| | | | |  | | By Eli Stokols | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM? — “Saudi Arabia abandons pursuit of US defence treaty over Israel stalemate,” by Reuters’ Samia Nakhoul and Pesha Magid: “[W]ith public anger in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East at fever pitch over Israel's military actions in Gaza, Crown Prince MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN has again made recognition of Israel conditional on it taking concrete steps to create a Palestinian state, two Saudi and three Western sources said.” TURKEY AND TARIFFS — Speaking to reporters yesterday while paying a Thanksgiving visit to a Nantucket firehouse, President JOE BIDEN warned his successor against threatening Canada and Mexico with tariffs: “I hope he rethinks it. I think it’s a counterproductive thing to do,” Biden said, per pool. “We’re surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and two allies, Mexico and Canada. The last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships.” He did not mention Trump’s threats against China. More from WSJ
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Many who have toiled away in the West Wing or the EEOB fear they may not get their departure photos with President Joe Biden. | Mark Schiefelbein/AP | GRIP AND GRR — Biden’s presidency is obviously not ending the way that he or the hundreds of staffers around him had hoped. But that doesn’t mean that some expectations for his closing weeks in the White House have changed. As grim reality has set in following DONALD TRUMP’s election victory, those staffers toiling away in the West Wing and EEOB have had something else sapping their morale — and blowing up their group chats: a growing concern that they might not get their departure photos with the president, a meaningful memento for those who have served in this and past administrations. Earlier in Biden’s administration, when staffers started to head off to other jobs, these sessions would be scheduled with roughly a week’s notice. In many cases, they’d scramble to buy plane tickets for family members to join them for the photo and, after queuing in the Roosevelt Room, a few precious minutes with the president. “It's just been one thing you can sort of count on as a reward for all of your service,” said one former administration official, who left the White House in 2022 and had their departure photo taken about eight months later. “And it's parents feeling fulfilled, too, for all of their work and getting you to this place.” It was one small, good thing to look forward to for staffers dealing with the aftermath of Election Day and the end of their time on campus. Instead, dozens of them have grown upset. Biden did not take any departure photos for several months, perplexing staffers who’ve always appreciated his personal touch. “They just took them off his schedule months ago, and no one knows why,” the former official said. “Of course the culture is bad over there if they’re not doing the little things.” Then, last week, the Office of Management and Administration’s “employee engagement” team told managers in an email obtained by Playbook that it was “pleased to invite all current EOP political appointees for a departure photo to celebrate your time and work while at the White House.” The next sentence, however, was a bummer for those who, given the precedent, had planned to bring parents and spouses along for their presidential send-off: “These will be individual clicks (no guests) with the President in the Oval Office.” The photo sessions, which are being scheduled with each office, will occur “on a rolling basis” over Biden’s final two months on the job, according to the email. They started last Thursday and continued with photo sessions Friday, Monday and Tuesday before Biden’s departure for Nantucket. And several of those who got pictures have already started posting them on social media. “Instead of everyone being annoyed by no departure photos, now it’s only half of the people who are annoyed,” one current administration official said. But “annoyed” may be understating the feelings of former administration officials who haven’t gotten departure photos with Biden. The flood of Instagram and LinkedIn posts of POTUS photos by more junior staffers, some of whom have only been working at the White House for months, has been rather triggering for more senior former White House officials who moved to other agencies or outside government. “Like why did I see an intern turned staff assistant get a photo before me?” one former official asked their colleagues in one group text that was shared with Playbook. Another prefaced their message by acknowledging “it makes me annoyed that i’m even this annoyed, but it’s the principle of the matter and a coveted white house experience to get a departure photo.” One former official said that they and others on a group text thread are mulling whether to write a petition. Another told Playbook they’d reached out to a senior White House official about the photos and not gotten any clarity. But when we inquired this week, an administration official said departed former staff will soon receive invites for departure photos. That may ultimately be enough to quiet the frustrated messages, they said. “These are the staffers who stood with Biden since Day 1, many since the lowest ebbs of the campaign,” one former official wrote in a lengthy message to colleagues. “The staffers who gave everything to this President, who missed anniversaries, birthdays, their own doctors appointments, knowing democracy itself was on the line, deserve at the very least a proper goodbye from the man who says he owes them everything.” Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook, and happy shopping. Drop me a line: Eli Stokols.
| | | | 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. Plus, only parents can approve safety setting changes for teens under 16.
This means parents can have more peace of mind when it comes to protecting their teens.
Learn more. | | | LET THE SUNSHINE IN — “Florida Has a Weird Political Culture. It’s About to Take Over the White House,” by David Kihara for POLITICO Mag: “Florida is a place of contradictions. It’s economically lax and also morally overbearing, freewheeling and uptight. … And now, the rest of America could become a little more like Florida.” EYES ON IRELAND — The Emerald Isle goes to the polls today, and the nationalist party Sinn Féin is hoping to make gains and break into government in Dublin. The election is also being closely watched in the U.S., where Sinn Féin has developed a sophisticated fund-raising operation, Suzanne Lynch reports. Decades after the eruption of violence in Northern Ireland, which was funded in part by Irish America, supporters of Irish Republicanism now have their eye on the next battle — a possible referendum on the reunification of Ireland.
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden and VP KAMALA HARRIS have nothing on their public schedules.
| | | | REGISTER NOW: As the 118th Congress ends, major decisions loom, including healthcare appropriations. Key focus: site neutrality. Can aligning hospital and clinic costs cut federal spending, reflect physician costs, and lower patient expenses? Join policymakers and providers to discuss. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR
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Friends of RFK Jr. say his choices are best understood as an effort to live up to the legacy of his father. | Rebecca Noble/Getty Images | 1. BEING BOBBY: As ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. prepares for a Senate grilling and potentially taking over HHS, NYT’s Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Susanne Craig and Rebecca Davis O’Brien examine his “distinct pattern of cycling through extremes — including his early drug addiction, compulsive sexual behavior and deep dives into conspiracy theories.” “Friends and close associates say his choices are best understood as a quest to live up to the legacy of his father and namesake, ROBERT F. KENNEDY … But the road Mr. Kennedy has traveled led him to an alliance with a man his family and fellow Democrats regard as anathema. Mr. Trump brought him into his fold to consolidate his base, and Mr. Kennedy entered, telling uneasy allies it was his best chance of effecting real change.” But just how much influence will he actually wield inside the Trump camp? There are early signs that there will be significant limits on his power, Meredith Lee Hill and Adam Cancryn report. He and other top Trump allies had been fiercely fighting over the president-elect’s pick for Agriculture secretary, and while Kennedy “meticulously vetted and put forward his own list of candidates to run the massive agency,” Trump opted to pick BROOKE ROLLINS — “represent[ing] something of a victory for the entrenched agriculture interests that view Kennedy as a foe.” 2. DEEP IN THE HEART: Trump’s return to the White House is giving Texas an important perch on immigration and border issues, with state leaders hoping the Lone Star State will serve as a model for the federal government with its harsh policies, WaPo’s Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Arelis Hernández report from Eagle Pass: “Since the Nov. 5 election, state leaders have suggested they could reduce funding for border security, especially if the federal government takes over.” Meanwhile, many local law enforcement officials are gearing up to help Trump’s team follow through with its “mass deportation” plan and harsher anti-immigration policies, WSJ’s Scott Calvert and Michelle Hackman report: “Many conservative sheriffs across the U.S., from Texas to California to redder swaths of the northeast, now stand ready to be force multipliers for ICE and its 6,000 agents.” 3. MISTER CELLOPHANE: “Trump Team’s Rejection of a Transition Deal Adds a Wrinkle to Its Transparency Pledges,” by NYT’s Simon Levien: “Trump’s transition team, after forgoing the $7.2 million in government funds that the G.S.A. would have provided if they had reached an agreement, has promised to be transparent by disclosing the names of its donors … If Mr. Trump’s team accepted the help of the G.S.A., donors would need to be disclosed within 30 days of the inauguration, which is set for Jan. 20. Past presidential transitions have also limited individual donations to $5,000, a cap that Mr. Trump’s team has not committed to.” Top-ed: “Republican and Democratic Former Senate Counsels Agree: F.B.I. Checks on Trump Nominees Are a Must,” by Noah Bookbinder and Gregg Nunziata for NYT 4. POLICY CORNER: With just over 50 days until Trump takes office, a pair of stories this morning identify a couple of the parochial policy clashes he’ll have to navigate: Revisiting pandemic-era policies … The nursing home industry is working to kill the Biden-era staffing mandate that they employ a minimum number of nurses and are hoping Trump will rescind the rule, NYT’s Jordan Rau reports: “Even before the election, many experts and activists had doubts that the rule would be effectively enforced … The nursing home industry says many homes cannot afford to increase their workforces, and that, even if they could, there is a scarcity of trained nurses, and not enough people willing to work as aides for an average $19 an hour.” The reality of school choice … Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers and voters in some solidly red states are divided over Trump’s education agenda, WSJ’s Matt Barnum reports. Though Trump has indicated he favors school-choice policies, many GOP voters “have said in opinion surveys that they are generally dissatisfied with what they view as a ‘woke’ agenda in public education but still like their own children’s local schools.”
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | 5. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: The cease-fire in Lebanon is still tenuously holding, though Israel and Hezbollah traded accusations of breaching the deal yesterday after Israeli forces reportedly struck a Hezbollah weapons depot, Reuters’ Maya Gebeily reports from Beirut: “Lebanese security sources and the Al Jadeed broadcaster said it took place near [Basyariyah], north of the Litani River. … The ceasefire deal stipulates that unauthorized military facilities south of the Litani River should be dismantled, but does not mention military facilities north of the river.” Happening today … Iranian diplomats and European officials will meet today in Geneva to explore whether the countries can engage in more intense discussions on how to ease tensions in the region ahead of Trump’s second administration, Reuters’ Parisa Hafezi and John Irish report. Iran will meet with officials from Britain, Germany and France for a “brainstorming session focused on their mutual concerns over how Trump will handle the dossier.” 6. MAN WITH A PLAN: “Trump’s Ukraine envoy has a plan to end the war that Putin may revel in,” by CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh: “[KEITH] KELLOGG, Trump’s 80-year-old former national security advisor, has laid out his peace plan in some detail, writing for the America First policy institute in April. … In short, a ceasefire will freeze the frontlines and both sides will be forced to the negotiating table. … It says future US aid — likely given as a loan — will be conditioned on Ukraine negotiating with Russia, and the US will arm Ukraine to the extent it can defend itself and stop any further Russian advances before and after any peace deal.”” 7. NUTMEG STATE NUTTERY: Most of Connecticut’s congressional delegation were targets of bomb threats to their homes yesterday, NBC News’ Megan Lebowitz reports. Law enforcement found no evidence of explosives at their residences. Sen. CHRIS MURPHY and Reps. JOE COURTNEY, ROSA DeLAURO, JIM HIMES, JOHN LARSON and JAHANA HAYES all issued written statements saying they’d been targeted: “The bomb threats against Democrats happened a day after a number of President-elect Donald Trump’s most prominent Cabinet picks and appointees reported that they had received such threats, as well as ‘swatting attacks.’” 8. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: A Chinese ship in the the Baltic sea is under investigation for allegations it deliberately dragged an anchor over 100 miles along the seabed to cut two critical undersea cables, WSJ’s Bojan Pancevski reports. The bulk commercial vessel is currently surrounded by NATO warships as investigators work to discern “whether the captain of the Chinese-owned ship, which departed the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, was induced by Russian intelligence to carry out the sabotage. … The ship’s Chinese owner, Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, is cooperating with the investigation and has allowed the vessel to be stopped in international waters.” Dance of the strongmen: “Bolsonaro Is Making a Comeback Bid in Brazil and Betting on Trump’s Help,” by WSJ’s Samantha Pearson 9. BIG BETS FALL FLAT: “Wall Street Macro Traders Head for Worst Year Since the Pandemic,” by WSJ’s Alice Atkins and William Shaw: “Investor confidence in making big macro calls dwindled this year as economic data surprises whiplashed bets on interest-rate cuts from the world’s major central banks. A seemingly too-close-to-call US presidential election and the unwind of once-popular yen-funded carry trades also rattled markets. … . Donald Trump’s administration is expected to fuel volatility in the $7.5 trillion-a-day foreign-exchange market.” TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week”: Dan Balz, Elisabeth Bumiller and Jonathan Karl. SUNDAY SO FAR … ABC “This Week”: Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) … North Carolina Gov.-elect Josh Stein … Ashish Jha. Panel: Donna Brazile, Rick Klein, Sarah Isgur and Vivian Salama. FOX “Fox News Sunday,” with a special edition on the “State of A.I.”: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) … Sam Altman … Condoleezza Rice. Panel: Richard Fowler and Katie Pavlich. NBC “Meet the Press”: Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.). Panel: Jonathan Allen, Kimberly Atkins Stohr, Matt Gorman and Sahil Kapur. CNN “Inside Politics Sunday”: Cathie Wood. Panel: Jackie Kucinich, Susan Page, David Weigel and Stephen Collinson. CBS “Face the Nation”: Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jill Schlesinger, H.W. Brands and Claire Babineaux-Fontenot.
| | | | Want to know what's really happening with Congress's make-or-break spending fights? Get daily insider analysis of Hill negotiations, funding deadlines, and breaking developments—free in your inbox with Inside Congress. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Donald Trump posted an … interesting Thanksgiving video. JD Vance replaced his turkey with an electoral map. George Helmy is making the most of his short time in the Senate. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel … Emily Lenzner … L.A. Times’ Mark Barabak … Margaret Carlson … Hayley Dierker of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee … Matt Hall … CNN’s Pamela Brown … Ceara Flake … Liz Schrayer of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and Schrayer & Associates … Janet Napolitano … Madeline Ryan … Chris Frates of Storyline … Liza Acevedo of the White House … Sarah Venuto … Public Citizen’s Robert Weissman … Graves Spindler of Bully Pulpit Interactive … Ryan Leavitt … Alexandra Ulmer … Stacy Rich … Joe Sternlieb … former Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) … Atlantic Council’s Shalom Lipner … Sydelle Moore … Abby Duggan of Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-Ohio) office … Trent Spiner … Maurice Ali 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: a protected experience for teens, guided by parents
Teen Accounts are designed to address parents’ biggest concerns, with automatic protections for who can contact their teens and the content they can see. Plus, only parents can approve safety setting changes for teens under 16.
So parents can have more peace of mind when it comes to protecting their teens.
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