By Eli Okun

Speaker Kevin McCarthy still hasn’t figured out a way simply to pass the rule to proceed to the Defense Spending Bill. | Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Photo

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED … You might not succeed the second time, either. The House GOP is continuing to prove itself ungovernable — and Congress paralyzed — as Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY’s latest gambit to bring the Defense spending bill to the floor failed again today. A procedural vote went down 212-216, as just enough far-right Republicans jumped ship to tank the rule in a surprise rebuke to House GOP leadership. (Rep. STEVE WOMACK (R-Ark.) blamed the slow hand of Rep. ADRIAN SMITH (R-Neb.), who was holding the gavel.)

The stepback: Having reneged on his deal with the White House, McCarthy still hasn’t figured out a way simply to pass the rule to proceed to one of the least controversial of 12 spending bills that don’t stand a chance of making it through the Senate in their House form.

What’s next: House Republicans are now weighing going back to the Rules Committee and axing all Ukraine-related funding from the bill to win over Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) and others, per Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan. One thing that will help McCarthy: An injured Rep. FRANK LUCAS (R-Okla.) has been cleared to return to Washington next week, per Olivia Beavers.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The JOE BIDEN reelect is wasting little time in trying to link DONALD TRUMP to the looming government shutdown and paint all Republicans with the MAGA brush, after Trump appeared to back the hard-right holdouts on Truth Social last night.

“Donald Trump is rooting for a government shutdown and couldn’t care less what it would mean for American families,” TJ DUCKLO, senior comms adviser for the Biden campaign, said in a statement. “The former president continues to act as MAGA House Republicans’ puppetmaster, now ordering them to shut down the government, which would cause chaos at the expense of hardworking Americans and our nation’s security.”

‘SUCCESSION’ IN REAL LIFE — RUPERT MURDOCH announced he’s stepping down from the helm of Fox Corp. and News Corp., a seismic change for the conservative news empire that he’s commanded for decades as one of the most powerful people on the planet.

His son, LACHLAN MURDOCH, will now exclusively be in charge of the sprawling media companies as Rupert retires, though the elder Murdoch will remain an adviser as chair emeritus. Though Rupert Murdoch is 92 and Lachlan has been in charge of daily operations for the past few years, his retirement still arrived as a major surprise. More details from CNN

“For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change. But the time is right for me to take on different roles,” Murdoch wrote in a note to staff that also took shots at “elites” and the rest of the media landscape for not “pursuing the truth.”

Murdoch’s lengthy career has had vast sway over the Republican Party, through Fox News, the WSJ, the N.Y. Post and more, to say nothing of his even more totalizing influence in his native Australia. Under Lachlan Murdoch, the companies aren’t likely to see a sudden shift in direction: He “has so far represented continuity,” NYT’s Jim Rutenberg notes. And Rupert Murdoch’s decision to step aside now “was also further solidifying the company beneath his chosen business heir.”

ANOTHER ONE GETS THROUGH — “Senate confirms George to lead Army, bucking Tuberville logjam,” by Joe Gould

Meanwhile … Burgess Everett and Lara Seligman report that Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN and Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN directly confronted Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-Ala.) about the holdup at the Ukraine briefing today, earning them a rebuke from Sen. PETE RICKETTS (R-Neb.).

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CONGRESS

ZELENSKYY ON THE HILL — There was close attention to the stage management as Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY met with House leaders this morning, given the tensions inside the chamber over his requests for continued U.S. aid. Notably, McCarthy didn’t accompany Zelenskyy on his way in, House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES did. Yet McCarthy still took a photo with Zelenskyy behind closed doors, per CNN’s Annie Grayer. After the meeting, McCarthy said the conversation was “very good” and “productive” and answered many of his questions — but he still wouldn’t commit to bringing the Ukraine aid package Zelenskyy and the White House want to the House floor.

TIME RUNNING OUT — The National Flood Insurance Program is due to expire Oct. 1 without a congressional extension, WSJ’s Jean Eaglesham and Katy Stech Ferek report. That could leave new home buyers vulnerable to disasters without coverage, though Congress could swoop in to extend the program as part of the deal to prevent/end a government shutdown. Meanwhile, a new pricing structure could spike rates for the majority of policyholders.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

THERE’S MORE TO THIS STORY — The Biden administration touted the release of five Americans from Iran as a victory. But USA Today’s Josh Meyer and Nick Penzenstadler report that “some of the men were accused of working to help Iran illegally obtain American military and — potentially — even nuclear weapons parts and technology in violation of U.S. and international sanctions.” And the law enforcement officials who know the cases “are wondering why the men are being set free after an enormous legal effort to charge, track down, arrest, extradite and sentence them.”

ALL POLITICS

BATTLE FOR THE SENATE — Former Detroit Police Chief JAMES CRAIG is planning to make his Michigan GOP Senate bid official in early October, Ally Mutnick reports. He’ll be up against former Rep. MIKE ROGERS and potentially others in the primary, an unwelcome crowding for the NRSC.

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2024 WATCH

ACCOUNT(ANT)ABILITY — “Nikki Haley’s ‘Accountant’ Boasts Bring Up Her Own Financial Ghosts,” by The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger: NIKKI “HALEY — who holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and has cited her bookkeeping experience at her family’s South Carolina dress store as political bona fides for more than a decade — has never held a certified public accountant license. And her own financial record is spotted, with her family business racking up multiple liens while she ran the books, additional thousands of dollars in penalties for her personal taxes, and self-enrichment during her time in office.”

SPOILER SURGE — Democracy Alliance, the largest group of donors in Democratic politics, is making a move against No Labels, telling donors to stay away from the potential third-party spoiler over fears it could flip the election to Trump, Holly Otterbein scoops. Democracy Alliance met today with Third Way and MoveOn, spanning the Democratic coalition, to sound the alarm about No Labels.

— How big is the No Labels threat to Biden? More than 15,000 Arizonans have already registered with the party — greater than Biden’s winning margin in the state in 2020 — according to a data dive from AP’s Jonathan Cooper. All eyes are now on Secretary of State ADRIAN FONTES, who will decide soon on whether the party will have to disclose its donors.

SENTENCE OF THE DAY — “Donald Trump is polling about as well as any candidate in the modern history of contested presidential primaries,” NYT’s Nate Cohn writes.

HOT ON THE RIGHT — Anti-abortion advocates are in a bind over Trump, unsure about how to act given a spate of recent comments expressing plenty of skepticism about abortion restrictions, Alice Miranda Ollstein and Sally Goldenberg report. They’re “afraid of alienating the presumptive nominee but loath to let his remarks go unchallenged,” aware that he’s the reason Roe v. Wade was overturned but also much more aligned with other presidential candidates. Some groups are even making plans to endorse others, protest his events or focus money elsewhere.

MAKING THE PERSONAL POLITICAL — “Vivek Ramaswamy shares his family’s citizenship story — and how it’s shaped two hard-line policy proposals,” by NBC’s Katherine Koretski, Dasha Burns, Abigail Brooks and Emma Barnett in Columbus, Ohio: “Ramaswamy noted in an interview that his father isn’t a U.S. citizen, though he has referred to his parents to sell the idea of requiring young voters to take a citizenship test-style exam.”

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THE WHITE HOUSE

THE SALES PITCH — The White House and Biden reelect are working to package their economic pitch to Latino voters as “Bidenomía,” a Spanish-language portmanteau to echo “Bidenomics,” The Messenger’s Rebecca Morin and Adrian Carrasquillo report. Democrats know they have a lot of work to do to sell Biden’s accomplishments as meaningful for Hispanic voters’ lives. Their plans include major ad campaigns, community centers and new statewide Latino coalition directors.

HARRIS CONNECTS — Hitting the road for a tour of mostly Black and Hispanic colleges, VP KAMALA HARRIS is making a positive impression with lots of young potential voters, WaPo’s Sabrina Rodríguez reports from Reading, Pa. Harris’ messages about guns and climate change, in particular, seem to be having an impact, along with her exhortations for young people to have confidence in themselves. Sabrina finds some attendees leaving the Reading Area Community College event feeling newly motivated to vote for Biden and Harris.

POLICY CORNER

CLIMATE FILES — “Governors, Biden administration push to quadruple efficient heating, AC units by 2030,” by AP’s Isabella O’Malley

JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

AFTERNOON READ — “‘Thank you, Proud Boys!’: How a J6 organizer cultivated extremist ties and remains a free woman,” by Raw Story’s Jordan Green: “Few of the rally organizers and planners endorsed the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers more enthusiastically than [CINDY] CHAFIAN.”

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PLAYBOOKERS

OUT AND ABOUT — Landmark’s E Street Cinema hosted the D.C. premiere last night of “Texas, USA,” Andrew Morgan’s new documentary about democracy and voting rights in the Lone Star State. Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Texas Organizing Project co-executive Brianna Brown, both featured in the film, had a panel focused on expanding voting rights in Texas. SPOTTED: Julián Castro, Anatole Jenkins, Jason Green and Molly Mitchell.

— Procter & Gamble hosted its third annual “Delivering Relief” event last night at Bullfeathers, where attendees packed 1,000 disaster relief kits with essential household items. Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) and Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) raced to see who could pack a kit the fastest, with Garbarino coming out on top (pic here). Also SPOTTED: Reps. John Joyce (R-Pa.), Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.).

— The Friends of the National World War II Memorial and the U.S. Mint unveiled the designs of the Greatest Generation commemorative coins at an event yesterday morning at the National World War II Memorial. They will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the dedication of the World War II Memorial next year. SPOTTED: Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jane Droppa, Jeff Reinbold, Ventris Gibson, Ray Kaskey, Frank Cohn and Harry Miller. Pics of the coins

— Quavo and Community Justice Executive Director Greg Jackson had a day of advocacy in D.C. to focus on community-driven solutions to gun violence, including meetings with VP Kamala Harris and congressional leaders. SPOTTED at an evening reception at the Eaton Hotel: Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Reps. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) and Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), Rhyan Lake, Steve Benjamin and Stephanie Nnadi.

— SPOTTED last night at the “Late Night Lounge” at Dirty Habit, presented by the Black Girl Magic Network, to honor Congressional Black Caucus chiefs of staff and senior women in Congress and the administration: DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Kimberly Afoakwah, Steve Benjamin, Maia Hunt Estes, Hill Harper, Deriece Harrington, Frank Holland, Tasia Jackson, Eric Johnston, Lance Mangum, Ashli Nelson, Bakari Sellers, Brandon Todd, Nicole Venable, Yebbie Watkins, Vince Evans, Gina Adams and Wesley Bell.

— SPOTTED at Kent Conrad’s 75th birthday dinner and dancing party at the National Arboretum: Lucy Calautti, Byron and Kim Dorgan, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Myrna Edelman Cardin, Mary Landrieu and Frank Snellings, Tom and Linda Hall Daschle, Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.), Tracee Sutton, Kevin Price, Bob Van Heuvelen, Tessa Gould, Rita Lewis and Mary Wakefield.

— The American Investment Council and the National Association of Investment of Companies hosted a welcome reception last night for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference. SPOTTED: Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Carmen West, Talisha Bekavac, Aaron Harawa, Yasmeen Bankole, Marcus Shaw, Drew Maloney, Bob Greene, Ken Mehlman, Donovan Tate-Davis, Remmington Belford, Todd Valentine, Jordan Ceasar, Kyler Gilkey, Gerard Henderson, Vince Evans, Freedom Murphy and Reggie Love.

TRANSITION — Charles Zdebski is joining Cozen O’Connor as a member of its utility and energy practice group. He previously was at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Liz Crampton, state policy reporter at POLITICO, and Andrew Bahrenburg, deputy policy director for American Farmland Trust, welcomed daughter Daisy Rae earlier this month. Pic

— Alex Masi, director at the Brunswick Group, and Sammi Levy, associate at Spencer Stuart, welcomed Leo Adam Masi on Sunday. Pic

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Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook PM misstated Texas Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s party affiliation. She is a Republican.

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