| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
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Elon Musk attends the opening of a Tesla factory in Gruenheide, Germany, on March 22, 2022. | Patrick Pleul/Pool via AP, File | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | The three most discussed leaders on the American right had quite a week. We heard again and again at packed holiday parties across the city that House GOP Leader KEVIN McCARTHY was headed toward a repeat of his ill-fated attempt at the speakership in 2015; that ELON MUSK was destroying his reputation and burning Twitter to the ground; and that DONALD TRUMP's campaign — defined so far by his antisemitic dinner guests, rage-posting about discarding parts of the Constitution and a new NFT grift — was stillborn. Those are perfectly plausible views of the trio's trajectory. But this week, as we traipsed from an actual Georgetown cocktail party to a White House holiday event for the press to a blowout at the French Ambassador's mansion, the thought did occur that sometimes the media's views of the right can be a tad tainted by the cocooning effect of the Washington scene. So, even just as an exercise, let's flip things around and see how, from the perspectives of McCarthy, Musk and Trump, this was actually a good week. 1. KEVIN McCARTHY The latest news this morning comes via our colleagues Olivia Beavers, Jordain Carney and Sarah Ferris, who note that McCarthy is now "punting conferencewide races for committee leadership slots until after his speaker election on Jan. 3," which could "incapacitate Republicans during a crucial planning period, virtually guaranteeing a sluggish start for the new House majority." McCarthy can't risk pissing off members who lose these races to run House Committees. The downside of this delay is stark: "days, if not weeks, of uncertainty for GOP committees as they begin their stint in the majority. Some of the most important panels, including those charged with tax-writing and border security, won't be able to prepare bills, tee up hearings, or even hire staff. While some House committees already have uncontested leaders in place, those chairs won't be able to choose their member lineup or potentially pay staff. The GOP's subpoena power, too, will be frozen." On the other hand, it's a good reminder that as precarious as his position is, only McCarthy has the ability to tug at these House levers that can give him the space to cut the necessary deals with the holdouts. The other big development in Congress this week was the emergence of an omnibus deal that benefits McCarthy, who has resurrected the old (silent) House GOP rallying cry of "vote no, hope yes" to an end-of-the-year governing philosophy. McCarthy whipped his House Republicans against the one-week extension to fund the government — he lost just nine of them — and has stepped up his attacks on an omnibus appropriations package that suddenly has a decent chance of passing before Christmas. McCarthy spent the week criticizing Senate Republicans for their alleged profligacy and doing anti-omnibus hits on Fox News. As always, the looming holiday lit a fire under negotiators to produce a deal. But just as important is that Senate Republicans don't want to punt the issue into the new year when they fear McCarthy could control the House but can't control his members. Few say it out loud, but most Republicans know that clearing an omnibus now is a political gift to McCarthy. "Everything I know is that McCarthy is privately cheering us on to get it done, but he's in this position of trying to get the votes for Speaker," one anonymous GOP senator told The Hill's Alexander Bolton this week. A final tidbit from the week that points to McCarthy wheeling and dealing his way to 218: McCarthy hasn't ruled out acceding to right-wing demands that he reinstate the motion to vacate the chair, which would allow any member to trigger a vote on ousting the speaker. "He's open to a lot of things," Rep. RALPH NORMAN (R-S.C.) told CNN's Annie Grayer and Melanie Zanona, including caving on the motion to vacate. That would destabilize McCarthy's speakership — and some moderate Republicans threaten that they would vote against a rules package that included such a speaker killswitch, as Playbook reported on Thursday. But if that is the ultimate price of the gavel, then McCarthy can pay it.
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Hear from employees about how Amazon helped their careers grow. | | | 2. ELON MUSK Last night, Elon Musk initiated a purge of journalists from Twitter. He suspended the accounts of reporters from The Washington Post, CNN, The New York Times, Voice of America and The Intercept as well as a few lefty pundits with large #resistance followings. Their crime? Writing about @elonjet, a Twitter account that used public data to show the location of Musk's private airplane. Musk's stated reason was enforcement of a new rule banning the posting of real-time location data of people. But as Twitter's new owner has become increasingly hostile to the mainstream media, a secondary benefit was his ability to smack around certain liberal Twitter personalities who are deeply unpopular with Musk's new populist far-right base. We listened late Thursday night as Musk spent a few minutes in a Twitter Space defending himself from a crowd of elite journalists launching credible charges of hypocrisy about his ever-shifting views of free speech. That the reporters were right on the merits hardly matters. Musk has decided to otherize the elite media in the eyes of the Twitter masses (as he sells them blue checks). He knows what he is doing. "[T]he mainstream media can't stop talking about @twitter drama because it fuels the clickbait model," one Musk fan tweeted. "[A]t the same time its giving @twitter more attention, press and power than ever. disruption is accelerating." Early this morning, Musk responded with a bullseye emoji. 3. DONALD TRUMP Down at Mar-a-Lago, Trump seems to realize that one month after he announced he would run for president in 2024, things are off to a … um … poor start. The Wall Street Journal's Alex Leary reports on the first reboot of Trump's campaign. There's plenty in the piece to remind readers that the former president's potential to win Republican primaries will not be determined by the views of Republican elected officials — who will have hundreds of more reasons to reject him between now and when voting actually starts — but by the views of Republican voters, 90% of whom still approve of the job he did as president. Some new details from the piece about Trump trying to change the subject: "Mr. Trump this week recorded several videos, including one outlining what he would do if elected. A campaign website is scheduled to be launched next week. He also is planning to do more interviews, with a mix of mainstream outlets and conservative ones … "On Friday, Mr. Trump is scheduled to address a group of Jewish leaders, an event that follows his widely criticized dinner at Mar-a-Lago with KANYE WEST and the white supremacist NICK FUENTES, whom Mr. Trump subsequently said he didn't know. "Mr. Trump's campaign will be led by longtime adviser SUSIE WILES, who oversaw his 2016 and 2020 victories in Florida, and CHRIS LaCIVITA, a Virginia-based strategist known for orchestrating attacks on the military record of JOHN KERRY, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee. A number of top positions have been filled, with BRIAN JACK and BORIS EPSHTEYN tapped as senior advisers. The plan is to keep the core team smaller early on, according to people familiar with the decision. Staff picks in Iowa, New Hampshire and other early states are expected to be announced soon … "The more recent controversies have hurt, aides to Mr. Trump have acknowledged, but they said those will fade as others have in the past. His team is also banking on [Florida Gov. and 2024 GOP rival RON] DeSANTIS's star power dimming once he is subjected to the outsize scrutiny that comes with a presidential campaign. While Mr. DeSantis hasn't said he would run for president, he is widely considered to be preparing for a campaign. A spokesman didn't respond to a request for comment." Don't miss this quote from CHARLES HURT, a GOP county chair in Florida: "People are just trying to bury him because they're stupid. They're in for a rude awakening." More from Meridith McGraw: "Trump to meet with Orthodox Jewish group on heels of Fuentes, Ye dinner"
| | | | SPONSORED CONTENT Free skills training helped Francisco build a career
Amazon offers 10 free career advancement programs to help employees move into higher-paying, long-term careers. "The door is always open for growth and opportunities," said Francisco, who started in an Amazon fulfillment center and is now a trained robotics technician. Learn more. Sponsored by Amazon   | | | Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line and tell us if you're using Twitter more or less since Elon took over: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: REP. DON BEYER — This week, the Department of Energy announced a major breakthrough in the decadeslong quest to recreate on Earth the process that powers the Sun: nuclear fusion. In recent years, Beyer, a Virginia Democrat, has been the leading evangelist in Congress for fusion technology. On this week's Playbook Deep Dive podcast, we sat down with the congressman for a nerdy conversation about whether fusion energy could finally live up to the hype. You can listen to the full episode here — and be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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| TALKER — Michael Schaffer's latest Capital City column: "She Testified to Congress About Being Sexually Assaulted. Now She's Being Sued"
| | BIDEN'S FRIDAY:
9:30 a.m.: The president will receive the President's Daily Brief.
Noon: Biden will participate in a town hall and speak with veterans and veteran survivors to discuss the PACT Act.
12:55 p.m.: Biden will depart New Castle, Del., to return to the White House, where he is scheduled to arrive at 1:55 p.m.
8:55 p.m.: Biden and first lady JILL BIDEN will depart the White House en route to New Castle.
VP KAMALA HARRIS' FRIDAY: The VP has nothing on her public schedule.
THE SENATE is in. THE HOUSE is out. | | | | | | A NEW POLITICO PODCAST: POLITICO Tech is an authoritative insider briefing on the politics and policy of technology. From crypto and the metaverse to cybersecurity and AI, we explore the who, what and how of policy shaping future industries. We're kicking off with a series exploring darknet market places, the virtual platforms that enable actors from all corners of the online world to traffic illicit goods. As malware and cybercrime attacks become increasingly frequent, regulators and law enforcement agencies work different angles to shut these platforms down, but new, often more unassailable marketplaces pop up. SUBSCRIBE AND START LISTENING TODAY. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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President Joe Biden talks with African leaders before they pose for a family photo during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 15. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | CONGRESS CRISIS AVERTED (OR AT LEAST DELAYED) — "Senate clears one-week funding patch, averting government shutdown," by Caitlin Emma and Marianne LeVine: "The measure, which passed in a 71-19 vote, gives top appropriators more time to flesh out a $1.7 trillion year-end spending package that Congress is racing to clear before the holidays. The negotiators involved in that deal, however, are keeping the overall spending levels and other details under wraps so as not to endanger support for the bill given the rushed timeline." New this morning: "Schumer makes last-ditch push for cannabis banking bill," by Natalie Fertig: "The new bill text addresses concerns raised by key Republicans … But whether Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL — who has derided the cannabis banking bill on the Senate floor — can be convinced to include it remains to be seen." NDAA CLEARS CONGRESS — "Senate passes $847B defense bill, forcing Biden's hand on vaccine mandate," by Connor O'Brien: "[T]he compromise bill throws a wrench into the administration's plans on a variety of fronts. It repeals the Pentagon vaccine mandate within 30 days of enactment. The provision is a win for Republicans who argue that forcing thousands of people out of the ranks for not getting the shot has compounded an already tenuous recruiting and retention environment for the military. Administration officials say Biden and Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN stand by the vaccine mandate as a matter of health and readiness for the armed forces." SANDERS SIT DOWN — "Sanders the chair gets realistic: 'I am not naive,'" by Burgess Everett: "In the interview, [Sen. BERNIE SANDERS] revealed a short list of goals that might have bipartisan appeal on the [HELP Committee] next Congress. They include improving primary care access; reducing the cost of prescription drugs and insulin; expanding early childhood education; beefing up the health and education workforce; and even trying to tackle an increase in the minimum wage, which he thinks should now be well above the $15 an hour he started pushing years ago. "Simultaneously, Sanders won't be satisfied with a chairmanship that stays solely in the political center. That means he's thinking about how to advocate for Medicare for All, take on the pharmaceutical industry aggressively, promote free public college tuition and take his committee show on the road to the public — a signature touch from the rally-holding senator." DEMS ON DEFENSE — "Dems Take Hard Line on Debt Limit Talks: Absolutely Not," by The Daily Beast's Sam Brodey: "An eleventh-hour push by some Democrats to forestall a debt-ceiling crisis before the House GOP takeover is all but toast. With a standoff next year looking likelier by the day, one top Senate Democrat is laying down a marker. Lifting the debt ceiling, said Sen. BRIAN SCHATZ (D-HI), must be non-negotiable." FUN ONE — "Tag along for one of Sen. Patrick Leahy's final days in Congress," by Vermont Public's Elodie Reed THE WHITE HOUSE ASIA PIVOT — "Biden launches 'China House' to counter Beijing's growing clout," by Nahal Toosi and Phelim Kine: "The Biden administration on Friday will launch 'China House,' the centerpiece of its effort to strengthen its diplomatic heft in its global rivalry with Beijing, according to plans shared with POLITICO. The State Department-based unit is designed to eliminate silos among sometimes redundant government bodies, giving U.S. officials from within State and beyond a central clearinghouse to share information and shape policy on China, State officials said in an exclusive preview." — Flashback, Oct. 13: "Top Republican blocks Biden's 'China House'" — Now: "This month [Sen. JAMES RISCH (R-Idaho)] announced that the State Department had made changes or pledges that allayed his concerns about its structure or who was in charge." WHAT COMES OF THE AFRICA SUMMIT — "Biden pumps up Africa relations, will visit next year," by AP's Aamer Madhani and Colleen Long: "Biden said Thursday he will visit sub-Saharan Africa next year, the first U.S. president to travel there in a decade. He announced the trip — still unscheduled — as he wrapped up a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit by stressing he's serious about increasing U.S. attention to the growing continent." — Video: "Biden details $55B investment in African infrastructure" ALL POLITICS VOTE OF CONFIDENCE — "Schumer and Pelosi say Biden should run in 2024," by CNN's Eric Bradner. Fun bit of color: "The Democratic congressional leaders' comments came in their first joint sit-down interview with CNN's Jamie Gangel over lunch at Hunan Dynasty, a Chinese restaurant on Capitol Hill in Washington, where the two have shared meals for years." INDEPENDENT SINEMA — "Kyrsten Sinema Files Paperwork for 2024 Senate Candidacy as Independent," by WSJ's Eliza Collins: "Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA has taken the formal step of filing paperwork as an independent candidate for 2024, even though she hasn't publicly said if she will seek reelection." GOING OVER THE GAME FILM — "Gary Peters on How Democrats Held and Expanded Their Senate Majority," by NYT's Carl Hulse: "Despite his electoral track record and chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, [Michigan Sen. GARY] PETERS, 64, is not a particularly prominent figure in the Senate. But that status may change given the party's showing in November." THE NEXT SPECIAL ELECTION — "Virginia Dems squeeze House special election into one breakneck week," by Madison Fernandez JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH PUTTING A BOW ON THINGS — "Jan. 6 Panel to Consider Criminal Referrals Against Trump and Allies in Final Session," by NYT's Luke Broadwater: "The committee announced a business meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday during which members are expected to discuss the forthcoming report and recommendations for legislative changes, and to consider both criminal and civil referrals against individuals it has concluded broke laws or committed ethical violations." — After Monday's committee meeting, outgoing Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) will make her first public comments following the referrals in a conversation at the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Ark. Bookmark the livestream link STANDING DOWN — NBC's @sahilkapur: "Rep. JAMES COMER, incoming Republican chairman of the House Oversight Cmte, says he isn't planning to investigate the Jan. 6 investigators. 'We've got a pretty lengthy list of investigations and probes and that's not on the list,' he says."
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After starting in a fulfillment center, Francisco joined Amazon's Mechatronics and Robotics Apprenticeship and now earns four times more as a trained technician. Amazon employees who complete the apprenticeship program earn on average up to 40% more. Learn more. Sponsored by Amazon   | | | TRUMP CARDS KNOWING JACK SMITH — "How Jack Smith went from Liverpool football bench to a starring role in Trump investigation," by Syracuse.com's Marnie Eisenstadt in Liverpool, N.Y.: "Smith was a tall, skinny kid who sat on the bench more than he played. But he was there for every practice, and he wasn't someone who sulked about not getting much time on the field, [former teammate SCOTT] HANSON said. During games, he cheered everyone else on like it was his job." WAR IN UKRAINE OVERNIGHT — "Russia launches another major missile attack on Ukraine," by AP's Hanna Arhirova and Jamey Keaten THE VIEW FROM THE PENTAGON — "U.S. eyes new weapons for Ukraine as Kyiv fears new Russian offensive," by Lara Seligman, Erin Banco and Paul McLeary THE VIEW FROM THE KREMLIN — "Russia: US air defense systems could be targets in Ukraine," by AP's Jamey Keaten THE VIEW FROM KHERSON — "A Russian Missile, a Sudden Death, and Unspeakable Grief," by NYT's Oleksandr Chubko WHAT COULD GO WRONG? — "The U.N. is sending Ukrainians aid in crypto. Should it?" by WaPo's Pranshu Verma POLICY CORNER CRYPTO CRISIS CONTINUES — "Lawmakers quick to unload FTX founder's contributions," by AP's Fatima Hussein and Seung Min Kim: "The Associated Press contacted more than four dozen current and incoming lawmakers who received campaign contributions from [SAM] BANKMAN-FRIED this election cycle — a group that included members of both political parties and chambers of Congress, but predominantly House Democrats. Many of the recipients of Bankman-Fried's cash were quick to respond, stressing that they had already donated or plan to send the money to charity. Several also stressed that the lawmakers did not solicit the contributions from Bankman-Fried." Click through for a list of the lawmakers and the recipients of their donations TV TONIGHT — PBS' "Washington Week": Monica Alba, Carl Hulse, Nikole Killion and Jonathan Martin. SUNDAY SO FAR … ABC "This Week": Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) … Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova. CBS "Face the Nation": Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) … Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) … Scott Gottlieb. FOX "Fox News Sunday": Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) … Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) … Alexi Lalas and Rob Stone.
| | | | POLITICO AT CES 2023 : We are bringing a special edition of our Digital Future Daily newsletter to Las Vegas to cover CES 2023. The newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 5-7 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the event. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of CES 2023. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Jill Biden unveiled the official 2022 White House Historical Association ornament. Claudine Gay will be Harvard's first Black president. Benjamin Hall was awarded a 2022 Foreign Press Award from The Association and Club of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States. SPOTTED: Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Bret Baier, Wolf Blitzer and Raghu Manavalan (!) at Cafe Milano on Thursday night. … Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and former Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) at Joe's Stone Crab on Thursday for Tom Quinn's birthday. Pic OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a reception hosted by Semafor co-founder and CEO Justin Smith at his D.C home in Kalorama on Thursday evening, where guests were treated to music by DJ Ethno of Thievery Corporation accompanied by Nana Kwasi on Djembe and a curated menu by Michelin-star chefs Morgan & Kambou: Judd Devermont, Akim Daouda, Mike Froman, Michael Crowley, Kadia Goba, Lyzz Ogunwo, Lanre Ogungbe, Chinese Ambassador Qin Gang, Yinka Adegoke, Alexis Akwagyiram, Enyah Abadjivor, Tewodros Ashenafi, Maebel Gebremedhin, Rebeen Pasha, Franklin Ortiz, Kelvin Flores, Abderrahim Foukara, Edward Luce, Niamh King, Juleanna Glover, Alan Fleischmann, Steve Clemons, Meera Pattni, Patrick Steel, Mark Vlasic and Ben Pauker. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Ali Rubin and Jessica McIntosh are now senior adviser and comms director, respectively, at Facts First USA. Rubin most recently was founder of AMR Strategies and is a Hillary Clinton alum. McIntosh most recently was president of Jess McIntosh Strategies and is a former CNN contributor. TREASURY ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Laurel Blatchford is joining the Treasury Department as director of IRA implementation, essentially replacing Natasha Sarin, who serves as Treasury counselor for tax policy and implementation and is leaving the administration, Ben White and Daniel Lippman report. Blatchford is the founder and principal of progressive strategy firm Uplook Advisors. More for Pros TRANSITIONS — Shawn Townsend will be president and CEO of Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington. He previously was a principal at Dewey Square Group. … Chris Snook is now AI and blockchain regulatory affairs adviser at Connector Labs. He previously founded World Tokenomic Forum and published Digital Sense. … Daniel van Hoogstraten is launching Amplifire Strategic Communications. He is VP of comms at the Remington Road Group and is a Frank Pallone and Eleanor Holmes Norton alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CNN's Phil Mattingly, Liz Turrell and Jason Seher … Lesley Stahl … Emilie Simons of the White House … Melissa Kiedrowicz Ellison … former Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) … Adam Bromberg … Peter Orszag … Bloomberg's Rebecca Rainey … Matt Mariani … Jake Sherman … Allison Herwitt of Sen. Chris Murphy's (D-Conn.) office … Jenni LeCompte of FGS Global … DOJ's Matt Klapper … Jody Murphy of End Citizens United … Caroline Champion of FlexPoint Media … Kezia McKeague of McLarty Associates … Amber Smith of Beacon Rock Strategies … Carol Browner … Heather King … Sony's Christina Mulvihill … Chris Frech … WaPo's Liz Goodwin … Amy Siskind … Susan Estrich … Elisa Beneze … former Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri … Judith Giuliani … Jano Cabrera … Susan Liss … former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn … Scotty Greenwood of the Canadian American Business Council … Alexandra Davis of Rep. Ronny Jackson's (R-Texas) office … Herald Group's Tom Van Dean 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 producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine. Corrections: Wednesday's Playbook misstated Indiana Rep. André Carson's party affiliation. He is a Democrat. Thursday's Playbook misstated the day of the Améthyste at the French ambassador's residence. It took place Wednesday. It also misspelled the names of Elena Allbritton, Patrick Steel, Cecilia Rouse, Weijia Jiang, Alexander Marquardt and Jim Sciutto.
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