Earlier this year, the Biden administration forecast that the annual rate of inflation would be 2 percent. On Wednesday the Labor Department reported that inflation hit 6.2 percent, the biggest spike in prices since 1990, and the news is reverberating across every aspect of American politics.

And, while the reconciliation bill, government funding and the debt limit will all play starring roles in the Senate between now and New Year’s Eve, don’t sleep on the drama over the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

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Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
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Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

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