| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Eugene Daniels and Rachael Bade | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | WITH ENDORSEMENTS LIKE THESE — “DeSantis sees ‘big warning signs’ for Trump’s candidacy,” by Kimberly Leonard: “Speaking to conservative radio host Steve Deace in his first interview since dropping out of the Republican primary, [Florida Gov. RON] DeSANTIS bemoaned news stories published this week that said [DONALD] TRUMP was bleeding out centrist voters and traditional Republicans who previously voted for him.” Counterpoint … “New Hampshire’s G.O.P. Primary Is Projected to Set a State Turnout Record,” by NYT’s Nick Corasaniti: “The exceptionally high turnout on Tuesday underscores the electrifying effect Mr. Trump has on the electorate, driving loyal supporters and determined opposition to the polls as his divisive style of politics both inspires and revolts.”
|  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stands at the podium during his primary night event at the Sheraton hotel in Nashua, N.H., on Jan. 23, 2024. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO | TRUMP’S RETURN TO FORM — Good morning from Concord, New Hampshire, where last night NIKKI HALEY reminded everyone how easy it is to get under Trump’s skin. First off, Haley failed. A week and a half ago she had a credible plan: Come in second in Iowa, and beat Trump in New Hampshire. That was the only way to make this a race. Getting close to second (i.e., third) in Iowa doesn’t count. Getting “close to half of the vote" in New Hampshire, as Haley said last night, doesn’t count. But you could hardly blame her for spinning the results positively at her election night event here. What was more revealing was Trump’s reaction. He rage-posted about her speech in realtime on Truth Social. “DELUSIONAL!!!” he wrote. When he came on stage at his own event 30 miles south in Nashua, he could barely contain his anger. Gone was the sunny Trump of Iowa caucus night who magnanimously praised his defeated rivals. Trump began his remarks with a falsehood. He claimed to have won New Hampshire in both the primaries and the general election. Nope: HILLARY CLINTON beat him there in 2016 and JOE BIDEN won in 2020. This was a particularly noteworthy claim at the top given the subject of his remarks: the fact that Haley did “a speech like she won” even though she lost by 11 points.
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| “This is not your typical victory speech,” he warned, and he was right. As the clear victor, he had one job: ignore Haley and focus on Biden and the general election. But he couldn’t let it go. He attacked her as unelectable. He suggested New Hampshire Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU uses drugs (“He’s got to be on something”). He hinted darkly that she would be under investigation (“a little stuff that she doesn’t want to talk about”). He even mocked her outfit (“the fancy dress that probably wasn’t so fancy”). He handed the program over to VIVEK RAMASWAMY, who Trump said had helped instigate the plan to focus on Haley and was “the only person more angry” than him. (He quickly clarified, “I don’t get mad, I get even.”) Ramaswamy got a few more shots in at Haley. After 20 minutes of this, Trump explained his curveball of a speech. “I felt I should do this,” he said, “because I find in life you can’t let people get away with bullshit.” Haley’s campaign seemed pleased to get under Trump’s skin. “Why is he so angry?” a member of Team Haley told Playbook. “For someone who’s not threatened by Nikki, he sure talks about her every chance he gets." The Biden team was cheered by the drama. A campaign aide texted Playbook taking note of Trump’s fit: “That’s the guy we will beat.” Over in the Democrats’ unsanctioned primary, Biden won easily as write-in candidate. Biden staffers say they are happy to have Haley and Trump go a few more rounds, but they believe New Hampshire settled the matter of who the party’s nominees will be. To emphasize the point, the Biden campaign released a new line of merch with a new slogan: “Together, We Will Defeat Donald Trump. Again.” Despite Trump botching the pivot to the general election messaging with his attacks on Haley, the rest of the GOP is coalescing around him. "I'm looking at the map and the path going forward, and I don't see it for Nikki Haley,” RNC chair RONNA McDANIEL, supposedly a neutral arbiter of the primary process, said last night on Fox News. “I think she ran a great campaign. I think there is a message from the voters which is clear: We need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump." Holdouts in the Senate, a bastion of Trump resistance, are coming on board. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas) and DEB FISCHER (R-Neb.) posted their unequivocal support last night after the race was called. The exit polls, meanwhile, revealed potential weaknesses for both Biden and Trump: 10% of voters who cast a ballot in the Democratic primary said they would not ultimately back Biden in November if he wins the nomination. But that number was much larger for Trump: 33% of voters who participated in the Republican primary said they would not support Trump in the general election if he were the nominee. That gap could just be a function of more Democrats and anti-Trump independents streaming into the competitive Republican primary where they got a chance to vote against Trump. But for all the talk of Biden’s weakness with his own party, the exit polls showed far more division and factionalism within the GOP. While she insists she will make a last stand in South Carolina, the exit polls also included one stat that is ominous for Haley’s chances going forward. She received the support of only 25% of self-described Republicans who voted yesterday. You can’t win the Republican nomination if you can’t win Republicans. Good Wednesday morning. The general election is in 286 days. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CREDIT UNIONS & COMMUNITY BANKS IN All 50 STATES OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL: Local credit unions and community banks serve an essential role in supporting Main Street. So, when 10,000+ credit unions and community banks throughout the country oppose the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill, Congress should pay attention. Durbin-Marshall lines the pockets of corporate mega-stores by shifting costs and risks to credit unions, community banks, and their 140 million customers. Click here to learn more. | | | More New Hampshire reads …
- “After Trump’s NH win, Biden gets the opponent he wants,” by Jonathan Lemire, Elena Schneider and Holly Otterbein: “Biden’s reelection team took Trump’s win over Nikki Haley as the starting gun for what will now be the longest and most grueling general election campaign in modern American political history.”
- “How Trump crushed Haley’s momentum — and came closer to clinching the nomination,” by WaPo’s Maeve Reston and Ashley Parker: “In what senior Trump adviser CHRIS LaCIVITA described as a ‘pincer’ movement, Trump bombarded Haley from both ideological sides — falsely claiming she would kill Social Security benefits and did not support his border wall.”
- “How Joe Biden won a write-in campaign after skipping New Hampshire’s primary,” by USA Today’s Francesca Chambers and Karissa Waddick: “A volunteer coalition, called Granite State Write-In, spent about $70,000 on stickers, signs and two staff members. A super PAC spent another $1.4 million on mailers targeting likely Democratic voters and digital and newspaper ads.”
- “Dean Phillips details what would have to happen for him to drop out,” by Sam Stein: “The tipping point, he explained, would be the polls. More specifically, he would wait until he had enough national name ID to be properly tested in a head-to-head matchup against Donald Trump.”
- “South Carolina probably won’t save Nikki Haley,” by Steven Shepard: “Any momentum Haley can claim out of New Hampshire runs into daunting polls and an expensive, month-long campaign to reverse them in a state where, if not for her connections, she’d likely have little chance of success.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — A new book reveals that Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) “threw Trump under the bus” during Graham’s secret grand jury testimony in the Georgia election subversion case. The new revelation was unearthed by Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidmanin in “Find Me the Votes: A Hard-Charging Georgia Prosecutor, a Rogue President, and the Plot to Steal an American Election” ($30), on sale Jan. 30: “After fighting a four-month legal battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to block his grand jury subpoena — and losing — South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham turned on a dime ‘and threw Trump under the bus,’ according to a source familiar with his testimony. According to secret grand jury testimony in Fulton County confirmed by the authors, Graham testified that if you told Trump ‘That Martians came and stole the election, he’d probably believe you.’ “He also suggested to the grand jurors that Trump cheated at golf. After Graham was finished testifying, he bumped into FANI WILLIS in a hallway and thanked her for the opportunity to tell his story. ‘That was so cathartic,’ he told Willis. ‘I feel so much better.’ Then, to the astonishment of one source who witnessed the scene, South Carolina’s senior senator hugged the Fulton County DA who was aggressively pursuing Trump. Willis’s reaction: ‘She was like “whatever, dude,”’ according to one witness of the strange encounter.”
| | | | A message from Electronic Payments Coalition:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate will meet at 10 a.m. and will take up judicial nominations throughout the day. The Foreign Relations Committee will vote at 10 a.m. on nominations including KURT CAMPBELL as deputy secretary of State and SEAN PATRICK MALONEY as U.S. representative to the OECD. The House is out. 3 things to watch …
- A bipartisan Senate coalition is asking pointed questions about the Biden administration’s airstrikes in Yemen. Sens. TIM KAINE (D-Va.), MIKE LEE (R-Utah), CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) and TODD YOUNG (R-Ind.) sent a letter to Biden yesterday noting “no current congressional authorization for offensive U.S. military action against the Houthis” and asking for “an explanation in writing of the legal authority” for the strikes — thus suggesting that Biden might have exceeded his war powers. A dissenting view from Joshua Zeitz in POLITICO Magazine
- Still no border deal text from the Senate negotiators, which means hopes of a vote this week are rapidly slipping away. Further complications might come this afternoon at a special Republican conference meeting on border issues, where Lee indicated yesterday he’ll ask his GOP colleagues to withhold cloture absent “adequate time to review and offer and vote on floor amendments.” More on the border deal dynamics from Inside Congress
- It’s a tale of two chambers for the bipartisan tax deal: Yesterday saw a big sign of progress in the House, where the bill was posted for possible floor action next week (likely under suspension of the rules). In the Senate, meanwhile, Finance Committee Republicans continued grumbling about the child tax credit expansion and nature of the $78 billion pay-for even after House GOP tax writers united behind the deal Friday.
At the White House Biden will leave the White House to speak at a political event at the Marriott Marquis at 1:30 p.m. Bloomberg reports that he’ll be speaking to the United Auto Workers’ annual conference. VP KAMALA HARRIS will travel to LA in the afternoon, before speaking at a campaign reception in Manhattan Beach, California.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE GOLDEN STATE POLITICAL ARENA: POLITICO’s California Playbook newsletter provides a front row seat to the most important political news percolating in the state’s power centers, from Sacramento and Los Angeles to Silicon Valley. Authors Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner deliver exclusive news, buzzy scoops and behind-the-scenes details that you simply will not get anywhere else. Subscribe today and stay ahead of the game! | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH
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Jen O'Malley Dillon arrives for the State Dinner at the White House, April 26, 2023, in Washington. | Alex Brandon/AP | THE WILMINGTON SHUFFLE — Biden is shifting things around at the head of his reelection effort: Deputy chief of staff JENNIFER O’MALLEY DILLON is heading from the White House to the campaign, NYT’s Reid Epstein scooped, as is senior adviser MIKE DONILON. Despite the shakeup, JULIE CHAVEZ RODRIGUEZ will remain campaign manager; “I’m excited to have an all-hands-on-deck approach,” she told NBC’s Mike Memoli. O’Malley Dillon will be the campaign chair and Donilon will be chief strategist, WaPo’s Michael Scherer reports. They arrive as Biden has struggled in the polls and his campaign has been split between leadership in Delaware and Washington. The change next month will mark “a new stage in the president’s reelection efforts,” Jonathan Lemire reports, as he pivots to the general election and tries to calm allies’ fears. BARACK OBAMA and other Democrats had urged Biden to bolster and shift the campaign structure more toward Wilmington. (POLITICO readers may remember that this is basically exactly what DAVID AXELROD told Ryan Biden should do.) But the Post reports that the move wasn’t triggered by outside criticism. Kicking off the general-election pivot, Biden rallied with Harris at a big event yesterday in Northern Virginia, which neatly encapsulated two big dynamics in the election: While the Democratic leaders honed a laser focus on abortion rights, pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted the proceedings more than a dozen times. Biden eventually talked over them, The Messenger’s Dan Merica reports: “Donald Trump is betting you won’t vote on this issue,” Biden said. “He is betting we won’t hold him responsible, either.” More top reads:
AMERICA AND THE WORLD MIDDLE EAST LATEST — Talks brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt for an Israel-Hamas deal have reached an agreement in principle for a monthlong cease-fire and phased hostage release, Reuters’ Andrew Mills, Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan and Dan Williams scooped. The holdup now is figuring out a path to a longer-term end to the war. But Hamas’ willingness to entertain hostage releases without a permanent cease-fire is a big shift, WSJ’s Summer Said scooped. Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General ANTONIO GUTERRES slammed Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU’s opposition to a two-state solution as a threat to world peace, per the AP. And at the other end of Israel, fighting with Hezbollah has sparked into “a war in all but name,” WSJ’s Marcus Walker reports. WAR REPORT — “US Strikes Iran-Backed Militia in Iraq After Attack on Base,” Bloomberg SPY GAMES — “CIA continues online campaign to recruit Russian spies, citing successes,” by CBS’ Olivia Gazis CONGRESS
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Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 22, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | IMMIGRATION LATEST — Lead Republican negotiator Sen. JAMES LANKFORD (R-Okla.) told Jordain Carney and Ursula Perano that the immigration policy/foreign aid package won’t be ready for a vote this week — but he’s “very hopeful” the bill text can come out in the coming days. At the private Senate GOP lunch yesterday, tensions flared over the bill, CNN’s Lauren Fox, Manu Raju, Ted Barrett and Melanie Zanona report. Sen. RON JOHNSON (R-Wis.) directly questioned Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL’s leadership on the issue. The conference lunch was “nasty, nasty,” one Republican told CNN. Though most attention has focused on immigration and Ukraine, aid to Palestinians has cropped up as another sticking point in the talks, Roll Call’s David Lerman reports. Democrats say the humanitarian assistance is essential, but Republicans are skeptical of the groups that would distribute it. Meanwhile, the Pentagon warned yesterday that the delay is now hitting the Ukrainian front lines, where troops are running out of ammunition, per Lara Seligman. Humanitarian parole remains the biggest hurdle — and it’s one with major human stakes for people fleeing wars and other global emergencies, NYT’s Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports. For many of the 1 million Ukrainians, Afghans and others whom Biden has allowed into the U.S. under his parole authority, Republicans’ drive to severely curtail the practice “feels wrong” — but Ukrainian Americans are torn, as they want to see more aid to Ukraine pass. More top reads:
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Rep. Kelly Armstrong during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Aug. 24, 2020, in Washington. | Pool Photo by Tom Williams | HEATING UP IN FARGO — Another one gone: Rep. KELLY ARMSTRONG (R-N.D.) yesterday became the latest Republican to announce he’ll leave the House — in this case to run for governor of North Dakota. Armstrong is the first to declare in the race following incumbent DOUG BURGUM’s announcement that he wouldn’t seek a third term, but the Republican primary could get crowded, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead’s Patrick Springer and Makenzi Henderson report. Also eyeing the race are TOM CAMPBELL, Lt. Gov. TAMMY MILLER, RICK BERG and JULIE FEDORCHAK. One North Dakotan who’s not jumping in: GOP Sen. KEVIN CRAMER. “Seniority is probably more important,” he told Anthony Adragna. BEYOND THE BELTWAY RON DeSANTIS GOES HOME — Fresh off his failed presidential bid, the Florida governor is returning to Tallahassee: In the latest staff move, campaign manager JAMES UTHMEIER will return as chief of staff, Gary Fineout reports. Now the big question is how DeSantis will govern. Republican politicos who didn’t support him are especially fearful of whether he’ll seek vengeance against them, Gary writes. But there are other big unknowns about DeSantis’ next three years: Republicans hope, and Democrats fear, that the conservative bulldog will retrain his policy focus on Florida, NYT’s Patricia Mazzei, Elisabeth Parker and Jennifer Reed report. HOT ON THE LEFT — “Vermont Becomes Latest State to Propose Wealth Taxes,” by NYT’s David Chen: “Seven states tried but failed in 2023 to add new taxes on assets and income. Attempts are underway in at least 10 states this year, and proponents are optimistic.” CLIMATE FILES — “US Wind Power Is Slowly Making a Comeback After Hitting Rock Bottom,” by Bloomberg’s Josh Saul and Priscila Azevedo Rocha MEDIAWATCH ANOTHER BRUTAL DAY — A wave of at least 115 layoffs devastated the L.A. Times newsroom yesterday, sacking one-fifth of its journalists, the Times’ Meg James reports. The Washington bureau was especially hard hit, with chief KIMBRIELL KELLY and deputy chief NICK BAUMANN among those handed pink slips; it’s now down to five employees. The layoffs are a blow to the LAT’s drive in recent years to rebuild as a national newspaper — and a sign of owner PATRICK SOON-SHIONG’s “clipped ambitions,” writes WSJ’s Alexandra Bruell. THE WHITE HOUSE NEW DEPOSITION DETAILS — “Hunter Biden’s paintings have sold for a total of $1.5 million,” by WaPo’s Matt Viser … “Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris defends lending Hunter Biden $5 million,” by CBS’ Michael Kaplan and Catherine Herridge
| | | | CONGRESS OVERDRIVE: Since day one, POLITICO has been laser-focused on Capitol Hill, serving up the juiciest Congress coverage. Now, we’re upping our game to ensure you’re up to speed and in the know on every tasty morsel and newsy nugget from inside the Capitol Dome, around the clock. Wake up, read Playbook AM, get up to speed at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report, and fuel your nightly conversations with Inside Congress in the evening. Plus, never miss a beat with buzzy, real-time updates throughout the day via our Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Tucker Carlson is taking on Canada. Doug Emhoff is “Washington’s no. 1 Wife Guy,” says Esquire. Thom Tillis and Richard Hudson are sticking up for Zyn (background here). Bob Menendez’s lawyers are challenging search warrants. Chaya Raichik is advising an Oklahoma state library committee despite not living there. IN MEMORIAM — “Charles Osgood, veteran CBS newsman and longtime host of ‘Sunday Morning,’ dies at 91,” CBS: “Often referred to as CBS News’ poet-in-residence, Osgood was called ‘one of the last great broadcast writers’ by Charles Kuralt.” OUT AND ABOUT — Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd hosted the inaugural Embassy of Australia gala last night, celebrating the bilateral relationship and Australians making an impact in the U.S. SPOTTED: Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bruce Reed, Mike Donilon, Ex-Im Bank Chair Reta Jo Lewis, Pam Melroy and Anne Neuberger. — SPOTTED at a happy hour last night hosted by the Blue Owl Group, founded by former Twitter policy and comms leaders, at Trouble Bird (pun intended) in Navy Yard to kick off the new year with fellow former colleagues: Colin Crowell, Lauren Culbertson Grieco, Reggie McCrimmon, Lauren Devoll, Andrea Pereira, Ian Plunkett, Caitlin Rush and Trenton Kennedy. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) will be a partner at Healthsperien. He previously has been co-founder and CEO of the Kennedy Foundation. MEDIA MOVE — Ryan Teague Beckwith is now a newsletter editor at MSNBC digital and an adjunct lecturer at Syracuse University’s Newhouse D.C. program. He previously was a Washington reporter for Bloomberg. TRANSITIONS — Christian Hulen is now SVP and principal at Victory Enterprises. He currently is a senior adviser at TLC Political. … Alida Garcia has launched her own firm, Twin Impact. She previously has been VP of advocacy at FWD.us, and is a Biden White House alum. … Kevin Rachlin is joining the Nexus Leadership Project as its inaugural Washington director. The group is focused on “combating the political weaponization of accusations of antisemitism” (more here from The Forward). He previously has been VP of public affairs at J Street. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Lou Correa (D-Calif.) and Jake Ellzey (R-Texas) … Eric Schultz … State’s Alex Wong and Christina Kanmaz … Jenny Ament … Elliott Abrams … former OMB Director Shaun Donovan … Courtney Rowe … The American Leader’s David Hawkings … WSJ’s Gerry Baker … NOTUS’ Byron Tau … Natalie Krings … Protect Democracy’s Ian Bassin … Monica Popp of Marshall & Popp ... Nathanson + Hauck’s Meg Hauck Marshall … former Reps. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) and Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.) … Bernie Merritt … Edelman’s Melanie Trottman ... Shane Hand … David Bader of Sen. Deb Fischer’s (R-Neb.) office … Albert Fujii of the Hub Project 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. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misstated Doug Emhoff’s title. He is second gentleman.
| | | | A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CREDIT UNIONS & COMMUNITY BANKS IN All 50 STATES OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL: The Durbin-Marshall credit card bill would create new government mandates on credit cards that would put consumer data and access to credit at risk. The bill would benefit corporate mega-stores, like Walmart and Target, at the expense of Main Street and the 140 million Americans who rely on credit unions and community banks. The threat of Durbin-Marshall to small financial institutions is so clear that 10,000+ credit unions and community banks in America are opposed to the bill. They also see through the so-called “carve out” for smaller banks which is a hoax to try and buy their support. Their message to Congress is simple: on behalf of credit unions and community banks in all 50 states, commit to actively opposing the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill. Click here to learn more. | | | | | | | 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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