| | | | |  | | By Adam Wren | Presented by the National Retail Federation | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | JACK SMITH’S MIDNIGHT RIDE — Six days before President-elect DONALD TRUMP is due to be sworn as the victor of the 2024 election, special counsel JACK SMITH’s report into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election is finally here. It arrived shortly after midnight following the expiration of an injunction blocking its release. Trump’s legal team had asked Judge AILEEN CANNON to extend that order; late last night, she declined. The Justice Department sent the report to Congress minutes later. What’s in the report? We read all 174 pages overnight. Most of it is information Playbook readers are well-acquainted with by this point — the pressure campaign on VP MIKE PENCE to somehow overturn the election, the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol, the phone call to Georgia election officials, the fake electors scheme, etc. If you read just one paragraph from the report, make it this one: “The Department's view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a President is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government's proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Office stands fully behind. Indeed, but for Mr. Trump's election and imminent return to the Presidency, the Office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.” Read the full document … POLITICO … AP … NYT
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Pete Hegseth talks to reporters after meeting with Senators on Nov. 21, 2024. | Angelina Katsanis/POLITICO | TODAY — The onslaught has arrived. At 9:30 a.m., the first of President-elect DONALD TRUMP’s Cabinet nominees will face a confirmation hearing: PETE HEGSETH, an Army veteran and the former host of “FOX & Friends Weekend,” will be the guest of the Senate Armed Service Committee as they weigh his bid to become Defense secretary. For the Trump transition, it will be the first real rubber-meets-the-road moment, as a would-be member of his administration will for the first time face a public grilling over their qualifications and record. It also illustrates the shelf life of conventional wisdom in Trump’s Washington: Weeks ago, Hegseth’s nomination was considered all but dead on arrival. Now, that wisdom is looking a little stale. What happened? “We gave the Senate an attitude adjustment,” says MIKE DAVIS, a central figure in Supreme Court Justice BRETT KAVANAUGH’s confirmation, whose Article III Project has become the tip of the spear in Hegseth’s battle. Still, the questioning — even by some Republicans, like Sen. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa) — will not be nearly as friendly as the weekend morning patter Hegseth is used to. Democrats are divvying up their questions to try and sink him, but Hegseth also needs every Republican on the committee to back him. The hearing could produce fireworks on any number of issues, from Hegseth’s alleged drinking habits to his alleged sexual misconduct to his alleged financial mismanagement. As our colleagues Connor O’Brien and Joe Gould write in their curtain-raiser, “[s]enators will likely delve into his position on women in combat and probe his previous leadership of veterans’ organizations.” “They’re gonna ask him about the sexual assault claim against him,” Davis tells Playbook. “They’ll ask about his drinking. If they ask about his drinking and womanizing, the Article III project will gladly point out the senators who ask.” On his alleged sexual misconduct, NBC’s Julie Tsirkin, Ryan Nobles, Sarah Fitzpatrick and Courtney Kube report that the FBI did not interview “Hegseth’s ex-wives or the woman who accused him of sexual assault in a California hotel room in 2017, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the contents of the report.” Look for Democrats to slam the FBI’s background report as woefully inadequate. HOW DEMS SEE IT: On the Democratic side, many see this as a big moment to play offense. The Dem-aligned VoteVets PAC circulated potential questions for Hegseth from Major General (Ret.) PAUL EATON (“The job you want, the job you’ve been nominated for, is a remarkably difficult job … please lay out your credentials for this job. Just tell me your credentials. Is there anything in your past that might make women hesitant to follow you?”) and VoteVets senior adviser MAX ROSE, the former Democratic congressman for New York and an Afghanistan vet (“Do you think it’s a priority to make up military plans to take Greenland and take the Panama Canal? Do you think it’s important to … update our military plans to take Canada by force?”). Even House members are trying to get in on the action, with Rep. PAT RYAN (D-N.Y.) posting a thread of 10 possible questions to X. Democratic senators on the committee are telegraphing that they are likely to focus on what they see as Hegseth’s lack of qualifications. In her opening remarks — obtained by Playbook — Sen. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-Ill.), a retired U.S. Army National Guard lieutenant colonel who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, will say: “The American people need a Secretary of Defense who is ready to lead on day one. Our adversaries watch us closely during times of government transition, and any sense that the Department that keeps us safe is being steered by someone wholly unprepared for the job puts us all at risk.” Duckworth and Sen. MARK KELLY (D-Ariz.), himself a retired U.S. Navy captain who served in Operation Desert Storm, are up at the Military Times with an op-ed referencing Hegseth’s alleged past abuse of alcohol in a preview of a line of attack you can expect to hear more from Dems in the days ahead: “We would not tolerate this kind of reckless behavior from recruits — there is absolutely zero reason we should tolerate it from the man who is supposed to be their leader.” In an interview with Playbook, Kelly said he has “some serious questions for [Hegseth]. I've got a lot of them. We each do not get a lot of time. And there are 27 members of the committee, and there are issues with his experience, but also his personal choices that he has made that are concerning for me and the other members of the committee, I think, on both sides.” Kelly said he expects Hegseth’s TV experience to help him. “He’ll be good,” he said. But it’s clear it’ll be a rough ride. “Maybe he would have been a very reasonable — well, I mean, the personal issues are still a concern — but maybe he would have been a reasonable nominee to be the spokesperson for DOD,” Kelly said. Good Tuesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop me a line at awren@politico.com.
| | | | A message from the National Retail Federation: Many of the tax provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire at the end of 2025. Retailers and small business owners have benefited from lower tax rates by investing the savings in their businesses and employees. NRF is advocating for reauthorization of TCJA to support our nation’s economic growth. Learn more. | | | FLAG FRACAS — In honor of the late JIMMY CARTER, U.S. flags are meant to be flying at half-staff up to Jan. 28. But Trump would like the flags to be flying at full height for his inauguration. Now Mar-a-Lago has raised them again, per AP’s Darlene Superville. MUSK READ — “Elon Musk Is Expected to Use Office Space in the White House Complex,” by NYT’s Maggie Haberman, Charlie Savage, Jonathan Swan and Theodore Schleifer: “The space anticipated for [ELON] MUSK’s use is in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building … The location would allow Mr. Musk, who owns companies with billions of dollars in contracts with the federal government, to continue to have significant access to President-elect Donald J. Trump when he takes office this month.” TROUBLE IN PARADISE? — “Trump made the GOP a big-tent party. Now, he’s stuck with the infighting,” by Megan Messerly and Adam Wren MEGATREND — “U.S. Deaths Expected to Outpace Births Within the Decade,” by WSJ’s Paul Kiernan HAPPENING THURSDAY — Biden’s last Oval Office interview will be with MSNBC’s LAWRENCE O’DONNELL, the network announced. It’ll air, fittingly, on “The Last Word” on Thursday at 10 p.m.
| | | | A message from the National Retail Federation:   NRF is advocating to preserve pro-growth tax policy. Learn more. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate will meet at noon and then recess for weekly conference meetings, before again taking up the Laken Riley Act at 2:45 p.m. The House will meet at 10 a.m. and at noon will take up the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. Speaker MIKE JOHNSON with other House Republicans will hold news availabilities at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. 3 things to watch …
- THE HOUSE GOP’S ANTI-TRANS PUSH: As LGBTQ+ advocates urge lawmakers to reject Rep. GREG STEUBE’s (R-Fla.) bill to ban transgender students from women’s sports, they’re faced with a growing concern that a substantial number of Democrats will not only not reject the bill, but join with the GOP to support it,Bianca Quilantan and Mackenzie Wilkes report for POLITICO Pro. Steube’s bill, which hits the House floor today, would amend Title IX to recognize the word “sex” refers to reproductive biology and genetics at birth. Which Democrats are they keeping an eye on? Reps. SETH MOULTON (D-Mass.), TOM SUOZZI (D-N.Y.) and VICENTE GONZALEZ (D-Texas) have voiced their concerns on the issue and are seen as possible yes votes. Regardless, Speaker Johnson believes he has the votes to pass the bill, and plans to hold a press conference on the issue this afternoon — the latest sign that the GOP’s anti-trans push isn’t simply some election issue, but a matter on which they actively intend to act.
- RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: While Johnson searches for ways to get a debt ceiling hike through his fractious and narrow House majority, Senate Majority Leader JOHN THUNE appears to be closing the door on one potential option: Last night, Thune said it was his “expectation” that the debt limit will not be part of a border-energy reconciliation bill, Jordain Carney reports. “Thune cautioned that things could change but said his ‘expectation’ is that a budget resolution Senate Republicans are currently drafting will tee up a party-line reconciliation bill that includes border and energy policies, as well as a boost in defense spending, ‘and the debt limit would ride on a vehicle later.’ Thune didn’t specify what that later vehicle would be.”
- A NEW SENATE POWER MAP: Thune has tapped four Republican senators to advise him as part of an “unofficial cabinet,” Fox News’ Julia Johnson reports. They are Sens. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-Tenn.), STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.), MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-Okla.) and JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas). Where Cornyn brings a wealth of experience in leadership from his years serving as whip, Blackburn and Mullin are seen as moves to limit the daylight between Thune and the MAGA movement, and Daines, the recent NRSC chair, has close ties to both Trump and the recent crop of GOP senators elected in Trump’s image.
At the White House Biden will speak at 5:30 p.m. to announce two new national monuments in California — after having been delayed by the LA wildfires, as NYT’s Lisa Friedman reports. VP KAMALA HARRIS will have internal meetings and briefings.
| | | | THIS MORNING: Join POLITICO's Playbook team for The First 100 Days event at Union Station. Get a front row seat to lively conversations on the issues driving the agenda with the stakeholders at the helm of the transition. Hear from Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and more! Register here to attend virtually or in-person. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | TRANSITION LENSES
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump's pick for Health and Human Services Secretary, heads to meetings with senators at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, on Dec. 16, 2024. | Angelina Katsanis/POLITICO | THE OTHER NOMINEES — Though Hegseth is drawing the lion’s share of attention today, this is a pivotal week for plenty of Trump’s controversial Cabinet picks, from ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. to KASH PATEL to TULSI GABBARD. And many of them are now looking in better shape with Senate Republicans than they were last month, “thanks to a combination of hardball politics, appeals to GOP unity and lots of personal charm,” Jordain Carney, Ursula Perano and Dasha Burns report. Most if all are now on track to win confirmation if they perform well at hearings, presaging radical changes to the agencies they’d lead. Jordain and Ursula have a handy guide this morning to each nomination’s current status, from healthy to headache. The former category includes Secretary of State-designate MARCO RUBIO, who picked up the support of Sen. DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) yesterday. The biggest question for some nominees now is timing. FBI background check and other paperwork delays have pushed DOUG COLLINS’ hearing for VA secretary to Jan. 21, per Ben Leonard, and prevented a date from being set yet for Gabbard, per the Washington Examiner’s Samantha-Jo Roth. And there are still some other bumps in the road. Protect Our Care’s Stop RFK War Room and other groups are pouring $1 million into an effort to block the longtime anti-vaccine activist from leading the nation’s health agency, per Daniel Payne. Trump announced yesterday that leading Air Force secretary contender ANDREW McKENNA was now out of contention, per Jack Detsch. And MICHAEL ALLEN was ousted from his role shepherding JOHN RATCLIFFE’s CIA nomination because of his 2021 fundraiser for LIZ CHENEY, Daniel Lippman scooped. Name to know: HEATHER FLICK has been selected as Kennedy’s chief of staff at HHS, Adam Cancryn and David Lim report. She’s a longtime GOP lawyer who could bring agency expertise as a former top HHS official. JUDICIARY SQUARE PARDON ME — MICHAEL COHEN has applied for a pardon from Biden. He’ll talk about it tomorrow on the radio show of JESSE JACKSON JR., who’s also seeking one. BEYOND THE BELTWAY
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom is seen in the spin room June 27, 2024, shortly before former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden met in a debate hosted by CNN. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | CALIFORNIA NIGHTMARE — Los Angeles waits with bated breath as dangerous, extreme winds were predicted to return through tomorrow, threatening further expansion of the wildfires that have devastated the city, the L.A. Times’ Rong-Gong Lin II, Hannah Fry, Grace Toohey, Noah Goldberg and Richard Winton report. Firefighters worked yesterday to prepare as much as possible to try to limit spread, and the two biggest fires were roughly 14 percent and 33 percent contained. The reported death toll rose to 25. Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM said he’ll ask the state legislature to approve $2.5 billion in “Marshall Plan”-style funding to help the city respond, rebuild and fight wildfires, Blake Jones reports from Sacramento. Newsom says FEMA should be able to reimburse $1 billion of that total. Itt’ll now be part of the special session originally convened to help protect the state from the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Trump’s team is talking about plans for him to visit LA, NBC’s Garrett Haake, Jake Traylor, Olympia Sonnier and Dareh Gregorian report, though he told Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt last night that “this is different than 2018,” when he toured wildfire damage in California. The Hill fight over disaster aid is underway. Johnson told reporters that House Republicans are discussing conditioning wildfire aid to California and attaching it to a debt limit increase, which he personally supports, per Meredith Lee Hill. But some livid Democrats warn that they could retaliate in the future by attaching unrelated priorities to disaster aid for red states, Axios’ Andrew Solender reports. House Appropriations Chair TOM COLE (R-Okla.) told Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman he’s “open” to the linking. So are some California Republicans, crucially. The reaction from GOP senators was more mixed, HuffPost’s Igor Bobic reports: THOM TILLIS (N.C.) and RICK SCOTT (Fla.) indicated opposition, while JOHN KENNEDY (La.) is on board. More top reads:
- The flip side of California: Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS convened a special legislative session to work on a big bill cracking down on immigration and aligning the state with Trump’s coming policies, NBC’s Matt Dixon reports from Tallahassee.
- Men of steel: Cleveland-Cliffs and Nucor are talking about joining forces to try to buy U.S. Steel, per WSJ’s Lauren Thomas and Bob Tita.
THE WHITE HOUSE BRUTAL FOR BIDEN — “Special Counsel Weiss blasts Biden in final Hunter prosecution report,” by Fox News’ Brooke Singman, David Spunt and Jake Gibson: “[DAVID] WEISS, in the report, blasted the president’s decision to pardon but also the press release that was sent out to the public that ‘criticized the prosecution of his son’ … ‘This statement is gratuitous and wrong,’ Weiss wrote in his report. ‘Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations.’” BIDEN’S SPEECH — In his foreign policy address at the State Department, Biden sought to burnish his legacy by arguing that the U.S. had strengthened alliances in Europe and Asia, supporting Ukraine while adversaries from Russia to al Qaeda grew weaker, per NYT’s Peter Baker. “My administration is leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play,” he said. POLICY CORNER THE BRAVE NEW WORLD — “Biden Administration Adopts Rules to Guide A.I.’s Global Spread,” by NYT’s Ana Swanson: “The Biden administration issued sweeping rules on Monday governing how A.I. chips and models can be shared with foreign countries, in an attempt to set up a global framework.” THE LOAN LURCH — In the latest burst of student loan debt relief, the Biden administration added another 150,000 people to the ranks of those getting a federal reprieve, per The Hill’s Lexi Lonas Cochran. And Biden hit a notable threshold: He has now waived student debt for 5 million Americans, despite a Supreme Court setback. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN is heading to NYC tomorrow for some final reflections as she leaves office. Yellen will speak at the New York Association for Business Economics in a ceremony at noon to receive its William F. Butler Award, a prominent honor in economics.
| | | | A message from the National Retail Federation:   NRF supports an extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Learn more. | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD
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President Joe Biden speaks about foreign policy during a speech at the State Department in Washington, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. | Susan Walsh/AP | OH SO CLOSE — Israel and Hamas still haven’t reached a cease-fire deal, but U.S. officials and negotiators said yesterday that they’re extremely close to getting there. The first stage would include Hamas releasing 33 hostages, most of them still alive, Israeli officials tell CNN’s Jeremy Diamond, Becky Anderson and Hira Humayun. In his farewell foreign-policy speech at the State Department, Biden said “we’re on the brink” and “pressing hard” to close the negotiations out, per ABC’s Shannon Kingston, Molly Nagle and Fritz Farrow. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that talks are “closer than we’ve ever been.” There’s still plenty of opportunity for the plans to fall apart, of course, but there were signals of gathering momentum and optimism from all sides, NYT’s Adam Rasgon, Ronen Bergman and Isabel Kershner report. “In an important concession, Hamas has accepted verbal guarantees from the U.S. and others that Israel would then continue negotiating later stages of a deal to permanently end fighting, mediators said,” WSJ’s Summer Said, Anat Peled and Alex Ward report. With mediators rushing to strike a deal before Trump takes office, one notable factor was incoming envoy STEVE WITKOFF putting the screws to Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU this weekend, The Times of Israel’s Jacob Magid reports. Next up: Blinken in a speech today will offer a plan for rebuilding Gaza after the war, Axios’ Barak Ravid reports. More top reads:
- Trade wars: Some Trump transition officials are weighing a plan to raise tariffs in phases, month by month, to try to blunt inflationary impacts and increase leverage, Bloomberg’s Jenny Leonard and Saleha Mohsin scooped. Meanwhile, Canadian Ambassador KIRSTEN HILLMAN tells AP’s Rob Gillies that Canada can buy submarines and more from the U.S. to shrink the trade deficit, appease Trump and stave off tariffs. But Canadian officials these days expect they likely can’t fend off huge tariffs from Trump — and they’re readying retaliation, though they know the Americans have the upper hand, WSJ’s Vipal Monga and Paul Vieira report.
- For your radar: “Trump expected to dial into Davos,” by Semafor’s Shelby Talcott
- Greenland latest: PM MÚTE EGEDE said yesterday that “we don’t want to be American” — but that Greenland would welcome closer defense and economic ties with the U.S., per WSJ’s Max Colchester. Nonetheless, Rep. ANDY OGLES (R-Tenn.) is taking the lead on a bill that would authorize talks to buy Greenland, Fox News’ Liz Elkind scooped.
- How close we came: “Biden Aides Warned Putin as Russia’s Shadow War Threatened Air Disaster,” by NYT’s David Sanger: “The White House scrambled to get a message to President VLADIMIR V. PUTIN of Russia last year after U.S. intelligence agencies said a Russian military unit was preparing to send explosive packages on cargo planes.”
VALLEY TALK MARC TERRITORY — Billionaire tech investor MARC ANDREESSEN has been visiting Mar-a-Lago and quietly helping the Trump transition staff up the incoming administration — even beyond tech and economic roles, WaPo’s Cat Zakrzewski and Jackie Alemany report. MEDIAWATCH WHOOPS — Prominent figures in the conservative social media ecosystem, including VP-elect JD VANCE and MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, spread the claim from BILLY BUSH that NYT reporter DAVID FAHRENTHOLD was a groomsman at CHELSEA CLINTON’s wedding. But there’s no evidence of that — and the NYT confirms to Wake Up to Politics’ Gabe Fleisher that it’s false. ALL POLITICS MOVING ON UP? — It’s not just Rep. CORY MILLS (R-Fla.). Rep. KAT CAMMACK (R-Fla.) is also lobbying to be appointed to Rubio’s Senate seat, per NOTUS’ Claire Heddles, though DeSantis said he doesn’t want to diminish Johnson’s House majority further. THE PURGE BEGINS — After Breitbart reported on SHELLY O’NEILL STONEMAN, Lockheed Martin’s SVP of government affairs, having posted progressive political opinions online, the company told Breitbart that she’d resigned. CONGRESS IMMIGRATION FILES — The Senate pushed forward the Laken Riley Act yesterday in a lopsided 82-10 procedural vote. But growing concerns from progressives could usher in a period of attempting to amend the bill. More from The Hill
| | | | POLITICO is helping kick off the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting with a Happy Hour on January 16th. Mingle with U.S. mayors, Washington insiders, and business executives over cocktails and light bites at the award-winning Cranes restaurant. RSVP here to join us! | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Joe Biden named the next aircraft carriers after Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Alex Jones’ allies are trying to buy Infowars. JD Vance stopped by a family cemetery. Melania Trump said she’d be careful with East Wing spending. John Thune lit a fire. Pete Buttigieg went to Zingerman’s Deli. IN MEMORIAM — “Stuart Spencer, GOP strategist who helped Reagan become California governor, 40th president, dies,” by the L.A. Times’ Mark Barabak: “Spencer helped invent the modern political consulting business with its emphasis on TV-centric campaigning. In a Republican Party that turned sharply rightward and more combative, Spencer was a moderate who valued compromise. … He was 97.” PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “Steep drop in number of D.C. bars, restaurants extending hours for inaugural festivities,” by the Washington Business Journal’s Daniel Sernovitz … “DC Metro sells limited edition Trump SmarTrip cards for inauguration,” by the Washington Examiner’s Asher Notheis FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Kate Bedingfield is joining Brunswick Group as a partner. She is a former Biden White House communications director and CNN political commentator. — Kyle Martinsen is launching K24 Creative, a media production firm making digital and TV ads for GOP candidates and groups. He most recently was creative director for Dave McCormick’s Pennsylvania Senate campaign, producing its digital ads, and is an RNC and Trump 2020 alum. — The Legal Defense Fund has named Samuel Spital and Todd Cox as the next associate directors-counsel, the organization’s second-highest position. Spital previously has been director of litigation. Cox is rejoining LDF after most recently working as VP of programs at Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. MEDIA MOVES — Rosalind Helderman is heading to the NYT from WaPo, Semafor’s Max Tani reports. … Kyle Tharp is launching Chaotic Era, a newsletter about politics, media and online influence, and joining the inaugural cohort of beehiiv’s Media Collective. He previously was managing director of Courir and author of the FWIW newsletter. STAFFING UP — Trump’s NSC staff is expected to include Walker Barrett, Ivan Kanapathy, Dave Feith and Thomas Boodry, Robbie Gramer, Daniel Lippman and Eric Bazail-Eimil scooped in National Security Daily. TRANSITIONS — William O’Grady is joining Sen. Jim Justice’s (R-W.Va.) office as comms director. He previously was press secretary for Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.). … Alyssa Pettus is joining the House China select committee as comms director. She previously led media and external comms at Leidos and is a Richard Shelby alum. … The Plastics Industry Association is adding Chris Rager as VP of government affairs and Angela Mealy as executive director of NPE: The Plastics Show. Rager previously was head of state government affairs at the American Petroleum Institute. Mealy previously was senior director of event services at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. … … Adam Weissmann is now CEO comms manager at Ford Motor Company. He previously launched the speechwriting/consulting practice Underscore Strategies, and is a Steny Hoyer alum. … Nema Milaninia is now a partner in King & Spalding’s special matters and government investigations practice group. He most recently was a senior adviser at the State Department, and is a Google alum. … Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) is staffing up with Steffanie Bezruki as chief of staff, Hannah Rehm as comms director and Mitchell Dunn as director of operations. Bezruki previously was senior adviser to Deputy Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small. Rehm previously was senior comms adviser for the Montana Democratic Party. Dunn previously was chief of staff to the battleground director on the Harris campaign. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Kate Meissner, co-founder and partner at Velocity Partners, and Chris Meissner, chief product officer at India Index, on Jan. 2 welcomed Thomas Finn Meissner, who joins big siblings Jack and Lane. Pic … Another pic — Michael Turchetti, senior director of public policy at Eli Lilly, and Natalie Turchetti welcomed Maria Valentina Turchetti on Friday. She joins big brother Pietro. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) … Maureen Dowd … Susan Glasser … Nina Totenberg … Frank Raines … Sinead Casey … Shepard Smith … Michael Reed of Cornerstone Government Affairs … Regina Schofield … Colin Milligan of the American Hospital Association … Michael Block … WaPo’s Jen Liberto … NLX’s Molly Gannon … Mary Kusler … Yael Sheinfeld of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) office … Jonah Bryson … Teddy Eynon of Scarinci Hollenbeck … Gene Karpinski … Marcella Bombardieri … Toby Harnden … Herald Group’s Kevin Manning … Insignia Federal Group’s Matt Brafman … Citi’s Ben Koltun … former North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue … Margaret Chadbourn … William Yeo of Burson Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misidentified the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
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