Washington, DC

1. Rubio’s MAGA rise
2. Trump-Europe tensions
3. Fed poised to cut rates
4. Trump criticized on wind
5. Lee doubts Netflix-WBD
6. GOP’s health care switch
7. House set for defense vote

PDB: Miami elects Dem mayor

Johnson, Schumer, Jeffries host Congressional Menorah Lighting … Senate Dems tell Navy secretary of ‘serious concerns’ in Kelly probe … Bloomberg: SpaceX eyes $1.5T IPO

How Rubio rose in Trump’s orbit

Soon after President Donald Trump returned to office with a promise to settle Russia’s war against Ukraine, a skeptical Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned him about Vladimir Putin’s intentions, according to a senior White House official — while making clear that he supported Trump’s plan to strengthen ties with the Russian president. “A lot of that has obviously turned out to be true,” the official said of Rubio’s doubts about Putin. The quiet advice is emblematic of how Rubio has risen in Washington — despite the fact that he’s not fully “MAGA” when it comes to foreign policy issues, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott writes. Over the last decade, Rubio has, like the broader GOP, shifted closer to Trump on issues both at home and abroad. But he remains more hawkish than some of Trump’s other top officials, and has been mostly welcomed by the president’s staunchest supporters, leaving many to wonder what might come next for the administration’s rising star.

Trump ramps up tensions with Europe

Rubio might have a new challenge on his hands, as Trump’s remarks about Russia having the advantage in its war against Ukraine further strain his relationship with Europe. “Europe is not doing a good job in many ways,” Trump told Politico, chiding “weak” European leaders for their approach to the war, immigration, and political correctness. The comments landed with a thud across the Atlantic, where European Council President António Costa implored Trump to show “respect.” Meanwhile, the Trump administration is jacking up the pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to respond to the latest draft of a peace proposal in days, the Financial Times reported. Russia continues to press forward on the battlefield, with a top general saying Tuesday that Russian troops would seek to control the town of Myrnohrad, per Reuters.

All eyes on Fed ahead of rates decision

The Federal Reserve is expected to again lower interest rates today — and then try its best to set expectations for its meeting next month, when forthcoming data could dramatically shift policymakers’ understanding of the economy. The announcement comes as Trump continues his search for the next Fed chair, including by interviewing former Fed Gov. Kevin Warsh. Asked whether support for low rates is a litmus test for his pick, Trump told Politico: “Yes.” Frontrunner Kevin Hassett, currently the White House’s chief economic adviser, said at a Wall Street Journal event that he would rely on his own judgment, not Trump’s, if selected. Not everyone is buying it: “I don’t think he can escape the president’s reach by going to the Fed,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat who serves on the committee with jurisdiction, told Semafor. “Anyone who’s been that close to the president will be compromised.”

— Eleanor Mueller

GOP gov. criticizes Trump on wind

Oklahoma’s Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, criticized the Trump administration for its handling of wind energy projects during a Semafor event focused on permitting reform. “It’s very disappointing,” Stitt told Semafor’s Ben Smith when asked about the administration’s efforts to kill wind projects, like a nearly finished project in Rhode Island and Connecticut. “That just looks like politics when you’re canceling those.” Stitt said he has raised the issue in conversations with Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “We’ve got to be agnostic on these issues,” he continued. His comments came soon after a federal judge struck down Trump’s order halting wind projects on federal lands and waters. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., also expressed cautious optimism about the prospect of a permitting deal in Congress next year, during separate interviews with Semafor’s Burgess Everett.

Catch up on the full event here.

Lee has ‘grave doubts’ over Netflix-WBD

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, thinks Netflix’s deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery will likely get derailed by federal antitrust cops, he told Burgess Everett. “I have grave doubts about the ability of that deal” to survive a federal antitrust review, Lee said, calling it “a lot of market consolidation.” “I will not be surprised if this gets thwarted,” he added. Lee, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also said there would be hearings on the proposed deal. Meanwhile, both sides are ramping up their lobbying: WBD has tapped former Trump adviser Chris LaCivita to help smooth the deal in DC, Rohan Goswami reported. And Paramount CEO David Ellison spent Tuesday meeting with major WBD shareholders, Rohan scooped; investors walked away from those talks reassured, according to three people he met with, and Paramount’s offer could yet go higher, Puck’s Matt Belloni wrote.

Senate no closer to health care solution

Rank-and-file Republicans convinced Senate Majority Leader John Thune to hold a vote on a new health savings account plan from Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, alongside Democrats’ three-year extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies. But both votes will fail on Thursday and leave the Senate no closer to a solution that can pass. “The bottom line is, we are the government. We need to come up with a solution,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who favors a three-year extension that reduces subsidies over time. Sens. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., entered the mix with their own proposals, too, leaving the Senate with at least five GOP health care plans and nothing yet that can pass. Will there actually be dealmaking after the failed votes? “If neither proposal gets 60, then we’ll see where it goes from there,” Thune said.

— Burgess Everett

House lines up defense bill

The House will take its first floor vote today on whether to advance annual defense legislation. GOP leaders projected confidence Tuesday that they’ll have enough support to move the National Defense Authorization Act despite conservatives’ concerns over what is — and isn’t — in the bill. “To go $8 billion above what the president asked for?” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said. “When they stop buying our bonds, it’s going to be a dead stop for this country; we won’t have an NDAA.” Others pushed back on its exclusion of a temporary ban on the Fed issuing a central bank digital currency. “We need and were promised a law,” Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, said. Democrats, meanwhile, are expressing annoyance at the bill’s failure to protect collective bargaining rights for Defense Department employees.

— Eleanor Mueller

Blindspot: Antisemitism and charges

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, curated with help from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: The group StopAntisemitism gave more than a dozen colleges “F” grades for their handling of antisemitism on campus, the New York Post reported.

What the Right isn’t reading: Most of the children charged with crimes as adults in Washington state are children of color, after the passage of a 2018 law that limited the number of kids charged as adults, the AP reported.

In Washington, economic power no longer follows party lines. The old frameworks — left vs. right, House vs. Senate, Republican vs. Democrat — no longer fully explain how economic power moves in the Capitol. Today’s influence moves through a wide network, from traditional power brokers to ideological outliers, dealmakers, and policy entrepreneurs. Join us tonight for one-on-one conversations with leaders including White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), as we map the people moving capital, shaping policy, and redrawing the blueprint of economic power.

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Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Leading members of the Senate Armed Services Committee are wary of using reconciliation to fast-track defense spending. “I would prefer to use the regular appropriations process,” said committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

Playbook: Half of all Americans struggle to pay for food, with 55% blaming the Trump administration for rising prices, a poll conducted by Public First found.

Axios: Forty-five percent of small-business owners in the US said