House spending bill chaos continues

Jan 17, 2024

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HERE WE GO AGAIN — DONALD TRUMP was back in a Manhattan federal courtroom again today as writer E. JEAN CARROLL testified on the second day of the latest damages trial against the former president. Last May, a jury awarded Carroll $5 million after Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming her. Since that judgment, Trump has persisted in casting doubt on Carroll's integrity and claims, which led her to seek further damages in her current trial.

Carroll testified that online threats against her escalated after Trump accused her of lying, NBC News' Adam Reiss and Kyla Guilfoil report: “To have the president of the United States, one of the most powerful persons on earth, call me a liar for three days and say it 26 times — I counted them. It ended the world I had been living in, and I lived in a new world.”

NEVER BACK DOWN BACKING DOWN? — Never Back Down, the super PAC backing the presidential campaign of Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS, “began carrying out layoffs on Wednesday, even as the campaign insisted he had a path forward,” NYT’s Shane Goldmacher, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan scooped.

An unnamed official with the PAC “added that the group was ‘evaluating and paring down’ other consultants, vendors and some staff members who had been focused on various aspects of the group’s work. … SCOTT WAGNER, the chief executive of Never Back Down, issued a statement saying that the group continued to host events for Mr. DeSantis, but he did not address the question of layoffs.”

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.).

House Speaker Mike Johnson exited this morning’s closed-door GOP meeting pushing for stringent border policies before entertaining any agreement on an aid package. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP

SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN — Today’s meeting of the House GOP conference did little to ease concerns that the ongoing standstill on a border deal will prevent Democrats and Republicans from reaching a deal to avert a partial government shutdown that’s just three days away.

On the stopgap measure: Katherine Tully-McManus has the latest on the two-part stopgap that currently sits in the Senate even as conservative hardliners in the House rally against it. Worth flagging: The measure “still leaves the door open for a brief shutdown if the Senate can’t get unanimous agreement” to fast track the legislation.

Where things stand in the House: House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON exited this morning’s closed-door GOP meeting pushing for stringent border policies before entertaining any agreement on an aid package: “Before we even talk about Ukraine, I’m going to tell the President … border, border, border,” Johnson told reporters. “We have to take care of our own house. We have to secure our own border before we talk about anything else.”

Johnson continues to face tensions in his own conference as some of the party’s most strident conservatives stew over Johnson’s spending strategy — and leak to the press corps, as Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers detail. The inside view: Johnson is “facing near-identical headaches to [then-Speaker KEVIN] McCARTHY, including leaks and growing backlash from his right flank, plus added resentments from some members over McCarthy’s ouster.”

Where things stand in the Senate: Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER says his chamber is pushing past the chaos and can pass the continuing resolution tomorrow, Burgess Everett reports. "What the Senate cannot do right now is mimic the chaos in the House,” Schumer said.

Speaking of the border … In a new letter to lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee, a bipartisan group of more than two dozen national security leaders expressed concerns over the House GOP’s push to impeach Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS for his handling of the migrant crisis. The group argues that an impeachment “would only serve to distract from the pressing need to implement effective policy solutions” to address immigration, and argued the “political move” would “do little to address the complex issues at hand.”

Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.

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5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.).

Donald Trump's allies are ramping up a primary campaign to oust Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.). | Francis Chung/POLITICO

1. THE CAMPAIGN OF RETRIBUTION: Allies of Donald Trump are ramping up a primary campaign to oust Rep. BOB GOOD (R-Va.), ostensibly over Good’s endorsement of DeSantis, reports Cardinal News’ Markus Schmidt. They’re putting their chips on state Sen. JOHN McGUIRE, a former Navy SEAL who campaigned for Trump in Iowa this past weekend.

CHRIS LaCIVITA, a senior aide to Trump: “Bob Good won’t be electable when we get done with him.”

“I’ve supported President Trump 2016 and in 2020,” says Good, who was recently elected chair of the House Freedom Caucus. “And I would enthusiastically support President Trump if he was the nominee again.”

2. NOT TAKING DEBATE: Just days out from New Hampshire and both planned debates for GOP candidates have been canceled. This morning, CNN followed ABC News’ lead in canceling their scheduled Sunday debate, with a spokesperson explaining how only “one qualifying candidate [(Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis)] accepted our invitation to take the stage,” Kierra Frazier reports. The cancellation comes as former South Carolina Gov. NIKKI HALEY confirmed she wouldn’t participate unless Trump or Biden took part.

Instead, CNN said it would host a town hall with Haley similar to Tuesday’s event with DeSantis.

In other network news … “New CNN Boss Shakes Up News Operations, Explores Digital Subscription Model,” by WSJ’s Isabella Simonetti

3. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: As American officials continue discussions with Israeli authorities over ensuring humanitarian aid can be delivered to Gaza, Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN described the suffering of civilians in the region as “gut-wrenching” in remarks today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, NYT's Matthew Mpoke Bigg reports.

Blinken: “Every step along the way, not only have we impressed upon Israel its responsibilities to [provide aid and minimize casualties], we’ve seen some progress in areas where, absent our engagement, I don’t believe it would have happened.”

Meanwhile: “Blinken Stranded After Boeing 737 Breaks Down on Davos Trip,” by Bloomberg’s Courtney McBride

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4. PHILLIPS UNDER FIRE: House Democrats are taking aim at Rep. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-Minn.) after it was revealed he scrubbed “diversity, equity and inclusion” language from his campaign website amid public criticism from hedge fund investor BILL ACKMAN, one of his top donors, Nick Wu and Daniella Diaz report.

Phillips was already facing heat from his colleagues on the Hill for mounting a presidential bid against Biden, and the latest messaging snafu has drawn even more ire from his colleagues: “Rep. BARBARA LEE (D-Calif.) rebuked Phillips for the move, which she said she had not previously read about. ‘I think that speaks volumes as to what his values are,’ Lee said.” Meanwhile, "Rep. DON BEYER (D-Va.) was blunt: 'I’m disappointed.'"

5. CASH DASH: As they vie for key Senate and House seats in 2024, candidates across the political spectrum are releasing their year-end fundraising totals:

Rep. COLIN ALLRED (D-Texas) is leading the pack amongst his fellow Democratic contenders vying for incumbent Sen. TED CRUZ’s Senate seat, raising nearly $.48 million in the fourth quarter of last year with nearly $10 million cash on hand, The Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek reports.

Majority Whip TOM EMMER (R-Minn.) raked in nearly $2.5 million in the last quarter of the year with almost half of his total $10 million haul in 2023 “given to the House GOP campaign arm or directly to members and candidates,” Olivia Beavers reports. filler

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PLAYBOOKERS

Jeff Duncan announced he’s retiring after the end of his term.

Air Force officials are keeping some of the most famous Boeing 757s in the world under wraps.

Kaitlan Collins got the ELLE Magazine treatment.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Chris Barkley is now SVP of Government Affairs at The National Music Publishers’ Association. He previously was deputy chief of staff for policy for Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and is a John Barrasso alum.

TRANSITIONS — Kimberly Hamm is now a partner at Mayer Brown. She previously has been chief counsel for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and is a SEC alum. … James Ravitz is now a partner with McDermott Will & Emery’s FDA practice. He previously was a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. … Joseph Trahern is now a partner at K&L Gates. He previously has been executive director at Comcast.

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