POLITICO

A veteran federal prosecutor fired abruptly this week issued a stark warning to colleagues Friday: The Trump administration’s effort to cull perceived adversaries from the Justice Department has put Americans’ safety at risk. “The leadership is more concerned with punishing the President’s perceived enemies than they are with protecting our national security,” wrote Michael Ben’Ary, in a note scotch-taped to his door after he cleaned out his office Friday, the last act of a 20-year career as a federal prosecutor. https://lnkd.in/eNVEx5KQ

The funds needed to oversee nuclear weapons safety will start running low after 8 days, Energy Secretary Chris Wright warns. “Eight more days of funding, and then we have to go into some emergency shutdown procedures, putting our country at risk,” Wright said. https://lnkd.in/es82sxZu

In laying out his foreign policy vision at the UN, Trump was also delivering a template for his political heirs to follow. Although the president isn’t due to leave the White House until January 2029, the president is looking at much of his second term through the lens of a leader with a finite amount of time to leave his mark. And he’s eager to cement a lasting legacy. https://lnkd.in/e3upafmi

Our Catherine Kim watched five hours of lectures on how to dominate her online foes, courtesy of Debate University. Here's what she learned 👇 https://lnkd.in/d8d_bQgB

Hours before the government shutdown, the FDA signed off on a second generic option for the abortion pill mifepristone. The agency's decision has drawn criticism from conservatives. https://lnkd.in/errR_2vs

The government shutdown adds yet another source of stress for the nation’s already overburdened aviation system — including the more than 10,000 air traffic controllers who are already enduring long hours, chronically short staffing and the trauma of January’s mass-fatality crash in Washington. Those air traffic controllers will be working without pay during the shutdown. “During the last government shutdown, when it was for 35 days, your air traffic controllers were out driving Uber on the side so that way they can make sure they can pay for the insulin for their sick sister,” said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union, during a Sept. 10 event in Chicago. “They were out, going out and trying to find any kind of job in their off-hours to just bring in some type of revenue.” Read more: ow.ly/kXXy50X5MZK 📸 Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

EXCLUSIVE: Top DHHS officials say that the Trump admin does not support the Coalition for Health AI. The coalition has enlisted big names in health and tech to evaluate AI tools. https://lnkd.in/ekWTYTaQ

Government agencies are blaming the shutdown on Democrats. Ethics experts say it could be against the law. “They’re not telling the employees to call the Democrats in Congress and stop the shutdown, but this appears to be a lobbying effort targeting Congress," explains Richard Painter, a longtime critic of Trump and a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School who studies government ethics. Painter specifically pointed to the Anti-Lobbying Act and said the Government messages also “push the boundaries” on the Hatch Act. https://lnkd.in/eGHDhMAM

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman thinks this was the year "that the AI got smarter than us." Altman gets candid about the risks and opportunities of rapidly advancing AI in the premiere episode of MD Meets with Mathias Döpfner — a new podcast from POLITICO’s parent company Axel Springer. 🎧 Listen and subscribe: mdmeets.com

A small think tank with just 11 staffers is driving the GOP's health policy. It has also created friction on Capitol Hill and in the White House as Republicans clash over the future of Obamacare. With its well-placed alumni network and aggressive advocacy, Paragon Health Institute is pressuring Republicans to let Obamacare subsidies expire despite urging from GOP centrists. Read the full story: ow.ly/eVnX50X5866