| | | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | ON THE WAY OUT THE DOOR — Interesting parting gesture from Sen. JOE MANCHIN (I-W.Va.): “I’m proud to introduce legislation with @SenPeterWelch that would establish 18-year term limits for Justices of the United States Supreme Court.” ON THE WAY TO THE CHAIRMANSHIP — Incoming Senate Judiciary Chair CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) to FBI Director CHRISTOPHER WRAY this morning: "For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives. … [I] must express my vote of no confidence in your continued leadership of the FBI.” Full letter NYC MANHUNT LATEST — The Times reports that a man is being held in Altoona, Pa., in connection with last week’s murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO BRIAN THOMPSON in midtown Manhattan. “The man had a gun, a silencer and false identification cards similar to those they believe the killer used in New York, according to one of the law enforcement officials and a person briefed on the investigation.” NOT ON THE DOCKET — Two notable moves by the Supreme Court this morning: — “Supreme Court rejects Wisconsin parents’ challenge to school guidance for transgender students,” by Mark Sherman: “Three justices, SAMUEL ALITO, BRETT KAVANAUGH and CLARENCE THOMAS, would have heard the case. That’s one short of what is needed for full review by the Supreme Court.” — “Supreme Court rejects appeal from Boston parents over race bias in elite high school admissions,” by AP: “Justices SAMUEL ALITO and CLARENCE THOMAS dissented from their colleagues’ decision to leave in place lower court rulings in favor of the plan, which was used just once during the pandemic. A third justice, NEIL GORSUCH, said he also was troubled by the policy.”
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Pete Marocco drew internal fire when he worked in numerous agencies in the Trump administration. | Gabriel Aponte/Getty Images | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: A J6ER INSIDER? — PETE MAROCCO, a former Trump administration official who was reportedly caught on camera inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is now working with President-elect DONALD TRUMP’s transition on national security personnel matters, three people familiar with the situation told our Daniel Lippman. Marocco, who drew internal fire when he worked in numerous agencies in the Trump administration and more recently was a conservative activist in Dallas, has been seen at the transition’s Florida headquarters working on hiring, including for the State Department, according to two of the people who saw him. One of the people said he was interviewing candidates this week. Last month, the online sleuth group Sedition Hunters identified Marocco and his wife MERRITT’s alleged presence inside and outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 using social media posts, video analysis and facial recognition software. Asked about the allegation by D Magazine, Marocco didn’t address whether he had been at the Capitol, instead calling it “petty smear tactics and desperate personal attacks.” Neither Marocco nor his wife have been charged. Marocco didn’t respond to requests for comment. Trump transition spokesperson KAROLINE LEAVITT said in a statement that Marocco’s “valuable knowledge on national security policy has been a tremendous benefit to the Trump-Vance transition effort.” She added: “Democrats and their allies in the media who think they are going to obstruct our ability to deliver on this mandate by going back to the same January 6 playbook of smears and faux outrage that was soundly rejected by the American people will be disappointed.” EVERY DOGE HAS ITS DAY — As head of a new Oversight subcommittee working with ELON MUSK and VIVEK RAMASWAMY’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency panel, Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) could become an ally of GOP leadership. But privately, some Hill Republicans worry that she’ll “once again turn into a political headache,” Olivia Beavers reports. Some lawmakers see the role as a “payoff” from Speaker MIKE JOHNSON — who faces another round of leadership elections in January: “One House Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said the assignment could be perceived as ‘rewarding bad behavior,’” Olivia writes. The 30,000-foot view: “The situation illustrates Johnson’s wider efforts in the House GOP. He’s working to keep his critics on his side ahead of the speakership vote and beyond, all while balancing the needs of an ideologically diverse conference with an incredibly ambitious agenda on immigration, spending cuts and taxes. Through it all, he needs to keep Trump, as well as Trump allies like Greene, as happy as possible.” Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
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Learn more about open source AI. | | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — New York state Sen. JAMES SKOUFIS, the self-proclaimed outsider and longest of longshot candidates for DNC chair, reached the 40-signature threshold from DNC members to qualify for upcoming candidate forums, our Adam Wren writes in. MIDDLE EAST LATEST — Even after rebels overthrew BASHAR AL-ASSAD’s regime this weekend, the Syrian government remains operational and cabinet ministers continue to work from offices in Damascus, AP’s Sarah El Deeb, Bassem Mroue and Tia Goldenberg report from the region. “We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth,” Syrian PM MOHAMMED GHAZI JALALI told Sky News in an interview. What comes next? (1) Today, the rebel command announced that it would “guarantee personal freedoms and would not impose Islamic dress on women,” per the AP. … (2) The rebels also announced “a general amnesty for all military personnel conscripted under compulsory service” to fight for Assad’s government, WaPo’s Kelsey Baker reports. “Their lives are safe and no one may assault them,” the group said in a statement. … (3) But it remains to be seen just what a new government would look like ideologically: “The Syrian opposition poised to assume formal control is constituted of myriad factions, from the local to the ideological, from moderate to Islamist,” WaPo’s Leo Sands reports.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | | | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries greets Derek Tran during a campaign event at Golden Sea Restaurant in Anaheim, California on Oct. 12, 2024. | Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP | 1. WHERE IDENTITY POLITICS WORKED: “How Little Saigon Finally Got Its First Vietnamese Member of Congress,” by Melanie Mason in Westminster, Calif.: “Nearly $40 million was spent by both sides on television and digital advertising alone, mostly on national themes of abortion rights and the economy. But perhaps no single factor propelled the Army veteran’s win more than identity: his own and that of his community, which has nursed a decadeslong hunger to have one of their own represent their district in Washington.” 2. WHAT MAY LIE AHEAD: As some of Trump’s top selections for cabinet and administration positions head to the Hill this week to shore up support, AP’s Chris Megerian reports how the president-elect’s picks represent a unique upheaval in American politics. In choosing nominees that have previously railed against agencies they’re poised to lead, Trump is setting up “a potential war of attrition between the incoming Republican president and American institutions … After being plagued by investigations and contradicted by career officials during his first term, the returning president has no interest in a replay and he’s more skeptical of insider views that clash with his own instincts.” Case in point: Trump’s choice to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, PAUL ATKINS, is hoping to do away with the agency’s controversial climate change rule that requires “publicly traded companies to divulge details about the risks that climate change poses to their business,” Lesley Clark reports. Before the policy was finalized this year under current chair GARY GENSLER, Atkins fought against the rule and “rejected the contention that investors are demanding climate disclosures. He accused the SEC of conflating the demands of both politically motivated investors and climate advocacy groups with the larger market. … Testifying before Congress in 2019, Atkins told lawmakers that more mandatory disclosures would be burdensome for companies and would dissuade them from going public.” 3. SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME: Some of Trump’s top political appointees are big on supplements: JANETTE NESHEIWAT, KASH PATEL and MEHMET OZ each have a history of promoting or selling various vitamins with lofty promises. Now, public health experts predict that “close ties between Trump’s nominees and supplement makers could give more leeway to an industry that is lightly regulated and sells products that are largely unproven,” WSJ’s Dominique Mosbergen reports. Friends in high places … Industry officials have particularly zeroed in on Trump’s HHS’ pick, ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., as their new ally in the government: “The 70-year-old, who has shared videos on social media of himself working out bare-chested, said on a podcast in 2023 that he takes ‘a ton of vitamins and nutrients.’ … If confirmed, Kennedy would oversee the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates consumer products including drugs, medical devices, vaccines, dietary supplements and most food.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | 4. WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN: In the latest escalation of the chip war between Beijing and Washington, China has launched an antitrust investigation into American chipmaker, Nvidia, CNN’s David Goldman reports. Chinese media reported that the government believes “Nvidia’s purchase of Israeli networking company Mellanox could violate the country’s anti-monopoly laws, though the report did not specify what the merger did to potentially break the law.” The report comes after the Biden administration enforced further restrictions on chip sales to China last week. Now, “[t]he Nvidia investigation ups the ante. The company is the face of the AI tech revolution and hurting Nvidia could harm the American company’s ambitions to continue to power AI around the world.” 5. HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO: “TikTok asks court for pause on law that would shut down app in U.S. next month,” by WaPo’s Cristiano Lima-Strong and Drew Harwell: “The company wrote in a petition for injunctive relief that the high court should intervene before Jan. 19, the deadline set by the recent federal law for TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the popular video-sharing platform or face a nationwide prohibition. … TikTok argued that halting the law would give the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump the chance to step in.” 6. NAMES TO KNOW: Two Mexican media executives who have helped lead Mexican soap-operas to a global audience have now become key middlemen in the discussions between Donald Trump and Mexican President CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, WSJ’s Santiago Pérez and José de Córdoba report from Mexico City: “ALFONSO De ANGOITIA and BERNARDO GÓMEZ are known for their political acumen and the longstanding influence of Grupo Televisa … They might assist with contentious cross-border issues such as security, migration and trade but also play a role in shaping the views of Hispanic Americans who are increasingly willing to cross party lines.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Sean Duffy’s season of “The Real World: Boston” got the full rewatch from the Boston Globe. OUT AND ABOUT — The Kennedy Center hosted its 47th Honors ceremony last night, recognizing Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval, The Grateful Dead, and The Apollo, and hosted by Queen Latifah. The star-studded event featured speeches and performances from Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow, Dave Chappelle, Dave Matthews, Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges, David Letterman, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Andy Garcia and many more. Notable quotable … Speaking to the crowd, Kennedy Center Chair David Rubenstein made a reference to reports earlier this week that he won't step down for the incoming Trump administration: “I’d like to apologize for those who spent money on my retirement party,” Rubenstein said. “I’d like to make it up in some way … but I’ll be here for two more years.” SPOTTED: President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, VP Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff, Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, British Ambassador Karen Pierce, Jerome Powell, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), Deborah Rutter, Peter Elleffson, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Dawn Moore, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Paul Pelosi, Karine Jean-Pierre, Heather Podesta, Elaine Kamarck, Bret Baier, Norah O’Donnell, Margaret Brennan, Miles Teller, Savion Glover, Chloë Sevigny, Stephen Schwartz, Kamasi Washington, Mike and Trish Donilon, Grace VanderWaal, Renée Fleming, Jonelle Procope, Kamilah Forbes and Michelle Ebanks. MEDIA MOVES — Ali Vitali will be the new anchor for MSNBC’s “Way Too Early,” Variety’s Brian Steinberg reports. She previously was a Washington correspondent for NBC News. … Jennifer Jacobs is now a senior reporter at CBS News focused on the White House. She previously was a senior White House reporter at Bloomberg. WEDDING — Suzanne Kianpour, founder of Helmet to Heels and a BBC alum, and Jamie Angus, media executive and BBC alum, got married yesterday at St. Ann Roman Catholic Church in D.C. The couple held their reception at the home of Juleanna Glover and Christopher Reiter with music by Ben Chang, Christina Sevilla and emcee Jake Cusack. SPOTTED: Jon Finer, John Hudson, Ali and Josh Rogin, Michelle Jaconi, Steve Rochlin, Kevin Baron, Sharon Stirling, Andy Rabens, Anastasia Dellaccio, Lauren Culbertson Grieco, Luis Miranda, Heather Wild, Dean Lieberman, Kevin Cirilli, Antoine Sanfuentes, Joel Rayburn, Natasha Lebedeva, Liz Johnson, Merin Rajadurai, Shira Lazari, Hastie and Amir Afkhami, Sarah Robbins, Jasmin Buttar and John McPherson. Pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Zoe Chace, producer and reporter for “This American Life,” and Lizzy Berryman, chief of staff for contracts at the MTA Capital Program, recently welcomed Elias Edward Berryman-Chace. He joins big brother Maximo. Pic ... Another pic 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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