| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity | | Presented by |  | | | POINTS OF AGREEMENT — With a Republican trifecta rolling into Washington next year, Elizabeth Warren is indicating she’s ready to reach across the aisle — sometimes. The Democratic senator and regular Trump critic offered rare praise for one of the president-elect’s Cabinet nominees during an interview on WCVB’s “On the Record” Sunday. GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), who Donald Trump has tapped to lead his Labor department, is someone “who actually supports the PRO Act, which is the act to make it easier to unionize,” Warren said – legislation that had little Republican support. And though she still wants to meet with Chavez-DeRemer, “I'm certainly interested,” Warren added. The prominent progressive also highlighted her relationship with conservative Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, pointing to the recent bill the unlikely pair partnered on to break up pharmacy benefit managers, the third-party groups that manage prescription drug benefits for health insurance companies. “Even though we disagree on a whole range of things, there are areas where we actually agree with each other. … So I'm hopeful that there will be places we will be able to work with each other,” Warren said. But don’t mistake the niceties for a sign that Warren, who turned Trump resistance into a presidential campaign in 2020, is planning to yield to avoid Trump’s ire. There’s some concern among local Democrats that Massachusetts, a blue state that’s already a regular punching bag for Republicans (see: New Hampshire gubernatorial race), could see a dip in federal funding under a second Trump administration. But that doesn’t mean the state's Democratic leaders should keep their criticism quieter to fly under the incoming president’s radar, Warren said. “We cannot start out by rolling over and playing dead in the hopes that if we do that, Donald Trump and his team will leave us alone,” she told WCVB. Warren certainly isn’t. After sounding ready to give Chavez-DeRemer a chance, the Cambirdge Democrat laid into Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, who’s come under fire for accusations of sexual assault and public drunkenness, which he denies, and who Warren criticized for saying he believes women should not serve in active combat. “This man is not unqualified. He is disqualified, based on what he’s already said,” Warren said. GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. It’s groundhog day in the Massachusetts Senate. The chamber is set to take up Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s tax shift bill for a third time today, after newly certified property tax valuations derailed its passage late last week. Wu rallied new support for the bill over the weekend. After a meeting with leaders of the city’s Democratic ward committees Saturday, nearly a dozen of the groups signed on to a letter they sent to the Senate President Karen Spilka and the Senate’s Boston delegation last night lobbying them to pass the bill “without further delay.” “It is unacceptable for the chamber to continue changing the goalposts when inaction will lead to steep property tax hikes for Boston residents or damaging cuts to basic city services--both of which are fully avoidable through your action this week,” the letter reads. “We hear you speak regularly about how much you care about the renters trying to afford to stay in this city that they love, about seniors who want to be able to age in place but struggle amidst high property taxes, about first-time home buyers who are able to get their part of the American Dream. Inaction on this matter leaves all of those people and more behind.” The meeting wasn’t called with the goal of putting more pressure on the Senate to get the bill across the finish line (it was scheduled on Nov. 25, according to an email obtained by Playbook, before it was clear how many setbacks the bill would suffer in the Senate). But the members of the Ward 4 Democratic Committee floated the idea at the meeting, and got 10 other ward executive committees to sign on. Whether the new show of support is enough to make senators who oppose the bill get on board remains to be seen. State Sen. Susan Moran, who voiced opposition to the bill when it first came up, reupped her criticism in a statement Sunday. “There was a general lack of outreach on the bill until this week when the Mayor sent a letter to senate members,” Moran said in the statement. “The effects can potentially reverberate throughout the state, so the process needs to be collaborative. The Governor is working on many great initiatives across Massachusetts and a hard left turn in Boston reworking property taxes may have serious effects for what we are trying to do statewide,” she added. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey swears in Mike Caljouw as Commissioner of Insurance at 2 p.m. at the State House. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at a Give Black Alliance event at 3:15 p.m. and at an awards ceremony hosted by A Better City at 7 p.m. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: kgarrity@politico.com
| | | | A message from Johnson & Johnson: We’re restoring the true meaning of healthcare—Innovating more precise, less invasive surgery and improving recovery. See how we’re connecting the best of Health&Care for every patient and provider. Learn more. | | | |  | THE RACE FOR CITY HALL | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is adding another labor union to her list of early endorsers — this one with ties to former Mayor Marty Walsh and his family. Laborers Local 223, a building trades union that represents workers in Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, Hyde Park and Jamaica Plain, endorsed Wu for reelection after she stopped by the union’s monthly meeting over the weekend, according to her campaign. “Mayor Wu has been a great partner for labor,” Patrick Walsh, the union’s business manager and a relative of the former mayor, said in a statement. “We’re proud to endorse her and we look forward to Boston’s direction in the coming years.” Worth noting: Laborers Local 223 is the union Walsh (the former mayor) got his start in, and his family has long been connected to the labor group.
| | | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | | LENDING A LEGAL HAND — State Auditor Diana DiZoglio may be getting the cold shoulder from most members of her own party in her effort to audit the Legislature. But she does have support from across the aisle. Jim Lyons, a former state representative and past chair of the state Republican party, filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that the House rule lawmakers recently passed “contains a provision altering” Question 1, which the lawsuit maintains would violate the state’s separation of powers protections. The lawsuit, filed in state Suffolk County Superior Court, names the House and Senate clerks as well as Secretary of State Bill Galvin, Attorney General Andrea Campbell. More from The Eagle-Tribune. RELATED — “The Massachusetts legislative audit’s fine-print brawl,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald. — “State Rep. Pat Haddad looks back on her time in office, and forward 'with anticipation',” by Emily Scherny, The Herald News.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | FROM THE HUB | | — “White Stadium project cost has doubled from previous estimates, with city on hook for $91 million,” by Jon Chesto, The Boston Globe. ICYMI — “Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleads not guilty to orchestrating kickback scheme,” by Danny McDonald, Shelley Murphy, Niki Griswold and Sean Cotter, The Boston Globe: “Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson was arrested Friday on federal wire fraud and theft charges for allegedly pocketing a $7,000 kickback inside a City Hall bathroom from a relative who worked on her staff. A six-count federal indictment alleges Fernandes Anderson, 45, hired the relative in December 2022, then gave her a $13,000 bonus months later with a caveat: She had to funnel more than half of it back to the councilor.” MORE: — “‘Nauseous,’ ‘disappointed’: Constituents react to Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson’s federal indictment,” by Niki Griswold, The Boston Globe. — “What happened the last time a sitting Boston City Councilor was federally indicted?,” by Sean Cotter, The Boston Globe.
— “Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson bonus kickback allegations bring scrutiny to old-school Council practice,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald.
| | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | — “Voters signal support for Medicare for all,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “Nearly two decades after Massachusetts started requiring every citizen to carry health insurance, advocates say they’re building support to again transform the state’s health care system. In the Nov. 5 election, voters in a nearly dozen House districts signaled their support for proposals to create a single-payer health care system by approving non-binding referendums asking their elected representatives to support it. Those questions were in addition to five statewide referendums on the ballot.”
| | | | A message from Johnson & Johnson:   | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | — “Lori Trahan target of false bomb threat, police say,” by Sean Cotter, The Boston Globe. — “Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton bashes local media for trying to ‘inflame’ LGBTQ remarks,” by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald: “Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton, who dealt with post-election blowback for his comment that biological males shouldn’t compete in women’s sports, is slamming the local media for trying to “inflame” his remarks. The Salem representative is standing firm that more of his party needs to be open to debating tough issues, like the participation of trans athletes in female sports, but says the local media is missing his point.”
| | TRUMPACHUSETTS | | — “Swansea man convicted of rioting at US Capitol could get a pardon from President Trump,” by Dan Medeiros, The Herald News.
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Amherst officials highlight achievements, look ahead in State of the Town,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “During abbreviated remarks required by the town charter this week, Town Manager Paul Bockelman, in addition to expressing gratitude to municipal employees, officials and residents, focused on the new rental and homeownership opportunities that will be available to low- and moderate-income people.” — “Council Proposal Would Set Salaries for Springfield Electeds on Autopilot,” by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight: “The Springfield City Council is wading once more into the fraught waters of their own salaries. A bill appearing on Monday’s agenda would raise the annual salary for councilors, the mayor and members of the School Committee. However, the increase would not be immediate. In fact, the actual dollar difference is unknowable now and, if passed, the body would likely not need to consider the issue again anytime soon.”
| | | | Billions in spending. Critical foreign aid. Immigration reform. The final weeks of 2024 could bring major policy changes. Inside Congress provides daily insights into how Congressional leaders are navigating these high-stakes issues. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “‘The most beautiful feeling ever’: Syrians in Boston meet fall of Assad regime with shock, celebration,” by Dan Glaun, John Hilliard and Juliana George, The Boston Globe: “The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government sent shockwaves through Boston’s Syrian community Sunday, with many celebrating the end of a regime widely accused of political repression, torture, and extrajudicial killings during the country’s 13-year-long civil war.” — “Brockton City Council could override mayor's veto of homeless laws as soon as Monday,” by Chris Helms, The Brockton Enterprise: “Brockton's strategy on homelessness takes center stage again this week. On Monday, the city council could override Mayor Robert F. Sullivan's veto of draft laws against camping and loitering. At least one more councilor would need to support the anti-camping law, which includes fines of $200 for multiple offenses. The law passed council by 7 to 4. Eight votes are needed.” — “New Bedford Police implement state-of-the-art virtual and AI training,” by Frank Mulligan, The Standard-Times: “Axon Enterprise Inc. of Scottsdale, Arizona, provided the virtual gear and training as part of its five-year, $1.8 million deal to provide body cameras to New Bedford officers. The cameras were introduced in September. The virtual reality training component is now being implemented.” — “Thousands in Central Mass. could lose health care access on Jan. 1: Here are the details,” by Henry Schwan, Telegram & Gazette: “The clock is ticking. Thousands of people in Central Massachusetts could lose access to their doctors at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1. The numbers include 16,000 patients at UMass Memorial Health and an unknown amount that could run in the thousands at Saint Vincent Hospital.” — “Worcester city solicitor to retire next month,” by Adam Bass, MassLive.
| | MEDIA MATTERS | | — “Exclusive: Boston Globe Media is looking to buy Boston magazine,” by Dan Kennedy, Media Nation: “Boston Globe Media is exploring a possible acquisition of Boston magazine, according to sources in the newsroom who had heard about the plans and who asked not to be identified. The glossy monthly would become part of a portfolio of media properties that includes The Boston Globe, the free website Boston.com and Stat News, which covers medicine and the health-care industry.”
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to the Boston Globe’s James Pindell and Brian Muldoon.
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