| | | |  | | By Ali Bianco | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun and Makayla Gray Good Sunday afternoon. This is Ali Bianco, taking the lead today. Get in touch. WINTER STORM WATCH: For those in D.C. who haven’t looked out their windows, there’s a good three to five inches of snow blanketing the city. But for those thinking about basking in the winter wonderland, that snow is quickly transitioning to sleet, which will make shoveling that much more of a pain. Also prepare yourselves for freezing rain, which could hit this afternoon. What you should know: There’s no thaw expected yet — it’s still going to be frigid cold tomorrow— which will make clearing the roads quickly a tall task. Federal offices will be closed tomorrow. A snow day for D.C. schools tomorrow seems all the more likely. And if anyone was thinking about taking a flight, tough luck. Basically every flight at Reagan Airport is canceled.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
The shooting of 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti yesterday has lit a new fire under protesters across Minneapolis. | Adam Gray/AP | ON THIN ICE: Another shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minnesota during the federal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis is roiling the country, setting off a new round of controversy and redrawing the dividing lines between the Trump administration and their critics. The latest conflict has sparked a massive escalation across multiple fronts — and it could be the biggest stress test yet for both parties as they confront the shooting’s fallout this week. The shooting has lit a new fire under protesters across Minneapolis. President Donald Trump and his administration are doubling down on their intense crackdown on “insurrectionists.” Democrats are priming for a partial government shutdown over DHS funding. And this won’t even be DHS’ only ice-conflict as a winter storm sweeps through the east coast. The details: Federal agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an ICU nurse, yesterday. DHS claimed that Pretti was armed with a gun and two magazines, saying federal officials fired in self-defense. "The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted,” the department said. But Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters that Pretti was a “lawful gun owner.” The scene immediately set off a clash between protestors and law enforcement, with officials deploying tear gas into the crowd. The latest from the Minneapolis Star Tribune The outcry set in not long after. Gov. Tim Walz called on the Trump administration to remove federal officials from Minnesota and stressed that the state will investigate the shooting. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey redoubled his call for ICE to leave the city. Administration officials blamed protesters. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem quickly denounced the protesters on the scene, saying they were there to “obstruct and assault law enforcement.”And Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino told CNN’s Dana Bash this morning that only “the fact that [Border Patrol agents are] highly trained prevented any specific shootings of law enforcement.” “So good job for our law enforcement in taking him down before he was able to do that," he added. When pressed on whether he blamed Pretti for the conflict, Bovino said, “The victims are the Border Patrol agents.” But this morning, those taking closer looks at the videos capturing the scene of Pretti’s death — over two weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Good — are casting doubt on DHS’ version of events. Federal agents appear to have secured the handgun moments before Pretti was shot multiple times, per WaPo. It’s still not entirely clear how the clash began. “He was interrupting an ICE operation, and that led to a very tragic occurrence that every single person in this country hoped did not happen,” Deputy AG Todd Blanche said on “Meet the Press” this morning. “But make no mistake about it, you cannot look at a ten-second video and judge what happened.” The shooting also renewed urgency behind the battle playing out in the courts over ICE’s tactics and whether the operation will be allowed to continue, POLITICO’s Greg Svirnovskiy and colleagues write. “We need the Court to act to stop this Surge before yet another resident dies because of Operation Metro Surge,” lawyers for the state and cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul said late last night in an urgent filing on the case to block the ICE crackdown. There’s a hearing on this case set for 9 a.m. tomorrow. The state also filed a restraining order to prevent federal officials from "destroying or altering evidence" from the crime scene, which was quickly granted, our Kyle Cheney reports. “ICE needs to leave our state,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) told “Meet the Press.” “When I hear these officials from the Trump administration describe this video in ways that simply aren't true, I just keep thinking, ‘Your eyes don't lie.’”
| | | | A message from Amazon: Julia started her fragrance business, Herb & Root, out of her home in Texas. She partnered with Amazon to help with shipping and logistics, reaching customers across America.
Fulfillment by Amazon costs 70% less on average than comparable two-day shipping options, saving Herb & Root time and money.
Read more. | | | | RHETORIC RAMP-UP: Trump accused state officials yesterday of “inciting Insurrection” — echoing his earlier threat to invoke the Insurrection Act and mobilize the federal troops currently on standby. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called Pretti a “would-be assassin” and Bovino claimed “an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” per POLITICO’s Ben Johansen and colleagues. But the incident has provoked pushback from even some GOP lawmakers. Take Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), currently facing a Trump-backed primary challenger to his reelection bid, who posted to X in a much-circulated statement that the shooting was “incredibly disturbing” and the “credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake.” An eyebrow-raising statement came from House Homeland Security Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), who stepped up his prior requests for the heads of ICE, CBP and USCIS to appear before his committee for an oversight hearing and questioning from lawmakers. The controversy over the immigration operation is coming at a crucial time for the GOP as all eyes turn to the midterm elections. And while law enforcement has historically been a winning issue for Republicans, there’s concern that the administration’s mass deportations policy may risk alienating key voters, as Playbook reported yesterday. The shooting could prove to be the latest pressure point for the GOP in their alignment with the Trump administration. “Americans don't like what they're seeing right now,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who chairs the National Governors Association, told Bash on CNN this morning. “[Trump’s] getting bad advice right now. … We have to enforce federal laws, but we need to know, what is the endgame? And I don't think it's to deport every single non-U.S. citizen.” DEMS DOUBLE DOWN: The conflict also further ruptured Democrats’ willingness to sign on to the funding bill for DHS that is now in the Senate’s hands. Before the shooting, any government shutdown looked largely unlikely as House members left D.C. and expected the Senate to get enough votes to pass the remaining six-bill spending package. Now, with the Jan. 30 funding deadline around the corner, we’re barreling towards at least a partial government shutdown. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced late yesterday that Senate Democrats will not sign on to the appropriations bill if it includes DHS funding — creating a numbers problem for the GOP as the bills have a 60-vote threshold, POLITICO’s Jordain Carney writes. Senate Democrats are holding a conference call this evening to discuss their path forward. Most eye-popping yesterday were the slew of reactions from the key Democrats who broke the shutdown stalemate last year. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Brain Schatz (D-Hawaii) all announced they would vote against the DHS bill. But taking the DHS bill out of the package would require every senator to sign off, and if the package changes, the House (which is out this week) would need to re-approve it. This all sets the stage for a big week for Democrats to test their coalition. The party has already split on the growing calls to “abolish ICE,” which many of the party’s moderates have argued is a politically toxic messaging with swing voters. The messaging on immigration is also already spilling out into the midterms battlefield — last night’s Democratic primary debate in Texas saw a significant portion dedicated to the topic. And this week will show how long the party’s moderates are willing to stay the course of resistance — even if it means going through with shutting down the government (again). “We're always going to have some immigration enforcement in this country and border control. I think most Americans believe that,” Klobuchar told NBC this morning — stopping short of calling to abolish ICE. “But the way that this agency has been functioning is completely against every tenet of law enforcement.” LOOMING OVER IT ALL: DHS will also have its attention split this week as FEMA has already been tapped for disaster response across multiple states as the brutal winter storm hits much of the east coast. Over 10,000 flights have been canceled and major transit has been disrupted, per AP. It’ll be one of FEMA’s biggest activations since Noem’s sweeping cuts and reorganizations of the agency.
| | | | SPONSORED CONTENT Amazon helps American small businesses thrive
More than 60% of sales in Amazon's store come from independent sellers, most of which are small and medium-sized businesses like Herb & Root. Discover more sellers. Sponsored by Amazon  
| | | | SUNDAY BEST … — Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) on the bipartisan visit to Denmark and Trump’s push to take over Greenland, on “Fox News Sunday”: “What we heard in our briefing was that there is no immediate threat from China or Russia. But we need to work long-term to address the threat in the Arctic. And if we work with our allies and partners, we're going to be stronger, not weaker. … But the reality is, if we undermine NATO, if we alienate our allies and partners in Europe and Canada, the only people who are celebrating that are Vladimir Putin in Russia and President [Xi Jinping] in China.” — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Trump’s tariff threats against Canada, on ABC’s “This Week”: “We have a USMCA agreement, but based off — based on that, which is going to be renegotiated this summer, and I'm not sure what Prime Minister [Mark] Carney is doing here, other than trying to virtue-signal to his globalist friends at Davos. I don't think he's doing the best job for the Canadian people.” — U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz on the protests in Iran and Trump’s next steps, on “Fox News Sunday”: “This has turned out to be, and we're getting more information as the internet blackout and the jamming of Starlink, what, blackout has also occurred. This is a state-sponsored massacre. … President Trump is going to take measured steps in the sense of making sure our bases are protected, making sure Israel is protected against any type of response. … But at the end of the day, what is not going to change is the corruption … is the malpractice that has been the Iranian regime. … As we see the Iranian economy continue to tank, I do not think the situation is going to get any better for the regime.” TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
| | | | New from POLITICO Introducing POLITICO Forecast: A forward-looking global briefing on the forces reshaping politics, policy and power worldwide. Drawing on POLITICO’s global reporting, Forecast connects developments across regions and sectors — including insight from major global moments and convenings, from Davos and beyond — to help readers anticipate what comes next.
➡️ Sign up for POLITICO Forecast. | | | | | 9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. O CANADA: Trump threatened to levy a 100 percent tariff on all imports from Canada if our northern neighbor completes a trade deal with China, POLITICO’s Ben Johansen reports. It comes as Canada has increasingly looked to forge other alliances amid Trump’s trade war, announcing a “new strategic partnership” with China last week. But it also comes as Trump has threatened multiple tariffs on Canada before, and as Canadian PM Mark Carney delivered a sharp speech in Davos this week. It also comes as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Playbook’s Dasha Burns on “The Conversation” this week that “Canada should trade with China” and “Carney should do what’s best for Canada.” 2. UKRAINE-RUSSIA LATEST: Ukrainian and Russian officials will meet again next Sunday in Abu Dhabi, after two days of meetings this weekend failed to produce a tangible outcome on a peace deal, POLITICO’s Paul McLeary and Felicia Schwartz report. This week marked the first trilateral meetings on the war in Ukraine. They touched on key sticking points of the peace deal — including how much Ukrainian territory will be under Russian control after the war. It’s not clear yet who from the three governments will be involved in next week’s talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called yesterday’s talks “constructive” and echoed the Russian readout that negotiations were moving ahead, per NYT’s Andrew Kramer and Paul Sonne. Zelenskyy added that the group also discussed the role of the U.S. in “monitoring and oversight of the process of ending the war.” But Russia yesterday also launched one of its largest aerial assaults on Kyiv this year, per Reuters. 3. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: NYT’s Farnaz Fassihi and colleagues are out with an in-depth, on-the-ground account of how the crackdown in Iran ended up lethally crushing one of the country’s biggest waves of protests, capturing extensive videos of how that crackdown unfolded. The death toll is believed by some human rights groups to be above 5,000 people. … The U.S.’ own crackdown on Iran is now turning to Bolivia, where U.S. officials are pressuring the country to kick out Iranian spies and designate them, along with Hezbollah and Hamas, as terrorist organizations, Reuters’ Gram Slattery scoops. Meanwhile in Syria: “Syria Announces Cease-Fire Extension, Hours After Truce With Kurds Expired,” by NYT’s Abdi Latif Dahir 4. NORTON CALLS IT: Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s 88-year-old nonvoting delegate, won’t seek reelection for a 19th term, NOTUS’ Taylor Giorno scooped. Norton’s campaign today filed a termination notice with the FEC, essentially signaling an end to her campaign, despite months of insistence from Norton and her staff that she would run again. She “has faced mounting questions about her ability to serve in office as she retreated from most public appearances and showed unmistakable signs of frailty when she did speak,” POLITICO’s Nicholas Wu writes. The race to replace her is already crowded and could grow further now. “Among the Democrats already vying to succeed her are D.C. Council members Brooke Pinto and Robert White, political strategist Kinney Zalesne and former Norton aide Trent Holbrook.” The age-old question: “The rift over generational change roils the Congressional Black Caucus,” by POLITICO’s Cheyanne Daniels: “A new generation of Black Democrats is running in the midterms, aiming to inject a younger vision into an aging Congressional Black Caucus. And in some cases, that means primarying incumbents. The wave of new candidates comes amid an identity crisis for the Democratic Party, which has splintered along generational and ideological lines as the party searches for new leaders in the second Trump era, both for this November and the open presidential race in two years.”
| | | | SPONSORED CONTENT Amazon's tools let sellers focus on growth
Julia uses Fulfillment by Amazon to deliver her fragrances to customers across America, all from her hometown in Temple, Texas. Fulfillment by Amazon costs 70% less on average than comparable two-day shipping options. See more. Sponsored by Amazon  
| | | | 5. BUSINESS IS BOOMING: “Trump’s return supercharges lobbying revenues,” by POLITICO’s Caitlin Oprysko: “Trump’s wide-ranging policy upheavals across trade, tax, health care, tech, defense and energy boosted the bottom lines of almost every one of K Street’s biggest lobbying firms. Thirteen of the largest 20 firms by revenue reported growth of 10 percent or more compared to 2024. In total, they brought in nearly $824 million … Ballard Partners, which counts [Bondi] and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles among its alumni, signed more than 200 new clients after Trump’s election. It led K Street last year with more than $88.3 million in lobbying fees — a 350 percent increase from 2024.” 6. GAZA LATEST: Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, pushing him to get behind the plan to move into the second phase of the Gaza peace deal and working with Netanyahu to recover the remains of the last hostage in Gaza, AP’s Samy Magdy and colleagues report. Ali Shaath, a top official in Gaza, has signaled that the crucial Rafah crossing could reopen on both sides this week, which could mark a significant step toward that next phase. But as the fragile ceasefire continues, Israel has been quietly providing support to the Palestinian militias that have been targeting Hamas in places that are off-limits to Israel per the peace agreement, WSJ’s Anat Peled and colleagues write. 7. KNOWING METTE FREDERIKSEN: “The Woman Who Stands Between Donald Trump and Greenland,” by NYT’s Jeffrey Gettleman and Maya Tekeli: “We spent time with [the Danish PM] this fall, in Greenland, where she agreed to a rare sit-down interview in an old house overlooking the sea. We asked her if she felt Mr. Trump was acting like a bully. ‘He is able to speak in a very clear way,’ she replied. ‘So am I.’ That quiet resolve, rather than flattery, has set her apart from other European leaders when it comes to handling Mr. Trump. … Elections are later this year and the polls suggest she’s primed to win a third term. Her rising support reflects just how much Greenland means for her country, let alone for Mr. Trump and Greenlanders themselves.” 8. THE AFFORDABILITY AGENDA: Trump will join Bessent on Wednesday, along with billionaire Michael Dell, for a daylong summit spotlighting his “Trump accounts,” the new investment push for children, Axios’ Mike Allen reports. The summit will bring together multiple Fortune 500 CEOs, along with White House officials and members of Congress, as the administration looks to solidify an affordability message ahead of the midterms. Trump will also speak on affordability during a rally in Iowa on Tuesday. 9. CLIMATE FILES: “Democrats are shying away from climate messaging. One of their own is fighting back,” by POLITICO’s Amelia Davidson and Kelsey Brugger: “One of Congress’ loudest climate hawks is trying to fend off a push within his party to abandon calls to combat climate change … [Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse] warned these ‘climate hushers’ have also made their way into strategy conversations on Capitol Hill. … Interviews with a half dozen House and Senate Democrats revealed how many are still struggling with how to discuss climate change, a problem they consider existential but that doesn’t register among voters’ top immediate concerns.”
| | | | POLITICO Pro A new year brings new policy challenges—and deeper questions. POLITICO Pro delivers authoritative reporting, expert analysis, and powerful tools to help professionals understand and anticipate the business of government, in Washington and beyond.
➡️ Learn More about POLITICO Pro | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | IN MEMORIAM — “William H. Foege, Key Figure in the Eradication of Smallpox, Dies at 89,” by NYT’s Keith Schneider and Sheryl Gay Stolberg: “William H. Foege, who developed the vaccination strategy that helped wipe out smallpox in the 1970s, one of the world’s greatest public health triumphs, and who led the United States’ early response to the AIDS epidemic as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, died on Saturday night at his home in Atlanta. He was 89.” MEDIAWATCH — “Washington Post Tears Up Plans to Cover Winter Olympics,” by NYT’s Benjamin Mullin and Erik Wemple: “Kimi Yoshino, a managing editor of The Washington Post, sent a terse and unexpected email to more than a dozen of the newspaper’s journalists on Friday, notifying them that their coverage plans were abruptly being changed. … [The email] took journalists at The Post by surprise, since it came just two weeks before the Winter Olympics are set to kick off in Italy in early February. … According to the Post employee, the newspaper has already paid the vast majority of its expenses to cover the competition.” POLITICAL VIOLENCE WATCH — Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.) posted on X last night that he was assaulted while attending the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The lawmaker said a man “told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face. He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off.” Frost added that he is ok, and the individual was arrested. SPLIT SCREEN — “Trump hosts ‘Melania’ screening as Minnesota shooting fallout roils nation,” by WaPo’s Dan Diamond: “Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Saturday night hosted a private screening of ‘Melania,’ a new documentary about the first lady … drawing criticism from Democrats who questioned the president’s priorities hours after another fatal shooting in Minneapolis upended domestic politics and raised the possibility of a government shutdown.” OUT AND ABOUT — Anthony Scaramucci yesterday hosted an apres-ski event at the Catskill Mountain Country Store and Restaurant in Windham, New York. He moderated a panel on “The Future of News: Global to Local,” featuring NYT’s Susanne Craig and The Overlook’s Jim Rich and Noah Eckstein. SPOTTED: Josh King and Amy Theobald, Michael Arad and Melanie Fitzpatrick, Paul and Caroline Mutter, Dan and Jen King, Scott Widmeyer and Alan Yount, Jackie Kellachan and Bennet Ratcliff, Peter and Sarah Finn, Amy Scheibe, Jake Siewert and Christine Anderson, David and Amy Shaw, Natasha and Drew Shuster, Evan Walker and Nancy Fey, Lauren Johnston, Joseph and Nicole Konzelmann, Barry and Susan Smith, Kris and Kai Falkenberg, David Pillard, Jay Galluzzo and Colleen Crivello, Peter and Eleanor Harrison Bregman, Mitch Story and Jen Hilibrand. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Andy Harris (R-Md.), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) and Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) … Ashley Jones … NYT’s Jeremy Peters … The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer … Jim Axelrod … POLITICO’s Caroline Amenabar, Alessandro Sclapari and Chris Parisi … Joe Conason of The National Memo … Navy Vice Adm. George Wikoff … Danielle Inman … David Woodruff … Will Sexauer … Mallory Hunter … Luke Graeter … Jason Jay Smart … Erin Heeter … Nancy Gibbs … Evan Lukaske … Connor Wolf … NAM’s Mark Isaacson … Brunswick Group’s Kevin Helliker ... Joelle Terry ... Erika Reynoso of Coupang … Ed Payne … Tina Tchen … former Iowa Gov. Chet Culver … Dan Kaniewski … Adam Kovacevich of the Chamber of Progress … Adam Falkoff … Eleni Towns … Zach Pleat … Josh Randle … Aidan McDonald … BakerHostetler’s Kristin Shapiro … Claire Fogarty of Crooked Media … Meaghan Lynch … White House’s Alex Meyer 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 Amazon: Since partnering with Amazon in 2015, Herb & Root has expanded from a family business to having three employees.
Independent sellers working with Amazon, like Herb & Root, now employ over 2 million people in the U.S. in support of their Amazon selling business.
Discover more. | | | | | | | | 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 | | | |
