Playbook PM: Waltz advances, Ingrassia gets iced
THE CATCH-UP
BREAKING: Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers just announced that he will not seek a third term, creating an open-seat contest atop the state that was the closest in the nation last year. The mild-mannered Democrat helped usher his party out of the wilderness in Wisconsin, vetoing a bevy of GOP bills and striking a bipartisan budget deal this year. With Evers out of the race, lots of ambitious Democrats and Republicans could jump in. His announcement
SAVE ME THE WALTZ: Mike Waltz's nomination as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is out of limbo and back on track after a Democrat cut a deal to save him in committee, the latest development in an up-and-down day for some of President Donald Trump's highest-profile nominees.
By a whisker: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voted no but Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) joined with Republicans to vote yes and advance Waltz out of the Foreign Relations Committee, 12-10. He now goes to the full Senate, where the former national security adviser will likely be confirmed. The partisan swap reflected ideological divides around isolationism: Paul objected to Waltz's vote to keep troops in Afghanistan, while Shaheen said in a statement that despite some concerns (including Signalgate), she saw Waltz as a potential 'moderating force' against the likes of VP JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Elbridge Colby. Some Democrats also worried about who might replace Waltz if his nomination failed.
The art of the deal: Crucially, Shaheen said she also worked out a deal with committee Republicans and the State Department to unlock $75 million in lifesaving foreign aid for Haiti and Nigeria, per Axios' Hans Nichols. The money for food and medical assistance had already been authorized. But Shaheen may not necessarily vote for Waltz's confirmation, POLITICO's Jordain Carney and Eric Bazail-Eimil report.
Also headed to the Senate floor: The Judiciary Committee advanced Jeanine Pirro's nomination as U.S. attorney for D.C. on a 12-10 party-line vote, along with a number of other U.S. attorney picks. More from Bloomberg Law
Not going as smoothly: the nomination of Paul Ingrassia. Trump's pick to lead the Office of Special Counsel was due for a confirmation hearing this morning, but he was yanked from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee schedule indefinitely as senators said they needed more time to examine his record, per POLITICO's Hailey Fuchs. The controversial recent law school graduate — who has reportedly shared a 9/11 conspiracy video, defended Jan. 6 participants and said straight white men are the smartest people — would bring staunch Trump loyalty to a role that has traditionally been an independent watchdog. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said he was principally concerned about Ingrassia's 'statements about antisemitism.'
But but but: The White House hasn't pulled his nomination, and it's standing staunchly behind him still. If it's rescheduled, his confirmation hearing could come next month or after the August recess, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune said committee members are 'taking a harder look at it.'
Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. BIG NEWS FOR USDA: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins today announced a sweeping transformation of the department with a reorganization plan that will see most of its D.C. buildings shut down and staff moved to other parts of the country, POLITICO's Grace Yarrow, Jordan Wolman and Marcia Brown scooped. Multiple D.C.-area facilities will be closed, including the South building of headquarters, and some 2,600 civil servants could be forced to move to new hubs like Salt Lake City; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Fort Collins, Colorado. (Similar moves at two USDA research offices in Trump's first term led to significant staff departures, vacancies and plummeting morale.)
With SCOTUS' blessing: Rollins' moves come after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with reorganization plans and mass layoffs, lifting a lower-court block. Rollins has said it's valuable to bring USDA 'closer to the people' across the country. The agency said it is currently 'bloated, expensive, and unsustainable,' and needs to shrink and refocus on its core missions. But major reductions in force are not expected now at USDA, since more than 15,000 employees have already sprung for the deferred resignation plan.
2. THE IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN: 'ICE moves to shackle some 180,000 immigrants with GPS ankle monitors,' by WaPo's Douglas MacMillan and Silvia Foster-Frau: 'U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has directed personnel to sharply increase the number of immigrants they shackle with GPS-enabled ankle monitors, as the Trump administration widens surveillance of people it is targeting for deportation … Currently, just 24,000 of these individuals wear ankle monitors. … [It] marks a significant expansion of a 20-year-old surveillance practice steeped in controversy.'
3. TRADING PLACES: After Japan struck a trade deal with the U.S., South Korea is scrambling to make sure it secures one too before Aug. 1 tariffs kick in, NYT's Lydia DePillis and Ashley Ahn report. The Japan agreement could serve as a template or a starting point, as Seoul and Washington try to hash out disagreements on beef, other agricultural goods, automobiles and more. But a meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and USTR Jamieson Greer that was slated for tomorrow in D.C. has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts, raising more concerns about whether the two sides will be able to reach a deal in time, per Reuters' Jihoon Lee.
4. FACT CHECK: 'Gabbard's claims of an anti-Trump conspiracy are not supported by declassified documents,' by AP's Byron Tau and Eric Tucker: 'The Kremlin's campaign and the subsequent U.S. government response were the subject of at least five major investigations … Those investigations either concluded — or accepted the conclusion — that Russia embarked on a campaign to interfere in the election through the use of social media and hacked material. … The Associated Press has reviewed those reports to evaluate how [DNI Tulsi] Gabbard's claims stack up.'
Undeterred: Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) urged AG Pam Bondi to tap a special counsel to probe the newly declassified documents and the Obama administration's Russia election interference investigation, Fox News' Ashley Oliver scooped. Special counsel John Durham already led a three-year review into this matter that began in Trump's first term.
5. WHAT JOHN CORNYN IS TOUTING: 'Texas AG claimed three homes as primary residence. Democrats are being probed for similar issue,' by AP's Brian Slodysko: 'Mortgages signed by [Ken and Angela Paxton] contained inaccurate statements declaring that each of those three houses was their primary residence, enabling the now-estranged couple to improperly lock in low interest rates … It is a federal and state crime to knowingly make false statements on mortgage documents. … Trump has accused two of his political foes — Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James — of committing mortgage fraud, though legal experts say the circumstances are less serious.'
More from Texas: Bobby Pulido is taking the first step toward a Democratic bid to challenge GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz, The Texas Tribune's Gabby Birenbaum scooped. The superstar Tejano singer would bring wide name recognition to a bid, but this heavily Latino area of South Texas has swung hard to the right in recent years. (Possible redistricting looms, of course.)
Red-light redistrict: Texas, of course, may be ground zero for Republicans' effort to gerrymander several new House seats for themselves. And though Democrats are talking tough about going tit for tat, the reality is that the GOP has more opportunities to win in an all-out mid-cycle redistricting war, Sabato's Crystal Ball's Kyle Kondik writes. Dems would have to go to more effortful lengths to counter GOP gains. And the White House is serious about pushing for a similar redraw in Missouri, Punchbowl's Ally Mutnick and colleagues report.
All of this is an effort by politicians to seize power at the expense of voters' wishes: 'Conventional constraints don't exist if we're really driving the car all the way off the cliff,' one professor tells NYT's Nick Corasaniti and Laurel Rosenhall.
6. CLIMATE FILES: 'Boom fades for US clean energy as Trump guts subsidies,' by Reuters' Nichola Groom: 'Singapore-based solar panel manufacturer Bila Solar is suspending plans to double capacity at its new factory in Indianapolis. Canadian rival Heliene's plans for a solar cell facility in Minnesota are under review. Norwegian solar wafer maker NorSun is evaluating whether to move forward with a planned factory in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And two fully permitted offshore wind farms in the U.S. Northeast may never get built.'
7. TROUBLE AT THE NGA: Some Democratic governors are growing angry that the bipartisan National Governors Association hasn't been forceful enough in responding to Trump's actions against state leadership and autonomy, The Atlantic's Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker report. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly intend to stop paying their taxpayer-funded dues. The NGA pushed back, saying that being bipartisan means it won't issue statements unless governors from both parties reach consensus on an issue. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt will assume the chairmanship this weekend, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is expected to be elected vice chair.
8. OUT OF THE DOGE HOUSE: Antonio Gracias has left the Department of Government Efficiency, where he was a top official, and is back in the private sector, NBC's Gretchen Morgenson scooped. Amid questions from Randi Weingarten about his firm's management of public pension funds' assets while working for DOGE, his company said he stopped volunteering for the office at the start of July. Gracias had also made false claims about the Social Security Administration with Elon Musk.
9. NOT JUST ASPEN: 'Pentagon suspends participation in think tank events,' by POLITICO's Jack Detsch: 'It specifically banned attendance at the Halifax International Security Forum … The move would sideline the Pentagon from national security dialogues that it has used for decades to advance its policy and explain the department's rationale.'
TALK OF THE TOWN
OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a fundraiser for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger, hosted by Nelson Cunningham at his Georgetown home last night and bringing in $80,000: George Vradenburg, Tim Broas, Mark Bergman, Neil Eggleston, Viveca Novak, Roberta Baskin, Robert Hoopes, Adam Schwartz, Scott Wallace, Aaron Williams and John Mullen.
— Velocity Partners celebrated the launch of its new creator offering at a dinner last night at The Henri, hosted with #Paid. SPOTTED: Ali Rubin, Kate Meissner, Andrea Riccio, Lisa Hanna, Emilie Simons, Alex Hornbrook, Kelly Langford, Greg Roberts, Kenny Thompson, Francesca Marotti, Dia Marchionne, Olivia Perez-Cubas and Grace Mihalich.
MEDIA MOVE — Tanya Simon has been named executive producer of CBS' '60 Minutes,' the first woman and fourth person overall to assume that role across 57 years. She most recently was interim executive producer and has been with the broadcast for 25 years.
TRANSITION — James Dougherty is joining McGuireWoods' government contracts group. He most recently was at Offit Kurman.
Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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