| | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | Presented by United for Cures | With help from Eli Okun and Ali Bianco Good Tuesday morning. I’m Kimberly Leonard, guest-writing Playbook from sunny Miami, where I live and write Florida Playbook. Get in touch.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
A dozen journalists surrounded Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) as she entered the federal courthouse with her husband and lawyers. | Terry Renna/AP | AN (ALMOST) CONGRESSIONAL ARRAIGNMENT: The now-postponed arraignment for Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida could have been just a short, humdrum court proceeding. But the scene that unfolded outside the C. Clyde Atkins U.S. Courthouse in Miami yesterday became so much more as multiple political storylines converged. A dozen journalists surrounded Cherfilus-McCormick as she entered the federal courthouse with her husband and lawyers just across the street from where President Donald Trump had faced his own arraignment over classified documents in 2023. Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, has been charged with allegedly stealing $5 million in overpaid federal disaster funds — then using the money toward her congressional campaign and a 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring. (There was no stone in sight yesterday.) As they walked up the courthouse steps, the member of Congress and her lawyers ignored questions from Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio. Holding a mic and accompanied by a cameraperson, he demanded to know why her indictment should be treated differently from that of former GOP Rep. George Santos of New York, whose colleagues expelled him from Congress following numerous criminal charges including misuse of campaign funds. (He was eventually sentenced for wire fraud and identity theft.) Tarrio told Playbook the scene reminded him of his own initial court appearance in Miami that resulted in a 22-year sentence in DC for seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. In a January 2022 interview with PBS News, Cherfilus-McCormick accused the Proud Boys of trying to intimidate Black voters at her special election. “On a personal level it’s sweet justice,” Tarrio said, referring to how Democrats publicized his sentencing. Trump pardoned Tarrio in January. The drama inside the courtroom was more subdued, playing out in less than five minutes. Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid gave the member of Congress the three more weeks her lawyer, David Markus, said she needed to officially retain his legal team, and the arraignment got bumped to Jan. 20, 2026. While that punted Cherfilus-McCormick’s official plea, she has repeatedly said she’s innocent, including yesterday. Markus is the same lawyer representing Ghislaine Maxwell in ongoing legal matters stemming from her conviction for involvement in her late boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking network. But it was what Markus said upon exiting the courthouse that drove the day’s news: He accused “folks within the Florida Democratic Party” of targeting his client and said his team would be “exposing” those involved. He didn’t elaborate. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried notably hasn’t weighed in on the indictment. Yet the comments about possible intraparty strife come just as the beleaguered state party had otherwise ended the year with glimmers of hope after a Democrat was elected Miami mayor. Cherfilus-McCormick’s seat is safely blue. Trump lost it by nearly 40 points in 2024, according to the Downballot. But her charges and claims of her own party’s involvement threaten to distract Florida Democrats as they go up against a much better-funded and organized Florida GOP, especially as national Democrats warn that failing to compete in the South could make a future presidential victory nearly impossible. Former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness, who lost the Democratic nomination to Cherfilus-McCormick in 2021 by five votes, said candidates should be focused on affordability and stressed he viewed the state party as “working hard to rebuild itself.” “Everyone deserves their day in court,” said Holness, who’s among those running for the seat again. “I don't know the spin the attorney is putting on it now.” If convicted, Cherfilus-McCormick is facing more than five decades in prison. She’s the only member of Congress of Haitian descent and has been a vocal opponent of the Trump administration’s travel ban and immigration restrictions. Florida has half a million residents with ties to Haiti, which is facing gang violence and political instability. While Cherfilus-McCormick stepped down from her subcommittee leadership role, some Florida Republicans have called for her to be expelled, pointing to Santos’ 2023 ouster. Santos — who’s moving to Florida fresh off the heels of a Trump clemency — agrees. “I was denied due process and that is the standard that was set by the House,” he said. “I don't like it — but fair is fair. She needs to go.”
| | | | A message from United for Cures: The United States leads the world in lifesaving medical research, and Americans benefit from its advances daily. Diagnoses that were once death sentences are now treatable and even curable. And more progress comes every year. We can't lose our leadership now. Millions still need cures — which means they still need federally-funded medical research that leads to more treatments, more cures, and more lives saved. Support Cures. Increase federal funding for lifesaving medical research in FY26. | | | | 9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. DEEP DIVE: POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman, Sophia Cai and Daniel Barnes have an in-depth story this morning about how Paul Ingrassia has survived in the Trump administration. The 30-year-old lawyer pulled his nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel after POLITICO reported that he said he has a “Nazi streak,” according to texts. He is now the acting general counsel at the General Services Administration, after two previous jobs as White House liaison to DOJ and DHS. “His almost Trumpian survival demonstrates how ideological affinity and personal loyalty can outweigh all other considerations in this administration,” the authors write. “And while top officials in the Republican Party and White House have split between denouncing bigoted language exhibited by officials like Ingrassia and forming a defensive line around supporters, the messages don’t appear to have hurt his official standing.” A lawyer for Ingrassia did not confirm the texts were authentic and said at the time they “could be manipulated or are being provided with material context omitted.” The lawyer and Ingrassia did not comment for this story. 2. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Bowl blitz: Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign for the U.S. Senate in Michigan is airing the last of its football-themed, nearly six-figure statewide ads during the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve, which will see Texas take on the University of Michigan, El-Sayed’s alma mater. In promoting the ad, which features him throwing the pigskin, El-Sayed's campaign said that “College football remains one of the last places where Michiganders can come together across political divides, age, and background.” But El-Sayed, who captained his high school football team, has expressed a more complicated relationship with the game in the past, Playbook’s Adam Wren reports. In his now private Substack called “The Incision,” EL-Sayed wrote of the “toxic masculinity at the heart of America’s most popular sport.” He also wrote that “on the sidelines and in the locker room, I was fed a hefty dose of the worst kinds of racist taunting. On an episode of the podcast “America Dissected,” El-Sayed said football “takes some of the most egregious narratives that we tell ourselves about who we are as a country. And it puts it on the field every Sunday.” Asked for comment, an El-Sayed spokesperson said: “Abdul’s love of football isn’t theoretical. It’s up close and personal, earned snap after snap and tackle after tackle. Football taught him so much about leadership and community — but also about the risks and who bears them. Abdul knows that loving something means pushing it to be better. That’s the same approach he’ll bring to the U.S. Senate: identify the problem honestly and directly so we can find real solutions, and then fight to make things better for everyone, not just the people at the top." 3. VENEZUELA VEX: The CIA carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility on the coast of Venezuela — marking the first known attack inside the country and a major escalation of the administration’s pressure campaign, CNN’s Natasha Bertrand and colleagues scoop. The strike targeted the dock believed to be storing drugs, and there were no casualties. The report came after Trump told reporters yesterday about hitting a facility, calling it a “major explosion” but remaining mum on details, per WSJ’s Dustin Volz. And on the oil front, the squeeze on Venezuela via the blockade is causing the country to shutter some of its oil wells, as they run out of storage space, per Bloomberg. 4. WAR AND PEACE: Despite simmering tensions on the way forward on Gaza and Iran, Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu projected a united front while doling out the usual praise for each other, NYT’s Tyler Pager and David Halbfinger report. Little was said publicly about their talks over the multi-course lunch at Mar-a-Lago, including on how the Gaza peace plan will advance into the second phase. Trump did heap some pressure on Hamas, saying they have a “very short period of time” to disarm, adding there will be “hell to pay” if they don’t, per Bloomberg. Trump’s strongest commitment was on Iran, stating he will back more strikes on the country should they rebuild their nuclear capabilities, POLITICO’s Alex Gangitano writes from Palm Beach. “And if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down,” Trump said. He added that he heard Iran may want to make a deal, but otherwise he would support an Israeli strike. Trump also paid reporters a surprise visit on the Mar-a-Lago patio, Alex writes in to Playbook. He pointed to an area where there was the family of Ran Gvili, a deceased hostage in Gaza. "They're waiting for their son to come home. From Israel. Their son is a very brave soldier and that's the only body.” His mother said they are going to bring her son home. Trump’s other headache: After a hopeful meeting this weekend between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy where Trump declared a peace deal could be “very close,” Russia is once again throwing cold water on the prospect, POLITICO’s Eli Stokols and Diana Nerozzi write. The Kremlin vowed to turn up hostilities after an attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s property. The latest disagreement signals the sides remain far apart on peace, Eli and Diana write.
| | | 5. HEALTH OF A NATION: “Trump admin doles out billions for rural health,” by POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein and Ruth Reader: “The Trump administration on Monday doled out billions to states from a fund Congress created to ‘transform; rural health care. The funds, however, will be lavished more generously on small states and states that adopt administration friendly policies. … [CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz] said disbursements for states are between $145 million and $281 million for 2026, amounts largely driven by how large a state’s rural population is. … even fans of the program stress that it won’t come close to making up for the deep cuts to Medicaid that states are bracing for in 2026.” The bigger picture: “Inside RFK Jr.’s reshaping of public health in Trump’s first year,” by WaPo’s Rachel Roubein and colleagues: “Interviews with almost 100 people reveal how Kennedy, as health secretary, has reshaped the vaccine and broader public health infrastructure in less than a year.” 6. 2026 WATCH: With current members of Congress weighing reelection, “the direction of travel is toward the door,” but there’s another growing trend: former members looking to come back, WaPo’s Anna Liss-Roy writes. At least 18 former members are jockeying to win back a seat. And the reaction from current lawmakers is telling: “I’ve had so many members ask me if I need a wellness check,” Ben McAdams said. “They’re like, ‘Cori, we love that you’re running again, but why would you want to come back? You’re free,'” Cori Bush told WaPo. For a running tally of all the retirees in Congress next year, AP has you covered. Redistricting rodeo: The new maps approved in California made some districts more competitive for Democrats, and now they’re intensifying the Democratic Party’s civil war about which faction should carry its mantle — moderates or progressives, POLITICO’s Blake Jones reports. And in Rep. David Valadao’s (R-Calif.) district, NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s team is crafting Democrat Randy Villegas’ media strategy and “going for the jugular.” … Next up, Utah’s state Republican lawmakers will appeal to the state’s Supreme Court which could determine the future of its maps, per Deseret News’ Brigham Tomco. Happening tonight: Iowa’s special state Senate election. Should Republicans take the Democratic-leaning district, they’ll regain a supermajority and secure their control on state government, per AP. 7. LIVE FROM NEW YORK: “The Making of Mayor Mamdani,” by NY Mag’s David Freedlander: “Mamdani’s revolution, in this moment before he takes office, has two defining qualities. The first is the well-known movement-building skill of the man. …The second is a certain sense of unreality — a tension between what he promises he will do and what the normal laws of political physics would seem to allow. … The two qualities — the scintillating political skill and the strangeness of a 34-year-old democratic socialist just a few years removed from a music career taking control and pledging enormous changes without meaningful compromise — exist side by side, and how they resolve will define Mamdani’s mayoralty.” 8. IMMIGRATION FILES: A federal judge ruled yesterday that the Trump administration can move forward with sharing location data on undocumented immigrants receiving public health benefits with ICE officials, starting Jan. 6, POLITICO’s Tyler Katzenberger reports. The ruling is a victory for Trump’s push for mass deportations, and a significant setback for Califonia AG Rob Bonta and the Democratic attorneys general who sued back in July. Deportation drive: “The Trump administration's plan to close a 'huge loophole' in legal immigration,” by POLITICO’s Myah Ward and Eric Bazail-Eimil: “The Trump administration’s strategy was bolstered in October when the Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals, an administrative body that oversees immigration courts, said judges should weigh third-country removal before an asylum case is considered in the U.S. … in November, DHS attorneys asked judges to dismiss nearly 5,000 cases, more than twice the amount in October and four times the amount in September … Immigration attorneys and advocates, alarmed by the latest trend, argue that it’s a further erosion of the U.S. asylum system in the United States.” 9. FED UP: “Trump Says He Still Might Fire Powell as Fed Chair Pick Looms,” by Bloomberg’s Josh Wingrove and Kate Sullivan: “[Trump] teased that he has a preferred candidate to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, but is in no hurry to make an announcement — while also musing that he might fire the central bank’s current leader, Jerome Powell. … ‘Maybe I still might,’ Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. … Trump did not specify who is his leading chair candidate and said an announcement would be made in ‘January sometime.’”
| | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | IN MEMORIAM — “Joseph Hartzler Dies at 75; Led Prosecution of Oklahoma City Bomber,” by NYT’s Richard Sandomir: “Joseph Hartzler, who led the successful prosecution of Timothy McVeigh for the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people and injured hundreds in the deadliest domestic terror attack in American history, died on Dec. 18 at his home in Chicago. He was 75.” KENNEDY CENTER WOES — Yet another round of cancellations are hitting the Kennedy Center, as a jazz ensemble and a New York dance company set to perform on New Year’s Eve have pulled out of their performances, per NYT. Both were set to be featured at the New Year’s Eve concert at the center, but both acts said their decision was connected to the center’s recent name change to feature Donald Trump. FIVE YEARS OF JAN. 6 — Democrats are preparing to sound the alarm again on the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 with a special hearing next week on its five-year anniversary, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced in a “dear colleague” letter, per POLITICO’s Nick Wu. ENGAGED — G Soares, chief of staff at Brigit, and Sarah Milby, senior manager of policy and market structure for the Americas at Kraken, got engaged on Dec. 24 while on safari in South Africa. Pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Michael Starr Hopkins, an assistant public defender for the state of Maryland, and Megan Hopkins, operations counsel at the Women’s Tennis Association, welcomed their son Parker John Hopkins this week. Pic … Another pic — Gary Beck, executive director of federal affairs at AHIP, and Riley Althouse Beck, VP at Dezenhall Resources, welcomed Jane Frances Beck on Dec. 22. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) and Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) … Sean Hannity … Maine Gov. Janet Mills … Tammy Haddad … former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo … Kevin Smith of Humana … Lauren Claffey Tomlinson … POLITICO’s Jennifer Scholtes, Abby Fralin, Aiden Reiter, Rupert Sizemore and Philip Harman … Matt Latimer … Bill Thorne of the National Retail Federation … Heather Reid … Justin Thomas Russell … Noelle Straub … Shannon Gilson of Apple … Nick Schmit … National Geographic’s Courtney Beesch … Bob Cochran … former Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson … Udai Rohatgi … Jim Billimoria of TikTok … Maria Elena Salinas … former Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) … Hari Sevugan … Voters of Tomorrow’s Santiago Mayer … Meredith Vieira … Marcia Kramer of CBS New York … Michael Rekola … Jack Deschauer 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.
| | | | A message from United for Cures: The United States leads the world in lifesaving medical research—and Americans benefit from its breakthroughs every day. Thanks to federal funding, several forms of cancer that were once death sentences are now survivable. A cure for diabetes is closer than ever. And in the fight against Alzheimer's, two FDA-approved treatments are already slowing disease progression in patients. But we can't afford to lose momentum. Millions of Americans are still waiting for answers—and they need federally funded research to keep cures coming. Sustained federal investment is essential to keeping America at the forefront of lifesaving medical innovation. Support Cures. Increase federal funding for lifesaving medical research in FY26. | | | | | | | | Follow us on X | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Canada Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
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