| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | LORDY — “Coming Soon: A George Santos Documentary Focusing on His ‘Human Side,’” by NYT’s Grace Ashford: “The film is being led by JENNER FURST … known for a documentary genre that he refers to as true comedy. … ‘I’m a scammer whisperer,’ said Mr. Furst with a laugh.” COULD THE CA PRIMARY KNOCK OUT BOTH LEE AND PORTER? — This morning, results from a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll offer two big takeaways on California’s 2024 election for U.S. Senate: 1. Rep. ADAM SCHIFF (D-Calif.) is clearly in the driver’s seat, with the support of 28 percent of likely voters, including those who are undecided but leaning toward supporting him. 2. It’s a three-way dead heat for second place, with Republican STEVE GARVEY (19%) slightly ahead of Democratic Reps. KATIE PORTER (17%) and BARBARA LEE (14%). Reminder: California has a so-called “jungle primary,” where the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. And while much of the hubbub has thus far centered on the presence of three big-name Dems in the field, Garvey could potentially spoil the Dem-on-Dem general election pundits have been expecting. Analysis from Melanie Mason and Steve Shepard … Toplines … Crosstabs
|  A bungled rollout for planned buyouts, coupled with fraught labor negotiations, has made for a rough holiday season at The Washington Post. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images | | BUNGLED BUYOUTS PLAGUE POST MORALE — On Tuesday, interim Washington Post CEO PATTY STONESIFER announced mission accomplished: The previously resurgent, now ailing newspaper had met its goal of persuading 240 employees — roughly 10% of the company payroll — to accept buyouts. That literal decimation, she suggested in a note to staff, would give the storied newspaper — and incoming CEO WILL LEWIS — a fresh start in 2024. “We will enter the new year with a smaller organization but a better financial position on which to continue and build a great future for The Washington Post,” Stonesifer said. But inside the newsroom, there’s no such optimism. According to Post reporters we spoke with, the loss of longtime colleagues was compounded by a bungled rollout for the buyouts — one that some Posties told us reminded them of “The Hunger Games” and “Game of Thrones.” Multiple reporters told us that just ahead of this past Friday’s deadline for requesting buyouts, the paper was deluged with submissions — ultimately receiving well above the needed 240, forcing managers into a last-second scramble to convince some reporters, many of whom had started planning their post-Post lives, to change their minds and withdraw their request. (Even if they stayed, management was now aware they either wanted to or were willing to leave.) The episode was emblematic of a messy and painful process that has left employee morale in tatters and the newsroom looking like Swiss cheese. And that's on top of a bitter contract fight that has labor-management tensions at their highest in a generation. “There's just a reality that with this many people leaving, like the beginning of the year is going to be like figuring out where the holes are,” one reporter told Playbook. “A lot of people are in that position of, OK, maybe their job is fine, but they’re losing teammates. Who’s going to take the work of their teammates?” It’s left one of the biggest news organizations in the country unmoored as it heads into a complicated and messy election year — and has raised the stakes for Lewis, a WSJ veteran, who will be walking into an increasingly toxic situation that festered under previous CEO FRED RYAN and which Stonesifer has struggled to reverse. The Post did not respond to multiple requests for comment. If you want to understand the mood of the Post’s newsroom, look no further than the Eugene Meyer Awards, an annual gathering at which accolades are given out to the newsroom’s best reporting — a chance for reporters and editors to come together and celebrate what they’ve achieved. On the morning of last year’s awards, Fred Ryan announced that the company would be instituting layoffs — turning the affair into a rather anxious and tense gathering. Last Wednesday, at this year’s awards, reporter after reporter brought up the messy rollout of the forced buyouts. We’re told that one Post journalist and award recipient was more explicit than others, noting in a speech that the people who do this prizewinning work were on teams among the hardest-hit by the buyouts. At every stage, the sense in the newsroom has been that the buyout process was botched. “The first reaction was shock,” one WaPo reporter told Playbook. “The Washington Post had done so well — was so profitable in the years of Trump, of Covid, and was owned by one of the richest people in the world … We’re talking about a ‘baby and the bath water,’ sort of ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ approach that left people really confused.” Multiple reporters say that after the original buyout announcement at a town hall, those that were eligible for a buyout received an email alerting them, and then top leaders like Stonesifer, executive editor SALLY BUZBEE and managing editor MATEA GOLD went to team meetings to explain the process. “The metro desk, my desk, was the first that Sally went into with Matea and with Patty to tell us our number — and that’s when they said that … we were expected to lose 21 people in Metro, which is a quarter of our staff,” said KATIE METTLER, the co-chair of the Post Guild. Teams were not told who should apply for the buyouts but that seniority would be prioritized and that 240 people total had to be cut from the Post’s numbers or layoffs would ensue. Reporters had to gauge who leadership might be hoping would take the buyout, all the time wondering: Would they themselves be on the chopping block if their colleague didn’t come forward to apply for a buyout? The confusion created a mad dash to not be the last person left standing. To complicate matters even further, the union — which is currently in protracted and intense negotiations with management — told reporters to hold out on putting their names in for buyouts to maximize the leverage while trying to negotiate a better buyout deal until the very end, which contributed to the last-second torrent of applications that surprised management and laid bare the morale issues. Since then, as buyouts began to become official, Post editors have sent out a daily litany of emails announcing folks who were leaving the organization. Among the vets who have announced their departure are drama critic PETER MARKS, Metro columnists JOHN KELLY and COURTLAND MILLOY, education writer NICK ANDERSON and investigations chief JEFF LEEN. “It’s just sucked for a few weeks,” another Postie told Playbook. “I feel like they’re running out of ways to say ‘We’re sad to announce that so-and-so is leaving.’ There’s a lot of institutional knowledge the Post is losing.”
| | | | A message from Instagram: More than 75% of parents want to approve the apps teens under 16 download.
According to a new poll from Morning Consult, more than 75% of parents agree: Teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps from app stores without parental permission.1
Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done.
Learn more. | | | Good Thursday morning. Winter officially starts today. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: NEW DNC DOLLAR FIGURES — So far this month, the DNC has brought in $12.3 million, including direct dollars into the committee and transfers from the joint fundraising and affiliated committees. That brings the DNC’s cash on hand to $20 million, according to aides — which, they tell us, breaks the party’s cash-on-hand record heading into a presidential election year. DNC national press secretary SARAFINA CHITIKA: “While the GOP lights money on fire fighting among themselves, Democrats are unified and making the early investments we need to send President [JOE] BIDEN and Vice President [KAMALA] HARRIS back to the White House in 2024.”
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate and the House are out. What we’re watching … No roll call votes were taken yesterday, but the Senate confirmed a handful of additional Biden nominees by voice vote, including a deputy director of the Peace Corps and a new ambassador to Guatemala. It also sorted through scores of pending nominations, holding a few for further action but sending most back to the White House — including acting Labor Secretary JULIE SU. They can be renominated in 2024 if Biden so chooses. At the White House Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief in the morning. Harris and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will host a holiday reception in the evening.
| | | | GLOBAL PLAYBOOK IS TAKING YOU TO DAVOS! Unlock the insider's guide to one of the world's most influential gatherings as POLITICO's Global Playbook takes you behind the scenes of the 2024 World Economic Forum. Author Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground in the Swiss Alps, bringing you the exclusive conversations, shifting power dynamics and groundbreaking ideas shaping the agenda in Davos. Stay in the know with POLITICO's Global Playbook, your VIP pass to the world’s most influential gatherings. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH
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A ruling like the one in Colorado would set most campaigns back — but not Donald Trump. | AP | DID COLORADO SEAL THE DEAL FOR TRUMP? — For many candidates, it would be the kiss of death: being blocked from the ballot after a state supreme court ruled that you engaged in an insurrection. At the very least, it would seem to be fertile ground for attacks by primary opponents. Then there’s DONALD TRUMP, who “seems to be the one setting the parameters for legitimate debate in the G.O.P., even if he doesn’t participate in the party’s actual debates,” writes NYT’s Jonathan Weisman, spinning through the reactions of the rest of the GOP field. “If anything, the former president’s lead seems only to grow. … Yet his rivals remain apparently unwilling to take any real risks that could shake the dynamic.” In a nutshell: “More than one in five Republican voters think Mr. Trump has committed crimes, and 13 percent of Republicans believe that he should be found guilty in court of trying to overturn the 2020 election, yet most of those voters also say they would still cast their ballots for him. So, his rivals figure, why dwell on it?” The whole affair could have a rally-to-the-flag effect, with Republican primary voters clinging tighter to Trump if they perceive him being treated unfairly or voters being deprived the opportunity to vote for him. And it’s a dynamic — and a news cycle — that could have staying power. In California, Lt. Gov. ELENI KOUNALAKIS urged California Secretary of State SHIRLEY WEBER to follow Colorado’s suit and “explore every legal option to remove former President Donald Trump from California’s 2024 presidential primary ballot,” Chris Cadelago reports. Meanwhile … “Dean Phillips criticizes Colorado court ruling barring Trump from ballot,” by Eric Bazail-Eimil: “‘Do I believe Trump is guilty of inspiring an insurrection and doing nothing to stop it? I was there. Absolutely,’ [Rep. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-Minn.)] posted on X, formerly Twitter. ‘Do I believe it’s wrong to ban him from the ballot in Colorado without a conviction? Absolutely.’” More top reads:
CONGRESS
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The Senate is gone until 2024, kicking most of its toughest negotiations to the new year. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | THE SENATE SAYS SAYONARA — Sometimes, a headline says it all: “Senate Wraps Up Year by Punting the Most Difficult Issues to 2024,” by NYT’s Karoun Demirjian and Carl Hulse: “It failed to deliver on aid to Ukraine. It could not agree on a border policy plan. And a government shutdown is on the horizon. … It was a setback for Democrats, who had hoped that by keeping the Senate in Washington this week, Senator CHUCK SCHUMER, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, could force votes on a measure speeding tens of billions to Ukraine and addressing Republicans’ push for immigration policy changes. But a breakthrough did not materialize.” Said Schumer: “I think the Republicans have seen that we’re serious about the border, and that we’re willing to do some things that maybe they thought we wouldn’t do.” Meanwhile, Burgess Everett, Myah Ward and Jennifer Haberkorn pull back the curtain this morning on how DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS’ involvement in Senate border discussions is becoming problematic for Senate Republicans as their colleagues in the House work to impeach him: “Mayorkas’ involvement may not squash GOP support for any deal to pair new migration limits with Ukraine aid. But it undoubtedly complicates the already delicate task of selling that agreement to Republicans who are loath to compromise.” More top reads:
- Across the Capitol, House Republicans have reportedly secured enough support within their ranks to vote to hold HUNTER BIDEN in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena to testify from Biden impeachment investigators, The Messenger’s Stephen Neukam and Amie Parnes report.
- “U.S. House quietly investigated separate sex tape scandal,” by Semafor’s Kadia Goba: “A spokesperson for Rep. DAN NEWHOUSE, R-Wash. confirmed that reports of ‘purported, unbecoming behavior’ by a senior staffer in their office triggered an investigation last year. They added that ‘no conclusive evidence’ was found.”
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is among the U.S. officials trying to convince Israel to pull back on its heaviest fighting in Gaza. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP | LATEST IN MIDDLE EAST — On the ceasefire talks: “Hamas rejected an Israeli offer to stop fighting for one week in exchange for dozens of hostages, saying the group wouldn’t discuss releasing their Israeli captives until a cease-fire first goes into effect, Egyptian officials said,” report WSJ’s Summer Said, Margherita Stancati and William Mauldin. The U.N. Security Council postponed the long-awaited vote on a resolution demanding an end the attack in Gaza Strip until Thursday after the U.S. requested the postponement so that more time could be spent negotiating, NYT’s Farnaz Fassihi reports — “the third time this week that a vote on the resolution had been pushed off to allow for more talks aimed at finding a formula the United States and Israel would accept.” On Israel’s military operations: “The Israeli military on Wednesday said it had uncovered a major Hamas command center in the heart of Gaza City, inflicting what it described as a serious blow to the Islamic militant group as pressure grows on Israel to scale back its devastating military offensive in the coastal enclave,” report AP’s Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy and Josef Federman. A shift from Palestinians: “Gazans Are Starting to Blame Hamas for Wartime Suffering,” by WSJ’s Margherita Stancati and Abeer Ayyoub: “The overwhelming majority of Palestinians blame Israel for the death, destruction and dislocation caused by the war. Yet many Gazans say that Hamas is also responsible for the suffering, and that those voices are getting louder.” A shift from Israel: “U.S. Defense Chief Says Israeli Shift Would Reduce Fears of a Regional War,” by NYT’s Eric Schmitt More top reads:
- The Biden administration announced yesterday that the U.S. released a close ally of Venezuelan President NICOLÁS MADURO from prison in exchange for the return of fugitive defense contractor LEONARD GLENN FRANCIS (aka “Fat Leonard”) and the release of 10 Americans detained in the South American nation. More from AP’s Joshua Goodman, Eric Tucker and Regina Garcia Cano
- Biden is “discussing raising tariffs on some Chinese goods, including electric vehicles, in an attempt to bolster the U.S. clean-energy industry against cheaper Chinese exports,” WSJ’s Andrew Duehren reports. “Biden administration officials, long divided over trade policy, have left in place Trump-era tariffs on roughly $300 billion of Chinese goods. But officials at the White House and other agencies are debating the levies again, the people said, with an eye on wrapping up a long-running review of the tariffs early next year.”
- Russian-jailed American businessman PAUL WHELAN told reporters it was “unfathomable” that the Biden administration has “left me behind” while other Americans have been freed in prisoner swaps, CBS’ Tucker Reals reports. “A serious betrayal. It's extremely frustrating,” Whelan told the BBC.
TRUMP CARDS FAST AS YOU CAN — A new court ruling allows the two Georgia election workers who were recently awarded nearly $150 million by a jury to start collecting from RUDY GIULIANI immediately for the injury caused by his defamatory remarks made about them after the 2020 election. “Typically, the women who had sued Giuliani and won would have to wait 30 days to begin attempting to claim his assets in other states,” CNN’s Katelyn Polantz reports. “But Judge BERYL HOWELL of the D.C. District Court, who oversaw the high-profile trial last week, gave SHAYE MOSS and RUBY FREEMAN’s attorneys the ability to attempt to collect on Wednesday.” MORE POLITICS I’M OUTTA HERE — “Veteran Menendez fundraiser resigns,” by The New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “BOB MENENDEZ’s longtime campaign and legal defense fundraiser, SAMATHA MALTZMAN, has resigned … Maltzman has been Menendez’s finance director since 2010. She is also departing from the Menendez-run New Millennium PAC.” POLICY CORNER CHANGING CHANNELS — “FTC Proposes Curbing Targeted Advertising to Children Online,” by WSJ’s John McKinnon
| | | | POLITICO AT CES® 2024: We are going ALL On at CES 2024 with a special edition of the POLITICO Digital Future Daily newsletter. The CES-focused newsletter will take you inside the most powerful tech event in the world, featuring revolutionary products that cut across verticals, and insights from industry leaders that are shaping the future of innovation. The newsletter runs from Jan. 9-12 and will focus on the public policy-related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the show. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Ron DeSantis called Bethlehem a “pigsty.” Joe Biden’s campaign went there — posting a graphic comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. Kellyanne Conway thinks Democrats keep a different calendar. TRANSITION — Avika Dua is now a VP at SKDK. She previously was digital director for New York Governor Kathy Hochul and is an Alex Padilla and Pete for America alum. WEDDING — Kelbi Culwell, senior manager for government operations at Boeing and a Trump DHS alum, and RJ Hauman, founder of Stryker Strategies LLC and a visiting adviser at The Heritage Foundation, recently got married in Santa Barbara, California followed by a reception at San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito. They met in D.C. in 2021. Pic … Another pic SPOTTED: Baker Elmore and Anna Yanker Elmore, Thad and Kelly Bingel, Evan Hughes, Eliza Thurston, Avery Walker, Alex Sarp, Will McKay, Josh Jemente, and Daniel Rhea. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) … Naomi Biden (3-0) … WSJ’s Annie Linskey … WaPo’s Karen Heller … John Coale … Kelly Sadler of The Washington Times … Kelly Wallace … CBS’ Vlad Duthiers … Elena Waskey of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth … Rich Galen … Sam LaHood of the International Republican Institute … Roz Brooks … Jessica Brady Reader … Fox News’ Caroline Whiteman …. Colleen Litkenhaus … Lisa Kountoupes of KDCR Partners … Alejandra Lopez-Fernandini … Lyndsey McKenna … White House’s Michael Negron … David Goldfein … Julia B. Mellon ... Brian Goldsmith … former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin … Brian Heindl … Precision Strategies’ Cameron Trimble … French President Emmanuel Macron …Tara Spicer … Dave Stroup … Jane Fonda BIRTHWEEK (was Wednesday): Nelson Mullins’ Christopher Cushing 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, producer Andrew Howard and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
| | | | A message from Instagram: New federal legislation will give parents a say in teen app downloads.
According to a new poll by Morning Consult conducted in November 2023, more than 75% of parents believe teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps without parental permission.1
Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done.
Learn more.
1"US Parents Study on Teen App Downloads" by Morning Consult (Meta-commissioned survey of 2,019 parents), Nov. 2023. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
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