By Eli Okun

Rep. Matt Gaetz certainly thinks a Ukraine side deal exists between Democrats and Speaker Kevin McCarthy. | Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images

ALL EYES ON GAETZ — Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.) hasn’t yet triggered a vote on a motion to vacate KEVIN McCARTHY’s speakership, but he rose on the floor this afternoon to dangle the prospect of it happening later this week.

The outcome, he indicated, could hinge on the answer to one question: “What was the secret side deal on Ukraine?” It isn’t clear whether McCarthy and Democrats actually have a deal to strip Ukraine aid out of this weekend’s continuing resolution in exchange for a separate vote. But Gaetz certainly thinks it exists — and he pummeled McCarthy for violating multiple terms of the agreement he struck with far-right holdouts to become speaker in January. He told reporters afterward that he held off on the MTV today because members were still flying back to D.C.

“For all the crocodile tears about what may happen later this week about a motion to vacate, working with the Democrats is a yellow brick road that has been paved by Speaker McCarthy,” Gaetz warned.

And he made sure to undercut Republicans’ core reelection argument against President JOE BIDEN, too: “It is going to be difficult for my Republican friends to keep calling President Biden feeble while he continues to take Speaker McCarthy’s lunch money in every negotiation.”

Gaetz won’t be able to count on Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.). She indicated in a lengthy thread on X today that she’ll oppose a motion to vacate, just as she’d oppose an effort to expel Gaetz: “The American people are relying on Republicans to get our acts together.”

As the House waits for Gaetz to make his move, the other big question is whether Democrats would join with McCarthy to save him. Asked by CNN’s Manu Raju whether he’d cut a deal with Dems, McCarthy responded opaquely: “Look, I think this is about the institution. I think it’s too important.”

The speaker also told reporters that the fate of the remaining appropriations bills is uncertain, as he doesn’t know if he has the votes to pass them this week.

Meanwhile, with the fate of Ukraine aid up in the air, Biden is planning to convene allies by phone as soon as tomorrow to reassure them that the U.S. is still committed to the war effort, Bloomberg’s Alberto Nardelli, Jenny Leonard, Jennifer Jacobs, and Alex Wickham scoop.

TRUMP ON TRIAL — Today began a new era for DONALD TRUMP and the country he seeks to lead: his time in the courtroom. The official start of the civil business fraud case against him, brought by New York AG TISH JAMES, kicks off a season of legal reckonings that will play out across several states in the months and years to come.

On his way into court, Trump called the suit a “scam.” And he made clear (without any evidence) that he sees all the cases against him as a combined conspiracy aimed at taking him down: “This is a continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time,” he told reporters.

James, on her way in, made the kind of comment we’re likely to hear from plenty of prosecutors: “No matter how powerful you are, and no matter how much money you think you have, no one is above the law.”

Inside the courtroom, Judge ARTHUR ENGORON revealed that the reason he has sole domain over the course’s outcome is because “nobody asked for” a jury trial, per The Messenger’s Adam Klasfeld. He already issued a summary judgment last week finding that the Trump Organization committed significant fraud. Engoron today also rejected journalists’ request to have a camera in the courtroom for opening statements.

During opening statements, Trump attorney ALINA HABBA decried James’ prosecution as politically motivated, earning a reminder from Engoron that he’d already rejected arguments along those lines. Trump’s lawyers also argued that the company’s maneuvers were standard practice for the real estate industry, with no ill intent. Prosecutors, on the flip side, alleged “ample evidence of intent” to deceive. Live updates from WaPo

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AND THE AWARD GOES TO — KATALIN KARIKÓ and DREW WEISSMAN today received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research that laid the groundwork for the revolutionary mRNA Covid-19 vaccines. Their critical breakthroughs to create mRNA technology have transformed vaccine development and tools to fight cancer — and they saved an estimated tens of millions of lives during the Covid pandemic. More from the NYT

CONGRESS

SPARTZ PLUG — Rep. VICTORIA SPARTZ (R-Ind.), one of the less predictable members of Congress, today threatened to resign if lawmakers don’t take serious action to reduce the national debt this year. “[T]here is a limitation to human capacity,” she said in a statement urging the creation of a debt commission. “I will not continue sacrificing my children for this circus with a complete absence of leadership, vision, and spine. I cannot save this Republic alone.”

TRIAL BY FIRE — Rep. JAMAAL BOWMAN’s (D-N.Y.) move to pull the fire alarm in the Capitol this weekend remains a source of uncertainty: He says it was an honest mistake, while Republicans see it as a devious delay tactic. Sources close to Bowman tell Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman for New York Playbook that “he was embarrassed by the confusion and was cooperating with investigators. And that Republicans frothing at the mouth should release the security video, not just a still.” But back home, the incident is stirring talk of a primary challenge from Westchester County Executive GEORGE LATIMER, whom AIPAC has encouraged to run against the more progressive Bowman.

GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.

JUDICIARY SQUARE

SCOTUS WATCH — The Supreme Court turned down JOHN EASTMAN’s attempt to wipe out lower-court rulings “that found Eastman’s emails contained evidence of a likely crime related to Trump’s efforts” to overturn the 2020 election, Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report. Notably, Justice CLARENCE THOMAS recused himself from the matter.

— The court today allowed NYC’s rent control regulations to stand, turning down a challenge from landlords who said the limits “amount to an unconstitutional government taking of landlords’ property,” NYT’s Adam Liptak reports.

— A significant case this term examines whether the SACKLER family’s bankruptcy settlement, which forces them to pay $6 billion over the opioid crisis but protects them from other civil suits, should be allowed to stand, USA Today’s John Fritze previews. The question has divided families of opioid overdose victims: Most see the payout as a positive step to save lives, but others think the Sacklers and Purdue Pharma are getting off too easy. The high court will have to decide whether federal bankruptcy courts can legitimately include lawsuit shields in such an agreement.

AFTERNOON READ — The New Yorker’s David Fitzpatrick goes deep on Alliance Defending Freedom, the rising conservative Christian legal group that has helped overturn Roe v. Wade and carve out legal protections for wedding vendors to refuse same-sex couples. Having moved from the legal fringe to the center of the legal right, ADF is growing, increasingly going on offense and even considering broadening its remit beyond religious concerns.

Among its next culture-war targets: abortion pills and transgender rights. Chief executive KRISTEN WAGGONER, who’s led a successful strategy “to pick smarter battles, including in the court of public opinion,” also has her eye on SCOTUS establishing constitutional “parental rights.”

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ALL POLITICS

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — Republican HOLLIE NOVELETSKY is jumping into the race to challenge Rep. CHRIS PAPPAS (D-N.H.), WMUR-TV’s Adam Sexton scoops. The CEO of a steel company in Greenland, N.H., and a nurse/disaster relief volunteer, Noveletsky will take on former Executive Councilor RUSSELL PRESCOTT in the primary.

CASH DASH — Rep. ADAM SCHIFF’s (D-Calif.) Senate campaign pulled in a whopping $6.4 million in the third quarter, NBC’s Sahil Kapur scoops. He went into the fourth quarter with $32 million on hand.

— SUE LAMBERT, a Democrat running in a swing New Jersey congressional district, announced that she raised $283,000 in the third quarter.

DOWN BALLOT — The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announced that it has now pumped more than $2 million into the Virginia state legislative races this year, including more than $1 million in just the past two weeks.

BATTLE FOR THE STATES — Mississippi Gov. TATE REEVES and Kentucky AG DANIEL CAMERON are working hard to tie their Democratic opponents to Biden in two of the year’s big gubernatorial races, AP’s Bruce Schreiner and Emily Wagster Pettus report. The messaging aims to juice Republican turnout and nationalize the contests, in addition to functioning as a test drive of how such narratives might play across the country next year. But “[i]n each state, the Democrat has a previously existing brand that could help distinguish them from the Republican effort to define them as Biden allies.”

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

FOR YOUR RADAR — “Lawsuit Says NH Guv’s Family May Profit Off Humanitarian Crisis,” by The Daily Beast’s William Bredderman: “A lawsuit filed in July describes how … the Sununu family — led by patriarch JOHN SUNUNU, the former New Hampshire governor and ex-White House chief-of-staff — held stakes and positions in a U.K.-based firm that secured mining rights within the province [of Nagorno-Karabakh] from Baku, rights only an Azerbaijani reconquest could guarantee.”

POLICY CORNER

NEW IDEA — “U.S. health officials propose using a cheap antibiotic as a ‘morning-after pill’ against STDs,” by AP’s Mike Stobbe

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PLAYBOOKERS

MEDIA MOVE — Scott Vance has been named a managing editor at WaPo, in charge of international, business and sports. He most recently has been a deputy managing editor.

TRANSITIONS — Kelvin Chen is now senior EVP and head of policy at the Consumer Bankers Association. He previously led Barclays U.S. Consumer Bank’s regulatory affairs function. … Juliette Boberg is joining the League of Women Voters as director of corporate and organizational partnerships. She previously was senior director at Impactual. … Harry Kazianis has rejoined the Center for the National Interest as senior director of national security affairs and executive editor of The National Interest. He previously was a political consultant and president of the Rogue States Project.

WEDDINGS — Larry Handerhan, chief of staff at HHS’ Administration for Children and Families, and Donnelly McDowell, partner at Kelley Drye & Warren, got married Saturday on Martha’s Vineyard. White Ford Bronco played at their reception, and they served beer from Right Proper, where they had their first date during the early pandemic.Pic …Another pic

— Marshall Kosloff, host of “The Realignment” podcast at the Foundation for American Innovation, a media fellow at Hudson Institute and a fellow at the Clements Center for National Security at UT Austin, and Olivia Webb, editorial lead at a16z Bio + Health, got married in a Jewish ceremony Aug. 27 in D.C. and a secular ceremony Sept. 16 in their new hometown of Austin. They met in July 2016 at a party in D.C. but only started dating in 2018.Pic …Another pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Kevin Perez-Allen, chief comms officer at United States of Care, and Rachel Perez-Allen, director of ag and nutrition government affairs at Feeding America, welcomed Eliana Paloma Perez-Allen on Friday — the same birthday as her dad. She joins big sister Lucia Alicia. Pic

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