| | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | HAPPENING SHORTLY: President Donald Trump will be the guest at press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s White House briefing as he marks one year since returning to office.
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Davos has been rattled by President Donald Trump’s tariff threats to coerce the continent into letting him buy Greenland. | Alex Brandon, File/AP | ACROSS THE POND: Trump’s rift with European allies over Greenland continued to balloon today — in a very Trump 2.0 fashion. His Cabinet secretaries sought to calm the waters as Trump roiled them anew; markets sagged; Europe freaked out; and Democrats raged alongside more muted criticism from Republicans. The view from the administration: At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which has been rattled by Trump’s tariff threats to coerce the continent into letting him buy Greenland, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged everyone to “sit back, take a deep breath, and let things play out,” POLITICO’s Sophie Inge and colleagues report. “As I said on April 2, the worst thing countries can do is escalate.” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS’ Ed O’Keefe that there won’t “be an upending of any of the trade deals that we have made … it’ll sort its way out.” And USTR Jamieson Greer said it’s “possible” that tariff threats may “set the scene” for a Greenland negotiation, per POLITICO’s Daniel Desrochers and Doug Palmer. Singing from a different hymnal: Trump reposted a comment on Truth Social today that said, “China and Russia are the boogeymen when the real threat is the U.N., NATO and [Islam].” Market watch: U.S. stock markets slid to their lowest levels in a few weeks over fears of Trump slapping fresh tariffs on European countries next month. The latest from Reuters Europe bites back: As Trump threatens to detonate the Western alliance through economic coercion or even military force in Greenland, top European leaders slammed his behavior today and warned of potential retaliation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that the U.S. was reneging on the trade deal it struck with the EU last year: “When friends shake hands, it must mean something,” she said, per the AP. Otherwise, the bloc’s response “will be unflinching, united and proportional.” French President Emmanuel Macron excoriated Trump’s protectionism and reiterated his call for the EU to go nuclear with its anti-coercion instrument. “We do prefer respect to bullies; we do prefer science to relativism; and we do prefer rule of law to brutality,” he said, per Bloomberg. “The worst may still be ahead of us,” Danish PM Mette Frederiksen warned in Copenhagen. From Russia, with love: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected Trump’s rationale for wanting Greenland, saying that Moscow doesn’t threaten Nuuk like Trump has claimed: “We don’t have any involvement whatsoever in plans to seize Greenland,” Lavrov said, per Bloomberg. Domestic fallout: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, also in Davos, had some harsh words for Europeans who he thinks have failed to stand up to Trump and refute his Greenland push aggressively, POLITICO’s Ketrin Jochecová and colleagues report. “I can’t take this complicity of people rolling over. I should have brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders. … I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage,” Newsom said. “Stay tall and united.” On CNBC, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) criticized the Greenland strategy but blamed people giving “bad advice” to Trump, not the president himself. He said he wouldn’t support impeachment if Trump attacked Greenland, but would back a war powers resolution. That would be historic: “Never in the past century has America gone forth to seize other countries’ land and subjugate its citizens against their will,” NYT’s Peter Baker writes. TRUMP’S NEW WORLD ORDER: The United Arab Emirates publicly said it will join Trump’s Board of Peace to oversee Gaza and more, per POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy, and CBS’ Jennifer Jacobs reports that another 10 or so countries are also on board. But at the same time, multiple European countries, frustrated with the progress of a U.S.-supported coordination center in Gaza, are considering limiting or ending their involvement, Reuters’ Alexander Cornwell scooped. Sign of the times: For “the first time in a century,” Canada’s military has created a model of what it would look like if the U.S. invaded its northern neighbor by force, The Globe & Mail’s Robert Fife and Gavin John report. Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | | 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. FUNDING BREAKTHROUGH: A government shutdown now looks less likely after House and Senate leaders put out text of a significant compromise deal to fund DHS, the Pentagon and more, POLITICO’s Jennifer Scholtes and Katherine Tully-McManus report. Appropriators’ agreement is expected to come up for votes in the House later this week, possibly with the Homeland Security bill voted on separately from the minibus of Defense, Labor-HHS-Education and Transportation-HUD. Still, the timing will be tight for both chambers to clear these and other funding bills before the Jan. 30 deadline. ICE ICE baby: As Democrats rage over ICE’s deadly crackdown in Minneapolis — which threatened to become a sticking point in these negotiations — the bill ultimately holds the agency’s funding at $10 billion for this fiscal year and adds new requirements for body cameras, training and independent oversight. But it leaves out deeper changes some Dems had sought. What else is in the package: The bills would bolster spending for the Defense Department and HUD while keeping funding for most other domestic agencies fairly flat — but omitting many of Trump’s proposed cuts. Bipartisan health care legislation is also riding on the package, including pharmacy benefit manager reforms and community health center money, POLITICO’s Benjamin Guggenheim and Robert King report. Whether it can get past conservative fiscal hawks remains to be seen. 2. THE PRICE OF AN IMPEACHMENT VOTE: Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.), fresh off landing Trump’s endorsement, officially announced that she will launch a primary challenge to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), per POLITICO’s Andrew Howard and colleagues. This amounts to a very tough political test for Cassidy, as multiple other Republicans are already challenging him in the race. Cassidy’s response: “Congresswoman Letlow called me this morning to say she was running. She said she respected me and that I had done a good job. I will continue to do a good job when I win re-election.” Letlow’s launch video Big money: Senate Leadership Fund announced it’ll spend a whopping $42 million to bolster Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-Maine) reelection bid, with ads and organizing/outreach efforts beginning in August, WSJ’s Anvee Bhutani scooped. N.B.: “Musk coordinating with top GOP strategists in advance of 2026 midterms,” by Oligarchy Watch’s Caleb Ecarma More from the campaign trail: Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced that he won’t run for his old job or other public office in a Baltimore Sun op-ed, though “I am not leaving the conversation.” … Texas state Rep. James Talarico is seeking to make inroads with senators as he looks to join their ranks, having talked with at least three incumbents from Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to a “really impressed” Chris Coons (D-Del.), Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. 3. SCOTUS WATCH: “US Supreme Court conservatives appear skeptical of Hawaii handgun limits,” by Reuters’ John Kruzel: “Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices signaled skepticism on Tuesday toward a Hawaii law restricting carrying of handguns on private property that is open to the public, such as most businesses, without the owner’s permission. … Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts suggested to [Neal] Katyal that Hawaii’s law treated the Second Amendment as a ‘disfavored right.’” 4. TRUMP INC.: “Trump Family’s $6.8 Billion Fortune Is Increasingly Tied to Crypto,” by Bloomberg’s Annie Massa and Tom Maloney: “One year on, the universe of the Trump family’s wealth has expanded even further, touching industries including firearms, rare earth magnets, artificial intelligence and prediction markets. But the most notable change has been the growing concentration of the family’s net worth in cryptocurrencies: The Trumps have generated about $1.4 billion from crypto projects that are new to his second term, a Bloomberg analysis shows. These have gotten a boost from Trump’s own policies … [But] the gains were offset by the plunging value of his social media company.” 5. PARDON ME: “Trump’s pardons forgive financial crimes that came with hundreds of millions in punishments,” by NBC’s Owen Auston-Babcock and Megan Shannon: “The 87 people and one corporation pardoned by Trump in the last year had been ordered to pay more than $298 million in fines and restitution — $20 million more than the total owed by all of the pardon recipients in his entire first term, and vastly more than the totals previously owed by those who received pardons during recent Democratic administrations.”
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| | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | SAD NEWS — Rep. Steve Womack’s (R-Ark.) wife of 41 years, Terri Womack, died Sunday afternoon, he announced in a statement. “Her legacy of love will live in the hearts of all who knew her,” he wrote. Read more OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at Mikie Sherrill’s swearing in as New Jersey governor today: Phil Murphy, Chris Christie, Jon Corzine, Jim McGreevey, Donald DiFrancesco, Christine Todd Whitman, Thomas Kean, Tahesha Way, Kim Guadagno, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Rob Menendez (D-N.J.), LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), Herb Conaway (D-N.J.), Nellie Pou (D-N.J.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Joe Kennedy, Lisa Franchetti, Carlos Del Toro and representatives from the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Poland, Ukraine, Japan, India, South Korea and Taiwan. PROCEED WITH CAUTION — “Scammers Dupe Billionaires Seeking Access to Trump in Davos,” by Bloomberg’s Jenny Leonard: “In a post on the venue’s website, the organizers [of USA House] warned against the purchase of so-called VIP access packages and said the fraudulent sales appear to be widespread this year.” BEST OF THE RESTAURANTS — Washingtonian released its full list of the 100 best restaurants in the D.C. area. Joining Albi in the top 10: Jônt, Moon Rabbit, Omakase @ Barracks Row, Lutèce, Elmina, Gemini, Dōgon, La’ Shukran and 2Fifty. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Reince Priebus is now a political analyst at Fox News Media, beginning with an appearance tonight on “Hannity.” The former White House chief of staff and RNC chair is also president of Michael Best & Friedrich, chair of Michael Best Strategies and a senior adviser to Centerview Partners. TRANSITIONS — Gail Levine is now a partner at Paul Hastings. She previously worked at Mayer Brown and is an FTC alum. … Kristi Johnston is now senior comms adviser and DSCC embed at the Maine Democratic Party. She most recently worked for Jordan Wood’s campaign, and is a Kamala Harris campaign and NextGen America alum. BONUS BIRTHDAY: Dan Selechnik of the American Cleaning Institute 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. | | | | 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 politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
