| | | |  | | By Ali Bianco | Presented by United for Cures | MADURO IN COURT: Nicolás Maduro made his first appearance in federal court in Manhattan today following his capture by U.S. forces this weekend. Maduro pleaded not guilty to federal drug-trafficking charges in the first hearing of what will likely be a lengthy legal battle, POLITICO’s Erica Orden reports from New York. “I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country,” Maduro told the judge. “I am a kidnapped president, prisoner of war,” he added later. Must read: “92-year-old judge handling Maduro case ‘doesn’t give a s--t what anyone thinks about him’” by POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Erica: Maduro’s case has come before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a Clinton appointee and 92-year-old judge “with a stubborn streak and an often unorthodox approach to running his courtroom.”
|  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
After a bruising clash last year, funding the government could prove to be the least contentious issue. | AP | BACK TO THE HILL: Congress is officially back. And lawmakers are returning to the Hill to a firestorm of different conflicts to manage, both new and old headaches coming together as the 2026 legislative calendar kicks off. This week alone, both sides of Congress will confront the sudden intervention in Venezuela, a roundtable on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and hearing on misuse of federal funds in Minnesota, a vote in the House on the expired Affordable Care Act tax credits — and, of course, the small matter of funding the government for the next fiscal year. Buckle in. Kicking things off: After a bruising clash last year, funding the government for the remainder of this fiscal year could prove to be the least contentious issue, if today offers any indication. In a bicameral breakthrough, top appropriators this morning released the text of the three-bill funding package to pass ahead of the Jan. 30 shutdown deadline, POLITICO’s Jennifer Scholtes and Meredith Lee Hill report. As GOP leaders start to whip votes, they’re planning to put the package to a vote in the House on Thursday. The compromise comes after more than a month of negotiations, with the deal including funding for the Energy, Commerce, Interior and Justice departments, as well as water programs, the EPA and federal science initiatives until Sept. 30. Speaker Mike Johnson, while decrying the prospects of an “omnibus” package, touted the minibus as spending less than past funding bills. And the deal received ringing endorsements in statements from both top Democratic appropriators — Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Patty Murray. But there are still some funding hurdles ahead: Congress has six other spending bills to move forward before the deadline — which include some of the biggest budgets covering the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor and Education. The thorny health care debate that drew outsized attention before the break will come up again this week. The discharge petition for a potential three-year extension of the expired Affordable Care Act subsidies could get a procedural vote on Wednesday, with a final vote on passage in the House on Thursday, Meredith reports. But even if it passes the House, it’s likely doomed in the Senate. Looming over all of this is Venezuela, which will likely dominate much of the discussion on the Hill this week. Top congressional leaders and senior House and Senate members from Intelligence, Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Relations committees will be briefed today by top administration officials at 5:30 p.m. Despite general support for the president’s move, internally some Republicans are feeling misled by the administration on the endgame in Venezuela, especially amid mixed messaging over who is actually running Venezuela, POLITICO’s Calen Razor writes. As lawmakers shuffle back to D.C., they’re returning to crunch time ahead of the midterms. Republicans’ razor-thin majority — which is only getting narrower — will be under ever more scrutiny. But as GOP members start to reflect on the current political temperature, some are questioning a change in leadership if they hold onto power, MS NOW’s Mychael Schnell reports. “Expect the silent majority in the GOP conference to push for entirely new faces, and an entirely new approach, in the next Congress,” one lawmaker told MS NOW. And some GOP lawmakers want 2026 to be about reclaiming Congress’ authority, per NOTUS’ Riley Rogerson. COME IN, CAP. KELLY: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced this morning that the Pentagon is taking steps to demote Sen. Mark Kelly’s (D-Ariz.) retirement rank and pay following his participation in a November video telling service members to defy illegal orders, POLITICO’s Leo Shane III and Connor O'Brien report. Hegseth said the video was part of a “pattern of reckless misconduct.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer quickly jumped to Kelly’s defense, calling the move “a despicable act of political retribution.” FOR YOUR RADAR: Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) is stepping down as the ranking Democrat on the House China panel, POLITICO’s Nick Wu reports, with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) taking over as ranking member. Good Monday afternoon — and welcome back. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Send me your thoughts: abianco@politico.com.
| | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. VENEZUELA FALLOUT: Following a whirlwind weekend of U.S. intervention in Venezuela, around a dozen oil tankers carrying Venezuelan oil have left the country since the start of 2026 — a potential violation of the strict oil blockade that remains in effect after Maduro’s capture, per Reuters. The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting on the U.S. raid today, with Secretary-General António Guterres saying he is “deeply concerned” about instability in the region, per NYT. How it’s playing: WaPo surveyed 1,004 Americans on the intervention and found an even split between approval and disapproval of the operation, while a 63 percent majority said it should have required congressional authorization. In South Florida, there’s more hope among Venezuelan Americans and Venezuelans that they might be able to return to the country, NYT’s Patricia Mazzei writes. The view from Caracas: Venezuelans are struggling to understand what will come next after this weekend’s stunning events, with confusion and some dread about more conflict raging across the capital city, WaPo’s Ana Vanessa Herrero and Terrence McCoy report from Caracas. And while Maduro may be out of power, the country’s top enforcers — Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino — still hold control of the military, and could present a wild card for Trump to deal with, WSJ’s Ryan Dubé writes. All about the oil: Trump left little room for doubt after declaring that his top priority in Venezuela’s transition would be regrowing its oil industry and exports. But with that objective comes a big test for U.S. firms on how much risk they can tolerate, and how much they will invest without any guarantees on Venezuela’s future, Axios’ Ben Geman reports. China also looms large over the oil equation. It has loaned billions to the country to bring in Venezuelan oil, and now also faces a squeeze and questions about a return on investment, per NYT’s Alexandra Stevenson. 2. THE DON-ROE DOCTRINE: Trump’s ever-expanding foreign policy portfolio and eye toward intervention is raising red flags among world leaders. Danish PM Mette Frederiksen doubled down in defense of Greenland, calling on Trump to “stop the threats” while Greenland retains its right to self-determination, per NYT. Standing with Denmark is one of Trump’s big European allies, British PM Keir Starmer. “Denmark is a close European ally, a close NATO ally, and the future therefore has to be for Greenland [and] for the Kingdom of Denmark,” Stamer said this morning, POLITICO’s Noah Keate reports in London. Also hitting back: Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who wrote on X this morning, “If you detain a president whom much of my people want and respect, you will unleash the people’s jaguar.” Petro also said he “asked the people to defend the president against any illegitimate violent act,” while the country’s defense minister toed a more diplomatic line, NYT’s Genevieve Glatsky reports. Troubled waters: Iran has been struggling to quiet a wave of protests in the country that so far has killed 17 people, but Trump’s threats are complicating the country’s options, Reuters’ Parisa Hafezi writes. “These twin pressures have narrowed Tehran’s room for manoeuvre … with few viable options and high risks on every path,” one Iranian official told Reuters. Meanwhile in Nigeria, Muslims in the country are living in fear following the Christmas Day strikes and continued threats from Trump, per NYT. The big picture: The Atlantic’s Missy Ryan and Ashley Parker outline Trump’s tack on foreign policy with a more, ahem, colorful moniker. We’ll call it the FAFO Doctrine. “In [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio’s telling, the stunning events in Venezuela on Saturday illustrate an essential truth — possibly the essential truth — about Donald Trump’s presidency: Global leaders cross him at their peril,” they write. 3. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Ad it up: Texas state Rep. James Talarico is going up with the first statewide TV ad in the Democratic Senate primary. The seven-figure buy frames Talarico as a fighter, with a message focused on fighting against corruption and for affordability. Watch the 30-second spot here
| | | | 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. | | | | 4. HE’S OUT: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced this morning that he is dropping his bid for reelection, stepping away from the prospect of a third term in office, POLITICO’s Elena Schneider reports. The shock news comes as Republicans have sought to tie him to a spiraling controversy that has resulted in a federal probe into a massive welfare fraud scandal in the state and a crackdown from Trump on the state’s Somali community. What Walz is saying: “Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences,” he wrote in his statement on X. It’s a remarkable fall for Walz, who gained a national profile in 2024 as the Democratic nominee for vice president. Who comes next: Walz met with Sen. Amy Klobuchar to discuss the campaign yesterday, Elena reports, and the onetime presidential candidate is “receiving encouragement to run and she’s seriously considering it but has not decided on her plans.” Her entry would be welcome news for Democrats in a competitive state given her past success in running ahead of others in her party. Dean Phillips wrote on X that he won’t enter the race. What comes next: “2,000 federal agents deploying to Minneapolis in immigration crackdown, fraud probe,” by CBS’ Nicole Sganga and Camilo Montoya-Galvez: “The crackdown could involve roughly 2,000 agents and officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement's deportation branch and Homeland Security Investigations … The plan is for the agents and officers to oversee a 30-day surge in operations in the Twin Cities area, making the region the first major target of the Trump administration's expanded immigration crackdown in the new year.” CBP Commander Gregory Bovino is expected “to help lead immigration enforcement efforts, along with an unknown number of U.S. Border Patrol personnel.” 5. TRADING SPACES: “OECD Finalizes Agreement on Global Minimum Tax,” by Bloomberg’s Caitlin Reilly and Daniel Flatley: “The US and more than 100 other countries finalized an agreement that would exempt American companies from some foreign taxes, the culmination of a months-long effort to create a carve-out from a corporate global minimum levy. The deal excludes US-based multinational corporations from the 15% global minimum tax negotiated through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development, or OECD. … Under the agreement, other countries would be effectively blocked from imposing additional taxes on foreign subsidiaries of US multinationals.” 6. LIVE FROM NEW YORK: “New York Gov. Kathy Hochul confronts a rising populist tide,” by POLITICO’s Nick Reisman: “Hochul is trying to center her reelection campaign on the cost of living. … She faces left-flank pressure to raise taxes on rich people so that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s expensive agenda comes to fruition. On the right, Republicans have pledged to exploit any effort to support Mamdani’s goals … Yet the governor is showing signs that she’s willing to blend the policies of both the mercurial president and rookie mayor — making cost concerns a centerpiece for the coming year amid the expectation voters will reward her for sympathizing with their pocketbook problems.” 7. FOR YOUR RADAR: “Man in custody after windows broken at JD Vance’s home, Secret Service says,” by WaPo’s Jennifer Hassan: “U.S. Secret Service agents assigned to the Ohio home of Vice President JD Vance ‘physically detained’ a man at the property early Monday shortly after midnight after windows were broken there. … The Secret Service said it is coordinating with the Cincinnati police and the U.S. attorney’s office as charging decisions are reviewed.” What Vance is saying: “As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows,” he wrote on X. “I'm grateful to the secret service and the Cincinnati police for responding quickly. We weren't even home as we had returned already to DC.”
| | TALK OF THE TOWN | | IS THE BROMANCE BACK? — Elon Musk had dinner this weekend with Donald Trump and Melania Trump. “2026 is going to be amazing!” he posted on X. THE LATEST D.C. DATA — “For the second year, D.C.’s annual homicide toll declined,” by WaPo’s Emma Uber: “In 2025, for the first time since 2017, fewer than 150 people were slain in D.C., continuing a decline in violent crime that began in 2024. D.C. experienced a 32 percent drop in homicides for the second consecutive year, according to city data, with police investigating 127 homicides in 2025 compared to 187 in 2024 and 274 the year before, the deadliest year in more than two decades. There were also fewer shootings, robberies, carjackings and instances of sexual abuse reported last year, data shows.” TRANSITIONS — Evan Nash is now political director for Eric Conroy’s congressional campaign in Ohio. He previously worked in Sen. Bernie Moreno’s (R-Ohio) office. … Donald Gips and Francine Lamoriello are joining DGA Group. Gips, a former ambassador, previously led the Skoll Foundation. Lamoriello previously worked at the Personal Care Products Council. … Manny Orozco is joining Richard Lamondin’s congressional campaign as campaign manager. He previously worked for Miami-Dade County. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Poorvie Bishnoi, VP at Monument Advocacy, and Mayank Bishnoi, the Global Policy Counsel for Texas Instruments, welcomed Rhys Kellen Bishnoi on Dec. 26, 2025. He joins big brother Zane. 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.
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