| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels and Rachael Bade | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | IN CASE YOU HAD ANY DOUBTS — “Electoral college on track to elect Donald Trump as next president,” by WaPo’s Amy Gardner TO STATE THE OBVIOUS — From Peter Baker and Zolan Kanno-Youngs’ NYT assessment of President JOE BIDEN’s final chapter: “Time is catching up with Mr. Biden. He looks a little older and a little slower with each passing day. Aides say he remains plenty sharp in the Situation Room, calling world leaders to broker a cease-fire in Lebanon or deal with the chaos of Syria’s rebellion. But it is hard to imagine that he seriously thought he could do the world’s most stressful job for another four years.”
|  House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) looks on during a press conference on Capitol Hill Dec. 17, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | NOW AND LATER — Get used to this feeling, MIKE JOHNSON. You thought this was what your conference wanted. They said they didn’t want a year-end omnibus appropriations bill. They said they wanted President-elect DONALD TRUMP and a soon-to-be-GOP Senate to put their stamp on fiscal 2025 spending next year. So you gave it to them: a three-month continuing resolution, lapsing not even eight weeks into Trump’s presidency. But you forgot something: You only have a four-vote majority right now, and a big chunk of your conference isn’t interested in voting for CRs — or, really, any spending bills, period. The problem only got worse when hurricanes decimated Republican districts across the southeast — necessitating more spending, $110 billion in disaster aid. The bigger the bill got, the less most of your colleagues were going to be interested in voting for it. Which meant — surprise! — cutting a deal with Democrats who had all sorts of demands, from a notching trade deal with Haiti to paying for the repair of a collapsed bridge. Never mind the favors your own members wanted, such as expanding sales of ethanol-laced gasoline. By the time it all came together yesterday, it looked a whole lot like the “Christmas tree” you swore you wouldn’t put on the floor (more on the ornaments below). And plenty of your colleagues noticed when they saw the 1,547-page bill last night. The House Freedom Caucus dubbed it “the Cramnibus.” One of their members, Rep. ANDY OGLES (R-Tenn.) suggested it could prompt a contested speakership next month. Even a New York moderate like Rep. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS is threatening to vote no. And that’s just the members who are mad about what’s in the bill. Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) savaged your decision to leave his Radiation Exposure Compensation Act out of the package: “Tonight [Johnson] personally killed radiation relief in favor of more money for Big Pharma & other special interests.” It might be funny if it weren’t so predictable. If there’s any lesson for Republican Hill leaders over the past 15 years, it’s that no half gesture goes unpunished. And those who try to stave off their punishment just end up suffering twice. So get ready to do it all over again in March — this time with an even thinner majority. You were left yesterday wanly suggesting that things will be better next year: “With a Republican majority in BOTH chambers next Congress, and President Trump back in the WH, we will finally be able to get our priorities signed into law.” But now you have to wonder if you’re just foolishly raising expectations. You’ll possibly have a one-vote majority for several months. Senate Republicans have no interest in touching the filibuster. And one of your frequent foils — Rep. CHIP ROY (R-Texas), whom you put on the Rules Committee — is even threatening to wreak havoc with reconciliation. Roy said he won't support a must-pass tax bill “without corresponding, significant spending cuts that will reduce deficits,” per RealClearPolitics’ Philip Wegmann. Talk about an impending disaster: If Republicans can’t stick together, that would mean bringing Democrats to the table to negotiate what happens after the 2017 Trump tax cuts expire in a year. Yes, you’ll probably be fine come Jan. 3, when the House elects the new speaker — no Republican, least of all Trump, wants a leadership crisis right off the bat. But some familiar vultures are now circling, and your decision not to finish the 2025 spending fight now means they’ll soon have an opportunity to feast. “The Christmas CR lump of coal comes with a warning,” Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) posted last night. “Beware the Ides of March.” Read the bill … Read Jennifer Scholtes and Katherine Tully-McManus on the nuts and bolts … Read Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers on Johnson’s political pickle Good Wednesday morning.Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels.
| | | | A message from Instagram: Congress can help keep teens safe online today.
By passing federal legislation requiring app store parental consent and age verification, Congress would put parents in charge of teen app downloads. This helps parents ensure teens download apps that are safe.
That's why 3 of 4 parents agree: teens under 16 shouldn't be able to download apps without parental consent.
Tell lawmakers: support a national standard requiring app store parental consent and age verification for teens. | | | What’s next … If Johnson adheres to the House’s 72-hour-review rule, the earliest the bill could come up for a final vote would be 6:35 p.m. on Friday. But the speaker has a key decision to make beforehand: Will he take the bill through the House Rules Committee — and its gatekeeping trio of conservative hard-liners — or take it directly to the floor and try to pass it on a two-thirds vote under suspension of the rules? Given the scale of the backlash overnight, risking a two-thirds vote feels like a big gamble. Notably, the Freedom Caucus — in the course of panning the bill — also sketched out a path for Johnson to get it through the Rules Committee: (1) “a full 72 hours to read it” … (2) a vote on the “DOGE Act” that would slash nondefense discretionary spending — which Johnson circulated last night alongside the CR … and (3) a vote on an amendment “to stop Biden’s ongoing fire sale of border wall construction materials.” As for the Senate, we’ll just say that the whiff of December jet fumes is a hell of a drug. More on what’s in the bill … Member COLAs: After 15 years of fending off statutory cost-of-living increases, Congress is poised to finally accept them this year, Bloomberg Government’s Jack Fitzpatrick reports.It’s a win for members and advocates who want to make the job more attractive to the nonaffluent, but it could make getting the votes even tougher. Business recordkeeping delay: Most businesses had until Jan. 1 to register their “beneficial owners” — i.e., the actual people standing to profit — with the Treasury Department. The bill delays that requirement by two years. RFK Stadium transfer: The D.C. government will get control of the sports complex 20 blocks down East Capitol Street in what could be a prelude to the construction of a new NFL stadium. As part of the deal, the Maryland National Guard gets control of the D.C. National Guard’s F-16 fighter wing. Key Bridge reconstruction: In another big win for the Maryland delegation, the bill commits the federal government to pick up the full cost of replacing Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. (The feds are still entitled to collect any insurance payouts, as the Baltimore Banner notes.) The TICKET Act: Some are modest reforms in store for the live-event business with passage of this industry-backed bill requiring disclosure of a ticket’s full price and guaranteeing refunds in case of cancellations or postponements. A similar bill would affect the hotel industry.
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate is in. The House will meet at 10 a.m. 3 things to watch …
- The Senate could vote as soon as today on President JOE BIDEN’s final judicial confirmations: Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER teed up cloture votes on SERENA MURILLO and BENJAMIN CHEEKS for district court seats in California. If confirmed they would be enough to leapfrog Biden ahead of Trump for the four-year record for Article III judges confirmed. That said, nothing is assured: A party line vote is likely, and last week’s NLRB snafu showed, no confirmation is guaranteed with Sens. JOE MANCHIN (I-W.Va.) and KYRSTEN SINEMA (I-Ariz.) still sworn and voting.
- A last-ditch push from Sen. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-N.Y.) and other congressional Democrats to get the Equal Rights Amendment ratified appeared to sputter yesterday when the archivist of the U.S. announced she would follow “established legal processes and decisions” and reject the petition. Now hundreds of female union leaders are joining Gillibrand & Co. in calling on Biden to overrule the decision and enshrine the amendment, Nick Niedzwiadek reports. Read the labor letter
- Rep. PATRICK McHENRY (R-N.C.) will take his final House votes later this week after 20 years of congressional service, leaving with an unusual distinction — as the only man to serve as speaker pro tempore following the removal of a sitting speaker. To commemorate his three-week stint last year, Olivia Beavers reports, his delegation mate RICHARD HUDSON (R-N.C.) commissioned a portrait, akin to the ones that all former full-fledged speakers are entitled to. This one, however, was only half-fledged — about two feet tall, in keeping with McHenry’s short statute and brief time with the big gavel.
At the White House Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 11 a.m.
| | | | 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 | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD
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Salma Safadi waves a shirt to her sister Sawsan Safadi, who lives inside the buffer zone near the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights from Syria, in the town of Majdal Shams, Dec. 17, 2024. | Matias Delacroix/AP | SYRIA LATEST — American officials are scrambling to head off a new nightmare scenario in Syria: a major terrorist jailbreak, Robbie Gramer and Paul McLeary report. “Thousands of Islamic State group fighters and their families remain in makeshift prisons, watched over by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces with limited weapons. The prisons were supposed to be temporary, but their home countries don’t want the fighters back. “The situation was a slow-boil crisis until Syrian President BASHAR ASSAD’s downfall, which tossed the country into an uncertain future. Now a full-scale ISIS comeback may hinge on whether the U.S. and a weakening group of allies can prevent their escape.” The search continues: “For Years, U.S. Collected Tips About Austin Tice’s Disappearance in Syria,” by NYT’s Adam Goldman and Christina Goldbaum More top reads:
TRANSITION LENSES
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President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. | Evan Vucci/AP | FULL COURT PRESS — No modern president — including Trump in his first term — has made a habit of personally suing the media while in the Oval Office. But if what Trump said this week is a sign of things to come, it could be a feature of Trump 2.0. Media lawyers are bracing for an onslaught of lawsuits from Trump and his political allies in the wake of ABC’s decision to pay $16 million to settle a defamation case Trump filed against the network, Josh Gerstein reports. “Many First Amendment advocates see the settlement as a capitulation by ABC that handed Trump both a lucrative victory and a legal roadmap. They worry it will embolden him to escalate his use of private civil litigation against his media critics when he returns to power next month. These private lawsuits would be separate from anything Trump does as president to deploy official levers of power against the press. And even if the lawsuits lack merit, they can still have a chilling effect.” More top reads:
- Trump donor ANDREW McKENNA is a leading contender for secretary of the Air Force, Jack Detsch, Connor O’Brien and Paul McLeary report. McKenna, a private pilot who served in the GEORGE W. BUSH White House, “would be the latest of Trump’s picks to take on a top job at the Pentagon without significant experience inside the building.”
- The Long and short of it: Trump’s pick to run the IRS — former Rep. BILLY LONG — could be in a position to determine the fate of the Employee Retention Tax Credit, the much-abused tax provision he used to promote as a pitchman, Brian Faler reports. “That promises to be a major issue in his nomination, with Democrats saying they want to know if he was part of the problem.”
- Uber and its CEO DARA KHOSROWSHAHI have both contributed $1 million to the Trump inauguration fund, WSJ’s Preetika Rana reports. It’s a notable move given that Khosrowshahi did not donate to Biden’s inauguration in 2021 and that Uber’s chief legal officer is TONY WEST, who is VP KAMALA HARRIS' brother-in-law.
- Mad Libs headline of the day: “How Tucker Carlson Killed Mike Pompeo’s Hopes of Joining the Trump Administration,” by WSJ’s Vivian Salama
CONGRESS WHAT JUST HAPPENED — Virginia Rep. GERRY CONNOLLY’s triumph over New York Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ for the top Democratic spot on the Oversight Committee illustrates the limits of the party’s demand for generational change, with a well-established centrist beating out a progressive standard-bearer, Nicholas Wu and Daniella Diaz write. “While the victory went beyond ideology, there were simmering fears among centrists about how elevating Ocasio-Cortez, an outspoken liberal who has gone viral for her moments on the panel before, would turn out. There was also a sense that it was Connolly’s turn, after he had previously run for the Oversight spot twice and served on the panel for 15 years, according to interviews with eight Democratic lawmakers.” The who’s who: “House Dems solidify their anti-Trump policy chiefs,” by Nicholas Wu, Daniella Diaz, Josh Siegel and Meredith Lee Hill TTFN — “Sherrod Brown Signs Off in the Senate. For Now,” by NYT’s Carl Hulse
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | ALL POLITICS COMING IN FROM THE WILDERNESS — American Bridge is planning to convene a group of high-level Dem donors in Palm Beach early in 2025 to plot a path forward for the party, NYT’s Teddy Schleifer reports. “About 150 donors or prospective donors are expected to attend the gathering, now in its seventh iteration and rechristened as ‘Democracy Matters.’” Speakers will include MITCH LANDRIEU, HEATHER COX RICHARDSON, DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, JOHN DELLA VOLPE, JENNIFER RUBIN and JOHN HARWOOD. HARRIS SPEAKS — In Harris' first major public remarks since her election concession indicated that she would remain involved in politics in some fashion, but offered no clues as to whether she plans to run for governor of California in 2026 or seek the presidency again in 2028, Adam Cancryn writes. “In moments like this, the true test of our character is how resilient and persistent we are to pursue the future that we all can see,” she said in a speech to young voters in Maryland. A BITE FROM THE APPLE — Harris campaign staffers asked Apple for help a week before the election to inquire about whether their phones had been hacked, but Apple declined to assist, Forbes’ Thomas Brewster reports. JUDICIARY SQUARE HEADS UP — Trump’s legal team in a letter unsealed yesterday “claimed to have uncovered ‘evidence of grave juror misconduct during the trial,’ in which he was convicted of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal,” NYT’s Ben Protess reports. “‘The jury in this case was not anywhere near fair and impartial,’ Mr. Trump’s lawyers asserted. But the nature of any misconduct that they are claiming occurred is unclear.” JUDGE NOT — When U.S. District Judge MICHAEL PONSOR published an NYT op-ed criticizing Supreme Court Justice SAMUEL ALITO over the flag-flying controversy, Ponsor violated the federal judiciary code of conduct, according to the jurist who was assigned to review the incident who submitted a little-noticed filing on the saga last week, per WSJ’s Jess Bravin. FOR YOUR RADAR — “Judge grants Rep. Katie Porter a five-year restraining order against ex-boyfriend,” by LA Times’ Laura Nelson POLICY CORNER GETTING OUT OF GITMO — The Pentagon yesterday released “a Kenyan prisoner who was held at Guantánamo Bay for nearly 18 years on suspicion he was tied to an affiliate of Al Qaeda that plotted attacks against Israeli tourists in East Africa two decades ago,” NYT’s Carol Rosenberg reports. “The prisoner, MOHAMMED ABDUL MALIK BAJABU, 51, was never charged with a crime. He was repatriated to the custody of Kenya on Tuesday, three years after a task force of U.S. intelligence officials approved his transfer.” LNG LFG — “Biden administration gas export report could upset Trump energy policy,” by Ben Lefebvre VALLEY TALK MUSK READ — “Elon Musk and SpaceX Face Federal Reviews After Violations of Security Reporting Rules,” by NYT’s Kirsten Grind, Eric Lipton and Sheera Frenkel: “The Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General opened a review into the matter this year, and the Air Force and the Pentagon’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security separately initiated reviews last month. The Air Force also recently denied Mr. Musk a high-level security access.”
| | | | 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 | | Nancy Pelosi snapped a photo before seeking medical attention for her broken hip. Hunter Biden and Flava Flav bonded at a White House Christmas party. Rodney Davis says: Look at this photograph. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “A D.C. cafe is banning patrons under 30. Is it legal?” by WaPo’s Emily Heil SPOTTED: Tim Ryan and Josh Mandel at Ruth’s Chris in D.C. last night. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the first annual gathering of the who’s who of Heathers on Tuesday hosted by Heather Kennedy and Heather Podesta: Heather Foster, Heather Wingate, Heather Boushey, Heather Smith, Heather Painter and Heather Long. — SPOTTED at Semafor’s holiday party at Semafor’s Tribeca HQ last night: Rebecca Blumenstein, Michael Barbaro, Cesar Conde, Katie Drummond, Jamie Heller, Molly Jong-Fast, Pat Kiernan, Chris Licht, Barbara Peng, Lydia Polgreen, Noah Shachtman, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Joseph Weisenthal, Katie Robertson, Brian Stelter, PJ Vogt, David Haskell, Justin B. Smith, Ben Smith, Max Tani, Liz Hoffman, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson and Gina Chua. — SPOTTED at the 29th Latkes & Vodkas, hosted by Steve Rabinowitz and Bluelight Strategies, at the Capital Jewish Museum last night: Tom Kahn, Aviva Kempner, Brianne Nadeau, Matt Frumin, Rob Bassin, Dan Brown, Vered Guttman, Alan Ronkin, Lynn Sweet, Levi Shemtov, William Daroff, Stephanie Hausner, Jon Meyer, Matt Dorf, Ari Geller, David Harris, Guy Ziv, Dan Arbel, Norman Goldstein, Nadine Epstein, Marc Israel, Abbey Frank, Liz Liebowitz, Aaron Keyak, Julia Gordon, Howard Mortman and Abby Leibman. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Michaela Kurinsky-Malos will be Rep.-elect Sarah McBride’s (D-Del.) deputy chief of staff and comms director. She previously was McBride’s campaign manager. — Slade Bond is joining Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca LLP to lead the firm’s expanded public policy practice as chair of public policy and legislative affairs. He most recently was principal deputy assistant AG for legislative affairs at DOJ and previously served as chief counsel of the House Antitrust Subcommittee. — Conner Brace is joining Boundary Stone Partners as SVP. He previously was director of policy and government relations at the Climate Leadership Council and is a Trump DOE alum. TRANSITIONS — Colby Carrier is now head of Aetherflux, D.C., leading the company’s government relations, regulatory strategy and business development. He previously was head of operations at Anduril. … Erin Butler is now a legislative assistant for Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), covering his Financial Services Committee work. She previously was a legislative correspondent for Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) … Randi Weingarten … Brookings’ Cecilia Rouse … Matt Schlapp … Jennifer Scoggins Hanks … WSJ’s Jeanne Cummings and Andrew Restuccia … Robb Watters of the Madison Group … CNN’s Rachel Streitfeld, Ali Main and Lisa Respers France … Liz Halloran of Cornerstone Public Affairs … NRCC’s Mike Thom … Paul Windsor of Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) office … Rich Luchette … Philip Bennett of Rep. Summer Lee’s (D-Pa.) office … Danielle Moon … Naomi Lake of Rep. Chuy García’s (D-Ill.) office … WilmerHale’s Alyssa DaCunha … Noelle Britton of Rep. Lloyd Smucker’s (R-Pa.) office … Jim Carter of the America First Policy Institute … Morning Consult’s John Leer ... Wes Coulam of Washington Council Ernst & Young … Frank Coleman ... Elissa Dodge of Sable Strategy ... Noam Neusner … Dov Zakheim … Ryan McCrimmon … Casey Murray … Sarah Shulman … Matthew Ceja of the South Coast Air Quality Management District … Tyler Lechtenberg … POLITICO’s Eric Millinder, Grace Strmecki and Edward Klump … ACLU’s Aamra Ahmad … Adam Wilczewski … Nick Geale 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.
| | | | A message from Instagram: Instagram Teen Accounts: automatic protections for teens
Parents want safer online experiences for their teens. That's why Instagram is introducing Teen Accounts, with automatic protections for who can contact teens and the content they can see.
A key factor: Only parents can approve safety setting changes for teens under 16.
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