| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | | 
Tributes have unfurled for former President Jimmy Carter, whose life traced an almost storybook arc. | Carolyn Kaster, File/AP Photo | Take a moment to consider the arc of President JIMMY CARTER’s life. How it began: “The family home sat on a dirt road and had no electricity or indoor plumbing for years,” writes The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jill Vejnoska. “[His father] EARL CARTER farmed cotton and corn and was one of the first locals to grow peanuts. The future president worked in the fields alongside Black tenant farmers and their children, who became his best friends.” How it ends: with President JOE BIDEN ordering flags to fly at half-staff for the next month and scheduling a state funeral in Washington for Carter for Jan. 9, which will be a National Day of Mourning. After that funeral, he will be buried — not in a grand memorial or national shrine, but “outside the modest ranch house in Plains where he returned to live after losing his 1980 re-election bid, and where, just down the road in his former high school, a replica of his Nobel Peace Prize is displayed,” per the AJC. “He will lie next to ROSALYNN CARTER, his wife of 77 years, who died in November 2023.” Since the news broke last night that Carter died at age 100, tributes have unfurled for this man whose life was the stuff of storybooks and who meant so many different things to different people.
- “He was the first American president since THOMAS JEFFERSON who could reasonably claim to be a Renaissance Man or at least a world-class autodidact,” his biographer, Jonathan Alter, wrote on Substack. “At various times in his life, he acquired the skills of a farmer, naval officer, electrician, sonar technologist, nuclear engineer, businessman, equipment designer, agronomist, master woodworker, Sunday School teacher, land-use planner, legislator, door-to-door missionary, governor, long-shot presidential candidate, U.S. president, diplomat, fly-fisherman, bird dog trainer, arrowhead collector, home builder, painter, professor, memoirist, poet, novelist, and children's book author — an incomplete list, as he would be happy to point out.”
Even as people will inevitably disagree about Carter’s politics and time in office, there is near unanimity about his time out of office, and the profound decency and humanitarian work that defined it.
- Biden, who was the first senator to endorse Carter’s White House bid: “Some look at Jimmy Carter and see a man of a bygone era, when honesty and character and faith and humility — it mattered. But I don’t believe it as a bygone era. I see a man not only of our times, but for all times. Someone who embodied the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away. … We may never see his like again. We’d all do well to try and be a little more like Jimmy Carter.”
- President-elect DONALD TRUMP: “While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized that he truly loved and respected our Country, and all it stands for. He worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect.”
- Former President BARACK OBAMA: “He believed some things were more important than reelection — things like integrity, respect, and compassion. Because Jimmy Carter believed, as deeply as he believed anything, that we are all created in God’s image. Whenever I had a chance to spend time with President Carter, it was clear that he didn’t just profess these values. He embodied them. And in doing so, he taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service.”
- Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL: “Jimmy Carter served as our commander-in-chief for four years, but he served as the beloved, unassuming Sunday school teacher at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia for 40. And his humble devotion leaves us little doubt which of those two important roles he prized the most.”
THE OBITS: POLITICO … NYT … WaPo … AP … WSJ
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®: The National Association of REALTORS® is leading the charge to update America’s tax law to make housing more available.
The U.S. still lacks 4.7 million homes, and middle-income buyers are feeling the inventory shortage the most.
Real estate makes up nearly one-fifth of the U.S. economy. Addressing housing availability through tax reform is a smart way to create economic growth, unlock supply, and solve a national crisis. | | | GRAPPLING WITH CARTER’S LEGACY:
- “Jimmy Carter’s Quiet but Monumental Work in Global Health,” by NYT’s Stephanie Nolen: His “five decades of leadership in global health brought a hideous disease [Guinea worm] to the brink of elimination, helped deliver basic health and sanitation to millions of people and set a new standard for how aid agencies should engage with the countries they assist.”
- “Jimmy Carter, Conservative,” by Timothy Noah: “Carter’s two Democratic predecessors in the White House, JOHN F. KENNEDY and LYNDON JOHNSON, spoke expansively of what government could do. Carter, a former governor in the conservative Deep South, preferred to point out that there was much government couldn’t do.”
FROM THE ARCHIVES:
- “Interview with ‘Playboy’ Magazine,” 1976: “CHRIST said, ‘I tell you that anyone who looks on a woman with lust has in his heart already committed adultery.’ I’ve looked on a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times. This is something that God recognizes I will do — and I have done it — and God forgives me for it. But that doesn’t mean that I condemn someone who not only looks on a woman with lust but who leaves his wife and shacks up with somebody out of wedlock. Christ says, Don’t consider yourself better than someone else because one guy screws a whole bunch of women while the other guy is loyal to his wife.”
- “The Riddle of Jimmy Carter,” by Nicholas Dawidoff for Rolling Stone in 2011: “He seemed like the most open and honest man ever elected president. So why does his true nature remain so elusive, even to those who know him best?”
- “Jimmy Carter for Higher Office,” by GQ’s Michael Paterniti in 2018: “Ex-presidents are supposed to gently retire. Make a life of lucrative speeches, or stay home and paint. But for nearly 40 years, Jimmy Carter has refused to fade away. At 93, he still spends most weekends in his hometown, preaching wise and powerful sermons. Sermons that speak to our current national crisis. That makes us realize: We need Mr. Jimmy now more than ever.”
- “An Unlucky President, and a Lucky Man,” by The Atlantic’s James Fallows in 2023: “In the years I worked for him, Jimmy Carter was always the same: disciplined, funny, enormously intelligent, and deeply spiritual.”
Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. How will you remember Carter? Drop me a line at edaniels@politico.com. ROY'S LAST-MINUTE PLOY? — Rep. CHIP ROY (R-Texas) is conducting a temperature check to determine the viability of Rep. JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio) and other possible candidates if MIKE JOHNSON is unable to secure another term with the speaker’s gavel, our Olivia Beavers writes in. Roy’s efforts include attempting to get a read on the roughly 20 House Republicans who opposed Jordan last year during the speakership race that ensued after the ouster of former Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY, according to two Republicans with knowledge of the matter. Such conversations come just days before the Friday floor vote that will determine if Johnson can secure a second term as speaker. It could be a bad sign for Johnson that Roy is trying to find a fallback option: To maintain the gavel, Johnson can’t risk losing the support of more than two House Republicans, and Rep. THOMAS MASSIE (R-Ky.) has already publicly announced his opposition. Roy himself was particularly critical of Johnson after the latest government spending bill passed ahead of the holidays. While some Republicans also believe this could be a ploy to gain leverage against Johnson as Roy campaigns to lead the House Rules Committee, which is among the few panels whose leaders and membership are solely appointed by the speaker, Roy allies fiercely dispute these efforts are connected. Jordan has repeatedly said he won’t challenge Johnson. But ahead of the election, Jordan has also joined other speakership hopefuls in working to repair his relationships with Republicans who previously opposed his bid. Some of them now say they’d be open to Jordan as GOP leader. Yet, anyone else who tries to go for the gavel would still face a math problem given that he or she, too, could lose only two Republicans’ votes.
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®:   The pathway to more housing availability runs through the tax code. See our blueprint to unlock supply. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden and VP KAMALA HARRIS have nothing on their public schedules.
| | | | You read POLITICO for trusted reporting. Now follow every twist of the lame duck session with Inside Congress. We track the committee meetings, hallway conversations, and leadership signals that show where crucial year-end deals are heading. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | |  President Joe Biden announced billions more defense assistance for Ukraine today. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images | 9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. UKRAINE LATEST: The Biden administration isn’t done sending military aid to Kyiv. Today, the president announced another $2.5 billion to help protect Ukraine from the Russian invasion, per ABC’s Fritz Farrow and Kevin Shalvey. That will include the final money to come from the Pentagon’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The defense assistance seeks to shore up Ukrainian forces on the battlefield and strengthen its long-term stockpiles. 2. STRETCHED TO THE LIMIT: What will happen with the debt limit in the new year? Trump on Truth Social yesterday fumed again about the country hitting the debt ceiling in 2025, trying to shift the blame onto Democrats. But as Jennifer Scholtes reports this morning, congressional GOP leaders have no easy solution for how to handle the debt limit: Either fiscal conservatives will have to swallow raising the ceiling as part of a party-line reconciliation bill, or they’ll have to make concessions to get Democrats on board. Though Republican leaders are hoping to offset the debt limit increase with spending cuts, Sens. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.) and RON JOHNSON (R-Wis.) already sound opposed to a reconciliation bill that includes the debt limit. “Getting Republicans to agree on $2.5 trillion in cuts to mandatory programs over 10 years would also be a challenge for GOP leaders,” Jen adds. And Democrats are licking their chops over the prospect of seizing the populist mantle if Republicans pay for lower taxes for the wealthy with cuts to the social safety net. 3. BRENDAN CARR VS. EUROPE: “Social Media Companies Face Global Tug-of-War Over Free Speech,” by NYT’s Cecilia Kang and Adam Satariano: “Trump’s return to the White House is expected to widen the speech divide that has long existed between the United States and Europe, setting up parallel regulatory systems that tech policy experts say could influence elections, public health and public discourse. That’s putting social media companies in the middle of a global tug of war over how to police content on their sites. … The cross-Atlantic regulatory clash stems from distinctly different global views on free speech.” 4. IMMIGRATION FILES: Connecticut AG WILLIAM TONG was the first member of his family born in the U.S. Now, the Democrat is eager to be the first to take the Trump administration to court if and when it seeks to end birthright citizenship, NBC’s Lawrence Hurley reports. Most legal experts think Trump’s gambit would be unconstitutional and fail even with the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority. For Tong, who’ll be one of many Democratic state AGs taking on a more prominent role suing the Trump administration, the legal fight is clear — and there are very personal stakes, too.
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®:   Tax reform is the key to more housing supply. See our plan. | | | 5. THE PERKS OF HAVING THE PRESIDENT’S EAR: “Elon Musk’s Political Influence Wears Down Global Resistance to Starlink,” by Bloomberg’s Bruce Einhorn and Loni Prinsloo: “[South African President CYRIL] RAMAPHOSA and [ELON] MUSK have been in contact to discuss ways for the government to change the rules to allow Starlink’s high-speed Internet to operate legally in South Africa … In return, Musk’s companies would invest in areas such as battery production for Tesla … [W]orries that the world’s richest person would subvert sensitive state-run telecommunications channels around the globe are being replaced by attempts by government officials trying to tap economic incentives.” 6. TWO NOTABLE MEGATRENDS: GasBuddy’s newest projections forecast that U.S. gas prices will fall for the third year in a row in 2025, CNN’s Matt Egan scooped. That would be welcome news for American drivers and the incoming Trump administration. GasBuddy sees the national average hitting $3.22 a gallon, which would “mark the lowest annual average since 2021.” Also looking better: Murder rates across America kept falling precipitously this year after a pandemic-era surge, NYT’s Isabelle Taft and Kate Selig report. Despite Republicans fomenting a message about out-of-control crime — and many Americans having serious worries about it — some major cities like Chicago and San Francisco have returned to pre-Covid levels of killings (or better). Car thefts are also down. But shoplifting appears to be on the rise. 7. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: “Fear That China Rules the Waves Jolts U.S. to Pursue Maritime Revival,” by WSJ’s Daniel Michaels: “[P]oliticians are once again linking national security to a vibrant maritime sector — nonmilitary aspects of the seas — and the benefits it brings to everything from shipbuilding to logistics chains. Washington is seeking ways to reverse its collapse by tapping examples from other industries, encouraging links with shipbuilding allies and plumbing the writings of America’s greatest sea strategist. … [C]alls are increasing for Washington to help resurrect U.S. commercial shipbuilding and freight hauling.” 8. CROSSING THE AISLE: For military veterans in Congress, the For Country Caucus offers a rare opportunity to try to fan the flames of bipartisanship, AP’s Gary Fields reports. Five years into its existence, the group has helped get 100 bills passed and signed into law, largely related to national security and veterans. “We are a small but mighty caucus that punches way above its weight,” outgoing co-chair Rep. JASON CROW (D-Colo.) crows. 9. WHAT’S NEXT FOR PBMS: “Drug Middlemen Spared by Trump and Musk, for Now,” by WSJ’s David Wainer: “While the [pharmacy benefit management] provisions in the 1,547-page stopgap bill are now dead, they are far from buried. The bipartisan agreement highlighted a growing consensus that PBM business models are flawed, with both Republicans and Democrats — and even Trump himself — signaling intent to take action. … [I]t is clear that Washington has set its sights on PBMs, and 2025 could very well be the year they begin to face a reckoning.”
| | | | POLITICO Pro's unique analysis combines exclusive transition intelligence and data visualization to help you understand not just what's changing, but why it matters for your organization. Explore how POLITICO Pro will make a difference for you. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Newt Gingrich praised Mike Johnson’s performance as speaker. Victoria Spartz, on the other hand, still needs more from Johnson to get her vote. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Warren Strobel is joining WaPo as an intelligence reporter on the paper’s national security team. He most recently was a national security reporter at the WSJ and has covered foreign policy and national security for more than three decades. Isaac Stanley-Becker has also been named an intelligence reporter at the paper. He most recently was an investigative reporter on the Post’s national staff. — Sen.-elect Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) is staffing up with Elizabeth Mabry as legislative director and David Sloan as state director. Mabry currently is deputy staff director of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Sloan most recently was director of policy planning and public affairs for Alsobrooks in her Prince George’s County executive office. TRANSITIONS — Mary Sullivan Douglas and Nancy Kruger are retiring after roughly 40 years each at the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, most recently as senior staff associate and deputy director, respectively. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Jordan Brooks, a consultant and a Biden and Obama White House alum, and Brian Farnkoff, senior counsel for the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice, recently welcomed Isabel Hart Brooks Farnkoff, who is named after Jordan’s great-grandmother and Brian’s late mother. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) and Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) … Sean Hannity … Maine Gov. Janet Mills … Tammy Haddad … former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo … Kevin Smith of Humana … Lauren Claffey Tomlinson … POLITICO’s Jennifer Scholtes, Abby Fralin, Rupert Sizemore and Philip Harman … Matt Latimer … Bill Thorne of the National Retail Federation … Heather Reid … Justin Thomas Russell … Noelle Straub … Shannon Gilson of Apple … Nick Schmit … WaPo’s Courtney Beesch … Seth Wyngowski … Bob Cochran … former Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson … Udai Rohatgi … Jim Billimoria of TikTok … Maria Elena Salinas … former Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) … Hari Sevugan … Voters of Tomorrow’s Santiago Mayer … Meredith Vieira … Marcia Kramer of CBS New York … Michael Rekola … Jack Deschauer 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 and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Clarification: Yesterday’s Playbook has been updated to clarify the type of procedure Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu underwent. It was surgery for his prostate.
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®: The National Association of REALTORS® is leading the charge to update America’s tax law to promote homeownership and boost economic growth.
The U.S. still lacks 4.7 million homes, and middle-income buyers are feeling the inventory shortage the most. More than 375,000 listings in the $250,000 and under price range are missing from the market.
We’ve worked with Congress to endorse a package of bills with broad support that would unlock housing inventory.
Legislation like the More Homes on the Market Act would incentivize long-term homeowners to sell by increasing the amount of capital gains they can exclude from the sale of a principal residence.
Real estate makes up nearly one-fifth of the U.S. economy, and each home sale generates $125,000 in local economic activity and two jobs.
Addressing housing availability in tax reform is a smart way to create economic growth, unleash housing inventory, and solve a national crisis. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
