POLITICO Playbook PM: Trump unites the GOP — against him

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) threatened sanctions against Turkey if it invades Syria. | Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

THE PRESIDENT’S decision to change course in Syria has united Republicans against him, and it threatens a new round of Congress-versus-the-administration griping with consequences on the global stage.

-- SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) on Twitter: “Just spoke to Sen @ChrisVanHollen about situation in Syria. We will introduce bipartisan sanctions against Turkey if they invade Syria and will call for their suspension from NATO if they attack Kurdish forces who assisted the U.S. in the destruction of the ISIS Caliphate.


“Hope and expect sanctions against Turkey – if necessary – would be veto-proof. This decision to abandon our Kurdish allies and turn Syria over to Russia, Iran, & Turkey will put every radical Islamist on steroids. Shot in the arm to the bad guys. Devastating for the good guys.”

-- @NikkiHaley: “We must always have the backs of our allies, if we expect them to have our back. The Kurds were instrumental in our successful fight against ISIS in Syria. Leaving them to die is a big mistake. #TurkeyIsNotOurFriend”

-- SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine): “This is a terribly unwise decision by the President to abandon our Kurdish allies, who have been our major partner in the fight against the Islamic State.”

-- SEN. BEN SASSE (R-Neb.): “If the President sticks with this retreat, he needs to know that this bad decision will likely result in the slaughter of allies who fought with us, including women and children. I hope the President will listen to his generals and reconsider. And before Turkey butchers innocent Kurds, Erdogan should carefully consider his privileged status as a NATO member. The American people don’t partner with genocidal regimes.”

-- EVEN FOX AND FRIENDS’ BRIAN KILMEADE trashed the president’s plan. The video

-- “‘Disaster in the making’: Republicans torch Trump’s Syria policy,” by Quint Forgey and David Cohen

… OK, NOT EVERYBODY! -- @RandPaul: “I stand with @realDonaldTrump today as he once again fulfills his promises to stop our endless wars and have a true America First foreign policy.”

TRUMP TO KURDS: FIGURE IT OUT -- @realDonaldTrump at 7:40 a.m.: “The United States was supposed to be in Syria for 30 days, that was many years ago. We stayed and got deeper and deeper into battle with no aim in sight. When I arrived in Washington, ISIS was running rampant in the area. We quickly defeated 100% of the ISIS Caliphate,.....”

“....including capturing thousands of ISIS fighters, mostly from Europe. But Europe did not want them back, they said you keep them USA! I said ‘NO, we did you a great favor and now you want us to hold them in U.S. prisons at tremendous cost. They are yours for trials.’ They.....” “.....again said ‘NO,’ thinking, as usual, that the U.S. is always the ‘sucker,’ on NATO, on Trade, on everything. The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so. They have been fighting Turkey for decades. I held off this fight for....”

“....almost 3 years, but it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal, and bring our soldiers home. WE WILL FIGHT WHERE IT IS TO OUR BENEFIT, AND ONLY FIGHT TO WIN. Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will now have to.....” “...figure the situation out, and what they want to do with the captured ISIS fighters in their ‘neighborhood.’ They all hate ISIS, have been enemies for years. We are 7000 miles away and will crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us!”

… at 11:20 a.m.: “I was elected on getting out of these ridiculous endless wars, where our great Military functions as a policing operation to the benefit of people who don’t even like the USA. The two most unhappy countries at this move are Russia & China, because they love seeing us bogged.....” “....down, watching over a quagmire, & spending big dollars to do so. When I took over, our Military was totally depleted. Now it is stronger than ever before. The endless and ridiculous wars are ENDING! We will be focused on the big picture, knowing we can always go back & BLAST!”

… at 11:38 a.m.: “As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over…” “....the captured ISIS fighters and families. The U.S. has done far more than anyone could have ever expected, including the capture of 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. It is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory. THE USA IS GREAT!”

THE PENTAGON: “The Department of Defense made clear to Turkey - as did the President - that we do not endorse a Turkish operation in Northern Syria. The U.S. Armed Forces will not support, or be involved in any such operation.” The full statement

IN OUR GREAT AND UNMATCHED WISDOM, good Monday afternoon. The president will sign trade and digital trade agreements with Japan at 3:30 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room, the White House announced. It will be open to the press pool.

TRUMP TAX TUSSLE -- “Trump Taxes: President Ordered to Turn Over Returns to Manhattan D.A.,” by NYT’s William Rashbaum and Benjamin Weiser: “A federal judge on Monday rejected a bold argument from President Trump that sitting presidents are immune from criminal investigations, allowing the Manhattan district attorney’s office to move forward with a subpoena seeking eight years of the president’s personal and corporate tax returns.

“The ruling issued by Judge Victor Marrero of Manhattan federal court does not mean that the president’s tax returns will be turned over immediately. Mr. Trump’s lawyers quickly appealed the decision, and the appeals court agreed to temporarily block the order.” NYT

IMPEACHMENT LATEST -- HOUSE OVERSIGHT, House Intel and House Foreign Affairs subpoenaed OMB and the Pentagon in the impeachment probe. Letter to OMB, and document schedule … Letter to the Pentagon, and document schedule

-- BLOOMBERG: “George Kent, the State Department official in Washington who oversees Ukraine policy, won’t testify before Congress’s impeachment investigators Monday, as was initially requested. The three House committees leading the probe are still discussing when his deposition can be rescheduled.”

-- AT LEAST HE’S HONEST! … Pool report, from Newsday’s Laura Figueroa: “Asked if POTUS was joking in any way or not serious when he suggested China should investigate the Bidens, [Larry] Kudlow said: ‘I don't honestly know.’”

-- FLASHBACK: In May, Fox News asked Trump whether China should investigate Biden. His response: “100 percent. It’s a disgrace."

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VOLKER UPDATE -- “Kurt Volker resigns as executive director of McCain Institute,” by Caitlin Oprysko: “Kurt Volker, the president’s former special envoy to Ukraine, has stepped down from yet another post, his executive directorship of the McCain Institute, amid the fallout from House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

“Volker resigned from his role at the State Department a little over a week ago, and his resignation as the head of the D.C.-based think tank came days after he appeared as Democrats’ first witness in their widening impeachment probe, turning over damaging text messages that appeared to undermine President Donald Trump’s claims that he did not seek to pressure Ukraine into investigating his political opponents. In a statement released Monday announcing his departure, Volker specifically referenced the growing Ukraine scandal and the ensuing media frenzy.” POLITICO

THE STEP BACK … WAPO’S SEUNG MIN KIM and RACHAEL BADE: “Trump’s defiance of oversight presents new challenge to Congress’s ability to rein in the executive branch”: “[T]he administration has run roughshod over Congress, prompting concerns among constitutional experts and lawmakers that Trump’s hostile stance toward congressional oversight is undermining the separation of powers in a way that could have long-term implications for democracy.

“‘He is shaking the foundations of the republic,’ said Kerry W. Kircher, who was House counsel for the Republican majority between 2011 and 2016.” WaPo

MORE ON THE NBA’S CHINA PROBLEM -- “NBA, Rockets face backlash from Chinese fans after tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters,” by WaPo’s Gerry Shih in Beijing: “After Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters on Friday, the National Basketball Association franchise found itself engulfed in a backlash from seething Chinese fans and faced cries for a boycott. Forty-eight hours later, China’s state broadcaster said it would not show games of what had been one of China’s most beloved sports teams. Corporate sponsors peeled away. …

“Practically overnight, the Rockets were grounded by an increasingly powerful force in global business: Chinese nationalism. … But in Washington, lawmakers from both parties, including Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) immediately backed Morey’s right to free speech and criticized what they called ‘unacceptable’ Chinese efforts to silence him.” WaPo

2020 WATCH -- MARC CAPUTO in Miami: “Trump’s enemies add up in the wrong state”: “Since taking office as president, Donald Trump has alienated what looks like a mini-United Nations of voters with deep connections to other countries, tens of thousands of whom live in the state that’s essential to his re-election — Florida. Taken individually, these groups are just a marginal problem for a statewide candidate. But Florida is a state historically won at the margins — Trump won the state by just 1.2 percentage points in 2016.

“The political turf is shifting in Florida as more and more non-white voters are added to the rolls both as a result of domestic and international migration, and natural growth. Since the last midterm election, 42 percent of the new voters who have registered are nonwhite. For the same period in the last presidential cycle, the percentage was 38.” POLITICO

-- NYT’S TRIP GABRIEL in Erie, Pa.: “‘I Gave the Other Guy a Shot’: After taking a chance on Donald Trump in 2016, a swing county in western Pennsylvania is up for grabs again”: “Heading into 2020, there is intense focus among campaign strategists on the weakest element of the Trump coalition: the millions of voters who disapproved of both major candidates in 2016 but took a chance on Mr. Trump. …

“In interviews in Erie last month, before the impeachment inquiry began, many of the Trump voters from 2016 were either supportive of the president or unpersuaded by the Democratic alternatives. But reached by phone after the inquiry was announced, some of these voters had changed their minds. Outright conversions … while still rare, were reflected in an uptick of support for impeachment by independent voters in recent national polls.” With several telling voter profiles: NYT

THE POLICY PRIMARY -- “Sanders unveils plan to stop corporate donations to Dem convention,” by Holly Otterbein: “The Vermont senator pledges to put a stop to all corporate PAC contributions to the convention if he wins the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. …

“Sanders’ plan states that corporate lobbyists ‘were everywhere and filled the VIP suites’ at the [2016] convention, adding that ‘this type of corporate sponsorship is a corrupting influence and must end if politicians are going to represent the American people.’ His proposal also calls for a lifetime lobbying ban on Democratic National Committee chairs and co-chairs, as well as a prohibition on them working for companies that hold federal contracts or are trying to obtain government approval for mergers or other projects.” POLITICO … The plan

-- “How Pete Buttigieg would lower drug prices,” by Sarah Karlin-Smith: “The wide-sweeping proposal, similar to plans from rival candidates and a bill from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calls on the government to negotiate the costs of drugs in Medicare, as well as the government-run ‘public option’ Buttigieg has proposed to compete with private insurers. Those prices would also be available to private health insurance plans and Medicaid.

“Buttigieg would also cap out-of-pocket spending for seniors and people enrolled in the public option. Buttigieg aims to boost government investment in drug research and manufacturing, particularly for critical areas like pandemic prevention and antibiotics. His plan would also require more transparency on pricing from the drug industry and companies that administer pharmacy benefits.” POLITICO … The plan

TROUBLE WITH BOJO? -- “Boris Johnson will speak to Trump if U.S. refuses to waive immunity for diplomat’s wife,” by Annabelle Dickson in London: “Boris Johnson has urged the U.S. to reconsider giving immunity to the wife of a diplomat who is a suspect in a fatal road crash in the U.K. — and will raise the issue with Donald Trump if that doesn’t happen. Teenager Harry Dunn died when his motorbike collided with a car near an RAF base in Northamptonshire on August 27 … A U.S. diplomat’s wife, named as Anne Sacoolas, left the U.K. despite telling police she had no plans to.” POLITICO Europe

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CENTRAL CASTING -- “Jeff Daniels to Star as Former FBI Director James Comey in CBS Studios’ 4-Hour Limited Series,” by TV Line’s Michael Ausiello

MEDIAWATCH -- Margaret Harding McGill is now a tech policy reporter at Axios. She previously was a tech reporter for POLITICO Pro.

-- “Quartz Editor in Chief Steps Down in Shake-Up,” by NYT’s Marc Tracy and Edmund Lee: “Kevin Delaney, the editor in chief of Quartz and one of the digital publication’s co-founders, is stepping down as part of a shake-up of the company’s leadership. Quartz announced the change on Monday, adding that another of its co-founders, Zach Seward, had become the chief executive officer.

“Mr. Delaney had previously shared that role with Jay Lauf, the publisher, who was named chairman of the company on Monday. Katie Weber, previously the chief commercial officer, was elevated to president in the series of moves. The job of editor in chief was left open, with Quartz saying it was looking for a new one. Mr. Delaney will leave his role at the end of the month and remain an adviser to the company.” NYT

TRANSITION -- Tina Tchen will be head of Time’s Up. She previously was COS to former first lady Michelle Obama and is a co-founder of the Time’s Up legal defense fund. CBS

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