| | | |  | | By Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun and Ali Bianco On today’s Playbook Podcast: Jack and Dasha pick through the litany of big votes happening in Congress today— and what they say about Donald Trump’s hold on power.
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| Good Thursday morning. This is Jack Blanchard. Get in touch. HOYER OUT: Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer will announce his retirement from Congress today, POLITICO’s Nick Wu scooped last night, capping off a decadeslong career that culminated in two four-year stints as House Democratic majority leader. Hoyer confirmed the news in an interview with WaPo that was published shortly after POLITICO’s report. THE LATEST FROM MINNESOTA: Hundreds of people joined vigils and protests in Minneapolis last night following the killing of 37-year-old Renee Good by an ICE agent. Emotions are running sky-high after yesterday’s shooting, and with 2,000 ICE agents still operating in the city, the situation is likely to remain tense in the hours and days ahead. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has urged protesters to “use your First Amendment rights … but to do so in a peaceful manner.” Public schools across the city have been closed for the rest of the week, which gives an indication of the local concern. Noteworthy: Yesterday’s shooting took place less than a mile from the spot where George Floyd was killed in May 2020. The tragic details of the deceased — a mother of three and a devout Christian — are laid out here by AP. The broader point, as you can’t have missed from a glance at social media, is that America is again divided over even the basic facts of a major event. And that once again, these diverging takes seem to correlate almost precisely with people’s views of the Trump administration. The worry is that the incendiary language and mass rush to judgment on both sides will only inflame a tinder-box situation. Border czar Tom Homan initially declined to give his own take during a sitdown interview with new CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil. “The investigation has just started. I’m not going to make a judgment call on one video,” Homan said. “I wasn’t on the scene. It would be unprofessional to comment on what I think happened in that situation. Let the investigation play out and hold people accountable based on the investigation.” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem made up her mind almost immediately, describing the slain woman as a “domestic terrorist” who used her car as a “weapon.” President Donald Trump said the shooting was in self-defense and blamed the “Radical Left.” On the other side, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the self-defense argument was “bullshit” and accused the agent of “recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) described it as “murder in cold blood.” Even Homan eventually caved, putting out a post-interview statement that said the shooting was in fact down to “hateful rhetoric and violent attacks against the men and women of ICE.” NOW READ THIS: Instead of doom-scrolling through more hot takes on X, you could read this useful NYT investigation from 2021 on the (hundreds of) motorists shot by U.S. law enforcement in acts described as self-defense. Tragically, for all concerned, this is not a new phenomenon. In today’s Playbook … — Senate votes on blocking Trump from further military strikes in Venezuela. — Crunch votes too on ACA subsidies, government funding and Trump’s veto powers. — And officials will formally set out plans for the new White House ballroom this afternoon.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Sen. Tim Kaine's (D-Va.) war powers resolution is expected to split along party lines when it comes up for a vote on Thursday. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | KAINE AND ABLE: Senators vote today on whether to limit Trump’s power to take further military action in Venezuela following Saturday’s stunning swoop for Nicolás Maduro. Today’s vote is the latest war powers resolution put forward by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and like previous efforts — which followed the missile strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and on small boats in the Caribbean — it has only a small chance of success, with votes splitting largely down party lines. Dems need at least four Senate Republicans to have any chance of winning the vote, and so far only Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is a confirmed yes. It’s worth keeping an eye on the usual suspects, however, including seemingly undecided Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Todd Young of Indiana, Susan Collins of Maine and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Equally, Sen John Fetterman (D-Pa.) could vote the other way. The partisanship we’ll see today is yet another striking example of the inability of Republicans and Democrats to unite around just about anything these days. In years gone by, a successful U.S. military operation against a hated foe would likely have triggered at least a brief “rally around the flag” moment in Congress, but we’ve seen no such thing under Trump 2.0. What grease in the gears we are seeing comes via man of the moment Marco Rubio, one of the few members of Trump’s otherwise highly-partisan cabinet who commands respect on both sides of the aisle. In a great profile this morning, POLITICO’s Jordain Carney hears from senior Dems and Republicans alike who admit profound respect for the way Rubio conducts himself, leaning on his old Senate relationships to ensure Congress is kept largely on side. But he’s not a miracle worker: The scale of GOP pushback to Trump’s proposed dalliance in Greenland yesterday was striking and makes the prospect of a forceful U.S. takeover of the island look far less likely. At least nine Republican senators have publicly come out against the idea so far — Paul, Murkowski, Collins and Tillis; plus Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, John Kennedy of Louisiana and John Curtis of Utah. Nope: Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson have also both said there’s essentially no chance of it happening — and that’s before you get to the reaction from America’s Western allies, which has been stronger than on just about anything else Trump has done in his second term. (POLITICO’s Zoya Sheftalovich and colleagues pick through the practical options for Europe here.) The American public also hates the idea — just 8 percent support taking Greenland by force, per YouGov. Reality check: Rubio meets the Danes for talks next week, and given all of the above, the most likely outcome feels like a de-escalation. Speaking of de-escalation: Trump pulled a classic 180 last night regarding the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, whom he’s spent the past week insulting and threatening with military action. But after one (presumably fawning) phone call, all is well in the world. “It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had,” Trump said last night on Truth Social. “I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future.” Suddenly looking less rosy, however, is the Trump-Putin relationship, which has already had more ups and downs than the Bennifer saga. We now appear to be back on a downward spiral, with Trump saying Saturday he was “not thrilled” with Putin and apparently giving envoy Steve Witkoff the green light to negotiate postwar security guarantees with Ukraine. Last night, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) claimed Trump has now “greenlit” his Russia sanctions bill, which would be a very big deal if it proceeds. Watch this space.
| | | | 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. | | | | And it’s still full steam ahead in Venezuela, where Trump’s drive for oil is moving things along fast. WSJ’s Brian Schwartz and colleagues report the president is “planning a sweeping initiative to dominate the Venezuelan oil industry for years to come” and “has told aides he believes his efforts could help lower oil prices to his favored level of $50 a barrel.” The strategy essentially involves the U.S. taking control of the bulk of Venezuela's state-run oil production. Trump’s other big idea is to send in U.S. oil giants to further exploit Venezuela’s vast crude oil resources, and to that end has invited America’s top oil execs in for an Oval Office confab tomorrow. You’d think from listening to the president that U.S. oil firms are salivating at this prospect, but here's the thing: It’s just not true. An inconvenient truth: Venezuela may have huge reserves of crude oil, but that doesn't automatically make it a tantalizing prospect for private investors. Tens of billions of dollars will be required over a 10-year period to bring its aging facilities up to speed, insiders say — and even then, the type of crude oil in Venezuela requires more expensive processing work than many other sources. Furthermore, the fraught security and political situations in Venezuela represent a major risk. With oil prices already close to Trump’s bargain $50 a barrel, industry execs say the numbers for a big Venezuelan investment currently do not add up. And where’s JD at? There’s been plenty of speculation this past week that the idea of sending U.S. troops into a developing country to pilfer its oil might be the sort of thing that Iraq War-hating VP JD Vance gets squeamish about. But not so, Playbook’s Dasha Burns writes in. “He f--king loves it,” per one source familiar with Vance’s thinking. “When you're in our backyard, you don’t get to steal s--t and get away with it." Another source says Vance is “super into this” and sees it as “different to the Middle East.” But the broader problem for the White House is that the focus on foreign affairs is — once again — crowding out its messaging on affordability, which chief of staff Susie Wiles wants to make the central theme of this election year. My POLITICO colleagues Victoria Guida and Meredith Lee Hill scooped last night that Trump has a big executive order on affordability coming soon. The EO, Victoria and Meredith report, would include “a push to allow people to dip into their retirement and college savings accounts to afford down payments on homes,” though they note some of the policies may need congressional backing. The question is how much of America will actually notice. After all, yesterday’s MAHA briefing with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a decided affordability theme to it — good food, after all, can be very cheap food — but you’d never know it from the limited pick-up it received. And while Trump’s announcement on housing yesterday was a pretty big deal, it still played second fiddle on every news bulletin to the ICE shooting and his various foreign policy disputes. As ever, the downside of “letting Trump be Trump” is that he has a tendency to drown everything else out — including his own White House messaging strategy.
| | | ON THE HILL A BIG DAY OF VOTES: As the Senate focuses on the war powers vote, the House will have a busy day too, with several pieces of high-profile legislation hitting the floor for what could be unpredictable votes. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will also hold a joint presser at 10 a.m. More from POLITICO’s Inside Congress First in Playbook — Undoing the undoing: Colorado members from both parties are urging Congress to override Trump’s veto of money for a water infrastructure project in the state. “If Congress allows a precedent to be set for non-controversial, bipartisan bills to be vetoed for reasons unrelated to their substance, no bill is safe,” Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.) warn in a Dear Colleague letter to the Senate, along with a similar letter to the House from Boebert and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.). The House is seen as likely to override both this veto and one of legislation to bolster the Miccosukee Tribe in Florida. All aboard the minibus: The House will take two separate appropriations votes — one combining Energy-Water and Interior and the other on Commerce-Justice-Science. House leadership had to work hard to muscle the bills past a procedural hurdle yesterday when hard-liners withheld their votes over earmark objections, POLITICO’s Katherine Tully-McManus reports. The bills would keep several federal agencies funded through the rest of the fiscal year, ahead of late January’s shutdown deadline. The ACA debate: The House is also set to revive the enhanced Obamacare tax credits with a clean three-year extension, after nine Republicans — not just the four who signed a discharge petition — joined with Democrats to advance the bill yesterday, per POLITICO’s Benjamin Guggenheim. This successful rebellion against Speaker Mike Johnson won’t get through the Senate, though. Instead, it could be a launchpad for Senate negotiators to try to strike a health care deal next week. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) said they’re close to reaching a framework, which could come Monday, on a two-year extension plus policy changes. Centrists from both chambers are planning to meet today to discuss the Affordable Care Act legislation, per Inside Congress. The likeliest hurdle: language related to abortion services.
| | | TRAIL MIX NEW THIS MORNING: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is officially launching his reelection bid with events today in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky reports. His launch video highlights a record of having “gotten shit done,” with a focus on the economy. It’s a big moment for the well-funded incumbent: If he wins again and can help Democrats flip House seats in the state, he’d be in a strong position for a 2028 presidential campaign. But first the Democrat has to win this Trump state — and in state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, he faces a likely stronger Republican frontrunner than Doug Mastriano in 2022. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Red-light redistrict: Experts increasingly expect that if the Supreme Court does gut the Voting Rights Act and pave the way for sweeping new GOP gerrymanders in the South, it’ll probably happen too late for the midterms, POLITICO’s Samuel Benson and Andrew Howard report. Though the justices still could rule quickly, the typical June window for high-profile decisions would be too late for many states to pass new maps. Early primaries in many Southern states may have already taken place by then. Louisiana has given up on the prospect, and Alabama and South Carolina face a ticking clock. Take this one off the board: Kentucky state Senate President Robert Stivers indicated that any plans for a new map are over, “as much as anything can be,” the Lexington Herald Leader’s Austin Horn reports. But but but: Florida is charging ahead with plans to deepen Republicans’ existing congressional gerrymander, as Gov. Ron DeSantis called a special session for late April, POLITICO’s Gary Fineout reports from Tallahassee. This is probably the biggest remaining target for the GOP, as they hope to snatch as many as three to five House seats away from Democrats. ONE TO WATCH: Former Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), now head of the Federal Transit Administration, is considering a comeback bid in Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-N.Y.) district, the N.Y. Post’s Josh Christenson and Carl Campanile scooped. REALITY BITES: Spencer Pratt — yes, the erstwhile “The Hills” bad boy — announced that he’s running for mayor of LA, POLITICO’s Liam Dillon and Melanie Mason report. The Pacific Palisades native has emerged as a prominent critic of incumbent Karen Bass’ and California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to last year’s LA wildfires. Now he’ll challenge the former, though Bass remains the frontrunner. Speaking of Newsom: POLITICO’s Debra Kahn asks in her latest Currents column: “How Trumpian does Gavin Newsom want to get?” The California governor has taken a page out of the Trump playbook on social media. “But he’s also been following Trump’s lead in making things personal with corporate executives who run afoul of his agenda. First on Newsom’s naughty list: General Motors CEO Mary Barra.” MORE FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine finally endorsed fellow Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to succeed him in Columbus, per The Columbus Dispatch’s Jessie Balmert. … Rich Silicon Valley types are trying to gather momentum behind a primary against Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) over his support for a wealth tax, with Ethan Agarwal one potential challenger, NYT’s Teddy Schleifer reports. POLITICAL VIOLENCE WATCH: “Campaigning under threat: How political violence is already shaping the next Democratic primary,” by CNN’s Isaac Dovere: “That fear is part of the conversations many Democrats who could be competitors for the White House are having with each other, comparing notes and anxieties … Parades, for many top contenders, are out, along with most other outdoor events. Bulletproof glass and other upgrades have been quietly made to offices and residences. Many crowds are now seeded with undercover officers … Several teared up as they confessed dark fears of children being attacked in the middle of the night.” BEST OF THE REST MIDDLE EAST LATEST: The next phase in Trump’s Gaza plans will come next week with the unveiling of the Gaza Board of Peace, chaired by Trump, Axios’ Barak Ravid reports. The oversight of the future government and reconstruction process will be led by Nikolay Mladenov. GETTING READY FOR DAVOS — Along with the president, the Trump administration’s delegation to the World Economic Forum will comprise Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, USTR Jamieson Greer, special envoy Steve Witkoff, David Sacks, Michael Kratsios and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, Semafor’s Liz Hoffman and Ben Smith scooped. MUSICAL CHAIRS: Ryan Baasch’s nomination for a seat on the FTC will be changed to a new role for him as National Economic Council deputy director, Reuters’ Jeff Mason scooped. MEGATREND: The latest CBO projection has revised downward expectations for future U.S. population growth — and now estimates that the country will start to contract by 2056. More from the Washington Examiner A BLEAK DAY FOR JOURNALISM: The mysteries of Pittsburgh will soon multiply, as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s owner announced it will shutter the newspaper in May, per Kris Mamula. Block Communications said it had lost $350 million on the paper in the past two decades, and it pulled the plug after the Supreme Court declined to stop a court victory for the newsroom union. It’s a stunning end for the biggest newspaper in a metro area of nearly 2.5 million people. It won a Pulitzer as recently as 2019.
| | | | 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.
Support Cures. Increase federal funding for lifesaving medical research in FY26. | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | STRICTLY BALLROOM — Trump administration officials will finally show detailed plans for their new White House ballroom to the public today, as they present before the National Capital Planning Commission at 1 p.m. (livestreamed here). The 90,000-square-foot space replacing the now-demolished East Wing needs to get the approval of the commission, which is led by President Donald Trump’s appointees, though litigation is ongoing separately. More from POLITICO’s Michael Doyle for Pros SAD NEWS — Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) announced that her stepdaughter died at 38: “Lauren was one of my bonus daughters, an absolute blessing to me ever since we joined families over 20 years ago.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Peter Schweizer is publishing a new book, “The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon” ($32.50). It comes out Jan. 20 from HarperCollins, who previously published the Government Accountability Institute president’s bestseller “Clinton Cash.” The cover MEDIA MOVES — Julia Terruso will be a senior correspondent covering national politics at Time. She previously worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer. … ç is now a Pentagon and national security reporter at ABC. He previously worked at Military.com. TRANSITIONS — Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau is now the Bradford M. Freeman managing director of global policy at the George W. Bush Institute. She previously was a U.S. diplomat, most recently as deputy chief of mission in Baghdad. … Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America has added Scott Luginbill as VP of federal affairs and Ben Castagnetti and Kelsey Snyder as directors of federal affairs. Luginbill most recently worked for Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Castagnetti for Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Snyder for the National Federation of Independent Business. … Andrew Kuzy is now digital director for Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.). He previously worked for Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.). … … AMD has added Molly Abboud and Daniel Ricchetti to its government relations team. Abboud most recently worked at the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America and is an NRSC alum. Ricchetti previously worked in the Biden State Department. … Alvaro Perpuly is now senior comms manager at New Deal Strategies. He previously worked for Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.). … Mary Robbins has launched Storied Communications, a firm focused on speechwriting, media training and executive comms, as well as a podcast, “The Speechwriter’s Room.” She previously worked for first lady Jill Biden and is a Labor Department and Defense Department alum. ENGAGED — Hannah Hagen, staff director of the House Homeland Security Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee and a Ted Cruz alum, and Erik Shaw, an auditor at KPMG, got engaged over the weekend during a trip to Vail, Colorado. They met in college at Southern Methodist University. Pic WEDDING — Britton Burdick, comms director for the House Agriculture Committee Democrats, and Shannon Peak, a senior associate at RLG Law, got married recently at the Sonoma County clerk-recorder’s office in California. They met on Bumble and got engaged after 11 months of dating, before deciding to elope at nearly 32 months. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Andrew Bates … John Podesta … Anita Dunn … Heather Podesta … Adam Hechavarria … Treasury’s James Reed … María Peña of the Library of Congress … David Chavern … The Hechinger Report’s Nirvi Shah … Jane Lucas … former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos … former Reps. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.), Charlie Bass (R-N.H.) and Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) … Avra Siegel … former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft … Deborah Mazol … WaPo’s Emma Brown … David P. White … Laura Pinsky … Elizabeth López-Sandoval … Boeing’s Nicole Tieman … POLITICO’s Joel Kirkland … Ted Leonsis … S&P Global’s Rachel Looker … Lou Sola of Thorn Run Partners 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. Clarification: Yesterday’s Playbook has been updated to more accurately characterize the Transportation Department’s effort to scrap the use of automated traffic enforcement cameras in Washington. | | | | 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 | | | |
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