| | | |  | | 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 POLITICO’s diplomatic correspondent Felicia Schwartz discuss the extraordinary leak of Steve Witkoff’s conversations with the Kremlin.
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| Good Wednesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, pressing send on this email and then scrambling to the supermarket for last-minute supplies. Send me your Thanksgiving tips! It’s my first time. In today’s Playbook … — Who leaked Witkoff’s phone call? — Feds vs. the “Seditious Six.” — And D.C. gets ready for life after Bowser: We have the next names to know for mayor.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
The White House is backing envoy Steve Witkoff after a jaw-dropping leak of a private phone call to one of Russia’s top aides. | Andres Kudacki/AP Photo | WITI-LEAKS: President Donald Trump announced last night that his top envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week — possibly accompanied by Jared Kushner — to try to finalize an end to the war in Ukraine. The White House is backing Witkoff to the hilt despite yesterday’s jaw-dropping leak of a private phone call to one of Putin’s top aides, in which Witkoff appeared to offer tips to the Kremlin on currying favor with the U.S. president. Neither POLITICO nor other media organizations have been able to verify the transcript, but no one in the White House has publicly suggested it’s not accurate. Enormous questions swirl this morning. Chief among them: Who obtained a recording of this top secret call and leaked the whole thing to the press? (Presumably they’re not a fan of Witkoff’s approach.) Was it a Trump administration rival? The Deep State? And — crucially — could there be more leaked material to come? First things first: If you haven’t read the full transcript, published by Bloomberg yesterday, you really should. Leaks like this are incredibly rare and, as we saw with the Signalgate fiasco, offer an unparalleled view of how government officials operate when they think no one’s listening. But this is not just nose-against-glass voyeurism. This transcript appears to show one of the president’s top negotiators offering help and advice to Moscow on how to handle Trump — and on how to get ahead of a high-stakes meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who’s meant to be a U.S. ally. A helping hand with the boss: “Yuri, here’s what I would do,” the transcript shows Witkoff telling Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s most-senior foreign policy adviser, ahead of a call between the U.S. and Russian presidents last month. Witkoff suggests that on the call, Putin first “congratulate the president on the achievement” of his ceasefire deal in Gaza, and make clear that “you respect that he is a man of peace.” Witkoff adds: “I think from that, it’s going to be a really good call.” It’s sage advice. Every world leader worth their salt knows you need to butter up Trump with flattery at the start of the conversation. But are top White House aides really meant to be offering tips to non-allied (and some would say outright hostile) overseas governments on how to handle the president? And during such a high-stakes negotiation? And there’s more — much more: The transcript also shows Witkoff helped ensure Putin got to Trump ahead of a crucial meeting the president had planned with Zelenskyy, in which the Ukrainian leader hoped to secure long-range missiles for use against Russia. “One more thing — Zelenskyy is coming to the White House on Friday,” Witkoff says, per the transcript. “I know that,” chuckles Ushakov. Witkoff tells him: “I think if possible we have the call with your boss before that Friday meeting.” There’s a belief in diplomatic circles that Trump’s ever-changing stance on Ukraine is usually shaped by the last person he spoke to. So it proved on this occasion. Just as Witkoff suggested, Trump’s call with Putin took place two days before he met Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Oct. 19 — and immediately, the mood music changed. Missiles to Ukraine were out; another summit with Putin was on (though of course never actually happened). And the FT reported the subsequent meeting with Zelenskyy went badly, with Trump “cursing” and raising his voice and “adopting many of Putin’s talking points.” Timing is everything, as Putin knows.
| | | | A message from McDonald's: Extra Value Meals are back at McDonald's, which means Americans can save when you make it a meal. McDonald's is committed to providing quality food at a good value, so this month, fans can get even deeper discounts on two of the most popular Extra Value Meals, the $5 Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles® Meal and $8 10 pc. Chicken McNuggets® Meal, for a limited time*. | | | | Finally, the leaked transcript from Oct. 14 shows Witkoff gaming out what appears to be the genesis of his peace plan for Ukraine — and telling Ushakov what he privately believes the final price will be. “Me to you, I know what it’s going to take to get a peace deal done,” the transcript shows Witkoff saying. “Donetsk, and maybe a land swap somewhere.” It’s all pretty revealing, given persistent criticism that the man Trump has picked for the task of liaising with the Kremlin is not just inexperienced — Witkoff being a real estate mogul, not a diplomat — but simply far too accepting of the Russian point of view. “I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy,” you may recall Witkoff telling Tucker Carlson back in March, shortly after a trip to Moscow. “I liked him. I thought he was straight up with me.” Unsurprisingly, the more Trump-critical GOP Russia hawks in Congress are deeply unhappy. “It is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians,” wrote Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) on X. “He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired.” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) called the leak “a major problem” and “one of the many reasons why these ridiculous side shows and secret meetings need to stop.” He called for Secretary of State Marco Rubio to be handed full control of the talks. But Witkoff is going nowhere. “Steve played a pivotal role in helping secure President Trump's historic Middle East peace agreements,” replied Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz. “I have far greater confidence in his skills to help resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict than RINOs like Brian Fitzpatrick.” White House comms director Steven Cheung added: “This story proves one thing: Special Envoy Witkoff talks to officials in both Russia and Ukraine nearly every day to achieve peace, which is exactly what President Trump appointed him to do.” On his flight last night, Trump said he hadn’t heard the leaked call directly but that he’d “heard it was standard negotiation.” He added: “I would imagine he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine.” Worth noting: Bloomberg also published a second call transcript yesterday, of what it said was a subsequent strategy call between Ushakov and another Russian envoy, Kirill Dmitriev — the man with whom Witkoff later drew up the 28-point plan. It appears to show the Russians expressing some confidence their “maximum” demands would be included in the final U.S. proposal. Again, the transcript has not been independently verified — but it too looks designed to undermine Witkoff and his plan. Wherever all this extraordinary intel came from, it doesn’t bode well for Ukraine, given it’s Witkoff who’s headed to Moscow to discuss final terms with Putin. In the meantime, Kyiv has VP JD Vance’s close pal Dan Driscoll, the Army secretary, returning for more talks later this week. To make matters worse for Kyiv, Trump is refusing to meet with Zelenskyy until a final deal is agreed — another ominous sign for Ukraine given the peace deal sketched out in Geneva on Sunday apparently rested on the two presidents negotiating the most-contentious points directly. But it sounds like Trump will wait to get feedback from Putin and Witkoff before he invites Zelenskyy to the White House. “He would like to come,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, “but I think we should get a deal done first.” Clearly, the headlong rush for a quick resolution is dissipating. Trump confirmed last night he has dropped his Thursday deadline for Ukraine to agree a deal — and with Witkoff not headed to Moscow until next week, we may actually be able to eat Thanksgiving turkey in relative peace and quiet. Famous last words, I know.
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Start your morning with a $5 Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles® meal – which comes with Hash Browns and a small coffee – for a limited time*. | | | | WEAPONIZATION WATCH THE RETRIBUTION TOUR CONTINUES: The Democratic lawmakers who filmed that video urging military troops not to follow illegal orders said yesterday they’re being investigated by the Justice Department. The FBI is requesting interviews with the six lawmakers — an unusual measure as investigations into members are usually handled between the Office of General Counsel and the main Justice Department, POLITICO’s Nick Wu and Kyle Cheney report. “The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place. He believes in weaponizing the federal government against his perceived enemies,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) said on social media. “No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs,” Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) said in a joint statement. But the push to punish the Democrats has so far served to elevate Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), an outside bet for a 2028 run who now finds himself being probed by the Pentagon for “serious allegations of misconduct”. The administration is doubling down, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last night calling out what he said was Kelly’s improper uniform and Stephen Miller claiming the case against Kelly is “completely open and shut.” But Kelly is getting support across the aisle from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who wrote on X that officials “surely have more important priorities than this frivolous investigation.” In the meantime, Kelly continues his primetime tour of liberal TV land, appearing on Rachel Maddow’s show Monday and then Jimmy Kimmel’s show last night. He told Kimmel he wouldn’t back down and that Trump was trying to infringe on the lawmakers’ rights to free speech. The audience backed Kelly with plenty of applause, but no line received more than this one: “He’s trying to get some fear out there, and fear can be contagious,” Kelly said. “But what also can be contagious is courage, and patriotism.” The bigger picture: The administration’s actions against Trump’s perceived enemies is revealing two truths about Trump 2.0, NYT’s Michael Schmidt writes: “The first is that Mr. Trump is facing obstacles as he tries to use the Justice Department to investigate, prosecute and jail those he targets. The second is that he has other options for pursuing and penalizing those he perceives to have crossed or undermined him.” Exhibit A: Bill Pulte has used his position atop the Federal Housing Finance Agency to crack down on mortgage fraud. His latest target of investigation — Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) — announced yesterday he’s suing Pulte for violating the Privacy Act and the First Amendment, POLITICO’s Cheyanne Daniels reports. He alleges Pulte was “scouring databases at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” to access Swalwell’s mortgage records. A representative for Pulte did not immediately respond to a request for comment from POLITICO. Exhibit B: Federal prosecutors tossed out the cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York AG Letitia James, ruling interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan’s appointment was unlawful. Now, the U.S. attorney’s office is in the dark on how to move the cases forward, CNN’s Casey Gannon and colleagues write. They’re considering their options, and potentially looking at new indictments, per WaPo’s Jeremy Roebuck and colleagues. Exhibit C: Kash Patel — the FBI director who has been tasked with overseeing part of Trump’s retribution tour — has drawn some ire over his use of bureau resources, with MS NOW’s Carol Leonnig and colleagues reporting yesterday that Trump and top aides have grown “increasingly frustrated by the unflattering headlines Patel has recently generated” and the FBI chief is “on thin ice and his ouster appears closer than ever.” The White House aggressively pushed back on the report, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying it was “completely made up.” Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he thought Patel was “doing a great job.” ON TRUMP’S AGENDA A BREAK FROM 1600 PENN: Trump is at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, for the rest of this week — but brings some of D.C.’s biggest headaches with him for the Thanksgiving holiday. VP JD Vance is heading to Kentucky today, where he’ll serve meals to soldiers at Fort Campbell and deliver remarks to the troops. HEALTH OF A NATION: Top of mind is Trump’s plan to address the rapidly expiring Obamacare subsidies, which was yanked after receiving backlash from the Hill. How any plan will deal with abortion — as an expansion of abortion restrictions through the Hyde amendment — has emerged as a key demand for GOP lawmakers, POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein and colleagues report. “[The] White House’s decision to leave the issue out of its tentative framework caught Republicans off guard.” More from POLITICO’s Inside Congress Also caught off guard: Members of the Main Street Caucus said they were neither consulted nor alerted before Chair Mike Flood (R-Neb.) issued a statement of support backing Trump’s proposal, per the Washington Examiner’s Rachel Schilke. Oops. But another small group of Republicans who’d lambasted the ACA in the past are now open to supporting an extension of subsidies, per NYT. Others, meanwhile, are toying with Trump’s idea of diverting money into individual plans, which may come with big financial risks, per WaPo. The world according to Trump: “I like my plan the best. Don’t give any money to the insurance companies, give it to the people directly. … We’re looking at that. That’s sort of taking off,” he told reporters aboard AF1 yesterday. And on the expiring ACA subsidies, Trump added he’d “rather not” extend them at all — but caveated that he’s talking with Democrats about it and that “some kind of extension may be necessary to get something else done.” TRUMP ON TOUR: When Trump travels away from the White House, the president’s team has worked to project a round-the-clock stamina, a nonstop energy with back-to-back international travel “as if he is the Energizer Bunny of presidential politics.” But NYT’s Katie Rogers and Dylan Freedman write that the 79-year-old Trump is showing some signs of fatigue from older age. The details: “Trump has fewer public events on his schedule and is traveling domestically much less than he did by this point during his first year in office, in 2017, although he is taking more foreign trips. He also keeps a shorter public schedule than he used to. Most of his public appearances fall between noon and 5 p.m., on average.” The White House, of course, pushed back on any characterization that Trump’s age is showing. “Unlike the Biden White House, who covered up Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and hid him from the press, President Trump and his entire team have been open and transparent about the president’s health, which remains exceptional,” Leavitt said in a statement to NYT.
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The return of Extra Value Meals ensures Americans can find everyday affordable pricing at McDonald's. | | | | BEST OF THE REST FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Thanksgiving food fight: Most Americans try to avoid talking politics around the Thanksgiving dinner table — but not in Colorado’s hotly contested 8th Congressional District. State Rep. Manny Rutinel’s long history of animal advocacy is now drawing seasonal fire from his opponents, Playbook’s Adam Wren reports. In November of 2023, Rutinel liked an Instagram post featuring a woman kissing a turkey, and wrote that eating a bird for Thanksgiving is an “antiquated, barbaric, violent, unnecessary, grotesque, brutal ‘tradition’, with absolutely no deeper reflection on how their fleeting moment of sensory satisfaction contributed to such immense suffering and destruction.” In 2022, he liked a post comparing eating turkeys to eating dogs. Asked about the posts, a spokesperson for Rutinel told POLITICO: “Desperate Republicans will do anything to distract from their horrendous policies that are raising prices, sinking our economy, and threatening Social Security and Medicare. Manny is focused on helping people in Colorado.” Rutinel is one of several Democratic candidates running against Republican incumbent Rep. Gabe Evans — but his stance could be an obstacle in what is a very agrarian district. A campaign manager for one of his opponents, Shannon Bird — yes, Bird — is already clobbering him on the issue. “Shannon Bird is for having turkeys everywhere, other than in Congress,” she told POLITICO. Don’t you just love local politics? MUST READ: House Oversight Chair James Comer spoke with POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs for an exclusive interview, in which he warned his committee’s investigation into the files regarding the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein may be buried under the weight of conspiracy theories. “I fear the report will be like the Warren Report,” Comer told Hailey, “Nobody will ever believe it.” Hailey writes that “as he eyes a 2027 run for Kentucky governor, with his relationship with Trump likely to be central to his prospects, it’s the Epstein investigation that could determine Comer’s future in politics.” REDISTRICTING RODEO: Indiana Republicans announced yesterday that the state legislature will convene to consider drawing a new map favorable to Republicans under pressure from Trump, WaPo’s Dylan Wells and Hannah Knowles write. The Indiana state Senate, whose leader had previously signaled the votes weren’t there to support the effort, will make its decision on Dec. 8. “I am glad to hear the Indiana House is stepping up to do the right thing, and I hope the Senate finds the Votes,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Going to California: Arguments over the legality of Prop 50, which established a more Dem-friendly map in the Golden State, will begin on Dec. 15, per KCRA’s Ashley Zavala. Watch this space: “Wisconsin Supreme Court names judges to hear lawsuits on congressional maps,” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jessie Opoien: “The state Supreme Court on Nov. 25 appointed two three-judge panels to hear lawsuits from liberal groups challenging Wisconsin's congressional lines before the 2026 elections, sparking outrage from conservative justices who noted the court has rejected earlier cases.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Murphy’s money move: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is donating $10,000 to College Democrats of America through his American Mobilization Project PAC, as Democrats work to engage younger voters who shifted right last year, POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky writes in. “Young people are increasingly feeling like our economy and our democracy are rigged against them, and College Democrats have been a leader in tapping into those concerns and getting those people engaged in our fight,” Murphy said in a statement.
| | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | BOWSER BOWS OUT — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced yesterday that she will not be seeking a fourth term, setting an end to her decade in charge and clearing the way for a highly competitive race to lead the city during one of its most consequential periods. “We’ve accomplished what we set out to accomplish,” Bowser told WaPo’s Meagan Flynn and colleagues. She said she made the decision after securing the deal to build a new NFL stadium. Trump says: “I got along with her very well. I liked her. We worked together. D.C. is now a safe community,” he told reporters aboard AF1 yesterday. What comes next: There’s two potential high-profile candidates, though the race remains wide open. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George — a self-proclaimed democratic socialist — has openly mused about running for mayor. And so has council colleague Kenyan McDuffie, who could go the same centrist route as Bowser. “Bowser declined to say whether she will endorse a candidate to succeed her or what she plans to do when she leaves office in January 2027.” THERAPY SESSION — Speaking on Katie Miller’s podcast, Speaker Mike Johnson described his leadership role in blunt terms: “We have this joke that I'm not really a speaker of the House. I’m really like a mental health counselor. … And sometimes those are long counseling sessions, but we get that done.” He also revealed that his three dream dinner guests are: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Jesus. ADMIN MOVES — Ralph Abraham, Louisiana’s surgeon general who ordered the state to stop promoting mass vaccinations against the flu, has been tapped to be principal deputy director at the CDC, the center’s No. 2 leader. TRANSITION — Lee Holmes has joined Maynard Nexsen as managing shareholder in its DC office. He is a Senate Judiciary Committee and Trump White House alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) … Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) … Lisa Vedernikova Khanna … Chris Hughes of the Economic Security Project … Marcia Coyle … former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell … Dennis Ross … Webber Steinhoff of Prospect Strategic Communications … CBS’ Jenna Gibson Riggins … Sasha Borowsky of the Aspen Institute … Tyler Threadgill … Katie Gommel of RebuttalPR … Vicente Garcia … CNN’s Alicia Jennings … Valerie Holford … Dannia Hakki of MoKi Media … Ray Glendening of Firehouse Strategies … Gabe Brotman … former CIA Director Porter Goss … Stuart Jolly … former Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) … HB Strategies’ Cooper Ehrendreich … Brittany Heyer … Mick Mulroy 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. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misspelled Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) name.
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