| | | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | SCOOP — “Trump to tap campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung as communications director,” by Rachael Bade and Meridith McGraw
|  Speaker Mike Johnson said he opposes the release of an unpublished House Ethics Committee report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). | Francis Chung/POLITICO | THE GAETZ KEEPER — Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Speaker MIKE JOHNSON said he opposes the release of an unpublished House Ethics Committee report on former Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.), whom President-elect DONALD TRUMP has chosen to nominate as attorney general. “That is not the way we do things in the House, and I think that would be a terrible precedent to set,” Johnson said about issuing a report on a former member, per Mia McCarthy. He spoke just hours after attending a Mar-a-Lago gala hosted by Trump. A brief refresher: Allegations of underage sex and drug use have swirled around Gaetz for several years now, becoming the subject of a federal law endorsement investigation. The four-term member has fiercely disputed any wrongdoing, and the federal probe closed without charges against him. But House Ethics undertook its own full-scale probe, which was set to culminate in the release of a final report as soon as today. On Wednesday, however, Trump announced his AG intentions, and Gaetz promptly resigned his seat — which, in the normal course of affairs, would end the Ethics probe. Speaking earlier today, Ethics Committee Chair MICHAEL GUEST (R-Miss.) said the panel’s planned meeting regarding its investigation into Gaetz has been postponed, not canceled, Olivia Beavers reports. But with Johnson making his feelings publicly known, it’s now hard to see any of the panel’s five Republicans joining with its five Democrats to authorize its release. But keep this in mind: The report exists, senators examining the nomination want to see it, and it will remain a proverbial sword dangling over Gaetz’ head so long as he is up for confirmation — or serving as the nation’s top law enforcement officer. TRANSITION LENSES — With Trump yet to announce his pick for Treasury secretary, hedge fund executive SCOTT BESSENT meets today with the president-elect in Palm Beach for the second time in a week, WaPo’s Jeff Stein and Jacqueline Alemany report. Though Bessent had reportedly felt he was shoo-in for the most senior economic role in government, the rivalry between him and Lutnick “has prompted speculation among transition officials that Trump could still pick a third candidate for treasury secretary, such as former White House economist LARRY KUDLOW or top trade adviser ROBERT E. LIGHTHIZER.” The WSJ reports that Trump advisers “see Kudlow as a contender to lead the National Economic Council” as well as Treasury. Apollo Global Management CEO MARC ROWAN is also in the mix to take the helm on 15th Street, while former SBA head and transition co-chair LINDA McMAHON is the leading candidate for Commerce secretary. Eyes on the FBI: Former Michigan Rep. MIKE ROGERS is under consideration to be named FBI chief, replacing CHRISTOPHER WRAY, Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser scoops . He met with Trump’s team yesterday at Mar-a-Lago. A former special agent, Rogers also “served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee during the final four years of his decade-long tenure in Congress [and] was interviewed in 2017 during Trump's first administration to serve as FBI director after JAMES COMEY was dismissed. Department of vetting affairs: Trump’s transition is sidestepping traditional FBI background checks and relying on private companies to review potential job candidates, CNN’s Evan Perez, Zachary Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Kristen Holmes report: “Ultimately, the president has the final authority on who he nominates and decides to share intelligence with, regardless of the established protocol set in the wake of World War II.” The room where it happens: Some of Trump’s senior staff say the Florida-based transition could be going smoother, WaPo’s Sarah Blaskey, Samuel Oakford and Josh Dawsey report: “Decisions are often made at Mar-a-Lago suddenly and then released, while much of the staff is in an office across the Intracoastal Waterway in West Palm Beach. … ‘There are times where we hear someone is going to be announced, and you go, “How did that happen?”’ one adviser said.” More transition reads: “Hill Republicans rejoice over Burgum pick for Interior,” by Garrett Downs … “A Secretary of Defense Pick With a Full MAGA Look,” by NYT’s Jacob Gallagher … “Trump's anti-DEI brigade prepares to take power,” by Axios’ Zachary Basu and Erin Doherty THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE — Despite growing concerns among lawmakers about Trump’s designation of Gaetz as AG nominee and TULSI GABBARD as director of national intelligence, soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader JOHN THUNE is taking a “wait-and-see” approach, Anthony Adragna, Katherine Tully-McManus and Ursula Perano report. Expect the road ahead to be rocky: “‘He’s got a hard job,” said one GOP senator … ‘He knew it was going to be hard. He knew President Trump was going to put people in there that people [were] going to question.’” Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
| | | | A message from America’s Credit Unions and the Independent Community Bankers of America: CREDIT UNIONS & COMMUNITY BANKS IN All 50 STATES OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL: America’s approximately 9,000 credit unions and community banks are united in opposition to the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Bill because credit card routing mandates harm local financial institutions and the communities they serve. Durbin-Marshall jeopardizes access to credit for 140 million credit union and community bank customers. Congress should make no mistake about our adamant opposition. | | | WELCOME TO ELECTION SEASON — “Rep. Josh Gottheimer makes it official: He's running for governor of New Jersey,” by NorthJersey.com’s Katie Sobko: “He joins a crowded Democratic field that already includes Newark Mayor RAS BARAKA and Jersey City Mayor STEVE FULOP. Former state Senate President STEVE SWEENEY, SEAN SPILLER , president of the NJEA, the state's teacher's union and Rep. MIKIE SHERRILL … are all also expected to join the race.”
| | | 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | | | 
A group of Elon Musk's political advisers spent $45 million to “micro-target” specific voting blocs in an effort to dampen turnout for Kamal Harris. | Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images | 1. THE ART OF MISDIRECTION: WaPo’s Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey reveal how a group of political advisers to ELON MUSK spent $45 million to “micro-target” specific voting blocs in an effort to dampen turnout for Harris. Using advertisements that were not quite what they appeared to be, the anonymous donor-funded campaign used extensive research to target Jewish, Muslim and Black voters in battleground states. “Muslims in Michigan began seeing pro-Israel ads this fall praising Vice President KAMALA HARRIS for marrying a Jewish man and backing the Jewish state. Jews in Pennsylvania, meanwhile, saw ads from the same group with the opposite message: Harris wanted to stop U.S. arms shipments to Israel. … With digital spots, direct mail, text messages, influencer marketing and mobile billboards, the overall project was a high-tech experiment in misdirection.” Related read: “A Harris-supporting CEO urges Democrats to back Elon Musk,” by Steven Overly 2. NOT OK WITH RFK: “Pence urges Senate to reject RFK Jr. for HHS over abortion stance,” by Irie Setner: “‘I believe the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to millions of Pro-Life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our nominees for decades, [former VP MIKE] PENCE said in a statement Friday.” 3. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed this morning that an Israeli attack on Iran destroyed an active nuclear research facility last month, Axios Barak David reports. The attack came after Biden warned Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU that targeting Iranian nuclear facilities could possible trigger a regional war: “The strike was a not so subtle message that the Israelis have significant insight into the Iranian system even when it comes to things that were kept top secret.” Elsewhere in the region … As cease-fire negotiations drag on in Beirut, Iranian officials say they will back “any decision taken by Lebanon” to secure a cease-fire after the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft proposal yesterday, Reuters’ Maya Gebeily and Riham Alkousaa report.
| | | | 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. BRACE YOURSELVES: “EU warned to prepare for early Trump tariff action,” by Doug Palmer and Camille Gijs: “Trump is threatening to impose up to a 20 percent across-the-border tariff on all $3 trillion worth of U.S. imports, hitting about $575 billion of cars, pharmaceutical products, machinery and a long list of other products from the EU. … That would violate tariff commitments the United States has made in the WTO, although Trump could try to justify it on national security grounds.” 5. THE BRITISH ARE COMING (BACK): Top U.K. Labour strategists are heading back to Washington next week to explain to the Democrats how Harris bungled the election, our British colleague Emilio Casalicchio writes in. KEIR STARMER pollster DEBORAH MATTISON and his former policy chief CLAIRE AINSLEY will meet Democratic operatives and congressional staff to present post-election focus group and poll findings illustrating the reasons working class voters chose Trump over Harris, as well as which issues influenced them most. The new research (including polling from YouGov) was done for the Democrat-linked PPI think tank, for whom Ainsley is directing a project on center-left renewal. The pair will present the findings alongside PPI President WILL MARSHALL at a lunch in D.C. on Tuesday in what amounts to an I-told-you-so: Mattison and Ainsley visited Washington to advise Democrats ahead of the election; “I’m not sure they listened,” Mattinson told Times Radio last week. “I felt they spent a lot of the campaign talking to themselves.”
| | | | The lame duck session could reshape major policies before year's end. Get Inside Congress delivered daily to follow the final sprint of dealmaking on defense funding, AI regulation and disaster aid. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Chris Murphy and Catherine Holahan are separating after 20 years of marriage. Tim Burchett is visiting NYC for the first time. SPOTTED on a flight from DCA to Palm Beach International last night: Mitt Romney OUT AND ABOUT — Adrienne Arsht hosted a book party at her home in Chevy Chase Tuesday night celebrating Rep. Mike Waltz’s (R-Fla.) new book “Hard Truths: Think and Lead Like a Green Beret” ( $29). SPOTTED: Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, Moroccan Ambassador Youssef Amrani, South Korean Ambassador Hyundong Cho, British Ambassador Karen Pierce , Elbridge and Susana Colby, Kurt Volker, Andrew Peek, Andrea Mitchell, Matthew Kroenig, Enric Sala, Janette Nesheiwat, Julia Nesheiwat, Meredith Berger, Robert Allbritton, Douglas Lute, Douglas and Heidi Rediker, Phillip Wallace and Capricia Marshall. — The International Center for Journalists hosted an awards gala last night at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. The event featured remarks from ICFJ Chair Carrie Budoff Brown and a panel discussion between Peter Baker, Eugene Daniels and Maria Ressa moderated by Kristen Welker. SPOTTED: Maria Ressa, Peter Alexander, Ryan Nobles, Chloe Arensberg, Ken Strickland and Carol Lee. — Oliver Darcy’s Status hosted a launch party at TIGRE in New York City last night in conjunction with Beehiiv. SPOTTED: Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, Don Lemon, Michael Barbaro, Abby Phillip, John Berman, Brian Stelter, Molly Jong-Fast, Ari Melber, Lis Smith, Justin Smith, Doug Williams, Donie O’Sullivan, Jonathan Wald, Matthew Hiltzik, Noah Shachtman, Gabriel Brotman, Peter Kafka, Tyler Denk, Preeya Goenka, Christa Robinson, Jon Passantino, Max Tani, Charlotte Klein and Lauren Starke. — SPOTTED at Picnic Theatre Company's parody play “Valley of the Dolls and Beyond” at Dupont Underground last night: Steve Rochlin, Christina Sevilla, Ana Harvey, Shanara Gabrielle, Alec Wild, Emily Lenzner, Silvia Foster-Frau, Bruce Kieloch, Dana Milbank, Anna Greenberg, Ali and Josh Rogin, Kimball Stroud, David White, Adam Green, Nihal Krishan, Sara Cook, Sarakshi Rai, Bernd Debusmann, Evelyn Farkas and Neil Grace. MEDIA MOVES — National Geographic has added Geoffrey Gagnon as VP and executive editor and Alex Pollack as director of photography. Gagnon previously was global features director at GQ Magazine. Pollack previously was photo director at Bustle Digital Group. TRANSITION — Brian Hanna is now counsel at Dechert LLP. He previously was a trial attorney for DOJ’s antitrust division. ENGAGED — Manon Murray, former creative director at the Obama Foundation, and Sam Coffey, counsel to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), recently got engaged in Georgetown. They met while working in the Obama White House in 2016. 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.
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