| | | | |  | | By Adam Wren | Presented by the National Retail Federation | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | A FRAGILE MOMENT — “Israel says the first 3 hostages to be freed from Gaza are with the Red Cross as ceasefire underway,” by AP’s Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy and Tia Goldenberg HOT ONE — “‘Lady McBiden’: Alexandra Pelosi Blasts the First Lady,” by JMart: “The feud between the president and ex-speaker intensifies in the waning days of his presidency.” TODAY — At 3 p.m., President-elect DONALD TRUMP holds an Inauguration Eve rally at Capital One Arena. He arrives in Washington as “the vanquisher in chief, signaling to the city that his election in November has rewritten the narrative of how his first term ended,” WaPo’s Colby Itkowitz, Hannah Knowles and Ellie Silverman write. Says Trump ally MIKE DAVIS: “Seems like the only people who still care about January 6th live inside the Beltway.”
|  Vivek Ramaswamy’s potential exit could upend DOGE. | AP | DOGE EAT DOGE — Breaking this morning: VIVEK RAMASWAMY could withdraw from working with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency panel ahead of his bid for Ohio governor, which he intends to formally announce by the last week in January, according to a person close to the matter. Ramaswamy’s potential exit could upend DOGE, which aims to reduce government spending by up to $2 trillion by July 4, 2026 — by which time his Ohio gubernatorial campaign will need to be well underway. Following the election, Ramasawamy informed members of the transition that he planned to run for governor, said a person familiar with the transition. Playbook has learned that Ramaswamy’s decision accelerated this weekend, after Ohio Gov. MIKE DeWINE passed over Ramaswamy to replace Vice President-elect JD VANCE in the Senate, instead picking his own Lt. Gov. JON HUSTED. Multiple people who discussed Ramaswamy and the inner workings of DOGE were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly and to freely discuss sensitive issues. THE BACKSTORY: Yesterday, Ramaswamy showed up at an all-hands DOGE meeting at the SpaceX headquarters in Washington, according to two people familiar with the department’s inner workings. DOGE co-head ELON MUSK was not present. By this morning, it appeared that Ramaswamy was not long for DOGE, and it was an open question whether he would show up at the new office space inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Monday afternoon after Trump is sworn in. Throughout its short existence, DOGE has been something of a curiosity. For starters, it is a panel dedicated to efficiency that is run, for now, by two leaders, a fact that’s inspired its fair share of side-eyes and social media jokes. But DOGE had a fairly straightforward breakdown of labor between Musk and Ramaswamy, according to one person familiar: Musk focused on the big picture while Ramaswamy focused on deregulation; the rest of the staff focuses on implementation. STEVE DAVIS, Musk’s right hand man at SpaceX, functions as his DOGE lieutenant, while BRAD SMITH, a healthcare entrepreneur and Rhodes Scholar, is Ramaswamy’s main point of contact. Privately, some in Trump world see Ramaswamy’s nascent gubernatorial campaign as a way to clear a path for Musk to do his own work at the agency without him. “Elon basically runs the show,” said an informal adviser to Trump. This person added, “Time is their biggest enemy. We’ll see.” Musk has already dialed back expectations. “I think we’ll try for $2 trillion [in savings], I think that’s like the best-case outcome,” Musk recently told Stagwell CEO MARK PENN, the former adviser to BILL CLINTON. “But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. If you try for two trillion, you have a good shot at getting one.” Rep. RO KHANNA (D-Calif.), who has fostered a relationship with Musk over the last decade and has occasionally defended Ramaswamy, said DOGE remains an open question. “What I have said is Democrats should articulate our own vision on how we cut waste in government and make sure investments are in the interest of the American people, and I have outlined places in the Defense [budget] five primes [the five biggest DOD contractors] where we can make these cuts,” Khanna said. “But in terms of what DOGE is going to do, it's currently unclear.” So far, DOGE has been secretive, conducting most of its business over Signal, the encrypted messaging app, and inside SpaceX’s Washington offices. A person well briefed on the inner workings of DOGE said that multiple executive orders related to its purview are expected in the first week of the Trump administration, including one that deals with government contracts and one that assigns how the DOGE workforce is embedded throughout the federal government. A representative for Musk and a spokesperson for the transition did not respond to requests for comment. KATIE MILLER, who Trump appointed to DOGE and who is the wife of deputy chief of staff STEPHEN MILLER, declined to comment. A spokesperson for Ramaswamy also declined to comment. Good Sunday morning. Congratulations to the Washington Commanders, and my sincere condolences to Lions fans (including our editor) on yet another heartbreaking season. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop me a line: awren@politico.com.
| | | | A message from the National Retail Federation: Innovation is essential to the retail industry. H-1B visas play a crucial role in ensuring the U.S. has access to the most highly skilled workers. H-1B recipients generate jobs, resulting in employment for hundreds of thousands of American workers. The retail industry depends on experts to develop the latest technology and advance the industry. Filling advanced computer and IT positions is already challenging, and retailers must be able to attract talent from wherever it is available. Learn more. | | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Just in time for tomorrow’s MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. Day, we have an exclusive bit of news from Alex Isenstadt’s forthcoming book, “Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power” ($30), on a gambit the Trump campaign considered heading into MLK Day 2024. A year ago, “Trump was leaning into a central theme of his campaign: He was the victim of, as he put it during one rally, a ‘weaponized’ legal system that was ‘after’ him,” Alex writes. “[Trump pollster] JOHN McLAUGHLIN wanted to put an exclamation point on it. In January, he sent a memo to the campaign’s leadership proposing that on the day of the Iowa caucus, which fell on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Trump would hold a rally where an image of MLK being arrested would be shown on a screen. The picture, the pollster suggested, would then ‘dissolve’ into an image of Trump. The troll, McLaughlin wrote, would ‘blow the media’s mind.’” Ultimately, the campaign never executed the idea. And though Trump didn’t make the explicit MLK comparison, he did take to publicly comparing himself to NELSON MANDELA, whose fight against South Africa’s racist apartheid system led to his imprisonment. SUNDAY BEST … — House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON on the cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “If Hamas breaks the ceasefire, they need to know the United States will stand with our ally Israel … [T]here will be hell to pay for Hamas if they violate these terms.” … on Trump’s call to “save TikTok”: “I think we will enforce the law. And when President Trump issued the Truth post and said, save TikTok, the way we read that is that he's going to try to force along a true divestiture, changing of hands, the ownership. It's not the platform that members of Congress are concerned about. It’s the Chinese Communist Party and their manipulation of the algorithms.” — Rep. MIKE WALTZ (R-Fla.) on Trump’s approach to TikTok, on CBS’ “Face the Nation”: “[W]hat we need between now and Monday is to buy the president some time to evaluate those deals. … We can have an app that [Americans] can enjoy, but at the same time that protects their data and protects them from outside influence and undue influence. And that’s the time and space that the president is seeking. And as a deal maker, I think we all should be confident that he can craft that kind of a deal.” — Israeli Ambassador MICHAEL HERZOG on the cooperation to reach the cease-fire deal, on “Fox News Sunday”: “We have seen now an unprecedented cooperation between the outgoing administration, the incoming administration we had in Doha, Qatar, as special envoy BRETT McGURK, representing President Biden, and special envoy STEVE WHITCOMB, representing President Trump. They work[ed] cooperatively and this helped us get across the finish line.” TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
| | | | A message from the National Retail Federation:   NRF supports immigration reform to advance the U.S. economy. Learn more. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden and first lady JILL BIDEN traveled to South Carolina, where he is due to speak at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston. The Bidens will then tour the International African American Museum and speak at 3 p.m., before returning to the White House.
| | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR
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Donald Trump said that the U.S. government should have an ownership stake in TikTok. | Ashley Landis/AP | 1. TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK: After months of legal wrangling, TikTok went dark in the U.S. last night, just hours before the federal ban took effect today. But the popular social media platform may not be down for long, AP’s Haleluya Hadero reports. In a notice to users, TikTok referenced Trump’s claims he will “save” the platform: “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.” TikTok CEO SHOU CHEW also posted a video thanking Trump for his “strong stand for the first amendment and against arbitrary censorship.” This morning, Trump announced that he will “issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.” Trump also said that the U.S. government should have an ownership stake: “I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to [stay] up. … Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase[r] we so choose.” 2. THE ‘DAY ONE’ AGENDA: Trump “plans to enter the White House Monday with a show of executive force to carry out a sweeping set of campaign promises for Day One,” Alice Miranda Ollstein reports. But reality has a way of hemming in ambition: His “senior aides continue to debate key aspects of many of his top agenda items, while softening their language on others. And the Trump team’s delays in vetting and hiring top staff, his Cabinet nominees’ lack of government experience, and his open hostility to the career federal workforce … could impede his ability to carry out those executive orders.” Case in point: immigration. “Trump is … unlikely to fulfill some of his biggest and most aggressive Day One promises — including a large-scale deportation effort and a rapid end to birthright citizenship — given the legal and logistical challenges and the need for Congress to back him up with new laws and funding,” Myah Ward writes. Reset your expectations: In “private conversations with members of Congress, Mr. Trump’s immigration team has conceded that his aspirations for mass deportations will be both costly and time-consuming,” NYT’s Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Hamed Aleaziz and Robert Jimison report this morning. “Stephen Miller, the architect of Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda and his pick to be deputy chief of staff, met with congressional Republicans on Wednesday for a ‘level setting’ of expectations and needs for immigration enforcement, according to a congressional member who participated in the meeting.” Will they or won’t they?: Trump border czar TOM HOMAN “said in an interview Saturday that the incoming administration is reconsidering whether to launch immigration raids in Chicago next week after preliminary details leaked out in news reports,” WaPo’s Nick Miroff and Maria Sacchetti report. Waiting and worrying: “National Guard members fear landing in the center of a political tussle between red state governors and blue state attorneys general over Donald Trump’s expected crackdown on undocumented immigrants,” Jack Detsch, Liz Crampton and Lisa Kashinsky write this morning. “‘I don’t want to be seen as a Gestapo,’ said one former senior military official who is in close contact with current Guard members and was granted anonymity to speak about a legally precarious situation.” The coming executive moves: Myah runs through some of the legal steps you can expect in short order: (1) Trump’s team has been crafting a national emergency declaration designed to unlock additional authorities and resources; (2) an end of “catch and release;” (3) an expansion of a fast-tracked deportation authority known as “expedited removal;” (4) directing agencies to restore the Remain in Mexico policy for asylum seekers, and; (5) “his team is still deliberating a designation of drug cartels as terrorist organizations.” One big thing to watch: “The officials have also been crafting an executive order to end birthright citizenship by excluding the children of undocumented immigrants and short-term visitors to the U.S. from the right to citizenship by birth that is established under the 14th Amendment. It remains unclear how sweeping the action would be. And while it could still come next week, the people familiar with the planning note that the administration may hold off, given the anticipated court challenges and varying legal opinions on the matter among Republicans.” Related read: “As Trump’s allies war over immigration, Vance remains quiet,” by WaPo’s Peter Jamison 3. DREAD STATE: “For Those Deemed Trump’s Enemies, a Time of Anxiety and Fear,” NYT’s Michael Schmidt and Glenn Thrush: “Some said they were worried that the Justice Department or F.B.I. could launch internal or criminal investigations into actions they took during the course of their work, even if they acted legally and in good faith. …Others said they were concerned that they might lose private-sector jobs or clients. And some, like [former MPD officer MICHAEL] FANONE, said they took seriously the possibility that Trump supporters, heeding his calls for retribution, would harass or attack them or their families.” Related read: “A List of Those Who Could Be in Line for Trump’s ‘Retribution,’” by NYT’s Michael Schmidt and Matthew Cullen 4. COMING ATTRACTIONS: “Trump Told Advisers He Wants to Visit China as President,” by WSJ’s Alex Leary, Alexander Ward and Lingling Wei: “People close to Beijing’s decision-making said Trump and [Chinese President XI JINPING] have discussed meeting in person, with one option involving the incoming American president inviting the Chinese leader to the U.S. … Beijing has a strong interest in engaging in negotiations to fend off, or at least slow down, tariff hikes promised by Trump. A summit between the two leaders, the people close to Beijing’s decision-making said, could help jump-start the process.”
| | | | A message from the National Retail Federation:   NRF supports immigration reform to bring skilled workers to grow the U.S. economy. Learn more. | | | 5. EXIT INTERVIEWS … … Domestic Policy Council head NEERA TANDEN talks to WaPo’s Dan Diamond: “‘What I’m concerned about is there was a bit of a bait-and-switch in this election,’ Tanden said Thursday, sitting on a couch in her West Wing office beneath a photo of a grinning Biden. She pointed to GOP proposals circulating on Capitol Hill to potentially cut federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid by trillions of dollars during the next decade. ‘I think that this will be a head snap to millions of Americans,’ Tanden said.” … USAID chief SAMANTHA POWER talks to Robbie Gramer and Eric Bazail-Eimil: “Power voiced regret that the Biden administration wasn’t able to stop the war more quickly: ‘I wish we could have ended the war in Gaza far sooner, and certainly done more to bring more hostages home sooner and done more to end this the hell that the people of Gaza have experienced.’ But she also recounted how the nonstop humanitarian efforts by those at [USAID] and elsewhere have helped maintain her idealism. ‘Even against the backdrop of horror,’ she said, ‘there are people who just don’t give up and leave it all on the field and see the humanity and never get blinded by the statistics.’” … HHS Secretary XAVIER BECERRA talks to NYT’s Sheryl Gay Stolberg: “Mr. Becerra said Mr. Biden’s coronavirus vaccine mandates, for federal employees, health care workers and large employers, were ‘absolutely’ warranted. ‘Should we require people to wear seatbelts?’ he asked.” 6. MAIL CALL: “Trump’s transition team is vetting candidates to replace Postmaster General LOUIS DeJOY even though Trump won’t have direct authority to fire him, according to four people familiar with the conversations, an early signal of the incoming administration’s plans to exert control over — or privatize — the nation’s mail service,” reports WaPo’s Jacob Bogage. “Trump’s opinion of DeJoy has suffered since the postmaster general led the agency to successfully facilitate mail-in voting, including in the 2020 election that Trump lost, said the people, who include individuals who have spoken with industry figures the incoming administration is vetting.” 7. NOT EXACTLY THE COMPARISON YOU WANT: “Inside Biden’s final days,” by Eli Stokols and Adam Cancryn: “Biden and his aides have made a mantra of insisting that history will look more kindly on the president. But even close allies, who once hoped Biden would be the next FDR, have set their sights considerably lower, embracing comparisons with JIMMY CARTER. Instead of a triumphant ending to a half-century political career, Biden is leaving Washington like WILLY LOMAN, relegated to the background, his party in the wilderness, his country rejecting Biden’s central promise that he would break the ‘fever’ of Trumpism.” 8. TRUMP’S KRYPTONITE: “Trump’s Return Nudges Economists’ Inflation Outlook Higher,” by WSJ’s Paul Kiernan and Anthony DeBarros: “Economists are starting to model the effects of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to raise tariffs, cut taxes and restrict immigration. The upshot: Inflation and interest rates are likely to be higher for at least the next two years than forecasters anticipated before the election.” Related read: “‘So Much Uncertainty’: Businesses Worry About Trump’s Many Tariff Plans,” by Ana Swanson 9. HOW REASSURING: “Xi Tells Officials Scared of Being Purged: It’s OK to Make Mistakes,” by WSJ’s Chun Han Wong
| | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “A Trump Oligarchy Is Moving to Washington, and Buying Up Prime Addresses,” by NYT’s Elisabeth Bumiller SPOTTED: Barack Obama dining in a private upstairs room last night at Osteria Mozza OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the Jefferson Hotel last night for a Florida 47 reception hosted by Continental Strategy: President of Paraguay Santiago Peña and the first lady of Paraguay Leticia Ocampos, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, Gerardo Werthein, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Reps. Mario Diaz Balart (R-Fla.), Aaron Bean (R-Fla.), Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) and Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), Jeannette Rubio, Susie Wiles, Tony Fabrizio, Ben Leon, Kevin Cabrera, Ron Johnson, Leah Campos, Jay Collins, Cliff Roberts, Craig Carbone, Zac Moffatt, Abe Adams, Ryan Meerstein, Josh Arnold, Ryan Williams, Tim Costa, Chip Englander, Madison Hardimon, Carlos and Carmen Trujillo, Sarah and Alberto Martinez, Charis and Danny Gomez, Alyssa and Alex Garcia, Jenny and Jesus Suarez and Sarah and Laz Fields. — SPOTTED at a fundraiser yesterday for Randy Fine, running to succeed Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.): Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Reps. Mike Haridopolous (R-Fla.), Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) Bob and Suzy Pence, Kevin Hofmann, Chase Kroll, Adam Bolek, Brett James, Hunter Moorhead and Michael Saylor. — SPOTTED at a pickleball round-robin hosted by Kathy “Coach” Kemper at the historic Congressional Country Club yesterday: Netherlands Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar, Luxembourg Ambassador Nicole Bintner-Bakshian, Bosnia and Herzegovina Ambassador to the U.N. Geneva Bojan Vujić, Slovenian Ambassador Iztok MirošIċ, Estonian Ambassador Kristjan Prikk, EU Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė, Kazakhstan Ambassador Yerzhan Ashikbayev and Dinara Ashikbayeva, Belgian Chargée d’Affaires Sophie Karlshausen, Mark Singleton, Shaun and Laura Modi, Dana Diefendorf and Giacomo Bianconi. Pic — SPOTTED at a “Freedom of the Press Inaugural Bash” hosted by The Daily Caller and DCI Group at Café Milano late Saturday night and organized by Justin Peterson, Brian McCabe and Neil Patel: Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), Brendan Carr, Andrew Ferguson, Gail Slater, Todd Blanche, Bridge Colby, Jeff Freeland, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, William Bennett, Chris Sununu, Luis Fortuno, Roger Stone, Rod Blagojevich, Ryan Williams, Susanna Quinn, Sean and Rebecca Spicer, Craig Stevens, Kelly Love, Ellen Keast, Adam Candeub, Roma Daravi, Ninio Fetalvo, Kevin and Catherine Martin, Ed Henry and Alana Stewart, John Bachman, Melissa Braid, Alexa Henning, Shaylyn Hynes, Jess Szymanski, Zach Young, Emily Covington, Jeff Kimbell, Hogan Gidley, David and Catherine Bohigian, Erin McPike, Hans Vestberg, Brian Walsh and Brad Garlinghouse. — Pete and Burson Snyder hosted a dinner on Friday night honoring Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita at RPM featuring toasts of Wiles by Tony Fabrizio and LaCivita by Terry Nelson. MAGA-themed swag that was a hit at the dinner included a custom design-your-own MAGA trucker hat pop-up stand and “Trump / Vance Inauguration Roadie Go-Cups." SPOTTED: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, Stephen and Katie Miller, Stanley Woodward, Dan Scavino, Steven Cheung, Karoline Leavitt, Jason Miller, James Blair, Robert Gabriel, Nick Luna, Beau and Hayley Harrison, Trent Morse, Danielle Alvarez, Brian Hughes, Scott Jennings, Doug Davenport, Steve Witkoff, Roy and Abby Blunt, Andy Surabian, David Perdue, Jason Miyares, Suzanne Clark and Greg Lebedev, Charlie and Lisa Spies, Nick and Jamie Ayers, Jim and John McLaughlin, Brian and Robin Baker, Caroline and Katie Wiles, Catherine LaCivita, Christopher LaCivita, Victoria LaCivita, Stuart McCommas, Chris and Courtney Cox, Richard Walters, Sean Cairncross and Jim McCray. — SPOTTED at an inauguration-themed reception for Concordia CEO Matthew Swift’s new advisory firm Montfort Group aboard the Liberty Yacht yesterday afternoon: Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, Taiwanese Rep. to the U.S. Alexander Yui, Mehmet, Lisa and Daphne Oz, Max Castroparedes, Andrew Bremberg, John Herbst, Cliff May, Adam and Shira Boehler, Morgan Ortagus and Jonathan Weinberger, Hamad Al-Muftah, Anita McBride, Will Swenson, Steve Klinsky, Josh Dawsey, John Hudson, Charles Moran, Daphne Jovanovic, Catie Edmondson, Sam Feist, Gabriel Noronha, Shawn McCreesh and Paula Dobriansky. — SPOTTED at an inauguration reception on Friday night hosted by Filipino Ambassador Jose Manuel "Babe" del Gallego Romualdez at the Philippines Embassy: Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), John Negroponte, Tonypet Albano, McLaurine Pinover, Christopher Harvin, Leslie Shedd, Craig Metz, J.P. Freire, Joe Foltz, Marlon Bateman, Grace Wright, Scott Mason, Adam O’Neal, Liz Elkind, Suhail Khan, Martin Tuason, Juliegrace Brufke, Roxana Tiron, Diana Glebova and Kelly Laco. — SPOTTED at David Urban of BGR and Matt Whitaker’s inauguration party at Cafe Milano on Saturday night: Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Haley Barbour, LoCash, Dina Powell McCormick, Robert Johnson, Franco Nuschese, Chris Ruddy, Tammy Haddad, Kaitlan Collins, Pamela Brown, Josh Dawsey, Meridith McGraw, Pat Cipollone, Mikhail and Pavel Khodorkovsky, Ray Washburne, Mike Berg, Rob and Erica Finnerty, Bianca de la Garza, Marc and Nicole Lotter, Clifford Chiu, Jonathan Martin, Heather Nauert, Ashley Parker, Sean Spicer, Dave Bossie, Steve Scully and Stuart Jolly. STAFFING UP — Kailee Tkacz Buller will be chief of staff at USDA under Secretary-designate Brooke Rollins. She previously has been president and CEO of the National Oilseeds Processors Association. ENGAGED — David Lafferty, an MPP candidate at UVA’s Batten School of Public Policy and a DGA and Delta alum, and Margaret Carlson, an MBA candidate at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management got engaged on Dec. 21 after a run at their favorite waterfront park while visiting her parents in North Carolina. They met in D.C. after being neighbors for five years. Pic … Another pic BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Kyra Thordsen of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Kelly Kundinger of Ron DeSantis’ gubernatorial campaign. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg … Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker … Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) … Del. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (I-Northern Mariana Islands) … Jon Karl … UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba … DOD’s Sarah Farnsworth … John Avlon … Evan McMorris-Santoro … Dan Holler of Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) office … Anne Dechter … WaPo’s Drew Harwell … Substack’s Catherine Valentine … POLITICO’s Dianne Manian and Emma Albright … Bloomberg’s Tyler Kendall … Megan Shannon … Philip Reeker … Jason Waskey of Civic Nation and Blue Crab Strategies … National Women’s Law Center’s Melissa Boteach … Brennan Hart … Meta’s Caitlin Rush … Mike Goodman of Cornerstone Government Affairs … Shelley Fidler … Brooke Ericson Donilon … Jerry Howe … Ann Compton … Marc Schloss … Adrienne Jacobs … Lori Wallach of the American Economic Liberties Project … Puru Trivedi … Phil Verveer … Joshua Gulbranson … Regions Bank’s Kerry Donnelly … Subrata De 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.
| | | | A message from the National Retail Federation: Now more than ever, retail employers need highly skilled workers. H-1B visas play a critical role in ensuring the U.S. has access to top talent. Advanced computer and IT jobs are already hard to fill, and retailers must be able to attract international talent. Millions of American retail workers’ jobs rely on experts to develop the latest technology that keeps retail moving forward. Even as retailers develop and upskill our existing workforce, H-1B recipients generate more jobs, resulting in employment for hundreds of thousands of American workers. Immigration reform is a necessary step toward maintaining our nation’s ability to compete in the global economy. Learn more. | | | | | | | 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 political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
