JT TAYLOR:  Capital Brief - JT   Potomac banner 2

“Accomplishment will prove to be a journey, not a destination.”

                               - Dwight D. Eisenhower

GROUNDHOG DAY: We forewarned that you’d be hearing about the Donald Trump pivot and now he’s taken the first step by issuing his regrets for not “choosing the right words,” but we don’t buy it just yet - he’s had the same attitude for quite some time now and he’s proved to be anything but status quo. The hiring of his new campaign chief will only enhance that, further confirming he intends to embrace the combative style of campaigning he believes won him the Republican nomination – we expect an onslaught of smashmouth campaign ads and raucous rallies to follow. On the other hand, Trump did topple an impressive roster of candidates during his primary season by embracing…well, himself. You could find the five best campaign managers in the history of presidential campaigns and give them each a turn behind the wheel of the Trump campaign and he’d still find a way to steer the wagon. Fasten your seatbelts people.

MAIL CALL: Inboxes on Capitol Hill are full of unread Clinton emails having received the Clinton-FBI interview notes. The Republican caucus is now sifting through pages of detailed summaries, inspecting every nook and cranny for a smoking gun. You could see this coming from a mile away - it’s an election year and Republicans are slipping and have little to show on the accomplishment front for the past seven months. No new findings are expected, but the House Judiciary Committee plans to press the FBI in next month on allegations that Clinton committed perjury. As we’ve seen in the past, Republicans do have a tendency to overextend, and while it truly does deserve a vetting, let’s hope it doesn’t supplant the duties of Congress (pass a budget).

SCORCHED EARTH POLICY?: Freshly-minted Campaign Chair Steve Bannon’s mission is almost perfectly aligned with Trump’s – he’s a rabid fighter, enraged by Washington and Wall Street insiders, the Republican establishment and the Clintons. Known as a devil-may-care conservative, Bannon’s populist and nationalist sympathies reflect his longstanding disgust with both major political parties, which perfectly outlines his overall objective - disrupt the narrative. Bannon has been floating around the campaign for a while now, and is expected to be an expansion of Trump’s mind and values. With the Republican party also in his crosshairs, the Trump campaign may widen the gap between themselves and the party, and run their campaign however they may choose.

FISH OR CUT BAIT: Usually a campaign shakeup this late in the game shows a struggling candidate righting the ship, but not here - more Trump is expected, and the move is irking Republicans. A letter, signed by more than 120 Republicans, warned the RNC that Trump is a threat to House and Senate seats, and the RNC should refocus resources to down-ballot races instead. The RNC is standing by Trump…for now, and won't make a decision until the fall. Not wasting any time, Republican PACs are investing heavily in down ticket races, while ignoring the presidential campaign. With the final leg of the election kicking off after Labor Day weekend, the RNC will need to make a final decision – keep him or toss him back in the water. Either way, the party is likely to feel the repercussions for cycles to come.

JOHNSON’S DILEMMA: Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson may be watching the debates from home next month as the rules commission released the five polls they will use to decide the participants for the three presidential debates. Third party candidates, like Johnson and Jill Stein, should be content with the choices as they’ve been included in all recent pollings, but the inclusion of all third parties could hurt Johnson, even as he climbs in the polls...When Stein is left out of the polls, Johnson isn’t far off the 15% bar - he hits 12%. But in the most recent polls Johnson comes in between 8% and 10%, while Stein boasts 5%. Johnson performs worse with Stein in the mix, and in the hunt for 15%, every point counts.

FCC TARGETS RATE CUTS FOR ENTERPRISE DATA LINES: Our Telecommunications-Media Policy Analyst Paul Glenchur shared his insight on the upcoming FCC rules on special access and how they could boost CLECs and wireless carriers while dampening cable enterprise revenue growth. You can read his piece here.