| | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun and Ali Bianco Good Sunday afternoon. This is Garrett Ross. Get in touch.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week on Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. | John Locher/AP | ICE IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The aftermath of the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis at the hands of an ICE officer shows no signs of abating as the divide between the Trump administration and Democrats over the incident continues to grow. Meanwhile, Democrats are ramping up the pressure as they try to conduct oversight on a sprawling immigration enforcement operation, “raising tensions between local leaders and the Trump administration,” POLITICO’s Daniel Han and Shia Kapos report. “From California to New York and Illinois to New Jersey, they’re pushing a range of bills aimed at limiting enforcement and protecting people targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while turning up the rhetoric with comparisons to the Gestapo,” they write. Though some of the policies being pushed were on the table before Good was killed, her death has been cited as a reason for the various efforts. The state of things: The policies being pushed by state leaders vary, but all are intended to throw up roadblocks for federal immigration authorities as the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown continues.
- In Illinois: A Dem state senator has filed legislation that would bar anyone hired by ICE under Trump from obtaining employment in state or local law enforcement.
- In Tennessee: A lawmaker has filed legislation that would prohibit federal immigration enforcement actions on school property.
- In New York: Gov. Kathy Hochul signaled she’ll support legislation to allow residents to bring civil lawsuits against federal immigration officials for constitutional violations.
- In New Jersey: Lawmakers are pushing to codify the state’s practice that limits state and local police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities; bar the government and hospitals from collecting immigration information; and set up guidelines on how health care facilities, schools and other institutions should respond to federal immigration authorities.
The admin approach: Trump administration officials have long opposed local Democratic leaders restricting cooperation with ICE. President Donald Trump and other top White House officials have defended the agent who shot Good, arguing that he acted in self defense — an account that has been contested by local Minneapolis officials. In a statement to POLITICO, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson defended ICE activity and pushed back against state Democratic lawmakers. “ICE officers are facing a massive increase in assaults against them because of dangerous, untrue smears from elected Democrats,” Jackson said. “ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals are simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens.” The rhetorical response: Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) accused the administration of an “attempt to cover up” the shooting. “Hours after Renee Good was shot and killed by federal agents, Kristi Noem was already telling us exactly what had happened,” Smith told ABC’s “This Week.” “They were calling her a domestic terrorist before they even knew what her name was.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey took responsibility for bringing down the temperature. But he also sharply criticized top Trump officials: “When you’ve got a federal administration that is so quick to jump on a narrative as opposed to the truth, I think we all need to be speaking out,” Frey told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “There is deep mistrust because so many of the things that we are hearing are not true.” Noem appeared this morning on CNN’s “State of the Union,” where she underscored her defense of the ICE agent’s actions and indicated to Jake Tapper that there is additional footage that supports her explanation of the shooting. “Why are we arguing with the president who’s working to keep people safe?” Noem said. She also said Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz need to “grow up.” Despite the defense that Noem and other officials have mounted for the agent, “former law enforcement officials who reviewed the footage and spoke to The Washington Post faulted the officer’s actions,” WaPo’s Mark Berman and colleagues report. “They said the officer — identified through court records as Jonathan Ross, an employee of the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division — placed himself at needless risk, escalated the situation and went against best law enforcement practices during the incident. Law enforcement officers should not position themselves in front of vehicles, and they need to try to de-escalate confrontations and must generally avoid shooting into moving vehicles, these officials said.” Oversight operation: The day after Good’s death, Noem “quietly ordered new restrictions on congressional visits to immigration detention facilities,” POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and colleagues report. “That order, put into effect Thursday by the Trump administration and revealed in court late Saturday, forces lawmakers to seek a week’s advance notice before conducting oversight visits to ICE facilities. “That new policy appears to explain a conflict that unfolded Saturday, when three House Democrats from Minnesota were denied entry to a detention facility in the Whipple federal building in Minneapolis. Reps. Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig and Kelly Morrison rebuked the agency after they were denied entry, saying their visit was intended to check on detainees amid the heightened tensions that followed Wednesday’s shooting,” they write. Thousands gathered yesterday afternoon in Minneapolis near where Good was killed, protesting ICE’s operations in the city, WaPo’s Molly Hennessy-Fiske and colleagues report. “Protesters turned out in cities across the country, including Boston, New York City and Philadelphia, many organized by progressive group Indivisible and titled ‘ICE Out For Good.’” Elsewhere: DHS has now “changed its account of an immigration enforcement-related shooting in Maryland that left two men injured on Christmas Eve, a move prompted by a local police account that contradicted the federal agency’s initial statement,” WaPo’s Juan Benn Jr. reports.
| | | | 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. | | | | SUNDAY BEST … — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on the potential contenders for the 2028 presidential race, speaking on “Fox News Sunday”: “As people speculate on what's going to happen down the road in 2028, I agree with President Trump and Marco Rubio: I think JD Vance would make a great, great presidential nominee. … I just deeply respect the vice president's reminder that we have to stay focused on today. And if we stay focused on today and deliver results, then Americans will continue to extend our license to lead." More from Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on the growing protests in Iran and the possibility of U.S. strikes, on ABC’s “This Week”: “We've had various times through the years protests in Iran. We're always hopeful that, you know, a freedom movement will develop and overwhelm the authoritarian government there. The only problem I have with saying, ‘Oh, we're going to bomb Iran’ is that sometimes it has the opposite effect. So, when you bomb a country, then people tend to rally around their own flag. … I hope that the Iranian government, you know, doesn't kill the protesters, but it sounds like they already have. But I don't know that bombing Iran will have the effect that is intended.” On Trump’s push for the U.S. to “buy” Greenland: “I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone in Greenland for it, but you'd also be hard-pressed to find somebody in Washington who's for a military invasion on either side of the aisle. So, I think there'll be enough pressure to stop it. But the problem is they keep rattling the saber. They keep saying we're going to do this. We keep this in our armamentarium that we will, you know, reserve the right to invade Greenland. And that gets back to the War Powers Act. That's why this debate is so important, because it's not just about Venezuela.” — Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Trump’s threats against Greenland and NATO, on “Fox News Sunday”: “If he were to take an action against Greenland, that would completely destroy NATO. And it's a little ironic that the president is citing Russia, since the president has basically been cutting back on our assistance to Ukraine, which is fighting Russia tooth and nail to try to push back [Russian President Vladimir Putin's] aggressive war. How does he, on one hand, say he's concerned about Russia in Greenland, but not concerned about Russia in Ukraine, where the Ukrainians are fighting, in many ways, the NATO's fight?” — Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz did enough to combat fraud in the state, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “Look, obviously everybody could have done more to prevent fraud. And I think that's a fair point to make. … The fraud's real. We've all got to acknowledge it. The fraud is very real. And by the way, when somebody commits fraud, and there are many that have done that, you investigate it. You charge. You prosecute…. You do not hold an entire community, any community, accountable for the actions of individuals.” — Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on the health care debate over the ACA subsidies and a potential bipartisan deal, on “Fox News Sunday”: “If the president weighs in, I think we can get something done. As always, the president on an issue like this, as Reggie Jackson, the baseball player, once said, is the straw that stirs the drink. … He did say that you might have to be a little flexible on Hyde to get a compromise bill, but there was also pushback from the White House that that was any sort of a change in the administration's policy. So, some members are still wondering what exactly he meant by that.” TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
| | | 9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. KNOWING HELENA MORENO: POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin is up with his latest column this morning, zooming in on New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno and the trials-by-fire she’s already weathered before her term officially begins tomorrow. JMart writes how “rarely has there been such heightened anticipation and expectation for a new mayor here,” even as the spectre of the city’s problems loom. “Yet nationally, in an election year dominated by a trailblazing young, Muslim socialist in New York and a pair of East Coast women who won larger-than-expected gubernatorial victories, Moreno’s success was largely overlooked. It shouldn’t be.” 2. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: The U.S. launched large-scale strikes inside Syria yesterday, targeting the Islamic State in retaliation for the killing of two American soldiers and a civilian last month, POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy and Paul McLeary report. The roughly 90 bombs dropped across the country were part of operation “Hawkeye Strike,” which has been targeting ISIS infrastructure. Iran death toll rises: The anti-government protests in Iran have taken a deadlier turn following an internet blackout this week, WaPo’s Yeganeh Torbati reports, with the Center for Human Rights in Iran warning that “a massacre is unfolding.” New estimates from the Human Rights Activists News Agency report that clashes with Iranian security forces have left over 200 dead, possibly more, per AP. Trump has been briefed on new options for military strikes that follow through on his threat to defend protesters, and he’s considering authorizing one, NYT’s Tyler Pager and colleagues report. Trump will be briefed on more specific options on Tuesday alongside his top national security aides, WSJ’s Alex Ward and Lara Seligman scoop. How Iran is responding: Iran’s army said yesterday that it would get involved in the crackdown against protesters, but now the country’s leaders are going further. The parliamentary speaker warned this morning that Iran will attack the U.S.’ military bases if the U.S. strikes first, also levying threats at shipping lanes and at Israel, per WSJ’s Benoit Faucon. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on the situation in Iran yesterday, per Axios’ Barak Ravid. For a look at how the currency crisis set off angry crowds across Iran, NYT’s Erika Solomon and colleagues have a thorough read inside the protests. 3. BIG READ: “Unexploded missiles, witnesses undercut Trump account of Nigeria strike,” by WaPo’s Abiodun Jamiu and colleagues in Offa, Nigeria: “[Warheads] in four of the 16 Tomahawk missiles that were fired that night appeared not to explode … Residents said one of the unexploded munitions landed in an onion field in the village of Jabo, in northwest Nigeria, while another hit residential buildings in Offa, around 300 miles to the south. The third Tomahawk crashed in an agricultural field outside Offa … [The] first strikes in the campaign illustrated the limits of American intelligence and military capabilities in West Africa.” Bad news for Trump: “Given the location, Nigerian and Western analysts said, it was unlikely that the strikes hit high-level members of the Islamic State, who are most active in the northeast of the country. More likely, they said, the attack targeted lower-level militants associated with a newer Islamist group called Lakurawa, whose relationship with the Islamic State is disputed by researchers.” 4. VEXING VENEZUELA: The Trump administration is doubling down on its quest to get oil up and flowing out of Venezuela — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters’ David Lawder that more sanctions on the country could be lifted as soon as this week and that he’s planning meetings with the IMF and World Bank as they brainstorm ideas to help rebuild the country’s economy. Trump also signed an executive order yesterday blocking courts and creditors from seizing funds from Venezuela to pay back oil companies with longstanding claims, which the order says would “undermine critical U.S. efforts to ensure economic and political stability,” per Reuters. All about the oil: The push on oil could pose a big risk for OPEC countries that are already facing falling oil prices and potentially upend the global power balance, per WSJ. The U.S. intercepted its fifth sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea yesterday, per AP, but there’s at least 11 tankers that have traveled well beyond Venezuelan waters and Trump’s blockade — carrying a collective 9.4 million barrels of oil, WaPo’s Samuel Oakford and colleagues report. The investment push: While the largest oil companies are still weary of Trump’s multi-billion dollar investment aspirations, hedge funds and other investment firms are preparing to capitalize on the moment and planning trips to Venezuela, WSJ’s Caitlin McCabe writes. “Now, investors reckon a combination of political change, U.S. intervention and American investment into Venezuela’s vast oil resources could put a debt restructuring within reach.” The peace push: Venezuela’s prisoner releases entered their third day yesterday, as families gather outside of prisons in Caracas waiting to see who will be released, AP’s Regina Garcia Cano reports. As of last night, 16 political prisoners have been released. … Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado could be heading to Washington this week with plans to present Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize, but the Nobel Institute said Friday that sharing the prize is not allowed, per NYT.
| | | 5. 2028 WATCH: “GOP talk of Rubio 2028 heats up in wake of Venezuela op,” by POLITICO’s Samuel Benson and Nahal Toosi: “Donald Trump has handed Marco Rubio the keys to Venezuela. It could make or break the secretary of State should he run for president in 2028.” But, but, but: “The potential chaos ahead could leave Rubio on the outs with key GOP voting blocs. Those include anti-interventionist conservatives, who remain wary of Rubio’s neoconservative instincts, and Republican Latino voters, especially in Florida, some who desperately want regime change.” The flip side: “Iraq War critic, Venezuela mission defender: Vance’s foreign policy journey,” by WaPo’s Michael Birnbaum and Natalie Allison: “Vice President JD Vance served in the Iraq War and came home a sharp critic of foreign military interventions … Now he is defending [Trump’s] decision to conduct a daring raid this month in a country closer to home … But as the vice president eyes his 2028 presidential prospects while also wanting to appear in lockstep with the president, Vance has claimed no contradiction at all.” 6. HEALTH OF A NATION: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins are on an anti-sugar kick with their new food guidelines, calling on parents to keep their kids from eating added sugars until they turn 11. But some parents say that objective is “completely unrealistic” and would require an overhaul of most children's diets, POLITICO’s Carmen Paun and Grace Yarrow write. And on the political front, RFK Jr.’s rise and his MAHA-minded policies are having an unintended effect — pushing Democratic doctors to run for Congress to fight back, WSJ’s Anvee Bhutani and Sabrina Siddiqui report. 7. STATE OF PLAY ON THE HILL: “Why lawmakers are looking to trade Washington for governors’ mansions,” by POLITICO’s Faith Wardwell: “A flood of lawmakers eyeing off-ramps from Washington are launching bids for governor — a record-setting exodus of congressional incumbents vying to be their states’ next chief executive. … Of the 12 active candidates who won’t be seeking reelection to pursue bids for governor, 11 are Republicans, adding to a growing tally of GOP lawmakers who won’t be defending their party’s majority in the midterms.” 8. CUTTING DEEP: New data reveals that a staggering 335,000 federal workers left government work last year, with the vast majority quitting or retiring — only 11,000 were a result of layoffs from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, WaPo’s Meryl Kornfield and Clara Ence Morse report. While the database doesn’t specify how many people took buyouts, the number of workers bought out by DOGE are counted among the roughly 154,000 who quit. It’s the biggest overhaul of the federal government since the 1990s, with the heaviest workforce hits happening at Veteran Affairs and Treasury. Meanwhile on the Hill, Congress is trying to reverse cuts to federal science programs that Trump called for last year, NYT’s William Broad writes. The new appropriation bills in Congress largely scrap the plan that would have cut science research by 22 percent. 9. OUT OF THE [DOGE] HOUSE: “Pentagon Chooses DOGE Official and Former Trader to Head Innovation Unit,” by WSJ’s Heather Somerville and Lara Seligman: “The Defense Department has selected Owen West, a former Wall Street trader and Marine, to lead its Defense Innovation Unit, the department’s highest-profile unit tasked with bringing startup technology into the U.S. military … The appointment of West brings some stability to a unit that had been left in flux. … West is a familiar figure around the Defense Department: He began working there early last year as the lead Pentagon staffer with [DOGE].”
| | TALK OF THE TOWN | | PLAYBOOK ARTS SECTION — The National Portrait Gallery removed text that referenced Donald Trump’s two impeachments and the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, when it swapped in a new portrait of him this week, WaPo’s Samantha Chery and colleagues write. “The placard has been replaced with one whose caption is so short that the outline of the old sign was visible on the wall beneath it, simply noting Trump’s years in office. It now contrasts with portraits of other former presidents … which all hang alongside wall text highlighting events during their time in office. [Bill Clinton’s] notes his impeachment.” MEDIAWATCH — “Tony Dokoupil sets new tone for ‘CBS Evening News’ in first week as anchor,” by WaPo’s Laura Wagner and Scott Nover: “[Tony Dokoupil’s] vision for a more populist and personal version of the news broadcast started to come into focus during the first week as anchor. His debut has come under special scrutiny as the most visible personnel shift made by CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss … The political color of Dokoupil’s anchoring is likely to remain closely watched as CBS’s owner, Paramount Skydance, pursues its hostile bid for CNN owner Warner Bros. Discovery.” OUT and ABOUT — Ezekiel Emanuel celebrated the debut of his latest book, “Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life,” ($24.67) at Dolcezza in Union Market last night. SPOTTED: Teasel Muir-Harmony, Andrea Mitchell, Dan Diamond, Michael Osterholm, Laura Meckler, Julie Rovner, Mark Furstenberg, Farzad Mostashari, Will Shrank, Miriam Vogel, Ken Baer, Robert Gordon, Michael Beschloss and Jane Mayer. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) … Steven Law … NOTUS’ Reese Gorman … SKDK’s C.R. Wooters … Humana’s Ashley Czin … Jonathan Kott … John Milne … Daria Grastara of Direct Persuasion … Jennifer Higgins of Guardant Health … Joe Lai of BGR Group … Kevin Mooney … Chris Beauregard … Ron Phillips … Jim Hightower … Frederic Mishkin … Ben Barrett of the Aspen Institute … Richard Posner … Gerald Rafshoon … Yahoo’s Caragh Fisher O’Connor … Precision’s Melissa Miller … NBCUniversal’s Rose Wallace … John Emerson … Christine Ravold … Hannah Goldberg of Trident DMG … Heritage’s Emma Bacon … Thorn Run Partners’ Jason Rosenstock and Gary Palmquist … Rashida Jones 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.
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