| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | Presented by Binance | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
|  The past two years of legislative achievements add up to a substantial list that President Joe Biden can take to voters in 2024. | Alex Wong/Getty Images | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | On Friday, Congress wrapped a bow on two impressive achievements that make this one of the most consequential legislative sessions in recent memory. And it was all done without nuking the filibuster or attaining a 60-vote Senate majority, which many observers believed was the only way to jumpstart Congress. AP's Lisa Mascaro wraps up the last two years with a nice look at what was achieved: "In many ways, the chaos of the Capitol attack created a new coalition in Congress — lawmakers who want to show America can govern. With President JOE BIDEN in the White House, the Democrats who controlled Washington found new partners in a wing of the Republican Party eager to push past the [DONALD] TRUMP years and the former president's repeated lies about a stolen election that led to the Capitol siege." Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER, for one, is giddy about the results: "These two years in the Senate and House — in the Congress — were either the most productive in 50 years [since the] Great Society, or most productive in 100 years since the New Deal." The omnibus attracted nine Republican votes in the House:
- LIZ CHENEY (Wyo.)
- RODNEY DAVIS (Ill.)
- BRIAN FITZPATRICK (Pa.)
- JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER (Wash.)
- CHRIS JACOBS (N.Y.)
- JOHN KATKO (N.Y.)
- ADAM KINZINGER (Ill.)
- FRED UPTON (Mich.)
- STEVE WOMACK (Ark.)
Seven of them are leaving Congress. Only Fitzpatrick and Womack are sticking around. Democrats will surely be getting to know the two of them better. Meanwhile, Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.) voted against the bill and Rep. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-Mich.) voted "present"— by proxy! (Also: RIP proxy voting.) More from Sarah Ferris, Nick Wu and Olivia Beavers More interesting reads on what's in the bill: "Taiwan, Trying to Fend Off China, to Get Loans, Not Grants, to Buy U.S. Weapons," WSJ … "U.S. Speeds Up Timeline in Delisting Threat For Chinese Companies," Bloomberg … "GOP omnibus opponents bring home billions of earmarked dollars," Roll Call
| | | | A message from Binance: It's been a tough year for crypto. After unprecedented fraud and mismanagement, industry confidence has been shaken. As the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance believes greater transparency is critical. At Binance, user assets are backed 1:1 and our capital structure is debt-free, and we are eager to work with regulators to help bring order to the markets. Learn more about our commitment to moving forward in Politico this week. | | | The White House is in a celebratory mood on this Christmas Eve, bragging that the omnibus caps two years of Biden delivering on his campaign promise to work "across the aisle to reach consensus." "Pundits met his promise with dismissal," the pugnacious ANDREW BATES emailed reporters Friday night, "and claimed that the then-former Vice President was out of touch. But the American people endorsed it with the most votes for any candidate in history, and he has gone above and beyond in delivering." In addition to the omnibus, which includes reforms to the Electoral Count Act, a big boost for the Pentagon and several of Biden's domestic policy priorities, such as the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Bates has assembled this list: "The biggest infrastructure investments since DWIGHT EISENHOWER … An unprecedented China competitiveness law … The most impactful gun reform since 1994 … The first major legislation to provide medical care for veterans who were exposed to burn pits in the line of duty … A civil rights breakthrough [i.e. the Respect for Marriage Act] … The [reauthorized] Violence Against Women Act … Critical military and economic support for Ukraine." While we cringe at Bates' use of the word "impactful," this is a substantial list that Biden can take to voters in 2024. Or does Biden, content with what he's achieved, have a conversion moment over the holidays in talks with his family and the KLAIN-RICCHETTI-DONILON-DUNN-DILLON brain trust and announce that the battle for the soul of the nation has been won and that he won't seek a second term? Also on the White House's list of victories is the Jan. 6 committee's final report, which was released Thursday. Over the last two years Biden had a complicated relationship with the investigation of Trump. Trump's impeachment and a massive Jan. 6 inquiry were sometimes seen as distractions keeping Biden from shining and the country mired in the past. But eventually the spotlight on Trump's recklessness on Jan. 6 and the pursuit of a criminal case against him, which is laid out in the committee's report, helped Biden beat history in the midterms. There are a lot of new details in the Jan. 6 report and the 46 interview transcripts that became public Friday night. Read the full report here. Here's a guide to some of what we learned: The Washington Examiner plucks out these five intriguing nuggets: "1. WILLIAM BARR claimed that there was talk of seizing voting machines
2. Sen. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-Ky.) secretly urged Barr to quash election 'conspiracy theories.'
3. ELAINE CHAO's frosty departure
4. Barr, Chao, and MIKE POMPEO denied reports of talks about the 25th amendment.
5. IVANKA said that Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) called her in the middle of the riot" CNN has a look at some little-known Jan. 6 characters who played important roles in the story, including the RNC copywriter who blew the whistle on shady fundraising tactics, the White House speechwriter pushing the fake electors strategy, a Trump campaign executive assistant who helped piece together parts of the fake electors plan and a National Guard colonel whose effort to send troops to the Capitol was delayed by bureaucracy. A Bloomberg headline for the ages: "Ivanka Trump Testified Father's Call With Pence Saddened Her" HuffPost: "Trump Did Float Idea Of 10,000 Troops Jan. 6 — To Protect Him On Capitol March: Committee" NYT on a big lingering mystery: "Jan. 6 Report Leaves Questions About What Happened in Trump's S.U.V." WSJ on how the ball is now in AG MERRICK GARLAND's court: "Jan. 6 Focus Shifts to Justice Department as House Panel's Work Ends" Finally, Trump gave his response to all of this to the Daily Caller: "EXCLUSIVE: 'Con Job And A Disgrace': Donald Trump Issues Video Response To Jan. 6 Report" Good Saturday morning, and thanks for reading Playbook. Pentagon City and Tysons Corner are open until 6 p.m. today. Drop us a line with your best ideas for last-minute Christmas presents for Olivia, Alex, Nate, Skyla, Dylan and Aidan: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Binance: As the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance believes greater transparency is critical. At Binance, user assets are backed 1:1, and we're eager to work with regulators to help bring order to the markets. Learn more about our commitment to moving forward in Politico this week. | | | WINTER STORM LATEST — As frigid temperatures, snow and ice whip through much of the country, this extreme Christmas Eve winter storm has already killed at least 15 people across several states. At least 1.5 million have lost power. And plenty of holiday travel has been upended: Friday saw more flight cancellations than any other day this year. At the border, freezing temperatures are putting vulnerable migrants at risk in an overwhelmed El Paso, Texas, CNN's Ashley Killough and Ed Lavandera report. The storm also made it harder for members of Congress to get home, after they stayed in town longer than expected to get the omnibus done. Rep. CHIP ROY (R-Texas) tweeted that he's had to try flying out of all three D.C.-area airports to make it to Austin. But not everyone was sympathetic: One Republican member of Congress texted Daniel Lippman, "Plays victim card but he called motion to adjourn that backed us up from getting out of town at least an hour more and served no purpose."
| | BIDEN'S SATURDAY — The president has nothing on his public schedule.
VP KAMALA HARRIS' SATURDAY — The VP has nothing on her public schedule. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
| 
The Bidens read Ezra Jack Keats' "The Snowy Day" aloud at Children's National Hospital on Friday. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. DEMOCRACY WATCH: "The Michigan lawyer pushing Trump's voter-fraud fictions in U.S. courts," by Reuters' Nathan Layne and Peter Eisler: "STEFANIE LAMBERT was a defense attorney with financial woes before seizing on the election-denial movement for new business. Now she faces potential disbarment and a criminal investigation into voting-data hacks. Her journey highlights the key role lawyers played in a struggle shaking American democracy." 2: MIDTERM AUTOPSY: NYT's Charles Homans, Jazmine Ulloa and Blake Hounshell examine how a small slice of the American electorate abandoned Republicans over democracy concerns in the midterms, keeping prominent election deniers out of office and averting experts' worst fears about democracy this year. Still, the election constituted "something less than a clear repudiation of an anti-democratic push in the Republican Party." 3. LATEST IN ARIZONA: ABE HAMADEH, the Republican who appears to have very narrowly lost the Arizona AG race, had his legal challenge knocked down in court Friday, per the Arizona Republic's Tara Kavaler. "Ultimately, the judge agreed with the defendants that there was not enough evidence to support the claims." 4. 2024 WATCH: Over the holidays, a slew of politicians have said they'll talk with their families about pivotal 2024 decisions — senators pondering reelection bids, former officials weighing a leap into the presidential campaign. "Everyone with a weighty political decision to make, it seems, is waiting for the end of the year to glean the opinions of a spouse, a wise uncle or a quixotic adolescent, solicited over mugs of eggnog or while trimming the tree with carols curated by Alexa," NYT's Trip Gabriel writes with just a hint of tongue in cheek. Read the story for holiday menus from the likes of Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-Ariz.) and Sen. JON TESTER (D-Mont.). 5. SHELBY'S EXIT INTERVIEW: On his way to retirement, Sen. RICHARD SHELBY (R-Ala.) sits down with WaPo's Paul Kane to reflect on how he became "one of the great political survivors of this era," maneuvering around BILL CLINTON as a Democrat, Trump as a Republican and plenty of other opponents. "We won that," Shelby reflects repeatedly on various political and policy battles. "His career is a rebuke to two trends in today's Senate," Kane writes: "those who rush to social media and cable news with outlandish actions seeking attention, and those who sit quietly on the legislative sidelines and do as their party leaders instruct." 6. WHERE THEY'RE HEADED: In Congress Minutes, our colleagues round up some of the notable destinations for departing members of Congress in the new year: Rep. CAROLYN MALONEY (D-N.Y.) will become the next president of the National Organization for Women's New York chapter. Rep. BILLY LONG (R-Mo.) wants to renew his real estate license. Rep. Herrera Beutler is thinking about academia or fellowships. Rep. PETER MEIJER (R-Mich.) says no lobbying, but probably another political run at some point. And Rep. VAN TAYLOR (R-Texas) just wants "to try and stay married." 7. WHERE THE GRASS IS GREENE-R: Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) had a big week in the online political sphere, feuding with erstwhile allies and penning defenses of House GOP Leader KEVIN McCARTHY amid votes on the omnibus. But in person, she was vacationing with her family in Costa Rica and also finalizing her divorce this week, Insider's Bryan Metzger reveals. 8. WHERE STUDENT DEBT RELIEF STANDS: "Biden's signature education policy in 2022 will need a lifeline in 2023," by Michael Stratford: "Beyond the legal challenges to debt relief, Biden also faces a newly-empowered Republican majority that's gearing up to scrutinize and investigate his administration. Some GOP lawmakers are pushing to defund the Education Department's implementation of the program." 9. SURPRISE FDA MOVE: "Plan B gets new label by FDA to clarify it doesn't cause abortion," by ABC's Anne Flaherty
| | | | A message from Binance:   | | | CLICKER — "The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics," edited by Matt Wuerker — 16 funnies GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza: — "Secrets of the Christmas Tree Trade," by Owen Long for Curbed: "Turf wars. Protection money. Scientology. And my boss, a man who's half-convinced he really is Santa." — "The Daring Dirtbags Who Make Salt Lake City Sparkle," by Scott Yorko in Outside magazine: "In Utah, Christmas-tree lights are a very big deal. Meet the itinerant crew of climbers, river guides, ski bums, trekkers, and thru-hikers who work like super-elves to get ready for the year's most beautiful holiday." — "It's High Noon in America," by Noah Hawley in The Atlantic: "In our popular culture and in our politics, we're returning to the Old West." — "Truth Takes a Vacation," by Mark Edmundson in Harper's: "Trumpism and the American philosophical tradition." — "No one wanted Princess Fiona. Then the balding, potbellied pitbull met a little girl," by WaPo's Jessica Contrera: "Could a shelter dog with a chronic illness find a home before the holidays?" — "Why detransitioners are crucial to the science of gender care," a Reuters special report by Robin Respaut, Chad Terhune and Michelle Conlin: "Understanding the reasons some transgender people quit treatment is key to improving it, especially for the rising number of minors seeking to medically transition, experts say. But for many researchers, detransitioning and regret have long been untouchable subjects." — "Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Jealousy List": "All the stories we wish we wrote this year."
| | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Debbie Dingell put out this year's Dingell Jingle: "I'm dreaming of an omnibus …" Barack Obama released his lists of favorite books, movies and music of the year. Billy Long's flight home went the way of "A Christmas Story." Brian Schatz prefers his latkes grated. IN MEMORIAM — "Charlene Mitchell, 92, Dies; First Black Woman to Run for President," by NYT's Clay Risen: "Ms. Mitchell joined the Communist Party in 1946, when she was just 16, and over her long career worked at the intersection of issues that have come to define the left's agenda for the last 50 years, including feminism, civil rights, police violence, economic inequality and anticolonialism. … Ms. Mitchell became the Communist Party's presidential nominee when she was just 38." NEW NOMINEE — The White House announced Biden will nominate Richard Verma as deputy secretary of State for management and resources. He currently is chief legal officer and head of global public policy at Mastercard. TRANSITIONS — Arkansas Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders is tapping Alexa Henning as comms director. She previously was deputy chief of staff and spokesperson for Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and senior adviser to his reelect. … Andrew Bower will be legislative director for Rep.-elect Robert Garcia (D-Calif.). He previously was legislative director for Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), and is a DCCC alum. WEDDING — Jason McCall, a caseworker for Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), and Marshala Lee, a Harrington Trust Physician Scholar at ChristianaCare Hospital, got married Friday at The Cadre in Memphis. They met at the HBCU Week 2019 day party kickoff event at DECO in Wilmington, Del. Pic … Another pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Daniel Fisher, SVP of government and external affairs at Associated Equipment Distributors, and his wife Liz, a physician assistant, welcomed Miriam Rose on Dec. 16 at Georgetown University Hospital. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Anthony Fauci … Gene Sperling … Stephanie Ruhle … French Ambassador Philippe Etienne … Sabrina Singh … Dan Pfeiffer … DHS' Marsha (Catron) Espinosa … Walter Pincus … CNBC's Ylan Mui … Emory Cox of Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-Ala.) office … Atif Harden … Charlie Liebschutz of SRCPmedia … Actum's Anna Sugg … Samir Kapadia of the Vogel Group … NYT's Brian Zittel … former AG Jeff Sessions … former Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) … Jordan Valdés ... Dorinda Moss Verhoff ... Corry Schiermeyer … Sharon Williams ... Michael Brown … AJ Sugarman THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): CBS "Face the Nation": Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) … Jeff Pegues … Nancy Cordes … Jan Crawford … Catherine Herridge … David Martin. MSNBC "The Sunday Show": Nola Haynes … Rep.-elect Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) … Gloria Avent-Kindred … Michael Curry … Barry Black … Reginald Hudlin … Wendell Pierce … Amanda Sloat. FOX "Fox News Sunday": Cardinal Timothy Dolan … Michael Smith … Morrill Worcester. Panel: Dana Perino, David Avella and Howard Kurtz. 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 editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine. Correction: Friday's Playbook misstated the timing of the spat between Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) and House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy in a closed-door GOP conference meeting. And due to a technical error, the newsletter accidentally was sent out twice — we apologize for the double dose.
| | | | A message from Binance: It's been a tough year for crypto. Macroeconomic headwinds have ushered in challenging market conditions, followed by unprecedented fraud and mismanagement. The combination rocked consumer confidence and created a level of skepticism about the future of crypto. Binance strongly believes crypto's best days remain ahead, but to get there, transparency is the only path forward. At Binance, we are investing in transparency protocols to demonstrate our strong financial health. Our capital structure is debt-free and all user assets are backed 1:1. Binance does not borrow against customers' funds or invest them without their consent. Most importantly, we look forward to working with policymakers to better protect consumers while promoting innovation. Learn more about our commitment to moving forward in Politico this week. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
