“Democrats are increasing pressure on certain GOP lawmakers in the shutdown messaging war, the latest being a new ad buy from the DNC,” Deadline reports.
“The six-figure buy will include digital ads on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, along with billboards and bus shelters in Republican districts.”
“The Israeli military said on Friday that a cease-fire had come into effect at noon and that its soldiers were repositioning themselves within Gaza,” the New York Times reports.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican and the chairman of the National Governors Association, criticized the deployment of Texas National Guard troops to Illinois as a violation of his beliefs in federalism and ‘states rights,’” the New York Times reports.
Said Stitt: “We believe in the federalist system — that’s states’ rights… Oklahomans would lose their mind if Pritzker in Illinois sent troops down to Oklahoma during the Biden administration.”
A federal judge temporarily blocked National Guard operations in the Chicago area, saying that the Trump administration’s version of events was “simply unreliable” and that deploying troops anywhere in the state would “only add fuel to the fire,” the New York Times reports.
Punchbowl News: “The idea, which Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Majority Whip John Barrasso say is under discussion, would involve giving Democrats a commitment to hold a vote on an extension of the enhanced Obamacare premium tax credits. This would be in exchange for Democratic votes to reopen the government.”
“There are several caveats here, however. For starters, there have been no formal offers or bipartisan discussions at the leadership level. And senators from both parties who have been involved in the informal bipartisan talks are thus far batting it down.”
“Neither party is backing off from their public positions. Republicans still say Obamacare subsidy talks can’t happen until the government is open, and that they can’t promise a particular outcome on the issue. Democrats want guarantees that an Obamacare deal will materialize, pass both chambers and be signed into law by President Donald Trump before the Open Enrollment Period begins on Nov. 1. This is something that Speaker Mike Johnson is hesitant to commit to.”
Molly Roberts: “It’s hard to imagine a worse case than the one against James Comey—until you see the one against the attorney general of New York.”
A new Quinnipiac poll in New York City finds Zohran Mamdani leads the race for mayor with 46% of likely voter, followed by Andrew Cuomo with 33% and Curtis Sliwa with 15%
“New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted Thursday in Alexandria, Virginia, as President Trump’s Justice Department continues to pursue charges against his political opponents,” CNN reports.
“James’ relationship with Trump has been adversarial for years as James campaigned on promises to investigate Trump and ultimately won a civil fraud case against Trump, his adult sons and his real estate business.”
“Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republican leaders appear unlikely to bring the chamber back into session next week, extending the 20-day recess despite the ongoing government shutdown,” Punchbowl News reports.
“Johnson’s posture for the last few weeks has been that the House will return when Senate Democrats drop their opposition to the GOP’s stopgap funding bill, which would keep federal agencies open through Nov. 21…”
“We don’t expect Senate Democrats to suddenly change their posture… But we were a bit surprised that House Republican leaders didn’t get much pushback on the call on their strategy of keeping the chamber out of session.”
Federal prosecutors in Maryland are “expected in coming days” to charge former Trump national security adviser John Bolton with mishandling classified information, the Wall Street Journal reports.
An interesting new book: Keeping a Finger on the Button: Presidential Continuity and the Nuclear Age by Rebecca C. Lubot.
The story of how lawmakers grappled with issues over presidential succession and inability and vice-presidential vacancy and ultimately ratified the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.
Matt Yglesias: “There’s no emergency requiring the dispatch of National Guard personnel into cities where they’re not wanted, and there’s no ongoing ‘invasion’ of the country by asylum seekers. What we have is an administration that refuses to tout good news, because it loves the idea of a country immersed in crisis as a pretext to seize even more power.”
“When the president’s top policy aide is tweeting that court rulings upholding basic federalism and America’s long tradition of keeping the military out of domestic law enforcement are ‘terrorism,’ the authoritarian menace has truly arrived.”
A new KFF poll finds 59% of the public disapprove of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s overall job performance, while 62% disapprove of his handling of U.S. vaccine policy.
“This is a convicted felon who is threatening to jail me. This guy is unhinged. He’s insecure. He’s a wannabe dictator. And there’s one thing I really want to say to Donald Trump: If you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me.”
— Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), on MSNBC.
Wall Street Journal: “Trump occasionally reminds aides about an incident last year in which Trump cut his hand on Bondi’s large wedding ring, causing him to bleed.”
You’ll want to bookmark this new poll tracking site: Fifty Plus One.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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