Presented by

RESOLVING THE RESOLUTION — With just four days until a government shutdown, the race is on to see whether Speaker MIKE JOHNSON’s plan for a two-pronged clean continuing resolution can peel off enough House Democrats to make up for Republican defections. (That’s to say nothing of what will happen with the Senate and White House, of course.)

The number of GOP members opposed rose to seven today as Reps. BOB GOOD (Va.), Freedom Caucus leader SCOTT PERRY (Pa.) and TIM BURCHETT (Tenn.) voiced their dissent, saying they couldn’t go along with a broken status quo. Rep. RALPH NORMAN (R-S.C.) said he hasn’t decided yet — including, crucially, on whether he’ll vote for the rule in committee.

And Dem leadership doesn’t sound inclined to help out: “It seems to us that two steps means two opportunities for them to shut down the government in the future,” House Democratic Caucus Chair PETE AGUILAR (D-Calif.) said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “But we’re still trying to figure this out and where they want to go.”

Johnson notably has the support of at least one Freedom Caucus member, ANDY HARRIS (R-Md.), and Democrat DEAN PHILLIPS (Minn.), who told NBC’s Scott Wong he’ll take a break from the presidential campaign trail to come back and vote for the CR. Other Dems are expected to follow, Jordain Carney and Sarah Ferris report, though the caucus hasn’t settled on a plan yet. Many Republicans tell WaPo’s Marianna Sotomayor and Leigh Ann Caldwell that they’re prepared to give Johnson a “grace period” in his role. “But how he manages the demands from across the conference could abruptly end the honeymoon period as soon as this week.”

CLEANING UP THE CLEANUP — DONALD TRUMP’s intense comments this weekend calling his political opponents “vermin” who must be stopped prompted WaPo to run a headline likening him to ADOLF HITLER and BENITO MUSSOLINI. Trump campaign spokesman STEVEN CHEUNG responded with a statement that didn’t quite put the issue to bed, calling the comparison a “ridiculous assertion” from “snowflakes” whose “entire existence will be crushed when President Trump returns to the White House.” Then Cheung followed up with a tweak: He meant to say their “sad, miserable existence.”

White House spokesperson ANDREW BATES said in a statement today, without naming Trump, that the language “would be unrecognizable to our founders, but horrifyingly recognizable to American veterans who put on their country’s uniform in the 1940s.”

More on Trump’s radical second-term vision: “Trump allies pre-screen loyalists for unprecedented power grab,” by Axios’ Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen: “Hundreds of people are spending tens of millions of dollars to install a pre-vetted, pro-Trump army of up to 54,000 loyalists across government to rip off the restraints imposed on the previous 46 presidents. The screening for ready-to-serve loyalists has already begun, driven in part by artificial intelligence from tech giant Oracle, contracted for the project. Social media histories are already being plumbed. … His inner circle plans to purge anyone viewed as hostile to the hard-edged, authoritarian-sounding plans he calls ‘Agenda 47.’ …

“This Trump-allied machine has the most power over the formation of a potential future government of any group in U.S. history. Trump, if elected, will leverage it to do things with government that none of us has seen in our lifetime.”

Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at [email protected].

CONGRESS

IMPEACHMENT LATEST — The big test for DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS is coming to a head quickly: The House will vote tonight at 6:30 p.m. on Democrats’ motion to table Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE’s (R-Ga.) Mayorkas impeachment resolution. Fox News’ Chad Pergram reports that if the motion fails, an actual impeachment vote could also happen tonight — but Democrats are expected to succeed in tabling it.

KNOWING THE NEW SPEAKER — Semafor’s Kadia Goba takes a look at Johnson’s quarter-century-long friendship with TONY PERKINS, the Baptist pastor and former Louisiana state legislator who leads the Family Research Council. It’s just one example of Johnson’s deep ties to the conservative movement and outside groups that might ordinarily agitate against a speaker’s compromises — but who have a “well of goodwill” for Johnson that could give him breathing room.

HMM … “Who Paid for Mike Johnson to Attend This Conservative Conference?” by The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger: “It’s no mystery what Rep. Mike Johnson said when he delivered the keynote address at the Council for National Policy’s conference at the New Orleans Ritz-Carlton on Oct. 4, 2019. … But what is a mystery is who paid for Johnson to be there, how much they paid, and whether the future Speaker of the House violated disclosure laws by failing to report his trip to New Orleans and the expenses associated with his attendance at an elite, far-right conservative conference.”

PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION

SCARY STUFF — Secret Service agents opened fire late last night on three people trying to break into a vehicle outside NAOMI BIDEN’s home in Georgetown, ABC’s Luke Barr reports. It was a parked government car. The Secret Service said no one was believed to be struck, and the suspects got away; authorities are investigating.

ALL POLITICS

REPUBLICANS IN DISARRAY — The GOP state parties in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan are beset by financial troubles and internal squabbles after the MAGA wing of the party took over the apparatus in each state, imperiling Republican organizing efforts for 2024, WaPo’s Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Patrick Marley and Amy Gardner report.

IT’S OFFICIAL — Rep. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-Va.) announced her 2025 Virginia gubernatorial campaign today. She touts her bipartisanship and efficacy in Congress in her launch video, which also leans on some familiar Democratic messaging from the Virginia statehouse campaigns this year.

LIKE MIKE — The House GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund and American Action Network announced that they’ve raised $16 million over the initial 10 days of Johnson’s fundraising efforts, Punchbowl’s John Bresnahan, Andrew Desiderio and Jake Sherman report. It’s a sum intended to quiet Republican fears about Johnson’s fairly untested skills as a fundraiser.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

XI SAID — Behind closed doors, Chinese President XI JINPING has for years warned about inevitable conflict with the U.S., “an almost fatalistic conviction” dating to the Obama administration “that China’s rise would prompt a backlash from Western rivals,” NYT’s Chris Buckley reports. He obtained largely unreported speeches Xi made between 2012 and 2016, which show how deeply rooted the challenge will be for Xi’s summit with President JOE BIDEN this week.

SAD DAY — After an Army helicopter crash in the Mediterranean this weekend killed five U.S. service members, the Pentagon released the names of the dead today, per AP’s Tara Copp: Chief Warrant Officer 3 STEPHEN DWYER, Chief Warrant Officer 2 SHANE BARNES, Staff Sgt. TANNER GRONE, Sgt. ANDREW SOUTHARD and Sgt. CADE WOLFE.

THE ECONOMY

SURVEY SAYS — Another terrible data point for Biden’s reelection: Just 14% of voters say their finances are better off now than when he took office, a new FT-Michigan Ross poll finds. Of course, that’s not actually true: Data shows that most Americans are actually better off, WaPo’s Abha Bhattarai reports. But the disconnect arises from several factors that make people feel negative about the strong economy, particularly still-high prices, a paucity of affordable housing and fewer savings.

TRUMP CARDS

THE FRAUD DEFENSE BEGINS — “Trump Jr. says his father is an ‘artist’ with real estate,” by CNN’s Lauren del Valle, Kara Scannell and Jeremy Herb

MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON — “New book details Trump lawyers’ secret meeting with Jack Smith ahead of DC indictment,” by Kyle Cheney: “ABC’s Jonathan Karl offers an account of the fateful July 27 meeting in his forthcoming book, ‘Tired of Winning,’ that suggests [special counsel JACK] SMITH took the same wordless, unsmiling approach to Trump’s attorneys that he’s presented in his few public appearances.”

POLICY CORNER

TAKE A BREATH — As the EPA readies new standards for cleaner air that will restrict levels of soot and particulate matter, several major industries are warning that the regulations will be too costly, NYT’s Lydia DePillis reports. “This time, steel and aluminum producers have voiced particularly strong objections … Regardless, public health advocates argue that the averted deaths, illnesses and lost productivity that air pollution caused far outweigh the cost.”

FOR YOUR RADAR — “Biden administration aims to free up more wireless spectrum,” Reuters: “The Biden administration said it was releasing a National Spectrum Strategy and a presidential memorandum to modernize U.S. spectrum policy.” The strategy

STATE OF THE UNIONS — The National Labor Relations Board next month will implement a rule that aims to give workers greater opportunity to unionize at large companies, AP’s Dee-Ann Durbin reports. Big corporations are upset about the joint employer rule, though, and members of Congress are working on a long-shot Congressional Review Act effort to undo it.

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

CHANGING AMERICA — Drawing on new census data, NYT’s J. David Goodman, Edgar Sandoval and Robert Gebeloff take a deep look at a quickly changing Texas as the state has become majority-minority. It’s now largely a state of immigrants and their multigenerational, Texas-born descendants, along with lots of new Black, Latino and Asian arrivals from other states. Texan identity itself is morphing — with cricket leagues alongside country music.

WHAT THE DRUG EPIDEMIC LOOKS LIKE NOW — “‘A Monster’: Super Meth and Other Drugs Push Crisis Beyond Opioids,” by NYT’s Jan Hoffman in Kalamazoo, Mich.: “The United States is in a new and perilous period in its battle against illicit drugs. The scourge is not only opioids, such as fentanyl, but a rapidly growing practice that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention labels ‘polysubstance use.’ … The incursion of meth has been particularly problematic.”

THE WHITE HOUSE

FIRST LADY FILES — The White House announced a new women’s health research initiative, which first lady JILL BIDEN and the Gender Policy Council will lead, per The Hill’s Alex Gangitano. CAROLYN MAZURE will chair the effort.

PLAYBOOKERS

IN MEMORIAM — “Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s Older Sister, Dies at 86,” by NYT’s Sam Roberts and Maggie Haberman: “Judge Barry had been on the federal bench in New Jersey, a position that Mr. Trump’s fixer, the lawyer Roy M. Cohn, was credited with helping her attain during President Ronald Reagan’s tenure in the 1980s. She retired in 2019 after she became the focus of a court investigation stemming from an investigation by The New York Times into the Trump family’s tax practices. Mr. Trump seemed to heed the words of few people as much as he did his eldest sister’s … But their relationship suffered a significant fissure in the final year of his presidency.”

— Members of Eugene Robinson’s WaPo and MSNBC extended families gathered at St. John The Baptist Catholic Church in Silver Spring, Md. on Saturday to pay condolences and say goodbye to Robinson’s wife, Avis Collins Robinson, who died Oct. 28. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre read letters of condolence from President Joe Biden and Barack and Michelle Obama. SPOTTED: Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, Chris and Kathleen Matthews, Eric Holder and Sharon Malone, William Cohen and Janet Langhart Cohen, Jonathan Capehart, Phil Rucker, Michael LaRosa, Jesse Rodriguez, Ruth Marcus, Patty Stonesifer and Leonard Downie.

OUT AND ABOUT — Robert Raben had a 60th birthday dance party Saturday night at Wild Days, the rooftop at Eaton Workshop. SPOTTED: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Patrick Jackson, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Tanya Mayorkas, Anthony Coley, Valerie Jarrett, Eric Holder and Sharon Malone, Michael Collins, Joanne Irby, Alejandra Castillo, Susan Rice and Ian Cameron, Alondra Nelson and Garraud Etienne, David Frederick and Sophie Lynn, Michele Norris and Broderick Johnson, Fred Hochberg and Tom Healy, Laura Jarrett and Tony Balkissoon, Tonya Veasey, Jamal and Jewel Simmons, Rashad Robinson, Jonathan Capehart and Nick Schmit, Toni and Dwight Bush, Samara and Anthony Foxx, and Heather Podesta.

MEDIA MOVES — Julia Benbrook is joining CNN Newsource as a correspondent in D.C. She previously was an on-air correspondent for Spectrum News’ D.C. bureau. … Clifford McKinney is joining The Hill as VP and head of sales. He most recently was regional director of corporate and public policy at Bloomberg Media.

TRANSITIONS — Amy Rutkin will retire in January after 25 years as chief of staff to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). … Lindsey Warburton is now government affairs manager for immigration at the Niskanen Center. She most recently worked at the Episcopal Church’s office of government relations. … Interfaith Alliance is adding Tranée McDonald as policy and advocacy associate and Adam Friedman as engagement and advocacy associate.

Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] 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.