| | | |  | | By Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine, Ali Bianco and Rachel Umansky-Castro On today’s Playbook Podcast: Jack and Dasha discuss why neither party can seem to get along with its base right now — plus the end of the government shutdown, after 43 mind-melting days.
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| Good Wednesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, still peering out of the study window at 6 a.m. in the hope of seeing the northern lights here in D.C. If you missed it too, console yourself with some beautiful pictures from around the DMV region. Pretty much the whole northern hemisphere got a spectacular light show last night. KENNEDY, CENTERED: You read it in POLITICO first (thanks to our NYC scoopmeister Jason Beeferman), but Kennedy heir-turned-TikTok star Jack Schlossberg is formally launching his run for Congress today. And the 32-year-old grandson of JFK and Jackie O is getting quite the rollout, with a buzzy 5,000-word profile from one of NYT’s star columnists last night and a Day One MSNBC interview, including clips releasing this hour on “Morning Joe.” Welcome to 2025: If you’re not one of Schlossberg’s 836,000 TikTok followers, now’s the time to get acquainted with his unique blend of high-energy, offbeat humor and rant-to-camera liberal politics. “I’m not for everyone,” he tells the NYT’s Maureen Dowd. (It’s true. Just ask his cousin, RFK Jr.) He adds: “Since I started making videos, people have been calling me crazy. But there’s been a strategy and method to what I’ve been doing.” The strategy has been to get people’s attention — and today, at least all of D.C. is watching. But for how long? Schlossberg is running in New York’s glammed-up 12th Congressional District — the one with the Empire State Building in it — being vacated by Jerry Nadler, and the primary will be a crowded field. Among those definitely running are some big names in New York politics, including state Reps. Micah Lasher (the early frontrunner) and Alex Bores, plus NYC Councilmember Erik Bottcher, activist Cameron Kasky and legal analyst Jami Floyd. And then there’s the rumors. As POLITICO’s Jeff Coltin wrote back in September, “other potential candidates mentioned by insiders include actor and activist Cynthia Nixon, attorney Tali Farhadian, author and commentator Molly Jong-Fast, former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton, Kennedy scion social media star Jack Schlossberg — who declined to comment when asked about his interest in the seat — and Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer.” Clinton has since ruled herself out; Schlossberg has now ruled himself in. So who’s next? 2026 is going to be a whole lot of fun. In today’s Playbook … — Why both parties are melting down over themselves. — The House is back! And at last, the shutdown is coming to an end. — President Donald Trump goes for dinner with the finance bros.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is under pressure over his leadership among Democrats. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | TALK AMONGST YOURSELVES: With the off-year elections out of the way and a seismic government shutdown due to end tonight, we’re about to enter a new phase of the political cycle. And this one is being characterized by a rare phenomenon — the sight of both parties in states of division. This is highly unusual. Typically, if one side is out on the fringes and beset by political infighting, the other looks strong and united — at least at surface level. But not today. Both parties are experiencing major ructions across their activist bases that have serious implications for their future directions, and ultimately for the direction of America. Let’s take a peak under the hood. Same old story? Tales of Democratic disarray are hardly new, of course, but have amped up dramatically since Sunday night’s Senate cave-in. And it’s rough out there. We’re seeing new levels of vitriol from the party’s already-fractious progressive base toward its moderately minded establishment. (Not insignificant: The average age of the eight rebel senators who backed the GOP spending bill was almost 70 years old.) Importantly, that same anger is being voiced by ambitious centrist Democrats, eager to jump aboard the populist train. And these have included the most strident voices seeking the 2028 limelight. California Gov. Gavin Newsom was first out of the traps, dubbing the deal “pathetic” at 6:30 p.m. Sunday night. Less than an hour later we heard from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, slamming the agreement as an “empty promise.” Pete Buttigieg waited until Monday lunchtime to brand it a “bad deal.” Presumably Maryland Gov. Wes Moore weighed in yesterday. The trend line is easy to see. The main lightning rod for Democratic anger has been 74-year-old Chuck Schumer, the party’s most senior figure in office, who’s seen the number of Democratic Congress members demanding his resignation hit double figures (h/t Prem Thakker of Zeteo.) Schumer will be fine, for now at least, POLITICO’s Jordain Carney and Mia McCarthy report, with little appetite among Democratic senators for a leadership struggle. But significantly, as POLITICO’s Bill Mahoney reports from Albany this morning, Schumer’s legendary omnipresence in New York is starting to fade. Whispers of a primary from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are relentless. State-level opponents predict he simply won’t run again. Regardless, the increasing attacks on his leadership from within his party speak volumes, and ain’t going away. Change is coming. The irony is that this all comes just as Dems were finding a shared sense of purpose, and a unity of voice. Last week’s biggest election successes were delivered by Democrats from either end of the party’s political spectrum, but using strikingly similar means. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Exhibit A: A new memo published this morning (read it here) by New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s campaign reveals how her landslide victory came via a relentless focus on affordability, the mobilizing of once-disenchanted Black and Latino voters, savvy use of social media and a powerful get-out-the-vote campaign. More from POLITICO’s Alec Hernandez and Adam Wren And here’s the thing: They’re far from political allies, but you could say much the same about Zohran Mamdani in New York City. For Democrats of any political hue seeking a way forward from the infighting, the template is already there.
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Republicans are reckoning with the future direction of the party once President Donald Trump leaves office. | Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images | FOR REPUBLICANS, the battle that’s underway for the soul of the party is a little more hidden from view. President Donald Trump’s astonishing grip upon Congress means that — Marjorie Taylor Greene aside — elected Republicans are still uniformly toeing the line. But the struggle beneath the surface runs just as deep — and at present, no path of unity is clear. The decision of Tucker Carlson, once MAGA’s most unifying TV voice, to platform the far-right white nationalist Nick Fuentes has triggered major fissures among conservative activists, think tanks and influencers about just how big a tent MAGA can be. Conservatives are being asked to align themselves on one or the other side of a fiercely fought dividing line, and the battle is being played out hour-by-hour. In truth, the MAGA base had already started to fracture in the summer over the Jeffrey Epstein files. And once-unshakable Trump supporters are finding fresh causes for complaint as we head toward the end of the year. Dasha reported this week how Trump’s plan for 50-year mortgages ignited a firestorm in MAGA world. His obsession with foreign affairs and overseas wars has proved controversial, to say the least. Must-see TV: Trump’s interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham this week proved instructive. As Playbook noted on Monday, Ingraham showed with Mike Waltz during Signalgate that she can be an archly skeptical interviewer of MAGA politicians. And so it proved again. Under her sharp interrogation, dividing lines between the president and parts of his base just kept on opening up. The receipts: Witness her skepticism at Trump’s insistence that ordinary people aren’t struggling with high prices. Witness Trump’s swift downplaying of the 50-year mortgage proposal. Witness their row over Chinese students in America. And most damaging of all, witness their exchange — aired for the first time last night — over the thorny issue of H-1B visas. Trump repeatedly defends the need to bring in skilled workers from abroad; Ingraham is visibly unimpressed. Tellingly, Trump at one point feels obliged to reassert his ownership over the MAGA base. “Don't forget, MAGA was my idea,” he tells her. “MAGA was nobody else's idea. I know what MAGA wants better than anybody else.” But for how long will this be true? The H-1B visa clip was going viral on MAGA social media last night, and not in a good way for Trump. (Just check out the comments under here.) There will be more who follow. A second term, after all, is a ticking clock. Because the reason all of this is happening now is clear. The unmitigated rush of the first nine months of Trump is abating, and politically minded people are looking ahead. And 2028 will be the first election in 12 years with two new candidates on the ballot. Change is coming on both sides of the political aisle. Which takes us back to 2016 — back when an upstart Trump was besieging the GOP establishment, while the Bernie Bros took on the might of the Clinton family. Much has changed since then, but you can see some of the same dynamics starting to take shape — albeit with Trump in a very different role. We have a fascinating few years ahead.
| | | SHUTDOWN WIND-DOWN THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: It is day 43 — and likely the very last day — of the longest government shutdown in history. The House is back today after nearly two months out, and is expected to vote on the Senate-passed funding bill this evening. The legislation then heads to Trump’s desk for a final signature. RACING BACK: House members have been scurrying back to the district after more than 50 days away … and there were some pretty interesting rides: Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) said he was driving the 951 miles from Wisconsin to D.C. on his motorcycle. And Arizona Reps. Greg Stanton, Eli Crane, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar all took the same flight — which had to make a pit stop in Kansas City to remove a disruptor on the plane. How it’s gonna go: A spirited seven-hour House Rules Committee meeting that ended early this morning saw Democrats unsuccessfully try to stuff an extension of the expiring ACA tax credits into the funding patch. After plenty of testy exchanges, the committee advanced the bill, which is now ready for the floor. The House will begin votes as early as 4 p.m., per POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill. More from POLITICO’s Inside Congress Last-minute shocker: House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole said he was “surprised” to see a measure in the shutdown deal that would let GOP senators sue the government for having their phone records collected. “Did I know about this provision in the bill? No. Do I think it needs to be in a funding bill? Not particularly,” the Oklahoma Republican said. Dems were up in arms. What comes next: Once Trump has signed the bill, federal agencies and services will immediately start back up, ABC’s Meredith Deliso and Ivan Pereira write. The government will be funded through Jan. 30, while select agencies like the Department of Agriculture and Veteran Affairs will be funded for the whole fiscal year. The impact: SNAP beneficiaries will immediately get the funding they’ve been missing, with food stamp coverage protected through September 2026 … Furloughed federal employees — around 670,000 of them — will be expected to immediately report back to work, and those who worked during the shutdown will receive back pay … The bill also restores federal employees who were laid off through reductions-in-force, and prevents more RIF’s in the near future. But but but: Air travel isn’t going to get magically better the minute the government opens. The Transportation Department is preparing to ease restrictions on airports that saw flight cuts, but only once safety concerns have abated, POLITICO’s Sam Ogozalek and Chris Marquette report. BEFORE ALL THAT: Speaker Mike Johnson at 4 p.m. will finally swear in Adelita Grijalva more than a month after she won a special election to serve in the seat vacated by her late father Raúl Grijalva. As we know, Grijalva will then provide the 218th signature needed to put Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna’s (D-Calif.) discharge petition compelling the release of the Epstein files up to a vote on the House floor, and senior Republican and Democratic aides “estimate a floor vote will come the first week of December, after the Thanksgiving recess,” POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill, Hailey Fuchs and Nicholas Wu report. Massie and Khanna are teasing another press conference with Epstein’s survivors next week. ALSO COMING NEXT WEEK: The House Administration Committee could hold a hearing next week on banning congressional stock trading, bringing another deeply contentious issue to the fore as the House reopens, POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy and Meredith scoop.
| | | | POLITICO Policy Outlook: Combating Financial Cybercrime: From identity theft to phishing scams, financial cybercrimes have skyrocketed in recent years. But catching perpetrators and preventing future scams remains a challenge. Join Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) and Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) for discussions on the latest strategies for confronting these crimes and empowering consumers. Register to attend or watch online. | | | | | TRAIL MIX STEEPNESS IN SEATTLE: The Seattle mayoral race appears headed toward a conclusion, a week after Election Day, with a progressive Dem challenger on the cusp of winning “a narrow victory that has echoes of the race to lead New York City,” POLITICO’s Natalie Fertig reports. “With a dwindling number of ballots left to count, Katie Wilson led Mayor Bruce Harrell by just over 1,300 votes … Harrell has not conceded but it was unlikely he can make up the difference with the ballots left to count, Democratic strategists said.” THE MAINE PROBLEM: A new Democratic polling memo is flashing dire warning signs for Graham Platner’s Maine Senate campaign, POLITICO’s Jessica Piper scoops. “The survey, conducted on behalf of the Democratic group EMILYs List and obtained by POLITICO, finds that most voters wouldn’t support Platner over Republican Sen. Susan Collins after learning of his past social media posts in which he called himself a communist, denigrated the police and characterized white people in rural Maine as ‘stupid’ and ‘racist.’ When voters are read direct quotes from Platner’s since-deleted Reddit posts, he loses to Collins by double digits.” Read the memo CALL IT A COMEBACK: Former Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria is mounting a comeback bid for her old seat, aiming to reclaim the competitive Virginia Beach-based district she lost in 2022 to Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans, POLITICO’s Nick Wu reports. BIG MONEY: Susan. B Anthony Pro-Life America and its affiliated super PAC is investing $80 million in the 2026 midterms to elect anti-abortion candidates in at least four key battleground states, signaling the movement’s continued influence despite repeated post-Roe ballot box losses, POLITICO’s Megan Messerly scooped. “Republicans simply cannot win without their pro-life base,” the group said. THE START OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP? New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will reach out to Trump for a phone call in the coming weeks, NBC 4 New York’s Melissa Russo and Tara Guaimano report. “‘I will be proactive,’ Mamdani said. ‘I will be reaching out to the White House as we prepare to actually take office because this is a relationship that will be critical to the success of the city.” But Trump aides are already reviewing federal funds for New York that could be suspended or canceled following Mamdani’s victory, Bloomberg’s Skylar Woodhouse reports.
| | | BEST OF THE REST ON TRUMP’S AGENDA: Trump will hold a private dinner at the White House at 7:30 p.m. with top financial executives including Steve Schwarzman, Jamie Dimon, Marc Rowan and Larry Fink, continuing his engagement with industry leaders following a tech CEO dinner in September. MAHA WORLD: VP JD Vance and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will speak at a “Make America Healthy Again” Summit in Washington today, bringing together government leaders, health tech CEOs and movement influencers, POLITICO’s Tim Röhn and Carmen Paun report. “The blockbuster event shows the convening power of Kennedy’s MAHA movement. Its leaders have emphasized MAHA’s role in [Trump’s] victory last year and advised GOP politicians gearing up for next year’s midterm elections that they should embrace MAHA if they want to win.” MR. NEWSOM GOES TO BRAZIL: That sucking sound? It's a massive international vacuum on climate leadership — and California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filling it. Newsom is getting all the validation he could ask for as he mulls a 2028 presidential run, POLITICO’s Camille von Kaenel, on the ground with Newsom, writes from U.N. climate talks underway in Belém. He's taking the opportunity of a Trump-less COP to get in some digs (“Trump is temporary,” he said) and bask in adulation as other Dems shy away from climate amid the political ascendancy of affordability. JAW-DROPPER I: Watchdogs at Fannie Mae “who were removed from their jobs had been probing if Trump appointee Bill Pulte had improperly obtained mortgage records of key Democratic officials, including New York Attorney General Letitia James,” WSJ’s Gina Heeb and colleagues scooped. “Fannie’s ethics and investigations group had received internal complaints alleging senior officials had improperly directed staff to access the mortgage documents of James and others, according to the people. The Fannie investigators were probing to find out who had made the orders, whether Pulte had the authority to seek the documents and whether or not they had followed proper procedure, the people said.” JAW-DROPPER II: “Kash Patel’s ‘Effin Wild’ Ride as FBI Director,” by WSJ’s Sadie Gurman and colleagues: “Patel’s travel has frustrated both Justice Department officials, who complained to the White House about it, and the White House itself, which had told cabinet officials months ago in writing to limit their travel, particularly if it was overseas or unrelated to Trump’s agenda, according to an administration official. Details about Patel’s trips to visit his girlfriend and an August trip to Scotland have been passed around the White House in recent days.” The official response: “Patel has defended his travel, dismissing his critics as ‘clickbait haters.’ A spokesman for the bureau said the director has taken only about a dozen personal trips since assuming the role in February, and had taken steps to cut down on travel costs. In a written statement, Patel said the bureau has achieved historic success on violent crime and drug trafficking. ‘Thankfully, Americans can see through WSJ hot garbage — this FBI has never been stronger,’ he said.”
| | | | Global Security is POLITICO’s new weekly briefing on the policies and industrial forces reshaping transatlantic defense. From Washington to Brussels and beyond, we track how decisions ripple across borders — redefining the future of security and industry. Sign up for the free preview edition. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | PALACE INTRIGUE — Gary Walters, the White House’s longest-serving chief usher, has defended the new White House ballroom in an interview with POLITICO’s Irie Sentner. “The original name of the building was the president’s house, and that’s where I start from. It’s the president’s home. He was elected to be there. And through the years, there have been a lot of changes that have occurred … Representatives of the various administrations in recent history have spoken about the fact that the White House was relatively limited in the number of people that it could have in it.” PLAYBOOK FOOD SECTION — “Is This the Haphazard End of Streateries in DC?” by Washingtonian’s Ike Allen: “This fall, just three of the 33 participating restaurants expressed interest in keeping their streateries when the District Department of Transportation conducted a survey. In December, the city will remove all of the dining platforms at a cost of $100,000 and plans to use them to extend sidewalks in the Gallery Place area instead.” MUST READ — At a party for Sergio Gor on Monday night to celebrate his new post as ambassador to India, top officials traded stories about his past. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recalled how he, Gor and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spotted Mick Jagger out at a restaurant in London, CBS’ Jennifer Jacobs scoops. Gor was intent on saying hello, despite Rubio’s warnings of political hostility. “‘OK, whatever you do, don’t mention me — he doesn't even know who I am. And if he knows who I am, it isn’t because he likes me,’” Rubio said he told Gor. Then — “All of sudden I hear: ‘Marco Rubio would love to meet you. He’s sitting right over there.’” It seems Jagger was as nice as pie. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Kamau Marshall is launching Think Toplines, a strategic communications firm focused on political strategy, media and executive comms. He most recently worked for Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and is a Biden White House, Biden-Harris campaign and DCCC alum. TRANSITIONS — Martha Roberts is now director of the new D.C. office of the Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU Law. She is a White House OMB, Senate and EPA alum. … Sasha Galbreath is now senior adviser for external affairs at Third Way. She is an April McClain Delaney and David Trone alum. … Heather Painter is now deputy policy director with the House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar’s office. She previously worked for Rep. Maggie Goodlander. … Teyana Chaney is joining Community Catalyst as director of advancement and strategic partnerships. She previously worked for the CDC Foundation. … Angela Botticella is now managing director of the Governors Public Health Alliance. She previously worked in the Office of the Deputy Secretary at HHS. … Nathaniel Rakich is now managing editor of Votebeat. He previously worked at FiveThirtyEight. ENGAGED — John Hudson, national security reporter at WaPo, and Jasmine Yunus, counsel at the Government Accountability Project, got engaged on Nov. 4, her birthday, in Brazil. They met on Hinge and had their first date at St. Vincent in 2021. Pic … Another pic — Jayne Zirkle, political media strategist and Bannon Alum, got engaged to Mor Shindler, Fintech business development executive, at the River Cafe in NYC on Nov. 9. Insta pics WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Jessica Brouckaert Bartlett, of counsel in Dickinson Wright’s political law practice, and Brian Bartlett, partner and head of the D.C. office at Kekst CNC, welcomed Caroline Grace Bartlett last night at 8:04 p.m. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) … Jeff Zients … PBS’ Stephanie Kotuby … Steve Guest … POLITICO’s Debra Kahn and Brianna Ryan … Alex Griswold … National Association of Realtors’ Bennett Richardson … Harlan Hill … Katie Harbath of Anchor Change and Duco … Ian Bremmer of Eurasia Group … Ryan Coyne of Starboard … Lauren Peikoff of MSNBC … Crozer Connor … Maria Cardona of the Dewey Square Group … Roger Ream of The Fund for American Studies … Meta’s Erica Sackin … former Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) … Josh Britton of the American Bankers Association … Jessica Kahanek … Marguerite Sullivan of Latham & Watkins … Elena Allbritton … Katelyn Beaudet of Rokk Solutions … Robert Stryk 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. Corrections: Yesterday’s Playbook misstated Dianna Gibson’s title. She is a district judge in Utah. It also misstated the number of Utah Democrats who have served in Congress. And it misstated former Rep. Joe Walsh’s (R-Ill.) affiliation.
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