| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Rachael Bade | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG — The legend of GEORGE SANTOS lives on: Deadline reports that HBO has optioned the book, “The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos,” by MARK CHIUSANO. Attached to the project is FRANK RICH, the former NYT critic and columnist who executive-produced “Veep” and “Succession.” Worth a click … Saturday Night Live gave Santos a cold-open sendoff last night, with BOWEN YANG sparring with Hill reporters before delivering a literal swan song, “Scandal in the Wind.” Watch MORE DeSANTIS DRAMA — “Pro-DeSantis super PAC fires top officials as tumult continues,” by Alex Isenstadt: “The group, Never Back Down, fired KRISTIN DAVISON on Friday for unspecified ‘management and personnel issues’ just nine days after she replaced CHRIS JANKOWSKI as CEO.”
| 
VP Kamala Harris used an appearance at the COP28 summit to send a message on Gaza. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images | HARRIS IN DUBAI — VP KAMALA HARRIS is currently on Air Force Two, headed back to Washington after a whirlwind trip to Dubai. With President JOE BIDEN opting out of a trip to the COP28 summit — and the White House under pressure from climate activists — a trip was quickly put together, with Harris adding some last-minute star power to a sizeable U.S. contingent led by climate envoy JOHN KERRY and Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN. And, yes, Harris dutifully gave a speech touting billions of dollars of investments from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and injecting a sense of urgency into the global climate response. “We cannot afford to be incremental,” Harris said, announcing an additional $3 billion U.S. commitment to the global Green Climate Fund on top of the $2 billion already pledged. “There are those who seek to slow or stop our progress,” she added. “Leaders who deny climate science, delay climate action and spread misinformation. Corporations that greenwash climate inaction and lobby for billions of dollars in fossil fuel subsidies. In the face of their resistance, and in the context of this moment, we must do more.” But the real centerpiece of Harris’ two-day mission was direct, one-on-one talks with four of the most powerful leaders in the Middle East about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war — in particular, about what role neighboring countries will play in stabilizing Gaza after hostilities cease. Harris’ meetings and calls with the top leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — and her subsequent public comments — outlined some of the most candid comments to yet heard from the administration on the conduct of the war and what should happen after Hamas is ousted from power. She reiterated that the U.S. supports Israel pursuing “legitimate military objectives” but stated plainly that the toll on civilians in Gaza has been entirely too high. “As Israel defends itself, it matters how,” she said at a news conference before departing. “The United States is unequivocal: International humanitarian law must be respected. Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering, and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating. It is truly heartbreaking.” The White House readouts of the various tete-a-tetes reveal some notable nuances about how Biden and Harris are already thinking about the postwar landscape — and how they are promoting a post-Hamas vision significantly at odds with what Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU and his right-wing allies are talking about, such as a new Israeli occupation of Gaza, the removal of Palestinian residents from the territory and the marginalization of the Palestinian Authority from any role in its governance:
- To Egyptian President ABDEL FATTAH AL-SISI … “Under no circumstances will the United States permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, the besiegement of Gaza, or the redrawing of the borders of Gaza.”
- To Jordan’s King ABDULLAH II … “She emphasized that [post-conflict] efforts can only succeed if they are pursued in the context of a clear political horizon for the Palestinian people, toward a state of their own led by a revitalized Palestinian Authority and backed by significant support from the international community and the countries of the region.”
- To UAE President MOHAMMED BIN ZAYED … “The Vice President made clear that Hamas cannot control Gaza, which is untenable for Israel’s security, the well-being of the Palestinian people, and regional security.”
- To all three, plus Qatari Emir SHEIKH TAMIM BIN HAMAD AL THANI, Harris proposed a three-legged strategy for a Gaza’s future: (1) reconstruction, with the international community dedicating “significant resources” to recovery efforts; (2) security, calling on Palestinian Authority forces “to eventually assume security responsibilities in Gaza” following a negotiated transition; and (3) governance, led by a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority “driven by the will of the Palestinian people.”
In her remarks to the press, Harris further outlined the U.S.’s principles for a post-conflict Gaza: “No forcible displacement, no reoccupation, no siege or blockade, no reduction in territory, and no use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism.” The upshot is that the administration continues to gradually loosen its shoulder-to-shoulder stance with Israel as the humanitarian toll mounts in Gaza and Netanyahu shows little sign of backing off a scorched-earth military response. Notably, it has fallen to Harris to do much of the loosening.
| | | | A message from Google: American Airlines uses Google AI to help reduce the climate impact of contrails. A collaboration between American, Google Research and Breakthrough Energy is demonstrating that AI can be used to help avoid forming contrails, which account for roughly 35% of aviation’s global warming impact. Learn more. | | | COP OUT — “Open secret at climate talks: The top temperature goal is mostly gone,” by Chelsea Harvey: “Leading scientists worldwide delivered a striking dose of reality to the United Nations on Sunday: it’s ‘becoming inevitable’ that countries will miss the ambitious target they set eight years ago for limiting the warming of the Earth. “The ominous estimate points to the growing likelihood that global warming will shoot past 1.5 degrees Celsius before the end of this century, inflicting what scientists describe as an overwhelming toll from intensifying storms, drought and heat on people and the economy. It also injects an urgent message into global climate talks in Dubai, where the debate over ramping down fossil fuels is set to flare over the next two weeks.” Good Sunday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. DEVELOPING — Reuters: “A German tourist died and two other people, including a British citizen, were hurt after an attack by a man armed with a knife and hammer near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday, in what President EMMANUEL MACRON described as ‘a terrorist attack.’” SUNDAY BEST … — NSC spox JOHN KIRBY on whether the U.S. intel community was aware of reporting indicating Israeli officials knew of Hamas’ attack plan, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “The intelligence community has indicated that they did not have access to this document. There’s no indications at this time that they had any access to this document beforehand.” — Rep. SETH MOULTON (D-Mass.) on whether he would vote for a standalone Israel aid bill, on “Fox News Sunday”: “Not if it periled funding for Ukraine. But I mean, look, if we pass funding for Ukraine, we get over that hurdle, and then it means voting for a standalone for Israel, sure.” — Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) on if he has lost confidence in Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN, on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “Oh, yes, totally. … Secretary Austin is telling Israel things that are impossible to achieve. … If you have got a better idea of how to destroy Hamas, pass it on. … Quit criticizing Israel in public.” — Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS on Trump’s plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, on “Meet the Press”: “We know we need to go in a different direction, but it's going to be done by having a plan that’s going to be able to supersede it. And we will be working on that. … Obamacare hasn’t worked. We are going to replace and supersede with a better plan.” TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
| | | | A message from Google: American Airlines shows verifiable contrail avoidance is possible with Google AI. Contrails have a surprisingly large impact on our climate, but American Airlines is finding that AI can make verifiable contrail avoidance possible. They teamed up with Google Research and Breakthrough Energy - who brought together huge amounts of data—like satellite imagery, weather, and flight path data—and used AI to develop contrail forecast maps to test if pilots can avoid creating contrails. “We put the tool in the pilot’s hand and then we can determine either to climb a little higher or to descend a little lower,” says Capt. John Dudley, Managing Director of Flight Operations. Read more about how AI is improving sustainability. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden and first lady JILL BIDEN will host a reception in the East Room at 4:30 p.m. for the Kennedy Center Honorees, BILLY CRYSTAL, RENÉE FLEMING, BARRY GIBB, QUEEN LATIFAH and DIONNE WARWICK. Then they’ll attend the Kennedy Center Honors at 6:30 p.m.
| | PLAYBOOK READS | | 9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR
| 
POLITICO illustration/Photo by Getty Images | 1. IF U SEEK AMICUS: Most conservative briefs in high-profile cases before the Supreme Court have links to a small cadre of activists aligned with activist LEONARD LEO, our colleague Heidi Przybyla reports. “A POLITICO review of tax filings, financial statements and other public documents found that Leo and his network of nonprofit groups are “either directly or indirectly connected to a majority of amicus briefs filed on behalf of conservative parties in seven of the highest-profile rulings the court has issued over the past two years. “It is the first comprehensive review of amicus briefs that have streamed into the court since Trump nominated Justice AMY CONEY BARRETT in 2020, solidifying the court’s conservative majority. POLITICO’s review found multiple instances of language used in the amicus briefs appearing in the court’s opinions.” 2. HAPPENING TOMORROW: “At Core of Purdue Pharma Case: Who Can Get Immunity in Settlements?” by NYT’s Abbie VanSickle: “A broad ruling by the Supreme Court could mean the end of a strategy for resolving claims of mass injury in bankruptcy court in which organizations receive expansive legal protections.” Related read: “The Opioid Victims Who Won’t Sign Off on Purdue’s $6 Billion Settlement,” by WSJ’s Alexander Gladstone 3. HAPPENING TUESDAY: “One Supreme Court Case Could Mess Up Chunks of the Tax Code,” by WSJ’s Richard Rubin and Jess Bravin: “The court will hear arguments in Moore v. U.S., which challenges a piece of the 2017 tax law that imposed a one-time levy on profits that companies had accumulated outside the U.S. But its implications could reach much further, providing the justices an opportunity to define what Congress can tax under the Constitution — and what it can’t. The case, brought by a Washington state couple seeking a $14,729 refund, raises a seemingly simple question: Must income be “realized,” or received, before it can be taxed?” 4. UP FOR DEBATE: The RNC and Newsmax are locked in a tussle over the GOP primary debates after Newsmax failed to find a co-sponsor for one of the first four contests, Axios’ Alex Thompson reports. “After Fox News and Fox Business hosted the first two debates, the RNC proposed that Newsmax co-sponsor the third debate as the junior partner to ABC News, four people familiar with the matter told Axios. Newsmax executives were wary of being a junior partner with a mainstream media outlet, and thought the $2 million the RNC required Newsmax spend on the event was unnecessarily expensive.” When the RNC then approached the network for the fourth debate with a $4 million price tag, executives also balked at the figure. 5. UP IN ARMS: The U.S. defense industry is “struggling to achieve the kind of speed and responsiveness to stay ahead in a high-tech arms race with competitors such as China, an unreleased draft of a new Pentagon report on the defense industry warns,” our colleagues Paul McLeary and Joe Gould report. “The first ever National Defense Industrial Strategy, which is set to be released in the coming weeks by Pentagon acquisition chief WILLIAM LaPLANTE, is meant to be a comprehensive look at what the Pentagon needs in order to tap into the expertise of small tech firms, while funding and supporting traditional companies to move faster to develop new tech.” 6. ANNALS OF AI-NFLUENCE: Major tech companies that have a vested interest in shaping and regulating artificial intelligence are “channeling money through a venerable science nonprofit to help fund fellows working on AI policy in key Senate offices,” our colleague Brendan Bordelon reports, “adding to the roster of government staffers across Washington whose salaries are being paid by tech billionaires and others with direct interests in AI regulation. The new ‘rapid response cohort’ of congressional AI fellows is run by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Washington-based nonprofit, with substantial support from Microsoft, OpenAI, Google, IBM and Nvidia, according to the AAAS.” 7. BATTLE FOR THE STATES: Democratic Governors Association Chair TIM WALZ sits down with our colleague Elena Schneider to talk about the map he’s facing for next year: “This is going to be nationalized in some of these races,” the Minnesota governor said in an interview. “But governors have a much better way, and especially good ones, of bringing it back down.” Like many Democrats, Walz doesn’t think Biden is getting the credit he deserves on a relatively strong economy, but the campaign can still retool their message as needed. 8. DRAINING THE (OTHER) SWAMP: “In Florida’s Hot Political Climate, Some Faculty Have Had Enough,” by NYT’s Stephanie Saul: “The Times interviewed a dozen academics — in fields ranging from law to psychology to agronomy — who have left Florida public universities or given their notice, many headed to blue states. While emphasizing that hundreds of top academics remain in Florida, a state known for its solid and affordable public university system, they raised concerns that the governor’s policies have become increasingly untenable for scholars and students.” 9. LETTER FROM TURKEY: “Russia Is Fighting More Than One War. I Went to Check on the ‘Other’ One,” by Tim Mak in Gaziantep, Turkey, for POLITICO Magazine: “The Russian military has continued to fight and commit atrocities in Syria for eight years, with no sign of slowing. It’s a signal to Ukraine of just how long Russia is willing to conduct indiscriminate attacks, and a warning that Russia is able to drag out conflicts over long periods of time. The war in Syria is also a sad reminder that public attention in the West fades, and that the Syrian civil war — once a central point in the U.S. foreign policy discussions — continues even after the vast majority of attention has shifted to other conflicts.”
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Sheila Jackson Lee had some calendar issues. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the VIP matinee performance of “A Christmas Carol” at Ford’s Theatre yesterday: Mexican Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma, USTR Katherine Tai, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Michael Donilon, Karine Jean-Pierre, Bruce Reed, Steven Ricchetti, Art Collins, Joe and Kasey Crowley, Gloria Dittus, Terri Fariello, Karyn Frist, Barbara Humpton, Heather Kennedy, Karen Knuston, Kent Knutson, Catherine Merrill, Kevin Smithson and John and Betty Ann Tanner. — SPOTTED last night for a party hosted by Juleanna Glover’s house celebrating Ryan Grim’s new book, “The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution,” ($26.09): Elizan Garcia, Adam Green, Shawna Thomas, Alex Thompson, Edward Wong, Amirah Sequeira, Hamid Bendaas, Zain Rizvi, Julie Bloom, Megan Hull, Akbar Shahid Ahmed, Bryan Pietsch, Christina Sevilla, JP Freire, Ben Beachy, Natalie Fertig and Nihal Krishan. — SPOTTED at Rep. Robert Garcia’s (D-Calif.) drag birthday fundraiser at Shakers yesterday: Jorgeous from RuPaul’s Drag Race, Reps. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), Robert Edmonson, Chris Fisher, Robert Curis, Reggie Greer, Todd Sloves, Sam Alleman, Sam Garrett and Brady King. Pic — SPOTTED at Victoria Knight, Liz Elkind, Zach Halaschak and Joseph Zeballos-Roig’s joint “omnibirthday” party at Royal Sands Social Club on Friday night: Liam Quinn, Matthew Hoekstra, Fabian Lucero, Emily Goodman, Harry Fones, Nadgey Louis-Charles, J.P. Freire, Miranda Dabney, John Mark Kolb, Ed Kachinske, Ryan Schmelz, Natalie Allison, Katherine Doyle, Danny Heifetz, Reese Gorman, Ximena Bustillo, Kadia Goba, Grace Panetta, Mark Walker, Matt Brown, Daniel Desrochers, Eric Garcia and Pablo Manríquez. — SPOTTED at the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association's 42nd annual bipartisan policy seminar and luncheon at the Metropolitan Club in NYC on Saturday hosted by David N. Taylor and Gregory Bentley and moderated by G. Terry Madonna: Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.), Dave McCormick, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Jordan Harris, Joshua Kail, Joseph Pittman, Cherelle Parker and Stacy Garrity. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Jonathan Bronitsky, co-founder and CEO of literary and publicity agency ATHOS and a Trump administration alum, and Paige Bronitsky, an attorney and a Trump OMB and HUD alum, on Friday welcomed Hadley Elizabeth Bronitsky, who came in at 8 lbs, 4 oz and 21 inches and joins big sister Sydney. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.) … Asa Hutchinson … National Council on Disability Chair Andrés Gallegos … NBC’s Ali Zelenko … Margaret Mulkerrin of Rep. Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) office (3-0) … WaPo’s Scott Higham … Jesse Lee … Cody Sanders of Plus Communications … POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie, Kim Bryson and Kevin Baron … Lance Trover … Bill Tighe of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores … Mike Inacay of Sen. Brian Schatz’s (D-Hawaii) office … David Meyers … Daniel Chao … Mandi Critchfield of Senate Finance … former Reps. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) … Robby Mook … Laura Howard Kilfoyle Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton, producer Andrew Howard and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
