POLITICO Playbook: Jan. 6 report drops, a McCarthy foe speaks

Dec 23, 2022

By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza

Presented by Binance

With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

Jan. 6 Committee Chair Bennie Thompson speaks during a meeting of the committee on Capitol Hill.

Jan. 6 Committee Chair Bennie Thompson speaks during a meeting of the committee on Capitol Hill on Monday, Dec. 19. | Al Drago/Getty Images

Listen to today's Deep Dive

DRIVING THE DAY

OMNI LATEST — The House will meet at 9 a.m. to complete work on the $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill. Amendments made before the Senate passed the bill on a 68-29 vote Thursday added hours of clerical work and dashed hopes of late-night House passage. More from Caitlin Emma and Jordain Carney

THE FINAL WORD — The Jan. 6 committee released its final report on Thursday night — an 845-page document drawn from nearly 1,200 witness interviews and reams of hard-won documents that places DONALD TRUMP at the center of the deadly assault. The POLITICO ledeall from Kyle Cheney and Nicholas Wu … The full report

The big takeaways:

— "Trump's incendiary lies about the 2020 election activated an extraordinary coalition of far-right militants and conspiracy theorists who not only joined the mob but were its vanguard smashing through police lines," Kyle and Nick write.

— The panel urges Congress to "consider barring former president Donald Trump from ever holding public office again as a result of his role inciting that day's insurrection," WaPo's Amy Gardner, Roz Helderman and Jackie Alemany write. (That recommendation, rooted in the 14th Amendment, comes too late for the current Congress to act and is DOA under a GOP House majority.)

— "The report was largely an expanded version of the panel's widely watched set of hearings this summer, with its chapter topics mirroring the themes of those sessions," NYT's Luke Broadwater writes.

The intriguing nuggets:

— "Trump had a 23 minute call with JOHN EASTMAN the same day he started drafting his infamous memo about the Jan. 6 strategy," Kyle noted.

— Eastman acknowledged in an email that Trump had vouched for false voting claims in a court document, Amanda Carpenter flagged. Trump went on to do it again.

— A young RNC staffer "refused to write fundraising copy saying Trump had won Pennsylvania before the state had been called," WaPo's Isaac Stanley-Becker notes. "He was fired three weeks after the election."

— "JIM WATKINS, the owner of the message board 8kun, testified under oath … that neither he nor his son, RON, is Q, the shadowy oracle at the center of the pro-Trump extremist movement QAnon," Stanley-Becker flagged.

The official statements:

— Chair BENNIE THOMPSON (D-Miss.), in a foreword: "Our country has come too far to allow a defeated President to turn himself into a successful tyrant by upending our democratic institutions, fomenting violence, and, as I saw it, opening the door to those in our country whose hatred and bigotry threaten equality and justice for all Americans."

— Vice Chair LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.), in a foreword: "The Committee recognizes that this investigation is just a beginning; it is only an initial step in addressing President Trump's effort to remain in office illegally. Prosecutors are considering the implications of the conduct we describe in this report. As are voters."

— Trump, on Truth Social: "The highly partisan Unselect Committee Report purposely fails to mention the failure of [Speaker NANCY] PELOSI to heed my recommendation for troops to be used in D.C., show the 'Peacefully and Patrioticly' words I used, or study the reason for the protest, Election Fraud. WITCH HUNT!"

Still to come:

— Key witness transcripts that could contain scores of additional news nuggets from Trump's family, his lawyers and his advisers have yet to be released. Thursday's drop of partial transcripts of former White House aide CASSIDY HUTCHINSON contained revelations on Trump allegedly acknowledging his 2020 loss before Jan. 6 and possible attempts inside Trump world to influence testimony to the panel.

Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. What caught your eye in the Jan. 6 report? Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

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Rep. Bob Good speaks during a budget hearing.

Rep. Bob Good speaks during a budget hearing on March 29, 2022 in Washington, D.C. | Roberto Schmidt/Pool via Getty Images

THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: REP. BOB GOOD — Just days after the 2022 election, then-Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) stood up in a closed-door GOP conference meeting and lambasted his party's top leader, KEVIN McCARTHY.

Why, he demanded to know, had McCarthy spent millions in GOP primaries to try to defeat conservatives? The approach left those candidates politically wounded and financially drained for the general election.

The Virginia Republican knew from experience. The previous cycle, McCarthy had backed incumbent Rep. DENVER RIGGLEMAN against Good's challenge from the right.

McCarthy reminded Good that he went on to spend $2 million to help elect him that fall. But Good reminded him of his Riggleman support two years prior and shot back that McCarthy never gave him a customary congratulatory call after he defeated the Virginia Republican in the primary. Instead, when Good called the GOP leader several weeks later, he recalled, McCarthy groused about having to "spend money to keep a seat I shouldn't have to spend money on."

So it was that McCarthy and Good got off on the wrong foot. And until McCarthy invited Good to his office Thursday — more on that later — the two had never sat down one-on-one to clear the air.

Rivalries, resentments and recriminations are common in politics, of course. But this one festering relationship could have dire implications for McCarthy's long-standing ambitions to be House speaker. Good is now one of the five so-called Never Kevin Republicans, who are vowing not to support McCarthy's bid under any circumstances.

A quote from Rep. Bob Good is pictured.

We sat down with Good for the Playbook Deep Dive podcast this week to try to understand the rebellion brewing against McCarthy. We not only came away convinced that Good is probably never going to back the California Republican for speaker but gained a glimpse at how the opposition has been driven by strategic, ideological and, at times, personal reasons.

Had Republicans flipped the House by a broader margin, as they were expected to, Good would likely be dismissed by his colleagues as a gadfly. But given the unexpectedly slim margin, Good and a handful of like-minded conservatives hold McCarthy's fate in their hands — and stand ready to wield considerable power next year, no matter who ends up as speaker.

We also learned that Good & Co. are formulating a plan for the Jan. 3 speaker vote. Anti-McCarthy members are currently plotting to back Rep. ANDY BIGGS (R-Ariz.) on the first ballot, he said, to prove McCarthy can't get the gavel. But once the second ballot is called, they'll begin coalescing around another, unnamed candidate — a GOP lawmaker most have already agreed upon, Good said, but will not name for fear of hurting this person's candidacy.

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More reasons Good said he opposes McCarthy:

— IDEOLOGY: "Kevin McCarthy is not a conservative; he doesn't have an ideological core," Good told us, echoing a criticism that's been made many times over. "He kind of just floats with whatever's politically expedient." Worse, he said, is that "even those who are supporting him will privately tell you they know he's untrustworthy," Good said, citing conversations with colleagues who include a committee ranking member. He posited that McCarthy delayed key organizing decisions until after the Jan. 3 vote because "I suspect he's promised … multiple people the same thing."

— STRATEGY: Good recalled hearing McCarthy tell his freshman class that "we're going to run the floor; we're going to stop the Pelosi agenda." But Good contends that McCarthy didn't do nearly everything in his power to fight Democrats. As Democrats warred with each other over their domestic agenda, Good said he and his comrades pleaded with McCarthy to call a vote on removing Pelosi as speaker. McCarthy refused, possibly because he was thinking about Democrats trying to pull the same stunt on him someday.

— HIS CONSTITUENCY: Good told us that since he started campaigning for the House, he's had "hundreds" of voters urge him to oppose McCarthy as leader. During a recent GOP conference meeting, he recalled, a pro-McCarthy lawmaker stood to blast the "Never Kevin" cadre, complaining that "y'all are making it hard on us back home — we're hearing from all kinds of folks telling us not to vote for McCarthy for speaker." Said Good: "You ought to listen to your constituents."

Good has plenty of other grievances: He's angry that McCarthy initially defended Cheney after she voted to impeach Trump; that McCarthy allowed about a dozen House Republicans to back last year's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill without consequence; and that McCarthy chided members like him who have demanded recorded votes on noncontroversial bills Democrats have brought to the floor — to name a few.

So who else could do the job?

While Good said there are "a number of credible individuals" who could muster enough Republican votes, he insisted "there is large support for one individual in particular … a conservative who can get to 218 and would do an effective job." While Playbook reported extensively this week on the quiet effort to prepare No. 2 leader STEVE SCALISE as an alternative, Good stayed mum, explaining that this person "cannot be part of, and they are not part of, the effort to block McCarthy."

Good predicted McCarthy would give in to the rule-change demands a larger group of House conservatives are demanding. But he said 10 to 20 Republicans would still vote against McCarthy on Jan. 3. "He's not going to be speaker," Good said, insisting he certainly won't get Good's own vote: "He doesn't have anything that I want."

We reached out to Good late Thursday night after his meeting with McCarthy to ask if he'd had a change of heart. His response? "No change… thank you!"

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S FRIDAY:

4 p.m.: The president and first lady JILL BIDEN will depart the White House en route to the Children's National Hospital for a holiday visit.

6 p.m.: The Bidens will return to the White House.

VP KAMALA HARRIS' FRIDAY — The VP has nothing on her public schedule.

THE HOUSE will meet at 9 a.m.

THE SENATE is out.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

A local Iowa resident shovels snow off the end of a driveway.

A local resident shovels snow off the end of a driveway, Thursday, Dec. 22, in Urbandale, Iowa. | Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo

PLAYBOOK READS

ALL POLITICS

THE NEXT GREAT MIGRATION — Our colleagues David Siders, Sean McMinn, Brakkton Booker and Jesús Rodríguez are up with a deeply reported look at how the expanding Black population in the suburbs is dramatically changing the nation's political battlegrounds — the neighborhoods where presidential campaigns are won or lost — and where control of Congress will be decided for the foreseeable future: "Today, more than one-third of Black Americans live in suburban areas — the fastest-growing areas in the country for Black people," they write.

A chart shows the changes in Black suburban residents from 2000-2020, within 118th congressional district boundaries.

ABORTION ON THE BALLOT — "How one Virginia special election became the next abortion battleground," by Megan Messerly: "The January contest to fill the Senate seat vacated by Republican JEN KIGGANS, who was elected to Congress in November, does not threaten Democrats' majority in the chamber. But pro- and anti-abortion rights groups, who are spending tens of thousands of dollars, believe the race could significantly impact people's ability to access the procedure in the purple state."

MORE SBF FALLOUT — Rolling Stone's Kara Voght details how various Democratic campaigns are combing their books to make sure they've accounted for all of SAM BANKMAN-FRIED's vast donations. Among those who stand ready to disburse questionable contributions are Rep. RITCHIE TORRES (D-N.Y.) and Rep.-elect GREG CASAR (D-Texas). They include "donations from Bankman-Fried's brother GABE, FTX engineering director NISHAD SINGH, Data for Progress cofounder SEAN McELWEE, and MICHAEL SADOWSKY, president of Protect our Future, the super PAC funded by Bankman-Fried."

— Puck's Theodore Schleifer scratches his head at it all: "Sure, operatives can stack their income with consulting work, but enough to donate $100,000-plus in one campaign cycle? That is indeed peculiar. But, as several friends of the people in question have noted, effective altruists are, well, peculiar. They donate more money to charity than average people, and they donate more money to aligned politicians too."

THE WHITE HOUSE

CLICKER — The POLITICO Show on Snapchat takes you behind the scenes on a tour of the White House holiday decorations, pointing out all the hidden gems. Watch the episode here

CONGRESS

McCONNELL SPEAKS — "McConnell touts GOP wins: Preserving the filibuster and boosting military spending," by NBC's Sahil Kapur: "When Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL met with President Joe Biden last month, he gave him an ultimatum: Back off your demands for equal spending on the military and domestic budget or there won't be a government funding deal.

"'From our perspective, you have already lavished $700 billion on your domestic priorities, and we're not going to pay you a bonus to meet the country's defense needs,' McConnell told Biden during a White House meeting with congressional leaders, he recalled to NBC News in a wide-ranging interview Wednesday in his Capitol office."

On McCarthy's speaker bid: "I have a really good relationship with McCarthy, but he's got a difficult hand to play. We all want him to succeed and hope he does."

On last year's debt ceiling agreement: "At the risk of sounding patriotic here, you just can't have the country default. It just can't happen. And we always go through a lot of angst over that, particularly on the Republican side. But at the end of the day, there has to be a way found to go forward — and I did find one."

On the newly independent Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA: "We talk a lot and she's a genuine independent. … I wasn't totally surprised that she decided to call herself that and to re-register in Arizona."

THE TALENTED MR. SANTOS — "More Santos tricks: His campaign staffer accused of impersonating McCarthy aide in bid for donations," by the Washington Times' Kerry Picket: "A campaign staffer trying to raise money for Republican Representative-elect GEORGE SANTOS called up donors last year pretending to be Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's chief of staff, a GOP insider claims. … State GOP operatives found out the scheme by the Santos campaign staffer involved not only impersonating McCarthy Chief of Staff DAN MEYER but sending follow-up emails to the donors from a fake email address."

— "N.Y. attorney general's office 'looking into' allegations against George Santos," by NBC's Matt Lavietes

— "George Santos may be Congress' Talented Mr. Ripley. Some of his voters just don't care," by Janaki Chadha and Julia Marsh: "[D]isgust for Democrats is so strong among some voters in the district whose seat he flipped, they'd rather have a fabulist representing them in Congress."

INSIDE THE ECA REWRITE — "How a Bipartisan Senate Group Addressed a Flaw Exposed by Jan. 6," by NYT's Carl Hulse: "It took the efforts of a bipartisan group of 15 senators, months of intense negotiations, the endorsement of outside experts aligned with both parties and a stark realization that the outdated law could again be misused if changes weren't made. And the results the next time could be worse."

TRUMP CARDS

TRUMP SOUNDS OFF ON HIS CAMPAIGN — N.Y. Mag's Olivia Nuzzi has a rollicking look under the hood of the Trump 2024 campaign, which has so far been muted, to say the least. Nuzzi scored an incisive interview with Trump that offers a window into where the former president's head is at in the early stages of his reelection effort:

On his "need for attention": "I think I've always been relevant. Like, I've been relevant from a very young age. I've been in the mix, to be honest."

On his fear of legal consequences: "'I don't know how you get indicted if you've done nothing wrong. I've done nothing wrong.' He repeated that phrase, 'I've done nothing wrong,' nine times in 30 minutes."

On his nascent rival RON DeSANTIS: "I started to ask his opinion, as a Florida resident, of DeSantis as a governor. I used the phrase 'governed by.' He flinched. He did not like the sound of that. 'Well, I live in Florida,' he said, 'but you know, when you say "governed by" him …' He paused. He was annoyed."

How he sees it: "He said the whole truth about why he was running was this: 'I wanted to put my cards on the table, and I did that. I think we did that very strongly.'"

WHAT TRUMP'S LEGAL TEAM IS READING — "Past cases with classified papers show legal risk for Trump, experts say," by WaPo's Perry Stein

TRUMP TAX FALLOUT — "Five red flags in Trump's taxes," by Brian Faler … "Trump tax controversy fuels passage of presidential audits bill," by Benjamin Guggenheim … "Trump Audit Shows Depths of I.R.S. Funding Woes," by NYT's Alan Rappeport

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POLICY CORNER

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS — "FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to be released on $250 million bail, will live with his parents," by CNBC's Rohan Goswami and MacKenzie Sigalos: "The 30-year-old will face his next hearing, presided over by Judge RONNIE ABRAMS, in New York City on Jan. 3., where he'll enter his plea and be arraigned."

THE REGULATORY VIEW — "Even After FTX, S.E.C. Chair Sees No Need for New Crypto Laws," by NYT's Ephrat Livni and Matthew Goldstein: "GARY GENSLER … is pushing back on calls for new laws, arguing that existing S.E.C. rules and Supreme Court decisions suffice and that crypto issuers and exchanges simply need to come into compliance.

"'The roadway is getting shorter,' Mr. Gensler said in an interview on Thursday, warning other crypto issuers and exchanges that are not registered with the agency that they could soon find themselves facing enforcement actions."

WAR IN UKRAINE

MORE ON THE ZELENSKYY VISIT — "Ukrainians hail Zelenskyy after U.S. visit dismissed by Putin," by AP's Inna Varenytsia and E. Eduardo Castillo in Kyiv … "Zelensky visit highlights GOP divisions on Ukraine looming over future aid," by WaPo's Marianna Sotomayor, Camila DeChalus and Liz Goodwin … "Military weighs training Ukrainians on Patriot in United States," by Lara Seligman

PUTIN SAYS THE 'W' WORD — "Putin declares 'war' – aloud – forsaking his special euphemistic operation," by WaPo's Mary Ilyushina in Riga, Latvia: "After nearly 10 months of war, but referring to the brutal invasion of Ukraine instead as 'a special military operation,' Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN on Thursday finally called it a 'war' for the first time, setting off an uproar among antiwar Russians who have been prosecuted for merely challenging the Kremlin-approved euphemism."

MASSIVE INVESTIGATION — "Caught on Camera, Traced by Phone: The Russian Military Unit That Killed Dozens in Bucha," by NYT's Yousur Al-Hlou, Masha Froliak, Dmitriy Khavin, Christoph Koettl, Haley Willis, Alexander Cardia, Natalie Reneau and Malachy Browne: "Exclusive evidence obtained in a monthslong investigation identifies the Russian regiment — and commander — behind one of the worst atrocities in Ukraine."

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

A NEW YORK MINUTE — "Hochul Taps First Latino Judge to Head New York's Top Court," by NYT's Rebecca Davis O'Brien: "Justice [HECTOR] LaSALLE, who was considered among the more moderate potential nominees, could encounter resistance in Albany, and some Democrats had already vowed to vote against him."

— "Kathy Hochul Pushes New York's Highest Court to the Right," by Bolts Mag's Daniel Nichanian: "Hochul's choice builds on the legacy of ANDREW CUOMO, the former Democratic governor who at one point had appointed all seven court members, locking in a right-leaning majority that is now likely to live on."

— "New York state lawmakers to be the highest paid in nation at $142,000," by Joseph Spector

IMMIGRATION FILES — "Far From the U.S.-Mexico Border, a Migrant Surge Strains Denver," by WSJ's Robert Barba: "Since Dec. 9, more than 1,400 migrants have arrived in Denver, according to the city. That compares with 300 migrant arrivals over the prior two months. The increase prompted Mayor MICHAEL HANCOCK to declare a state of emergency."

THE WINTRY WEEKEND — "Americans brace for 'once in a generation' winter storm chaos," by WaPo's Danielle Paquette … "Thursday flight cancellations top 2,400 nationwide, disrupting holiday travel," by CNN's Greg Wallace, Paul Murphy and Carol Alvarado … "Will You Have a White Christmas This Year?" by NYT's Judson Jones, Zach Levitt, Bea Malsky and John-Michael Murphy

SUNDAY SO FAR …

CBS "Face the Nation": Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) … Jeff Pegues … Nancy Cordes … Jan Crawford … Catherine Herridge … David Martin.

FOX "Fox News Sunday": Cardinal Timothy Dolan … Michael Smith … Morrill Worcester. Panel: Dana Perino, David Avella and Howard Kurtz.

CNN "Inside Politics": Panel: Nia-Malika Henderson, Amy Walter, Jeff Zeleny and Margaret Talev.

MSNBC "The Sunday Show": Nola Haynes … Rep.-elect Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) … Gloria Avent-Kindred … Michael Curry … Barry Black … Reginald Hudlin … Wendell Pierce.

POLITICO AT CES 2023 : We are bringing a special edition of our Digital Future Daily newsletter to Las Vegas to cover CES 2023. The newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 5-7 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the event. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of CES 2023.

PLAYBOOKERS

Gina Raimondo wants us to say Merry Chip-mas again.

Rod Rosenstein delighted in the travails of Ignatius J. Reilly.

Chuck Schumer, turns out, isn't super familiar with the agricultural calendar.

Richard Burr apparently started his retirement early.

Patrick Leahy signed off from Twitter.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Charlie Andrew is joining the Commerce Department as press secretary for Raimondo. He most recently was on the DNC's comms team, and is a Patty Murray and Biden campaign alum.

TRANSITIONS — Ray Wagner and Josh Divine have joined incoming Missouri AG Andrew Bailey's office as senior adviser and chief counselor to the office of the AG, and solicitor general, respectively. Wagner was most recently SVP of global government and public affairs at Enterprise Holdings and Divine was most recently chief counsel for Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

ENGAGED — Jess Bidgood, senior national political reporter for the Boston Globe, and Kyle Chayka, contributing writer at The New Yorker, got engaged Dec. 14 in the nook of the bar at Tail Up Goat. The ring was in a glass of bubbly, and there was a surprise party afterward. They first met in college at Tufts University and eventually moved to D.C. together in 2018, where they live with their dog, Rhubarb. Pic … Pic of Rhubarb

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) … Bill Kristol … Lucinda Guinn of Ralston Lapp Guinn … Dentons' John Russell IV … Patrick Burgwinkle … Kelley Moore of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito's (R-W.Va.) office … Jonathan Zucker (5-0) … Steve Thomma of the White House Correspondents Association, the pride of Chicago … Fatima Noor … Axios' Claire Kennedy … Sophia Dycaico of Rep. Bobby Scott's (D-Va.) office … Fox News' Shannon Bream … Danielle Ruckert of RH Strategic Communications … retired Gen. Wes Clark … Texas AG Ken Paxton ... Louisiana AG Jeff Landry … Dan Shott ... Natasha Dabrowski ... Brittany Bolen ... Rich Tarplin ... former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler … Charlie Townsend of the KCE Group … Karen Roberts … former Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) … Chris Peacock (62) … Snezhana Valdman Orlando … Melissa Merz

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: Thursday's Playbook misstated the name of Rep.-elect George Santos.

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