Good Tuesday morning, I'm Anna Palmer and welcome to your Politico Playbook Audio Briefing,

sponsored by J.P. Morgan Chase and Company. And welcome to fall for now. It was a brisk 43 degrees in

D.C. this morning as we started Playbook, and the forecast shows it will climb to just 62 degrees today.

We've an interview with Chris McDaniel leading the top of playbook this morning. The GOP state

senator who challenged Thad Cochran in 2014 told us he has had several conversations with Steve

Bannon about his political future over the last month, including meetings at Breitbart's

headquarters on Capitol Hill. McDaniel said Bannon told him he would, quote, love to see me enter the

U.S. Senate race and that he would support him in whatever race he ran. McDaniel has been toying with primary in Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker. McDaniel said Monday night that Cochran's illness and absence from the Senate has not changed his thinking about the Wicker race, saying he's praying for his full recovery so he can get back to work. He said he plans to decide whether to challenge Wicker by the end of the month.

McDaniel said entering the race is, quote, much more compelling than even a month ago after seeing

Roy Moore clear his primary victory in Alabama. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy leaned in

against some incumbents in the Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana. McCarthy did not mention

GOP senators by name, but he said,

if you're not strong enough to say you're going to repeal Obamacare and then vote that way,

you don't deserve to stay in the office. The paper report that the line drew applause.

Senator John McCain has once again given a speech that everyone is buzzing about. The Arizona

Republican condemned spurious nationalism on Monday night in Philadelphia.

Isaac Dovere reports, using his acceptance speech for the National Constitution Center's

Liberty Medal to issue a call to American ideals.

Burgess Everett and Josh Dossy have the scoop this morning on how Trump and Mitch McConnell's

side-by-side presser was mostly for show.

The two report that Trump's White House is fed up with the Senate and concerned that tax reform will go the way of Obamacare repeal in the Senate. Dawsey writes that the president has given his own performance a quote Trump-size endorsement. Sungman Kim, Burgess Everett, and Sarah Ferris have a look at how Cochran's absence is creating

unexpected problems for Senate Republicans to pass a budget. Remember, they have to pass a budget

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