| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | Presented by the National Retail Federation | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | |  Palestinians celebrate the announcement of a cease-fire deal. | Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo | PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST — After 15 months of war that have killed 47,000 people, laid waste to much of Gaza and triggered political fallout around the world, Israel and Hamas have finally struck a cease-fire deal, according to multiple officials. Details of the agreement are expected to be announced soon in Qatar, and President JOE BIDEN will likely speak afterward. WaPo’s Karen DeYoung reports that the cease-fire — effective immediately — will proceed in phases, along with hostage releases by Hamas, the freeing of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, the disbursement of more aid and ultimately the construction of a postwar governing body and rebuilding plan in Gaza. The first phase will last nearly six weeks. But, but, but: Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU said the deal has not yet been reached, and formal approvals are still needed before it takes effect. Celebrations have nonetheless broken out due to the mediators’ comments. Latest details from the AP In the U.S., the cease-fire deal would amount to a major triumph for the outgoing Biden administration, which has tried for more than a year — along with Egypt and Qatar — to land an agreement. It’s also a victory for the incoming Trump administration, whose envoy STEVE WITKOFF reportedly helped yank Israel to the deal and which may now avoid a war President-elect DONALD TRUMP has hoped would end before he takes office. CONFIRMATION CLASS — Several of Trump’s Cabinet-level nominees went before senators for hearings this morning (and RUSSELL VOUGHT has just begun another one). These are the key moments and exchanges to catch up on: — PAM BONDI for AG: Bondi cast herself as a crime-fighter who would act independently and follow the law at the helm of the Justice Department. She said she would fight the fentanyl epidemic and violent crime, tackle the southern border and protect Americans’ rights. But the big pointed questions from Democrats were largely about her independence vis-à-vis Trump. Bondi’s responses took two tracks. Emphasizing the rule of law, she said “there will never be an enemies list” at DOJ when asked about KASH PATEL concerns. Bondi said she would never take actions she thought were improper or politically weaponized, and she wouldn’t look for crimes just to target a political rival: “America must have one tier of justice for all.” She also said Trump can’t run for a third term. But Bondi also aligned herself with frequent GOP claims — without any evidence — that the Biden Justice Department has already been politically weaponized in its federal prosecutions of Trump. She refused to acknowledge that JOE BIDEN won in 2020 and alluded to “many things” she’d seen in Pennsylvania. Overall, NYT’s Glenn Thrush, Devlin Barrett and Adam Goldman write, Bondi “claimed to have never heard widely broadcast episodes — including Mr. Trump’s infamous call with Georgia election officials about finding more votes after the 2020 election — and refused to answer fundamental yes-or-no questions about election denialism, prosecution of the news media and her stance on White House meddling in the department.” More from Bondi: She declined to say whether she’d enforce the looming TikTok ban, citing the ongoing Supreme Court case. … She flip-flopped on special counsels, now saying they don’t require Senate confirmation to be constitutional. … She defended her work lobbying for Qatar. — MARCO RUBIO for secretary of State: Rubio, who’s expected to sail to confirmation, balanced alignment with Trump and reiteration of support for America’s allies abroad. He strongly backed NATO while arguing that Europe needs to do more; warned that Ukraine will have to make some concessions to end the war; focused on China; and largely blamed Hamas for the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed by Israel. More from Rubio: He said he’d promote career diplomats but that State Department employees also need to be aligned with the administration’s mission. … He said he wants to work with Mexico against cartels, but didn’t rule out labeling them terrorists and using military force. … He said foreign nationals who back Hamas shouldn’t be allowed to stay on visas. — And the others: CIA Director-designate JOHN RATCLIFFE laid out plans to make the agency more aggressive, said he wouldn’t impose “political litmus tests” and stood firm in support of Section 702. … Energy Secretary-designate CHRIS WRIGHT softened his past climate change denialism, saying the U.S. should support renewable energy and fossil fuels. Sparring with Sen. ALEX PADILLA (D-Calif.), Wright stood by past comments that “the hype over wildfires is just hype.” … Transportation Secretary-designate SEAN DUFFY said Boeing needs some “tough love” amid recent safety incidents. Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from the National Retail Federation: Organized retail crime is a dangerous and widespread problem that impacts retailers, workers and the communities they serve. NRF is working with lawmakers to increase federal coordination to fight retail crime. Join us in telling Congress to reintroduce and pass the bipartisan Combating Organized Retail Crime Act. Learn more. | | | | | 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Faiz Shakir is running for DNC chair. | Scott Eisen/Getty Images | 1. MUSICAL CHAIRS: The race for DNC chair is getting a shakeup: Progressive FAIZ SHAKIR is launching a late bid, frustrated that the current field isn’t thinking and talking big enough to bring Democrats out of the wilderness, NYT’s Shane Goldmacher and Reid Epstein scooped. The former BERNIE SANDERS campaign manager said he would help transform Dems into being seen as the party of the working class, including through unconventional means like supporting worker strikes. “If we can’t have a bold debate about these issues,” Shakir warns, “it’s now or never.” He may be a long shot, though, compared to frontrunners Minnesota Dem Chair KEN MARTIN and Wisconsin Dem Chair BEN WIKLER. 2. INFLATION NATION: The latest consumer price index report offered a mixed bag for the country. Inflation in December sped up to 2.9 percent annually and 0.4 percent monthly, per the WSJ, a reminder that Trump will inherit a stubborn fight against high prices that’s not yet completely won. It was the highest inflation in nearly half a year. Gas prices in particular powered the rise. Near-3 percent inflation means more pain for Americans and more frustration for the Fed, which wants it almost a full percentage point lower. But core CPI — taking away fuels and food — ticked down to 3.2 percent year over year and 0.2 percent month over month, the first drop in half a year. That news caused markets to rise on the hopes that more months like this could lead to sooner-than-expected further rate cuts from the Fed, Bloomberg’s Molly Smith reports. 3. TWO MAJOR HEALTH MOVES: The FDA today officially banned red dye No. 3 in food and many drugs, as Bloomberg’s Deena Shanker and Anna Edney scooped. Though officials say it’s not carcinogenic for humans like it has been for test rats, getting the artificial dye out of Americans’ food has been a major push from consumer advocates — including ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. The FDA also unveiled a major proposal to reduce nicotine in cigarettes, in the hopes of making them less addictive, NYT’s Christina Jewett reports. The implications for cancer and death could be massive: “It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever seen in terms of societal benefit, cost saving and lives saved, and strokes prevented and cancers prevented,” Commissioner ROBERT CALIFF says of the anti-smoking efforts. But the tobacco industry has fought hard against the regulation. And it remains unclear whether Trump will keep it in place. 4. BIG MONEY: “Trump’s $500 million post-election windfall,” by Axios’ Marc Caputo: “Trump is being inundated with so much money from corporations and wealthy donors that his team expects to raise about $500 million by summer — even though he can’t run again … By stockpiling so much cash, Trump is signaling he doesn't want to be seen as a lame duck in his second term, and is ready to help political allies, punish opponents and help Republicans keep full control of Congress in 2026.” 5. UKRAINE REALITY CHECK: As Trump prepares to take office, his grand campaign promises about immediately ending the war on Ukraine are crashing into reality. Two Trump advisers now tell Reuters’ Gram Slattery they’re eyeing a timeline of “months or even longer” to bring the conflict to a close. And in a sign of how difficult negotiations could be, Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN’s opening gambit will include demanding that Ukraine can never join NATO and has to limit its military, Bloomberg scooped. Those will be unpalatable, to say the least, to Ukraine. It’s a far cry from Trump’s 33 pledges while running for president that he’d be able to end the war on Day One, NOTUS’ Riley Rogerson and John Seward report. (At least once, he said he’d be able to end it before even taking office — clock’s ticking!) Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) argues to NOTUS that Trump didn’t actually mean Day One: “I think you need to understand language.”
| | | | 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! | | | | | 6. SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court’s conservative majority today sounded favorably inclined toward states’ ability to impose age verification requirements for online pornography, which have led to Pornhub shutting down access in many states, per CNN’s John Fritze. But it isn’t clear how broadly they’ll rule, and some of the legal questions could be sent back to a lower court. (Quote of the day, from Justice SAMUEL ALITO on Pornhub: “Is it like the old Playboy — you have essays on there by … GORE VIDAL and WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR.?”) 7. KENNEDY CENTER: “Trump transition puts up guardrails around RFK Jr.,” by Adam Cancryn and David Lim: “Transition officials plan to install several longtime GOP allies in senior roles across the health department, filling out key parts of Kennedy’s leadership team well before he could be confirmed … The push aims to surround Kennedy with conservative policymakers who can compensate for his lack of government experience and MAGA credentials — while also ensuring the White House can keep close tabs on an HHS nominee who many Trump aides still don’t fully trust … [T]he department may look more traditional than it first appeared when Trump tapped Kennedy to lead it.” Related: “Make America Ageless: Trump’s Health Picks Take Longevity Movement Mainstream,” by WSJ’s Alex Janin 8. AFTERNOON READ: “As Trump prepares to take office, a mother of three in Iowa is facing a painful choice,” by CNN’s Catherine Shoichet near Des Moines: “SUSANA sat her teenage sons at the dining room table after Donald Trump’s latest election win. It was time to reveal a secret. … The parents explained that they’re undocumented … Now a tougher decision looms. As Trump’s return to power nears, Susana says his mass-deportation promises are forcing her family to face a question she hoped they’d never have to ask: Should they leave the US on their own, before it’s too late? It’s a decision that Susana says gets more difficult by the day.” Related: “When it comes to Trump world, the projection of fear is not a bug: It is a feature of their revitalized deportation machine,” The Bulwark’s Adrian Carrasquillo writes. Because of the government’s limited resources to carry out mass deportations, making undocumented immigrants so worried that they self-deport is another strategy. 9. WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE: First lady JILL BIDEN is reflective as she tries to navigate an ending to her time in the White House on her own terms, WaPo’s Kara Voght reports in a new Style section profile. But this exchange is likely to attract a lot of attention: “I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships,” Biden says as a lead-in to how she feels about Rep. NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.) having helped usher Joe Biden out of the presidential race. “Her face, nearly pearlescent with lustrous foundation, betrays no particular emotion,” Voght writes. “She’s holding a china cup. Tea. With honey and lemon. ‘It’s been on my mind a lot lately, and — ’ Jill pauses. ‘We were friends for 50 years.’ She is using her teacher’s voice now. ‘It was disappointing.’”
| | | | A message from the National Retail Federation:   Tell Congress: Pass the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act. Take action. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Keith Sonderling was tapped for deputy Labor secretary. Sean Plankey is the top choice for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director. Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino, Mike Lawler, Tom Kean Jr. and Young Kim have formed a SALT lick. Jared Kushner is talking regularly with Susie Wiles. Steve Bannon says Scott Bessent is “MAGA to his core.” Jeff Bezos was asked by 400 WaPo journalists to right the ship. MEDIA MOVE — Colleen Long will join NBC News Digital as a senior editor on the enterprise team. She most recently was White House correspondent at the AP, focusing on domestic policy issues like immigration and law enforcement. TRANSITIONS — Romina Khananisho is joining X as head of global government affairs. She previously was a VP for government relations at Honeywell. … Megan Doherty is joining the Wilson Center as VP for programs. She most recently was a deputy assistant administrator at USAID. … Ryan Ebrahimy is now legislative assistant for Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.). He was previously a legislative correspondent for Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.). … … Arielle Woronoff is now a principal at SplitOak Strategies. She previously was deputy chief of staff to the CMS administrator and director of CMS’ Office of Legislation. … Lewis Myers is now director of research, policy and impact at the American Bus Association Foundation. He previously was a senior political adviser for Lisa Blunt Rochester’s Delaware Senate campaign. … Allie Brandenburger is now head of government relations, public affairs and comms at Deterrence. She currently is co-founder and CEO of TheBridge. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Indiana state Rep. Andrew Ireland, an associate attorney at Scopelitis and Ted Cruz campaign alum, and Maddie Ireland welcomed Anna Grace Ireland on Jan. 7. Pic … Instapic 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. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
