Washington, DC

1. White House’s econ pitch
2. Rubio, Hegseth grillings
3. Ukraine talks advance
4. Senate aviation fight
5. Trump’s Reiner controversy
6. Minnesota Senate race
7. Tanzania seeks US lobbyist

PDB: Trump reacts to Lai verdict

Trump sues BBC for $10B … FBI offers $50K reward in hunt for Brown gunman … WaPo: Pentagon plan calls for major military power shift

White House ramps up economic pitch

The White House will continue its economy-focused travel today, with Vice President JD Vance appearing in Pennsylvania to talk about “Trump’s economic success” as polling shows voters increasingly sour on the president’s handling of the issue. Trump, who also traveled to Pennsylvania last week, is slated to stop in North Carolina on Friday. Officials will have more clarity by then: The Labor Department is slated to release employment data for November and part of October this morning, then November inflation data on Thursday. Still, economists caution the numbers may not be as reliable as usual thanks to the lingering effects of the government shutdown. One example: DOL will not calculate an October unemployment rate because it was unable to conduct the necessary survey while shuttered. Shutdown aside, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently warned the government could be dramatically overestimating recent hiring.

— Eleanor Mueller

Rubio, Hegseth to be grilled on Venezuela

Lawmakers from both parties will get the rare chance to grill Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a scheduled classified briefing on the Trump administration’s military actions in the Caribbean. The briefing comes as the US inches closer to strikes inside Venezuela, beyond attacks on alleged drug boats — three more of which were conducted yesterday. The administration also plans to show members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees video of a Sept. 2 double strike on an alleged narcotics vessel later this week, Politico reported. Trump on Monday signed an executive order classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, a sign of potential escalation; experts say the boats are largely moving cocaine, not fentanyl. Some lawmakers are concerned about a perceived lack of information sharing. Trump “has not been clear, and he has not certainly been communicating with Congress,” Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said.

— Shelby Talcott

US closer to securing Ukraine peace deal

The US is closer to getting Kyiv to agree to a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine after Washington promised Ukraine security guarantees, akin to NATO’s Article 5, that would be Senate-approved. The proposal represents a win for Ukraine, which sounded more optimistic about a potential agreement following two days of talks in Berlin. But one US official noted that security guarantees wouldn’t be on the table forever — a sign of further pressure on Kyiv to say yes. And while Trump officials expressed optimism about Russia’s willingness to deal, their assumption that Moscow would agree to strong security guarantees may “prove to be an overly optimistic assessment, given the Kremlin’s refusal to give ground in peace talks so far,” Politico wrote. Meanwhile, the US wants Ukraine to withdraw forces from Donetsk, Reuters reported, which would be a “massive concession” for Kyiv.

— Morgan Chalfant and Shelby Talcott

Aircraft safety row spills into public

There’s a big split in Congress this week, and it’s not the usual fare. Instead, Republicans and Democrats are divided over whether they are about to make a repeat of the January crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport more likely in the annual defense bill. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., are trying to strip out language from the National Defense Authorization Act they say gives the Pentagon too much authority to waive transmission of its aircraft locations around DC. Leaders see it as too late in the process to alter the must-pass legislation, but this fight isn’t going away. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that the Senate might take up Cantwell and Cruz’s ROTOR Act — a safety response to the crash at DCA — as an amendment to spending bills that the Senate is working on.

— Burgess Everett

Reiner murder splits Trump, Republicans

Trump’s reaction to the murder of Hollywood director Rob Reiner marks a rare moment of fellow Republicans criticizing his social media habits unprompted. The president stood by comments mocking the Democratic director’s killing as a result of “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME,” even after it prompted pushback from GOP lawmakers like Reps. Stephanie Bice, Don Bacon, and Mike Lawler. “Regardless of one’s political views, no one should be subjected to violence,” Lawler, among the most vulnerable House Republicans, wrote on X, calling the killings of Reiner and wife Michele a “horrible tragedy that should engender sympathy and compassion from everyone.” More Republicans are occasionally breaking with the president as he grapples with sagging poll numbers and complaints from MAGA allies that he’s not focusing on what matters to his base, as The Washington Post reported. Reiner’s son Nick was arrested in connection with the killings.

Tafoya weighs Minnesota Senate bid

Longtime broadcaster Michele Tafoya is seriously looking at a GOP Senate bid in Minnesota and met with National Republican Senatorial Committee officials last week, a person familiar with the conversations told Semafor. Tafoya’s candidacy has been on the back burner for months as Republicans largely focused elsewhere, and in the ensuing few months a tough Democratic primary has bubbled up between Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig. Minnesota is not yet thought of as truly competitive with Trump in the White House, but Tafoya could pique Republicans’ interest more than last year’s candidate, Royce White, who lost by about 15 percentage points.

— Burgess Everett

Tanzania shops for DC lobbyist

The Tanzanian government is hunting for a Washington lobbyist to help “shape its narrative” on Capitol Hill as the East African nation reels from post-election violence that has spawned an enormous political crisis, Semafor’s Yinka Adegoke scooped. Security forces have killed hundreds of people protesting against the electoral process in Tanzania since the Oct. 29 elections, the UN reported, prompting the State Department to announce a review of US relations with the African nation amid concerns about “religious freedom, free speech, obstacles to US investment, and violence against civilians.” The reference to possible religious persecution likely set off alarm bells in the Tanzanian capital of Dodoma following a similar allegation in Nigeria that led the Trump administration to classify it as a “country of particular concern.” But Tanzania seems to be better positioned to weather the storm, Yinka writes.

Blindspot: RFK and radio

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, curated with help from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: Former vice president Mike Pence is demanding that President Trump oust Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services over the administration’s failure to follow through with a promised review of the abortion drug mifepristone, RealClearPolitics reported.

What the Right isn’t reading: An AM radio station in California limited its political programming in order to avoid drawing further scrutiny from conservatives or the FCC under the Trump administration, the Associated Press reported.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: “The options aren’t good — do you want a shutdown? CR? Omni[bus]? None of those are options that most of our folks want to have to deal with,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of the latest congressional funding fight.

Axios: Elon Musk has started funding Republican House and Senate campaigns for next year’s midterms, a sign that his feud with President Trump has eased.

Playbook: With the hunt for the Brown University gunman still ongoing, FBI Director Kash Patel is set to appear on conservative Katie Miller’s podcast today “giving a loved-up interview alongside his country singer girlfriend.”

WaPo: A lawsuit filed against Instacart by a corporate employee who was fired after running for Congress as a Democrat highlights the success of Trump’s campaign to “intimidate corporate America.”

White House

• President Trump said he had previously asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to consider releasing Jimmy Lai, following the media mogul’s conviction in Hong Kong.

Congress

• Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., is running for reelection.
• The Defense Department is “escalating” its probe into Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., whose lawyers say will fight the “administration’s unprecedented and dangerous overreach.”