| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | THE LATEST RACE CALLS — Sen. ANGUS KING (I-Maine) and Reps. VAL HOYLE (D-Ore.) and DINA TITUS (D-Nev.) won reelection. Republican JEFF HURD triumphed in an open seat in Colorado. Democrat LAURA GILLEN flipped another New York seat. STILL COUNTING SENATE SEATS — Sen. JACKY ROSEN (D-Nev.) has a 12,699-vote lead on SAM BROWN (about a percentage point). DAVID McCORMICK leads Sen. BOB CASEY (D-Pa.) by 30,679 votes (about a half-point). And Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-Ariz.) leads KARI LAKE by 52,581 votes (about 2 points).
|  House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and other Republicans are moving fast to work on a tax package. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | THE TOP PRIORITIES — If Republicans gain a trifecta, as now looks likely, extending their 2017 tax law and adding on major new tax cuts will lead the congressional agenda, WaPo’s Jacob Bogage reports. After DONALD TRUMP dangled many new tax proposals on the campaign trail, Republicans are now planning to go full steam ahead on a major new package to be passed through reconciliation on a likely party-line vote. As in 2017, a lower corporate tax rate and other changes are expected to principally benefit the wealthy and expand the national debt while juicing economic growth. House Majority Leader STEVE SCALISE told members today that they have a “mandate” to plow forward with conservative policies, as he has been working on the tax reconciliation package, per Punchbowl’s Melanie Zanona. On the other side of the Capitol, incoming Senate Finance Chair MIKE CRAPO (R-Idaho) will be a key figure. As Brian Faler writes, he’s a “mild-mannered, detail-oriented” yin to Trump’s yang. The risk-averse, hands-on Senate veteran will play a major role in steering extended and new tax cuts, but he could face intraparty disagreements over deficits (he’s not as worried) and tariffs (he’s not as supportive). As Trump’s executive branch prepares for major immigration crackdowns, his allies and private companies are laying the groundwork for mass detentions of undocumented immigrants, CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and Alayna Treene report. Finding the space to house detained people will be a significant challenge. Early Trump discussions have focused on targeting immigrants who have committed crimes first. But notably, there’s also discussion about whether to deport Dreamers. Clip and save: For all your transition-related news, follow along daily with POLITICO’s just-launched transition live blog and read the newly renamed Transition Playbook (née West Wing Playbook). FROM THE WHITE HOUSE — President JOE BIDEN addressed the nation this morning with fairly brief remarks, projecting calm in an “orderly transition” to a promised “peaceful transfer of power,” while also urging Democrats to be proud of their accomplishments. “You can’t love your country only when you win,” he said in acknowledgment of Trump’s victory. “You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.” He urged Americans to lower the political temperature and avoid viewing each other as enemies. Biden said the fairly smooth Election Day should dash falsehoods about voter fraud, which of course Trump has stopped purveying since he won. The system “is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent,” Biden said. “And it can be trusted, win or lose.” The president also defended his record as a “historic presidency” whose impact across the country will be felt far more in the years to come. He praised VP KAMALA HARRIS for “an inspiring campaign” and strong character. And he urged supporters to keep going: “Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable.” More from Carmen Paun FED UP — The Fed will announce its latest policy move this afternoon, with a quarter-point rate cut expected amid ebbing inflation, as WaPo previews. But as Victoria Guida writes, Trump’s election is now looming over — and could complicate the calculus for — the central bank. NOTABLE QUOTABLE — Sen. JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.), who’s running to be Senate majority leader, indicated on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he doesn’t want Trump to weigh in on the race: “It’s probably in his best interest to stay out of that,” he said, citing the secret-ballot vote. Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association: Election Day has passed — but one thing never changes: Big Pharma wants to increase their profits at the expense of everyone else.
That’s why Big Pharma’s top priority for Congress is a self-serving agenda called “delinking,” which would hand big drug companies a massive $32 billion windfall in higher profits, all while protecting their otherwise limitless pricing power and increasing health care costs for employers, patients and taxpayers.
Stop Big Pharma’s “delinking” agenda. | | | | | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Former VA Secretary Robert Wilkie is back for the Pentagon transition effort. | Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images | 1. TRANSITION LENSES: As the jockeying for power in the second Trump administration starts to take shape, former VA Secretary ROBERT WILKIE is leading the transition efforts for the Defense Department, Joe Gould and the Morning Defense team scooped for Pros. ANDY BAKER, an adviser who has helped push Sen. JD VANCE (R-Ohio) against U.S. aid to Ukraine, is also involved. BRIAN HOOK is expected to head the State Department transition effort, per CNN’s Becky Anderson. GAIL SLATER and MICHAEL KRATSIOS are taking the lead on tech policy, Daniel Lippman and Mohar Chatterjee scooped for Pros. Meanwhile, Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-Ala.) doesn’t sound particularly eager to be Transportation secretary, per Reuters’ David Shepardson. And former Rep. PETER DEUTSCH (D-Fla.), who supported Trump, has told activists he’s interested in being U.S. ambassador to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. Even some controversial Trump picks for Cabinet positions — like, say, ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. or ELON MUSK — could get deference from the Senate, some Republicans are indicating, Jordain Carney and Katherine Tully-McManus report. 2. CLIMATE FILES: With time running out for the world to stave off the worst effects of climate change, Trump’s election “poses a decisive threat” to that effort, Bloomberg’s Jennifer Dlouhy reports. As the U.N. climate summit COP29 kicks off next week, advocates are worried that Trump’s withdrawal from global climate cooperation “has the potential to obliterate any lingering hope of keeping the world’s temperature rise below 1.5C.” “Without U.S. contributions” to climate aid for developing nations, “other countries will be reluctant to step up funding, making deeper emissions cuts harder to achieve, diplomatic analysts say,” write Benjamin Storrow and Corbin Hiar. Climate advocates are gearing up to urge the Trump administration not to unwind the Inflation Reduction Act’s historic climate investments, noting that the job benefits will mainly redound to Republican areas, Kelsey Tamborrino and Jessie Blaeser report. 3. PAGING AZEALIA BANKS: “The most powerful (unelected) man ever,” by Axios’ Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen: “ELON MUSK — the most influential backer of President-elect Trump, thanks to his money, time and X factor — now sits at the pinnacle of power in business, government influence and global information (and misinformation) flow. Trump has the White House and four short years. Musk has so much more since his influence cuts across government, media, business, the world, space and time.”
| | | | REGISTER NOW: Join POLITICO and Capital One for a deep-dive discussion with Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman, Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and other housing experts on how to fix America’s housing crisis and build a foundation for financial prosperity. Register to attend in-person or virtually here. | | | | | 4. THE POSTMORTEMS: There are, of course, endless explanations for the decisions made by more than 150 million people in any election. But deep reporting — and internecine squabbling — keeps rolling in to decipher why Trump won and Harris lost. Trump’s unique ability to defy political gravity this year boiled “down to one essential bet: that his grievances could meld with those of the MAGA movement, and then with the Republican Party, and then with more than half the country,” NYT’s Shane Goldmacher, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan report. Among many details in their lengthy autopsy, they cite SUSIE WILES keeping Trump in line; the Trump team’s shock at how well their famous anti-transgender ad played; Harris’ failure to stick with a clear message against Trump; and the Trump campaign’s belief in the Nixon-era adage that “a crook always beats a fool.” In Biden world, there’s frustration that Harris strayed away from populist anti-corporate messaging that tied Trump more to Big Business, The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer reports . And of course, there are the global factors of which many Americans aren’t even aware, as FT’s John Burn-Murdoch reports in a remarkable analysis about how post-pandemic inflation anger didn’t spare Democrats. “The incumbents in every single one of the 10 major countries that have been tracked by the ParlGov global research project and held national elections in 2024 were given a kicking by voters,” he writes. “This is the first time this has ever happened in almost 120 years of records.” In fact, the U.S. — which has seen a stronger economic rebound after Covid than other developed countries — had one of the smallest anti-incumbent shifts. And American politics in the 21st century more broadly have been swingy and anti-incumbent. 5. THE VIEW FROM THE SCAPEGOATS: “The Haitians of Springfield, a Trump campaign target, brace for his presidency,” by WaPo’s Danielle Paquette in Springfield, Ohio: “Throughout American history, plenty of leaders have bashed immigrants. But never before has a presidential candidate — let alone a victorious one — vowed to banish a specific group from a specific city.” 6. FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE: Trump’s victory has thrilled Russian elites, who see an opportunity to set Ukraine back and end their invasion on their terms, WaPo’s Francesca Ebel and Catherine Belton report from Moscow. At a 30,000-foot level, they see Trump’s return as a victory for the world’s authoritarian, conservative, Russian-aligned forces against the liberal, cosmopolitan, post-World War II world order. Indeed, from Hungary to Argentina, experts expect that Trump may align American foreign policy more closely with populist authoritarians, AP’s Justin Spike reports from Budapest.
| | | | A message from the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association:   Stop Big Pharma from undermining competition and increasing costs for employers, patients and taxpayers. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Gerry Connolly has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, but is “very confident in a successful outcome.” Jaime Harrison called Bernie Sanders’ election explanation “straight up BS.” David Plouffe has deleted his X account. IN MEMORIAM — “Richard Winfield, Protector of Press Freedom, Dies at 91,” by NYT’s Sam Roberts: “As a lawyer for The Associated Press and other news outlets, he challenged efforts to muzzle reporters and organized lawyers to promote free expression around the world.” 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. | | | | 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 politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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