| | | |  | | By Ali Bianco | Presented by United for Cures | With help from Eli Okun Good Sunday morning. This is Ali Bianco. Your author, like many Venezuelan Americans in Miami, has not taken eyes off the news this weekend — so let’s get into it. Get in touch.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are staring down a potentially legacy-defining foreign policy agenda. | AP | RUBIO MAKES HIS MOVE: After months of waiting, the decisive and stunning action in Venezuela yesterday represented a promise kept for MAGA’s Venezuelan Americans. Not just from President Donald Trump — but also from Miami’s favorite son, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Both Trump and Rubio are staring down a potentially legacy-defining foreign policy agenda. Extracting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from the country was a move that Trump had hinted was a possibility for much of 2025. The push for a transition to democracy in Venezuela, meanwhile, has been at the forefront of Rubio’s career for decades. But as the dust settles, there’s no shortage of questions about what comes next in Venezuela. Those answers will fall on Trump and Rubio to provide. “If Venezuela does a transition to democracy in the next few months, then Rubio will have achieved something so great that, in my opinion, would make him the greatest secretary of State,” Venezuelan GOP strategist Daniel Di Martino told Playbook. “The dominoes are going to fall in Cuba, Nicaragua, because Venezuela is going to achieve that.” To see the reaction in Rubio’s hometown, it wasn’t just Venezuelans turning out to the streets in droves: Cubans, too, were out in numbers. And Maduro’s fall in the Western Hemisphere may not be an isolated incident. “If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned,” Rubio said during yesterday’s news conference. The operation has opened the door to the entire hemisphere, POLITICO’s Eli Stokols and Daniella Cheslow report. “What's happening just on, you know, 90 miles away from us matters as well, just as much that has happened with our own borders,” Matt Terrill, a managing partner at Firehouse Strategies and a former Rubio aide, told Playbook. Rubio came to political power in the heart of Miami’s Cuban community, one that grew to embrace the cause of Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who shared a similar experience decades later. From a local leader to one of Miami’s foremost voices in Congress, Rubio built his reputation as a hawk, taking an early position supporting a sanctions crackdown against the Maduro regime. As secretary of State, he maintains close contact with his strongest allies in Congress — the trio of Miami Cuban Republicans, who have likewise made the fall of Maduro a career-defining cause. “That, to me, is one of the biggest issues that, in terms of public opinion, is driving this,” Eduardo Gamarra, an FIU professor who does polling in Florida, told Playbook. “A lot of people think, ‘Well, here's a promise that the president made and that Rubio made,’ and he delivered.” It’s clear that Rubio is among Trump’s most trusted members of his inner circle. If you were on X yesterday, the jokes about Rubio taking on yet another role in the administration were as widespread as the infamous lamp photo from the Vanity Fair spread. He’s often mentioned as a potential presidential candidate come 2028, right behind VP JD Vance. Rubio largely let the spotlight shine on Trump yesterday, deferring to the president as he took a victory lap following the successful operation. But Rubio embarked on a media tour this morning, taking his spin around the Sunday circuit. In his remarks on the various programs, Rubio remained vague on the details for the future in Venezuela. He repeatedly emphasized that the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela, adding that oil sanctions will remain in place and that drug boat strikes could continue. But he did not rule out the idea of occupying Venezuela. Speaking to Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Rubio said Trump “does not feel like he is going to publicly rule out options that are available for the United States, even though that’s not what you’re seeing right now.” But he also preached for a bit of patience. “There has to be a little realism here,” Rubio told CBS. “They’ve had the system of Chavismo in place for 15 or 16 years, and everyone’s asking why 24 hours after Nicolás Maduro was arrested there isn’t an election scheduled for tomorrow? There’s a process.” This week’s move also isn’t the first time Trump has come down on the Maduro regime. Strategists pointed to his efforts back in 2019 to highlight Venezuela’s opposition. But at the time, any intervention in Venezuela was taken off the table. It’s a night and day difference from today, when the hawks in the administration appear to be winning, POLITICO’s Sophia Cai and colleagues report. Still, questions swirl about how the “America First” crowd will react to another bout of interventionism from Trump. MAGA, so far, has largely fallen in line. “The isolationists and the Reaganites don’t agree on much, but one area where they do is the Western Hemisphere,” a former senior Trump administration official told POLITICO. “This isn’t regime change, this is justice,” Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz said in a text to our colleagues. And Steve Bannon, a key MAGA figurehead, called it a “a bold and brilliant raid.” Yet there’s a recognition that Rubio is the driving force behind this, with one person telling our colleagues that “Rubio’s stock has been skyrocketing.” “He’s the mastermind,” Di Martino told Playbook. Rubio himself nodded to the “America First” argument this morning, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “We want Venezuela to move in a certain direction because not only do we think it's good for the people of Venezuela, it's in our national interest.” Despite some rising concerns about the way forward, the faith in him from Venezuelans in the GOP remains high. “I trust him more,” Di Martino said. “That's just the truth. I trust him much more than I trust anybody else.”
| | | | 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. | | | | INSIDE THE OPERATION … The backstory: In August, CIA operatives quietly snuck into Venezuela — gathering the intel that would be crucial for the Army Delta Force team months later, NYT’s Julian Barnes and colleagues report. The Delta Force team rehearsed the extraction in a full-scale model in Kentucky, and the U.S. tracked the six to eight different locations that Maduro had been circulating through. The view from Trump: He watched the operation play out in a draped off room in Mar-a-Lago. “Good luck and Godspeed,” Trump said before the mission, CNN’s Kevin Liptak and colleagues report. This final call to invade came after repeated efforts to get Maduro to voluntarily step down, with one source telling CNN that Trump gave Maduro an ultimatum in November. Trump ultimately decided that Maduro needed to face justice in the U.S. and that his supporters would back his decision — which needed to be kept as quiet as possible, WSJ’s Alex Ward and colleagues report. The details: “Since August, the U.S. had assembled warships, jet fighters and roughly 15,000 troops on Venezuela’s doorstep,” per WSJ. But yesterday the military “sent overwhelming air power for the operation” By 3:29 a.m. Maduro and Flores were in U.S. custody. Trump suggested the U.S. used cyberattacks to cut off power in Caracas for the duration of the attack, POLITICO’s Maggie Miller reports. There were no U.S. casualties, but at least 40 Venezuelan civilians or military were killed, per NYT. NYT has compiled a map, photos and videos of how the operation unfolded. WHAT COMES NEXT … Change in Caracas: In Delcy Rodriguez’s first televised remarks after taking power, she condemned Maduro’s capture, per NYT’s Jack Nicas. “What is being done to Venezuela is a barbarity,” adding that Maduro is Venezuela’s “only president.” As for why the administration is letting Rodriguez take the lead, NYT’s Anatoly Kurmanaev and colleagues report that intermediaries persuaded the administration that Rodriguez could safeguard Venezuelan oil and lead negotiations in the interim. But if Rodriguez doesn’t cooperate, “she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told the Atlantic’s Michael Scherer today. Rubio’s role here looms large: He speaks Spanish and was able to communicate directly yesterday with Rodriguez and will continue doing so, as Axios’ Marc Caputo notes. But between the risks of leaving in place a leader from the current regime, the effort to shore up Venezuela’s oil assets and the question of elections hanging over all of it, it’s a mammoth task for Rubio, who already holds multiple jobs, WaPo’s John Hudson and Adam Taylor write. All about the oil: Administration officials have already told oil executives that if they want compensation for their seized property they have to prepare to re-invest in Venezuela, POLITICO’s Ben Lefebvre and colleagues scooped. “But people in the industry said the administration’s message has left them still leery about the difficulty of rebuilding decayed oil fields in a country where it’s not even clear who will lead the country for the foreseeable future.” Meanwhile, in New York: Maduro arrived in New York yesterday, where he will face indictments on drug trafficking charges. He could appear in court as soon as Monday, where U.S. prosecutors will make the case that he has been the leader behind the Cartel de los Soles, WSJ’s José de Córdoba and colleagues report. His wife is also facing charges, freshly announced by AG Pam Bondi yesterday. NYT has a closer look at Flores, and how she helped consolidate Maduro’s power. SUNDAY BEST … — Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on how Trump’s move on Maduro fits into his “America First” agenda, on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “Getting a bad guy brought to justice who's had a five-year arrest warrant, that is certainly consistent with that theme and that message as well. So I think the American people appreciate that. And, frankly, I think that's the message we go tell the American people in this midterm election. President Trump and Republicans did what we said we would do.” — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on the lack of congressional coordination, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “This was a military action, and pursuant to the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war to authorize acts that take place in this regard. And we have to make sure when we return to Washington D.C., that legislative action is taken to ensure that no further military steps occur absent explicit congressional approval.” — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on the impact of the operation, on ABC’s “This Week”: “Maduro is a horrible, horrible person, but you don’t treat lawlessness with other lawlessness, and that's what's happened here. The American people this morning are scratching their heads in wonderment and in fear of what the president has proposed. ‘The United States will run Venezuela.’ We have learned through the years when America tries to do regime change and nation building in this way, the American people pay the price in both blood and in dollars.” On a vote authorizing Trump’s military actions in Venezuela: “It’s going to come to the floor this week. And if it is voted for, if it’s voted positively in both houses, then the president can’t do another thing in Venezuela without the OK of Congress. We have to pass it.” More from POLITICO’s Aaron Pellish — Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on new leadership for Venezuela, on “State of the Union”: “I don't think that we can count on Delcy Rodríguez to be friendly to the United States until she proves it. … Delcy Rodríguez and other sanctioned and indicted ministers in Venezuela were in league with Maduro until yesterday. So I don't think we can count on them to be pro-American at all. I hope they turn over a new page. I hope they begin to meet our demands.” — Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Congress’ lack of teeth in enforcing presidential military action, on “State of the Union”: “Congress needs to own its own role in allowing a presidency to become this lawless. The fact of the matter is that the president's justification makes no sense here. He says that this was just a law enforcement operation. Well, there are people with warrants all over the world. That doesn't give the president of the United States the power to launch a billion-dollar invasion of those countries to bring a fugitive to justice.” — Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) on the administration’s claim that Congress leaks as a rationale for not notifying members of the move against Maduro, on “Fox News Sunday”: “The Gang of Eight does not leak. The Gang of Eight should be read into this. … They know their jobs, and we’re better off if Congress is in lockstep with the administration.”
| | | 9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. THE BIGGER PICTURE: The push for potential regime change may be welcome news to Venezuelans and Cubans, but it will no doubt stir consternation and trauma in Washington from forever wars past, POLITICO’s Nahal Toosi writes in her latest Compass column. “Trump isn’t ruling anything out — including more regime change efforts. My sense in talking to administration officials and others close to decisionmakers is that when Trump threatens the clerics who run the regime in Tehran, he’s serious. When he rails against the Cubans, he means it.” The united front cracks: “The person familiar with the administration’s internal discussions said that in some ways the Trump team itself could find itself divided over how to proceed,” Nahal writes. “Does it strike a deal — on oil, drugs, migrants or more — with the remaining regime in Venezuela and leave it in charge, no matter how corrupt and awful it is? Or does it truly bring pressure for it to hold elections and give Venezuelans a valid choice in their future?” The Trump 1.0 perspective: “What a Former Trump Official Would Worry About in Venezuela,” by POLITICO’s Eric Bazail-Eimil: “Former State Department official Carrie Filipetti discusses the future of Venezuela and what the United States should do next.” The stepback: “Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Could Change the World. Here’s How,” by POLITICO Magazine: “13 experts on what comes next in Latin America and beyond.” 2. FROM ZELENSKYY, WITH LOVE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that U.S. negotiators will join European leaders for a summit in Paris on Tuesday to hash out the details on security guarantees for Ukraine, Bloomberg’s Daryna Krasnolutska reports. Zelenskyy said he hopes a meeting in the U.S. at the leader’s level can be set by the end of January. While the sides seem closer than ever on potential agreement, the issue of security guarantees has always been Zelenskyy’s bottom line, and questions remain about how exactly they would work or how long they would last, NYT’s Cassandra Vinograd and Constant Méheut write. 3. LOOKING EAST: Despite the warnings from Trump on any escalation in Iran, the country’s supreme leader is doubling down on threats of a potential crackdown as civil unrest over economic strife in the country grows. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday that “rioters must be put in their place,” which could green light a harsher response against demonstrators, AP’s Jon Gambrell reports. Trump has vowed that if the crackdown escalates, the U.S. “will come to their rescue.” Strike out: “South Korea says North Korea has launched ballistic missiles toward the sea,” by AP’s Hyung-Jin Kim: “North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles toward the sea on Sunday, South Korea’s military said, the latest weapons demonstration by the North ahead of its upcoming ruling party congress. … The launch also came hours before South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, leaves for China for a summit with President Xi Jinping.” 4. IN THE COURTS: Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of obstruction of justice last month for helping an immigrant avoid federal officers, has officially resigned, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Mary Spicuzza and John Diedrich report. In her letter to the governor, she cited her prosecution, and the push by Republicans in the state to remove her from the bench. … While the Trump administration has been handed several victories at the Supreme Court via emergency requests, his biggest agenda items will face full hearings at the high court this spring, where they may run into more conflict, NBC’s Lawrence Hurley writes.
| | | 5. 2026 WATCH: A wave of millennial and Gen Z candidates are hoping to follow NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s lead to shake up the Democratic Party through viral social media campaigning, POLITICO’s Caroline McCarthy writes. Beyond deep-blue NYC, candidates in red and purple states are becoming test cases for whether a digital-first campaign can boost them and make up for smaller funding or name ID. “The ease of building an online following has lowered the perceived barrier to running for office, even as the fundamentals of winning — fundraising, turnout and organization — remain unchanged.” You’ve got mail: A change in how the U.S. Post Office postmarks letters risks discounting the mail-in ballots of thousands of voters, WaPo’s Anna Liss-Roy reports. The postal service is no longer guaranteeing that a letter will be postmarked on the same day it is received — which could present complications for states that allow the counting of ballots after Election Day if they are postmarked by then. It ain’t easy being Greene: “Marjorie Taylor Greene made waves. Her constituents don’t agree on whether it was worth it,” by AP’s Bill Barrow and Emilie Megnien in Dalton, Georgia 6. 2028 WATCH: “Secret Service plans unprecedented staff surge with anxious eye on 2028,” by WaPo’s Derek Hawkins: “The Secret Service has launched one of the most ambitious hiring efforts in its history, seeking to bring on thousands of agents and officers to ease strain on its overstretched workforce and prepare for multiple major events in 2028, including the presidential election and the Olympics. … Service leaders say they want to hire 4,000 new employees by 2028 — a surge that law enforcement experts say has no clear precedent and reflects mounting concerns about staff burnout, a loss of experienced agents and a relentless operational tempo.” 7. TRADING SPACES: Two months after Trump’s “amazing” October meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, there’s still no formal agreement on a trade deal, and expectations for an expanded deal this year are dropping, POLITICO’s Phelim Kline and Ari Hawkins write. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer signaled in late October that the negotiations were moving to “final details,” while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the rare earth minerals provisions would be set by Thanksgiving. But without anything on paper, “critics say it also leaves the commitments open to competing interpretations — and, inevitably, more conflict down the line,” they write. The bigger tariff agenda: While the prices of some goods went up last year, and businesses heavily dependent on foreign imports took a hit, the impact from Trump’s tariffs hasn’t been as severe as economists predicted. NYT’s Ana Swanson reports that a new analysis shows importers have paid significantly lower tariff rates than what had been announced. 8. DEEP IN THE HEART: “Trump, atoms, AI and the Texas data center gusher,” by POLITICO’s Jason Plautz: “Canals for power lines and chain-link fences for an electricity substation are the first tangible signs of Fermi’s Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus. … But to deliver on the most grandiose of the country’s myriad data center projects, Fermi has to do what no American company has done in decades: build nuclear reactors on time and on budget … The quest for an anchor tenant in Amarillo has left investors reeling.” 9. MOOD MUSIC: “Marble, ice sculptures and optics: Trump’s remote presidency draws scrutiny,” by WaPo’s Cat Zakrzewski: “Trump has shifted much of his governing to what supporters call the ‘winter White House’ … He has visited his nearby golf club 12 times in two weeks … The arrangement reflects a governing style that collapses the boundaries of the presidency, Trump’s private business interests and his personal life, placing key moments of diplomacy and decision-making in a setting defined by access and loyalty rather than formal protocol.”
| | TALK OF THE TOWN | | SPOTTED: Sebastian Gorka at Christopher Kim's on M Street yesterday. GREECE-D LIGHTNIN’ — “Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle, the Talk of Athens,” by NYT’s Elisabeth Bumiller: “Recently, she turned up at an Athens nightclub for the 1:30 a.m. premiere show of her friend, one of the country’s most famous pop singers, Konstantinos Argiros, in a prime seat between her own personal stylist and a Greek businesswoman from a powerful shipping family. … Ms. Guilfoyle, 56, has become the talk of Athens, followed by paparazzi, featured with smoky eyes on the cover of Vogue Greece and much discussed, at least initially, as the woman jilted by the president’s son. … But Ms. Guilfoyle … has worked as hard as she plays, many Greeks say.” KENNEDY CENTER WOES — “‘Wicked’ composer says he won’t appear at Kennedy Center after name change,” by CNN’s Michael Williams: “‘Wicked’ composer Stephen Schwartz says he will not appear at the Kennedy Center after its board voted to attach President Donald Trump’s name to the venue — becoming the latest artist to push back against the president’s takeover of Washington’s most iconic performing arts center. … The center’s website had listed Schwartz as appearing in a gala with the Washington National Opera in May, and included a link to buy tickets to the performance, but it was removed from the website Friday afternoon.” LIFE’S A ZOO — WaPo has an interactive look at how the Smithsonian Zoo feeds its animals. “Each animal has a tailor-made diet that outlines the calories it needs to consume, the weight of each item and its feeding times,” they report. See for yourself HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio) … Amos Hochstein … Doris Kearns Goodwin … POLITICO’s David Kihara … TIME’s Eric Cortellessa … NBC’s Ben Mayer … Joshua Zeitz … Rob Gifford of CBS News Streaming … Axios’ Adriel Bettelheim … WaPo’s Jill Martin … Alex Campau of Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies … Kyle Hupfer … Nan Aron … Jim Warren … Courtney Piron of Novartis … Doug Campbell … Erin Moffet … Marie Sanderson … Caitlin Emma … Chip Kahn of the Federation of American Hospitals … Marc Brumer of the Herald Group … C-SPAN’s Michele Remillard … Human Rights Campaign’s Chris Huntley … Belén Mendoza … Gabby Birenbaum … Greg Smith of Rep. Eli Crane’s (R-Ariz.) office … Audrey (Hickenlooper) White … Peter Schorsch … Paul Foldi of the Professional Services Council … Mary Collins Howell of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions … Andy Borowitz … Jeremy Funk 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. Support Cures. Increase federal funding for lifesaving medical research in FY26. | | | | | | | | 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 | | | |
![Llama's orders: come back and grab good-for-you gummies before time runs out. | [ SAVE 10% NOW ] | *Discount automatically applies at checkout.](https://d3k81ch9hvuctc.cloudfront.net/company/PLPhhQ/images/f93213b0-c31a-4330-acac-947766f989e6.jpeg "Llama's orders: come back and grab good-for-you gummies before time runs out. | [ SAVE 10% NOW ] | *Discount automatically applies at checkout.")
![REAL-FRUIT, REAL DEAL | Our gummy vitamins pack in the nutrition you need for a day's work—or play. | Allergen-free | Plant-based goodness | High-quality, organic ingredients | Delicious flavor in every bite | No added sugar, syrups, sweeteners or synthetics | [ START HEALTHY HABITS ]](https://d3k81ch9hvuctc.cloudfront.net/company/PLPhhQ/images/5144ee3c-367d-4158-8728-cead887b94e7.jpeg "REAL-FRUIT, REAL DEAL | Our gummy vitamins pack in the nutrition you need for a day's work—or play. | Allergen-free | Plant-based goodness | High-quality, organic ingredients | Delicious flavor in every bite | No added sugar, syrups, sweeteners or synthetics | [ START HEALTHY HABITS ]")
![LOCK IN LIFETIME PRICING BY SUBSCRIBING NOW SHOP NOW *Protects from future price increases due to inflation and tariffs. | [ SHOP NOW ]](https://d3k81ch9hvuctc.cloudfront.net/company/PLPhhQ/images/e49f0d17-dc7b-4ae8-a9aa-d769af570c34.jpeg "LOCK IN LIFETIME PRICING BY SUBSCRIBING NOW SHOP NOW *Protects from future price increases due to inflation and tariffs. | [ SHOP NOW ]")
