| | | | | |  | | By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | Presented by |  | | OFFICIAL … AP: "U.S. Senate control to be decided by January runoffs in Georgia after Republicans retain Alaska seat." BOJO ON BIDEN AND TRUMP … TRUMP 'THE PREVIOUS PRESIDENT' … Labour M.P. ANGELA EAGLE to PM BORIS JOHNSON on the floor: "Does the prime minister now have any advice for his erstwhile best friend, President Trump, whose continuing refusal to accept the result is both embarrassing for him and dangerous for American democracy?" JOHNSON: "Well, Mr. Speaker, I had and have a good relationship with the previous president. … It is the duty of all British prime ministers to have a good relationship with the White House. But I am delighted to find the many areas in which the incoming Biden-Harris administration is able to make common cause with us. In particular, it was extremely exciting to talk to President-elect Biden about what he wants to do with the COP 26 summit next year … which, as you know, the U.K. [is] leading the world in driving down carbon emissions and tackling climate change." THE WHITE HOUSE GIFT SHOP is selling JOE BIDEN/KAMALA HARRIS inaugural coins. The coins … h/t L.A. Times' John Myers RECOUNT! … ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: "Georgia launches statewide hand recount of presidential race," by Mark Niesse: "Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Wednesday ordered a recount of all 5 million ballots cast in the presidential election to check initial results showing President-elect Joe Biden won by 14,000 votes. "Raffensperger, a Republican, said the recount will be conducted by hand in each of Georgia's 159 counties, and it must be completed by a Nov. 20 deadline to finalize election results. Poll workers will review the printed text on ballots and then sort them into piles to check the accuracy of results. The recount will be combined with a previously planned audit of paper ballots. But instead of auditing a relatively small sample of ballots, the review will encompass all ballots." OPEN THE MONEY SPIGOT … EARLY GA. POLL … "An early poll of Georgia's twin Senate runoffs shows tight races," by AJC's Greg Bluestein: "A poll conducted by a Republican-leaning national firm shows neither political party with a clear advantage in the twin January runoffs that are likely to decide control of the U.S. Senate. "The poll showed Kelly Loeffler at 49% of the vote compared to Democrat Raphael Warnock's 48% showing – within the margin of error of 2.6 percentage points. About 3% were undecided. In the other race, U.S. Sen. David Perdue had a 50-46 lead over Democrat Jon Ossoff, echoing the results of the November election when the Republican fell just under the majority-vote mark he needed to win outright. About 4% of Georgians were undecided." THE MARCO RUBIO-LOEFFLER rally in Georgia is packed, and CNN's KYUNG LAH has left for safety reasons. Lah's pictures from inside the event BIDEN'S lead over President DONALD TRUMP in the national popular vote has now surpassed 5 million. | | A message from Morgan Stanley: 3 Themes Shaping Healthcare – As the world grapples with COVID-19 and companies race to develop vaccines, the global healthcare industry is experiencing one of its highest-profile moments. Here's how three key topics —the race for a vaccine, trends in technology and demand for deal-making—could shape its future. | | | FASCINATING … WAPO'S DAVID IGNATIUS: "A furious behind-the-scenes battle to counter Trump's threat to national security": "President Trump's senior military and intelligence officials have been warning him strongly against declassifying information about Russia that his advisers say would compromise sensitive collection methods and anger key allies. "An intense battle over this issue has raged within the administration in the days before and after the Nov. 3 presidential election. Trump and his allies want the information public because they believe it would rebut claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin supported Trump in 2016. That may sound like ancient history, but for Trump it remains ground zero -- the moment when his political problems began. "CIA Director Gina Haspel last month argued strongly at a White House meeting against disclosing the information, because she believed that doing so would violate her pledge to protect sources and methods, a senior congressional source said. This official said a bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic senators has been trying to protect Haspel, though some fear that Trump may yet oust her. "Rumors have been flying this week about Haspel's tenure, but a source familiar with her standing as CIA director said Tuesday that national security adviser Robert C. O'Brien and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows had both 'assured her that she's good,' meaning she wouldn't be removed. Haspel also met personally with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Tuesday … [in] another sign of GOP support. … The issue may have played a role in Trump's surprise decision on Monday to fire Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper." BARACK OBAMA will sit down for his first post-election/pre-memoir interviews with GAYLE KING of "CBS This Morning" and SCOTT PELLEY of "60 Minutes." They'll air Sunday, with previews running Thursday and Friday. -- OBAMA'S BOOK comes out next week. Good Wednesday afternoon. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION -- D.C. reported 206 new coronavirus cases and a positive test rate of 4.1% -- both significantly up from previous days. VALLEY TALK -- "Facebook Continues Political Ad Ban for Another Month," by WSJ's Emily Glazer: "'While multiple sources have projected a presidential winner, we still believe it's important to help prevent confusion or abuse on our platform,' according to the email that was sent Wednesday to political advertisers. "Facebook told the advertisers it is continuing to 'temporarily pause' all ads on social issues, electoral or political ads in the U.S. for another month, though it may lift sooner." WSJ AILING AMERICA -- "Millions Face Loss of Jobless Aid: 'Without It, I'm Dead in the Water,'" by NYT's Ben Casselman: "Two critical unemployment programs are set to expire at the end of the year, potentially leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to eviction and hunger and threatening to short-circuit an economic recovery that has already lost momentum. … "Much of [the federal government] assistance expired over the summer … The year-end benefits cliff could be even more damaging. Many families have depleted any savings they built when the $600 supplement was available. A partial federal eviction moratorium is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, although it could be extended. And benefits checks won't just shrink, as they did over the summer — they will disappear." NYT HUNT FOR A VACCINE -- "Russia Says Its Coronavirus Vaccine Sputnik V Shows Over 90% Efficacy," by WSJ's Georgi Kantchev in Moscow | | | | JOIN THURSDAY: A WOMEN RULE ROUNDTABLE : 2020 has been a history-making year for women in politics. Kamala Harris is vice president-elect, a record number of Republican women were elected to Congress and more women of color ran for public office than ever before. Join POLITICO's Elizabeth Ralph, Crooked Media's Shaniqua McClendon, and Winning for Women's Micah Yousefi for a conversation that examines the results for women who ran for office and what progress still needs to be made. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | CORONAVIRUS RAGING … "Pandemic invades nursing homes again," by Rachel Roubein: "Covid-19 cases in nursing homes saw a more than 40 percent increase from mid-September to Oct. 25 after seven weeks of steady decline, according to the most recent data. Nursing home operators and experts on long-term care say it's basically impossible to keep the coronavirus from seeping in as cases spike in communities across the country. "The administration has improved testing and staff screenings at nursing homes since last spring, yet workers will inevitably bring the virus in with them. But Trump has repeatedly downplayed the virus while sidelining federal health officials … The new infections in care facilities are creating a growing challenge for President-elect Joe Biden, who pledged special attention to nursing homes." -- NYT: "The Surging Coronavirus Finds a Federal Leadership Vacuum," by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Noah Weiland, Sharon LaFraniere and Andrew Jacobs: "[T]he Strategic National Stockpile, the nation's emergency reserve, has only 115 million N95 masks, far short of the 300 million the administration had hoped to amass by winter … "Governors are once again competing with one another and big hospital chains for scarce gear. Nursing homes are grappling with staff shortages, which have left hospitals unable to discharge patients to their care. In Wisconsin, the situation is so severe that health officials are mulling a plan to train family members of nursing home residents to fill in at facilities that lack enough workers." NYT COMING ATTRACTIONS -- "MAGA nation tries to rally around Trump with MAGApalooza," by Tina Nguyen: "The disparate tribes of MAGA Nation — Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, Infowars fanatics, Groypers, Proud Boys, white nationalists, neo-Nazis and the people who would simply call themselves die-hard MAGA — have declared that they are simply going to show up in Washington en masse over the weekend to rally together … "[T]hey're all set to take place Saturday in the nation's capital, around noon, with most set to congregate near Freedom Plaza, just east of the White House, though some groups have also suggested the Supreme Court building down the National Mall. It's unclear how many people may show up, and past promises of massive rallies have sometimes fizzled out. Notably, organizers have not filed for permits … But disinformation and extremist researchers have estimated anywhere from several hundred to several thousand may show up." POLITICO INAUGURATION WATCH -- "Biden World Fears Trump Will Bring 'Weird Shit' to Their Inauguration," by The Daily Beast's Sam Stein and Scott Bixby: "Officials who have been involved in talks around inauguration planning said public safety would be top of mind. Over the course of the campaign, Biden consistently downscaled events or went entirely virtual to ensure no risk of COVID spread on his behalf. The expectation is that mindset won't change for his inauguration. … "But the questions being confronted by inauguration planners are now twofold. How do you actually keep attendees away? And if wannabe revelers decide not to show up, will you be left with a mass gathering of Trump supporters in their place?" Daily Beast IMMIGRATION FILES -- "U.S. deports migrant women who alleged abuse by Georgia doctor," by AP's Nomaan Merchant in Houston: "The Trump administration is trying to deport several women who allege they were mistreated by a Georgia gynecologist at an immigration detention center, according to their lawyers. "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has already deported six former patients who complained about Dr. Mahendra Amin, who has been accused of operating on migrant women without their consent or performing procedures that were medically unnecessary and potentially endangered their ability to have children. At least seven others at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, who had made allegations against the doctor have received word that they could soon be removed from the country, the lawyers said." AP | | | | NEW EPISODES OF POLITICO'S GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS PODCAST: The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded in 2020 amid a global pandemic. Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, unpacks the roadblocks to smart policy decisions and examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. In the latest episode, we look at the renewed interest in an old phrase: industrial policy. Is it still too controversial in policy circles, or is it the future of policy as governments worldwide reshape global supply chains? Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | | BIDEN'S CLIMATE PLAN -- "How Biden aims to amp up the government's fight against climate change," by WaPo's Juliet Eilperin and Annie Linskey: "President-elect Joe Biden is poised to embed action on climate change across the breadth of the federal government, from the departments of Agriculture to Treasury to State — expanding it beyond environmental agencies to speed U.S. efforts to mitigate global warming and to acknowledge that the problem touches many aspects of American life. "The far-reaching strategy is aimed at making significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions even without congressional action, by maximizing executive authority. ... In a sign of how Biden has already elevated the issue, he discussed the topic with every European head of state with whom he spoke on Tuesday, including the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Ireland. Biden has started frequently referring to the climate 'crisis,' suggesting a heightened level of urgency." WaPo -- BUZZFEED: "Climate Activists Put Aside Their Differences With Biden To Help Get Him Elected. Now They Want To Cash In," by Ryan Brooks POST-MORTEM -- "How Biden swung the religious vote," by Gabby Orr: "It wasn't until Election Day, when returns showed counties across Michigan, Georgia and the industrial Midwest leaning toward Joe Biden due to a groundswell of religious support, that the Trump campaign realized it had a problem. For months, President Donald Trump's top aides and religious allies dismissed his softening support with white evangelicals and Catholic voters … In the end, surveys of early voters and exit polls showed they may have been the difference … "Biden's team developed a three-pronged approach to carefully and deliberately court faith voters. It ran ads on Christian radio, solicited endorsements from prominent Catholic and evangelical figures, weaved faith-based themes into the party's virtual convention in July and nearly every major speech Biden delivered. It hosted weekly devotionals, cultivated prayer groups and built interfaith and denomination-specific coalitions." POLITICO WHAT COMES NEXT -- "Black Voters Helped Deliver Biden a Presidential Victory. Now What?" by NYT's John Eligon and Audra Burch: "While Black voters across the country celebrated the election of Mr. Biden and his vice president, Senator Kamala Harris of California, many said in recent days that the administration would have to prove its sincerity when it came to addressing the country's vast inequalities and systemic barriers." NYT AFTERNOON READ -- "The Strange and Twisted Tale of Hydroxychloroquine," by Wired's Adam Rogers: "The twisted tale of hydroxychloroquine is actually about how to know stuff, the question that has defined every existential decision since the early 20th century—climate change, vaccines, economic policy. We've learned from failure and bitter experience that only when we take the time to find the truth do we at least have a chance to make good decisions. "We also know that it'll be a struggle—that grifters, power-seekers, and fantasists will push their own versions of truth while scientists and policymakers grapple with the lumbering process and nuanced outcomes of the scientific method." Wired MEDIAWATCH -- Gabriel Escobar has been named the top editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Inky TRANSITIONS -- Ryan Nickel is joining Lot Sixteen as a VP. He previously was comms director for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). Sarah Weinstein will be the new comms director. | | | |   | | | | | | | 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 | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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