POLITICO Playbook: Senate Republicans start to back McConnell and Trump plan Presented by

DRIVING THE DAY

Even centrists like Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio signaled that they would take their cues from the majority leader. | Caroline Brehman-Pool/Getty Images

SENATE REPUBLICANS started to line up behind President DONALD TRUMP and Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL’S plan to put forward a Supreme Court nominee in short order and push forward with a vote. Vulnerable Republicans like Sens. THOM TILLIS of North Carolina, JONI ERNST of Iowa and MARTHA MCSALLY of Arizona quickly backed the strategy of moving swiftly.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (S.C.) who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and had said he would oppose filling a court vacancy during the last year of an administration, also offered Trump support for “any effort to move forward” to fill Ginsburg’s seat. Sen. TED CRUZ went even further on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” The Texas Republican said that “the right thing to do is for the Senate to take up this nomination and to confirm the nominee before Election Day.”

EVEN CENTRISTS like Sen. ROB PORTMAN of Ohio signaled that he would take his cues from the Majority Leader. “Leader McConnell has said that he will hold a vote on any nominee President Trump sends to the Senate, and I intend to fulfill my role as a U.S. Senator and judge that nominee based on his or her merits,” he said in a statement.

THE BIG OUTLIER: SEN. SUSAN COLLINS. The Maine Republican, who is in a very tough Senate race, said the Senate Judiciary Committee should start the process of vetting Trump’s pick, but “given the proximity of the presidential election, however, I do not believe that the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election.”

COLLINS has long been viewed as a moderate and independent lawmaker. But her standing changed for many in the wake of the BRETT KAVANAUGH nomination when she lined up behind McConnell. And more so after she lined up with TRUMP over impeachment.

OTHERS TO WATCH: Sen. LISA MURKOWSI of Alaska has also said the vote should take place after the election. Sen. MITT ROMNEY of Utah has not yet weighed in. EVEN IF ALL THREE hold fast against proceeding before the election, it’s unclear who would be the fourth vote Democrats would need to block the nomination from moving forward.

MCCONNELL will know in short order where his conference stands. He has a leadership meeting Monday night and then the Tuesday conference lunch, the first time all of his members will sit down together.

COMING OUT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT? Be ready for TRUMP to hit back. He tweeted Sunday morning against MURKOWSKI and an Alaska Chamber event.

TRUMP’S SUPPORTERS have already landed on a new chant at rallies — “Fill that seat!” His campaign team is selling a T-shirt with that slogan and fundraising off of the court vacancy.

A REMINDER: Government funding runs out on Sept. 30. Congressional leaders had been expected to put out a deal Friday, but then pulled back. Expect movement on this Monday.

SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI told GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS on ABC’S “THIS WEEK” that “none of us has any interest in shutting down the government. … So I would hope that we can just proceed with that. There is some enthusiasm among some exuberance on the left to say let's use that [to slow down the SCOTUS nomination process], but we're not going to be shutting down government.”

-- STEPHANOPOULOS also asked what PELOSI could do to slow down a nomination during the lame duck — whether they would move to impeach TRUMP or Attorney General BILL BARR. PELOSI: “Well, we have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I’m not about to discuss right now, but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country. This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election with statements that he and his henchmen have made.”

AND THE CORONAVIRUS CONTINUES TO RAGE … MORE THAN 6.7 MILLION Americans have contracted the coronavirus. … MORE THAN 200,000 Americans have died.

HAPPENING TODAY -- JOE BIDEN is giving a speech at 2 p.m. in Philadelphia that will be focused on the Supreme Court. The VP was silent Saturday.

Good Sunday morning.

NEW -- TRUMP’S WEEK AHEAD: MONDAY: The president will travel to Ohio and give speeches in Dayton and Swanton. TUESDAY: Trump will travel to Pittsburgh to give a speech. WEDNESDAY: Trump will deliver remarks in honor of veterans who fought at the Bay of Pigs. Trump will participate in a discussion with state attorneys general on “protecting consumers from social media abuses. THURSDAY: Trump will travel to Jacksonville, Fla. and give a speech.

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NEW POLLS: “Biden Leads Trump by 8 Points in New Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll,” by WSJ’s Alex Leary: “In a year dominated by a deadly virus, racial unrest and tumultuous news cycles, the presidential race remains remarkably stable, with former Vice President Joe Biden maintaining his lead over President Trump, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows.

“Some 51% of registered voters nationally say they would vote for Mr. Biden if the election were held today, while 43% back Mr. Trump. That 8-point lead remains largely unchanged from a month ago, when Mr. Biden had a 9-point advantage, and compares with an 11-point Biden lead in July. Mr. Biden has led Mr. Trump by 6 points or more all year.” WSJ

-- “Florida race tightens and Trump has edge over Biden in Texas — Battleground Tracker poll,” by CBS’ Anthony Salvanto, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus, Kabir Khanna and Elena Cox:

WAPO’S DAN BALZ: “Ginsburg’s death crystallizes the choice in November as no other issue can”

WHO WILL TRUMP PICK? -- WAPO’S ROBERT BARNES, SEUNG MIN KIM and JOSH DAWSEY: “In a call with McConnell, Trump mentioned two female appellate court judges — Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the 11th Circuit — as favorites, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Two other judges — McConnell’s favorite, Amul Thapar, 51, of Kentucky and the 6th Circuit and 38-year-old Allison Jones Rushing of the 4th Circuit — are in a small group that is being given a close look.

“All were nominated by Trump to their present positions and have wide support in the conservative legal establishment that has advised the president on his judicial picks. Lagoa, who served briefly on the Florida Supreme Court, had the easiest confirmation, where a majority of Democratic senators supported her in an 80-to-15 vote.” WaPo

THE DEMS RESPONSE -- “Joe Biden’s Court Vacancy Plan: More Talk of Health Care and the Pandemic,” by NYT’s Shane Goldmacher, Katie Glueck and Thomas Kaplan: “Now, confronted with a moment that many believe will upend the 2020 election — the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the prospect of a bitter Supreme Court confirmation battle — Mr. Biden’s campaign is sticking to what it believes is a winning strategy. Campaign aides said Saturday they would seek to link the court vacancy to the health emergency gripping the country and the future of health care in America.

“While confirmation fights have long centered on hot-button cultural divides such as guns and especially abortion, the Biden campaign, at least at the start, plans to chiefly focus on protecting the Affordable Care Act and its popular guarantee of coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.” NYT

-- “The left channels its fury toward McConnell,” by Holly Otterbein

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SUNDAY BEST … MARGARET BRENNAN interviewed former President BILL CLINTON on CBS’ “FACE THE NATION”: BRENNAN: “Do you think this galvanizes Democratic or Republican voters more? Are Democrats missing an opportunity, not having talked about the potential vacancy earlier on in this race?” CLINTON: “I think that the voters at least have to know that if you put one more conservative, particularly an ideologically conservative Republican on the court, they're giving up the healthcare bill for, you know, 20 million people's health insurance, losing all the preexisting conditions for tens and tens of millions of people. No help on the other front. That's just one example. So there are consequences. ...

“And since it's only 40 days, I think that maybe the Democrats should leave. There are no rules on this. There's no law. So we'll just have to see what happens. But if we're going to have a vote, then it's important that the Democrats and the Republicans make absolutely clear that the voters understand what the consequences of it are.”

-- CHRIS WALLACE interviewed Sen. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.) on FOX NEWS’ “FOX NEWS SUNDAY”: COONS said the “Republican majority is going to be responsible for what we do in the next 44 days.” COONS also said he planned to talk with his Republican Senate colleagues. “I’m going to work this weekend, this week, to reach across the aisle, and see if I can’t persuade some friends to respect tradition, to respect the precedent they set in 2016 and let the voters decide.”

-- CHUCK TODD interviewed SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-Minn.) on NBC’S “MEET THE PRESS” to discuss the SCOTUS fight: KLOBUCHAR: “If my colleagues want to look themselves in the mirror and say, ‘What did I just say the last time this happened? What's the precedent I set? What should I follow?’ They each have to make an individual decision. And so, for me, that's what this is about. It's about justice, it's about moving forward as the Senate and a democracy.”

-- JAKE TAPPER interviewed VP chief of staff MARC SHORT on CNN’S “STATE OF THE UNION” and asked about the timing of Trump’s nomination: “He's narrowed his list. And he looks forward to making a nomination and fulfilling his obligation as president to make a nomination. As some of your guests have commented already this morning, the reality in history is that there's been 29 vacancies during a presidential election year, and, 29 times, presidents have put forward a nominee.

ON WHETHER THE SENATE WILL CONFIRM BEFORE THE ELECTION: SHORT: “Today, we sit here 44 days out from election, so it's certainly possible. But I think that the president's obligation is to make the nomination. We will leave the timetable to Leader McConnell.”

ABOUT LAST NIGHT -- “Supreme Court vacancy provides Trump new rallying cry,” by Anita Kumar in Fayetteville, N.C.: “A day after Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, President Donald Trump relished the opportunity to promise his supporters that he would fill the vacant Supreme Court seat, a move designed to energize his voters just weeks before the election. In his first expanded remarks about the Supreme Court, Trump told thousands of supporters at a campaign rally Saturday that he has a ‘moral duty’ to replace Ginsburg, and that his pick will almost surely be a woman.

“‘So Article 2 of our constitution says the president shall nominate justices of the Supreme Court,’ he said. ‘I don't think it can be any more clear ... I don't think so. I don't think so.’ ‘Fill that seat!’ the crowd chanted. ‘That’s what we're going to do. We're going to fill the seat,’ he responded to cheers.

“Trump’s allies said they hoped he would shift his focus from the coronavirus outbreak to the Supreme Court to invigorate Republicans by showing them what’s at stake in the election. The president delivered Saturday, signaling that he plans to campaign on the issue for the next six weeks, revising a strategy he employed in 2016.” POLITICO

MICHAEL KRUSE: “It might sound a little unseemly, and even a tad nuts, considering the ongoing pandemic, the wheezing economy and his trailing position in most polls, but … all of a sudden, Trump’s in a pretty good spot. Maybe one of the best of his presidency.

“With the imminent chance to pick his third person for the nine-seat high court, he has the ammunition he needs to amp up enthusiasm for his reelection among the most fervently pro-life portion of his base and maybe flip a script that has had Joe Biden in the lead for months. After the often chaotic, erratic last four years, Trump has within plausible reach a shot at being one of the more consequential presidents ever.

“But close observers of Trump’s career know that such moments are fraught with risk for him. In the past, when he’s been in such situations, wide-eyed with a triumphant runway coming more and more into focus—in the late ‘80s, for instance, when he went on an epic buying binge, or in the mid-2000s, when he preened on a hit television show—he has gloated and boasted. He’s gotten greedy and reckless. He’s tried to run up the score. And he’s paid for it.

“So many questions, of course, roil this tumultuous moment in American politics, but the most operative for Trump might be this: Can he, at 74 years old, continue to do for days or weeks what he did Friday night—arguably for the first time in his whole life—and just hold himself in check, say the diplomatic thing rather than the nakedly partisan one, and let the possible or even probable spoils of this development wash over him?”

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LOOKING AHEAD -- “Ginsburg's death gives GOP an edge in 2020 legal fights,” by Josh Gerstein: “The first signs of the impact of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s absence may come in a flurry of election-related disputes expected to reach the Supreme Court on an emergency basis in the coming weeks. Until Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts or other justices had the power to issue or deny emergency relief by joining with the court’s four liberals. It didn’t happen often, but it did sometimes happen.

“With the court shorthanded for the time being, the court’s three remaining Democratic appointees would now need two Republican-appointed colleagues to take emergency action. With scores of court challenges underway across the country seeking or opposing coronavirus-related changes to voting procedures, the change in the ideological balance of the high court could affect the outcome of such fights — even if a new justice doesn’t take the bench until after the election.

TRUMP’S SUNDAY -- The president has no public events.

PLAYBOOK READS

PHOTO DU JOUR: An anti-vaxx rally in London’s Trafalgar Square on Saturday sees protesters clashing with police. | Hollie Adams/Getty Images

SLOW-MOVING CRISIS BREWING -- “US says all UN sanctions on Iran restored, but world yawns,” by AP’s Matthew Lee: “The Trump administration declared Saturday that all U.N. sanctions against Iran have been restored, a move most of the rest of the world rejects as illegal and sets the stage for an ugly showdown at the world body ahead of its annual General Assembly.

“The administration said that its triggering of the ‘snapback’ mechanism in the U.N. Security Council resolution that enshrined the 2015 Iran nuclear deal had taken effect at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. That is 30 days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo notified the council that Iran was in ‘significant non-performance’ with its obligations under the accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. …

“The White House plans to issue an executive order on Monday spelling out how the U.S. will enforce the restored sanctions, and the State and Treasury departments are expected to outline how foreign individuals and businesses will be penalized for violations. ...

“Even before the U.S. declaration, fellow Security Council members said the declaration had no legal force, calling into question the ability to enforce snapback. Snapback means that international sanctions eased or lifted by the nuclear deal are reimposed and must be enforced by U.N. member states, including hitting Iran with penalties for uranium enrichment to any level, ballistic missile activity and buying or selling conventional weapons.”

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BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- “Democrats seek foothold in critical states for redistricting,” by Ally Mutnick: “Far away from the glare of the presidential campaign, a competition rivaling it in importance is playing out across the country: for power over the redistricting process — and potentially control of the House for the next decade.

“Republicans dominated the 2010 elections and used their authority over map-drawing to cement a hold on the House for most of this decade. This time, Democrats are poised to claw back some of that power, and the extent of their gains will come down to under-the-radar elections in a pair of GOP-leaning Sun Belt states: North Carolina and Texas.

“Both parties are funneling millions into the battle for the Texas state House and the North Carolina legislature, eager to have a greater say in the crafting of what could be as many as 53 congressional districts between the two states combined. Republican mapmakers locked in a GOP advantage there over the past decade: Before 2018, the GOP held 69 percent of House seats in Texas and 77 percent of seats in North Carolina.” POLITICO

-- “Trump Supporters Disrupt Early Voting in Virginia,” by NYT’s Nick Corasaniti and Stephanie Saul: “A group of Trump supporters waving campaign flags disrupted the second day of early voting in Fairfax, Va., on Saturday, chanting ‘four more years’ as voters entered a polling location and, at one point, forming a line that voters had to walk around outside the site. County election officials eventually were forced to open up a larger portion of the Fairfax County Government Center to allow voters to wait inside away from the Trump enthusiasts.

“Election officials said that the group stayed about 100 feet from the entrance to the building and, contrary to posts on social media, were not directly blocking access to the building. But they acknowledged that some voters and polling staff members felt intimidated by what some saw as protesters.” NYT

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BUSINESS BURST -- “Trump Signs Off on TikTok Deal With Oracle, Walmart,” by WSJ’s Andrew Restuccia, John D. McKinnon and Georgia Wells: “President Trump said he has agreed in concept to a deal under which Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok will partner with Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. to become a U.S.-based company, capping negotiations that have stirred debate over national security and the future of the internet.

“‘I have given the deal my blessing, if they get it done that’s OK too, if they don’t that’s fine too,’ Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday. With the announcement of a deal, the Commerce Department said it would delay a ban on U.S. downloads and updates for the TikTok app that was set to take effect at 11:59 p.m. Sunday. The ban is now set to take effect Sept. 27, but could be further delayed or removed if the proposed new partnership goes forward.” WSJ

PLAYBOOKERS

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IN MEMORIAM -- Sherle Schwenninger, one of the co-founders of New America, died Wednesday at 69. From his family: “Sherle was also founding director of the World Economic Roundtable, a joint venture of The Institute for New Economic and New America NYC … From 2007 to 2015, he was director of New America’s Economic Growth Program … The overreaching goal of Sherle’s life was advancing world peace and stability through his policy work and mentoring others to advance his ideals. Sherle wrote and spoke frequently on questions relating to the U.S. and world economies and on issues related to American foreign policy and international economic strategy. … A celebration of life will be held at a later date.”

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Elizabeth Greener, director of comms at the American Forest Foundation, and Ted Greener, executive director of public affairs at the Association of American Railroads, welcomed Isabelle Rose Greener on Friday. She came in at 7 lbs, 12 oz, and joins big sisters Hannah and Claire. Pic

BIRTHDAYS: Ainsley Earhardt, co-host of “Fox & Friends” … CNN commentator Van Jones is 52 … Brent Perrin, associate research director for the Trump reelect, is 36 … Keith Mason … Emily Grunewald … Peter Flaherty … Carter Lavin is 32 … CNN’s Kristen Holmes (h/t Kevin Bohn) … Cathy Straight ... Rachel Glasberg, associate producer at MSNBC (h/t Tyler Goldberg) … Deborah Roberts is 6-0 … Crystal Wallingford … Alejandra Campoverdi … Moira Bagley Smith … Washington Times’ Rowan Scarborough … Shaun Waterman … NPR’s Neda Ulaby and Lauren Hodges … Bloomberg’s Drew Singer … Douglas Sellers of the White House (h/t David Bohigian) … Aniello Alioto … Dan Henning, producer for Sirius XM Radio … Lloyd Blankfein is 66 … Francesca Craig, director of special projects at the MPA (h/ts Charles Rivkin and Ben Chang) …

… Caroline Kitchener, staff writer for The Lily … Adam Howard … Edelman’s Tracy Sarria … Joe Mansour … Graham Vyse … WaPo’s Reena Flores and Sophia Nguyen … Lucy Vernasco … Ali Bogdonoff … Bruce Pasternack ... Melissa Jane Kronfeld ... Lisa Bloom … Sophie Buzzell, director of enterprise account management at Everfi … Marty Tolchin is 92 … Maureen Shanahan … Valerie Lapinski, managing producer for video at Vox … Damien Scott … Greg Nantz … Margaret Burge … Henry Samueli is 66 … Alicia D’Angelo … Terry Gilfillan … Max Root … Ashley O’Connor … Caitlin Blair … Donald Soffer is 88 … Nancy Bocskor … Georgia Supreme Court Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren is 39 … Clay McClure … Carl Zichella … Vanessa Kirsch … Angie Schiavoni … Mark Benoit … Sara O’Keefe (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)