| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine, Ali Bianco and Rachel Umansky-Castro On today’s Playbook Podcast: Adam and POLITICO Albany bureau chief and New York Playbook co-author Nick Reisman discuss Zohran Mamdani’s White House mission, why Indiana’s Senate GOP leader is resisting Trump and more. Happy Friday. This is Adam Wren. Get in touch. MUST LISTEN: On “The Conversation,” Dasha Burns sat down with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll — just days before his unannounced trip to Kyiv to talk about a proposed plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine — to talk about the Pentagon’s scramble to keep pace with rapid-fire innovation on the battlefield. Driscoll sketched out a not-so-distant future in which “every infantryman in the United States Army will carry a drone with them into battle,” and warned that when a swarm of 1,000 drones is incoming, “a mere human brain can no longer keep up.” He defended Trump’s National Guard deployments as crime reduction rather than politicization. And he unveiled the Army’s new holiday push to address the suicide crisis facing soldiers: “Every single soldier will have an NCO or an officer reach out to them every single day and ask, ‘How can I help? Do you need any help?’” Watch the full interview … Listen and subscribe First in Playbook: Driscoll is capping a week that saw him step “into the role of major international negotiator — a sharp contrast from his boss, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who spent the time in Washington sitting through White House meetings and firing angry missives at Democrats on social media,” POLITICO’s Jack Detsch, Sophia Cai and Paul McLeary report. The Army leader’s Ukraine trip “was a profound split screen between a rising star and a novice Pentagon chief who has faced numerous scandals and lost support from some in the administration.” Plus: Dasha also spoke with Abby Phillip, the star CNN anchor and POLITICO alum whose new book, “A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power,” ($30.99) argues that Jackson’s ’80s campaigns are essential to understanding today’s political currents. “You can't understand Bernie Sanders and what he's doing and what's he's building on without understanding Jesse Jackson,” Phillip said. In today’s Playbook … — Indiana’s GOP Senate leader explains his redistricting resistance despite Trump’s pressure. — Zohran Mamdani heads to the White House today for a major meeting with Trump. — A freshman lawmaker tells us what Barack Obama said Dems need to focus on to win.
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Rodric Bray, president pro tempore of the Indiana Senate, explained why he is cautioning against President Donald Trump's redistricting push in his state. | Adam Wren/POLITICO | INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s Senate GOP leader Rodric Bray has emerged as a significant roadblock to President Donald Trump’s nationwide redistricting efforts to tip the scales of next year’s midterms in Republicans’ favor. The Indiana state Senate stalemated in a Tuesday vote that was a close proxy for gerrymandering. The result arguably meant that the White House is still seven votes away from the 26 it needs to pursue maximalist redistricting goals in the Indiana chamber. When Playbook caught up with Bray in his statehouse office on Wednesday — in his first interview on the topic since it gained steam some three months ago — he explained why he is throwing up the caution sign. Over his left shoulder hung a print of the Andy Thomas painting titled “Grand Ol’ Gang”: eight former presidents playing poker. The metaphor seemed apt. Trump has been locked in a monthslong poker game against blue-state Democrats with congressional seats as the chips. Whichever party wins the most number of chips wins control of the House of Representatives next November. Bray, the son of a state senator and grandson of a Silver Star-winning war hero and congressman, is an institutionalist who is routinely calling the president’s bluff. There are two intertwined, pressing questions surrounding Bray that everyone from Capitol Hill to the White House is asking right now. 1) Is Trump’s dream of eking out two more House seats from Indiana dead? “It’s not totally up to me,” Bray said. 2) At a time when Congress and so many American institutions are folding under Trump’s pressure campaign, how does a lifelong conservative from a deep-red state in the beating heart of Trump Country hold out? Why is he sticking his neck out? Bray told me that the changes Trump is demanding could long outlast him — and hurt his Indiana. “It’s absolutely imperative that we're able to do hard things here, and in order to do that, to do hard things that maybe not everybody agrees with and maybe even some people get really angry about,” Bray said of the Senate. “They have to have trust in the institution.” The institution has been under intense pressure, though. The White House has leaned on Indiana state lawmakers, urging Republicans in the Hoosier State to bend to their will and take on a politically risky redistricting gambit. Some of the landmines that such an endeavor presents were evident on Wednesday when a panel of federal judges ruled against Texas’ redrawn congressional maps that offered Republicans a chance for a five-seat pickup. Following that ruling, Bray received a call from Speaker Mike Johnson — a remarkable and previously unreported outreach that underscores the extent to which national Republicans are watching what Indiana is doing. “Just talked about the importance of the House majority,” Bray said of his call with Johnson, adding that it was “fantastic” and “productive.” Asked whether Johnson seemed to empathize with his predicament, Bray only said: “I’m not going to get into any of that.” Johnson for months has argued that redistricting is an issue that should be left to individual states and held that he was not directly involved in such matters. He did not respond to a request for comment.
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Explore Phil's story. | | | | And Bray has heard plenty direct from the White House. A week ago today, Bray fielded a second phone call from the president — which came after an in-person visit to the Oval Office and two separate visits to Indiana from VP JD Vance. “All of those were extremely amicable,” Bray said of every call and meeting — except, that is, for the one on Friday. “The last one was more pointed. There was a disappointment in the president that we hadn't been able to move forward with what he wanted us to do,” Bray said. Did the president raise his voice? “I could tell he was not happy,” Bray said in his understated Midwestern way. Bray, instead, tried to lay out the path forward that he envisioned. “I’m sorry, Mr. President,” Bray recalled telling Trump. “We think there is another path forward to get you what you need, and that is by finding a good candidate instead in congressional district No. 1 and getting behind a person there and funding that person and organizing that campaign.” The White House did not respond to a request for comment. There’s no sign that Bray will back down. In fact, interviews with more than a dozen of Bray’s colleagues, enemies and longtime acquaintances suggest he’ll keep taking the heat. “There’s no moving Bray,” a Republican close to the White House said. “He’s going to die on this hill.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The POLITICO Poll: Voters in both parties are ready to go on offense in the redistricting fight, according to the latest POLITICO Poll. “Most voters on the left and right favor using partisan redistricting not just to level the playing field, but as a weapon to help them win,” POLITICO polling ace Erin Doherty writes. “Among voters who say they would vote for Democrats in the midterms, 54 percent say they support drawing maps to gain an advantage over Republicans in the midterms. A similar 52 percent of GOP voters agreed with gerrymandering to help their party, the survey of 2,098 U.S. adults found.”
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| | | | DEM DIGEST TWO NEW YORKERS WALK INTO THE OVAL: NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani heads to the White House today for a meeting with Trump at 3 p.m., a much-anticipated confab between two of the year’s most prominent and polarizing politicians. Mamdani meets Trump amid a clear power imbalance, with Trump threatening to cut federal aid and deploy the National Guard in response to Mamdani’s win, POLITICO’s Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Diana Nerozzi report. Mamdani hopes to focus on affordability and city priorities, even as Trump uses his federal leverage to apply political pressure. They’re also expected to discuss public safety and economic security policies. Though Trump and Mamdani may seek some areas of cooperation, they’ve spent months attacking each other. And Trump has plenty of tools at his disposal to act on his antipathy. Meanwhile, back in NYC: Mamdani asked the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America not to back Chi Ossé, who is primarying House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, saying it could hurt his plans with mainstream Democrats, NYT’s Benjamin Oreskes reports. Sea change: Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, announced she will retire next year after 16 terms, citing the need for a new generation of Democratic leaders, NYT’s Maya King scooped. Her departure opens up what could be yet another very crowded primary in one of the most left-wing districts in the country across parts of Brooklyn and Queens. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Obama’s advice: When former President Barack Obama huddled with more than 30 House Democratic freshmen at the Capitol Hill home of Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) at a Wednesday night event hosted by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as your author scooped, he later gravitated toward Delaware Rep. Sarah McBride, according to people in the room. Obama has heaped praise on the likes of McBride and Texas Senate candidate James Talarico’s efforts to communicate more broadly to different audiences — and particularly of her appearance on her interview with Ezra Klein. “It was classic Barack Obama — updated for a 2025, political environment,” McBride told Playbook as she debriefed on why she thought that was — and her takeaways. On flooding the zone: “I think he recognizes that to meet people where they are, to communicate to a large, broad swath of this country — people who agree with us, people who agree with us on some things, but disagree with us on other things, and yes, people who disagree with us on many things — in order to do that, we have to go everywhere. We've got to flood the zone, if you will.” On the path out of the wilderness: “He recognizes that in this moment, it’s not going to be any single voice that saves us. It’s not going to be a former political leader or any single current political leader. It’s going to be all of us, including a broad bench of younger Democratic elected officials who can take the baton and carry it forward.” ANOTHER ELECTION AUTOPSY: Democrats scored big in school board races across Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio, flipping dozens of seats as voters signaled they were tired of culture-war battles dominating local classrooms, POLITICO’s Liz Crampton and Madison Fernandez report. The party’s candidates pushed issues regarding “test scores and bus safety over debates about which bathrooms transgender students use and banning books from school libraries.” 2026 WATCH: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) announced he will run for California governor as he went on stage for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” per POLITICO’s Melanie Mason and Blake Jones. “His decision to enter the race late in the year — when other candidates have had as much as a year’s head start — is the latest sign of an unsettled Democratic field in the race to succeed Gavin Newsom, with no decisive frontrunner.”
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| | | | LAW AND ORDER GOING HARD IN THE BIG EASY: Trump’s immigration crackdown is moving to New Orleans, where the Border Patrol-led “Swamp Sweep” is expected to see some 250 federal officers arrive as soon as today, ahead of a planned Dec. 1 start, per AP. It follows the past week’s federal operations in Charlotte, North Carolina, where local officials said yesterday that the Border Patrol is leaving (though ICE will continue), per the Charlotte Observer. DHS’ Tricia McLaughlin disputed that: “The operation is not over and it is not ending anytime soon.” IN THE COURTS: After months of troops patrolling D.C. streets, a federal judge ruled yesterday that Trump’s deployment is illegal, per POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney. But the National Guard isn’t leaving just yet, as Judge Jia Cobb stayed her order to allow for an appeal. Meanwhile in Chicago, the pending release of hundreds of immigrants detained in the federal crackdown was temporarily blocked by an appeals court, POLITICO’s Shia Kapos reports. But feds dropped charges in one of the highest-profile cases there, against a protester who’d allegedly crashed into a Border Patrol agent’s car and been shot by him, per the Chicago Tribune. WEAPONIZATION WATCH: Federal investigators seem to be probing Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte and DOJ’s Ed Martin to determine whether they committed misconduct that could undermine the criminal cases against Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and maybe New York AG Letitia James, MS NOW’s Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian report. Activist Christine Bish was subpoenaed to answer questions about her communications with the officials, an apparent effort to look at potential inappropriate information sharing. DOJ and the FHFA didn’t comment or respond. Cleanup on aisle Halligan: A day after DOJ said in court that a full federal grand jury hadn’t reviewed the final criminal indictment against James Comey brought by interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, prosecutors filed new papers saying it had, per ABC.
| | | | With the shutdown behind them, the White House and federal agencies are pivoting to the next challenges. West Wing Playbook reveals how the administration is managing the fallout — and the people behind every move.
➡️ Subscribe to West Wing Playbook | | | | | BEST OF THE REST MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE: U.S. sanctions on Russian oil take effect today, a pressure tactic against Moscow right as the U.S. ramps up its diplomatic effort to end the war on terms that are pretty favorable to Russia, per Bloomberg. But all eyes are really on the Steve Witkoff proposed peace plan, which includes lots of painful concessions for Ukraine in order for Russia ending its assault and invasion, per POLITICO’s Diana Nerozzi. There’s also a big carrot for Kyiv in a corresponding agreement Driscoll presented to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: a strong, NATO-esque security guarantee from the U.S. and Europe that an attack on Ukraine will be considered an attack on the “transatlantic community,” per Axios. Zelenskyy said after meeting with Driscoll that he expected to discuss the plan with Trump soon, per Reuters. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Paul Ingrassia, the controversial Trump appointee whose nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel collapsed last month, was back in the news this week. ProPublica reported that he intervened on behalf of the White House to help accused sex traffickers Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan try to get their electronic devices back after they were seized in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in February. Now, the two top Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security Committee are demanding answers, POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman reports. “Mr. Ingrassia’s alleged actions in this case constitute a brazen interference with a federal investigation in an apparent attempt to provide favorable treatment to individuals with whom he has a preexisting relationship,” Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) wrote in letters to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and White House counsel David Warrington, as well as DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and DHS inspector general Joseph Cuffari. Ingrassia formerly worked for the law firm that represents the Tate brothers. The senators asked for records related to Ingrassia’s reported request by Dec. 4 and for the IG to open an investigation into the issue. The Tate brothers have faced charges of sex trafficking and rape in Romania and Britain. They have denied wrongdoing. Ingrassia’s attorney told ProPublica that he did not “order” that the Tate brothers’ phones be returned. They were not ultimately returned. Ingrassia sued POLITICO for defamation after a report he had been investigated for allegedly harassing a lower-ranking female colleague. His attorney said he never harassed anyone. Spokespeople for the White House, Noem and Cuffari, as well as an attorney representing Ingrassia and Ingrassia himself, did not respond to requests for comment. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Epstein files: House Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) is sending a letter to AG Pam Bondi reminding her that the committee has required, under subpoena, that DOJ turn over to the committee all its Jeffrey Epstein files — notably including those tied to ongoing investigations. Read it here SNIPING ON THE HILL: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) blocked unanimous consent for a House-passed bill to reverse senators’ new ability to sue for half-a-million-dollar payouts if feds secretly obtain their phone records, per CBS. “What did I do wrong?” Graham fumed. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune offered a compromise to change the language so that the money would go to the Treasury, not senators’ pockets, per POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs. CASH DASH: In October, facing unusually tight finances for a non-election year, the DNC took out a $15 million loan, POLITICO’s Jessica Piper reports. On the flip side, the RNC hauled in $14.7 million in October, giving it a commanding financial edge, Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser scooped. The DCCC raked in $7.6 million last month, besting the NRCC’s $5.7 million haul.
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Explore Phil's story. | | | | THE WEEKEND AHEAD FRIDAY PROGRAMS … POLITICO “The Conversation”: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll … Abby Phillip. C-SPAN “Ceasefire”: Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) … Marc Lotter and Mo Elleithee. PBS “Washington Week”: Leigh Ann Caldwell, Peter Baker, Jonathan Karl and Toluse Olorunnipa. SUNDAY SO FAR … NBC “Meet the Press”: NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani … Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent … Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Panel: Sara Fagen, Hallie Jackson, Jeh Johnson and Jonathan Martin. CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) … Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). Panel: Brad Todd, Shermichael Singleton, Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) and Kate Bedingfield. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) … Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.). Panel: Susan Page, Tiffany Smiley, Marc Thiessen and Juan Williams. CBS “Face the Nation”: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) … Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) … new national polling with Anthony Salvanto. ABC “This Week”: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). MS NOW “The Weekend”: Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) … Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.). NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) … Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas) … Jeffrey Rosen. Panel: Carl Hulse, Megan McArdle and Emily Brooks.
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➡️ Explore POLITICO Pro Briefings | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Joe Biden celebrated his 83rd birthday last night with a cake at Cafe Milano, per Breaker. He caught an early morning Amtrak into D.C. alongside Brooke Singman. SPORTS BLINK — LA28, the 2028 Olympics’ organizing committee, is getting Trumpier with Reince Priebus, Kevin McCarthy, Diane Hendricks, Patrick Dumont and Ken Moelis getting added to its board of directors, POLITICO’s Melanie Mason and Sophia Cai scooped from LA. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a party for Scott Jennings’ new book, “A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization” ($25.60), hosted at the NRSC last night: Brennen Britton, Terry Carmack, Gabe Kaminsky, Fin Gómez, Thomas Phippen, Collin Anderson, Janiyah Thomas, Alex Conant, Caitlin Conant, Curtis Houck, Mark Bednar, CJ Pearson, Nathan Brand, Kaeley Gemmill, Jennifer DeCasper, Steve DeMaura, Hans Nichols, Elizabeth Troutman, Joanna Rodriguez, Nick Puglia, Jeff Naft, Jeremy Adler, Will O’Grady, Caroline James, Nicole Morales, Edgar Barrios, Blake Kernen, Sarah Selip and Sam Markstein. — The National American History and Founders Month Organization hosted a reception in the Rayburn Gold Room on Wednesday night. SPOTTED: Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and Mike Haridopolos (R-Fla.), Jim Gilmore, Akram Elias, Jennifer London, Jim Roberts, Kevin Wensing, David Trebing, Dan Hillenbrand, Chris Dolan, Kenny Cunningham, Dante Swallow, Gary Charles and Everett Alvarez. — The Deadline Club of New York inducted six new members — Tina Brown, Chuck Scarborough, Martha Teichner, Bill Whitaker, Rich Lamb and Keith Kelly — into its Hall of Fame at a luncheon yesterday at the Harvard Club of New York, presided over by David Andelman. Also SPOTTED: Tom Llamas, Mo Rocca, Melissa Russo, Jesse Angelo, Al Roker, Sean Adams, Steve Dunlop, Claire Regan, Peter Szekely, Kristen Saloomey, Sue Simmons, Alexis Gelber, Tony Guida, Rand Morrison, Edith Lederer, Isabel Evans, David Ushery and Jonathan Dienst. — Majority Democrats co-chair Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) hosted a breakfast discussion on Capitol Hill with author Steve Fish to discuss ways Democrats can reclaim patriotism. SPOTTED: Reps. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) and Josh Riley (D-N.Y.), Ami Copeland and Rohan Patel. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Retired Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla will be a Jill and Jay Bernstein distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He previously was commander of U.S. Central Command. — Alex Goldman is now deputy comms director for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s reelect. He is a Biden White House Domestic Policy Council alum. TRANSITIONS — Geoff Smith is now general deputy assistant secretary of congressional and intergovernmental relations at HUD. He previously worked at Stonington Global. … Jayne Zirkle is now director of comms and outreach at the Lawfare Project. She previously worked for Steve Bannon’s “War Room.” ENGAGED — Todd Whiteman, chief of staff for Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), and Amber Niblock, an event planner and fundraiser on Capitol Hill, recently got engaged at Trattoria Villagio in Clifton, Virginia. They met through mutual friends on the Hill. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Shelley Greenspan, a Trump White House alum, and Reuben Smith-Vaughan, head of Americas policy at Ledger, recently welcomed Aviva Ester. She joins big brother Judah. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) … Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) … James Braid … Anti-Defamation League’s Jonathan Greenblatt … Bret Stephens … ABC’s Rick Klein … Mallory Shelbourne … Maryland AG Anthony Brown … Sarah Courtney … Bloomberg Government’s Mica Soellner … Emilia Winter Rowland … TJ Tatum of Cornerstone Government Affairs … Betsy Dudley … Christopher “Gindy” Gindlesperger of the National Confectioners Association … Allison Iannarino … Valerie Berlin of BerlinRosen/Orchestra … David Culver … Elizabeth Farrar of the American Association for Justice … Jon Adams … Catherine Edmonson of Demand Signal … Joanna Liberman Turner … former Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) … Judah Taylor … NASFAA’s Maria Carrasco … Scott Tominovich of Thorn Run Partners … Tina Brown … Maxine Engle of the Justice Department … Colby Moore … POLITICO’s Oscar Santamarina … Karina Lipsman of Victims of Communism Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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