| | | | | |  | | By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun | Presented by |  | | | NEW THIS A.M. … Rep. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (D-N.Y.) is the new chair of the DCCC. … Rep. ROSA DELAURO (D-Conn.) is the new chair of the House Appropriations Committee. -- SPM'S CHALLENGE … SARAH FERRIS and ALLY MUTNICK: "As incoming DCCC chief, Maloney will have one of the trickiest jobs in Washington after the Democrats' down-ballot trouncing at the polls last month that left Republicans between five and seven seats away from the majority. He will have to convince dozens of new candidates to run in a potentially unfavorable environment and in districts that have yet to be drawn. … "Many moderate Democrats — who largely supported Maloney for his ability to win in a Trump-won district — are demanding a new party message that veers starkly away from the GOP's attacks on socialism and progressive slogans like 'defund the police.' Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, are dissecting the internal gears at DCCC." POLITICO … More from Caitlin Emma on DeLauro COVID RELIEF OPTIMISM? ARE YOU THERE? IS THAT YOU KNOCKING? … Color us skeptical of any oddsmaking at this point, but let's take a look at what happened this morning, and you can decide whether you feel optimistic or pessimistic about the prospects of coronavirus relief in the next few days, SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL took to the Senate floor to say this: "It's been heartening to see a few hopeful signs in the past few days" about Covid relief. House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY said Speaker NANCY PELOSI has been "more open than she has been in the past." And, per pooler Rob Crilly of the Washington Examiner, President DONALD TRUMP said: "I want it to happen. And I believe we are getting very close to a deal." THAT SEEMS decent for the millions of Americans who want Covid relief. BUT IT'S NOT as simple as it seems. And there's always an element of gamesmanship -- one side setting up the other to fail. And it's often difficult to separate that gamesmanship from reality. THE DEETS: REPUBLICANS believe a Covid relief bill should include an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program, money for vaccines, liability overhaul and unemployment measures. Democrats want state and local money. The two sides don't actually agree on liability overhaul. DEMOCRATS ARE SKEPTICAL … Senate Minority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER said this on the floor today: "The Republican leader came to the floor this morning to say compromise is within reach -- his words -- before reiterating a long list of Republican demands and blaming the Democrats for everything. "ONCE AGAIN, the Republican leader argued that the Senate should pass only what Republicans approve of and leave the rest for later, and he now says that an emergency relief bill should be limited by only what President Trump will sign. Of course, we could say similarly the bill should be limited only by what a Democratic House will pass. Neither is true -- compromise. The leader knows that. But for some reason, in the midst of this generational crisis, Republican Leader McConnell does not seem inclined to compromise, to actually get something done. But what he wants to do is posture, to put partisan bills on the floor and say, take it or leave it. The real answer here is to sit down and talk." FEWER THAN 8 DAYS until the government funding deadline. WOULDN'T IT BE WILD … if they get a Covid deal, and have to settle on a short-term funding bill? THE STAKES -- "U.S. jobless claims remain high at 712,000 as virus escalates," by AP's Paul Wiseman: "The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell as the nation celebrated Thanksgiving last week to a still-high 712,000, the latest sign that the U.S. economy and job market remain under stress from the intensified viral outbreak. "Thursday's report from the Labor Department said that initial claims for jobless aid dropped from 787,000 the week before. … The total number of people who are continuing to receive traditional state unemployment benefits declined to 5.5 million from 6.1 million." AP Good Thursday afternoon. Fox News' LAURA INGRAHAM will host a town hall with GOP Georgia Sens. DAVID PERDUE and KELLY LOEFFLER. It will be on tonight at 10 p.m. | | | | A message from PhRMA: Today, there are several promising vaccine candidates in stage three clinical trials. These trials have tens of thousands of participants, from every walk of life. From development to robust clinical trials, and throughout manufacturing, these vaccine candidates follow the same rigorous process of other vaccines that have saved millions of lives. More. | | | THE TRANSITION -- "Zients, Murthy tapped to head up Biden's Covid-19 response," by Alice Miranda Ollstein and Tyler Pager: "Transition co-chair and former Obama administration official Jeff Zients is set to serve as the White House's Covid-19 coordinator and Vivek Murthy, the former U.S. surgeon general under Obama, will return to that role, but with a broader portfolio that will include serving as the top medical expert and public face of the work. "Marcella Nunez-Smith, a co-chair of Biden's Covid-19 advisory board, will also take a key role in the administration's response, focused on health disparities. … Zients' role is modeled on the one that now-Biden chief of staff Ron Klain played during the Ebola outbreak in 2014." -- "Fauci to have first 'substantive discussions' with Biden transition officials," by CBS' Grace Segers: "Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said that he had spoken to Mr. Biden's incoming chief of staff Ron Klain a few times already, although he said these conversations were not 'substantive.' "He added that he expected to have a substantive conversation on Thursday, as he will be speaking with Mr. Biden's 'landing team,' officials who will discuss the new administration's priorities to insure a smooth transition and allow the president-elect to begin working on addressing the pandemic as soon as he takes office." -- "Harris taps Tina Flournoy as chief of staff," by Quint Forgey: "Harris on Thursday also announced that Nancy McEldowney, a former U.S. ambassador and veteran Foreign Service officer, will be her national security adviser, while Rohini Kosoglu, a senior adviser to the Biden-Harris campaign and transition team, will be her domestic policy adviser." YIKES -- "Phishing ploy targets COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort," by AP's Frank Bajak in Boston: "IBM security researchers say they have detected a cyberespionage effort using targeted phishing emails to try to collect vital information on the World Health Organization's initiative for distributing COVID-19 vaccine to developing countries. The researchers said they could not be sure who was behind the campaign, which began in September, or if it was successful. "But the precision targeting and careful efforts to leave no tracks bore 'the potential hallmarks of nation-state tradecraft,' they said in a blog post Thursday. The campaign's targets, in countries including Germany, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan, are likely associated with the development of the 'cold chain' needed to ensure coronavirus vaccines get the nonstop sterile refrigeration they need to be effective for the nearly 3 billion people who live where temperature-controlled storage is insufficient, IBM said." AP | | | | TRACK THE TRANSITION: President-elect Biden has started to form a Cabinet and announce his senior White House staff. The appointments and staffing decisions made in the coming days send clear-cut signals about Biden's priorities. Transition Playbook is the definitive guide to one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history. Written for political insiders, it tracks the appointments, people, and the emerging power centers of the new administration. Track the transition and the first 100 days of the incoming Biden administration. Subscribe today. | | | | | DISINFORMATION DIGEST -- "Facebook says it will remove coronavirus vaccine misinformation," by NYT's Mike Isaac: "Facebook on Thursday said it would remove posts that contain claims about Covid-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts, as the social network acts more aggressively to bat down coronavirus misinformation while falsehoods run rampant. The move goes a step beyond how Facebook had handled misinformation about other kinds of vaccines. "The company had previously made it more difficult to find vaccine misinformation that was not related to the coronavirus by 'downranking' it, essentially making it less visible in people's news feeds. But Facebook said it planned to take down Covid-19 vaccine falsehoods entirely if the claims had been discredited or contradicted by health groups including the World Health Organization, the United States Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." NYT -- "U.S. Cyberforce Was Deployed to Estonia to Hunt for Russian Hackers," by NYT's Julian Barnes: "Estonian officials believe the growing cooperation with the United States will be an important deterrent to any attacks by neighboring Russia, while American officials have used the collaboration to help bolster their election defenses. Estonia has one of the more sophisticated network defenses in Europe, offering American military personnel a chance to work with experts with experience discovering and defending against Russian attacks. "American officials also deployed such teams during the midterm elections in 2018, but previous deployments have been to countries with relatively undeveloped digital defenses. The deployment in Estonia allowed U.S. Cyber Command, which runs the military's offensive and defensive operations online, to broadly observe Russian techniques in Estonia and compare them with Moscow's tactics used in the United States, said Brig. Gen. William J. Hartman, the commander of the Cyber National Mission Force." NYT FED FILES -- "Senate poised to confirm Christopher Waller to the Fed board as Judy Shelton's path narrows," by WaPo's Rachel Siegel: "The Senate on Thursday is expected to confirm Christopher J. Waller to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, in what could be President Trump's last addition to the central bank, while the more controversial nomination of Judy Shelton hangs in limbo. "A macroeconomist, Waller is the director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. His main research areas include monetary theory and macroeconomic theory. Before joining the St. Louis Fed in 2009, Waller led the economics department at the University of Notre Dame, among other academic postings. If confirmed, Waller's term would run through January 2030." | | | | NEXT WEEK - DON'T MISS THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT 2020: POLITICO will feature a special edition Future Pulse newsletter at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators determined to confront and conquer the most significant health challenges. Covid-19 has exposed weaknesses across our health systems, particularly in the treatment of our most vulnerable communities, driving the focus of the 2020 conference on the converging crises of public health, economic insecurity, and social justice. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage from December 7–9. | | | | | I'M NOT AN EXPERT, I JUST PLAY ONE ON TV -- "How Is Trump's Lawyer Jenna Ellis 'Elite Strike Force' Material?" by NYT's Jeremy Peters and Alan Feuer: "By late 2018, regular viewers of cable news would come to know Ms. Ellis as a 'constitutional law attorney' — her preferred title — who aggressively came to Mr. Trump's defense as he faced investigation and impeachment. But a review of her professional history, as well as interviews with more than a half-dozen lawyers who have worked with her, show that Ms. Ellis, 36, is not the seasoned constitutional law expert she plays on TV. … "Since she graduated law school in 2011, nothing in her record in the courtroom — limited mostly to appearances in state court as a prosecutor or as counsel for clients charged with assault, prostitution, theft and domestic abuse — shows any time spent litigating election law cases. She holds herself out as an expert on the Constitution based on her self-published book and her teaching of pre-law classes to undergraduates." NYT MAIL-IN MESS -- "Postal Service Delays Disenfranchised Thousands of Legally-Cast Ballots This Fall," by NBC LX's Noah Pransky: "US Postal Service workers likely delivered more than 99.9% of the nation's mail ballots in-time to be counted … However, it also appears the USPS disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters – who mailed legally-cast ballots the week before the election – through substandard performance. … "NBCLX analyzed election records – as well as postal records obtained through federal court filings – to find out how many ballots, cast the week before the election, were ultimately rejected. … But records indicate the figure is likely no more than a few thousand votes in any given state – not enough to change the results of a single battleground in 2020." NBC MEDIAWATCH -- "Project Veritas's James O'Keefe crashed a private CNN teleconference. CNN says he may have broken the law," by WaPo's Jeremy Barr: "To help promote a new cache of two months of recordings of CNN's daily morning editorial calls, the group's founder, James O'Keefe, filmed himself calling in to the network's 9 a.m. meeting and pressing CNN President Jeff Zucker on the network's journalistic integrity. While Project Veritas had previously disseminated covert recordings of CNN's daily meeting, in this video O'Keefe himself could be seen dialing in to a private CNN call — apparently without the knowledge or consent of participants. … "CNN would not elaborate further on the legal issues at play when asked for comment. But several of the call attendees participated from states that require the consent of both parties for a recording to be made, a company individual said, including California, where recording a call without the permission of the people involved can draw a fine up to $2,500 and a prison sentence of up to a year, according to state law. In an interview Wednesday evening, O'Keefe defended his tactics and said he has not been contacted by law enforcement." WaPo | | | | A message from PhRMA:   America's biopharmaceutical companies are working day and night until they defeat COVID-19. Because science is how we get back to normal. | | | | | | | 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 | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
