POLITICO Playbook Audio Briefing

President Donald Trump is on day two of his U.K. state visit. While Wednesday saw plenty of pomp and circumstance, today will bring the business end. Trump is set to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and talks about trade and Ukraine are likely to top the agenda. Trump will be back in the U.S. later today, and he's returning as Washington grapples with two big pieces of news: Disney indefinitely pulled Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show off the air over comments made in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's killing. Meanwhile, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he is designating the antifa movement a terrorist organization. Playbook's Jack Blanchard and White House reporter Megan Messerly break it all down.

President Donald Trump is in the U.K. today for his second state visit, but the spotlight today will be pointed squarely back home in Washington. Attorney General Pam Bondi is attempting to define the debate over free speech one week after Charlie Kirk's death. Susan Monarez, who was dismissed as head of the CDC, is set to appear before the Senate to detail the break with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that led to her ouster. And Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will announce the central bank's highly anticipated decision on interest rates. Playbook's Jack Blanchard and White House reporter Megan Messerly break down how it's all playing out while Trump is abroad.

As President Donald Trump travels to the U.K. this morning, the conversation in the U.S. remains focused on the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's death. FBI Director Kash Patel is set to appear for a Senate hearing this morning, where he'll likely face questions over his credibility in light of his response to the investigation. Meanwhile, Kirk's death is spurring Republicans to go after what they have deemed the “radical left” over the response to Kirk's death. Playbook's Jack Blanchard and Adam Wren unpack the stakes and what to expect next. Plus, the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated meeting begins this morning.

In the days since the public killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the country has seen an unprecedented level of eulogizing from Washington. Vice President JD Vance escorted Kirk's body back to Arizona in Air Force Two and is set to host Kirk's podcast Monday afternoon. A number of senior Trump officials spoke at a memorial for Kirk at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night. But how will Kirk's killing influence the next stage of policymaking from the administration? Playbook's Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns walk through what may come next.

Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10. Kirk founded Turning Point USA, which became one of the most influential conservative grassroots organizations in the country. He was a larger-than-life figure in Republican politics who was controversial, provocative, and intrinsically tied to the movement of youth toward voting for Donald Trump in the 2024 election. In the first episode of the newest season of The Conversation, host Dasha Burns, POLITICO's White House Bureau Chief, speaks with Global Editor-in-Chief John F. Harris about Kirk's death, what it says about the state of free speech in America, and the country's history of political violence.

The FBI and top law enforcement officials continue to piece together the events that led to the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk in Utah on Wednesday. In Washington, President Donald Trump and others are cementing the MAGA leader's legacy, posthumously awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And though Trump praised what he said was Kirk's advocacy for nonviolence, he also told reporters “we have to beat the hell” out of “radical left lunatics.” Tempers are high among his closest confidants and millions of followers. So, where does that energy go now, and can any figure unite a grieving and angry America? Playbook's Adam Wren and White House reporter Megan Messerly break it down.

Charlie Kirk, the right-wing political influencer and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot dead in an apparent act of political violence during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Scores of politicians from both sides of the aisle quickly condemned the killing. Trump — who counted Kirk among his close allies — promised action in an address from the Oval Office, stating that his administration “will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it.” Playbook's Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns walk through how we got to this moment and where things go from here.

It has been one month since President Donald Trump federalized Washington, D.C. His control over the police department expires today, and it appears unlikely Congress will act to extend his power. But the National Guard troops and other federal agents are set to stay for now, so Trump's influence will likely still be felt throughout the city. The question on everyone's mind: Where will he direct troops next? Playbook's Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns explore some possibilities. Plus, the aftershocks from Israel's shocking bombing of Qatar are being felt in Washington.

The Jeffrey Epstein files are dominating the conversation in Washington today, following the release yesterday of a birthday greeting reportedly sent to Epstein by Donald Trump. Democrats are taking some glee over the release, but Republicans are ignoring the issue altogether, opting instead to focus on immigration and crime. Playbook's Jack Blanchard and POLITICO White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns walk through the situation. Plus, the immigration crackdown in Chicago ramps up, and it's special election day in northern Virginia.

This morning, President Donald Trump will head to the Museum of the Bible to speak at the second meeting of his Religious Liberty Commission. But as his words aim to shore up support from a key constituency, his actions — ranging from deploying the National Guard in major cities to favorably comparing his efforts to “Apocalypse Now” — risk opening new fissures in American life. Playbook's Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns break it all down. Plus, the inside scoop about the latest public clash within Trump's inner circle.

The Conversation with Dasha Burns is back! In Season 1, Burns sat down with some of the most powerful players in Washington to get their perspectives on what's really going on inside The White House. Join The Conversation again as Burns continues to explore how President Trump and his team are fundamentally reshaping the country, and how Democrats are tackling this new era of American politics. Full episodes will now air every Friday, starting Sept. 12.

The private sector jobs boom that President Donald Trump pledged to deliver in his second term is starting to look shaky — and that raises the political stakes for this morning's new monthly jobs report. Weak numbers — or substantial revisions to previously reported gains — would blow a hole in the Trump administration's claims its agenda has unleashed a new “Golden Age” for American workers — and could portend a turbulent path ahead for the U.S. economy. Playbook's Zack Stanton and POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly sort out what to expect as the spin cycle fires up. Plus: the Defense Department gets a rebranding, and the Justice Department opens a criminal probe into Lisa Cook.

This morning on Capitol Hill, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will appear before the Senate Finance Committee to answer questions. Officially, the topic is the "President's 2026 Health Care Agenda." But unofficially, the hearing will offer the first chance for senators to grill Kennedy since the the CDC's internal war over vaccines spilled into public view, pitting scientists and medical professionals against RFK Jr.'s MAHA loyalists. Playbook's Jack Blanchard and Politico White House reporter Megan Messerly tell you what to watch for. Plus, President Donald Trump engages with European leaders on Ukraine and Russia, and a who's who of tech world CEOs descend on DC for a Rose Garden soiree.

The day Washington has been anticipating for more than a month has finally arrived: With August recess over and Congress back in action, the furor over the Jeffrey Epstein files is set to ramp up in a major way. From the maneuvering around the bipartisan discharge petition to the public pressure campaign spearheaded by Epstein's survivors, the story is set to dominate DC today. Playbook's Jack Blanchard and Politico White House reporter Megan Messerly talk through what to expect. Plus, Trump threatens to send the military to Chicago and his tariff policies head to the Supreme Court.

When President Donald Trump addresses the press today in the Oval Office, it will be his first public appearance in a week. For many presidents, that wouldn't be particularly notable. But Trump's weeklong absence was heard loud and clear and sparked myriad theories about his health and vitality. POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly joins Playbook's Jack Blanchard to discuss that, the president's latest comments on Russia and all the rest of the news driving the day.

In their ongoing effort to reorganize and define the party, Democrats have gotten some new guidance on how to win over voters. And it's not so much about what they should do, but what they shouldn't. In a new memo shared exclusively with Playbook, the center-left Democratic think tank Third Way reveals the party should distance itself from a few dozen words and phrases that may alienate potential voters. Could terms such as “microaggression,” “privilege” and “triggering” in fact be turning off potential Democratic voters? Playbook's Adam Wren and White House reporter Megan Messerly unpack that and more.

President Donald Trump's “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Act is in for one big, beautiful rebranding effort. Today in Georgia, VP JD Vance will seek to reframe the Republican megalaw as primarily  “working families tax cuts.” In part, that's a reaction to weak poll numbers for Trump's signature legislative accomplishment heading into the midterms. But the new approach is also a reflection of a divide within the GOP over whether congressional Republicans have been sufficiently proactive in promoting the policy to voters. Playbook's Adam Wren and Politico White House reporter Irie Sentner break down what to watch.

With a smashmouth, all-caps-laden and meme-filled X account, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is holding a mirror up to MAGA — and MAGA doesn't like what it's seeing. For a decade, President Donald Trump has blazed trails online. And now, Newsom is finding that by replicating Trump's posts — to the point of outright parody and trolling — he's effectively gamed social media algorithms and colonized X's “for you” tab. Is this a new era for political communication in America? And is the Michelle Obama “when they go low, we go high” era effectively dead and buried? Playbook's Adam Wren and Dasha Burns sort through the AI-generated slop and get some answers.

A whirlwind of diplomacy whipped through Washington yesterday. Today, we're sorting through the aftermath of the series of historic meetings between President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a coterie of European leaders. Playbook's Adam Wren and Dasha Burns sort through the big takeaways, what really changed and what lies ahead for Ukraine, Russia and the U.S.

Another day, another massive summit with huge geopolitical implications. On Friday, the biggest story in politics was the meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's meets with Trump, with a cavalcade of European leaders in tow. What can we expect today? Playbook's Adam Wren and Dasha Burns unpack what to expect.

This afternoon, President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. For the better part of a week, the White House has been tempering expectations — with the latest chatter being that this will all be the prelude to a second meeting with Putin at which real progress could be made on a ceasefire agreement in Russia's war on Ukraine. So what would success look like today? And what is each side's strategy going in? Playbook's Adam Wren and POLITICO White House and foreign affairs correspondent Eli Stokols walk you through what you need to know.

After his appearance last week on “Pod Save America,” Pete Buttigieg attracted incoming fire over his response to a question about Gaza — an answer which critics thought was especially mealy-mouthed. This morning, in an exclusive interview for Playbook, Buttigieg clears the air — and offers the latest sign of just how much opinions within the Democratic Party are shifting on Israel and Gaza. Playbook's Adam Wren and Dasha Burns talk it through. Plus, the latest on tomorrow's Trump-Putin meeting, and Dasha talks through her latest scoop on Susie Wiles and Laura Loomer.

After successfully ousting several officials in the Trump administration, far-right activist and MAGA influencer Laura Loomer has sharpened her focus on her next targets: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and one of his top aides. And a big part of the reason why has to do with 2028. Playbook's Adam Wren and Dasha Burns break it all down and what it could mean for the administration. Plus, the latest geopolitical jockeying ahead of the Trump-Putin summit, and questions abound about the trustworthiness of new economic data from Trump's Washington.

Residents of Washington are waking up this morning to a city that looks a little different. At a press conference yesterday morning, President Donald Trump announced he would effectively take over the Washington's police department for 30 days and deploy the National Guard to patrol the city. What happens next? How are Democrats responding? And what is the conversation Trump is trying to bait them into? Playbook's Adam Wren and Dasha Burns break it all down.

Today at 10 a.m., President Donald Trump is expected to announce that he will deploy federal forces to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C., in an attempt to fight crime and “immediately clear out the city's homeless population.” It comes as Trump has reportedly eyed a federal takeover of Washington in response to what he characterizes as “out of control crime” — even though statistics from law enforcement show that violent crime in the district has dropped substantially over the past two years. Is this an attempt by Trump to control the narrative? How seriously should Washingtonians take the threat of a takeover? And what does this mean for self-governance in D.C.? Playbook's Adam Wren and POLITICO senior Congress editor Mike DeBonis talk it through.

Last night, the White House announced that it will use federal law enforcement officers to patrol Washington D.C. in a striking escalation of the administration's antagonism towards the city's locally controlled government. It comes as Trump has threatened in recent days to federalize the city and take over its police force in response to an attempted carjacking that injured a staffer in the Trump administration. But there's a bigger picture, too: A pivot on the part of the administration to refocus its message on the “law and order” issues where they feel the safest politically. Where do things go from here? Playbook's Adam Wren breaks it all down with POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly. That, plus Texas' redistricting melee scrambles the state's marquee U.S. Senate race, and how the White House is thinking about the prospect of a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As the humanitarian disaster in Gaza shifts American politics and opinions about Israel, the entire issue is quickly becoming the Democratic Party's first foreign policy litmus test of the 2026 and 2028 cycles. Playbook's Adam Wren and POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly look at how that's playing out in Michigan's pivotal Senate primary, which is a microcosm of the broader dynamics shaping the party: a divide that isn't so much left vs. center or progressive vs. moderate, but institutionalists vs. disruptors. All of that, plus: President Donald Trump's latest wave of tariffs went into effect overnight, and what we know about the latest rumblings of a coming meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The White House is turning the screws on red-state elected officials to gerrymander new electoral maps and squeeze more GOP seats into existence ahead of the 2026 midterms. And the next big flashpoint comes not from Texas, New York or California, but Indiana, where Vice President JD Vance will be dispatched this week to meet with Gov. Mike Braun and push him to redraw the state's congressional districts. Playbook's Adam Wren and POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly talk through the thinking in the West Wing and the statehouse. Meanwhile, is the White House's latest law-and-order messaging — whether talking about Washington D.C. or the so called Speedway Slammer immigrant detention center — a sign of a broader attempt to shift the dominant storyline in the news? All that and more on today's Playbook Podcast.

Today, the biggest story in Washington is about what's happening everywhere else: from redistricting fights in Texas and California, to town halls in Nebraska and Michigan, to just a general unsettled mood in Washington. Playbook's Adam Wren and POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly unpack it all and tell you how it's reverberating in the halls of power in D.C.

Today, you can find Texas' Democratic state legislators in Illinois, New York and Massachusetts. Where you won't find many of them is Texas. That's because they fled the state yesterday in an attempt to deny Republicans the quorum needed to enact a new partisan gerrymander ahead of the 2026 elections. The implications extend far beyond the Red River, with resonances for the balance of power in Congress, Democratic jockeying for 2028 and the potential weaponization of government depending just how far Gov. Greg Abbott and President Donald Trump are willing to go in response. Playbook's Adam Wren and POLITICO White House reporter Jake Traylor unpack what it means and what to expect down the line.

Freshman Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) is the first out transgender member of Congress. Within days of her election this past November, she faced attacks from Republican colleagues who tried to draw her into a public conflict. Nevertheless, McBride has continued to find ways to forge ties across the aisle.  In this week's episode of The Conversation, Rep. McBride tells POLITICO's Dasha Burns why she has prioritized bipartisanship: “Every person in this country goes to work in a workplace where there are people who think differently, live differently, look differently than they do. They figure out how to make it work. They treat one another with respect. This is the one place where we seem to not be able to muster the same maturity and mutual respect that Americans across this country muster every single day when they go into the workplace.” McBride says she hopes to bring “a sense of kindness and grace” to Congress despite the “reality TV show nature” of today's politics. The two also discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, how the Democratic Party can rebuild its coalition without “reinforcing right-wing framing” over culture war issues and why her pursuit of bipartisan legislation is in part a direct response to President Trump. “If we can't figure out how to solve problems across our political divide,” she tells Burns, “then I believe Trumpism only grows and worsens in this country.” Plus, White House reporter Myah Ward on Trump's trip to Scotland and what it revealed about the working relationship between the president and European leaders. 

With the markets closed and the August 1 deadline having passed overnight, President Donald Trump followed through on his pledge to impose a wave of new tariffs. But Trump is far from finished. The president announced that in one week, he'll raise tariffs on more than 60 nations, including a number of close U.S. trading partners. Playbook editor Zack Stanton joins contributing author Adam Wren to discuss what to expect today and in the days and weeks to come.

For more than five decades, Joe Biden led an incredibly public existence. But now, in his post presidency, he's entered a quieter, lonelier stage of life. He's staffed by only one or two aides and Secret Service, holed up for hours at a time in Delaware working on his memoir with a new ghostwriter and racing against an aggressive form of prostate cancer while undergoing treatment. Most Democrats would prefer he keep a low profile. But what does Biden want? As he reenters the news cycle — both with a speech tonight to the National Bar Association in Chicago and as his former aides go before an adversarial House Oversight Committee — can he avoid being a millstone for the party he once led? Playbook's Adam Wren and Dasha Burns walk through the implications of this moment and all the rest of the news you need to know today.

We're halfway between the usual once-in-a-decade redrawing of congressional maps. So why are we talking about redistricting in 2025? As the White House looks for ways to keep its Republican House majority in the 2026 election, it's pressuring red states to shift their maps and squeeze out a few more GOP seats. And that risks setting off a redistricting arms race, with big red and blue states threatening to one-up each other and remake the 2026 electoral map — literally. Playbook's Adam Wren and Zack Stanton game out the scenarios in key states, and tell you what else you need to know today.

For a decade, President Donald Trump's MAGA movement has bulldozed through GOP orthodoxy on everything from the national debt to immigration to trade to Russia. Now, there are fresh signs that it could be careening toward its last standing shibboleth: The U.S. special relationship with Israel. With the humanitarian disaster in Gaza sparking global outrage and a public split between Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Playbook's Adam Wren and Dasha Burns check in on what's animating the president's new posture — and what we can expect from here.

Vice President JD Vance's first six months in office have been an exercise in stealth. Yes, he has a very public role. But to understand how Trump's Washington truly works, you need to pull back the curtain on how Vance has approached his job — and what that tells us both about the MAGA's present and its future. Adam Wren and Dasha Burns go inside the inner workings of the Trump White House and share their reporting. Plus, President Donald Trump's Scotland trip continues as he prepares for a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is expected to press him on the spiraling humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Martin Makary is getting lobbied by the MAHA movement to restrict food dyes and ultra-processed foods, as well as by the food, agriculture and pharmaceutical industries to reduce government oversight.  “We want to go bold and there are a lot of things to do,” Makary tells POLITICO's Dasha Burns. “But we also want to find common ground and work incrementally.” At the same time, he says, “The amount of pressure I feel from industry or other branches of government is zero.” Makary also discusses how the agency is addressing women's health and access to mifepristone, what he calls a “child vaping epidemic,” and explains the rationale behind FDA staffing cuts as well as some controversial hires.  Plus, White House reporter Jake Traylor joins Burns to discuss the mood inside the White House amid the fallout over the Jeffrey Epstein story, why President Trump is “itching” to get back on the campaign trail ahead of the 2026 midterms and whether GOP candidates in swing districts will welcome him.

Today, even as President Donald Trump heads to Scotland, his attention lingers stateside — and maybe not for the reason you assume. Trump has fully invested himself into the coming midterms, with high stakes both for his political project and for himself. Looming over it all are the ghosts of 2018, when Trump's Republicans lost the House and handed the gavel to a new Democratic majority that went to work stymying his agenda and launching investigations into his conduct. What did he learn from that experience and how is that shaping the outlook for the 2026 election? Adam Wren and POLITICO White House reporter Myah Ward break it all down.

It's the biggest story in Washington: Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal dropped a bombshell report that Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed President Donald Trump in May and told him that his name — among many others — appeared multiple times in the files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Now, the White House's Epstein problem has grown into a full-blown crisis and entered a new and potentially more damaging phase. Playbook's Adam Wren and Dasha Burns unpack it all — the spin, the lines of attack and what you need to know about where things head from here.

For more than two weeks, the Jeffrey Epstein saga has blotted out the sun in Washington. But it's only now — with the House heading out for a monthlong recess as GOP leaders adjourn the chamber rather than allow a floor vote that would hasten the release of the Epstein files — that the storyline is threatening to break out of the bubble and follow congressional Republicans back to their districts, nudged along by gleeful Democrats. Playbook contributing author Adam Wren and chief correspondent Dasha Burns talk through what that might look like, the potential pitfalls for Democrats and Republicans and what President Donald Trump finds especially frustrating about the whole ordeal.

With no new enterprise journalism published recently on the “Epstein files” front, President Donald Trump's allies are catching their breath. Democrats are riding what could be a sugar high, having already cost the House GOP some votes this week. But as the aperture widens, are Republicans actually finding themselves in better shape than conventional wisdom would suggest ahead of the 2026 midterms? Playbook contributing author Adam Wren and chief correspondent Dasha Burns talk through that and two other key questions just now coming into focus about 2026.

As the Epstein storm bears down on the White House, some of the same dynamics that contributed to the president's rise to power now threaten his administration. Among them is the attention economy, which has utterly transformed American politics — and which Trump's innate grasp of helped him secure a second term. Now, with 2024 behind them, have Democrats fully absorbed one of the lessons of their defeat — and is the Epstein story an example of just how much things have changed? Playbook contributing author Adam Wren and chief correspondent Dasha Burns talk it through.

Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt is a lawyer, former state attorney general and a skilled navigator of the old — and new — wings of the Republican Party. He also has another title: White House whisperer.  Schmitt joins POLITICO's Dasha Burns to talk about his closeness with the Trump administration, driving the Senate's $9.4 billion rescissions bill, his involvement with passing Trump's “big, beautiful bill,” his belief in Medicaid reform, the controversy over the release of the Epstein files and what he describes as his “America First” — but not isolationist — foreign policy approach.  “I think a slur that's often uttered is that it's an isolationist point of view,” Schmitt told Burns. “That's not true at all.” (Note: This interview was conducted before the Senate and House passage of the rescissions bill.) Plus, POLITICO reporter Ben Jacobs digs into his reporting on social media influencers running for office and how the phenomenon is reshaping electoral politics.  Listen and subscribe to The Conversation with Dasha Burns on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

The longtime friendship between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein came in for a close-up in a much-anticipated Wall Street Journal report last night that detailed a long-ago “bawdy” birthday greeting the future president sent to the future convicted sex offender. Immediately, Washington was ablaze with chatter — about the reporting, about the White House's response and about the story's potential to reunite the deeply fractured MAGA movement that had recently seemed so divided over the administration's handling of the Epstein files. POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly joins Playbook contributing author Adam Wren to walk through what we know and what to watch from here.