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VP Kamala Harris spent about 90 minutes meeting with the leaders of civil rights and reproductive rights groups on Monday evening. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo

WELCOME HOME ALEX BURNS will return to POLITICO as associate editor for global politics and a columnist, Executive Editor Dafna Linzer and Editor-in-Chief Matt Kaminski announced this morning.

This expansive new role will be charged with helping chart the course for POLITICOs coverage of politics, policy and power as we become a more truly global newsroom, Dafna and Matt write. Alex will work with editors and reporters to develop themes, stories and projects that appeal broadly to our readers, and their political obsessions, in the United States and abroad

Hell build and oversee a team to help push these projects forward, and author one of them himself: A new column, published here and in Europe, for POLITICOs global audience that explores dynamics related to the future of politics, elections, climate, trade and technology, grounded in reporting, analysis and Alexs own perspective.

Alex will rejoin POLITICO after the midterms, following an eight-year run at the NYT and a blockbuster venture into book publishing earlier this year with This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and The Battle for Americas Future. Read the full memo Flashback to Alexs first front-page POLITICO byline on Nov. 6, 2008

We can't wait for Alex to get started and to feature his new column here in Playbook.

HARRIS PLEDGES MORE ACTION ON ABORTION RIGHTS Back in July, a coalition of civil rights and reproductive rights groups pushed President JOE BIDEN for continued leadership in the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, requesting a POTUS meeting.

On Monday evening, they got their meeting with VP KAMALA HARRIS, who spent about 90 minutes with the groups leaders. Her message, attendees said, echoed the rising sentiment in Democratic circles that abortion rights stand to be a key motivating factor in the midterms and she said the Biden administration would continue raising the salience of the issue.

The Rev. AL SHARPTON, founder of the National Action Network, told Playbook that while Harris didnt go into specifics, she said there would be more action, and it would be a priority.

Harris made the case that the abortion issue had to be made relevant to all voters, and she touted a blueprint the administration has pushed for months: that the abortion decision was just the beginning of an attack on Americans privacy, with other rights now in the crosshairs.

One suggestion that caught Harris attention was the idea of using pop culture to help connect with voters. MONICA SIMPSON, executive director of SisterSong, told Harris that was one of the missing pieces and noted how P-Valley, the Starz series about a Delta strip club, featured an episode this summer depicting a young girls journey to receive care at Mississippis sole abortion clinic one loosely based on Jackson Womens Health Organization, which was at the center of Junes landmark Supreme Court decision.

As MELANIE CAMPBELL, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, put it: Some people don't listen to MSNBC or read POLITICO like us. They may get information in other ways.

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FOR YOUR RADAR Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) is set to introduce a Senate bill today banning abortions nationally after the first months of pregnancy. Graham has previously introduced similar bills, but this years version which is likely to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, WaPos Caroline Kitchener reports, as opposed to the 20-week threshold in previous bills is sure to become a flashpoint. While Graham and Republicans plan to use the bill to rail against Democratic support for late-term abortions, Democrats are certain to seize on any GOP effort to impose a national ban.

Good Tuesday morning. Election Day is eight weeks away. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

LAST CALL This is it: The 2022 midterm primary season ends tonight. (OK, except for you sticklers who remember that Louisianans will be voting in their states jungle primary on Nov. 8 while the rest of the country casts their general-election ballots.)

There are some intriguing House races and gubernatorial races on the ballot in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, but the main drama is the Republican race for the chance to face off against Sen. MAGGIE HASSAN (D-N.H.) in November.

The GOP primary saw a major shake-up less than two weeks ago, as our Steve Shepard and Ally Mutnick write in their curtain-raiser: On Sept. 1, a newly created super PAC, White Mountain PAC, began a two-week, nearly $5 million ad blitz for state Senate President CHUCK MORSE.

The source of the new groups funding wont be known until next month. But the pair reports that Republicans in the state and beyond have scrambled to elevate Morse, who is seen as a more mainstream candidate than DONBOLDUC, a far-right former Army general who has closely hugged DONALD TRUMP and held a substantial lead in several recent polls.

This is another race where Democrats have inserted themselves into the GOP primary to secure what they believe will be a more advantageous matchup: Senate Majority PAC launched a $3.2 million ad buy noting that MITCH McCONNELLs Washington establishment is going all-in for Chuck Morse, a message that could both tamp down conservative support in the primary but also resonate in favor of Hassan if Morse makes it to November.

If Bolduc holds on, New Hampshire could move to the edge of the Senate battlefield as GOP groups divert their dollars to more winnable races. But if Morse can eke out a win, Hassan stands to face the knock-down, drag-out battle that political forecasters have long anticipated in the Granite State, with control of the Senate hanging in the balance.

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INFLATION NATION This afternoon, Biden will hold his long-awaited White House event celebrating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Aides say the event will have thousands of attendees: Cabinet Secretaries, Members of Congress, Governors, Mayors, climate and environmental leaders, healthcare activists, union workers, and other Americans.

Biden will say the bill delivers on promises that Washington has made to the American people for decades lowering costs for families and finally taking aggressive action to tackle the climate crisis, according to an advance copy of his remarks we obtained. And, with the midterms eight weeks away, he will knock Republicans for, among other things, blocking an effort to cap the price of insulin.

But the coverage of the event is certain to be colored by another event today: the 8:30 a.m. announcement of the August consumer price index aka, the new inflation numbers.

POLITICOs Victoria Guida previewed the announcement for us: Economists are expecting Tuesdays consumer price index data to show that prices actually fell (on aggregate) in August compared to July, though only to a level thats about 8 percent higher than last August. Still, that monthly decline, driven particularly by gas prices, would be a welcome sign that inflation is on a steady slope downward. Unfortunately, some other key parts of inflation are likely to remain stubbornly high, notably rent, so the descent could be very slow.

SURVEY SAYS The enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans continues to shrink. In new POLITICO/Morning Consult polling, 56% of Democratic registered voters say they are extremely or very enthusiastic about voting in November, compared to 57% of Republicans who say the same. Our last survey with this question, released Sept. 3, had Republicans with a 4-point advantage.

BIDENS TUESDAY:

9 a.m.: The president will receive the Presidents Daily Brief.

3 p.m.: Biden will host his South Lawn event celebrating the Inflation Reduction Act, with remarks from Biden and Harris, and first lady JILL BIDEN and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF in attendance.

Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 1:35 p.m.

HARRIS TUESDAY The VP will also take part in an armchair conversation at 10:10 a.m. at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institutes 2022 leadership conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

THE SENATE is in, with a recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. for weekly conference meetings. The Judiciary Committee will hear from Twitter whistleblower PEITER MUDGE ZATKO at 10 a.m.

THE HOUSE will meet at 2 p.m. to take up a variety of legislation. Speaker NANCY PELOSI will swear in new Reps. MARY PELTOLA (D-Alaska), PAT RYAN (D-N.Y.) and JOE SEMPOLINSKI (R-N.Y.) at 6:50 p.m.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his Cancer Moonshot Initiative on Monday, Sept. 12, in Boston. | Scott Eisen/Getty Images

ALL POLITICS

BATTLE FOR THE SENATE Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER is investing $15 million of his own campaign cash across 11 Senate races to protect his majority, Burgess Everett reports this morning. $5 million will go to the DSCC, and the rest will be distributed among the races in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin ($1 million each), plus Colorado and Washington state ($500,000 each).

BIG INVESTIGATION The Fight Against an Age-Old Effort to Block Americans From Voting, by ProPublicas Aliyya Swaby and Annie Waldman: For all of the recent uproar over voting rights, little attention has been paid to one of the most sustained and brazen suppression campaigns in America: the effort to block help at the voting booth for people who struggle to read a group that amounts to about 48 million Americans Time and again, federal courts have struck down such restrictions as illegal and unconstitutional. Inevitably, states just create more.

FASCINATING DeSANTIS DISPATCH DeSantis full armor of God rhetoric reaches Republicans. But is he playing with fire? by the Miami Heralds Ana Ceballos: The Republican governor, a strategic politician who is up for reelection in November, is increasingly using biblical references in speeches that cater to those who see policy fights through a morality lens and flirting with those who embrace nationalist ideas that see the true identity of the nation as Christian. He and other Republicans on the campaign trail are blending elements of Christianity with being American and portraying their battle against their political opponents as one between good and evil.

MAR-A-LAGO FALLOUT

MASTER OF HIS FATE After the two sides each proposed two special master candidates last week, DOJ indicated Monday that it would accept the Trump teams suggestion of RAYMOND DEARIE, a former chief federal judge, to oversee the feds review of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago. The move could help speed the process, but U.S. District Judge AILEEN CANNON will still have to sign off on Dearie and make decisions about plenty of other disagreements regarding the special masters work, timing and scope. How the judge rules on those outstanding issues could well determine whether Trumps fight with the Justice Department gets further entangled with appeals, write WaPos Devlin Barrett and Perry Stein.

THE WHITE HOUSE

IVE BEEN WORKING ON THE RAILROAD Biden got personally involved Monday with the push to avoid a massive railroad strike later this week, sending a message to the companies and unions, Bloombergs Jordan Fabian reports. The presidents effort signifies how seriously the White House is taking the possibility of a work stoppage, which could disrupt the US economy and hurt Democrats chances of keeping their congressional majorities.

A strike starting Friday doesnt actually seem likely to people close to the negotiations, Tanya Snyder reports: A last-minute deal or an extension of the negotiating period are more expected. But the prospect of a work stoppage is already having an impact. Multiple train routes and other services will be suspended starting today.

KNOWING RICHARD REVESZ Regulatory oversight nominee made a career studying regulation, by Roll Calls Benjamin Hulac: President Joe Bidens pick to lead the White Houses regulatory office possesses a background in environmental law, has written extensively on federal regulations and has drawn support from peers who served under Democratic and Republican administrations.

CONGRESS

WHETHER PERMITTING House progressives are ready to play hardball with Sen. JOE MANCHINs (D-W.Va.) energy permitting reform, after repeatedly getting rolled by the centrist swing vote, Sarah Ferris and Burgess Everett report. Theyre hoping to force Manchin into negotiations on the legislation, with the question of a shutdown threat looming. Still, [s]everal lawmakers and aides said they believe there is a path to an amended deal that can win over [RAL] GRIJALVA and other House Democrats while keeping Manchin on board. In part thats because the reform would aid clean energy as well as fossil fuels.

But Manchin wont be the first to the table. Sen. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-W.Va.) unveiled her own permitting bill Monday, nudging ahead of Manchin with 38 GOP co-sponsors, per Benjamin Hulac. States would be free to develop energy resources on federal lands within their borders, a series of Trump-era regulations would be set into law and a West Virginia pipeline would be approved in Capitos bill.

JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

THE INVESTIGATIONS Since Wednesday, federal investigators have sent roughly 40 subpoenas in a substantial escalation of their probe into Trump worlds actions around the 2020 election and Jan. 6, NYTs Glenn Thrush, Maggie Haberman, Adam Goldman and Alan Feuer scooped. BORIS EPSHTEYNs and MIKE ROMANs phones were seized under warrant. Other subpoena targets included DAN SCAVINO and BERNARD KERIK. The subpoenas largely focus on the scheme to propose slates of fake Trump electors, as well as the actions of the Save America PAC. They encompass a wide range of people around Mr. Trump, from low-level aides to his most senior advisers.

BILL STEPIEN and SEAN DOLLMAN are also among those subpoenaed, add CNNs Gabby Orr, Kristen Holmes, Sara Murray, Kaitlan Collins, Evan Perez, Katelyn Polantz and Zachary Cohen, who peg the total at more than 30.

WILL RUSSELL was on the list too, per CBS Arden Farhi, Fin Gmez and Andres Triay.

WAR IN UKRAINE

THE VIEW FROM THE WEST The speed and overwhelming success of Ukraines recent counteroffensive have taken U.S. officials by surprise, Lara Seligman and Paul McLeary report. Kyiv informed top U.S. generals in advance of the plan to launch simultaneous attacks on two fronts, according to a Ukrainian official, but both governments were shocked by the success of the northern counteroffensive. Now the question is how far Ukrainian troops will be able to get into the Donbas and in the south.

Western intelligence officials think this moment could mark a turning point in the war, WaPos Shane Harris and Ellen Nakashima report. Everybodys watching now to see how Russia reacts and whether President VLADIMIR PUTIN will pull more troops into Ukraine from elsewhere.

But the U.S. is also warning Ukraines supporters not to get ahead of themselves: Victory would be a long way off, report the L.A. Times Tracy Wilkinson and Eli Stokols. U.S. officials said the back-and-forth trade of gains and retreats by Russians and Ukrainians was likely to continue Weapons supplies, weather, and the resolve in Moscow as well as in Washington and European capitals will determine how the rest of the war unfolds.

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TRUMP CARDS

RULE OF LAW WATCH Senate Judiciary Chair DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) said Monday that his panel will investigate allegations that Trump DOJ figures pressured the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York to alter criminal investigations for partisan reasons, NYTs Benjamin Weiser reports. GEOFFREY BERMAN, who served in that U.S. attorney role from 2018 to 2020, makes the explosive claims in his new book, Holding the Line, that federal officials tried to intervene in cases involving MICHAEL COHEN, JOHN KERRY and GREG CRAIG.

POLICY CORNER

MONKEYPOX LATEST As monkeypox vaccine uptake stalls out, the administration is pivoting its strategy to try to get more at-risk queer men, especially Black and Hispanic men, to get the shot, Megan Messerly and Krista Mahr report. But the sudden drop in vaccination rates has local health departments and public health experts concerned the public may be moving on from the threat of monkeypox too soon, leaving unvaccinated people vulnerable and giving the virus an opening to circulate indefinitely.

To wit: In Charlotte, N.C., WaPos Fenit Nirappil documents the struggle to get Black men vaccinated, as the community most at risk retains plenty of skepticism around the government, safety and structural barriers.

MONUMENTAL NEWS Biden is likely to designate the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado this month, in what would be the first national monument creation of his presidency, WaPos Maxine Joselow scooped. Sen. MICHAEL BENNET and other Colorado Dems have sought to protect the old military training ground and nearby landscapes through legislation, but they havent been able to get past Senate Republicans concerned about the restrictions that protecting the area would impose on mining and drilling.

WHAT DEB HAALAND IS UP TO The Interior Department announced Monday it will move to undo Trump administration moves that loosened offshore oil and gas safety regulations, WSJs Ted Mann reports. The updates to the well-control rule would increase the strength requirements for blowout preventers, the systems designed to cut and seal a well pipe in the event of a surge of high-pressure oil and gas, which could otherwise lead to a spill.

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

WHAT THEYRE WATCHING IN BROOKLYN In the wake of the NYTs blockbuster investigation into New Yorks Hasidic Jewish schools, Empire State politicians have responded in strikingly different ways. NYTs Eliza Shapiro, Brian Rosenthal and Nicholas Fandos break down the reactions: Democratic Reps. JERRY NADLER and HAKEEM JEFFRIES, congressional nominee DAN GOLDMAN and some top state legislators voiced serious concerns, with Jeffries calling for an investigation. But Gov. KATHY HOCHUL treaded carefully, calling it outside the purview of the governor. Her GOP opponent, Rep. LEE ZELDIN, criticized the story and sided with the schools.

Some prominent New York Dems declined to comment or didnt respond, including Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER, Sen. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND and DCCC Chair SEAN PATRICK MALONEY. Mayor ERIC ADAMS said he was not concerned about the story but confirmed that the city is investigating some schools.

Jen Psaki is starting at NBC.

Kyrsten Sinema registered for next years Boston Marathon, coming back from her broken foot this summer.

OUT AND ABOUT The White House News Photographers Association held its annual Eyes of History Awards Gala at the D.C. Ritz Carlton on Saturday night, hosted by Peter Alexander and Alison Starling. The gala recognized the associations top winners in visual journalism contests for the last three years and honored Joni Mazer Field, Carol Guzy and Bobby Williams with lifetime achievement awards. The association named AFPs Brendan Smialowski photographer of the year, CNNs McKenna Ewen video editor of the year and BBC News Anjelica Casas multimedia journalist of the year for 2022. SPOTTED:Anna Johnson, J. David Ake, Sally Buzbee, MaryAnne Golon, Pedro Ugarte, Imelda Flattery, Jackie Smith, Chris Shlemon, Jim Bourg, Kevin Lamarque and Win McNamee.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK Marc Wheat is joining former VP Mike Pences issue advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, as general counsel. He most recently was deputy assistant general counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Greg Jacob continues to advise Pence and his team.

TRANSITIONS Drew Griffin is joining Invariants government relations and comms team. He most recently was chief of staff to Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio). Democratic strategist Michael Starr Hopkins is joining Rep. Charlie Crists Florida gubernatorial campaign as senior adviser, per The Hills Hanna Trudo. Retired Army Maj. Gen. Chris Sharpsten is now EVP of defense programs at J.A. Green & Co. He previously was director of supply, production and distribution for Operation Warp Speed.

Tim McKone is joining Roberti Global as a senior adviser. He recently launched McK Strategies, and previously was EVP for federal relations at AT&T. Kellie Adesina is joining Kraft Heinz as director of federal government affairs. She most recently was director of government affairs at Bayer, and is a House Agriculture alum. Isabelle Rosini is joining Red Renegade as an account executive. She previously was on the FreedomWorks comms team.

WEDDING Alex Wirth, co-founder and CEO of Quorum, and Tracy Nelson, associate at Sullivan and Cromwell, got married Saturday in Santa Fe, N.M. Pic SPOTTED:Jonathan Marks, Andrea Basaraba, Jordan Rasmusson, John Brinkerhoff, Emily Hall, Ryan Thornton, Rachel Wolbers, Duncan Hosie, Libby Ediger, Elizabeth Stockton, Mat Goldstein and former Sen. Tim Wirth (D-Colo.), Alexs great-uncle.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD Wesley Wright, senior director at Locust Street Group, and Lauren Wright, executive director of the Conservative Climate Foundation, welcomed Winslow Kennedy Wright on Sept. 5. Pic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) and Roger Williams (R-Texas) Danielle Burr Cedric Richmond North Carolina A.G. Josh Stein Asya Evelyn of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) office Mark Mellman Jos Morales of Stacey Abrams Georgia gubernatorial campaign Potomac Strategy Groups Matt Mackowiak Robin Meszoly Vivian Schiller of the Aspen Institute Ryan Hambleton Walter Suskind CNNs Alli Gordon Amazons Suzanne Beall and Tina Pelkey POLITICOs Ari Hawkins, Kate Ling, Destiny Woosley, Robyn Brigham, Jeremy Dillon and Ben Leonard Bloombergs Laura Davison Kelsey Smith of Speaker Nancy Pelosis office NBCs Ginger Gibson and Casey Dolan former Reps. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) (6-0) and Lincoln Davis (D-Tenn.) Jerry Johnson of Brodeur Partners Jennifer Pflieger Herald Groups Jack Fencl Sierra DeCrosta Julia Pitcher Worcester

Send Playbookers tips to [emailprotected] or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldnt happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.

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