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Presented by PhRMA: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day in Washington Oct 01, 2018 View in browser
By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman and Daniel Lippman

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DRIVING THE DAY
THOUGHT BUBBLE ... IF BRETT KAVANAUGH is confirmed to the Supreme Court, won't he have to recuse himself from a whole broad swath of cases, based on what he said at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing? Kavanaugh believes he was the subject of a campaign by the Clintons to discredit him, and he criticized the media and the Senate. Won't he have to bow out of any case that has to do with partisan politics, or the press?

Good Monday morning, and welcome to October. MORE ON KAVANAUGH ...

-- ANNIE KARNI: "'This is march or die': Kavanaugh urged to hit back hard": "Judge Brett Kavanaugh is being advised by allies to mount an aggressive and proactive campaign to win over the swing-vote senators who will determine whether he is confirmed to the Supreme Court, even as the FBI undertakes a weeklong investigation of sexual assault allegations against him.

"One White House official said on Sunday that no new television appearances were currently planned for Kavanaugh, but that 'anything to further his case will be done with senators and with the FBI' and that the possibility of public events later in the week had not been ruled out.

"Friends, meanwhile, said they were encouraging Kavanaugh - whom one described as 'shell-shocked' by the crisis engulfing his nomination fight - to continue playing offense, the way he did in his testimony on Thursday.

"'I'd want people to see me this week,' one Republican close to the process said of Kavanaugh, noting that the aggressive stance he took last week as he faced off against Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee was at odds with his typically unemotional personality - but was responsible for his still having any fighting chance of confirmation." POLITICO

-- CNN'S ARIANE DE VOGUE and JEFF ZELENY: "FBI spoke with Deborah Ramirez, second Kavanaugh accuser": "The FBI spoke with Deborah Ramirez on Sunday in its investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a source familiar with the matter has told CNN. ... The source said Ramirez supplied the FBI on Sunday with the names of witnesses. The revelation raises the question of whether the FBI would interview the witnesses or whether the scope of the agency's mandate precludes them from doing so." CNN

-- WAPO'S SEUNG MIN KIM: "In memo, outside prosecutor argues why she would not bring criminal charges against Kavanaugh": "The outside prosecutor Senate Republicans hired to lead the questioning in last week's hearing about the sexual assault allegations against Brett M. Kavanaugh is arguing in a new memo why she would not bring criminal charges against the Supreme Court nominee.

"In the five-page memo, obtained by The Washington Post, Rachel Mitchell outlines more than half a dozen reasons why she thinks the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford - who has accused Kavanaugh of assaulting her at a house in suburban Maryland when they were teenagers in the early 1980s - has some key inconsistencies.

"'A 'he said, she said' case is incredibly difficult to prove. But this case is even weaker than that,' Mitchell writes in the memo, sent Sunday night to all Senate Republicans. 'Dr. Ford identified other witnesses to the event, and those witnesses either refuted her allegations or failed to corroborate them.'" WaPo ... The memo

-- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK ... AIR WARS ... DEMAND JUSTICE, a liberal group, is running $120,000 worth of TV and digital ads in Maine, Alaska and D.C. with Christine Blasey Ford's testimony, ending with "We believe Dr. Blasey Ford. Will Lisa Murkowski?" (The Maine version swaps Susan Collins for Murkowski.) The minute-long ad

THE MCGAHN CONNECTION -- WaPo's Mike DeBonis and Josh Dawsey: "White House counsel Donald McGahn is most directly involved in guiding the investigation and has been in frequent touch with Republican senators about its scope, the administration official said, adding that the administration is hoping a report could be filed even sooner than the Friday deadline." WaPo

-- @sahilkapur: "New: @SenFeinstein asks White House counsel Don McGahn to hand over the written instructions to the FBI regarding the scope of the Kavanaugh investigation." The letter

QUESTIONS ABOUT KAVANAUGH'S TESTIMONY -- "Yale Classmate Accuses Kavanaugh of 'Blatant Mischaracterization' of His Drinking," by NYT's Mike Shear and Robin Pogrebin: "A Yale classmate of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh's accused him on Sunday of a 'blatant mischaracterization' of his drinking while in college, saying that he often saw Judge Kavanaugh 'staggering from alcohol consumption.'

"The classmate, Chad Ludington, who said he frequently socialized with Judge Kavanaugh as a student, said in a statement that the judge had been untruthful in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee when he had denied any possibility that he had ever blacked out from drinking.'" NYT

A message from PhRMA:

New analysis shows some hospitals mark up medicine prices 700% or more. This means if a hospital purchased a medicine for $150, a 700% markup could result in patients being billed $1,050 for that medicine. These hospital markups lead to higher costs for everyone - patients, employers and payers.

TOP-ED -- JAMES COMEY in the NYT, "The F.B.I. Can Do This: Despite limitations and partisan attacks, the bureau can find out a lot about the Kavanaugh accusations in a week": "Yes, the alleged incident occurred 36 years ago. But F.B.I. agents know time has very little to do with memory. They know every married person remembers the weather on their wedding day, no matter how long ago. Significance drives memory. They also know that little lies point to bigger lies. They know that obvious lies by the nominee about the meaning of words in a yearbook are a flashing signal to dig deeper.

"Once they start interviewing, every witness knows the consequences. It is one thing to have your lawyer submit a statement on your behalf. It is a very different thing to sit across from two F.B.I. special agents and answer their relentless questions. Of course, the bureau won't have subpoena power, only the ability to knock on doors and ask questions. But most people will speak to them. Refusal to do so is its own kind of statement." NYT

BIG WIN FOR TRUMP -- "U.S. reaches trade deal with Canada and Mexico, providing Trump a crucial win," by Adam Behsudi, Alexander Panetta and Doug Palmer: "Trade ministers from the U.S., Mexico and Canada have reached a deal to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Trump administration announced late Sunday night.

"The new pact, which is being called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, is a major step toward completing one of Trump's signature campaign promises and gives the president a concrete policy win to tout on the campaign trail this fall. It also sets the stage for what is sure to be a high-stakes fight to get the agreement passed by Congress before it can become law.

"The Trump administration already formally notified Congress at the end of August of its plans to sign a new pact and faced a deadline of the end of September to provide a draft of the agreement." POLITICO

-- A WIN FOR JARED, TOO: BLOOMBERG'S JENNY LEONARD, JOSH WINGROVE and JENNIFER JACOBS: "Some people familiar with the talks credited Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner for helping smooth the path toward a deal. When it looked like negotiations had stalled or broken down due to friction between the U.S. and Canadian sides, Kushner kept talks going with aides close to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, including Gerald Butts and Katie Telford, three people said. Lighthizer and Kushner were at the USTR office in Washington on Sunday afternoon negotiating final details by conference call with the Canadians in Ottawa. U.S. officials have been keeping Trump in the loop on every step since Friday, two
people said." Bloomberg

-- EXPECTATION-SETTING: THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION is going to want to push this through before the end of the year, so it can ensure a Republican Congress votes on it. We're not going to say that's impossible, but it's pretty close to impossible.

... BUT, BUT, BUT: "China Cancels High-Level Security Talks With the U.S.," by NYT's Jane Perlez in Beijing: "China canceled an important annual security meeting planned for mid-October with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in Beijing, saying a senior Chinese military officer would not be available to meet him, an American official said on Sunday.

"The decision to withdraw from the high-level encounter, known as the diplomatic and security dialogue, was the latest sign of bad blood between China and the United States, and capped a week of tit-for-tat actions by both nations as they settled into a newly chilly relationship.

"The cancellation of the dialogue, an event that China until recently had advertised as a productive way for the two sides to talk, showed how quickly the tensions over an escalating trade war have infected other parts of the relationship, particularly vital strategic concerns including Taiwan, arms sales and the South China Sea." NYT

NYT'S ALEX BURNS and JONATHAN MARTIN (will run in Tuesday's NYT): "Biden Is Preparing for 2020. Can He Overcome the Hill-Thomas Hearings?": "As he actively explores a 2020 presidential run, the 75-year-old former vice president is coming under increased scrutiny from his fellow Democrats because of his role in the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings in 1991, as explosive debates over gender, sex and the Supreme Court overshadow the themes of economic fairness that Mr. Biden trumpeted across the Northeast in recent days.

"His name has been invoked frequently in recent days, mainly by Republicans, for leading the 1991 hearings when an all-male, all-white Judiciary Committee aggressively questioned Anita Hill about claims that Judge Thomas sexually harassed her. The hearings have long been a source of discomfort with Mr. Biden among Democrats who remember the process." NYT

MELANIA WATCH -- "Melania Trump forges ahead as first lady with Africa trip," by AP's Darlene Superville: "First lady Melania Trump heads for Africa on her first big solo international trip, aiming to make child well-being the focus of a five-day, four-country tour that will take her to every corner of the vast and impoverished continent.

"Departing on Monday, she opens her first-ever visit to Africa on Tuesday in Ghana in the West, followed by stops in Malawi in the South, Kenya in the East and Egypt in the Northeast. Her first extended turn on the world stage outside the shadow of President Donald Trump could still be complicated by her husband, who has spoken of the continent in impolite and even vulgar terms." AP

BORDER TALES -- "Migrant Children Moved Under Cover of Darkness to a Texas Tent City," by NYT's Caitlin Dickerson: "In shelters from Kansas to New York, hundreds of migrant children have been roused in the middle of the night in recent weeks and loaded onto buses with backpacks and snacks for a cross-country journey to their new home: a barren tent city on a sprawling patch of desert in West Texas. Until now, most undocumented children being held by federal immigration authorities had been housed in private foster homes or shelters, sleeping two or three to a room.

"They received formal schooling and regular visits with legal representatives assigned to their immigration cases. But in the rows of sand-colored tents in Tornillo, Tex., children in groups of 20, separated by gender, sleep lined up in bunks. There is no school: The children are given workbooks that they have no obligation to complete. Access to legal services is limited. These midnight voyages are playing out across the country, as the federal government struggles to find room for more than 13,000 detained migrant children - the largest population ever - whose numbers have increased more than fivefold since last year." NYT

-- WAPO'S NICK MIROFF in GUATEMALA CITY: "Faced with migration 'crisis,' U.S. border chief finds no easy fix in Central America"

A message from PhRMA:


Hospital markups lead to higher costs for everyone - patients, employers and payers. Find out more.

TRUMP'S MONDAY -- The president is having lunch with VP Mike Pence. In the afternoon, he will present the Congressional Medal of Honor. Later, he is flying to Blountville, Tenn., on his way to Johnson City, Tenn., for a roundtable with supporters and a political rally. Afterward, Trump will fly back to Washington.

-- POTENTIAL TRUMP ON-CAMERA APPEARANCES: The Congressional Medal of Honor presentation at 3 p.m., Trump leaving for Andrews at 4 p.m.-4:15 p.m., arrival in Tennessee at 5:25 p.m., political rally at 7:20 p.m.

WHO WILL WIN THE MIDTERMS? YOU PICK. Check out the latest tool from POLITICO's interactive news team, DIY Congress. It is like a scorecard for the election. It includes POLITICO's own predictions and reporting alongside deep political and demographic profiles for every race in Congress. You pick the winners between now and Election Day and compare your congressional majority with the POLITICO hive mind.

FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOUR PICKS? Enter them into Playbook Election Challenge for a chance to win a prize. Play here
PLAYBOOK READS


PHOTO DU JOUR: People protest across from the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle during the 66th Red Mass on Sunday. | Cliff Owen/AP Photo

MAGGIE SEVERNS and MARC CAPUTO: "Progressive billionaires fall for Florida's Gillum": "Andrew Gillum, the 39-year-old candidate for Florida governor, had a promising primary campaign with a serious shortcoming: he was the only one of five Democratic candidates who didn't have either a family legacy in politics or millions of dollars of his own to fund his race.

"But Gillum's financial fortunes changed sharply after he sat down in early May with the preeminent angel funder of the progressive movement, billionaire George Soros, in California's Berkeley Hills. At the Claremont Club & Spa, according to multiple people familiar with the meeting, Gillum and Soros had a sprawling after-dinner conversation about Gillum's plans to turn out progressive and non-white voters and then, if he won, to expand Medicaid, recognize the threat of man-made climate change and enact gun control legislation after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida.

"Plus, he said, he could help Democrats in 2020 in a state that's considered a must-win for Republicans. 'Florida is the holy grail,' Gillum told Soros, according to one of the people familiar with the meeting." POLITICO

ELENA SCHNEIDER: "Democrats find their answer to the Koch brothers: Democratic House candidates raised nearly $36 million online in August, giving many the resources to air early TV ads."

AT THE PENTAGON -- "Problems for Pentagon's immigrant recruit program," by AP's Lolita Baldor: "Stricter Trump administration immigration policies have stymied Pentagon plans to restart a program that allowed thousands of people with critical medical or Asian and African language skills to join the military and become American citizens, according to several U.S. officials. The decade-old program has been on hold since 2016 amid concerns that immigrant recruits were not being screened well enough, and security threats were slipping through the system.

"Defense officials shored up the vetting process, and planned to relaunch the program earlier this month. But there was an unexpected barrier when Homeland Security officials said they would not be able to protect new immigrant recruits from being deported when their temporary visas expired after they signed a contract to join the military, the U.S. officials said." AP

A message from PhRMA:


Nearly 1 in 5 hospitals mark up medicine prices 700 percent or more.

GOLDEN STATE WATCH -- "Trump administration sues California over net neutrality law," by Cristiano Lima and California Playbooker Jeremy B. White: "The Justice Department is suing California to block a recently signed law restoring net neutrality rules that the Federal Communications Commission discarded last year, setting up a high-stakes legal bout between the Trump administration and the nation's most populous state.

"The announcement comes immediately on the heels of Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown's decision to sign the bill into law. Brown had until midnight on Sunday to approve the measure, which was passed by the state's legislature in August." POLITICO

-- L.A. TIMES: "Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill requiring California corporate boards to include women": "Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday signed a bill into law that makes California the first state to require corporate boards of directors to include women, saying that despite potentially 'fatal' legal problems in the measure, it is time to force action.

"'Given all the special privileges that corporations have enjoyed for so long, it's high time corporate boards include the people who constitute more than half the 'persons' in America,' Brown wrote in a signing message. ... Business groups have questioned the legality of a state imposing such requirements on corporations, many of which are incorporated in other states. But Brown was not persuaded by the opposition." LAT

MEDIAWATCH -- "The Washington Times settles lawsuit with Seth Rich's brother, issues retraction and apology for its coverage," by CNN's Oliver Darcy: "The Washington Times on Monday issued a lengthy retraction and apology for an editorial it published in March about Aaron Rich, the brother of the slain [DNC] staffer Seth Rich whose unsolved murder became the basis for conspiracy theories on the far-right.

"'The Column included statements about Aaron Rich, the brother of former Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, that we now believe to be false,' read part of the retraction. The retraction added, 'The Washington Times apologizes to Mr. Rich and his family. All online copies of the Column have been deleted and all online content referencing the Column has been deleted to the extent within The Washington Times' control.'" CNN

-- James Hanson has been named publisher of Government Executive Media Group's Nextgov.
PLAYBOOKERS
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Kenny Cunningham, director at Prism Group and executive director of Maverick PAC. How he's celebrating: "I'm in Boston for the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit with my buddy Abbas Haider, who made the 2018 list for the success he's had as co-founder of Aspetto, which makes bullet-resistant designer clothing and whose customers include the Department of State and DoD. As a speaker at the summit, he's granted a +1 and asked me to join. I said yes in 'under 30' seconds (dad joke)." Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Tommy Andrews, who works in legislative affairs at the White House, is 32 ... former President Jimmy Carter is 94 ... British Prime Minister Theresa May is 62 ... National Journal managing editor Ben Pershing is 43 (hat tip: Hanna Trudo) ... NYT's Jose Del Real is 28 ... Tim Hannegan, partner at HLP&R Advocacy, is 55 (h/t Jennifer Poersch) ... Rob Seidman, SVP at Glover Park Group (h/t Liz Johnson) ... Brook Hougesen (h/ts Leigh Claffey and Kelsi Daniell) ... CNN correspondent Brian Todd ... Joanne Peters ... Jennifer Storipan ... Alex Gleason (h/ts Kevin Cirilli and Lenwood Brooks) ... AEI's Joe Antos ... POLITICO's Andy Goodwin and Marie French ... P.G. Sittenfeld is 34 ...
Daniel Clifton ... Michael Knopf, director at MediaLink ... Alexandra Fox ... Cammie Croft, chief community officer at FWD.us ...

... Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) is 49 ... Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) is 43 ... Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is 45 ... Nayyera Haq, CEO of Avicenna Strategy ... Nikolai Wenzel, celebrating in the Canary Islands (h/ts Ben Chang) ... Sharon Yang, deputy press secretary on the Kaine campaign (h/t Ian Sams) ... Rose Lichtenfels ... Scott Rosenthal ... CNN's Evan Semones ... David Kerr ... Robert Rosen of the Gates Foundation ... CRC Public Relations SVP Mike Thompson ... Facebook's Catherine Dennig ... Alex Reese ... Theo Yedinsky ... Jeremy Lott ... Eric Laing ... Lauren Pfeifle ... Candice Rogers ... Gretel Truong ... Susan Peacock ... Jennifer Lenhart ... Lorraine Adams ... Vinh Nguyen ...
Chris Berg ... IBM's Vera Rhoads

A message from PhRMA:

Nearly one in five hospitals mark up medicine prices 700% or more, according to a new analysis. This means that if a hospital purchased a medicine for $150, a 700 percent markup could result in patients being billed $1,050 for that medicine. Even worse, 320 hospitals in the study marked up prices more than 1000%. These hospital markups lead to higher costs for everyone - patients, employers and payers. When hospitals mark up the cost of medicines...Patients pay the price.

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