted a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition at Hawk ‘n’ Dove yesterday evening. SPOTTED: Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Ron Estes (R-Kan.), Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) and Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), Rodney Davis, Silvia Foster-Frau, Jackie Padilla, Timothy Nerozzi, Brian Crawford, Craig Purser, Susan Haney, Bill Young, Alex Davidson, Annie Lange, Jeff Guittard, Andrew Heritage, Paul Pisano, Laurie Knight, Andrew Reilly, Tom Hance, Jim McGreevy, Chris Swonger, Taylor Gross, Dan Keniry, Kevin Kincheloe, David Caruolo, Melissa Ameluxen, Nell Reilly, Richard Crawford, Liz Lopez and David Morgenstern. TRANSITION — Miranda Summers Lowe is now director for cyber and emerging technologies at the NSC. She most recently was legislative liaison for the National Guard Bureau. ENGAGED — Edward Stewart, senior manager for trade and economic policy at Autos Drive America, and Alyssa Marie Woods, senior associate for JV finance with Mill Creek Residential, got engaged Saturday while vacationing in Quebec City. They met while attending the University of South Carolina. 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, producer Andrew Howard and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Corrections: Yesterday’s Playbook PM misstated Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia’s home state. It is California. It also misstated Nikki Haley’s title. She is a former South Carolina governor.
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