| | | |  | | 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 talk missile strikes, peace talks … and the finest Christmas decorations in D.C. Listen to today's episode Good Monday morning, and welcome to December. This is Jack Blanchard, excitedly peeling back the corner of the political advent calendar to see what the month has in store. Get in touch. Spoiler: We’ve got peace talks in Ukraine and possible war moves in Venezuela, an angry row over interest rates next week and an angry row over ACA credits the week after. We’ve got a glitzy FIFA World Cup draw complete with foreign guests, major Supreme Court action and at least one more immigration clampdown to squeeze in before the year is out. In today’s Playbook … — Pete Hegseth under pressure over “illegal” boat strike order. — GOP rallies in Tennessee ahead of showdown election. — New Orleans next in line for the Greg Bovino roadshow.
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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, Nov. 27. | Alex Brandon/AP | HAPPY MONDAY: It’s only 6 a.m. on Monday morning, and it’s already a difficult week to be Pete Hegseth. The Defense secretary is now facing multiple inquiries into a lethal attack he ordered on a Venezuelan ship in September, following reporting in the Washington Post that a second deadly missile strike was ordered by U.S. forces specifically to kill off two shipwrecked survivors. Questions, questions: President Donald Trump last night told reporters he will “find out” what happened in the Sept. 2 attack, adding a presidential line of inquiry to the two congressional oversight investigations launched at the end of last week. Venezuela’s national assembly last night also set up a special commission to investigate the attack, per Reuters. Recap: You’ve presumably already read WaPo’s original story from last Friday, but in case not, here’s the link. Hegseth is reported to have issued a verbal order to “kill everybody” to U.S. commanders who were monitoring an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean. WaPo reports they took him at his word — and struck the ship with a second deadly missile, after two survivors of the first attack were spotted clinging to the wreckage. Right of reply: Hegseth has dismissed the story as “fabricated,” and was last night merrily posting AI-generated images making light of Caribbean missile strikes that have now killed close to 100 people. But this story looks like it has legs. Here’s why: First: Congress is taking these allegations extremely seriously. Democrats like Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are using the phrase “war crime.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for full, unedited video of the attack to be released. Republicans including Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said the reported actions, if true, would be illegal. Most significantly, the Senate Armed Services Committee announced it will be “conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts.” The House Armed Services Committee will do the same. Second: Trump sounded intriguingly lukewarm last night when asked about the story on Air Force One. The president’s typical reaction to this type of reporting is either to aggressively dismiss it as “fake news” or a “Democrat hoax,” or to lean in and embrace the supposed offense as a positive. (An example: When it was put to Trump his immigration enforcers were going too far in Chicago, he shot back: “I think they haven’t gone far enough.”) But Trump didn’t say any of that last night. “I don't know anything about it,” the president told reporters on Air Force One when asked about the story, thus carefully distancing himself from his government’s actions. “[Hegseth] said he did not say that, and I believe him, 100 percent.” So would Trump have supported a second strike? “We'll look into it,” Trump said. “But no, I wouldn’t have wanted that. Not a second strike. Uh, the first strike was very lethal, it was fine. And if there were two people around …” He trailed off. “But Pete said that didn't happen.” Pressed again if there had been a second strike, Trump said: “I don’t know. I've gotta find out about it. But, uh, Pete said he did not order the death of those two men.” So in short: More than two days after WaPo broke the story, the president can offer no assurances about what actually happened, says he would not have supported a second strike on the ship and will now be figuring out what happened himself. It’s hardly a ringing endorsement of the Pentagon leadership. But Hegseth is typically unruffled. On Friday he dismissed the story as “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory,” before leaning into the approach taken by U.S. forces. “As we’ve said from the beginning … these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes,’” Hegseth wrote on X. “Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.” More noise: Hegseth’s Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell has since said the “entire narrative” was “false.” White House comms director Steven Cheung added yesterday: “The Washington Compost provided NO FACTS and NO SUBSTANTIATION. They literally just printed what some unnamed random person said and reported it as fact.”
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Learn more. | | | | The important context here is that plenty of Republicans and supporters were already deeply unnerved by U.S. activity in the Caribbean — both the legality of the boat strikes, and the risk America is about to be sucked into a broader conflict. Trump made the case for military action again last night, claiming each destroyed boat would have cost “25,000 American lives” due to the quantities of illegal drugs on board. The president is well aware that getting tough with drug traffickers plays well with both Hill Republicans and core MAGA voters. But there’s a problem here too: At the weekend Trump just happened to pardon a convicted drug trafficker in Juan Orlando Hernández, a former Honduran leader who a U.S. jury found to be facilitating mass shipments of cocaine into America. (The NYT has a great piece on the jaw-dropping nature of Trump’s decision.) Even in an age of truly bonkers use of the pardon power, this is causing huge consternation to Hill Republicans who have been out there trying to defend Trump’s Caribbean policy to a skeptical public. Heard this one before: Trump last night blamed Hernández’ conviction on Joe Biden, and said a pardon was the correct decision. Let’s see how many GOP senators agree when they start returning back to the Hill later today. All of which means: This is definitely a good day for the Pentagon to welcome some less independent-minded media types in for a chat. The new-look Pentagon press corps — the fringe, largely conservative outlets who were willing to sign up to Hegseth’s subservient reporting rules, in exchange for access — have their first on-site briefings starting today. “Press secretary Kingsley Wilson is scheduled to conduct a briefing for the new media crew, which is then set to have a meet-and-greet and press gaggle” with Hegseth, WaPo reports. MEANWHILE IN MOSCOW: Venezuela is hardly the only overseas issue dominating the president's time this week. Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner head to Moscow today ahead of their expected summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow, with all Ukraine holding its breath. Witkoff is expected to take with him the latest contours of a Kyiv-approved peace plan to elicit a response from Putin. Latest from the Ukraine side: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris today. Three of Zelenskyy’s top officials met with Witkoff, Kushner and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Miami yesterday. The WSJ reports the meeting was hailed as “productive” and “included talks on possible elections, land swaps and security guarantees.”
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| | | | TRAIL MIX FEELING SPECIAL: It’s the final day of campaigning before the special election in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, and Republicans are sprinting to ensure that what should be an easy victory does not turn into another disaster. Trump will hold a tele-rally this evening with Speaker Mike Johnson to bolster Republican Matt Van Epps, as Axios reported last week. Before that, Johnson will rally with Van Epps in Franklin at 9 a.m. Eastern and in Clarksville at 6 p.m., where RNC Chair Joe Gruters will join. The national intervention follows multiple Trump Truth Social posts over the weekend urging Tennesseans to pick Van Epps over Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn, who he claimed “openly disdains Country music” — a reference to resurfaced comments Behn made in 2020 — among other things. The stakes: In this Trump +22 district, which stretches from Nashville’s Music Row through wealthy suburbs to rural areas, Van Epps is still the favorite, despite some polling showing a tight race, USA Today’s Joey Garrison and Zac Anderson preview. Though the predictive ability of special elections can be limited, a slim Van Epps win — let alone a Behn shocker, which would narrow the GOP’s House majority — would make Democrats feel good about the midterms. But Republicans have lately projected optimism that they’ve sufficiently galvanized national attention to turn out the base. They’re highlighting Behn’s progressive activism and social media comments, while she focuses intently on affordability, as CNN has reported. Also happening tomorrow: Jersey City, New Jersey, heads to a mayoral runoff that pits former Gov. Jim McGreevey against Councilmember James Solomon, POLITICO’s Matt Friedman and Ry Rivard preview. Both are Democrats, and the race is nonpartisan. But the election offers voters another high-profile clash between younger progressives and older establishment figures, in a city once synonymous with the Garden State’s political machine — and in the shadow of Zohran Mamdani’s NYC. RED-LIGHT REDISTRICT: Indiana state Sen. Jean Leising, one of the holdouts who has helped prevent Republicans from pushing through a new congressional gerrymander, was targeted by a pipe bomb threat at her home this weekend, she announced. Leising blamed the “D.C. political pundits” pushing mid-decade redistricting and said she “will not cave.” PRIMARY COLORS: Even as Democrats increasingly feel upbeat about the midterms, they’re also staring down a number of high-profile, hard-fought House primaries in both safe seats and swing seats that could rend the party ideologically and generationally. POLITICO’s Nick Wu and colleagues run down the contests to watch, from California to Maine. Republicans by comparison foresee smoother sailing in the primaries. IMMIGRATION FILES THE CRACKDOWN CONTINUES: Trump’s series of targeted immigration enforcement operations turns to its next big city today as “Swamp Sweep” kicks off in and around New Orleans, AP’s Jack Brook and colleagues preview. Some 250 border agents will begin a push — led by Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, just as in LA, Chicago and Charlotte — that intends to secure 5,000 arrests in Louisiana and Mississippi. Similarly aggressive tactics are expected. Most unauthorized immigrants in Louisiana are Honduran. Preparations underway: Like in those other places that have seen the Border Patrol sweep in, immigrant communities around New Orleans are hunkering down, planning to stay home or get out of the area. Taqueria Guerrero, a prominent Mexican restaurant, is closing temporarily out of concern for staff and customers, Nola.com’s Ian McNulty reports. The national impact: Other cities are still sorting through the effects of Border Patrol bursts that rounded up thousands of people. Though DHS has emphasized the arrests of “the worst” violent criminals, WaPo’s Arelis Hernández and colleagues report that just a fraction of the more than 4,000 arrested in Chicago have been publicly identified as having serious criminal records. Meanwhile, people who oppose the mass deportation campaign around the country have trained in rapid-response tactics to monitor immigration agents, NBC’s Nicole Acevedo reports. Many Japanese Americans whose families recall internment camps are especially motivated and involved in and around the LA area, NYT’s Jill Cowan reports. D.C. SHOOTING FALLOUT: At the same time, the Trump administration is growing more determined to limit immigration after an Afghan refugee was charged with shooting two National Guard troops in D.C, killing one. Trump said yesterday that he’s invited the parents of both the late Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe to the White House at some point to honor their children, per the AP. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said this weekend that Wolfe is still “fighting for his life.” AG Pam Bondi said on Fox News that she’ll meet with his family. Knowing Rahmanullah Lakanwal: The suspected shooter worked in secretive “Zero Units” in Afghanistan in coordination with the CIA, Afghan groups that had intense and dangerous combat assignments to go after the Taliban, NBC’s Dan De Luce and Rich Schapiro report. These were “among the most extensively vetted of any Afghans who worked with American forces.” Many have struggled with unresolved legal work status since coming to the U.S.
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| | | | BEST OF THE REST FIRST IN POLITICO — The ACA debate: As Congress returns today, the debate over expiring enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies will take center stage — particularly as the cost of living and fears of premium spikes dominate the campaign trail. While some Republicans talk about an extension of the tax credits that makes changes, like further abortion restrictions, Planned Parenthood is warning Democrats not to fold on a clean extension. “Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Reproductive Freedom for All will score any vote that adds additional abortion restrictions to the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” the organization is announcing to members in a new letter today. Read it here The big question: What about Trump? With just a few weeks left to figure out a solution, both parties on the Hill say a decision by the president — who has sent mixed signals so far — will be pivotal to determining what comes of this sprint, POLITICO’s Jordain Carney reports. A Senate vote on something will take place next week. It’s not clear what. Republicans have multiple competing proposals in the ether, from an extension with reforms to a comprehensive Obamacare overhaul. And Democrats aren’t unified on how much to budge either. More from POLITICO’s Inside Congress Ailing America: In West Virginia, many ACA recipients are steeling themselves for a financial crisis if premiums explode — as in 150 percent increases or more — without the same subsidies, FT’s Guy Chazan reports from Charleston. The cliff looms just as some of the sweeping health care cuts in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act start to hit. SNAP recipients who just got food stamps back after the shutdown-triggered lapse could start to lose them in March due to new work requirements, CNN’s Tami Luhby reports. And CNN’s Eva McKend has the story of Churchville, Virginia, where a health clinic cited the Medicaid cuts when it closed. SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments beginning at 10 a.m. in two cases, including a landmark internet piracy case that examines whether Cox Communications has to pay out $1 billion in damages to dozens of record labels for not stopping copyright infringement. It’s “a case both sides say could have huge consequences for both the industry and internet users,” USA Today’s Maureen Groppe previews. WHAT LARRY ELLISON IS READING: “White House officials have raised antitrust concerns over Netflix’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery: sources,” by the N.Y. Post’s Charles Gasparino: “Senior White House officials recently discussed antitrust concerns surrounding Netflix’s interest in acquiring the Warner Bros. studio and the HBO Max streaming service … Several White House officials also suggested during the sitdown that a broader investigation is necessary focusing on Netflix’s market power … The meeting comes as the Warner Bros. Discovery board has scheduled a Monday afternoon deadline to receive a second round of offers.” FED UP: Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak at a Stanford University event at 8 p.m. Eastern, with nine days to go until the central bank’s fraught upcoming decision on interest rates. Trump told reporters yesterday that he’s already decided on his pick to succeed Powell, though he didn’t reveal the name yet, per Bloomberg. SIGNS OF WITHDRAWAL: “Record-setting personnel issues are marring Trump’s second term,” by POLITICO’s Jordain Carney and colleagues: “Trump has withdrawn 57 nominations, according to Senate data … The pace of withdrawals, the highest since at least the Ronald Reagan presidency, has flown below the radar in the day-to-day churn.” BEHIND THE DOCUMENT DUMP: “Robert Garcia leads Democrats’ strategy on Epstein probe, to GOP’s dismay,” by the LA Times’ Ana Ceballos: “Rep. Robert Garcia and his team faced a monumental task on Nov. 5: Sift through more than 20,000 documents obtained from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein … After six tedious days combing through the records, Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and four staff members identified three emails that would go on to ignite a political firestorm. In the emails, Epstein wrote that Trump had ‘spent hours’ at the late financier’s house with one of his victims and that he ‘knew about the girls.’” Trump has denied any wrongdoing here, and there’s no evidence that he participated in Epstein’s trafficking operation.
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Explore our ongoing work. | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | OPEN THE DOORS — After months of closure while the East Wing was being demolished, White House tours will begin again tomorrow — just in time to see the new holiday decorations, which volunteers erected over the Thanksgiving long weekend. Journos are being invited in this morning for a sneak peak, but Fox News has already been given an early look. The scoop they all wanted: Per Fox News, this year’s decorations include LEGO portraits of Donald Trump and George Washington, plus a gingerbread house made from “120 pounds of gingerbread dough, 100 pounds of pastillage dough, more than 10 pounds of chocolate, nearly 80 pounds of royal icing and five pounds of isomalt sugar.” Nobody tell RFK Jr. BILL OF HEALTH — Trump told reporters he will release his October MRI, which the White House hasn’t yet provided details about. He said he had “no idea” what body part the MRI scan was focused on, but insisted it wasn’t his brain. SPOTTED on Friday night on the patio at the president’s table at Mar-a-Lago: President Donald Trump, U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro, Christopher Ruddy and Anthony and Lynda Lomangino. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Zoë Baird is now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, focused on higher education and workforce policy and democracy promotion. She previously worked in the Biden Commerce Department and was longtime leader of the Markle Foundation. MEDIA MOVE — Sarah Fitzpatrick is joining The Atlantic to cover the Justice Department and national security. She previously worked at NBC and is a “60 Minutes” alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) … Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) … Mandela Barnes … Jen Psaki … Steve Benjamin … WaPo’s Karen Tumulty … Shin Inouye … Josh Kraushaar of Jewish Insider … Tessa Gould … NPR’s Carrie Johnson … Ammar Moussa … POLITICO’s Elizabeth Ralph, John Diaz, Joshua Sztorc and Abby Resendiz … Jason Maloni of JadeRoq … Kyle Lierman … NYT’s Carlos Prieto … Joel Miller … Barbara Martin of the Brand Guild … Moses Mercado of OGR … Sara Guerrero … Ed Fox of Fox & Associates … Tyler Haymore … Raul Alvillar … Ani Toumajan … Yochi Dreazen … David Jory of Edge Creek Partners … Jacqueline Feldscher … Sarah March-Gómez of Bay Public Relations … Jordan Lieberman … Sean Higgins 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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