| | | |  | | By Ali Bianco | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | BREAKING: “ACIP delays vote on potential changes to hepatitis B vaccination for newborns,” by CNN’s Jamie Gumbrecht: “Vaccine advisers to the CDC delayed until Friday morning a vote that could lead to dramatic changes to hepatitis B vaccination practice in the United States. The advisers, who were handpicked by US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this year, had expressed confusion about what they were voting on after the language changed a number of times, and said they wanted more time to consider it.”
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The ever-present theme of war and peace in the second Trump era today is turning its spotlight squarely on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. | Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP | ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR: As President Donald Trump prepares to declare peace with another deal he claims to have brokered in Africa, Democrats are declaring what they’ve called “war crimes” in the Caribbean. And the ever-present theme of war and peace in the second Trump era today is turning its spotlight squarely on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The peacemaker president: Trump is at the Institute of Peace — which was renamed in his honor yesterday — hosting the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda to sign a deal ending the conflict in eastern Congo and expanding critical minerals access for the U.S. in the region, AP’s Aamer Madhani and colleagues report. It’s just the latest opportunity for Trump to cast himself as the world’s foremost dealmaker, and another notch for his ever-persistent case to win the Nobel Peace Prize. “It’s a great day for Africa, a great day for the world,” Trump said this afternoon. Report card: Meanwhile, the Pentagon inspector general made public its Signalgate review — the now-infamous scandal where in March Hegseth and other administration officials discussed U.S. strike plans in a Signal group in which a journalist had been added. The report finds that Hegseth’s use of the messaging app risked putting troops in danger, but he did not violate the government’s rules on releasing classified information. Dig in: POLITICO’s Jack Detsch, Paul McLeary and Maggie Miller tick through the top six takeaways from the IG investigation … Read all 84 pages for yourself Though the scandal roiled the GOP back in March, Republicans are largely dismissing the issue as the final conclusions over the Signal scandal emerge. What they’re saying: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who leads the Senate Armed Services Committee and earlier called for an independent review of Hegseth’s actions on Signalgate, said today that Hegseth “acted within his authority.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune demurred from directly defending Hegseth, but said he “serves at the pleasure of the president,” per CNN. “The Signalgate issue, I think, everybody’s acknowledged was a mistake. Hopefully, they’ve learned from it and can do it better,” Thune said today. The latest: The release of the IG report comes as Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine briefed House and Senate lawmakers on the Venezuela boat strikes against alleged drug traffickers, as the Sept. 2 “double-tap” strike that was overseen by Bradley has spurred consternation over whether a “kill” order was delivered by Hegseth. How it’s playing: Following the closed-door briefing for House members, Intelligence Chair Rick Crawford told CNN that he is “confident” in Hegseth and has “no further questions,” noting he was “satisfied with the information I received.” Sen. Tom Cotton, who heads Senate Intelligence, told reporters that Bradley indicated he “was given no such order” to “kill them all” or to grant no quarter, per POLITICO’s Joe Gould, John Sakellariadis and Connor O’Brien. Democrats, meanwhile, are telling a different story. “What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters after the briefing, per our colleagues. “This briefing confirmed my worst fears about the nature of the Trump Administration’s military activities,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking Democrat on Senate Armed Services, said in his statement. The Democratic pushback appears unlikely to subside. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) announced plans to introduce articles of impeachment today against Hegseth. Reed called for an investigation into Hegseth’s leadership and involvement in the strikes, per C-SPAN. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are introducing a bill today to block U.S. military action in Venezuela not authorized by Congress, Semafor’s Morgan Chalfant and Shelby Talcott scoop. On top of all that: The New York Times sued the Pentagon, accusing DOD of violating the First Amendment rights of journalists by restricting reporting on the military, POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy reports. Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Send me your thoughts at abianco@politico.com.
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Explore our ongoing work. | | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. FOR YOUR RADAR: “FBI arrests suspect in Jan. 2021 pipe-bombing case,” by MS NOW’s Ken Dilanian and Carol Leonnig: “In a stunning break in one of the FBI’s most high-profile unsolved cases, agents arrested a suspect Thursday morning who investigators believe placed pipe bombs outside Republican and Democratic headquarters in the hours before the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot … The FBI’s case against the suspect is not based on a new breakthrough, according to two sources, but instead on a review the FBI conducted in recent weeks of evidence that had already been gathered.” 2. THE ROAD TO 2026: As Republicans continue to warn that the party needs to nail down its affordability messaging to avoid a shellacking in next year’s midterms, Trump has a plan to take the show on the road. He’s kicking off a slate of state-level travel focused on selling his economic agenda, starting on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Axios’ Alex Isenstadt reports. He plans to push back against criticism over costs, though aides privately say more needs to be done to address those concerns. The view from the Hill: Speaker Mike Johnson is largely brushing the concerns off, telling NBC’s Melanie Zanona. “Relax. We are exactly on the trajectory of where we’ve always planned to be,” Johnson said. “Steady at the wheel, everybody. It's gonna be fine. Our best days are ahead of us.” But Johnson has other problems facing him, including the waning influence of Texas’ large GOP delegation, POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy and Meredith Lee Hill report. “Six members are retiring — some to pursue other political ambitions, others quitting cold turkey.” From the wilderness: Senate Democrats know their base is unhappy with the party’s leadership — but they’re saving the thrust of that debate for another day well into the future, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. Despite simmering angst on the left, some Democrats aren’t ready to discuss a change as they begin to laser-focus on election season. On that front, Dems are preparing to expand their midterm map into even redder territories, with the DCCC planning to expand its target district list, bolstered by the margin from Tuesday’s special election in Tennessee, POLITICO’s Elena Schneider and colleagues write. Trail mix: Antonio Reynoso is jumping in the Democratic race to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), per NYT. … Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has decided against a drastic move to run in Texas, instead opting to seek reelection in California, per CNN’s Sarah Ferris. … A new Emerson College/Inside California Politics poll shows a wash in the race for California governor, with Republican Chad Bianco at 13 percent, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Republican Steve Hilton both at 12 percent, followed by Katie Porter at 11 percent — and 31 percent still undecided. 3. THE ECONOMY, STUPID: Jobless claims fell this week to their lowest level in three years, WSJ’s Matt Grossman reports, with about 191,000 Americans filing for new unemployment benefits over the Thanksgiving week. In a less optimistic review, the latest report from consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas out today showed announced job cuts this year surpassed 1 million in November, “54% higher than the same 11-month period a year ago and the highest level since 2020,” CNBC’s Jeff Cox reports. Fed up: As NEC Director Kevin Hassett emerges as a frontrunner to be Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve when Jerome Powell’s term ends in May, Trump’s aides and allies are now discussing the possibility of installing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the top White House economic adviser, Bloomberg’s Nancy Cook and Josh Wingrove report. It would greatly expand Bessent’s oversight over Trump’s economic agenda and give him an office in the West Wing. 4. REDISTRICTING RODEO: “National gerrymander battle turns the heat up in Missouri,” by POLITICO’s Aaron Pellish: “Republicans and Democrats are quietly pouring millions of dollars into a fight trying to block Missouri’s new gerrymandered congressional map … But unlike in many other states, Democrats have a clearer path to try to block the map, at least for next year’s midterms. They’ve now launched an effort that operatives in the state say is attracting an unprecedented amount of money — and legal fights.”
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| | | | 5. ON THE HILL: Matt Van Epps was sworn in today, bringing Republicans’ count in the House back to 220, per C-SPAN. Johnson is pushing to finalize his version of a health care plan to present by Tuesday — but there are still major details to hammer out, Meredith and colleagues write. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is planning to force a vote on a “simple clean, three-year bill” to extend the expiring Obamacare subsidies next week,POLITICO’s Jordain Carney reports. At the same time, a bipartisan group of 20 House members is releasing a compromise plan to extend the subsidies by one year but limit them by income, per PBS NewsHour’s Lisa Desjardins. What’s at stake: About half of people covered by ACA plans say that if their health care premiums spike, it’ll drive how they’ll vote in the midterm elections next year, according to the latest poll from KFF — and that spells trouble for Republicans, NYT’s Reed Abelson reports: Most in the poll say they will blame Trump or Republicans in Congress for the spike. The view from the White House: Trump is staying mostly above the fray, as the White House gives Hill Republicans few demands on what to actually put in the health care bill, POLITICO’s Cheyenne Haslett and Jordain Carney write. But he has been explicit on one policy tenet: “he wants enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidy funds redirected into health savings accounts that Americans can use for out-of-pocket costs.” Still, it’s unclear whether Trump would approve extending the subsidies as part of a deal. 6. IMMIGRATION FILES: The Trump administration announced increased vetting of H-1B visa applicants, with the State Department saying any involved in “censorship” should be rejected, Reuters’ Humeyra Pamuk scoops. It orders consular officers to review resumes or LinkedIn profiles of applicants and their families to see if they were “responsible for, or complicit in, censorship” in their work. And new data released from ICE shows a big spike this year in arrests compared to the Biden administration, though it still falls short of the administration’s deportation goals, Axios’ Brittany Gibson reports. 7. WAR AND PEACE: A delegation from Ukraine is traveling to Miami today for talks on the potential peace plan with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, per CNN. Progress toward peace still appears challenging, as Russian President Vladimir Putin pours cold water on some of the terms of the deal proposed by the U.S. after the lengthy Kremlin meeting this week. Putin said today some of the proposals were unacceptable, and that “difficult work” remains, AP’s Dasha Litvinova reports. He’s also doubling down on his assertion that Russia will take the Donbas region, through a deal or by force, per Reuters. Beyond Europe: Putin is in New Delhi today to meet with Indian PM Narendra Modi and further foster oil trade ties. But as WaPo’s Pranshu Verma and Catherine Belton write, it puts Modi in between a rock and a hard place, “seeking to uphold his country’s partnership with Moscow without riling [Trump], who has punished India for purchasing oil from Russia and fueling its ‘war machine’ in Ukraine.”
| | | | Sponsored Survey WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Please take a 1-minute survey about one of our advertising partners. | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | IN MEMORIAM: The White House has lowered flags to fly half-staff today to honor Sarah Beckstrom, the National Guard member who died in last week’s shooting. WEATHER REPORT: D.C. may get its first snowfall of the season tomorrow, as a storm system may cause a light dusting across the area, per WaPo. SPOTIFY WRAPPED SEASON: NOTUS’ Oriana Gonzalez has a list on X of what was on lawmakers’ Spotify “Wrapped” and Apple Music “Replay” this year. With many a Taylor Swift feature, some of the highlights include: Sen. Ruben Gallego’s (D-Ariz.) top song was “Under the Sea” from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”, because his daughter is “obsessed.” Rep. John James’ (R-Mich.) top artist was Pop Smoke. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) top song, very fittingly, was “NUEVAYoL” by Bad Bunny. And Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) does not know what Spotify is, but said his favorite song is “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Tap in to Oriana’s “congressional bops” playlist Speaking of … Spotify hosted its “2025 Wrapped Party,” drawing a crowd that mixed Hill heavyweights with tech insiders and media elite to celebrate the music and culture that defined America's year. Multi-platinum country star Russell Dickerson headlined an evening that was both a data dive into America’s listening habits and dance party. SPOTTED: Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Texas), Jim Durrett, Kaelan Dorr, Brianna D’Apuzzo, Cabelle St. John, Charlie Truxal, Carlos Paz, Megan Garcia, Sean Gard, Willie Lyles, CJ Pearson, Austin Graff, Jade Womack, Paul Baldwin, Taylor Krause, April Boyd, Jeanne Moran, Scott Wilson, Nicole Mortier, Elizabeth Stanley, Jennifer Dunn, Brooke Oberwetter, Kaily Grabemann, Susan Occhipinti, Dominique Yelenski, Graham Davies, Sally Rose Larson and Emma Mears. OUT AND ABOUT — The Qatari Embassy and the Kennedy Center last night co-hosted an exclusive dinner at the performing arts center. The guest of honor was FIFA President Gianni Infantino, as they kicked off festivities ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw tomorrow. Instapics … SPOTTED: Richard Grenell, FBI Director Kash Patel, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Kellyanne Conway, Monica Crowley, Tony Sayegh, Caroline Wren, Andrew Giuliani, Roma Daravi, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and Adam Boehler. — APAICS hosted its annual holiday party at the National Association of Broadcasters last night, where APAICS President and CEO Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke gave welcoming remarks, along with Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.). SPOTTED: Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), Vince Fong (R-Calif.), Dave Min (D-Calif.), Derek Tran (D-Calif.) and Tim Kennedy (D-N.Y.), Del. James Moylan (R-Guam), Joon Kim, Irene Bueno, Kim Delevett, Kai Hirabayashi, Linda Shim, Ray Quiñones, Amy Pfeiffer, Scott Wong, Adi Sathi, Alex Huang, Moh Sharma, Nisha Ramachandran, Judith Teruya, Neal Patel and Tania Laden. — SPOTTED at Q Street’s annual holiday celebration, where retiring board member Jenny Kane of Altria was honored for her six years of service: Yesenia Henninger, Stu Malec, David Reid, Riley Kilburg, Brendan Neal, Suzanne Beall, Rob Curis, Abigail Harris, Mitch Rivard, Juan Lopez, Michael Long, Jacob Long, Allison Gill, Ben Grove, Madison Hubbard, Mary Werden, Sean Bartlett and David Sherwood. — SPOTTED last night at the American Global Strategies holiday party at the Hay-Adams: Robert O’Brien, Alex Gray, Scott Morrison, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Sean Curran, Allison Hooker, Sean Cairncross, Andy Baker, Ivan Kanapathy, Michael Ellis, Elaine Chao, Carla Sands, Bill Grayson, Louis DeJoy and Aldona Wos, Charlie Glazer, Roger Carstens, Jason Chaffetz, Julia Nesheiwat, Mike Gallagher, Kim Reed, John Roberts and Kyra Phillips, Luke Lindberg and Jimmy Sapp. TRANSITIONS — Tucker Knott is joining Ballard Partners as a partner. He previously worked for Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.). … Daniel West has joined Heritage Action as their government relations director for the House of Representatives. West most recently worked for Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.). Chip Wyatt has also joined Heritage Action as government relations director for the Senate. He previously worked for Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). ENGAGED — Keegan Link, engagement specialist for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Viana Schlapp, ONDCP’s press secretary, got engaged on Nov. 21, their 11-month anniversary, at the the Cathedral of St. Matthew in D.C. The pair met in college. Pic Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. 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