| | | |  | | By Samuel Benson | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun and Ali Bianco Good Sunday morning. I’m Samuel Benson, guest-writing today’s Playbook from Salt Lake City, where we’re basking in Pop Tarts glory. Get in touch.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
In Utah, Republicans are attempting to repeal an anti-gerrymandering measure that would allow them to redraw a new map. | Rick Bowmer/AP | DISPATCH FROM SALT LAKE CITY: The nationwide redistricting battle will shake up the 2026 midterms. One state is already looking far beyond that. In Utah, Republicans are attempting to repeal an anti-gerrymandering measure that would allow them to redraw a new map ahead of the 2028 cycle. If they succeed, the GOP-controlled legislature will be poised to again redraw favorably after the 2030 census — when Utah, the country’s fastest-growing state, will likely be apportioned an additional seat. That means, should Republicans make good on their effort, the state could have different maps in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2032 — four times in an eight-year span, a near-unprecedented streak. “There's a reason that we have traditionally done redistricting once every decade, because it’s a lot of work,” said David Becker, the executive director and founder of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research. “To do it every two years, which is at least where some states seem to be headed, is an overwhelming burden.” Utah Republicans, aided by a windfall of national GOP cash, are attempting to repeal Proposition 4 next November, a ballot measure that passed in Utah in 2018 and created an independent redistricting commission to prevent partisan gerrymandering. It is the latest saga of a decadelong redistricting fight in Utah, one that began well before President Donald Trump launched his intense nationwide push this year. District Judge Dianna Gibson earlier this year ruled that the GOP-controlled state legislature failed to comply with Prop 4 when it carved out four safe Republican districts in the 2022 map. When the GOP-controlled legislature submitted a map that still had all four red districts, the judge in November selected a different map, which includes a safe blue seat in Salt Lake County.
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Visit ms.now for more. | | | | The decision caused the state’s Democrats to rejoice — and infuriated the state’s Republicans. “She gave us the worst partisan map in the history of the state of Utah,” Senate President Stuart Adams told Playbook. Republicans retaliated by attempting a long-shot appeal of Gibson’s decision, and some have flirted with impeaching Gibson. (Gary Herbert, the former Republican governor who appointed Gibson to the bench, finds the impeachment push odd. “I know this is an emotional issue,” he told Playbook. “People sometimes get so emotional, rational thoughts go out the window.”) The legislature is awaiting the Utah Supreme Court’s decision on whether an appeal can move forward, with the clock ticking before a 2026 map must be in place. Now, the Utah GOP has its eyes on a longer-term goal: Repealing Prop 4 at the ballot box this November, and thus giving the power back to the legislature to draw maps its own way. The effort is garnering national GOP support. Throughout the holidays, paid signature-gatherers — bolstered by a call-to-arms from Donald Trump Jr. — are canvassing the state, attempting to drum up support for the Republican-backed measure. A committee leading the effort is funded exclusively by Securing American Greatness Inc., a 501(c)(4) tied to former Trump White House official Taylor Budowich. And Turning Point Action, the 501(c)(4) founded by the late Charlie Kirk, is “all in” on the effort, the group’s COO Tyler Bowyer told the Deseret News. As of yesterday, they had gathered only 15 percent of the required signatures as a Valentine’s Day deadline looms. Meanwhile, a coalition of organizations opposed to the effort is dispatching volunteers to contact signees and encourage them to remove their names. “Everything we're doing now is to ensure that the map that was put in place by following the standards that we voted for doesn't last just one cycle, but it lasts multiple cycles after that,” said Elizabeth Rasmussen, executive director of Better Boundaries, an anti-gerrymandering group opposing the repeal.
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| | | | SUNDAY BEST … — Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) on the looming expiration of Obamacare subsidies, and the discharge petition in the House, on MS NOW’s “The Weekend”: “The mandate now, the majority of the House of Representatives, wants to put these subsidies in place so that Americans can pay less for health care. So it's now on the speaker, when we reconvene in just a couple days, whether he will put this up for a vote. You’re finding that the theme of this Congress is you have to go around the speaker, because he won’t go around Donald Trump.” — Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) on the war in Ukraine and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit with Trump, on ABC’s “This Week”: “Now they are asking for security assurances for the future to have their sovereignty, to have a future. Obviously, we need to be on the side of what [Ukraine wants], which is sovereignty. They are on the side of democracy, liberty and Russia is on the side of authoritarianism and aggression. … I think we're getting closer. I think that Zelenskyy is coming with a plan that is workable and that could get us there. Hopefully, with our allies in Europe that have come together … we can deter Russia in the future.” — Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) on the risks of A.I. and creating guardrails in Congress, on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “The truth is, is these A.I. companies can absolutely do much of this on their own. But we know consistently time and time again, whether it's been social media companies or now some in the A.I. space, that we consistently see people putting their profits over actual people. … If these things were happening in a storefront on a main street in Alabama, we would shut that store down. But we are not able to do that.” — SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler on the 2026 tax season, on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures”: “Look, small business optimism is above its 52-year average, and in the third quarter it reached all time records. … I don't think small business owners have ever been so excited to pay their taxes thanks to President Trump. He brought us the blue collar boom in his first term, and now he's going to add to that the small business boom.” TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
- “The Heritage Foundation Blows Up,” by WSJ’s Editorial Board
- “We Need a New Great Awakening” by Paul Brandeis Raushenbush and Ian Bassin for the Bulwark
- “What Bill Clinton Learned from Jim Hunt and Why It Still Matters,” by Washington Monthly’s Adam Shapiro
- “Trump’s Dated Strategy Is Putting Us on a Path to World War III,” by Greg Grandin for NYT
- “What the Democrats' autopsy should have focused on,” by Charlie Cook
- “I am The Post’s ‘federal government whisperer.’ It’s been brutal,” by WaPo’s Hannah Natanson
- “For JD Vance, free speech only means his friends can’t be criticized,” by Washington Examiner’s David Harsanyi
- “I’ve Been the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees for a Decade. This Is the Crisis I See,” by Filippo Grandi for NYT
- “Sick of Trump News? I’m Here for You,” by NYT’s David Brooks
- “In Which I Try Valiantly to Cheer You Up,” by NYT’s Nicholas Kristof
- “This May Be Our Last Chance to Get It Right in Venezuela,” by James Story for NYT
9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. WAR AND PEACE: Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are due to meet at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida at 1 p.m. today. The meeting comes after Kyiv weathered aggressive assaults on its energy grids by Russia this weekend. Leading the agenda today will no doubt be the 20-point peace plan to end the war, per Reuters. Zelenskyy said yesterday that Ukraine has agreed to “many different compromises” for the plan, though some key differences on ceding territory remain, WaPo’s Matthew Hay Brown and Niha Masih report. Also on Zelenskyy’s mind will be the security guarantees he can exact from the U.S., which he said yesterday are ultimately up to Trump, POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy reports. He stopped to meet with Canadian PM Mark Carney yesterday and held a call with top European leaders. The European equation: On the heels of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Europe the “main obstacle to peace” in Ukraine, adding that if European troops are stationed in Ukraine they will “become a legitimate target,” per Bloomberg’s Ros Krasny. His comments come as the U.S. undergoes a reexamination of policy toward Europe, which the Trump administration has blasted as “weak” amid a growing crackdown on the EU, WSJ’s Daniel Michaels writes. Middle East latest: Trump’s meeting today is kicking off a round of diplomatic talks, with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu also bound for Florida to meet with Trump tomorrow. In this latest meeting, the two leaders’ friendship is likely to be tested as Netanyahu tries to convince Trump to take a harder line on Gaza and potentially green light another strike on Iran, WaPo’s Gerry Shih and Karen DeYoung report. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is preempting any action saying the country is “in a full-scale war” with the West, per AP. 2. FOR YOUR RADAR: Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an immediate ceasefire yesterday, halting weeks of deadly combat along their shared border after their last ceasefire brokered by Trump fell apart, WaPo’s Victoria Bisset reports. “Both sides agree to maintain current troop deployments without further movement” and “not to undertake provocative actions that may escalate tensions,” per the joint statement released. 3. ROCKING THE BOAT: “How Oil, Drugs and Immigration Fueled Trump’s Venezuela Campaign,” by NYT’s Edward Wong and colleagues: Stephen Miller “had been talking with other officials about Mr. Trump’s campaign vow to bomb fentanyl labs. For various reasons, that notion had faded, and in recent weeks Mr. Miller had turned to exploring attacks on boats … But three separate policy goals began merging that night — crippling [Venezuelan leader Nicolás] Maduro, using military force against drug cartels and securing access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves for U.S. companies. … The result has been an increasingly militarized pressure campaign intended to remove Mr. Maduro from power.” 4. 2025 IN THE REAR VIEW: The year-in-reviews of Trump’s second first year in office are in full swing. For a comprehensive overview of Trump’s promises and his actual actions, look no further than NYT’s Charlie Savage and Zolan Kanno-Youngs’ roundup. Meanwhile, Trump has also embarked on a bigger branding legacy for the U.S. this year, one with his name all over it, NYT’s Matthew Purdy writes. His former business-driven marketing strategy “endures as he now pursues the golden legacy he believes he deserves.” 5. RISE OF THE RESISTANCE: “How Free DC became the face of the capital’s anti-Trump resistance,” by WaPo’s Jenny Gathright: “Free DC has emerged as the city’s most prominent force of opposition as federal law enforcement, at the direction of the White House, has swept into neighborhoods and the Republican-controlled Congress has slashed local funding. … The organization’s members visit Capitol Hill weekly to oppose congressional bills that seek to block local laws or curtail the city’s autonomy. The group has trained residents on how to respond to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement if agents show up in their neighborhoods … Free DC is also planning to use its influence to promote candidates.”
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| | | | 6. THE BLAIR PITCH PROJECT: POLITICO’s Sophia Cai reports how White House deputy chief of staff James Blair, after losing out on a top RNC job in 2022, is now spearheading the White House’s political operation and midterm strategy. The results could shape Trump’s last two years, Blair’s political career and VP JD Vance’s future in the Oval Office. “He sold us on the strategy to focus on low- and mid- propensity voters,” chief of staff Susie Wiles told POLITICO. “And his plan worked in spades. He delivered.” 2026 watch: As all eyes turn to the midterms, NBC’s Bridget Bowman ticks through the top 10 Senate races to watch this year. The core four are Maine, North Carolina, Michigan and Georgia. Beyond that, there’s Texas, Iowa, Alaska and Minnesota, the competitiveness of which could hinge on their primary outcomes. In the White House, Trump and his team also have 2026 on their mind, and as The Atlantic’s Toluse Olorunnipa writes, he is “trying to coax voters out of financial malaise with cash.” 2028 watch: “The 2028 Race Has Begun. Here’s Who’s Winning,” by Bill Scher for POLITICO Magazine: “White House hopefuls in both parties are maneuvering for the post-Trump era. Here’s where they stand at the end of 2025.” 7. THE ANTI-AI PUSH: “The Democratic Split Over Whether to Befriend AI — or Vilify It,” by POLITICO Magazine’s Calder McHugh: “Across parts of the party, there’s growing concern that there aren’t enough mainstream Democratic politicians willing to run hard against AI development. In recent months, that’s beginning to change, with more establishment Democrats beginning to talk about the issue. But they’re still moving too slowly, many critics say — and potentially leaving a very valuable issue on the table to be taken up by a populist Republican.” Case in point: “DeSantis emerges as a chief AI skeptic,” by POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury: “[Ron] DeSantis has emerged as a leading AI skeptic. He wants to spend his last year as Florida governor beating back the advancement of artificial intelligence, even as it creeps into more facets of everyday life. … He notably has taken aim at data centers sprouting up across the country by attempting to slow their growth in Florida … And DeSantis frequently raises fears of how AI could ultimately upend the economy by displacing countless workers.” 8. DEPORTATION DRIVE: The administration’s change in strategy from targeting immigrants already in jails to finding immigrants in their local communities has created a huge surge of at-large arrests, WaPo’s Marianne LeVine and colleagues find in their analysis. In October alone, ICE tallied 17,500 arrests — and arrests per week are up to four times higher than during the Biden administration. But more than 60 percent of those arrested do not have criminal convictions. In a bigger picture look at the administration’s end goal, NYT’s Lydia DePillis and Campbell Robertson write about the impact zero immigration would have on daily life in the U.S. Deep dive: The Chicago Tribune is up with a four-byline account of the 64-day “Operation Midway Blitz” that swept through Chicago and its impact on the community: “What happened here for more than two months is unlike anything in recent American history: the federal government sending agents dressed for war into neighborhoods of the country’s third-largest city to arrest mostly people who look Latino and to ask questions later. To target people largely on the basis of their skin color, on the presumption that they may be in the country without documentation, or that they may have a criminal record, or an association with a gang.” 9. WEED READ: “How Trump Became the Unlikely Champion of Easing Marijuana Restrictions,” by WSJ’s Josh Dawsey: “Trump watched as Kim Rivers, the CEO of Trulieve, a Florida-based marijuana company, Gordon Smith, a Florida sheriff, and Howard Kessler, a Mar-a-Lago member and longtime Trump friend, argued the president should reschedule marijuana … Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) on speakerphone urged the president against the decision and senior aides warned the move could be dangerous to some Americans. … After listening, Trump … sided with the pro-marijuana camp and delivered the biggest softening of federal cannabis policy since U.S. states began legalizing recreational marijuana in 2012.”
| | TALK OF THE TOWN | | HEARTWARMING LOCAL READ — “No holidays off: One man’s daily commitment to walking shelter dogs,” by WaPo’s Sydney Page: “On Christmas mornings at about 7 o’clock, Darren Genson goes to an animal shelter and spends two hours walking dogs. He will do the same on New Year’s Day. ‘The dogs don’t get a break,’ said Genson, who lives in Millersville, Maryland. … ‘It’s cheaper than therapy,’ he said. ‘It is very helpful to get out a lot of daily-life frustrations, knowing that you’re helping another creature that’s in a very difficult situation. It consoles your soul.’” HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. August Pfluger (R-Texas) and Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) … NBC’s Sahil Kapur … AP’s Josh Boak … Jake Levine … Steve Castor of the House Judiciary Committee … Roll Call’s John Bennett … POLITICO’s Amanda Friedman, Zach Montellaro, Han Ah-Sue, Ben Fox, Jared Rothstein, Tom Frank, Shelby Webb and Erica Martinson … Susanna Quinn … Emil Henry … Maria Olson … Seth Wimer of Brandywine Public Affairs … Shari Yost Gold … Debbie Willhite … Pinkston’s D.J. Jordan … former Reps. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) and Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) … Christina Sevilla … Jacqui Bassermann of the American Red Cross … Clara Brillembourg of Sequoia Climate Foundation … Michael Trujillo … Gabrielle Wanneh … former CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger … former Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe … Melissa Block … Ed McFadden … Vale Sloane of the American Conservation Coalition 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.
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