| | | |  | | By Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Makayla Gray On today’s Playbook Podcast: Jack and Megan Messerly discuss the second day of Donald Trump’s trip to Davos — and why the president will have a close eye on events in Washington today.
| 
| Good Thursday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, nervously eyeing the weather forecast and ordering bottled water, canned beans and plastic sleds for the kids. Send me your best snow storm tips. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Bessent exclusive: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is Dasha’s guest on “The Conversation” this week, and hits back at “handwringing” American allies who criticized Trump over his Greenland gambit. “There are some very unfortunate statements that were made by various countries,” Bessent tells Dasha. “Some of these countries took their masks off. Their leaders took their masks off.” (We’ll presume he’s not joining the Mark Carney fan club any time soon.) Speaking at Davos early this morning, Bessent was scathing about the seismic reaction to Trump’s threat to slap Europe with tariffs over Greenland. “The hysteria level that hit here was just out of control — driven by the media, driven by this European handwringing,” Bessent said. “It was completely out of control.” And he denied Trump’s decision to back down had been triggered by market panic. “The bond market didn't change the calculus,” Bessent said. “President Trump always knew where he was going.” You can hear the full conversation on the podcast tomorrow. Subscribe here on Apple or Spotify In today’s Playbook … — Donny Does Davos, Day 2: The Gaza/Ukraine edition. — Jack Smith gives public testimony on the hill. We got a preview of what he’ll say. — And JD Vance heads to Minnesota — to double down on ICE’s mission.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
President Donald Trump speaks as he presents the “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum on Thursday, Jan. 22, in Davos, Switzerland. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | EUROPE STILL BIG MAD: In the past hour, Trump unveiled his much-heralded “Board of Peace” before a crowd in Davos. There could hardly have been a clearer illustration of the historic break now occurring between America and its western allies. The president hailed “a very exciting day” as he and other heads of state signed the “Board of Peace charter,” a pledge to work together to avert or end conflicts around the world. “Once this board is formed we can do whatever we wanna do,” Trump said. He lauded the leaders on stage. “In this group, I like every single one of them,” Trump said. “Usually I have two or three I can’t stand.” Follow all the latest with live updates from my POLITICO colleagues Any grand American play at world diplomacy normally gets rapid buy-in from key allies. But the 20-something list of nations who’ve agreed to join so far is hardly packed with America’s traditional friends — nor with places associated with peace, democracy and human rights. (Sample signatories: Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Hungary, Pakistan.) More names: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to join the peace board — but could not attend today’s signing ceremony as he’s wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, per the FT. Trump said last night that Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose military has been bombarding Ukrainian cities for almost four years, has also signed up. (The Kremlin has yet to confirm.) Most Western countries hate the idea of trying to ape the U.N. We’ve already seen France, Norway, Sweden and several others flat-out refuse to join. And as my POLITICO colleague Esther Webber reports this morning, other traditional allies — British PM Keir Starmer, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni — are deeply uncomfortable with what the president is trying to do. Few want to publicly criticize. Instead they’re backing away, Homer Simpson-like, into a nearby hedge. And this is explicitly The Donald Trump Show. Under the “Board of Peace” charter signed this morning, the NYT reports, “one man has the power to veto decisions, approve the agenda, invite members, dissolve the board entirely and designate his own successor.” No prizes for guessing who that might be. Western allies have little desire to sign up to a new American power project given the events of the past couple weeks. You’ll see this mood further illustrated at lunchtime, as EU leaders gather for an emergency summit in Brussels — called in response to Trump’s Greenland threats. While there’s relief the immediate crisis has been averted, the president’s climbdown is not going to change the historic shift being discussed by our friends across the water. ‘Betrayed’: POLITICO’s Zoya Sheftalovich spoke to nine EU diplomats from different member states ahead of today’s summit. “Several of the envoys … felt personally betrayed,” she writes. “Our American Dream is dead,” said an EU diplomat from a country that has been among the bloc's transatlantic champions. “Donald Trump murdered it.”
| | | | A message from Amazon: "Amazon covered my tuition."
Dezmond started at an Amazon fulfillment center. Through Amazon Career Choice, he earned his satellite technician certification and is now helping to build satellites for Amazon Leo.
More than 700,000 Amazon employees worldwide have used free skills training to launch new careers.
See the impact. | | | | Trump’s aggressive bid for Greenland has scrambled foreign policy heads here in D.C. too, POLITICO’s Nahal Toosi writes in her latest “Compass” column published last night. “Not long ago, many foreign policy professionals were still asking if the post-World War II ‘rules-based international order’ was dead,” Nahal writes. “In the wake of Trump’s Greenland gambit, I’m hearing more flat-out declare it’s a corpse.” How much any of this bothers Trump — or indeed the average American — remains to be seen. Life will go on unchanged for now. But these are epoch-shaping world events that will not easily be undone by a future president. And it’s not over yet: We still have precious actual details about Trump’s “framework” deal over Greenland, suggesting there’s still plenty of time for it to fall apart — or for Trump to throw the cards back up in the air. Plus: What does Greenland think? Its premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Eastern. Trump’s own mind will now turn to Ukraine, with his on/off/on-again bilateral with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy due to get underway in Davos around 7 a.m. (Zelenskyy also gives a speech later this morning.) Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner then head off to Moscow this afternoon for a face-to-face summit with Putin. But the eternal question still stands: Are we really any closer to peace? An expert writes: “Trump administration officials say diplomacy with Ukraine has picked up significant steam since late November, when Witkoff and Kushner met Zelenskyy in Geneva,” POLITICO’s diplomatic correspondent Felicia Schwartz emails in. “The two sides have been working on security and economic agreements they hope will incentivize Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire and swallow hard compromises.” “But Russia remains the elephant in the room,” Felicia continues. “Witkoff declared Russia’s invitation for a meeting to be a significant statement, indicating Putin’s willingness to make a deal. But Western intelligence largely assesses Putin wants to keep fighting and is not ready to reach an agreement. And European officials question whether Putin would ever accept European troops inside Ukraine, as the security guarantee negotiations envision.” So remember — whatever piece of paper Trump and Zelenskyy might sign today, or in the near future, comes with a large, Kremlin-sized caveat. FINALLY — WHO WON DAVOS? Canadian PM Mark Carney remains the talk of the town following his landmark speech on Tuesday, my POLITICO colleague Anne McElvoy texts from a drinks event to say. (You can listen to her just-published EU Confidential podcast on Trump’s trip to Davos now.) But California Gov. Gavin Newsom must have been thrilled at getting booted from the “USA House” stage yesterday, POLITICO’s Jeremy Wright suggests, providing the California governor yet another opportunity for a public fight with Trump. “Organizers canceled on Newsom — and he quickly blamed pressure from a hostile State Department,” Jeremy tells Playbook. “That fit neatly into a vitriolic back-and-forth, conducted in speeches and remarks to the media, that included Newsom labeling Trump ‘pathetic,’ and Scott Bessent memorably deriding Newsom as ‘Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken.’ It’s a great line.” (And naturally, the “Sparkle Beach” doll quickly made its way to Newsom’s social feed.)
| | | | SPONSORED CONTENT Amazon is investing $2.5 billion in skills training
Amazon is investing $2.5 billion in free skills training to help employees learn and earn more. Employees like Dezmond, who turned a childhood interest in space into a career with Amazon's free skills training. Read his story. Sponsored by Amazon  
| | | | MR. SMITH IN WASHINGTON YOU DON’T KNOW JACK: Back here in D.C., former special counsel Jack Smith is due on the Hill today for testimony before the House Judiciary Committee at 10 a.m. — and it’s sure to be a high-octane (and hourslong) affair. For one morning only Smith will be one of the most-watched people in Washington — after years of being one of the more elusive figures of the beltway, POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs and Kyle Cheney report this morning. Smith is expected to stand his ground, saying he had no choice but to prosecute Trump for an alleged criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Not doing so would be “shirk[ing] my duties as a prosecutor and a public servant,” according to a copy of his prepared remarks obtained by Hailey and Kyle. “President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the very laws that he took an oath to uphold,” his remarks say. But a court order that sealed the second volume of his infamous classified documents case has hamstrung what he can say. Smith previously testified in a closed-door interview in 2025, the transcript of which was released over the holiday recess. More from POLITICO’s Inside Congress The made-for-TV showdown: This will be the prime moment for Republicans to fire their shots at Smith out in the open, “this time knowing their audience includes the public and, just as likely, Trump himself,” our colleagues write. Democrats, meanwhile, will likely have Smith drag out the details of the investigation in full and on camera. Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu of California said he wants Smith to detail “all the evidence that he has collected” for the public to hear. “I encourage everyone to watch,” Lieu said.
| | | | New from POLITICO Introducing POLITICO Forecast: Tomorrow’s conversations about global power, tonight. Forecast brings forward-looking insight from POLITICO’s global newsroom, including coverage tied to major international gatherings like Davos, to help you understand where politics, policy and power are headed.
➡️ Subscribe Now | | | | | THE LATEST IN MINNESOTA EN GUARD: The growing clash between federal and local officials over the increased immigration crackdown in Minnesota will be front and center as VP JD Vance travels to Minnesota today to meet with ICE agents and give a speech in Minneapolis. Vance’s visit comes as tensions remain high, Playbook’s Ali Bianco writes. On the ground, stories continue to pile up of U.S. citizens being swept up in ICE’s operations across the city, with immigration officers facing off against protestors yesterday, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Hundreds of military police troops are still on alert for possible deployment to the city should Trump invoke the Insurrection Act. Vance’s visit shows the administration has no desire to back down. “The vice president will highlight the administration’s commitment to restoring law and order in Minneapolis,” a White House official tells Playbook. “The VP will point out how Minneapolis’s sanctuary city policies have degraded public safety and endangered ICE officers. He will also celebrate the essential work ICE agents have done to take dangerous, criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets.” Rather than de-escalate, the administration is “doing the opposite,” Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) told Playbook last night. “They're investigating our state leaders, they're refusing to investigate the ICE officer who shot and killed Renee Good. It’s a campaign of political retribution, and so it's hard to not believe that this is just going to be more of the same. I hope I'm wrong.” What comes next: In Minneapolis, activists are organizing a daylong economic strike and planning a march downtown tomorrow. Elsewhere, ICE launched a new operation in Maine (dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day”), as the administration carries the crackdown to other locales. Portland Mayor Mark Dion told POLITICO’s Jacob Wendler the city is “anxious and fearful,” while local leaders said the operation could also have economic ramifications if people stay home out of fear. This could all come to a head on the Hill soon. Some House Democrats are still balking at the proposed DHS funding bill, with top Democratic leadership railing against it. And it could suffer similar issues in the Senate. “There's no way that I can support a bill that gives this lawless agency more money, while there are really no meaningful guardrails,” Smith told Playbook.
| | | | SPONSORED CONTENT Dezmond launched a new career with help from Amazon Career Choice
Dezmond started in an Amazon fulfillment center. He used Amazon Career Choice to earn his satellite technician certificate. Now he is helping launch satellites with Amazon Leo. See the impact of free skills training. Sponsored by Amazon  
| | | | BEST OF THE REST FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Drowning in documents: The top federal prosecutors’ office in the country is all hands on deck poring over the files related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein — but the effort is taking up every ounce of manpower, POLITICO’s Erica Orden reports this morning. All prosecutors in the Southern District of New York not on an imminent trial are helping review the more than two million files and redact sensitive information. “Prosecutors are being ‘crushed by the work,’” Erica writes, “And while people in the office hope the task will take no longer than a few more weeks, no one is really sure.” THE AGE-OLD QUESTION: Dem 2028 hopeful Rahm Emanuel is calling for a sweeping mandatory retirement age of 75 across all branches of government, arguing that ethics reform and generational turnover are essential to restoring public trust in Washington, POLITICO’s Shia Kapos writes in. “Seventy-five years, you’re out,” Emanuel said at a forum sponsored by the Center for American Progress in D.C. “Thank you for your service.” Check your calendars: Emanuel will be just shy of 68 on Election Day. That means if he were to win a presidential election in 2028, he would have to bar himself from seeking a second term. “Of course it would apply to me,” he acknowledged. RACE OF THE DAY: Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn has a new ad out today declaring that “radical Islam is a bloodthirsty ideology,” referencing the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack against Israel and terrorist shooting on Bondi Beach in Australia last year, POLITICO’s Liz Crampton reports. The seven-figure ad buy, titled “Evil Face,” will run statewide on TV, cable and digital. Anti-Islam messaging has been a theme of recent GOP campaign ads, and Cornyn’s opponent Ken Paxton in his capacity as AG has led investigations into a large Muslim residential development project north of Dallas. REDISTRICTING RODEO: “New York court ruling scrambles Staten Island House map in win for Democrats,” by POLITICO’s Bill Mahoney “A Manhattan judge on Wednesday ruled Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ district is unconstitutional and should be redrawn, potentially giving Democrats a coveted pickup opportunity in the tightly contested House.” ON THE HILL: The House is due to vote today on the remaining four appropriations bills required to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. The final government spending package will have to move out of the Rules Committee first, which recessed last night as House GOP leaders struggled to strike a deal on amendments with some hardliners, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill reports. The committee will take up the package again at 7:30 a.m. It’ll be a scramble to get everything done before anxious lawmakers seek to get out of town ahead of the looming snow storm. HEALTH OF A NATION: As of today, the U.S. is officially no longer a member of the World Health Organization. But could Trump yet rejoin? The answer may hinge on who becomes the next WHO leader next year — and whether Trump likes them — POLITICO’s Carmen Paun writes.
| | | | POLITICO Pro A new year brings new policy challenges—and deeper questions. POLITICO Pro delivers authoritative reporting, expert analysis, and powerful tools to help professionals understand and anticipate the business of government, in Washington and beyond.
➡️ Learn More about POLITICO Pro | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | HOT NEWS FROM PLAYBOOK TOWERS — We’re thrilled to announce that Giuseppe Macri will be joining POLITICO as our new Playbook editor. Giuseppe comes to us from Bloomberg Government, where he’s an editor and team leader overseeing coverage of Congress, the White House and the federal courts. He brings the perfect mix of experience — deep expertise covering Washington, paired with a strong track record of authoring and editing newsletters for a highly engaged, influential audience. Welcome to the team! WINTER WEATHER WATCH — Remember “Snowzilla” from 10 years ago? Odds are rising that this weekend’s snow storm will bring one of the biggest D.C. snowfalls since. The Capital Weather Gang’s latest prediction is for 7-12 inches of snow in the Beltway area over Saturday night, likely flipping to sleet and freezing rain for a time on Sunday morning. Depending on how accurate the predictions bear out, this could obviously affect schools, roads, airports and more. The National Weather Service has raised its winter storm threat to the highest level. As the storm develops in the region and beyond, its impacts on communities have the potential to turn into a major political story heading into next week. Watch this space — and do be careful out there. SPOTTED: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries having dinner with Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) at Osteria Morini last night. MIKIE TV — Mikie Sherrill will be on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” at 7 a.m. this morning for her first national interview since being sworn in as governor of New Jersey. IN MEMORIAM — “Stephen Hess, 92, an Eminent, and Quotable, Political Scientist, Dies,” by NYT’s Robert McFadden: “Stephen H. Hess, a Washington insider who advised presidents, wrote books on government and the media, and for five decades was an oft-quoted academic news source at what is sometimes called ‘the other government,’ the Brookings Institution, died on Sunday at his home in Washington. He was 92. … In his heyday, Mr. Hess was one of the most widely quoted political scientists in Washington … He was on the Rolodex of nearly every reporter in town, and with good reason.” OUT AND ABOUT — The Canadian American Business Council had a reception honoring Canadian Ambassador Kirsten Hillman last night on the rooftop of the Hay Adams. SPOTTED: Reps. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) and Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), Beth Burke, Andrea Mitchell, Jay Timmons, Jake Colvin, Jean Simard, Derek Nighbor and Goldy Hyder. — The Brennan Center for Justice hosted an open house for their new and expanded D.C. Office. SPOTTED: Reps. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Deborah Ross (D-N.C.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Michael Waldman, Vanita Gupta, Susan Davies, Larry Norden, Wendy Weiser, Sean Wright, Michael Podhorzer, Kirstin Dunham, Alexandra Reeve Givens, Chiraag Bains, Marina Jenkins, Carlos Uriarte, Adam Bozzi, Ricki Seidman, Kareem Crayton, Mike Zamore, Jeff Shesol, Rafe Sagalyn, Cliff Sloan and Les Fagen. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — White House moves: PJ Butler has been promoted to be White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, four people familiar with the matter, including a White House official, told POLITICO’S Daniel Lippman. He most recently was a special assistant in the White House liaison office at DHS. Butler replaces controversial Trump appointee Paul Ingrassia, who is now acting general counsel at the General Services Administration. Butler and a spokesperson for DHS didn’t respond to requests for comment. — Dylan Johnson is joining the State Department as assistant secretary of state for global public affairs. He previously was special assistant to the president and assistant White House comms director. TRANSITIONS — Jordan Weissmann is now editorial director at the Progressive Policy Institute. He most recently worked at The Argument and is a Semafor and Slate alum. … Drew Myers is now a senior comms adviser to the Iowa Democratic Party, focusing on the Iowa Senate race. He most recently worked for Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.) and is a Bob Casey campaign alum. … Laura Flores is now digital director for Rep. Angie Craig’s Minnesota Senate campaign. She previously worked for Colin Allred’s Texas Senate campaign and is a Biden White House alum. … … Linda Cova has joined True Anomaly as a technical fellow in their missile defense program. She previously was at Blue Origin. … Matt Ward is now managing director of strategic communications at FTI Consulting. He previously was at Corebridge Financial. … Daniel Clayton has joined the National Automobile Dealers Association as director of legislative affairs. He previously worked for Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio). WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Kelsey Nussenfeld, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb, and Thomas Bredar, counsel at WilmerHale, welcomed Tessa Kelleher Bredar on Jan. 17. BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Rep. Josh Riley (D-N.Y.) HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) … Kendra Barkoff Lamy of SKDK … Reuters’ Jim Oliphant … Dave Schnittger of Squire Patton Boggs … Dan Scandling of APCO Worldwide … Ado Machida … POLITICO’s Zach Warmbrodt and Jesse Shapiro … WaPo’s Julie Zauzmer Weil … Francie Harris … former FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn … Josh Earnest … Buckley Carlson … former Reps. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) and Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) … Akin Gump’s Ken Gross … Brianna Ehley Allen … AHIP’s Adam Beck … NBC’s Ashley Codianni ... Kevin Bohn … Heather Kennedy ... Ginny Simmons ... Cara Baldari ... Anna Sperling McAlvanah … Melissa Byrne … Rob Collins of Coign … Kenneth Romero of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators … Maggie McKinney of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute … Jack St. John … Chris Lowe … Sanjay Kane of Sen. Angus King’s (I-Maine) office 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. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misstated Aimee Rogstad Guidera’s former title. She previously was Virginia’s education secretary.
| | | | A message from Amazon: Dezmond is one of 700,000 Amazon employees using free skills training.
"I started out at Amazon as a basic warehouse associate. I was always interested in space as a kid, so when I heard about Amazon offering free satellite technician training, I signed up," he said. Since completing his Satellite Technician Certification, Dezmond works for Amazon Leo.
Read his story. | | | | | | | | 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 | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment