| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels and Rachael Bade | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | END OF AN ERA, PART I — “Goodbye to the American Century?” by Joshua Zeitz: “The post-WWII world order of American dominance is over. DONALD TRUMP proves it.” END OF AN ERA, PART II — STEVEN LAW is stepping down as chief executive of the Senate Leadership Fund, NYT’s Shane Goldmacher reports. The MITCH McCONNELL ally helped build the Senate GOP-aligned super PAC into a major force over the past decade that has flipped the chamber twice and brought in gobsmacking amounts of megadonor money. As McConnell steps down as Senate majority leader, Law is clearing the way for a JOHN THUNE ally to take over.
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Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) is one of the key insurgents driving this generation change among congressional Democrats. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: JARED HUFFMAN — The need for generational change was already a hot topic for Democrats when JOE BIDEN announced he’d run for a second term. To some of his fellow travellers, he stayed on for too long, refusing to pass the torch; the result was an abbreviated campaign by VP KAMALA HARRIS, who became the first Democratic presidential candidate in two decades to lose the popular vote. The topic is no longer simply hot — it is magmatic. Its urgency is undeniable, even on Capitol Hill, where seniority is historically the coin of the realm. “It doesn't mean that experience ceases to be relevant or that seniority ceases to be a consideration,” says Rep. JARED HUFFMAN (D-Calif.), who is 60. “But, you know, there are moments where the torch should be passed. And I think we're seeing that happen in some places where it should.” This week, Huffman’s quest to become the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee led 76-year-old top dog RAÚL GRIJALVA (D-Ariz.) to step aside. Rep. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.), who turns 62 next week, prevailed in getting JERRY NADLER (D-N.Y.), who is 77, to give away his perch as ranking member on Judiciary. And last night, Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.) started telling colleagues that she wants to be the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, NBC’s Scott Wong reports. The 35-year-old New Yorker will face 74-year-old Rep. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-Va.). Huffman is one of the key insurgents driving this generation change among congressional Democrats. For this week’s episode of “Playbook Deep Dive,” Eugene interviewed him about the shift underway on Capitol Hill, the post-election finger-pointing throughout the party and more. What follows are a few key excerpts … One thing that he wishes he could’ve changed about 2024: “Joe Biden should not have run for reelection. And I think we should be able to just say that. It's not unkind or uncharitable to acknowledge that he just shouldn't have done it. And even by starting down that path, he set us back tremendously.” On whether he blames Biden for the party’s loss: “I think there was a lack of self-awareness, and I'm sure there were good intentions bound up in that as well, because he's a good and decent man, and he's done a lot of good things. But I will also say that many of us were frustrated. I was frustrated that for the first year of our inflation problem, the Biden administration's answer was to call it ‘transitory’ and be dismissive about it. … That was a huge mistake; deeply tone deaf. And it took us a while to correct. And by the time we did, I think we'd lost a lot of credibility on what might have been the No. 1 issue in this election cycle: costs and inflation.” One thing that annoys him about post-election analyses: “There's a lot of really interesting analysis. … There's also a lot of really bad, you know, kind of hot takes from pundits and know-it-alls who think that their one thing explains it all.” Naming names: “BERNIE SANDERS, you know, saying that the problem is that Democrats abandoned the working class? What a crock. What an absolute crock. Joe Biden and Democrats did more for the working class in the last four years than we've seen in a long, long time. And Bernie Sanders — Mr. Working Class — underperformed Kamala Harris in his own state. … I just see that as a classic example of someone saying ‘the answer to this problem is the stuff that I was saying all along before and I've been saying for years.’ … And I don't think that's particularly useful in a moment like this.” On the risk of over-correcting: “I don't think you throw out your values. I don't think you fundamentally do away with everything you care about and fight for. I think you've got to be careful about overreaction in a moment like this, too, because politics swing back and forth and, you know, had we won a few more seats, we'd be in the majority in Congress — just, like, literally two more seats.” On how to handle the party’s generational transition: “You don't throw out everybody over a certain age because we all know that age treats people differently. I serve with people in this Congress who are older than Joe Biden and I can't keep up with them. … I love the fact that NANCY PELOSI is hanging around and STENY HOYER is hanging around, and that they had the grace and the consideration for the good of the order to hang around but also pass the mantle of leadership. … So that's a good example of how it can work and how it should work.” One perk of being in Congress: “That's the great thing about being in Congress: At 60, I get to be ‘young.’” Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. So how exactly are the Detroit Lions going to break Zack Stanton’s heart this season? Drop us a line: Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels.
| | | | A message from Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund: E-cigarettes have gone from bad to worse. They are hooking kids with fun flavors, more nicotine than ever and even built-in video games. Some vapes have as much nicotine as 20 packs of cigarettes. Almost all are illegal. To protect kids, the FDA and other federal agencies must act now to remove illegal products from the market and stop them from being imported into the U.S. Learn more. | | | COMING TODAY — Economists on average expect today’s jobs report to show that the U.S. bounced back with 220,000 new hires in November, Bloomberg’s Augusta Saraiva reports. YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN, KID — It’s not that PETE HEGSETH doesn’t have allies in his bid to get Senate confirmation as Defense secretary; it’s that the one ally who could make all the difference sure sounds like he’s on the verge of cutting bait. Five paragraphs in to WaPo’s report on Hegseth last night came this nugget: “Hegseth has been told not to expect Trump to apply pressure to Republican senators to get him over the finish line, according to two people familiar with the discussions.” Depending how his nomination ends up, you can look back on Trump’s decision as either the kiss of death for Hegseth’s nomination, or the thing that gets him over the finish line with Republican senators by forcing him to earn it on his own. Could Hegseth actually earn it without Trump? We’re reminded of a scene from a movie you can’t escape this time of year (“Home Alone”) when UNCLE FRANK responds after being told to “think positive”: “You be positive; I’ll be realistic.” Here’s the positive view for Hegseth’s chances:
- Yesterday, he shored up support from Republican senators, notably winning the public backing of Sen. KATIE BRITT (R-Ala.), who said that she asked him “direct questions about allegations that have been reported by the media, which Pete answered with candor and transparency.” That’s welcome news for Hegseth, of course, and might help stanch the bleeding (there’s a reason, after all, that VP-elect JD VANCE so publicly praised Britt for her statement).
- The Heritage Foundation is going to spend $1 million on a campaign to pressure Republican senators into backing Hegseth, honcho KEVIN ROBERTS tells the AP.
- Hegseth said he’d submit to an FBI background check, which could allay concerns.
- The pressure from the MAGA right is already being felt. Sen. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa), perhaps the most public member of the Hegseth-hesitant right, came under fire yesterday from DONALD TRUMP JR., who subtweeted her, and CHARLIE KIRK, who accused her of “leading the charge against Hegseth,” as RCP’s Philip Wegmann notes. Ernst denied that suggestion, and “insisted that ‘there is absolutely no campaign against Pete.’”
And then there’s the realistic view:
- Hegseth didn’t flip any new supporters yesterday. Notes the Post: “Several key GOP senators said they have not been lobbied to support Hegseth, and Trump has not publicly pushed them to back the pick in recent days.” He still seems short of 50 votes.
- There are already alternatives whose names have been floated and are, frankly, more appealing to a whole lot of Senate Republicans — names including Ernst (“I am not seeking to be secretary of defense,” she told RCP) and Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS.
- The MAGA right’s pushback on Ernst may well backfire. It’s not just Don Jr. and Kirk; Rep. CHIP ROY (R-Texas) took aim at Ernst on the House floor. “With all due respect to the senator from Iowa, you're not where the American people are,” he said. Here, we have the spectacle of a group of MAGA men trying to pressure Ernst — a Republican, a veteran, wholehearted Trump supporter and a sexual assault survivor — into confirming Hegseth despite credible sexual assault allegations against him, which he denies. It is not a strategy likely to land well with other senators.
- Hegseth’s attorney is practically daring his accuser to go public. In a tense exchange last night with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, TIM PARLATORE said that there is no NDA with the woman who accused his client of rape in 2017, and that she is no longer bound by a confidentiality agreement. “That agreement has since been breached by her,” Parlatore alleged. “[I]f she wants to go and talk about it, she can do it. … [But] if she repeats these false statements, then she will be subject to a defamation lawsuit.”
| | | | A message from Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund:   Parents are pleading: FDA must protect kids. Over 1.6 million kids use e-cigarettes. Nearly 90% use flavored products. Clear the market of illegal vapes now. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The House will meet at 9 a.m., with last votes by 3 p.m. Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES will hold his weekly press conference at 10 a.m. The Senate is out. 3 things to watch …
- We’re down to T-minus two weeks on the government shutdown clock, but the endgame is coming into sight: There will be a continuing resolution of still-indeterminate length, and attached to it will be any number of mystery items — likely including disaster aid funding and who knows what else. But you can count on this: It will pass the House only with the help of Democratic votes after multiple House Freedom Caucus members made clear yesterday that they are against any CR, no matter what it looks like.
- If the House Ethics report into MATT GAETZ is ever going to see the light of day, it increasingly seems as though some House member or staffer is going to have to take matters into their own hands. The Ethics Committee met yesterday, taking no further action on the report, and Democratic efforts to force the report out on the floor failed after Republicans mostly stuck together and shunted the effort to committee. That leaves Plan C — a leak — though the likelihood of that has decreased since Gaetz dropped his bid to become AG.
- The timeline for House Democrats’ battle for future potential gavels is set: Their Steering and Policy Committee, which makes recommendations on committee lineups, will meet Dec. 10 and 16, with the three potentially competitive ranker races coming on the latter date. Besides the brewing Connolly-vs.-AOC fight for the top Oversight slot, Agriculture is a three-way battle between Reps. JIM COSTA (Calif.), ANGIE CRAIG (Minn.) and DAVID SCOTT (Ga.), the incumbent, while a potential Natural Resources race would match Huffman against Rep. MELANIE STANSBURY (N.M.), who touted an endorsement yesterday from outgoing ranker Raúl Grijalva but hasn’t actually declared she’s in the race.
At the White House Biden will attend and speak at a performance of “The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day” at 6 p.m. in the East Room. VP KAMALA HARRIS will have internal meetings and briefings. The transition Vance will travel to Fairview, North Carolina, to meet with first responders and tour the Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, NBC’s Henry Gomez and Alec Hernández report.
| | | | 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 | | TRANSITION LENSES
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Former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) is Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to China. | Brynn Anderson, Pool, File/AP Photo | WELCOME ABOARD — Trump announced several new picks to join his administration last night, led by former Sen. DAVID PERDUE (R-Ga.) as the nominee for U.S. ambassador to China, per Megan Messerly. He has longtime business ties to the country, though sometimes they were at odds with Trump’s China stance, and served on relevant committees in the Senate. Several homeland security selections will help Trump get tough on immigration, per Myah Ward. RODNEY SCOTT, former Border Patrol chief, will be nominated as commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, and CALEB VITELLO was picked for acting ICE director. TONY SALISBURY will be deputy homeland security adviser. And prominent Border Patrol union leader BRANDON JUDD is Trump’s choice for ambassador to Chile. And Trump tapped venture capitalist DAVID SACKS to serve as AI and crypto czar at the White House and head the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology, per Irie Sentner. Sacks, a close ally of ELON MUSK, boosted the pro-Trump movement in Silicon Valley and has strongly criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine. He’s expected to help lead crypto deregulation. More top reads:
- Labor pains: Business groups are not happy about Trump choosing Rep. LORI CHAVEZ DeREMER (R-Ore.) for Labor secretary, and they want allies to be chosen for other top spots like deputy secretary and OSHA head, Nick Niedzwiadek reports.
- Inauguration planning: KELLY LOEFFLER and STEVE WITKOFF are leading the Trump inaugural committee, with MIRIAM ADELSON, DIANE HENDRICKS, JEFF MILLER and REINCE PRIEBUS as finance chairs.
CONGRESS
|  Elon Muks was met with a warm reception from congressional Republicans yesterday. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | IN THE DOGE HOUSE — Musk and VIVEK RAMASWAMY worked a charm offensive on the Hill yesterday, getting a warm reception from congressional Republicans to their “Department of Government Efficiency” advisory panel. From Speaker MIKE JOHNSON to Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine), Republicans said they liked the plans to streamline government and pare back spending/regulations, though the meetings were light on details. (Just don’t ask them what the name means.) It’d be up to Congress, of course, to actually pass any plans, and finding $2 trillion in spending cuts will be a very tall order. The specifics so far:
- When our colleague Andres Picon asked Musk if he wanted the Inflation Reduction Act’s electric vehicle tax credits to be undone, he responded, “I think we should get rid of all credits.”
- And Sen. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-Tenn.) is working on a DOGE Act to move federal agencies out of D.C. and freeze hiring, per Kevin Bogardus.
Musk and Ramaswamy could get drafted into the GOP’s internecine fights over spending, Jennifer Scholtes and Katherine Tully-McManus report. Freedom Caucus types hope to get the pair on their side in calling for major defense and other discretionary spending cuts, while senior appropriators hope DOGE will come down in favor of reforming mandatory spending on social safety net programs. More top reads:
- Heads up: “Schumer and Johnson in standoff over antisemitism bill,” by Axios’ Stephen Neukam, Hans Nichols and Juliegrace Brufke: Senate Majority Leader CHUCK “SCHUMER wants the Antisemitism Awareness Act — aimed at college campuses — attached to one of the year-end packages that must pass Congress, like the National Defense Authorization Act. But Johnson wants Schumer to put the bill on the Senate floor by itself.”
- Who watches the watchmen: Rep. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) emphasized in a letter that he’ll work to protect the independence of inspectors general from any Trump administration interference, per Josh Gerstein.
| | | | A message from Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund:   Almost all flavored e-cigarettes are illegal. The FDA must act. Learn more. | | | ALL POLITICS
|  The pro-Harris super PAC Future Forward pulled in $164 million in less than three weeks at the campaign’s end. | Angelina Katsanis/POLITICO | CASH DASH — The latest slew of FEC campaign finance reports shed light on how the money race played out in the final weeks of the election — and answer some mysteries about secret backers. The pro-Harris super PAC Future Forward pulled in $164 million in less than three weeks at the campaign’s end, but the vast majority came from its “own dark-money group,” per NYT’s Teddy Schleifer. It still ended up with $47 million in debt, but an aide tells Schleifer that’s just an accounting issue. Musk splashed an incredible amount of money into the race, adding $79 million more to his America super PAC, along with $40.5 million on checks to voters. His total spending topped $260 million, making him probably the No. 1 donor of the cycle, Jessica Piper reports. And he turns out to have secretly put up all the money for RBG PAC, which aired ads likening Trump’s abortion stance to RUTH BADER GINSBURG’s. Meanwhile, Senate Majority PAC quietly backed DAN OSBORN at the end of the Nebraska Senate race, per Madison Fernandez. More top reads:
- 2026 watch: Rep. NANCY MACE (R-S.C.) is thinking about making a 2026 bid for Senate or especially governor, NOTUS’ Reese Gorman reports.
- The postmortems: Outgoing DNC Chair JAIME HARRISON refuted calls for his party to tone down identity politics, saying they need to fight for people of color, AP’s Jonathan Cooper reports. But new Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair GREG CASAR (D-Texas) tells NBC’s Sahil Kapur that Democrats have to refocus on the working class without abandoning vulnerable groups. In his first post-election public comments, BARACK OBAMA didn’t address the election directly, but he decried polarization and threats to democracy, Shia Kapos reports from Chicago.
- How to beat $1 billion: “How Trump Targeted Undecided Voters Without Breaking the Bank,” by NYT’s Shane Goldmacher: “The Harris side, awash in cash, mostly ran streaming television ads the old-fashioned way — targeting by geography. … [T]he Trump side layered its advertising strategy to serve fewer streaming ads to those it believed were seeing ads on other channels, and more to those who were not.”
TRUMP CARDS ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT LATEST — “Trump’s would-be assassin’s father called 911 looking for son hours after shooting: ‘We’re kind of worried,’” by ABC’s Sasha Pezenik, Josh Margolin and Riley Hoffman BEYOND THE BELTWAY THE LIMITS OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY — “Missouri Voters Enshrined Abortion Rights. GOP Lawmakers Are Already Working to Roll Them Back,” by ProPublica’s Jeremy Kohler TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week”: McKay Coppins, Jane Mayer and Tarini Parti. SUNDAY SO FAR … NBC “Meet the Press”: President-elect Donald Trump. Panel: Eugene Daniels, Carol Lee, Jen Psaki and Marc Short. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Peter Navarro. Panel: Noah Rothman, Tamara Keith, Tia Mitchell and David Drucker. MSNBC “The Sunday Show”: Sen.-elect Andy Kim (D-N.J.) … DNC Chair Jaime Harrison. CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.). Panel: Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Scott Jennings, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Jamal Simmons. CBS “Face the Nation”: Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) … Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) … Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.). FOX “Fox News Sunday”: retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster. Veterans panel: Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.). National security panel: Jennifer Griffin, Karl Rove and Roger Zakheim. Panel: Michael Allen, Susan Page, Kevin Roberts and Juan Williams. Sunday special: David Trulio. ABC “This Week”: Panel: Donna Brazile, Reince Priebus, Rachael Bade and Susan Glasser.
| | | | 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 | | Pat Fallon and Ronald Rowe Jr. got very heated at a hearing. Tim Walz’s selection as running mate should have been a Woj Bomb. Donald Trump is going to the Army-Navy game. Kylie Atwood and Steve Harrington welcomed a baby girl. Tim Burchett’s 15-minute holiday party featured a George Santos Claus. Joe Biden had his final Christmas tree lighting in office. PLAYBOOK REAL ESTATE SECTION — “Trump’s Treasury Pick Has Bought and Sold at Least 20 Homes. On Some, He Lost Millions,” by WSJ’s E.B. Solomont: “Hedge-fund manager Scott Bessent has bought and sold more than $127 million worth of real estate since the 1990s.” OUT AND ABOUT — The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA honored the winners of its 2024 awards at the National Press Club on Wednesday night. Foreign Press Awards went to Jodie Ginsberg and Emily Wilkins. Professional Excellence Prizes went to Somini Sengupta, Jennifer Griffin, David Cho, Stephanie Ochoa, Andrew Freedman, Diyar Kurda and Benjamin Daniel. Scholarship Awards went to Ivan Laszlo Nagy, Nneka Chile, Chris Caurla and Zhen Liang. Also SPOTTED: Jay Wallace, Bryan Boughton, Lucas Tomlinson, NuNu Japaridze, Krista Garvin, Liz Friden and Greg Myre. — SPOTTED at Meta’s media holiday party at Silver Lyan at the Riggs hotel: Mike Allen, Fin Gómez, Phil Rucker, Sumi Somaskanda, Emily Wilkins, Naomi Nix, Richard Fowler, MC Wellons, Steven Portnoy, Meridith McGraw, Nick Schmit, Dalvin Brown, David Ginsberg, Tucker Bounds, Andrea Saul, Andy Stone and Nkechi Nneji. MEDIA MOVE — Harry Litman resigned as an L.A. Times columnist over Patrick Soon-Shiong’s decision-making. TRANSITIONS — Jennifer Hemingway will be Senate sergeant at arms and Jackie Barber will be secretary of the Senate in the next term, Senate Majority Leader-elect John Thune announced. … Ryan Fedasiuk is now director of U.S. AI governance at The Future Society. He previously was an adviser for U.S.-China bilateral affairs at the State Department. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Dan Merica, investigative reporter for the AP, and Monica Alba, White House correspondent for NBC News, welcomed Arlo George Merica on Saturday evening. He came in at 9 lbs, 2 oz and 22.4 inches. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) and Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.) … former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo … former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood … Washington Examiner’s Hugo Gurdon … Julian Zelizer (55) … Dave Lugar … Brian Mosteller … Glenn Rushing … Maria Stainer … Nickie Titus … Rachel Skaar of Senate Environment and Public Works … Justin Melvin of the American Bankers Association … Evelyn Farkas … Thomas Culver … Robert Rivkin … former Sen. Don Nickles (R-Okla.) … Francis Brennan … former Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) … Robert Cresanti … USTR’s Angelica Annino … Bill Greene … Kimberlin Love … Nancy Brinker … Jerad Reimers … Sharon Eliza Nichols of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s (D-D.C.) office (4-0) … Joe Florio … Amy Call Well … Jeff Parcher … Ali Schmidt-Fellner … Michael Beresik … Matt Chilliak … Trav Robertson … POLITICO’s Maggie Gall, Kaitlyn Ricci and Jamie Dettmer 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. Corrections: Yesterday’s Playbook misspelled Brooke Singman’s name. Wednesday’s Playbook referred incorrectly to a Fox News appearance involving Pete Hegseth. His mom appeared on his behalf, not Hegseth himself.
| | | | A message from Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund: E-cigarettes are more addictive and kid-friendly than ever.
E-cigarette makers are hooking kids with illegal vapes featuring fun flavors and built-in video games. These products contain more nicotine than ever — some have as much nicotine as 20 packs of cigarettes.
Over 1.6 million kids use e-cigarettes, and nearly 90% use flavored products — almost all of which are illegal. That’s why we are calling on the FDA and other agencies to take action. It's time to protect kids by removing illegal products from store shelves and stopping them from pouring into our country. Learn more. | | | | | | | 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 political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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