| | | | | |  | | By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | Presented by |  | | | UPDATE … AS WE REPORTED SUNDAY NIGHT, it's now certain that Congress is going to pass a one-week stopgap funding bill, which will avert a shutdown at the end of this week, and give negotiators time to continue to try to cobble together an omnibus bill and Covid relief package. (Covid relief has really a tricky path. As does an omni.) THE HOUSE will vote first on the one-week stopgap Wednesday. The SENATE wants the continuing resolution ASAP to avoid any uniquely senatorial drama -- they prefer Tuesday. WHAT'S THIS ALL MEAN? The drama of this week now leaks into next. You mean you didn't want to be thinking about government funding a few days before Christmas? A COUNTRY FALLING APART … WILL WASHINGTON ACT? … "Millions of Americans are heading into the holidays unemployed and over $5,000 behind on rent," by WaPo's Heather Long: "Nearly 12 million renters will owe an average of $5,850 in back rent and utilities by January, Moody's Analytics warns. Last month 9 million renters said they were behind on rent … The numbers were especially high for families with children, with 21 percent falling behind on rent, and among families of color." MEANWHILE … ANYONE FOR TENNIS? First lady MELANIA TRUMP has announced the completion of the White House tennis courts.. QUOTE FROM MELANIA, via W.H. release: "I am pleased to announce the completion of the Tennis Pavilion on the White House grounds. Thank you to all of the talented craftsmen who made this project possible and to the generous supporters of the White House. It is my hope that this private space will function as both a place of leisure and gathering for future First Families." W.H. release GEORGIA … THE STATE, NOT THE COUNTRY … AP'S MATTHEW LEE: "Pompeo to speak in Georgia as Senate run-offs loom": "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to deliver a speech extolling the Trump administration's foreign policy this week in Georgia, ahead of key Senate run-off elections in the state that will determine control of the upper chamber of Congress. "Pompeo is expected to address threats posed by China in an address to Georgia Tech on Wednesday, the university said. The speech in Atlanta will come less than a month before the run-off elections for the Georgia Senate seats and follows weekend senatorial campaign appearances in the state by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence." MED SCHOOL: THE NEW THING … NPR: "'Fauci Effect' Drives Record Number Of Medical School Applications," by Jon Marcus: "The number of applicants is up 18% this year over last year, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, or AAMC, driven by the example of medical workers and public health figures such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. … "Stanford University School of Medicine reports a 50% jump in the number of applications, or 11,000 applications for 90 seats. Boston University School of Medicine says applications are up 27%, to 12,024 for about 110 seats." NPR NEW ALLIANCES … AXIOS' BARAK RAVID: "Scoop: Israel lobbies senators to pass Sudan immunity bill" Good Monday afternoon. BOOK CLUB … KILLER DUO ALERT … AXIOS' MIKE ALLEN: "Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, both of The Washington Post, are teaming up to write a book on the final days of the Trump presidency and the first phase of the Biden presidency. It'll be Woodward's 21st book, all published by Simon & Schuster, and Costa's first. … No title or publication date are being given, but I'm told this'll be done on a compressed timeline." | | A message from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association: Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies have committed more than $5.5 billion to help the nation address the COVID-19 outbreak, by providing premium relief, eliminating patient treatment costs, and enhancing access to telehealth. Learn more. | | | REMEMBERING LARRY RASKY -- "Death Stalks Joe Biden Still," by The Atlantic's John Hendrickson: "Rasky developed what he assumed was normal back pain, but it grew in severity. Then the cough started. On March 22, he died at the age of 69. Most of America still hadn't grasped the reality, or the lethality, of the virus. Biden had already lost a friend of 30 years. … "This type of loss, sudden and sharp, is the kind that washed over Biden in '72. Hundreds of thousands of families have already experienced that same feeling this year. More families will know it in the weeks and months to come." BASE IS STILL GONNA VOTE -- "Republicans prod angry base to turn out again for Georgia runoffs," by James Arkin in Savannah: "Republicans' hopes in next month's Georgia Senate runoffs are running headlong into outgoing President Donald Trump's spurious allegations about what happened in November. … "In interviews with more than two dozen voters in the state over the weekend, not a single person told POLITICO they thought Joe Biden won the election, despite two recounts in Georgia and elections being certified in enough states for him to be above 270 electoral college votes. … But all of the voters said they planned to vote again on Jan. 5, heeding calls from Trump, Pence and most every other Republican to show up again." POLITICO -- FIVETHIRTYEIGHT is up with poll averages for the runoffs (not forecasts). They have RAPHAEL WARNOCK up 2.2 and JON OSSOFF up 0.8. STOPPING THE STEAL -- "Federal judges reject GOP effort to overturn swing state election results," by Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein: "Federal judges delivered blistering rejections on Monday to a pair of last-ditch lawsuits by allies of President Donald Trump seeking to overturn election results in Michigan and Georgia, describing the legal efforts as undemocratic. "'They want this court to substitute its judgment for two-and-a-half million voters who voted for Joe Biden,' [U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Batten in Georgia] said, calling it perhaps the most extraordinary relief ever sought in an election lawsuit. 'And this I am unwilling to do.' … Both suits were spearheaded by Sidney Powell, a Texas attorney who briefly joined the Trump campaign's legal team before being ousted last month." -- GEORGIA is recertifying JOE BIDEN'S electoral victory in the state today. | | | | TRACK THE TRANSITION & NEW ADMINISTRATION HEADING INTO 2021: President-elect Biden is pushing full steam ahead on putting together his Cabinet and White House staff. These appointments and staffing decisions send clear-cut signals about Biden's priorities. What do these signals foretell? 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. | | | | | ELITE STRIKE FORCE TEAM -- "Conservative nonprofit group challenging election results around the country has tie to Trump legal adviser Jenna Ellis," by WaPo's Jon Swaine, Rosalind Helderman, Josh Dawsey and Tom Hamburger: "A conservative legal organization that has filed lawsuits challenging the election results in five states has a tie to President Trump's legal team, raising questions about the independence of what has appeared to be an endeavor separate from the president's last-gasp legal maneuvering. "Senior Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis serves as special counsel to the Thomas More Society, which has filed lawsuits through the newly formed Amistad Project alleging problems with the vote in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Thomas More Society confirmed her relationship to the group but said she is playing no role in its election-related activities. "However, her affiliation with the organization — as well as other links between Trump's team and the conservative group — suggest a coordinated effort to flood the nation's courts with repetitive litigation that allows the president to claim the election results remain contested." WaPo SCOTUS WATCH -- AP: "Supreme Court rejects appeal to limit transgender students": "The Supreme Court declined Monday to take up an appeal from parents in Oregon who want to prevent transgender students from using locker rooms and bathrooms of the gender with which they identify, rather than their sex assigned at birth." AP LOOK WHO'S (MAYBE) BACK -- "Vilsack emerges as Biden's top choice for USDA," by Megan Cassella, Liz Crampton and Tyler Pager: "Though the decision is not final and the dynamics are still in flux, Vilsack's emergence as the strong favorite for the job indicates the transition is looking for a USDA leader with deep management and policy experience who is close with the Biden-world. The former Iowa governor, who served as Agriculture secretary for eight years under the Obama administration, was a top rural and agriculture policy adviser to the Biden campaign. … "While Vilsack leads the short list, new potential names for the role continue to pop up, like former Michigan attorney general and Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Nominating Vilsack … would do little to allay concerns that the Biden administration's inner circle is dominated by white men. But people familiar with the matter said [Rep. Marcia] Fudge would remain a contender for other Cabinet posts, including secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development." POLITICO KEEPING THE PRESSURE ON -- "Asian American leaders press Biden for more diverse Cabinet picks," by WaPo's Amy Wang: "Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus are scheduled to meet virtually with President-elect Joe Biden's transition team Monday to express their growing concern that there will be insufficient Asian American representation in top-tier spots in Biden's administration." WaPo IMMIGRATION FILES -- "Three Years After Family Separation, Her Son Is Back. But Her Life Is Not," by NYT's Caitlin Dickerson: "At the time of their reunification, Yovany was the last remaining child in custody who the federal government considered eligible to be released. The bonds broken during their 26 months apart — when [Leticia] Peren was a voice on the phone more than 1,500 miles away, as Yovany made new friends, went to a new school, learned to live without her — have been slow to regrow. … "By the time they were reunited, her son had matured into a young man, taller than her and with a deepening voice, one he could use to hold a conversation in English. Ms. Peren, frantic during the time it took to get him back, had lost some of her hair and developed a condition that, when triggered by stress, caused her face to sag on one side." | | | | JOIN TUESDAY TO POWER FORWARD WITH WOMEN RULE: Americans have endured multiple crises in 2020, from the pandemic to the economic recession, racial injustices, and a highly contentious presidential election. Women have often led the way in helping the country navigate these crises and will continue to in the new year. Join us for the conclusion of "Powering Forward," a series of virtual conversations that has brought the Women Rule community together during a year that changed how women live, work, and lead. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- "EPA Won't Tighten Soot Standards," by WSJ's Timothy Puko: "Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler has decided to retain current standards for soot pollution, saying those standards are sufficient despite research suggesting that tougher standards could save lives. The move retains standards on soot, or fine-particle pollution, adopted in 2012 that set limits at 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air." -- AP: "Trump cementing death penalty legacy up to Biden inaugural," by Michael Tarm and Michael Balsamo in Chicago: "As Donald Trump's presidency winds down, his administration is ratcheting up the pace of federal executions despite a surge of coronavirus cases in prisons, announcing plans for five starting Thursday and concluding just days before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. "If the five go off as planned, it will make 13 executions since July when the Republican administration resumed putting inmates to death after a 17-year hiatus and will cement Trump's legacy as the most prolific execution president in over 130 years. He'll leave office having executed about a quarter of all federal death-row prisoners, despite waning support for capital punishment among both Democrats and Republicans." AP LITTLE ROCKET MAN -- "Covert Chinese Trade With North Korea Moves Into the Open," by WSJ's Michael Gordon: "China is increasingly flouting international sanctions on North Korea and is no longer trying to hide some of its smuggling activity as it seeks to help Pyongyang endure the Trump administration's pressure campaign, U.S. officials say. … "During the past year … North Korea-flagged vessels have lugged hundreds of coal shipments to China's Ningbo-Zhoushan area, according to interviews with U.S. officials and U.S. government satellite photos provided to The Wall Street Journal. Chinese-flagged cargo ships, meanwhile, have been traveling to North Korea to take on loads of coal at the port of Nampo, the photos also indicate. … The illicit trade between China and North Korea presents a particular challenge for the incoming Biden administration." WSJ CORONAVIRUS RAGING -- "Spring surge of college students will challenge Covid defenses," by Juan Perez Jr. and Bianca Quilantan: "Hundreds of the nation's colleges and universities plan to bring thousands of students back to campus next semester even though most of the schools are unprepared or unequipped for the volume of testing needed to keep Covid-19 infections in check. … "Early projections … say about 60 percent of U.S. higher education institutions plan to host classes with all or some portion of their students on campus in 2021. Only an estimated 8 percent of them are prepared to test each of their students at least once a week." POLITICO CLIMATE FILES -- "Earth just notched its warmest November, as 2020 closes in on record for hottest year," by WaPo's Andrew Freedman: "The new numbers come from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, a program of the European Commission, which is the first of several temperature tracking agencies to report temperature data for November and the first 11 months of the year. "According to Copernicus scientists, global average temperatures during November were 1.4 degrees (0.77 Celsius) above 1981-2010 levels, beating the previous warmest November by a large margin." WaPo MEDIAWATCH -- "Miami Herald names Monica Richardson first Black executive editor in paper's history," by the Miami Herald's David Smiley -- Terri Rupar will be political editor at The 19th. She is currently a project editor at WaPo. Announcement -- Marc Lacey, national editor at the NYT, will become an assistant managing editor for Live next year. Announcement TRANSITIONS -- Dan Rubin is now a senior director at Glen Echo Group. He most recently was comms director and senior adviser for the House Ways and Means Committee. … Katherina Dimenstein is joining Raytheon's cross-corporate team. She previously was chief of staff to Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.). | | | | A message from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association:   Taking action to fight the pandemic. See how we're meeting the challenge. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
