By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza

With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

In a “Dear Colleague” letter that will hit Senate inboxes this morning, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer signaled that he will lay blame for any government shutdown at the feet of House Republicans. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

STATE OF THE ‘BLUE WALL’ — “‘It’s amateur hour’: Democrats panic about state of the Pennsylvania party,” by Holly Otterbein: “‘It’s a f---ing disaster,’ said a former state party staffer. The state party underwent a round of layoffs in July, which have not been reported until now. … The prevailing fear is that the party will not be in the strongest shape possible ahead of the presidential election and a key Senate race next year. A state Supreme Court contest, where Democrats are making abortion front and center, is on the ballot this November.”

ANOTHER KIND OF ‘ROE’ LEAK — “DeSantis Super PAC’s Urgent Plea to Donors: ‘We Need 50 Million Bucks,’” by Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman

Try this one at your next salary negotiation: “‘Now the good news is that we have all the money we need in this room,’ [JEFF ROE] told the donors. ‘The bad news is it’s still in your wallet.’”

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: SCHUMER DRIVES WEDGE BETWEEN HOUSE, SENATE GOP — In a “Dear Colleague” letter that will hit Senate inboxes this morning, Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER signaled that he will lay blame for any government shutdown at the feet of House Republicans if they fail to pass spending legislation by the end of the month.

In the letter, which was obtained by Playbook, Schumer seeks to drive a wedge between House and Senate Republicans — offering praise for both Senate Appropriations Chairwoman PATTY MURRAY (D-Wash.) and ranking Republican SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine), a lawmaker with whom Schumer is often at loggerheads.

“The only way to avoid a shutdown is through bipartisanship, so I have urged House Republican leadership to follow the Senate’s lead and pass bipartisan appropriations bills,” Schumer writes.

The chamber passed all 12 approps bills out of committee on a bipartisan basis, he boasts — drawing an implicit contrast to the House, where KEVIN McCARTHY has broken faith on his spending caps deal with President JOE BIDEN, and is instead pushing partisan proposals that don’t have a prayer of becoming law.

Schumer’s letter comes just a day after Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL underscored the need for bipartisanship to keep the government open in a Kentucky speech that was quickly overshadowed by the Republican’s health scare.

“The speaker and the president reached an agreement, which I supported, in connection with raising the debt ceiling, to set the spending levels for next year,” McConnell said. “The House then turned around and passed spending levels that were below that level. … [T]hat’s not going to be replicated in the Senate.”

For more on Schumer’s plans for the fall — he mentions drug prices, cannabis banking, disaster relief, rail safety, AI and much more — read the full letter.

JUST POSTED — “Biden seeks $4B more in emergency aid as disaster toll mounts,” by Adam Cancryn

PRESSURE GROWS FOR MORE McCONNELL DISCLOSURE — In a nod to escalating demands of transparency about the seriousness of his health issues, McConnell’s office yesterday released a letter from Congress’s attending physician, BRIAN MONAHAN, clearing the minority leader for work.

But there are already signs it won’t be enough to quiet the doubts about the Kentucky Republican’s ability to continue in a leadership role.

In the conservative media: Just a half hour after the letter from the attending physician landed in reporters’ inboxes, the National Review’s editorial board called on McConnell to “step aside” as GOP leader. While praising him as one of the right’s “most effective leaders in memory,” the conservative outlet wrote that “the time has come for the Kentucky senator, after his long, impressive run, to make the decision to step aside from leadership.”

“Prudence and realism have been hallmarks of his leadership and now are called for in considering his own future,” the editorial reads.

Separately yesterday, NR correspondent Jim Geraghty laid things out this way in a WaPo column: “A politician can spin a lot of things, but the state of a politician’s health can be hidden from the public only for so long. … [I]f they want to stay in office, the absolute minimum they can do is provide the public with full and unvarnished information — no minimizing, no begrudging the legitimacy of these questions — about their health.”

On the Hill: Elsewhere, a small band of Senate Republicans began privately discussing the idea of forcing a special conference focused on McConnell’s leadership and health situation, as our colleague Burgess Everett scooped yesterday. All it takes is five GOP lawmakers to demand such a conversation — though the matter is already likely to consume much of the party’s private conference meetings next week.

And yesterday, GOP aides were passing around a blog post about removing McConnell, written by former Senate Steering Committee executive director JAMES WALLNER. In it, Wallner — who worked for Sen. MIKE LEE (R-Utah) and is known as a rules guru — argues that senators can force a secret ballot vote to remove McConnell when they convene such a special session.

“Republican Conference Rules empower rank-and-file Republicans to decide whether McConnell should continue to serve as their leader,” Wallner writes. “And five Republicans can force their colleagues to decide this question as early as next week when senators return to work.”

While such an effort would almost certainly be handily defeated — most Senate Republicans are behind McConnell, and don’t want to see him step down — it would trigger another round of negative headlines focused on not only McConnell’s health, but questions about whether he’s losing the confidence of his members.

There’s also plenty of skepticism about the Monahan letter, which suggested that the leader is suffering merely from “dehydration” and “lightheadedness” as a result of his March concussion. Many observers believe that there’s more to the story, though McConnell’s office continues to be elusive about what.

Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. How is it already September?! Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

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Did You Know: Americans count on oil and natural gas – made, moved and improved by nearly 11 million workers and suppliers in all 50 states, contributing trillions to communities and the U.S. economy. From Pennsylvania to California, America’s natural gas and oil workforce strengthens our nation. Our economic outlook is brighter when we lead on energy, and our dedicated workforce is a reminder that we need Washington policies to encourage investment and enable development.

TALK OF THIS TOWN — Michael Schaffer’s new column: “A Putin Critic Fell to His Death in Washington. We Still Don’t Know Why.”

HEADLINES BIDEN WON’T LIKE — “Families crossing U.S. border illegally reached all-time high in August,” by WaPo’s Nick Miroff and Maria Sacchetti … “As Migrant Crisis Worsens, New York Leaders Pressure Biden to Do More,” by NYT’s Jeffrey Mays

HAPPENING TODAY — New jobs numbers for August get released at 8:30 a.m.

What to expect, via the WSJ: “Friday’s jobs report is expected to show a slowing pace of employment growth alongside historically low joblessness. … Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimate that employers added 170,000 jobs in August. That seasonally adjusted advance would be the smallest increase in the current streak of monthly employment gains — which started in January 2021 — but in line with job growth during the two years before the pandemic.”

What to expect after that: “Fed Officials Will Parse Jobs Numbers to Assess Economy’s Momentum,” by NYT’s Jenna Smialek

HAPPENING TOMORROW — “Biden to survey Idalia storm damage in Florida on Saturday,” by NBC News’ Zoë Richards and Elyse Perlmutter-Gumbiner

PROGRAMMING NOTE — Our daily news podcast, Playbook Daily Briefing, is off this week along with most of POLITICO’s other newsletters and podcasts. We’ll be back with a new episode Tuesday.

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A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API):

All Over the Map on Energy: On one hand, the Biden administration urges more supply of American oil and natural gas to meet growing energy demands. On the other hand, they put more American acreage off limits for development and add barriers to developing energy. Let’s advance smart policy together.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

United Airlines employees picket outside Dulles International Airport Aug. 31, in Dulles, Va. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

THE WHITE HOUSE

JUST POSTED — “White House ramps up war room to battle expected GOP impeachment inquiry,” by NBC’s Sahil Kapur, Monica Alba, Peter Alexander and Katherine Doyle: “The White House has stood up a war room of two dozen lawyers, legislative aides and communications staffers to lead an aggressive response to a likely Republican impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, a White House aide familiar with the strategy said. The effort, as described by eight people familiar with the plans, has been taking shape for months …

“Biden aides have looked to 1998, when the House impeached President BILL CLINTON, as a model for how to mount an effective defense — and make the GOP pay a political price for overreaching — said a source familiar with the strategy. … If Republicans follow through with threats of an impeachment inquiry in the coming weeks or months, the White House plans to try to present a split-screen in which the president is focused on economic issues that affect people’s lives.”

BIG UNDER-THE-RADAR NEWS — “Biden Administration Proposes Expanding Background Checks on Gun Sales,” by NYT’s Glenn Thrush

2024 WATCH

THE ‘LAW AND ORDER’ CANDIDATE — “Trump campaign aide told police officers to 'go hang yourself' at Jan. 6 riot,” by NBC News’ Jonathan Allen and Ryan Reilly: “‘If you are a police officer and are going to abide by unconstitutional bulls---, I want you to do me a favor right now and go hang yourself, because you’re a piece of s---,’ DYLAN QUATTRUCCI, the deputy state director of [DONALD] TRUMP’s campaign in New Hampshire, says in the video. … STEVEN CHEUNG, the Trump campaign’s spokesman, did not provide a comment about the video and whether Quattrucci still works for the campaign.”

ALREADY BACKING DOWN — “Pro-Ron DeSantis super PAC ends door-knocking in Nevada and Super Tuesday states,” by NBC’s Allan Smith and Natasha Korecki: “Never Back Down, the super PAC backing Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS’ presidential campaign, has ceased its door-knocking operations in Nevada, home to a key early nominating contest, and California, a delegate-rich Super Tuesday state … [T]he group also ended its field operations in North Carolina and Texas, two additional states that vote on Super Tuesday in March.”

ERIN PERRINE, a spox for the super PAC: "We want to reinvest in the first three [states]," nodding to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. "We see real opportunities in the first three."

HERE'S THE STORY OF THE HURRICANE — “Faced with hurricane, Trump, DeSantis respond in dramatically different ways,” by the Miami Herald’s Max Greenwood and Alex Roarty: “While DeSantis responded to the natural disaster in ways the public has long expected its government officials to act — holding press conferences and offering apolitical directions about managing its impact — Trump ignored the storm for days, instead posting a litany of insults aimed at his political adversaries while highlighting positive poll numbers for his campaign. By the time Trump mentioned Hurricane Idalia in a Wednesday afternoon post, he had already posted more than 140 times on Truth Social since Monday on a multitude of subjects.”

More on the DeSantis approach: “DeSantis gets praise — and warnings — for his hurricane response,” by Kimberly Leonard and Natalie Allison: “This week, DeSantis fielded multiple questions from the press about Florida’s property insurance crisis, as well as criticism from Trump, who took to Truth Social to accuse DeSantis of giving ‘up the store’ with the insurance reforms he made.”

Related read: “DeSantis voted against Sandy aid a decade ago. Now his state needs the help,” by Emma Dumain

MORE POLITICS

BUT CAN HE MAKE IT THROUGH THE PRIMARY? — “Former U.S. Rep. PETER MEIJER, a Republican from Grand Rapids Township, has formed an exploratory committee for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat,” reports the Detroit News’ Craig Mauger. After supporting Trump’s impeachment, Meijer lost his reelection bid to a Trump-backed primary opponent in 2022.

COUNTING YOUR EGGS — “Jim Banks declares war on egg tycoon scrambling Indiana Senate race,” by the Washington Examiner’s David Sivak

JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

INSURRECTION FALLOUT — “Proud Boy leader Joseph Biggs sentenced to 17 years for Jan. 6 crimes,” by WaPo’s Rachel Weiner: “Later Thursday, [U.S. District Judge TIMOTHY] KELLY sentenced ZACHARY REHL, 38, who led the Philadelphia Proud Boys, to 15 years in prison. [JOSEPH] BIGGS and Rehl are two of four Proud Boys found guilty earlier this year of engaging in a seditious conspiracy to keep Donald Trump in power by force. … While steep, the sentences are about half of what prosecutors sought and federal sentencing guidelines suggested.”

TRUMP CARDS

ENTERING A NEW PHASE — “Trump pleads ‘not guilty’ in Georgia racketeering case,” by Kyle Cheney: “Trump entered his plea Thursday in a two-page court filing meant to waive his appearance at an arraignment scheduled for Sept. 6, when he was slated to have the charges read to him in court. Several of the 18 defendants charged alongside him have also waived their appearances at the scheduled arraignment.

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE — “Fulton judge says Trump court proceedings will be televised,” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jozsef Papp: “A Fulton County judge on Thursday said that all court proceedings in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants will be live streamed and televised. … all hearings and trials will be broadcast on the Fulton County Court YouTube channel.”

A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API):

Washington should support the nearly 11 million oil and gas workers and suppliers powering America.

JUDICIARY SQUARE

AS THE CROW FLIES — “Supreme Court Justice CLARENCE THOMAS, who has faced intense scrutiny and criticism in recent months for receiving undisclosed luxury travel, reported taking three private jet trips courtesy of billionaire HARLAN CROW last year, according to disclosure forms made public Thursday,” reports Josh Gerstein. “Thomas also acknowledged he’d ‘inadvertently omitted’ bank accounts now valued at more than $100,000 from his annual financial disclosures dating back to 2017, due to what he called “a misinterpretation of the rules.”

The explanation: “‘Because of the increased security risk following the Dobbs opinion leak, the May flights were by private plane for official travel as filer’s security detail recommended noncommercial travel whenever possible,’ a note in Thomas’ financial form says.” Read the disclosure forms

THE ECONOMY

A WARNING SIGN — “A looming child care funding crisis threatens Biden’s economic recovery,” by Adam Cancryn and Eleanor Mueller: “Nearly $24 billion in federal aid for daycare centers and preschools is slated to run out Sept. 30, roiling a child care system that has underpinned the White House’s efforts to stabilize the broader economy and get people back to work.”

CHECKING IN — “UAW Accuses GM, Stellantis of Unfair Labor Practices,” by WSJ’s Nora Eckert: “‘The Big Three have a simple playbook when it comes to bargaining that can be summed up in three words: delay, delay and delay,’ [United Auto Workers President SHAWN] FAIN said. … The current agreements expire on Sept. 14. If a deal isn’t reached, Fain has said the union is prepared to go out on strike.”

AMERICA AND THE WORLD 

DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “U.S. Officials Are Streaming to China. Will Beijing Return the Favor?,” by NYT’s David Pierson, Keith Bradsher and Olivia Wang: “China has much to gain from dispatching officials to the United States. … It would signal to the world it was making an effort to ease tensions with Washington … Beijing, however, has been noncommittal.”

SUNDAY SO FAR… 

CBS “Face the Nation”: Nikki Haley … Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) … Larry Hogan … Ashley Etienne … Terry Sullivan.

FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Panel: Marc Short, Horace Cooper, Marie Harf and Howard Kurtz.

NBC “Meet the Press”: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu … Franklin Foer. Panel: Sara Fagen, Jeh Johnson, Andrea Mitchell and Jake Sherman.

ABC “This Week”: Vivek Ramaswamy … Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) Panel: Donna Brazile, Susan Page, Reihan Salam and Heidi Przybyla.

MSNBC “Inside with Jen Psaki”: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) … Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)

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Kristen Welker will receive the National Press Club’s Fourth Estate Award, its top honor.

MEDIA MOVE — Joanna Geary will be head of content and audience at Bloomberg. She most recently was senior director of curation and content intelligence at X, formerly known as Twitter.

WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Jana Plat is leaving the White House, where she handled business engagement for the Office of Public Engagement. She previously worked on the Biden campaign.

TRANSITIONS — Waxman Strategies is adding Jen Schultz as a senior director and Vaishu Jawahar as a director in the health practice. Schultz previously was a Minnesota state representative and congressional candidate. Jawahar most recently was domestic policy coordinator for VP Kamala Harris. … Ashley MacLeay is now senior director of external affairs at National Review Institute. She previously was director of external relations at Independent Women’s Forum and Independent Women’s Voice.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Hannah Katch, senior adviser to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator, and Lisa Kohn, director of public policy at Amazon, welcomed Naomi Layla Katch Kohn on Aug. 16.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) … Xochitl Hinojosa … Yolanda Caraway … Sue Hensley of the American Trucking Associations … Commerce’s Susie Feliz … Tim Truman of the Foreign Agricultural Service … C-SPAN’s Craig Caplan … Chris Fleming of Red Horse Strategies … John Jones … CNN’s Chandelis Duster and Jessica Estepa … NBC’s Janelle Rodriguez and Priscilla Thompson … POLITICO’s Tess Holcom … Bloombe