Obama returns to the mic amid Cheesecake Factory uproar

It’s Wednesday, and we’re officially less than one week out from Election Day. Have you hit the polls yet?

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Former President Obama heads to Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon to boost incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-Ga.) reelection bid and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms , an appearance coming hot off his headline-making visit to Cleveland over the weekend.

While stumping for Democrats in Ohio, Obama spent much of his time at the podium roasting the Trump administration. One of his quips — that President Trump ‘s $900 million renovations to the White House looked “like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory” — really triggered the right.

Trump swipes back: The president responded to Obama’s jab while en route to his own rally in Mississippi on Monday — part of his late October midterm campaigning blitz.

Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews the Democrat didn’t understand “the White House is a symbol of America, and it has to be maintained properly” before slamming Obama as “a lousy president.”

Other administration voices weighed in on the spat, including multimillionaire Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent , as The Hill’s Mira Bhakta covered earlier this week. While speaking outside a Cheesecake Factory, Bessent claimed he was a regular at the restaurant and slammed the design of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

Peach State push: The Hill’s nonpartisan election forecasting partner, Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), gives Ossoff an 86 percent chance of beating his GOP opponent, Rep. Mike Collins.

The race for governor is closer. According to DDHQ, Bottoms is “narrowly favored” to win the gubernatorial seat over Republican businessperson Rick Jackson .

Later Wednesday evening, Trump will return to Ohio for the third time this month — aiming to boost turnout for GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Jon Husted (R), who’s seeking reelection this November.

The president’s visit to Ohio comes four days after Obama’s. He’s set to stump in Chillicothe — a few hours south of Cleveland — at 7 p.m. EDT.

It’s Trump’s first visit to Ohio since Ramaswamy’s attack ad featuring Democrat Amy Acton ‘s estranged mother sparked a national firestorm. Husted said he wouldn’t have run the ad, but Trump and Vice President Vance jumped to Ramaswamy’s defense.

Husted hits the gym: The president said during a Tuesday rally in Lubbock, Texas, he “made the mistake” of studying Husted’s “anatomy” after previously saying, “His a‑‑ is like, it’s like a pile of muscle.”

Husted has leaned into the comments, quipping Tuesday he “was in the weight room” ahead of Trump’s visit. Senate Majority Leader John Thune got in on the fun during remarks in Ohio on Tuesday night.

The Federal Reserve will make its last interest rate decision ahead of midterms on Wednesday, with the expectation that it will remain steady despite persistent inflation.

According to the consumer price index, September’s inflation was listed at 3.7 percent, an increase from August’s 3.4 percent.

The Hill’s Max Rego wrote that “despite that data, multiple central bank officials — including Vice Chair Philip Jefferson and John Williams , the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York — have recently said they will evaluate economic trends before backing another rate hike.”

Wait for December?: After Wednesday, the Fed will not meet again until Dec. 7-8 , when it could approve another interest rate hike.

According to the tool CME FedWatch, which forecasts Fed funds, traders said Tuesday there is a 92.8 percent chance rates will remain steady. It predicts a nearly 80 percent chance of a hike in December.

Ellen Meade , a former policy and communications adviser to the Fed, told The Hill not to “expect them to move this week.”

“I’m not expecting them to do anything other than maybe update in the statement their characterization of the economy,” Meade said.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) endorsed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins in the state’s gubernatorial race.

“Our future is too important to be hamstrung by partisan divisions,” Murkowski said in a statement released by Kreiss-Tomkins’s campaign. “Jonathan understands that governing requires listening to people with different perspectives and finding common ground to solve the problems all of us face.”

The Alaska Republican has ripped the GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy , saying that his administration has “left federal money on the table.”

“I think in certain areas, where we have worked hard to put opportunities from the federal side, here, into the state, the state has failed with it,” Murkowski told Alaska News Source in an interview.

Trump’s bad side: Murkowski has been bashed by Trump for consistently crossing party lines, with the president calling her the “Republican’s Worst Senator” and a “DISGRACE to Alaska and our country.”

The senator previously endorsed Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in her reelection run for House in 2024. In this year’s midterm cycle, Murkowski has endorsed Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan against Peltola.

BIG STORY ➤ The New York Times reports that Peltola’s campaign coordinated with national Democrats in a months-long effort to recruit candidates named Dan Sullivan, in a bid to peel votes from the incumbent. They found one, spurring a preemptive legal challenge from the Department of Justice.

🏭 During President Trump’s Tuesday rally in Lubbock, Texas, he announced plans to loosen methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. He told supporters that he was “officially terminating Biden’s expensive and unnecessary methane regulations.”

🛬The Associated Press reported Wednesday morning that defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family landed in Miami. Bolsonaro’s arrival to the U.S. comes less than 48 hours after he declined to concede to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva .

⛳ A federal judge ordered a new hearing for President Trump’s plan to redevelop East Potomac Park in Washington after Trump posted on Truth Social that the project would continue despite a judge ruling against it.

🧈More than 1,000 cases of Miyoko’s Creamery European Style Salted Plant Milk Butter were recalled due to yeast, mold and E. coli concerns, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Politico — Poll shows Israel’s looming challenge: American indifference

Reuters — From transgender rights to a billionaire tax: Key midterm ballot measures

The New York Times — Here Are the U.S. Attorneys Who Are Carrying Out Trump’s Grievance Agenda

The Washington Post — Can you trust a chatbot to make you a voter guide? We put them to the test.

The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Washington, D.C., before he travels to Ohio for a midterm rally. (All times EDT)

2 p.m.: Trump meets with the Artemis III crew.

2 p.m. : Federal Reserve interest rate decision.

7 p.m. : Trump rallies in Chillicothe, Ohio (south of Columbus).

🍫 Celebrate : Today is National Chocolate Day ! Consider it a warmup for Halloween.

🍔McDonald’s announced the return of its signature McRib sandwich, which is set to return Tuesday (Election Day). Couldn’t think of a better combo than following the midterm elections and eating a McRib.

🍂 Because you made it this far, here is a sea lion rolling around in the leaves!

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