Subject: POLITICO Playbook: Ryan, McConnell to the White House to talk gov’t funding with Trump
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
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Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2018 04:31:10 -0600
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Presented by BP: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day in Washington             Jul 25, 2018 View in browser                   
 By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman and Daniel Lippman 
             
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              DRIVING THE DAY                
ALERT ... THE PRESIDENT is meeting with SPEAKER PAUL RYAN and SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL this morning at 11:30 a.m. This meeting is about government funding, which runs dry at the end of September. We wrote about this tight timeline at the top of yesterday's Playbook. As we noted, Congress now has 13 legislative days -- including today -- to prevent a shutdown.
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ATTENTION L.A. READERS ... WE'RE COMING FOR YOU ... We are pumped to share that we'll be in Los Angeles AUG. 16 for a live interview with CALIFORNIA LT. GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM, the Democratic candidate for governor, and JIM BRULTE, the chairman of the California Republican Party. This event is part of our POLITICO-AARP Deciders series. California Playbook co-author Carla Marinucci -- one of the state's most wired political reporters -- will join us.

-- DOORS OPEN at the Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown at 8:30 a.m. RSVP now ... This event is sure to fill up very quickly. 

ANECDOTE OF THE DAY ... KATIE ROGERS and MAGGIE HABERMAN ... WHITE HOUSE MEMO on A13 of the NYT: "Spotting CNN on a TV Aboard Air Force One, Trump Rages Against Reality": "In the first couple's recent trip overseas, Melania Trump's television aboard Air Force One was tuned to CNN. President Trump was not pleased.
 
"He raged at his staff for violating a rule that the White House entourage should begin each trip tuned to Fox - his preferred network over what he considers the 'fake news' CNN - and caused 'a bit of a stir' aboard Air Force One, according to an email obtained by The New York Times. 

"The email, an internal exchange between officials in the White House Military Office and the White House Communications Agency last Thursday, also called for the ordering of two additional televisions to support Beam, a TiVo-like streaming device, to make sure the president and first lady could both watch TV in their separate hotel rooms when they travel. At the end of the email chain, officials confirmed that tuning the TVs to Fox would be standard operating procedure going forward.

"The channel-flipping flap was the latest example of how Mr. Trump, at a pivotal moment in his presidency, is increasingly living in a world of selected information and bending the truth to his own narrative. As his aides work to keep him insulated from the outside world, Mr. Trump is doubling down in his efforts to tell supporters to trust him over the words of critics and news reports." NYT 

-- @abbydphillip: "This from Trump today perfectly summarizes his message to voters: 'Just remember what you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening'".

THE TAPES ... "Tape appears to show Trump discussing payments involving ex-Playboy model," by Andrew Restuccia and Darren Samuelsohn: "Donald Trump appears to have been caught on tape during the presidential campaign discussing the logistics of making payments aimed at keeping quiet allegations from a former Playboy model that she had an affair with Trump, according to an audio tape released by an attorney representing Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer.

"The nearly three-minute audio recording was provided to CNN by Lanny Davis, a lawyer who is representing Cohen. The audio is choppy and difficult to hear at times, and several key sections are open to interpretation. ... If accurate, the audio confirms that Trump knew about the possibility of payments during the presidential campaign. Rudy Giuliani, the president's current lawyer, has denied that any payments were made from Trump.

"Later in the conversation, when Cohen mentions 'financing' and that he has to 'pay him something,' Trump, for a moment seems confused. 'Wait a sec, what financing?' Trump asks. 'Well, I'll have to pay him something,' Cohen responds. The president's next words are in dispute. It's unclear whether he says 'Pay with cash' or 'Don't pay with cash.'

"The president's legal team provided CNN and other news outlets, including POLITICO, with a transcript of the audio recording. According to that transcript, Trump said, 'Don't pay with cash,' later mentioning a 'check.' 'The transcript that we provided CNN accurately reflects the taped conversation,' Giuliani said in a statement. Trump's legal team declined further comment beyond the Giuliani statement. The White House did not respond to a request for comment." POLITICO ... Audio of the full recording

PREP FOR FOGGY BOTTOM ... SEC STATE MIKE POMPEO ON THE HILL TODAY ... ELANA SCHOR: "Senate eyes hitting Russia in slap to Trump": "Bipartisan momentum is building in the Senate to crack down on Russia, even as President Donald Trump prepares to bring Vladimir Putin to Washington.

"It's a remarkable split-screen moment, with lawmakers pressing not only for new penalties against the Kremlin but for Trump to use more of the sanctions power Congress overwhelmingly approved one year ago. The effort is still something of a long shot - Trump himself fumed over the sanctions measure he signed into law and might resist - but the possibility of a follow-up Russia sanctions package remains very much alive despite the intense partisan pressure ahead of November's midterms.

"That's largely because of Trump's jaw-dropping performance in Helsinki next to the Russian president, which will be a major focus of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday." POLITICO

Good Wednesday morning. The Washington Nationals lost again last night, and are now two games under .500. 

WHAT'S ON PRESIDENT TRUMP'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 9:05 p.m.: "'The Russia Hoax, The Illicit Scheme To Clear Hillary Clinton & Frame Donald Trump' is a Hot Seller, already Number One! More importantly, it is a great book that everyone is talking about. It covers the Rigged Witch Hunt brilliantly. Congratulations to Gregg Jarrett!" 

... at 8:39 p.m.: "So sad and unfair that the FCC wouldn't approve the Sinclair Broadcast merger with Tribune. This would have been a great and much needed Conservative voice for and of the People. Liberal Fake News NBC and Comcast gets approved, much bigger, but not Sinclair. Disgraceful!"

... at 8:08 p.m.: "The European Union is coming to Washington tomorrow to negotiate a deal on Trade. I have an idea for them. Both the U.S. and the E.U. drop all Tariffs, Barriers and Subsidies! That would finally be called Free Market and Fair Trade! Hope they do it, we are ready -- but they won't!"
       
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SPOTTED -- Ivanka Trump on an Acela yesterday -- Pic of Ivanka in the cafe car ... On the 7:50 a.m. Acela: Marc Short and Bill Kristol in the same car. ... 

... Guy Cecil talking to Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) at the Democratic Club Tuesday afternoon ... Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) at the Florida State Society's annual "Cheeseburger in Paradise" event at the Florida House on Capitol Hill ... Al Franken dining at the Israeli restaurant Sababa last night in Cleveland Park. The hostess told our tipster that "this is his third time to the new spot."

BIG NIGHT AT THE TRUMP HOTEL -- SPOTTED at JUDGE JEANINE PIRRO'S book signing last night at the Trump hotel for her new book "Liars, Leakers, and Liberals: The Case Against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy": Jared Kushner, Kellyanne Conway, Bill Shine, Peter Navarro, Sebastian Gorka, Dave Bossie, Corey Lewandowski, Katrina Pierson, Reps. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Amanda House, Saagar Enjeti, Tom Fitton, Sarah Sanders, Matt and Mercedes Schlapp, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Laura Ingraham, John Catsimatidis, Buck Sexton and Morgan Ortagus.

IVANKA INC. -- "Ivanka Trump Closing Her Namesake Fashion Brand," by WSJ's Rebecca Ballhaus and Suzanne Kapner: "Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump's daughter, is closing her namesake fashion brand and planning a longer-term focus on policy in Washington. 

"Ms. Trump, who formally separated herself from the business more than a year ago, holds an undefined policy portfolio as a senior adviser in the White House, most recently centered on workforce development. Her decision to concentrate on the White House comes after months of speculation about whether she and her husband, fellow White House adviser Jared Kushner, would remain in the administration for the rest of Mr. Trump's term.

"Apparel sales at the brand, which Ms. Trump launched in its current form in 2014, soared in the year of the 2016 presidential election. But the company also became a lightning rod for critics of her father's policies, with one anti-Trump group last year urging shoppers to boycott stores selling Trump-branded goods. Retailers including Nordstrom Inc. and Hudson's Bay have stopped selling Ivanka Trump products in the past 18 months, citing poor sales." WSJ

REPLACING KELLY ... NANCY COOK, "'What do we think about Mick?': Trump narrows down chief search": "President Donald Trump loves to crowdsource staffing advice from outside advisers and current or former White House aides, and lately he's been asking: 'What do we think about Mick?' 'Mick' is Mick Mulvaney, the former Republican congressman from South Carolina who now oversees both Trump's Office of Management and Budget and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. 

"A favorite of Trump's since last winter's federal shutdown and the earlier unsuccessful effort to repeal Obamacare, Mulvaney has emerged as one of the two leading candidates to succeed John Kelly as Trump's chief of staff, according to interviews with a dozen current and former administration officials and Republicans close to the administration.
 
"Long rumored to be on his way out, Kelly has no clear plans to resign -- but Mulvaney has been discreetly lobbying for the job, asking Republicans outside the White House to put in a good word on his behalf with the president. In recent weeks, Trump has been asking around about both Mulvaney and Nick Ayers, Vice President Mike Pence's current chief of staff and a longtime political operative who's also in the running for the job, according to one person who recently spoken directly with the president." POLITICO

CNN'S KAITLAN COLLINS ... SCOOP -- "White House stops announcing calls with foreign leaders": "The White House has suspended the practice of publishing public summaries of President Donald Trump's phone calls with world leaders, two sources with knowledge of the situation tell CNN, bringing an end to a common exercise from Republican and Democratic administrations. It's unclear if the suspension is temporary or permanent. A White House spokesman declined to comment.

"Official descriptions of the President's calls with foreign leaders -- termed 'readouts' in Washington parlance -- offer administrations the chance to characterize in their own terms the diplomacy conducted at the highest levels between countries. While news is rarely contained in the rote, often dry descriptions, they do offer the only official account that a phone call took place. Readouts are still released internally." CNN

SCOTUS WATCH -- "White House counsel huddles with Senate Republicans on dispute over documents from Supreme Court nominee," by WaPo's Seung Min Kim: "White House counsel Donald McGahn met privately with key Senate Republicans on Tuesday to discuss how many of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's documents should be publicly released - a major point of contention in the confirmation process. Democratic senators are demanding that Kavanaugh hand over any document he touched during his time at the George W. Bush White House, where he served in the counsel's office and as staff secretary.

"That document production could top 1 million pages, and Republicans have deemed the Democrats' demand a fishing expedition that will not be particularly revelatory. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, confirmed the meeting with McGahn. Cornyn said the White House counsel visited with the panel's Republicans to describe what a 'reasonable, relevant document production would look like.'" WaPo

-- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: End Citizens United has launched the ECU Action Fund, a new arm of the campaign-finance reform group that will use its four million members to urge Congress to pass campaign finance reform. ECU also started a week-long $350,000 national cable TV ad buy to urge senators to reject Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination because of his stances on health care and abortion and says if he was confirmed, he "threatens to continue selling out America to powerful corporate interests." The ad

PUTNAM PARTNER'S latest ad is for Andrew Gillum, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor of Florida. MARC CAPUTO's story ... 30-second Putnam spot 

THE INVESTIGATIONS ... 

-- "Two Trump Allies, Seeing Unlimited Opportunity, Instead Drew Scrutiny," by NYT's Ken Vogel, Mark Mazzetti, Maggie Haberman and David D. Kirkpatrick: "Early one morning in October, Rick Gates, a Washington lobbyist who had been a top official in the Trump campaign, emailed family and friends warning them that he was about to be indicted by the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

"He declared himself innocent of 'collusion with the Russians,' and denounced the investigation as "highly politicized and an assault on those who helped elect a president that was not favored by many.' One recipient of the email, Elliott Broidy, a top fund-raiser for President Trump, responded quickly, expressing his condolences to Mr. Gates and adding that he and his family were 'in my thoughts and prayers.'" NYT

-- CNN'S JEREMY HERB and MANU RAJU: "Burr breaks with Nunes: 'Sound reasons' for judges to approve FISA warrant": "Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr told CNN Tuesday he believed there were 'sound reasons' for judges to approve the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant on former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page, in yet another break between the Republican leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees." CNN

TRADE WARS -- "'Like a Soviet-type economy': GOP free traders unload on Trump," by Burgess Everett: "President Donald Trump's bailout for the ag industry is driving his many Republican trade critics to exasperation. Pro-free trade Republicans were already furious with Trump's escalation of tariffs against U.S. allies and China - a multi-front trade war they say is hurting U.S. farmers and manufacturers. But the administration's response Tuesday - announcing plans to send $12 billion to farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs to ease the pain - is the opposite of conservative, free-trade orthodoxy, they said." POLITICO

         
DEPT. OF HORSE-TRADING -- "Texas GOP weighs trading speaker votes for key chairmanship," by Rachael Bade and John Bresnahan: "Texas Republicans, the largest GOP delegation in the House, are debating whether to use their leverage in a speakership race to plant one of their own atop the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
 
"Several Texas Republicans - well aware that Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy needs their support to succeed Speaker Paul Ryan - have discussed pushing Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) to lead the spending panel in return for their votes for speaker. The idea, which has been closely guarded, came up at a recent Texas delegation lunch.

"Some members of the group are more supportive of the idea than others, according to interviews with nine Texas Republicans. Though many support Granger for the chairmanship, two Texas Republicans said they don't need to formally make the demand because they believe McCarthy will back Granger for the position." POLITICO

IF NO ONE SEES IT, DID IT REALLY HAPPEN? -- HEATHER CAYGLE: "Ocasio-Cortez makes stealth visit to Capitol Hill": "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive insurgent who stunned Rep. Joe Crowley last month, was on Capitol Hill Tuesday. But you'd barely know it. Ocasio-Cortez didn't make an appearance at House Democrats' meeting Tuesday morning, the weekly confab that Crowley (D-N.Y.), as caucus chairman, runs.

"Nor did Ocasio-Cortez make herself available to POLITICO or other reporters for interviews, in contrast to the marathon of public appearances she's made since her upset primary victory, including on late night TV and on the campaign trail with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)." POLITICO

TRUMP'S WEDNESDAY -- After meeting with McConnell and Ryan, Trump is having lunch with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. He is also meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. He will also meet with members of Congress in the afternoon.
                 PLAYBOOK READS      
NYT's SHANE GOLDMACHER on SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: "As Gillibrand Pushes Left, Her Economic Agenda Tilts to Populism": "While Ms. Gillibrand has made her name and reputation on fighting for women's issues, especially around sexual assault and harassment - '60 Minutes' favorably branded her 'The #MeToo Senator' earlier this year - she has spent recent months injecting her portfolio with a dose of the kind of economic populism that infused Senator Bernie Sanders's campaign in the 2016 presidential primary.

"She was among the first this year to endorse a federal jobs guarantee that is newly in vogue on the left. She was the first senator to introduce legislation to require that every post office in the country offer retail banking services in an effort to curb the predatory payday loan industry. She has announced a push to provide training to help those who lose their jobs to automation, embraced legalizing marijuana, pushed to tax drug companies for prescription drug price hikes, backed the Wall Street tax and announced that she would reject all future corporate political action committee money.

"'Labels are hard,' Ms. Gillibrand said in a wide-ranging interview about her agenda. 'But I'm comfortable with 'populist.''" A1 of NYT

INTERIOR ENFORCEMENT -- "Workplace Arrests Have Soared As The Trump Administration Steps Up Immigration Enforcement," by BuzzFeed's Hamed Aleaziz: "ICE has made more than five times as many immigration arrests at workplaces this fiscal year, which began in October, than it did last year, the new statistics show - from 172 last year to 984 so far this year. ICE also has conducted more than 5,000 so-called I-9 audits at companies across the country, in which agents demand that employers produce the forms that show workers have authorization to hold jobs in the United States. Last year, ICE initiated 1,360 such audits." BuzzFeed

OBAMACARE WATCH -- "Trump administration to resume Obamacare's insurer payments," by Adam Cancryn: "The Trump administration is resuming Obamacare's risk adjustment program, just weeks after it abruptly froze billions of dollars in insurer payments citing a court ruling invalidating parts of the program. CMS on Tuesday night issued an interim final rule that it said clarifies the program methodology and addresses issues raised earlier this year by a federal judge, clearing the way for the government to begin making payments again." POLITICO
 
WEDNESDAY LISTEN -- ANNA spoke with BEAUTYCOUNTER CEO GREGG RENFREW in the latest "Women Rule" Podcast where the beauty mogul talked about how she is lobbying Washington to enact more regulations on the industry, engaging thousands of her sales team to become politically active and the impact of media stars like Kourtney Kardashian getting involved in the issue. Listen

         
K-FILE -- "Top Trump-appointee at Veterans Affairs spread conspiracy theories, made anti-Muslim comments," by CNN's Andrew Kaczynski: "A senior Trump administration appointee at the Department of Veterans Affairs spread birther conspiracy theories about then-President Barack Obama and made anti-Muslim comments on social media while working for the Trump campaign in Arizona. Thayer Verschoor, the VA's executive director of intergovernmental affairs, is a former Arizona state Senate majority leader and longtime ally of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a well-known birther who is currently running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Arizona." CNN

VALLEY TALK - "Departing Facebook Security Officer's Memo: 'We Need To Be Willing To Pick Sides,'" by BuzzFeed's Ryan Mac and Charlie Warzel: "In March, days after confirming his plans to leave the company, Facebook's highest-ranking security official implored his colleagues to take responsibility for the social network's failings amid the fallout of the most notable privacy scandal in the company's 14-year history.

"Advocating for dramatic shifts in Facebook's culture, Alex Stamos, the company's outgoing chief security officer, sent a reflective, brutally honest note to employees on March 23 attributing the social network's problems to 'tens of thousands of small decisions made over the last decade.' ... 'We need to be willing to pick sides when there are clear moral or humanitarian issues. And we need to be open, honest and transparent about our challenges and what we are doing to fix them.'" BuzzFeed
                 PLAYBOOKERS      
SPOTTED last night at a salon dinner at the Trump hotel for the Committee to Unleash Prosperity: Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), Cleta Mitchell, Bill Bennett, Steve Moore, Corey Lewandowski, Mercedes Schlapp, Suhail Khan, Adam Brandon and Peter Davidson. 
 
SPOTTED speaking at Turning Point USA last night at the Trump hotel, with 600 kids in attendance: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Jeanine Pirro, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Donald Trump Jr.

ENGAGED -- Dax Tejera, a senior producer at ABC News in D.C., proposed in Venice last Thursday night to Veronica Bautista, who produces for Brianna Keilar at CNN. Pool report: "Dax, a true producer, made a stunning production of his proposal, taking a private boat to take to Veronica to St. Giorgio Island. After descending the bell tower Dax got down on one knee and popped the question. ... Afterward the couple took a gondola ride, had a drink at the original Cipriani, called their parents and dined at the Aman Hotel, a recommendation from Jorge Ramos, whom Dax and Veronica were both working for when they met in Miami." Pics - the proposal ... The kiss ... After she said yes

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Katie Martin, communications director of NRSC, who is celebrating with "a low-key pizza and movie night at home" with her boyfriend. A fun fact about Katie: "Before getting into politics, I had every odd job imaginable. I was a dance teacher, worked at a daycare, was a server at the Olive Garden to name a few." Playbook Plus Q&A 
 
BIRTHDAYS: Robert Zoellick, former World Bank president now a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, is 65 ... Amy Holmes is 45 ... Grant Allen ... "Capital Tonight" host Liz Benjamin (hat tip: Josh Benson) ... Mike Nizza, editor at Bloomberg Opinion, is 4-0 ... Arit John, Congress reporter at Bloomberg ... Kirsten Sutton, chief of staff at the CFPB ... Judy Keen ... Fox News' Katy Ricalde ... Kristin Jones ... Christine Quinn, president and CEO of Win and former NYC Council Speaker, is 52 ... Erin Seidler ... Andrew Feldman ... Jake Maguire ... Alex Nguyen, comms director for Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) ... journalist Rebecca Gale ... Liz Brown, LD for Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) (h/t
 Kurt Bardella) ... Mark McLaughlin, who works at Crossroads/ Senate Leadership Fund (h/t wife Natalie) ... Scot Davies ... Clio Grillakis of the Ex-Im Bank ... Hugo Teufel, Raytheon chief privacy counsel and former Bush 43 DHS chief privacy officer (h/t Ed Cash) ...

... Fox News' Alex Pfeiffer is 22 ... DOJ's Kelly Laco (h/t Sarah Isgur Flores) ... Christian Hulen, director of public affairs at FP1 Strategies ... HuffPost's Jesselyn Cook ... Alan Chartock is 77 ... Caroline Black ... Domenic Recchia ... David DeSantis ... Anne Lykes ... Steph Korey ... Matthew Hamilton ... Erica Mills ... Austin Brooks ... Nicholas Evans ... Emily Casarona ... Chris Haas ... USAID's Alison Harding ... Anita Siegfried ... Susan D. Ball ... Beneva Schulte ... Tyler J. Wade ... Laura Elizabeth Donovan ... radio talk show host John Gibson is 72 ... Corey Vale ... Tony Welch ... Holly Armstrong ... Sarah Benzing ... Susan Goodwin ... Jesse Harris.
       
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