FIRST IN PI — TWO RECENT MINI-DRAMAS AT BROOKINGS — Board members of the Brookings Institution recently received an anonymous email titled “Brookings Leadership Concerns” that called for a “no confidence” vote on Brookings president Cecilia Rouse, according to an email sent by the board chairs and obtained by Daniel. — It also noted that a petition asking for the same action had been posted on Change.org but was quickly taken down. “As of now there have been no news reports, or anything public as far as we can determine,” Brookings co-chairs Glenn Hutchins and Suzanne Nora Johnson wrote in the email, noting they were “monitoring the situation closely” and would discuss the matter at their next board meeting. Sadly, PI has been unable to obtain the initial email detailing the concerns about Rouse (send!), but one board member said she was “not the warmest and cuddliest person in the world so I’m sure she has rubbed some people the wrong way.” — Rouse did not respond to a request for comment. — The head of fundraising, Tamara O’Neil, also quietly left the think tank over the summer. O’Neil had worked as a VP and chief development officer at Brookings for a little over two years before departing in late July, according to her LinkedIn profile; a departure memo from Rouse obtained by PI said that O’Neil and Brookings had “parted ways,” thanking her for her service. She is now founder and CEO of fundraising firm Capital Catalyst Solutions. — A former Brookings employee who had worked with O’Neil said that she had told them that she wasn’t happy at the organization in the months before she left and that her relationship with Rouse was not strong. The person also said that people who worked for O’Neil had complained about the strength of her management style to colleagues throughout most of her tenure “and got particularly bad this year.” — In a text message, O’Neil said she valued her time at Brookings, was proud of her work there and left to pursue other opportunities. “Unfortunately your source is incorrect and the characterization presented by your source is false,” she added. — A spokesperson for Brookings declined to comment. INVASION OF THE TECH BROS: Trump has selected a handful of Silicon Valley executives to run posts within the Pentagon, and if they all make it, they could enact significant change in the building and benefit themselves along the way, report our Paul McLeary and Jack Detsch. — John Phelan, a billionaire finance executive with no military experience, has been tapped to be Navy secretary. Trump also selected billionaire financier Stephen Feinberg as the Pentagon’s No. 2. Software company Palantir’s chief technology officer, Shyam Sankar, is being considered for the Pentagon’s top research and engineering position. Anduril Industries co-founder and chair Trae Stephens is also in the running for a high-ranking job in the building. — “They’ll be tasked with building weapons faster, fixing a broken shipbuilding system and matching China’s tech prowess. And while every new administration tries to clean up the Pentagon, this crew of outsiders has animated the tech sector.” — The executives each have stakes in companies working with the Pentagon and will need to address potential conflicts of interest, including Palantir’s software platform that the Pentagon is helping fund. Other investors with interests in defense companies, like SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, are close to the president-elect and play a role in shaping the new administration (though Musk and other billionaires’ previous work with the Pentagon has had limited success). Poked him: Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, scooped WSJ’s Dana Mattioli and Rebeccea Ballhaus. — The donation, confirmed by the company, is a departure from the company’s tradition and “the latest step by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to bolster his once-fraught relationship with the incoming president.” FIRST IN PI — FROM THE HILL: Elizabeth Horner is joining ArentFox Schiff’s D.C. office as a partner. She comes to the firm from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where she served as chief counsel under ranking member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) and senior counsel under Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). — “Elizabeth Horner is an important leader in the areas of environmental protection and climate policy and will play a critical role in helping our clients navigate policy changes under the new administration and new Republican Congressional majority,” said Philip S. English, senior government relations adviser for the firm. “Her reputation and expertise in law, legislation, and regulation make her an important addition to our Government Relations team and the ArentFox Schiff environmental practice.” PAC LAUNCHES AD BUY TO SUPPORT RFK JR. NOMINATION: America’s Values, the primary super PAC that supported Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s run for president, is wading into the media landscape to boost his nomination vote. — The PAC launched a “takeover” of X, formerly known as Twitter, this week to drive traffic to a landing page that has at least 38 million views, according to Tony Lyons, a spokesperson for the PAC. — Kennedy’s confirmation as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services remains an open question, even as his messages on the food system appear to be resonating on Capitol Hill. His views on vaccines, however, have sparked strong resistance. — “The media thrives on misinformation and false accusations,” the page states. “They’ll do anything to protect their corporate interests. That’s why we created the Kennedy Defense Database: to debunk the myths surrounding RFK Jr. Join the movement for a healthier America (#MAHA) and help us dismantle the playbook.” — The “Kennedy Defense Database” lists a number of Kennedy’s remarks on vaccines, corporate influence on the food system and federal nutrition assistance and includes links to “debunk the myths” on Kennedy’s positions. (Myth #5: “Kennedy wants to ban vaccines.” The truth, it says: “Kennedy wants to prohibit vaccine mandates.”) HIS SECOND ACT: Trump’s short-lived pick for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, is in talks to join Florida megadonor John Morgan’s law firm, report our Kimberly Lenoard and Gary Fineout. — This role at Morgan & Morgan would be in addition to Gaetz’s job as a prime-time host at the conservative One America News Network, which begins in January. Morgan has praised Gaetz for his positions on processed foods, marijuana legalization and property insurance. — “Morgan said he could see Gaetz being helpful in a recent lawsuit his firm filed that alleges major food companies specifically engineered their products to be addictive and then marketed them to kids, contributing to chronic illness.” SPOTTED on Tuesday night at The 507 for Coinbase’s holiday party, per a tipster: House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Reps. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Eric Sorensen(D-Ill.), Mike Levin (D-Calif.), Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Dan Meuser (R-Pa.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Lance Gooden (R-Texas), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.); former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.); and staff from the offices of Reps. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Don Davis (D-N.C.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), French Hill (R-Ark.), Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.), Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.), the DCCC and the NRCC. — And at the Hispanic Lobbyists Association’s holiday party and farewell celebration to its 2023-2024 board of directors at UPS Townhouse on Capitol Hill, per a tipster: Reps. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.) and Rob Menendez (D-N.J.)
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