| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | HEADS UP — Federal offices in Washington will be closed again today on account of the winter weather. IT’S ELECTION DAY — “The first special elections since President-elect DONALD J. TRUMP won a second term are arriving on Tuesday in Virginia, where voters in three races will determine the majorities in the state’s legislature,” writes NYT’s Reid Epstein. “[E]ven if there are no upsets, the margins of the races will provide the first hints of voter attitudes as Mr. Trump prepares to take office for a second time. The two seats where Democrats are favored are both in Loudoun County, a Washington suburb that shifted hard toward the party during the first Trump presidency before tilting back toward the former president in November.” BREAKING THIS MORNING — “CFPB issues rules to remove medical debt from consumer credit reports,” by WaPo’s Tony Romm
|  (Left to right) House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance in December. The four will be working closely to get budget reconciliation legislation across the finish line. | Getty Images | RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES — President-elect Trump has never been a man concerned about process. It’s the ends — specifically him winning and getting what he wants — that justify any means necessary. So it came as something of a surprise when he announced on Sunday that congressional Republicans should enact their border, tax and energy policy together in “one powerful bill.” It was a process preference, and interpreted as a signal that he was all-in on the one-bill approach favored by Speaker MIKE JOHNSON and House Republican leaders over the two-bill approach preferred by Senate Majority Leader JOHN THUNE and the Senate GOP. “Republicans on both ends of the Capitol had been privately hoping that Trump would publicly make a play call, ending the debate that has split the top two congressional leaders,” Ursula Perano and Jordain Carney write this morning. And on that critical process question — one that needs to be settled before pursuing passage through reconciliation, so as to avoid a Democratic filibuster in the Senate — it seemed that Trump had a clear position. Then came yesterday morning. In an appearance on the Hugh Hewitt Show, Trump shook the Etch-a-Sketch. "While I favor one bill, I also want to get everything passed,” he said. “I’m open to either way as soon as we get something passed as quickly as possible.” Why does this matter? Two big reasons. 1. POLICY: “The stakes are huge, with the call over whether to move one bill or two having major implications for whether Trump can follow through on his campaign pledges before potentially losing unified GOP control of Washington in two years,” as Ursula and Jordain write. 2. POLITICS: For Republicans, all of this amounts to “an early reality check heading into a second Trump term,” per Ursula and Jordain. “The returning president’s decision-making isn’t exactly reliable, raising the risk that Republicans who presume to know what he wants might soon find themselves crosswise with his actual wishes.” Which brings us to today. Trump is a man often inclined to agree with whomever has last had his ear. Which is why for the foreseeable future, you can expect to see the tug of war between the Senate GOP and House GOP play out in public: Both sides want to be the last ones Trump hears, and appearing on cable news is a good way to do that. The in-person lobbying of Trump is about to escalate dramatically, too. While the president-elect is in Washington tomorrow ahead of the funeral of former President JIMMY CARTER, he’ll meet with Senate Republicans to discuss the “party’s reconciliation strategy,” our Jordain Carney and Eleanor Mueller report. Meanwhile, various House Republicans are headed to Mar-a-Lago this weekend for their own tête-à-têtes with Trump and his team on reconciliation plans. Those private conversations won’t stay private for long, and perhaps they’ll end with a shared understanding of the exact path that things should take. But on some deeper level, it amounts to a failure of Hill GOP leaders to be able to sort this out on their own. A single bill? Two bills? Trump is giving you a yes, but you won’t take it. Good Tuesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop me a line at edaniels@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Meta: Open source AI is available to all, not just the few.
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Learn more about how others are building with open source AI. | | | OFFICE SPACE — In the Trump White House, the typical press secretary’s office will likely be shifted to deputy chief of staff TAYLOR BUDOWICH, CBS’ Jennifer Jacobs reports. That would leave press secretary KAROLINE LEAVITT out of one of the prime West Wing offices. NEVER TWEET — Trump’s selection for State Department spokesperson, TAMMY BRUCE, tweeted several times in years past with derogatory comments about Secretary of State-designate MARCO RUBIO, in line with Trump at the time, Daniel Lippman reports in National Security Daily. POTUS IN NEW ORLEANS — President JOE BIDEN sought to console the families of the people killed in the New Orleans terrorist attack at a memorial service yesterday. And his administration also raised the potential threat rating higher for Mardi Gras to commit more federal resources to protecting the celebration. More from The Times-Picayune … Louisiana AG LIZ MURRILL also kicked off an investigation of what went wrong, per the AP. REMEMBERING JIMMY CARTER — Former President Carter will lie in state at the Capitol starting later today. A rundown of the schedule:
- 2:15 p.m.: President Carter’s remains arrive at Joint Base Andrews and will travel by motorcade to the U.S. Navy Memorial in downtown Washington.
- 3:30 p.m.: A horse-drawn caisson will carry Carter’s remains to the U.S. Capitol. Upon arrival, his casket will be carried into the Rotunda. (NYT’s Peter Baker reports that Carter “will be placed on the same catafalque that bore ABRAHAM LINCOLN after his assassination in 1865.”)
- 4:30 p.m.: Members of Congress and other dignitaries will join the Carter family for a service in the Rotunda. VP KAMALA HARRIS, Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Thune “are scheduled to deliver brief eulogies and lay wreaths near Carter’s casket,” per the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
- 7 p.m. - midnight: The public is invited to pay their respects.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The House will meet at 11 a.m., with votes expected at 1 p.m. Speaker Johnson and other House GOP leaders will hold a media availability at 10 a.m. The Senate will meet at 11 a.m. 3 things to watch …
- Today, the House will take its first legislative vote of the new Congress on the Laken Riley Act. The bill, which would require the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes, is named in memory of a 22-year-old student who was murdered in February by an undocumented immigrant who had previously been cited for shoplifting. The legislation passed the House last year, but stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The GOP Senate is expected to take up the bill on Friday, our Daniella Diaz reports.
- Another round of the PBM fight: Rep. BUDDY CARTER (R-Ga.), the new chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s health panel, told Ben Leonard that he wants to “rush through” the health care package that Trump and ELON MUSK helped push out of the stopgap spending measure last month. Among the items in that package were new regulations of pharmacy benefit managers — drug-pricing middlemen who have come under scrutiny from a bipartisan chorus alleging they raise the cost of prescriptions for consumers. After it was dropped from the stopgap, Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) said he hoped the new Congress would “be able to do something about it.” Now, they just might have that chance.
- Mark your calendars: The Senate confirmation hearing schedule for Trump’s Cabinet nominees is starting to firm up. Yesterday, Judiciary Chair CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) said that he hopes to schedule the first hearing for AG-designate PAM BONDI for Jan. 14 — the same day that the Armed Services Committee will host Defense pick PETE HEGSETH, our Hailey Fuchs, Meredith Lee Hill and Nico Portuondo report. On Jan. 15, the Agriculture Committee plans to hear from BROOKE ROLLINS, while Environment and Public Works Chair SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-W.Va.) is eyeing Jan. 15 or 16 to bring in former Rep. LEE ZELDIN, Trump’s pick to run the EPA.
At the White House Biden will travel from Santa Monica, California, to Thermal, where he’ll deliver remarks at 5:15 p.m. Eastern. He’ll return to LA afterward. Harris will eulogize former President JIMMY CARTER at 4:30 p.m. at the Capitol, after which she and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will present a wreath from the executive branch.
| | PLAYBOOK READS | | POLICY CORNER
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The control tower is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, on April 17, 2019. | Alex Brandon/AP | BIG BIDEN LEGAL MOVES — With just two weeks left in his term, Biden’s administration is racing to nail down some major achievements for long-gestating judicial issues. Yesterday, he brought the Guantánamo Bay prison closer than ever to closing down with the big news that 11 Yemeni prisoners will be resettled in Oman, dropping the population to 15, NYT’s Carol Rosenberg reports from Cuba. After 20 years behind bars, none of the 11 were ever criminally charged. The administration has been trying to transfer this group for years, but congressional Democrats reportedly scuttled plans in October 2023 amid concerns about regional stability. Three of the remaining 15 Gitmo detainees are still eligible to be transferred. Nine have been convicted of war crimes or charged with them, including an expected guilty plea coming soon from 9/11 mastermind KHALID SHAIKH MOHAMMED. Biden’s Justice Department has also finally landed a consent decree with the Minneapolis police department to create major reforms, coming up on five years after the murder of GEORGE FLOYD, The Minnesota Star Tribune’s Deena Winter and Liz Sawyer report. The city council signed off on the plan yesterday, which still needs a judge’s approval. The news comes amid advocate concerns that DOJ had been too slow to reach agreements for federal oversight of a dozen police departments around the country. (Louisville is the only other one to enter an agreement so far.) In Minneapolis, police will have to change use-of-force policies and implement new training and discipline, with independent oversight. But one of Biden’s most significant recent moves — commuting nearly all federal death sentences — is running into an unexpected pocket of opposition. Two of the 37 inmates Biden spared are trying to block his move and not signing the paperwork, because they maintain their innocence and don’t want to undermine their appeals, NBC’s Erik Ortiz scooped. More top reads:
- Dis-barred: Fed vice chair for supervision MICHAEL BARR is stepping down from his role, a major and unexpected departure ahead of Trump’s return. The prospect of waging a legal fight to remain in his role if Trump sought to remove him, even though Barr felt confident he’d win in the end, “would be just a huge distraction” for the central bank, he explained to Bloomberg’s Katanga Johnson. He now plans to leave at the end of February, before his term is up.
- Landmark move: “Pentagon agrees to historic legal settlement with LGBTQ+ veterans,” by CBS’ Matthew Mosk, Jim Axelrod and Jessica Kegu: “The settlement, which still must receive approval from a federal judge, would resolve the claims from a group of LGBTQ+ veterans who were kicked out of the military years ago because of their sexual orientation.”
- Chips and dip: Arizona was tapped as the winner for the third major semiconductor chips research and development facility. More from the Phoenix Business Journal
TRANSITION LENSES NEW NOMINEE — Trump announced he’ll select JOSEPH NOCELLA JR. as his pick for U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Nocella is a Nassau County judge. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT — Incoming White House chief of staff SUSIE WILES tells Axios’ Marc Caputo that she won’t tolerate internecine drama: Wiles: “I cannot stress teamwork and mutual support enough.” TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK — KEVIN O’LEARY said on Fox News that he spoke with Trump about combining Canada’s currency or central bank with the U.S.’ — and trying to buy TikTok with FRANK McCOURT. JUDICIARY SQUARE
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President-elect Donald Trump looks on during Turning Point USA's AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center on Dec. 22, 2024. | Rebecca Noble/Getty Images | THE TRUMP TRIALS — Trump’s legal team yesterday asked New York Justice JUAN MERCHAN to delay his felony criminal sentencing set for Friday, but Merchan again swatted them down, per CNN’s Paula Reid, Jeremy Herb and Kara Scannell. Though Merchan made clear last week that Trump won’t be sentenced to jail time, the case sets up a striking split screen as the president-elect faces legal punishment just days before he returns to the White House. Expect Merchan’s latest move to be appealed. Trump’s lawyers yesterday also requested that an appellate court overturn Merchan’s recent rulings upholding Trump’s conviction in his hush money case stemming from the 2016 election. Trump’s attorneys argue that Merchan’s decision undermines his coming presidency, but the judge has maintained that Trump isn’t above the law yet. And in his now-dismissed federal cases, Trump’s lawyers asked AG MERRICK GARLAND yesterday to block the public release of special counsel JACK SMITH’s final report, Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report. The lawyers have reviewed a draft of the report. Some of his old co-defendants in the classified documents case also asked Judge AILEEN CANNON to block that report. More top reads:
- Daily Rudy: U.S. District Judge LEWIS LIMAN held RUDY GIULIANI in contempt of court yesterday but opted against putting him behind bars, Erica Orden reports from NYC. Liman delivered tough news for Giuliani in the ongoing asset seizure dispute over his defamation penalty, taking out a key argument Giuliani wanted to use to avoid surrendering his Palm Beach condo to RUBY FREEMAN and SHAYE MOSS, the women he defamed.
- The long tail of JOHN ROBERTS: “Trump fights Jan. 6 civil lawsuits on 4th anniversary of riot,” by Josh and Kyle: “A lawyer for Donald Trump argued Monday that the Supreme Court ruling last summer granting him criminal immunity for some official acts also bolsters his case to escape liability in civil suits filed against him related to the Capitol riot.”
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | ALL POLITICS COMING SOON — Former Rep. BARBARA LEE (D-Calif.) has formed a committee to lay the groundwork for an Oakland mayoral bid, per the East Bay Times’ Shomik Mukherjee. The special election is in April. FRIENDLY FIRE — CHRIS LaCIVITA posted on X that the Republican Attorneys General Association “is a joke.” AMERICA AND THE WORLD
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A man stands on the rubble on an area of houses that were completely destroyed during the civil war at the Al-Asali neighbourhood in Damascus, Syria, Jan. 6, 2025. | Leo Correa/AP | MIDDLE EAST LATEST — With so many countries in flux in the region, the U.S. is taking multiple small steps this week to try to bend events in the Middle East in its preferred direction. The Biden administration took an initial step yesterday to allow more humanitarian aid into Syria, WSJ’s Alex Ward scooped, though a bigger decision on whether to lift wide-ranging sanctions still looms. The U.S. is walking the tightrope as it waits to see which direction the new government takes Syria after the fall of BASHAR ASSAD. Final choices will be up to Trump. Meanwhile, the U.S. is moving nearly $100 million in military assistance from Egypt to Lebanon as the latter country plays a key role in helping maintain the Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire, Reuters’ Patricia Zengerle scooped. The $95 million originally slated for Cairo had also prompted outrage from congressional Democrats about Egypt’s record on political prisoners. And U.S. envoy AMOS HOCHSTEIN said yesterday that the Israel-Hezbollah truce is proceeding apace as Israel withdraws its troops completely from southern Lebanon, NYT’s Euan Ward reports from Beirut. More top reads: | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Robert McElroy, who criticizes Donald Trump on immigration, is the new D.C. archbishop. Keith Kellogg has delayed a trip to Ukraine. Dana White is joining Meta’s board. Joe Biden signed the RFK Stadium bill into law. Adam Kinzinger doesn’t want a Biden pardon. Steve Bannon is still mad at Elon Musk over H-1B visas. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Former Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) is joining Venable as a senior policy adviser in its D.C. office. — The Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service is announcing its spring 2025 fellows, its 20th class: Trump chief pollster Tony Fabrizio, Harris principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks, Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves, NYT’s Cecilia Kang, AP’s Meg Kinnard and former State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert. — Meghan Rodgers is now comms director for Sen. David McCormick (R-Pa.). She most recently was SVP of public affairs at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and is a Trump USDA and Tom Rooney alum. — Tate Mitchell is now comms director for Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.). He most recently was regional press secretary at the NRSC. — Independent Women’s Forum is announcing its 2025 visiting fellows: Chloe Anagnos, Hannah Becker, Chloe Carmichael, Reagan Reese Gensiejewski, Jennifer Galardi, Kelly Garcia, Kylee Griswold, Taylor Hathorn, Nicole Kiprilov, Krysia Lenzo and Tiffany Polifko. Caroline Downey is a senior fellow, and Madeline Fry Schultz, Griswold and Downey are contributors to IW Features. — Alex Freedman is now an SVP at Mercury. He most recently was a political consultant and is a Michelle Lujan Grisham alum. — Mark Hannah has been named the new CEO of the Institute for Global Affairs at Eurasia Group. He currently is a senior fellow and interim executive director. TRANSITIONS — Chris Wilson is now CEO of EyesOver US, an AI-powered polling and data analytics firm. He most recently was founder and CEO of WPAi, a job from which POLITICO reported he was recently fired after allegations he likely used company money on personal expenses, which he denied. … Philip Beshara is now a partner at Nichols Liu, leading its strategic and government affairs practice. He previously was counsel at WilmerHale. … Pablo Sierra-Carmona is now comms director for Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández (D-P.R.). He previously was comms director for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). … … Brad Elkins is now a partner at Thematic Campaigns. He previously was campaign manager for Adam Schiff’s successful California Senate bid, and is a Democratic campaign veteran. … Caitlin Buchanan Yntema is now federal public policy lead at Electrify America. She previously was a policy adviser to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). … Josiah Adams is joining Rep. Emily Randall’s (D-Wash.) office as legislative aide. He previously was special assistant and personal aide to Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.). ENGAGED — Fish Stark, executive director of the American Humanist Association (and son of former Rep. Pete Stark, Congress’ first open atheist), and Madi Spector, comms assistant at T’ruah, got engaged in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, over the holidays. They met on Twitter in 2021. Pic … Another pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Andrew Feldman, founder and principal of Feldman Strategies, and Megan Feldman, comms manager at ICF Next, welcomed Spencer Drew Feldman on Friday. He came in at 4 lbs, 15 oz, and is named after Andrew’s grandfather and Megan’s mom. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Senate Majority Leader John Thune … Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) … Reps. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) and Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) … Meta’s Nick Clegg and Dave Banks … Yohannes Abraham … CNN’s Claire Barkley … The Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf … Adam Entous … Alex Milofsky … Fox Business Network’s Dagen McDowell … Maura Keefe of Keefe Strategies … NBC’s John Reiss … Cherie Short … Stewart Boss … Megan Clarke of Fox News … Lauren Harmon Murphy of Harmon Murphy Creative … Stewart Verdery of Monument Advocacy … Rishi Sahgal … Purple Strategies’ Tim Kraus … Linda Douglass … former Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) … Axios’ Ben Geman … Ashley Callen ... Cory Crowley ... Brett Shogren … Katie Couric … Michael McAdams … Mike Brodo … Jennifer Denney Lawson of Keep America Beautiful … CMS’ Ernie Tai … Mike D’Orazio of Rep. Guy Reschenthaler’s (R-Pa.) office 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.
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