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BREAKING — “DeSantis lets go of more than 1/3 of campaign staff as reset continues,” by Alex Isenstadt

UP FOR DEBATE — The debate stage at the first GOP primary showdown in Milwaukee next month just got a little more crowded: North Dakota Gov. DOUG BURGUM announced that he has qualified, Zach Montellaro and Steve Shepard report. Burgum more or less crawled across the polling threshold: What put him over the top was a 1% showing in a new Morning Consult national survey. But now he’ll have an opportunity to make his case on a prominent platform.

Our POLITICO colleagues have a handy new interactive tracker to see who’s making the debate stage, including timelines, polling and fundraising criteria. You can see, for instance, that MIKE PENCE and ASA HUTCHINSON have only the requisite small-dollar donations to go (though Hutchinson might struggle to get enough), while WILL HURD and Miami Mayor FRANCIS SUAREZ are lagging far behind.

Some other big questions remain about the first debate, which will be hosted by Fox News and simulcast on Fox Business. Will DONALD TRUMP show up? Will CHRIS CHRISTIE’s Trump opposition run afoul of the RNC’s insistence that participants pledge to support the nominee? Will the number of candidates grow so large that the party has to add an undercard debate? Zach and Steve are out with some interesting predictions for the debate

On the fundraising front, Suarez is taking a page out of Burgum’s book: offering a $20 gift card (framed as “Bidenomics relief”) for a $1 donation, and essentially throwing money away just to qualify for the debate.

The debates aren’t the only opportunities for nearly the full primary lineup to make an impression in front of an influential crowd.

Iowa Gov. KIM REYNOLDS’ invitations to every Republican presidential candidate to join her for individual “Fair Side Chats” at the Iowa State Fair next month were accepted by every contender but two, Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser scooped today.

You can probably guess the holdouts: Trump, whose recent criticisms of Reynolds have stoked controversy in the state, isn’t on the lineup. And neither is Christie, who’s focusing more on New Hampshire.

Everyone else — from LARRY ELDER on Aug. 10 all the way through PERRY JOHNSON and Hurd on Aug. 18 — said yes.

Says Trump spokesperson STEVEN CHEUNG: “President Trump looks forward to interacting with tens of thousands of Iowans at the fair in an open and unfettered setting.”

And almost every major contender, including Trump, will show up Friday for the state party’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines. Joining them will be outgoing New Hampshire Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU, who could be an influential endorser after he passed on the opportunity to run himself, Steinhauser reports. Sununu says he “absolutely will” try to help narrow the field, with the Lincoln Dinner an early opportunity to meet the candidates and see them in action. “I’m never shy about what I think should happen or where I think the party should go.”

WHAT BROWN CAN DO FOR THE ECONOMY — UPS and the Teamsters have struck a tentative deal in contract negotiations, likely averting a massive strike that had threatened to impose a new logistical shock on the economy, AP’s Haleluya Hadero reports.

The union said the five-year contract agreement locked in better benefits, wages (which had been a sticking point) and air conditioning for its 340,000 members, while UPS called it a “win-win-win” that would maintain important business flexibility. It still needs to be ratified by union members in voting that will take place next month.

Another economic boost: Consumer confidence jumped to its highest level since July 2021 in the Conference Board’s latest gauge, AP’s Paul Wiseman reports. It was notably higher than economists had predicted, in the latest indication of economic resilience ahead of tomorrow’s interest rate decision at the Fed.

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

2024 WATCH

FOR YOUR RADAR — Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS was involved in a minor car crash this morning in Chattanooga, Tenn., WTVC-TV’s Joshua Lillard reports. But his staff told reporters that he and his team were uninjured in the accident.

KNOWING ETHAN EILON — The man being elevated to deputy campaign manager of DeSantis’ campaign co-founded one of the groups that astroturfed the FCC to fight against net neutrality, The Daily Dot’s Mikael Thalen scooped. Eilon “is alleged to have numerous ties to the myriad efforts that saw the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) flooded with millions of fraudulent comments.”

ON THE TRAIL — VIVEK RAMASWAMY will headline a “Faith, Family & Freedom Dinner” hosted by the Republican Party in Dorchester County, S.C., next month, AP’s Meg Kinnard reports from Columbia. That’ll be his first stop back in South Carolina since May.

QUOTE OF THE DAY — “Vivek was a pleasant surprise,” Iowa conservative activist LYNN PROUDFOOT tells NBC’s Allan Smith. “He’s young, he’s ethnic, he’s a Bible-believing Christian. Just everything that I think would appeal to a cross section of our people, others. He’s a sharp guy. And I definitely want to find out more about him and follow him more closely.” Ramaswamy, of course, is actually not a Christian but a Hindu. Still, Smith notes the paradox of his support: “Though much of Ramaswamy’s messaging is centered on criticizing left-wing positions on social issues and condemning identity politics, his identity was appealing to voters in Iowa and New Hampshire who expressed a desire for a nonwhite Republican millennial to ascend.”

NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL — “After breaking with Donald Trump, Mike Pence is selling kindness. Is anyone buying?” by USA Today’s Maureen Groppe in North Conway, N.H.: “[T]hose turning out to meet him frequently commented on his character. They called him a man of morality. A man of his word. A good dude. A Christian. A gentleman. They praised his calm demeanor and his dignity. But there were also questions about whether that’s enough. … It’s not sufficient for Trump critics … It doesn’t sway Trump supporters.”

CONGRESS

THE SPENDING FIGHT — The House Freedom Caucus held a Hill presser today calling on Congress to slash spending further in the coming appropriations process — and warning that they’re not scared of a fight. But different members’ comments laid bare some of the intra-group disagreements, as Sarah Ferris notes: Rep. BOB GOOD (R-Va.) said he wasn’t afraid of a government shutdown, while Rep. ANDY BIGGS (R-Ariz.) said he didn’t think it would happen. Notably, several members said they didn’t want to vote for any of the 12 spending bills until they’d seen all 12, which could threaten leadership’s efforts to pass two of them this week.

IMPEACHMENT WATCH — Good also said that Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY’s striking comments last night about impeaching Biden constituted a “paradigm shift.”

THE MALLEY MYSTERY — “Lawmakers to grill State Department officials over Biden’s Iran envoy probe,” by Joe Gould and Nahal Toosi: “The State Department will brief the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the wake of the Biden administration’s decision to bench Iran envoy ROB MALLEY after the panel’s top lawmaker threatened to subpoena administration officials. Rep. MICHAEL McCAUL, the committee chair, secured an agreement from the State Department for the sit-down some time this week.”

HEATING UP — Rep. GREG CASAR (D-Texas) is leading a daylong “thirst strike” on the Capitol steps today, the Texas Observer’s Josephine Lee reports. The protest aims to push the Biden administration “to rapidly implement a federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) heat protection standard.”

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR — “The tiny lizard at the center of a big Endangered Species Act fight,” by WaPo’s Maxine Joselow

MORE POLITICS

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — Republican former state Rep. JOHN QUIÑONES is jumping into the congressional race to take on incumbent Rep. DARREN SOTO (D-Fla.), the Orlando Sentinel’s Steven Lemongello reports. Soto’s seat is Democratic-leaning but could be competitive. Quiñones, who criticized the Biden administration in announcing his campaign, has run for Congress once before, but he won’t have the GOP primary to himself.

AD WARS — The NRSC is launching new spots against its top three Senate targets — Democrats SHERROD BROWN (Ohio), JOE MANCHIN (W.Va.) and JON TESTER (Mont.) — over the pistol brace rule, The Daily Caller’s Henry Rodgers scooped. Along with the rest of Senate Dems, they voted against a drive to overturn a Biden administration rule essentially barring pistol braces, which have been used in mass shootings. The NRSC ads say the senators failed to defend veterans’ Second Amendment rights.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS — “Democrats champion free markets as Republicans target Wall Street,” by Jasper Goodman: “The GOP’s war on corporate America’s environmental and social agenda is creating an unexpected set of Wall Street allies: Democrats defending free-market capitalism. Leading progressives and longtime finance industry critics … are embracing the role.”

HOT ON THE LEFT — The Working Families Party today endorsed RAQUEL TERÁN in the Democratic primary to replace Arizona Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO, Brittany Gibson scooped. It’s the progressive party’s latest effort to expand its ranks of supporters in Congress, calling this seat a bellwether for the cycle.

INDEPENDENT SINEMA — As Democratic leaders stay neutral in the Arizona race for now, waiting to see if Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA (I-Ariz.) will run for reelection, most top donors are following suit, The Daily Beast’s Sam Brodey reports. Though they like Gallego, they don’t want to alienate Sinema for now. But “some donors and Arizona Democrats are growing impatient with the wait-and-see strategy from Washington,” worrying about a lack of investment in the state and a missed opportunity to define Sinema.

MEDIAWATCH

ALL THAT GLITTERS — “How right-wing news powers the ‘gold IRA’ industry,” by WaPo’s Jeremy Merrill and Hanna Kozlowska: “While the legitimacy of the gold retirement investment industry is the subject of numerous lawsuits — including allegations of fraud by federal and state regulators against Lear and other companies — its advertising has become a mainstay of right-wing media. The industry spends millions of dollars a year to reach viewers of Fox, Newsmax and other conservative outlets … [P]itches to invest in gold coins are a daily presence in media that caters to a right-wing audience and often echo conservative talking points about looming economic and societal collapse.”

THE WHITE HOUSE

NOTABLE PICK — The White House announced that Biden will nominate HARRY COKER as the next national cyber director, as John Sakellariadis scooped.

POWERFUL MOMENT — A sometimes emotional Biden signed the proclamation today declaring a national monument to EMMETT TILL and MAMIE TILL-MOBLEY. “Only with truth comes healing, justice, repair and another step forward towards a more perfect union,” Biden said, decrying Till’s murder and emphasizing the importance of confronting uncomfortable history. “Silence is complicity.”

HUNTER GATHERING — “How Hunter Biden played hand in bringing business to University of Delaware’s STAR Campus,” by Karl Baker in the Delaware News Journal, the second in a three-part series this week based on HUNTER BIDEN’s emails: “During JACK MARKELL’s tenure as Delaware governor a decade ago, Hunter Biden had early or inside knowledge of several companies involved in big Delaware economic development efforts. There was an electric vehicle maker. There was a green fuel venture. There was a startup stock exchange. And, there was an offshore wind energy company. Likely the most controversial of all was Bloom Energy.”

IN THE DOGHOUSE — Biden’s German shepherd COMMANDER, who replaced MAJOR in the White House after he got too aggressive, has had his own history of behavior so bad that he sent a Secret Service member to the hospital last November, the N.Y. Post’s Steven Nelson scooped. Commander bit seven people in four months, according to Secret Service records that Judicial Watch obtained. And there could be more victims: The records don’t cover an additional 15 months of his time at the White House. “What a joke … if it wasn’t their dog he would already have been put down — freaking clown needs a muzzle,” one Secret Service member wrote.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

ANNALS OF DIPLOMACY — “Inside the Desperate Diplomatic Efforts to Salvage U.S.-South Africa Ties,” by Foreign Policy’s Robbie Gramer: “Top U.S. and South African officials and lawmakers have engaged in a flurry of behind-the-scenes diplomacy to try to salvage ties that have been roiled by South Africa’s support of Russia in the wake of the war in Ukraine.”

PLAYBOOKERS

TRANSITIONS — Anwesha Majumder is joining the National Partnership for Women & Families as the organization’s first economist. She previously worked for the state of Maryland and Time’s Up. … Jaime Toplin is now a financial services analyst at Morning Consult. She previously was a senior research analyst at Insider Intelligence.

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 and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.

Clarification: An earlier version of this newsletter was imprecise about Fox Business’ role in the August 2023 Republican presidential debate. They will simulcast the broadcast.