MSNBC Layoffs Set to Impact 99 Union Staffers, Guild Claims
The Writers Guild of America East's bargaining unit at MSNBC decried the 'mass layoffs' on 'at least nine different shows' in a statement on Tuesday. According to the guild, those shows include The ReidOut, Alex Wagner Tonight, The Weekend, Andrea Mitchell Reports, Ayman Mohyeldin Reports, Weekends with Jonathan Capehart, The Katie Phang Show, Jose Diaz-Balart Reports and Inside with Jen Psaki. 'This devastating news comes after the slow, painful trickle of announcements regarding a near-total overhaul of the network's broadcast line-up,' the group wrote.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Joy Reid Opens Final MSNBC Show With Message of Resistance: "Fascism Isn't Just Coming, It's Already Here"
MSNBC's New Lineup Revealed: Joy Reid Out, Jen Psaki Promoted and 'Weekend' Hosts On the Move
Trump Targets Comcast CEO Brian Roberts As MSNBC Plans New Lineup
The bargaining unit additionally alleged that the company has told employees who have been targeted for layoffs that they can reapply for their jobs, given that roles remain open at MSNBC. It called for an immediate cessation of the cuts. 'The MSNBC Union demands the Company not lay off any of the employees it has slated to be laid off but rather reassign them as needed,' the group wrote. 'In the event that any employees are not retained, we demand the Company follow the layoff provisions of the collective bargaining agreement that it entered into with the Union.'
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to MSNBC for comment.
If 99 workers are indeed laid off, that would make a sizable dent in the union. As of December 2023, when the MSNBC Union's first contract was ratified, the bargaining unit numbered nearly 300 workers. Workers first voted to unionize with the Writers Guild of America East in a National Labor Relations Board vote in 2021.
Read the full statement from the bargaining unit below.
Over the past two days, we learned that MSNBC is starting mass layoffs of 99 of our union colleagues from at least nine different shows. This devastating news comes after the slow, painful trickle of announcements regarding a near-total overhaul of the network's broadcast line-up.
Although the Company has acknowledged that there are plenty of job openings at MSNBC, it has cruelly insisted that the workers slated for layoff must reapply for their jobs to remain employed. The MSNBC Union demands the Company not lay off any of the employees it has slated to be laid off but rather reassign them as needed. In the event that any employees are not retained, we demand the Company follow the layoff provisions of the collective bargaining agreement that it entered into with the Union.
The news of layoffs comes against the backdrop of the President of the United States making direct threats against MSNBC, among other news outlets, and at a time when it has never been more crucial to have a fully staffed newsroom to cover a democracy under attack.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started
Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023
Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
35 minutes ago
- The Hill
Morning Report — Trump puts DC on high alert
Trump puts FBI crime fighters on D.C. streets Ukraine fights for spot at Trump-Putin summit Netanyahu on defensive with Gaza takeover Experts go to school on elementary students President Trump today will explain what he sees as a role for FBI law enforcers on Washington, D.C., streets as part of his crackdown against violent crime. The FBI began over the weekend to dispatch about 120 agents to work overnight shifts to help local law enforcement prevent carjackings and violence as Trump scheduled a news conference for this morning. He said he wants to 'stop violent crime' and tackle homeless encampments in the nation's capital after signing an order last month making it easier to arrest homeless people. 'The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY, ' the president wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. 'We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong.' Last week the president began wielding crime statistics to make his case, including data that Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) disputed on Sunday. 'If the priority is to show force in an American city, we know he can do that here,' Bowser, who initially offered no public comments as the president vowed to federalize the city, told MSNBC on Sunday. 'But it won't be because there's a spike in crime.' Describing himself as 'no 'MR. NICE GUY,'' Trump said on social media over the weekend that federal action will 'immediately clear out the city's homeless population and take swift action against crime.' The president's aggressive approach echoes his focus on border security and migrant criminals, themes during his campaign and in the first six months of his second term. In Los Angeles in June, Trump deployed active-duty troops to bolster federal arrests of migrants while rejecting the opposition of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). FBI agents also were used during that operation before Trump withdrew the troops in mid-July. His presidential action in California will be scrutinized during a federal trial that begins today as part of a challenge brought by the governor. Violent crime rates in Washington dropped 35 percent from 2023 to 2024, marking the lowest rates recorded in more than 30 years, according to a January report by the Justice Department. ▪ The Washington Post: Here's what D.C.'s crime statistics show. But Trump reacted last week to social media and news accounts of car jackings and melees involving teenage attackers while continuing to describe the nation's capital as unsafe, unsightly and poorly managed by Democratic politicians. He and advisers say D.C. police and prosecutors are too lenient. He called for juvenile suspects to be charged in the adult justice system. Trump has long been critical of conditions in Washington and in other major U.S. cities governed by Democrats, including New York, his hometown. 'We want our Capital BACK,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. The deployment of FBI agents to deal with local crime puts federal agents from the bureau's counterintelligence, public corruption and other divisions with minimal training in traffic stops out on the streets, The Washington Post reported. In the nation's capital, suspects as young as 15 can be charged as adults. 'Young people are coddled, and they don't need to be coddled anymore,' U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the city's new prosecutor appointed by Trump, said last week. ' They need to be held accountable.' Smart Take with Blake Burman will return on Wednesday. 3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY ▪ The share of moms with young children in the workforce fell this year, as return-to-office measures and government layoffs take an outsize toll on women. ▪ Trump hasn't applied to the National Capital Planning Commission for approval of his planned 90,000 square foot White House ballroom. It's a statutory requirement and a review can take years. ▪ U.S. companies are repurchasing their stock shares at a record pace. It's boosting their balance sheets and fueling a rally in financial markets. LEADING THE DAY ALASKA SUMMIT: As the war in Ukraine rages on, Trump will meet Friday in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It will mark the first meeting between a U.S. president and the Russian leader since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As of Monday, major logistical components, including a venue, remained up in the air, as White House officials raced to lock down details. In his first few months back in office, Trump and his administration have pushed for an end to the war in Ukraine, with no luck. Trump said last week he is going to meet with Putin in Alaska to speak about an end to the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not been invited to the summit, raising concern among Kyiv's allies across the globe. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday that he hopes Zelensky will be involved in the summit. Vice President Vance, interviewed Sunday on 'Fox News,' said the U.S. is working to set up a separate meeting that also includesZelensky. Vance said he did not think it would be a good idea for Putin and Zelensky to meet before Trump's meeting on Friday with the Russian president. Vance said he wants peace and to stop funding the Ukraine war. 'We're done with the funding of the Ukraine war business,' he said on Fox News. 'We want to bring about a peaceful settlement to this thing.' LAND DISPUTE: Putin's reported proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, which would require Kyiv to cede regions in the east, sparked a firm response from European leaders on Saturday. They welcomed Trump's efforts to negotiate a ceasefire as part of an effort to permanently end the nearly three-and-a-half-year war but argued that 'only' an approach that mixes support for Ukraine, 'active' diplomacy and additional pressure on Moscow can lead to peace on the front lines. Zelensky said Sunday that his country will not let Russia 'deceive' the U.S. 'Of course, our team is working with the United States — not a single day goes by without communication on how to ensure real peace,' Zelensky said in an address, according to a translation released by his office. 'We understand Russia's intention to try to deceive America — we will not allow this. I greatly value the determination with which President Trump is committed to bringing an end to the killings in this war.' ▪ The Hill: NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the alliance is 'making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay in the fight' ahead of the summit. ▪ The New York Times: Washington's push to negotiate an end to the war has raised concerns the Trump administration will make concessions to Moscow that Kyiv finds unacceptable. NO CONCESSIONS: Russian officials and commentators crowed about landing a summit between Putin and Trump, which apparently came without the Kremlin having made any clear concessions over its war in Ukraine. Russia's special economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev said the decision to hold the summit in Alaska was symbolically important for the U.S.-Russian partnership. The U.S. purchased the territory from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, or about 2 cents per acre. 'Trump has chosen to host Putin in a part of the former Russian Empire,' Michael McFaul, an Obama-era U.S. ambassador to Russia, wrote on the social platform X. 'Wonder if he knows that Russian nationalists claim that losing Alaska, like Ukraine, was a raw deal for Moscow that needs to be corrected.' ▪ The Hill: Trump critic John Bolton, a former national security adviser during Trump's first term, criticized the upcoming U.S.-Russia meeting in Alaska, arguing Trump's actions have not changed foreign policy. Bolton asserted Trump is motivated by a desire to capture a Nobel Peace Prize. ▪ The Hill: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says that peace negotiations in Alaska could be 'a positive step forward' if 'an agreement can be negotiated which does not compromise what the Ukrainians feel that they need.' GAZA: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended his plans to take over additional areas of Gaza, despite widespread international criticism. Netanyahu said Israeli forces would 'quickly' evacuate and then seize Gaza City, as well as a cluster of refugee camps in the enclave's middle region. But critics said the proposed new military offensive is likely to worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and further endanger the hostages still being held by Hamas. Thousands protested across Israel over the weekend, renewing calls for an immediate ceasefire. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres criticized Israel's plan, saying in a statement that the plan 'marks a dangerous escalation' and 'risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians.' Trump is giving a tacit green light for Netanyahu's military push, framing the move as an Israeli-owned decision amid a global outcry. A defiant Netanyahu on Sunday insisted there is no starvation in Gaza. Netanyahu only conceded there was 'deprivation' in the enclave, but he said 'no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war' if Israel was implementing a 'starvation policy.' ▪ CNN analysis: Netanyahu's Gaza takeover plan satisfies no one but himself. ▪ Politico: The 'day after' plan for Gaza that Netanyahu doesn't want to talk about. © The Hill | Greg Nash COURTING ENDORSEMENTS: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is leaning heavily into the Texas redistricting battle as he seeks to fend off an uphill, conservative primary challenge from state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). Last Tuesday, Cornyn publicly called for FBI Director Kash Patel to assist in tracking down Texas state Legislature Democrats who fled the state in protest of the GOP's proposed congressional maps, which could net them five seats in Congress. Two days later, the senator and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) separately confirmed that the FBI was assisting in the effort. The move to get out in front of the redistricting battle allows Cornyn to ingratiate himself with the state's deeply conservative base, writes The Hill's Julia Manchester, as they have distanced themselves from the incumbent senator in his uphill primary battle against Paxton. 'I think this is a good opportunity for Cornyn to show that he's a fighter and that's willing to take on an issue that's a red meat issue that resonates with the base,' said Brendan Steinhauser, Cornyn's former campaign manager and a Texas-based GOP strategist. 'When you see those opportunities, you have to take them.' Former Attorney General Eric Holder said Sunday the FBI does not have jurisdiction to return Texas Democratic lawmakers who fled their state. 'You're asking the FBI to get involved, to find these legislators who are in the process of trying to defend democracy in Texas,' Holder said on NBC News's 'Meet the Press.' 'And they're not hard to find, but the question after that is, 'Well, what's the federal jurisdiction? What federal statute has potentially been violated? What's the basis for any federal government interaction?' And I would say that there is none.' ▪ NBC News: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) slammed Trump as a 'cheater' and Abbott as a 'joke' days after welcoming Texas Democrats who fled their state. LONE STAR EXAMPLE: States across the country are looking to follow Texas's lead in redrawing their congressional district lines ahead of the 2026 midterms. Multiple Democratic and Republican governors are seeking to add as many seats as they can for their parties and increase the chances that their party can win control of the House next year. The Hill's Jared Gans breaks down which states are most likely to make the next redistricting moves. ▪ The Hill: These are the top House Democrats at risk from GOP redistricting. ▪ The New York Times: The independent body that redraws California's political maps isn't perfect, many Republicans say. But they prefer it to the gerrymander Newsom is proposing to offset the one in Texas. FLORIDA: When Miami-Dade County turned red in November, after nearly three decades of being solidly blue, Democratic political operatives in Florida had their worst fears realized: The Sunshine State was in fact red. The signs of a flip from purple had been there for several cycles and further cemented by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's 2022 win, when he won the metropolitan county for the GOP for the first time in 20 years. But Florida Democrats say they haven't given up on trying to move their state back into purple-state-territory. In fact, they say, they're doubling down on their efforts. 'We're still rebuilding, but we've had a lot of success,' Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, told The Hill's Amie Parnes, although she acknowledged there is 'a lot of work to be done and resources we've brought into the state to do that work.' ▪ The Hill: Republicans are waging a multipronged campaign against abortion shield laws in blue states, hoping to force the federal government to ultimately ban them. Legal experts say the effort will be difficult — as some states have already learned. INFLATION: The rising costs of goods and inflation are a growing political problem for Republicans as Trump's latest round of tariffs are scheduled to kick in. Democrats see high costs as their best issue heading into the midterm election. But Republicans have yet to come up with a clearly defined strategy to address the problem of high prices, which they highlighted repeatedly in the 2024 election ahead of their sweeping victories in the presidential, Senate and House races. 'That's why Trump's beating that Fed rate cut like a dead horse,' one Republican strategist told The Hill's Alexander Bolton, referring to the immense pressure the president has put on the Federal Reserve to cut rates. © The Associated Press | Sophie Park LOCKDOWNS AND LEARNING: Children attending preschool and kindergarten this fall may prove to be tiny teachers among researchers who plan to study whether babies born during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic differ from their predecessors as new classroom learners, possibly because of factors that include school and societal adaptations amid the nation's first brush with lockdowns and a new virus. Educators say they worry about cognitive and social delays, such as difficulties sharing and following directions, among 4- and 5-year-olds who entered the world beginning in 2020. ▪ CBS News: Meanwhile, the COVID-19 virus is on the rise again, especially in the West, according to state and government data. COMPUTER CHIPS: Companies Nvidia and AMD are expected to kick 15 percent of what they make in China sales of artificial-intelligence chips to the U.S. government in a highly unusual arrangement crafted by Trump. The agreement follows Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang 's meeting with Trump last week. FEDERAL DATA: The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics will soon get a new leader after Trump fired the last commissioner following the release this month of a weak jobs report. E.J. Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, is among those under consideration and has been a longtime critic of the agency's approach to collecting jobs data, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. ▪ The Hill: Some advocates for higher education fear potential repercussions of Trump's order to colleges and universities to turn over more college admissions data. ▪ The Hill: ■ A risky peace gamble in Alaska, by The Washington Post editorial board. ■ Dangerous nostalgia: Trump wants to turn back time, by A. Scott Bolden, opinion contributor, The Hill. © The Associated Press | Markus Schreiber And finally … What are Labubu dolls and why did they land in national headlines last week when thieves stole a store's inventory of the pricey collectibles? Answer: The haul near Los Angeles of toothy little monsters created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung was valued at $7,000. 'We are still in shock, ' One Stop Sales, the store that was robbed, said in a social media post while urging people to help locate the burglars. The current craze for the colorful adornments, which have been described as ' creepy but cute,' is being driven by social media, natch. Labubus, which are manufactured by Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company based in Beijing, are hard to come by and are subject to U.S. tariffs. The popularity of the petite gremlins has spawned fakes. Stay Engaged
Axios
35 minutes ago
- Axios
Cleveland homicides plunge in first half of 2025
Homicides in Cleveland fell by nearly 30% in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, new national crime data shows. Why it matters: Cleveland's drop is consistent with many of the nation's large and midsize cities, reinforcing a broader decline in violent crime since the pandemic surge. By the numbers: Cleveland saw 46 homicides between Jan. 1 and June 30, according to stats compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA). That's down from 64 in the same period in 2024. Nationwide, homicides fell by 19%, with decreases of at least 50% in Denver, Honolulu, Orlando and Tampa. In Cleveland, incidents of rape, robbery and aggravated assault also declined. Catch up quick: There was a notable increase in the rate of gun violence across the U.S. during the pandemic. The recent downward trend counters President Trump's false claims that immigration had sparked rising crime nationwide — a reason he gave for his mass deportation plan. The latest: "The truth is that it's all happening in spite of Donald Trump, not because of him," Mayor Justin Bibb wrote in an MSNBC op-ed this month. Democratic mayors "have stepped up to demonstrate what real leadership looks like ... We are managing what we can control and doubling down on programs and strategies that work." Zoom in: Bibb has touted the RISE initiative, targeted enforcement in the city's "hot spots," and summer safety campaigns built around community engagement. What's next: The quarterly reports from MCCA typically have been a good measure of trends that are reflected in the annual FBI crime data released a year later. What we're watching: Trump has said he will tie federal grants to local police departments based on a requirement that they participate in his plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Playbook: Mr. Trump comes for Washington
Presented by With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco On today's Playbook Podcast, Adam Wren and Mike DeBonis discuss President Donald Trump's looming announcement of his plans for D.C., and what he does (and doesn't) have the power to do. Happy Monday. I'm Adam Wren, here as another work week begins. Send me your tips, thoughts, etc. In today's Playbook … — Trump's big announcement about crime and homelessness in Washington D.C. is set for 10 a.m. We have everything you need to know. — Planning continues for Friday's big Alaska summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. — What the Teamsters' latest donations to the GOP tell us about the political realignment. DRIVING THE DAY TRUMP'S D.C. DECISION: For a few more uneasy hours, Washington waits. At 10 a.m., President Donald Trump will unveil his bid to exert control over the District of Columbia — part of ending 'Crime, Murder, and Death in our Nation's Capital,' he announced yesterday. Exactly what that push entails has parts of the city on edge. 'I'm going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before,' the president posted on Sunday. 'The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong. It's all going to happen very fast, just like the Border. … Be prepared! There will be no 'MR. NICE GUY.' We want our Capital BACK.' What the White House says: 'Everyone who lives in our nation's capital, (including the press who read this newsletter every morning) knows homelessness and crime are plaguing this city,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tells Playbook. 'You can thank President Trump for finally taking action to clean it up. Under President Trump's leadership, DC will be safe and beautiful again for its residents, lawmakers, and visitors from around the world.' The view from D.C.: Mayor Muriel Bowser told MSNBC Sunday she suspects Trump's 'announcement is that he is surging federal law enforcement, which he's talked about.' 'We're going to keep talking to the president, working with his people on the issues that are high priority for him,' Bowser said. 'Now, if the priority is to show force in an American city, we know he can do that here. But it won't be because there's a spike in crime.' HOW FAR COULD TRUMP GO?: Basically, there's an escalating scale of options at the president's disposal, as POLITICO's Mike DeBonis, himself a former D.C. government reporter, tells us. On the low end of the scale: The president has control of federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, U.S. Park Police and Secret Service, and is within his rights to mobilize them to police the city. He's already doing that. Over the weekend, there was a noticeable increase in federal law enforcement patrolling the streets of Washington — or at least the downtown-adjacent parts of the city's northwest quadrant most trafficked by the professional class. The 'FBI has begun dispatching agents in overnight shifts,' per WaPo's Perry Stein and colleagues. Joining them are officers from the DEA, ICE and other federal agencies. One step up on the scale: The National Guard. The D.C. National Guard is under the president's control, and Trump could call them up if he chooses — and, indeed, he's considering doing that. 'The U.S. military is preparing for the activation of hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.,' Reuters' Idrees Ali reported last night. Administration sources who spoke with Playbook didn't dispute that report, but stressed that Trump had yet to make a final decision about deploying the National Guard. If Trump does activate the National Guard, it would be in keeping with his recent actions in Los Angeles and his talk on the 2024 campaign trail. '[I]n cities where there has been a complete breakdown of law and order, where the fundamental rights of our citizens are being intolerably violated, I will not hesitate to send in federal assets including the National Guard until safety is restored,' Trump vowed during the campaign. Further up the scale: The president can federalize the Metropolitan Police Department in 48-hour increments. Typically, the MPD is under the control of the mayor, but under the Richard Nixon-era Home Rule Act, the president retains the power to supersede city hall for discrete periods of time. This has never happened before. When the law was written, they envisioned it being used in the event of a 1960s-style urban riot. 'They were afraid of a scenario where D.C. would be on fire and the mayor would not be able to control it,' DeBonis tells us on this morning's Playbook Podcast. 'That's an option [Trump] has, and it would probably be one of the more serious things. It would be the first time that this particular provision of the Home Rule Act has been invoked.' Highest up the scale: Asking Congress to modify or repeal the Home Rule Act. At the moment, this seems unlikely to happen; it would need a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and the support isn't there. But could that change? It would require getting several Democrats on board, which seems outside the realm of possibility — especially if Trump decides to make a political priority of it. There's growing interest from a niche group in the Senate led by Mike Lee (R-Utah) to repeal the act. And it has support from prominent GOP attorney and MAGA legal enforcer Mike Davis, who has Trump's ear and is often the tip of the spear on controversial issues that intersect with the justice system. 'The Constitution is clear: Congress, not local Democrats, must control our nation's capital,' Davis tells Playbook. 'The D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973 is unconstitutional — and it has turned D.C. into a third-world Marxist hellhole. Congress and the courts must end this half-century disaster.' Davis is encouraging Trump to press forward. 'The President must follow his constitutional duty and work around unconstitutional legal obstacles in his way,' he says. BUT LET'S TAKE A DEEP BREATH: Based on our conversations with people in Trump world, at this moment, this entire ordeal seems less like the machinations of a major power struggle than something Trump sees as a quick, visually friendly PR win. 'What it really is is the president has been driving around D.C. and has seen the filth and has seen the squalor himself, and he wants to make it more beautiful and more safe,' a White House official told Playbook last night. It's about the visuals: The Guardian notes that Trump's Truth Social post yesterday in which he said homeless people have to move out 'IMMEDIATELY' was illustrated by four photos of homeless people or tents — all of which were apparently 'taken from the president's motorcade along the route from the White House to his golf course.' The visual, as ever, matters to him. And then, consider the political reality of something like overturning home rule. 'Most Republicans understand 'you broke it, you bought it' when it comes to D.C.,' DeBonis tells us. 'If there was a congressional takeover, you are now responsible for cops, schools, picking up trash, etc. Any problems there now redound to you. You don't get to complain about liberal Democrats. It's on you.' Which brings us to … THE POLITICAL MOMENT: It's worth noting that 'law and order' has long been a dominant plank in Trump's overarching political project, dating back more than a decade. And it's inextricable from how he thinks about cities — which, as our colleague Michael Kruse chronicled years ago, is firmly rooted in his experiences of 1970s and '80s New York City. In that way, it's not especially surprising that the issue has reemerged. But its timing seems somewhat politically useful, Democrats argue, coming so soon after a bleak jobs report and the ongoing fallout over the Jeffrey Epstein files. 'This is not related at all to the jobs report,' a White House official granted anonymity tells Playbook. Even so, campaigning as 'tough on crime' has long been terra firma for Republicans, particularly ahead of midterm elections (see 2018 and the 'migrant caravans,' or 2022 and the number of grim ads that flooded the airwaves on the topic). It isn't just Trump. In the last week or so, Republicans around the country have raised crime as an issue. 'The soft-on-crime policies that the liberal left has been championing for far too long don't just hurt people, people die,' Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in an appearance last week on Sean Hannity's Fox News show. And after a viral video of an assault in Cincinnati, Ohio, GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy held a town hall on the event, phoning into Fox at the end. This is still an issue on which Democrats find themselves on the back heel. A strain of the party has begun to wrestle with its record of governance in big blue cities. The center-left group Third Way conceded in a memo earlier this year that Democrats needed to 'own failures of Democratic governance in large cities and commit to improving local government.' Still, Dems argue this is another Trump distraction. Nationally, crime is trending down in every category, according to the FBI. And in Washington, the violent crime rate has dropped drastically since 2023. 'While Trump is making communities less safe and working to undermine cities at every opportunity, Democratic mayors have stepped up to deliver real progress and historic reductions in crime,' a spokesperson for the Democratic Mayors Association told Playbook. 'Trump may want to take credit, but he is the problem, not the solution. Mayors need a federal partner who works with them, not against them.' The DCCC pushed back, too. 'Firstly, the party that celebrates pardons for those who attacked Capitol Police on January 6 should never, ever be lecturing anyone about law and order,' DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton told Playbook. 'Secondly, no amount of desperate misdirection will hide the reality that the American people are swiftly souring on House Republicans' failed agenda of broken promises and rising prices, and will reject them in the midterms.' A White House official said the president has long been focused on law and order. 'This is why Democrats continue to be so unpopular among everyday Americans — they think the President of the United States cracking down on crime in our nation's capital is a bad thing,' the White House official told Playbook. And to be fair, as David Urban, a former 2016 Trump campaign adviser, told Playbook, litigating crime while talking about other issues isn't an either/or: 'BOTH the economy, as well as safety and security, will always be issues in American elections,' he told us. TRUMP AND THE WORLD THE ALASKA SUMMIT: On Friday, Trump is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. European leaders have been rallying around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and backing his demands for a ceasefire before negotiations start, per NYT's Constant Méheut. EU foreign ministers are set to meet today to discuss what's next, per Reuters. Land grab: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on ABC yesterday said that along with security guarantees for Ukraine, ceding some territory to Russia would 'have to be on the table' — an idea that Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected, per Bloomberg's Hadriana Lowenkron. And it's not just Rutte: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told NBC that there may need to be land swaps, even though he doesn't want to see Russia's actions rewarded. The room where it happens: VP JD Vance left open the door to organizing a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy and Putin, saying on Fox News that the White House is 'trying to figure out, frankly, scheduling and things like that, around when these three leaders could sit down and discuss an end to this conflict,' as WaPo's Marianne LeVine and colleagues write. The Kremlin has rejected the idea of inviting Ukraine this week, while Zelenskyy has argued that no peace deal can be reached without Ukraine present. THE CRISIS IN GAZA: The Israeli military is preparing to quickly expand its operation and seize central Gaza as PM Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday vowed the IDF will 'finish the job' and 'defeat Hamas,' NYT's Isabel Kershner and Aaron Boxerman report from Jerusalem. The Israeli offensive focuses on Gaza's central refugee camps as well as Gaza City, WSJ's Anat Peled reports. … Netanyahu spoke with Trump about the new campaign, but it's not clear when it will begin — only that it will happen 'fairly quickly,' per Reuters' Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell. The White House has not yet publicly weighed in on the plan. The latest: An Israeli strike in Gaza last night killed four Al Jazeera journalists, including reporters Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qureiqa, per NYT's Ephrat Livni. The IDF accused al-Sharif of being the head of a Hamas 'terrorist cell,' which the Committee to Protect Journalists previously warned was a 'smear campaign.' The human impact: 'Doctors detail the daily deluge of Gazans shot while seeking food,' by WaPo's Louisa Loveluck and Claire Parker BEST OF THE REST CHIP ON YOUR SHOULDER: Nvidia and AMD made a deal with the Trump administration to give the U.S. government 15 percent of their revenue from chip sales to China — a condition to the agreement to obtain export licenses that was approved last week, FT's Demetri Sevastopulo and Michael Acton scooped. 'The quid pro quo arrangement is unprecedented,' FT writes. 'According to export control experts, no U.S. company has ever agreed to pay a portion of their revenues to obtain export licences.' Speaking of Big Tech: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is visiting the White House today to meet with Trump, per WSJ's Lauren Thomas, just days after Trump called for him to be sacked over his ties to China. DAMNED LIES AND STATISTICS: The Trump administration is actively interviewing candidates to replace Erika McEntarfer atop the Bureau of Labor Statistics — among them E.J. Antoni, the lead economist at the Heritage Foundation and a longtime critic of the BLS jobs data collection system, WSJ's Brian Schwartz and Meridith McGraw scooped. The process is ongoing, but Antoni has the backing of some MAGA die-hards, including Steve Bannon. SIGN OF THE TIMES: For the second year in a row, the Teamsters' political arm donated to Republicans after about two decades of only backing Democrats. The labor union's D.R.I.V.E political action committee — Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education — gave the National Republican Congressional Committee $5,000 in the second quarter. In addition to giving to the NRCC, Teamsters doled out a combined $62,000 in contributions to GOP Reps. Rob Bresnahan and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania; Pete Stauber and Tom Emmer of Minnesota; Nicole Malliotakis, Andrew Garbarino, Nick LaLota and Mike Lawler of New York; Jefferson Shreve of Indiana; Dave Taylor, Bob Latta, Michael Rulli and Dave Joyce of Ohio; Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith of New Jersey; David Rouzer of North Carolina; Tom Barrett of Michigan; Blake Moore of Utah; Darin LaHood and Mike Bost of Illinois; Troy Nehls of Texas; and Vern Buchanan of Florida. It comes as Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien has sought to reach out beyond the union's traditional audience. He recently hosted Ramaswamy on his podcast, and sat with The Free Press for an interview with Bari Weiss. 'Our members are working people whose interests cut across party lines,' Kara Deniz, a Teamsters spokesperson, told Playbook. 'And there's no value in living in a bubble … where you only talk to certain people to the exclusion of others.' 'Labor unions are finally recognizing the fact that their memberships are made up of workers from across the political spectrum,' said Bresnahan, who received $5,000 from the Teamsters and whose grandfather was a member of the IBEW. Last year, the Teamsters donated $25,000 to the NRCC and gave $45,000 to the RNC in an effort to diversify their support as their rank-and-file members move rightward. 'Hard-working men and women across the country are rallying behind Republicans up and down the ballot because we fight for their jobs, their families, and their future,' NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella told Playbook. 'Democrats have abandoned them for their deeply out of touch, radical policies. We're bringing these voters home, and they will be key in growing our House majority.' REDISTRICTING ROUNDUP: Democrats are blasting Republicans' effort to enact a mid-decade change to multiple state congressional maps, with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker telling NBC yesterday that Republicans 'know that they're going to lose in 2026 … so they're trying to steal seats.' But Democrats say their own push for mid-cycle redistricting is different, POLITICO's Gregory Svirnovskiy writes. Former AG Eric Holder said Democrats' efforts are 'responsive' and 'temporary.' Republicans press on: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to see the redistricting effort through, saying 'as soon as this [session] is over, I'm gonna call another one, then another one, then another one, then another one,' WaPo's Mariana Alfaro and Hannah Knowles report. And Vance is pushing for 'very decisive action' to fight back against what he said were already gerrymandered blue states, per Axios. TALK OF THE TOWN George Morgan, a 65-year-old homeless man who lives in a tent camp by the Lincoln Memorial, told NPR's Brian Mann that he is disappointed by Trump's rhetoric about the homeless in D.C. 'As much as God has blessed America … truth be told we're in a shamble and in hot water in terms of taking care of our own.' Michelle Obama and Ketanji Brown Jackson both made guest appearances at events on Martha's Vineyard last weekend. EXTREME MAKEOVER: WHITE HOUSE EDITION — Trump's White House makeover continues. The official portraits of former presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama have been moved to an out-of-the-way stairwell — with Obama's portrait out of view for White House visitors, CNN's Betsy Klein and Kristen Holmes report. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Max Eden and James Paul are joining the America First Policy Institute. Eden will be director of federal education policy and previously was a director at the Domestic Policy Council and an alum of Manhattan Institute and AEI. Paul will be director of state education policy and previously was executive director of the West Virginia Professional Charter School Board. TRANSITIONS — Janis Bowdler and Felicia Escobar Carrillo are joining Equis Research as senior fellows. Bowdler will be a senior fellow on the economy and previously was the first counselor for racial equity at the Treasury Department. Escobar Carrillo will be a senior fellow on immigration and previously served as chief of staff at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and is a White House Domestic Policy Council alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Billy Long (7-0) … NYT's David Brooks and Lyndsey Layton … David Rubenstein … former Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) … Charles Blow … Matt Morgan of Barnes & Thornburg … POLITICO's Toby Eckert, Michael Roberts and Danielle Bello … Chris Berry of iHeartMedia … Scripps News' Liz Landers … Tara Ayres … Joanna Piacenza of Gravity Research … Precision's Brian Krebs … Alex Siciliano of the National Association of Broadcasters … Lauren Maddox of Holland & Knight … Jesse Barba of Cengage Group … Chris Lisi … Kedrin Simms Brachman … former USTR Charlene Barshefsky … DemList's Kimberly Scott … Albert Morales … Marissa Secreto … Colin Cunliff … former Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.) … Thad Huguley … John Files … Greg Michaelidis … Ilana Drimmer … Mitra Kalita of URL Media … Sam Myers Jr. … National Journal's Emily Akhtarzandi … Rob O'Donnell … ABCA's Domingo Juan Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ 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.
