POLITICO Playbook PM: What Trump wants from the GOP

President Donald Trump urged Republicans this morning to drop their crusade on the process by which Democrats are impeaching him, and focus on the substance. | Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo

NEWS … CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: “Former U.S. Senator Kay Hagan dead at 66,” by Jim Morrill: “Hagan, a Democrat, served a single term after beating Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2008. She lost to Republican Thom Tillis in 2014.

“‘We are heartbroken to share that Kay left us unexpectedly this morning,’ her family said in a statement. “‘Kay meant everything to us, and we were honored to share her with the people of North Carolina whom she cared for and fought for so passionately as an elected official. Most of all, we already miss her humor and spirit as the hub of our family, a role she loved more than anything. Nobody could light up a room and make people feel welcome like Kay.’ … She had been diagnosed with Powassan virus, a type of encephalitis, in 2016.” Charlotte Observer


BREAKING ... JOHN BRESNAHAN, MELANIE ZANONA and ALLY MUTNICK: “Oregon Republican Greg Walden to retire in 2020”: “The 62-year-old Walden, who was first elected in 1998, said he was confident he'd win reelection but decided instead to instead his congressional career in Jan. 2021.” POLITICO

PAGING HOUSE REPUBLICANS! … President DONALD TRUMP urged Republicans this morning to drop their crusade on the process by which Democrats are impeaching him, and focus on the substance: “I’d rather go into the details of the case rather than process. … Process is good, but I think you ought to look at the case.”

MORE FROM THE PRESIDENT, on the first phase of a China trade deal: “We are looking probably to be ahead of schedule to sign a very big portion of the China deal, and we’ll call it phase one but it’s a very big portion. That would take care of the farmers. It would take care of some of the other things. It’ll also take care of a lot of the banking needs. … I imagine the meeting is scheduled for [the APEC summit in] Chile.”

TRUMP’S CHICAGO LUNCH today -- at the Trump Hotel Chicago -- is going to raise $4 million for the Trump Victory joint fundraising committee, per pooler Anne Gearan of WaPo, citing a GOP official.

TRUMP SPEAKING IN CHICAGO: “It’s embarrassing to us as a nation. All over the world they’re talking about Chicago. Afghanistan is a safe place by comparison. It’s true.”

-- FACT CHECK: No.

NEW … KYLE CHENEY: “Schiff warns Trump is inviting impeachment by blocking witnesses”: “President Donald Trump’s effort to block a former national security aide from testifying in Democrats’ impeachment inquiry is strengthening the case for impeachment based on obstruction of Congress, House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Monday.

“Schiff also told reporters that Charles Kupperman — who skipped a Monday morning deposition and is seeking a judge’s ruling on whether he has to testify — may be held in contempt of Congress.” POLITICO

Good Monday afternoon. HOW ABOUT THAT … The Vapor Technology Association, which is the lobby for “the vapor tech, e-cigarette and e-liquid industry,” has disclosed $83,300 in spending in opposition to TRUMP. They just released this ad, which has supporters of the president urging him not to enact a flavor vape ban.

DANGER -- “As Russia makes 2020 play, Democratic campaigns say they are in the dark, and experts fear U.S. elections are vulnerable,” by WaPo’s Isaac Stanley-Becker, Ellen Nakashima and Tony Romm: “Several Democratic presidential campaigns targeted by a Russia-based operation on Facebook’s popular Instagram app said they had been unaware of the new foreign disinformation efforts until the tech giant announced them publicly last week, raising alarms that American democracy remains vulnerable to foreign interference even after three years of investigations into the Kremlin’s attack on the 2016 election.

“The lack of advance notice to the apparent victims of the first-known attempts by Russians to interfere directly in the 2020 race has heightened fears that campaigns are largely on their own when it comes to guarding against attacks from foreign interests. …

“Some said they were unnerved by the nature of the recent Instagram posts, which seemed to target battleground states and demonstrated a nuanced understanding of the dynamics at play in the 2020 Democratic primary. They appeared, for instance, to stoke African American resentment of former vice president Joe Biden while tapping into themes designed to undercut Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Kamala D. Harris (Calif.), as well. The Russian network appeared to be relatively small and in an audience-building mode, analysts said.” WaPo

SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO on “Fox and Friends” this morning: QUESTION: “Mr. Secretary, you were in Kansas again. A lot of people were speculating, and you’ve thought about running for Senate. When would you make that decision to whether you want to run or not? I know [that] for Republicans, they look at that seat as extremely valuable. Mitch McConnell, if he had his druthers, you’d go ahead and run for that seat. When would you do that? When would you make that decision?”

POMPEO: “Brian, the decision’s been made. I’ve talked about this many times. I’m going to continue to be America’s secretary of State as long as President Trump wants to have me on the team. It’s an enormous privilege. You get the chance to serve a president who is engaged in activity just like we saw this weekend, keeping America safe. I want to be part of that.”

BAGHDADI LATEST -- “Islamic State Spokesman Targeted in U.S. Airstrike, Say Kurds,” by WSJ’s Isabel Coles in Erbil, Iraq, and Nazih Osseiran in Beirut: “A U.S. airstrike targeted Islamic State’s spokesman, Kurdish military leaders said, further clouding the extremist group’s future after the death of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

“Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir was targeted Sunday in a joint operation between the U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces, according to the Kurdish-led group’s leader, Mazloum Abdi. Mr. Abdi didn’t specify whether the strike had killed Muhajir. The operations against Baghdadi and Muhajir had ‘effectively disabled top ISIS leadership’ who were hiding in northwest Syria, Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the SDF, said.” WSJ

-- TRUMP said this morning he was considering releasing video footage of the Baghdadi raid.

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IMPEACHMENT CLIP PACKET … NANCY COOK: “The White House is moving closer to hiring a communications specialist this week to bolster its impeachment strategy and messaging, with former top Treasury aide Tony Sayegh now as the leading contender.” POLITICO

-- “Ukrainian Oligarch Seethed About ‘Overlord’ Biden for Years,” by The Daily Beast’s Betsy Swan and Adam Rawnsley: “Indicted Ukrainian gas oligarch Dmytro Firtash spent more than $1 million hiring key figures in Republican efforts to investigate the Biden family. … But the two men have a history. Two Ukrainian gas industry experts say the gas-market reforms pushed by Biden and others in 2014 and 2015 hit Firtash in the wallet, and badly. One knowledgeable outside observer estimated that the 2014 and 2015 gas reforms and legislation cost him hundreds of millions of dollars.” Daily Beast

-- WAPO: “Sen. Johnson, ally of Trump and Ukraine, surfaces in crucial episodes in the saga,” by Elise Viebeck and Dalton Bennett: “Sen. Ron Johnson met in July with a former Ukrainian diplomat who has circulated unproven claims that Ukrainian officials assisted Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, a previously unreported contact … In an interview this past week, Andrii Telizhenko said he met with Johnson (Wis.) for at least 30 minutes on Capitol Hill and with Senate staff for five additional hours. He said discussions focused in part on ‘the DNC issue’ …

“The meeting points to Johnson’s emerging role as the member of Congress most heavily involved in the Ukraine saga that has engulfed the White House and has threatened Trump with impeachment. … Johnson’s knowledge of key events could make him a person of interest to House impeachment investigators, as well as complicate his role as a juror in a trial by the Senate, if one occurs.” WaPo

THE INVESTIGATIONS … JOSH GERSTEIN: “The Trump administration is appealing a judge’s ruling requiring the Justice Department to give the House Judiciary Committee grand jury materials related to former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. The decision Friday from Chief Judge Beryl Howell of U.S. District Court in Washington effectively put the onus on the Justice Department to convince the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals or, perhaps, the Supreme Court, to reverse her ruling.

“However, the court battle could also put new pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to clarify whether she still considers issues related to Mueller’s report a viable part of the House’s ongoing consideration of impeaching President Donald Trump.” POLITICO

-- Judge Howell gave House Democrats until noon Tuesday to respond to DOJ’s appeal.

IMMIGRATION FILES -- “A Trump Official Who Once Headed An Influential Anti-Immigration Group Has Resigned,” by BuzzFeed’s Hamed Aleaziz: “Julie Kirchner, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Ombudsman since 2017, offered President Trump her resignation this week, acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan said in an email to staffers on Monday. It was not immediately clear why Kirchner had resigned.

“Kirchner had previously worked at FAIR, a group that advocated for policies that restrict immigration. Michael Dougherty, assistant secretary for border, immigration and trade policy, will be taking over the Ombudsman role, which is tasked with helping applicants fix problems with their immigration status.” BuzzFeed

WHAT EVERY DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN IS DIGGING INTO … “Elizabeth Warren’s Days Defending Big Corporations,” by NYT’s Stephanie Saul: “[There was] a considerable body of legal work that Ms. Warren, one of the nation’s leading bankruptcy experts, took on while working as a law professor — moonlighting that earned her hundreds of thousands of dollars over roughly two decades beginning in the late 1980s, mostly while she was on the faculty at Harvard. Much of it involved representing big corporate clients. …

“[A] review by The New York Times, together with interviews with several of Ms. Warren’s former compatriots in the rarefied world of self-described bankruptcy nerds, reveals a complex picture in which many cases defy simple black or white categorization. It also offers a look at a relatively unexamined aspect of her thinking. Her work, the scholars say, should be understood primarily as an effort to preserve the right to file for bankruptcy and the integrity of the bankruptcy system.” NYT

2020 WATCH -- “The unexpected threat emerging against Bernie: Andrew Yang,” by Eugene Daniels and Holly Otterbein: “The outsider entrepreneur who refuses to wear a tie at the Democratic debates is attracting some of the same people as the outsider senator who spurns brushing his hair for rallies. … Though Sanders and Yang differ in significant ways, they're both running anti-establishment campaigns that speak to an electorate frustrated with the status quo, wary of Democratic insiders, and looking for economic help. For Sanders, their overlapping bases may give him a small boost if Yang drops out of the race down the road …

“But it’s also a potential threat to Sanders even if Yang continues polling in the single digits. If Yang shaves off a few percentage points from Sanders’ voting bloc, particularly in early-primary states such as New Hampshire, that could turn a second- or third-place finish into something worse.” POLITICO

GHOSTS OF TILLIS PAST -- “As Tillis Faces Primary Fight, Earlier Breaks With Trump Are a Focus,” by WSJ’s Valerie Bauerlein in Whiteville, N.C.: “[E]arlier daylight between [Sen. Thom] Tillis and Mr. Trump has given an opening to his opponent in next March’s primary, businessman Garland Tucker. Mr. Tucker got into the race after the senator wrote a February op-ed opposing Mr. Trump’s plan to fund the border wall by a national-emergency declaration. And even though Mr. Tillis reversed course, Mr. Tucker is running campaign ads characterizing him as a flip-flopper. …

“The nonpartisan Cook Political Report recently changed the race’s rating to ‘lean Republican’ from ‘likely Republican,’ citing the primary as a factor.” WSJ

EYES ON THE SKIES -- “Boeing’s 737 MAX jet could soon fly again despite damning probes,” by Brianna Gurciullo and Sam Mintz: “Boeing’s grounded 737 MAX could be cleared to return to the skies in the U.S. as early as this year, despite a continued cascade of damning revelations … If the MAX flies again soon, it will be a major test of the international credibility of U.S. aviation regulators, who risk finding themselves out of step with the rest of the world if authorities in Europe and elsewhere continue to prohibit the aircraft from flying in their airspace.

“The Federal Aviation Administration’s evaluation process for returning the MAX to service is moving along even as the agency and Boeing continue to face questions about how the plane gained regulatory approval in 2017. … This week represents a crucial test for the future of Boeing, whose CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, will testify before Congress in what promises to be two days of brutal questions about the twin disasters. Restoring the trust of the flying public may be an even harder task.” POLITICO

-- “FAA’s lax oversight played part in Boeing 737 Max crashes, but agency is pushing to become more industry-friendly,” by WaPo’s Michael Laris, Ian Duncan and Lori Aratani

TRADE WARS -- “U.S. travel industry to Chinese tourists: What trade war?” by AP’s Bani Sapra: “Across the country, the U.S. tourism industry is trying to counter one of the casualties of the trade war with China that is still raging despite a temporary truce this month: A drop in the flow of affluent Chinese visitors to the U.S. …

“The number of visitors from China dropped nearly 4% in the first half of this year after a nearly 6% drop in 2018. More broadly, the U.S. share of the global travel market has slipped in the past year, and travel and hospitality groups blame the trade conflicts and intensified competition from rival countries. To close the gap, they’ve urged the government to extend funding for the U.S. national tourism marketing agency and to work more closely with overseas trade fairs and tour groups.” AP

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SPOTTED: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Richard Tucker Music Foundation Gala at Carnegie Hall in New York on Sunday night. (hat tip: Alexandra Svokos)

SPOTTED at an afterparty for Mark Twain Prize for American Humor recipient Dave Chappelle hosted by Franco Nuschese, Yousef Al Otaiba and Bob Johnson at Cafe Milano on Sunday night: Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), Steven Clemons, Jonathan Karl, Sarah Silverman, Colin Jost, Kenan Thompson, Michael Che, Aziz Ansari, Jeff Ross, Mos Def, Common, Tiffany Haddish, George Lopez, Debra Lee, Kevin Sheekey, Patti Harris, Tammy Haddad and Patricia Harrison.

TRANSITIONS -- Senate Majority PAC announced several new hires for the 2020 cycle: Ghada Alkiek as political manager, Tonya Fulkerson as national finance director, Rachel Irwin as comms director, Emma Levin as senior adviser and Margit Westerman as digital director. Alkiek previously worked for Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), Fulkerson at Fulkerson Kennedy and Co., Irwin for Kirsten Gillibrand’s presidential campaign, Levin at the DCCC and Westerman at GMMB and Bully Pulpit Interactive. …

… Joe Perticone and Merav Ceren are joining Bullpen Strategy Group as director and VP. Perticone previously was a Capitol Hill reporter for Business Insider. Ceren previously was a research team lead at Delve. … Brian Rell will head Balch and Bingham’s federal public policy and government relations practice. He currently is chief of staff to Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.). …

… Alexandra Cawthorne Gaines will be head of CAP’s Poverty to Prosperity Program. She currently is program director at the National Governors Association. … Bryan Greene will be director of federal fair housing policy at the National Association of Realtors. He previously was general deputy assistant secretary at HUD.

CONGRATS -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) completed her first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, on Sunday. Pic … Another pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Abbie McDonough, VP at Breakwater Strategy, and Jeremy Merkelson, of counsel at Holland & Hart, welcomed Hazel Rowan Merkelson on Oct. 16. She came in at 8 lbs, 2 oz, and joins big sister Ruby. Pic … Another pic

BONUS BIRTHDAY: Briana Pittelli of ROKK Solutions (h/t Ryan Hughes)

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