IMMIGRATION FILES COURT CASE NUMBER 1: The first of what looks set to be a deluge of court cases over Trump’s efforts to push the limits of presidential power will be heard in Seattle today. At 1 p.m. ET, a federal court will hear submissions from a group of four state attorneys general seeking to block Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship in the United States. The right has been enshrined in the 14th Amendment since 1868, but has become a bête noir for some conservatives who see it as a pull factor for illegal migration. Tell it to the judge: U.S. District Judge John Coughenour has been asked by a group of four states — Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Illinois — to issue a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from enforcing the order. (Playbook is obliged to point out — given the insanely partisan legal system you guys have created over here — that Coughenour is an appointee of late President Ronald Reagan.) It’s unlikely, though possible, that Coughenour will rush out a ruling today, given Trump’s EO does not actually come into effect until the middle of next month. Shock news — something in America is *not* on TV: Sadly for armchair fans of legal warfare, today’s proceedings will not be televised, but expect plenty of media interest from reporters on the ground. It’s worth noting that this is just the first of at least a half-dozen such cases against Trump’s EO already launched by immigrant rights advocates and attorneys general around the country. In total, 22 states are trying to block the order. First of many: “It’s a big story because it’s not just the first of many hearings on birthright citizenship, but the first of what we expect to be dozens of courtroom showdowns on all sorts of Trump policies,” senior legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein calls Playbook to say. Josh says the chances are that one of the birthright citizenship suits ends up at the Supreme Court within the next few weeks — a case precious few legal experts expect Trump to win. But hey, this is 2025, so who knows? Either way: The crucial point is that for Team Trump, this case is already a win-win. If they’re successful, it’s another body blow to legal rights long cherished by liberal America. But even if they’re not, supporters will simply see Trump and co. fighting as hard as they can — against “radical far-left activist judges,” the deep state and so on — to get tougher than ever before on immigration. How it’s gone so far: Myah Ward runs the rule over the massive impact of Trump’s Day One blitz on immigration. “Thousands of migrants trying to gain entry in the United States to seek asylum using the Custom and Border Patrol’s mobile app had their appointments canceled,” she writes. “Refugee admissions into the country were indefinitely halted. Immigration authorities can now enter schools, churches and places of worship to conduct arrests, reversing a policy that had long kept those sanctuaries off limits. The new administration fired top immigration court officials.” So … did losing help? “They had stuff ready to go, and they had their ducks lined up better,” notes Mark Krikorian, executive director for the restrictionist Center for Immigration Studies, of Trump’s top team. “In the long run for them, it’s better that they lost in 2020 because they’re not only way more prepared, but the political situation is far more conducive to getting stuff done.” And now there’s more: In a bid to boost the force available to help carry out his immigration agenda, the Trump administration is granting agents from the DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service the same powers as an immigration officer, WSJ’s Michelle Hackman and Sadie Gurman report. A memo from acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman “also emphasizes that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents already possess immigration-arresting powers.” MEANWHILE ON THE HILL TIME TO CUT A DEAL? The March 15 deadline to fund the government is inching closer, and there’s still no clear path for how congressional leaders plan to avoid a shutdown. But House and Senate GOP leaders are now considering brokering a mega-deal with Democrats that wraps in government funding, California wildfire aid, a debt-limit hike and border security money, Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney and Rachael Bade revealed last night. Needless to say, this would be a very big deal indeed. Risky business: Senior Republicans have privately mulled a bipartisan approach for weeks, wary that they may not be able to add a debt-limit hike to their party-line reconciliation package due to GOP divisions. But the deal “would come with plenty of risks,” our story notes. “Republicans would need to convince Democrats to accept the border funding increase. And they could face backlash from House GOP hard-liners unless they attach steep spending cuts, which would automatically threaten Democratic support and raise the risk of a shutdown.” Helpful timing: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries both have press conferences planned for this morning, so we can ask them what they think of it all. Like cats and dogs: ICYMI, yesterday’s big Playbook breakfast event on tax policy offered a helpful reminder of how hard it is to get GOP types on the Hill to agree about anything. CONFIRMATION CALENDAR: If you were counting down the days until congressional recess, then Playbook has bad news for you, because a break in the action is not coming anytime soon. Top Senate Republicans are vowing to stay in session until all of Trump’s Cabinet nominees are confirmed, according to Jordain Carney. That timeline is expected to ramp up this weekend — if we’re using the term generally and not literally. With Democrats throwing up every available roadblock, there are a few procedural hoops that Thune and his fellow Republicans will need to jump through to formally confirm the next slate of nominees. Fox News’ Chad Pergram has a really good dive into the details on the process. Tl;dr: It looks like no-one’s going home this weekend. Here’s the general run of show you can expect: — John Ratcliffe’s nomination as CIA director could be pushed through this afternoon … teeing up Pete Hegseth to receive the stamp of approval sometime late Friday or in the wee hours of Saturday morning … which would then allow Thune to bring up Kristi Noem’s DHS nomination for confirmation sometime on Sunday, or maybe even Monday … followed by Scott Bessent for Treasury. And on it goes. But but but: That’s only if things go as smoothly as they can … and it’s always possible a last-minute surprise pushes things off the rails. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) put it this way to reporters: “Do you all have your sleeping bags and cots?” Eek. All eyes on Pete: Four or more Senate Republicans would have to vote against Hegseth to sink his nomination, and — while our colleagues Connor O'Brien and Joe Gould report that’s unlikely — it seems the number could get as high as three. And now new reporting from NBC’s Julie Tsirkin, Sarah Fitzpatrick and Courtney Kube says senators from both sides are unhappy about unreported allegations against Hegseth that were not disclosed by Trump’s transition team. On a knife-edge: Currently, we have Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) all tabbed as potential Republican “no” votes on the floor, per Fox News — which means Hegseth could require a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance to get through. Now that sounds like an exciting way to spend Friday night. Tulsi in trouble: And there’s more — Tulsi Gabbard is taking her turn in the barrel, with her nomination as director of national intelligence on “shaky ground” per Semafor’s Burgess Everett and Shelby Talcott. Playbook has heard the same, from three Republican senators, and it seems Trump is now urging her to fight back — just as he did with Hegseth when his own torrent of negative headlines swirled a few weeks ago. Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs also reports that Gabbard faces challenges, but that she still has a viable path. The most important question: Who’s this anonymous GOP senator offering up briefings with a nautical theme? “Let’s put it this way: I do a lot of boating,” the mystery senator tells Jacobs. “There’s a lot of barnacles that need to be scraped off that hull because it’s starting to create a drag. It’s not sinking, it’s not taking on water, but it’s definitely slowing down.” Answers on a postcard to the usual address. Next in the hopper: Senate committees today are teeing up votes for the nominations of Doug Collins for VA secretary, Doug Burgum for Interior secretary, Chris Wright for Energy secretary and Scott Turner for HUD secretary. Other nomination news: Republicans appear set to confirm Russell Vought to lead OMB, despite some misgivings about how he consistently defies Congress, Jennifer Scholtes writes. … Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will go before the Senate Finance Committee on Jan. 29, per Punchbowl’s Max Cohen … and that’s the same day we’re getting FBI pick Kash Patel. … And ex-fast food CEO Andrew Puzder has been tapped to serve as ambassador to the EU, Nick Niedzwiadek reports. Puzder, of course, was picked by Trump to lead the Labor Department in 2017, before his nomination was derailed by allegations (which he denied) of spousal abuse. ON THE WAY OUT? Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) could be headed for the exits next year. She publicly acknowledged yesterday that she’s considering a 2026 gubernatorial run, Ali Bianco writes. Mace would be the name with the highest profile in the field as of now, making her an odds-on favorite to secure Trump’s endorsement. DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE (THE DAY): Staffers in the White House’s legislative affairs office and others in external-facing roles “have been strongly discouraged from drinking with members of Congress,” Sophia Cai and Daniel Lippman report for West Wing Playbook. The new guidelines were conveyed to staffers individually and verbally. Needless to say, the ale-loving Brit writing this newsletter is deeply unimpressed. BEST OF THE REST ‘IT WAS A CLUSTERF*CK’: The pre-inauguration Candlelight Dinner for Trump at the National Building Museum Sunday night did not go entirely to plan, CBS’ Jennifer Jacobs, Aaron Navarro, Ed O’Keefe report. Lines outside the venue on the bitterly cold night took as long as 90 minutes to move through, and guests such as Bernard Arnault, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Rick Perry and Ron Lauder were all seen “freezing our asses off,” according to one attendee. “It didn't matter who you were,” complained a high-dollar fundraiser for Trump. It gets worse: Inside the venue there was a bun-fight for seats as high-profile guests sought to get close to the incoming president and his inner circle. “A lot of people got screwed up on the name cards. A lot of big people,” another guest said. “I didn’t want to get out of my seat because I didn’t want to lose it.” Some guests got in so late that the bar had actually closed. Sure sounds like fun. SNITCHES REQUIRED: The Trump team has told federal employees they would face “‘adverse consequences’ if they fail to report on colleagues who defy orders to purge diversity, equity and inclusion efforts,” NYT’s Erica Green and Hamed Aleaziz report. The White House also moved to “paralyze a bipartisan and independent watchdog agency that investigates national security activities that can intrude upon individual rights,” per NYT’s Charlie Savage. MARCO A-GOGO: Newly-confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio is headed to Central America next week, and will take in a trip to Panama, Nahal Toosi and Robbie Kramer scooped last night. Let’s see how he goes down with the locals, given all Trump has said about the Panama Canal these past few weeks — and the fact that Senate Republicans seem to be singing from the same hymnal, as WaPo’s Abigail Hauslohner and Karen DeYoung report this morning.
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