| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah from Playbook’s resident Jew, filling in today while the usual authors take a well-deserved respite under the tree. We know many of you have presents to get to, so we’ll keep it short with a look at a flurry of interesting new articles on the world’s wealthiest person.
|  Elon Musk wants to change how Washington works. | Angelina Katsanis/POLITICO | ELON MUSK’s transformation into one of the most prominent members of President-elect DONALD TRUMP’s GOP has thrilled many Republicans, who see him as a successful magnate who can shake up Washington, and increasingly some Democrats, who see him as a valuable political foil for a populist message. (Recent polling has found him with a favorability rating equivalent to Trump’s.) Last week made clear that he has the power to alter congressional plans at the drop of an X post. But can the qualities that made Musk a tech superstar and the first person to hit a $400 billion net worth translate as readily to politics and policymaking? The “Department of Government Efficiency” panel offers Musk and VIVEK RAMASWAMY a chance to apply an assertive, risk-taking Silicon Valley mindset to slashing government spending. But Musk’s leading role in derailing Speaker MIKE JOHNSON’s government funding plan shows that it could be an awkward fit for “a Washington culture that operates very differently,” POLITICO Magazine’s Calder McHugh writes. Musk’s freewheeling approach and willingness to fail sometimes have helped propel Tesla and SpaceX, but they’re not how D.C. dealmaking usually works. To Musk’s allies, that’s exactly the change government needs. He has a huge megaphone on X to yank narratives on the right in his direction (and to spread misinformation, as he sometimes did last week). But for DOGE to deliver, “he’ll need to better understand the administrative state that he’s antagonized and played fast and loose with for years,” Calder writes. Viewed through another lens, last week’s outcome shows just how hard it’ll be for Musk to cut spending, NYT’s Alan Rappeport writes: In the end, the continuing resolution’s page count shrunk by a factor of 13, but serious fiscal restraint it ain’t. Ending the debt limit, as Trump called for, didn’t happen either. Without any literal formal power beyond recommendations and working with Congress, DOGE will have limited abilities to implement its goal of $2 trillion in spending cuts. Debt experts are skeptical the panel will yield a meaningful course correction, especially with many Republicans opposed to major entitlement reforms and defense spending cuts. It’s hard “to impose significant change on the sprawling federal government,” as history has demonstrated time and again, NYT’s Carl Hulse writes. “This is hardly the first time new leadership has swept into power with such zeal. It is not even the first time a prominent businessman has been put in charge of rooting out waste.” “The bureaucracy always wins,” former Transportation Secretary RAY LaHOOD tells the Times.
| | | | A message from Instagram: Congress can help keep teens safe online today.
By passing federal legislation requiring app store parental consent and age verification, Congress would put parents in charge of teen app downloads. This helps parents ensure teens download apps that are safe.
That's why 3 of 4 parents agree: teens under 16 shouldn't be able to download apps without parental consent.
Tell lawmakers: support a national standard requiring app store parental consent and age verification for teens. | | | Will Musk defy gravity? He has the money, the platform, a Republican trifecta in Washington and a radically altered information ecosystem compared to would-be government shrinkers in generations past. Trump and his allies are serious about targeting the federal government, which many MAGA figures see as full of disloyalty, for radical changes. But inertia is powerful. Margins are narrow. And even in the minority, Democrats won’t make it easy for Republicans to enact cuts to the social safety net. “Ultimately, it takes Congress. Congress has to get rid of the spending,” Sen. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.), a Musk ally, said on Fox News yesterday. “DOGE can point out the spending problems and the waste the same way I’ve been pointing it out. But the reason it’s not eliminated is they don’t have the votes to get rid of the spending. So I am very hopeful that DOGE will draw attention to this. … Why is there more waste? Because the idiots in Congress keep giving them more money.” Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com. FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK — President JOE BIDEN made it a merry Christmas indeed for PARIS HILTON and bald eagles. Among 50 bills he signed into law yesterday, notable ones will create protections for kids in residential treatment, a college hazing crackdown, a new national bird and an end to pensions for some members of Congress with criminal convictions. More from CBS’ Kathryn Watson CHANGING THEIR TUNE — “The Big Companies Funding Trump’s Inauguration Despite Denouncing Jan. 6,” by WSJ’s Rebecca Ballhaus, Dana Mattioli, Shalini Ramachandran and Maggie Severns: “Ford, Intuit, Toyota and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America are each giving $1 million. Other major donors that made Jan. 6-related pledges include Goldman Sachs, General Motors, Bank of America, AT&T and Stanley Black & Decker. For Goldman, Intuit, Toyota and PhRMA, this marks the first time in at least a decade that they are supporting an inauguration fund. … “Inauguration officials have told fundraisers that they are on track to raise more than the $107 million they brought in for Trump’s first inauguration.” ANNALS OF DIPLOMACY — Trump announced two new ambassador picks yesterday: He’ll nominate JOHN ARRIGO for Portugal and SOMERS FARKAS for Malta. Arrigo, an automotive VP, and his family are longtime Trump associates from Mar-a-Lago. Farkas is a former member of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, model and philanthropist.
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief in the morning. VP KAMALA HARRIS and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will make thank-you/holiday calls to military service members in the afternoon.
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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser scored a major congressional win for the old RFK stadium site. | Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION: WaPo’s Meagan Flynn, Erin Cox and Sam Fortier have the back story on how D.C. leaders scored the surprise win to get congressional approval for redeveloping the RFK stadium land, despite being left out of the continuing resolution. Mayor MURIEL BOWSER, Washington Commanders leaders and others worked furiously last week to assuage opponents’ concerns with a barrage of phone calls. They told Maryland’s senators the state could get National Guard fighter jets. They reassured Sen. MIKE LEE (R-Utah), who opposes D.C.’s self-government, that the city would pay “to spruce up National Park Service land.” They won over Sen. STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.) at the last minute. And the efforts built on earlier groundwork by D.C. leaders to grow relationships with Rep. JAMES COMER (R-Ky.) and Sen. BEN CARDIN (D-Md.). “I’ve been in D.C. for over 20 years. I’ve never seen anything like this before,” one top Hill aide says of the last-minute push. 2. BANK SHOT: The Bank Policy Institute, the American Bankers Association and others sued yesterday over the Fed’s stress tests for the country’s banks, per Bloomberg’s Bob Van Voris and Hannah Levitt. The industry argues that the latest versions of the central bank’s capital requirements, imposed after the 2007-2009 financial crisis, are insufficiently transparent and impinge on banks’ ability to operate smoothly, even though the Fed announced earlier this week that it’s making those stress tests less volatile. 3. MINDING THE GAP: “Inside the Plan to Halt U.S.-Bound Migrants at the Treacherous Darién Gap,” by WSJ’s Santiago Pérez in Cañas Blancas, Panama: “In a small tropical forest valley with crystal-clear streams close to the Colombian border, the soldiers of Panama’s militarized border patrol are busy building fences. Their mission: close off jungle trails that human smugglers used … The initiative is part of a broad push by Panama’s pro-American president, JOSÉ RAÚL MULINO, to tackle border security and mass migration since he was elected last summer. … Jungle crossings have dropped 40% this year.” 4. WHAT ABOUT BOB: Could former Sen. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.) beat the odds on corruption charges for the second time? He was convicted this summer, but recent admissions of prosecutorial mistakes “have handed Menendez’s attorneys just the kind of opening they’d been looking for, and they have already requested a new trial,” Ry Rivard reports. The prosecution revealed they accidentally provided unredacted text messages that the judge had ruled would be a violation of the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause for jurors to see. That could lead to a mistrial or problems on appeal.
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | 5. THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT: “How a Consulting Firm and Trump’s I.R.S. Pick Pushed a Problematic Tax Credit,” by NYT’s Andrew Duehren: “The Times did not find evidence that [BILLY] LONG or the companies he worked with defrauded their customers. Instead, Lifetime [Advisors] took an expansive view of eligibility for the [employee retention tax] credit despite I.R.S. efforts to limit its scope, sometimes challenging accountants who disagreed with its assessment.” 6. CLOCK IS TICKING: “Will Troubled Police Departments Escape Federal Accountability?” by NYT’s Shaila Dewan: “So far, those investigations have produced 551 pages of findings full of shocking examples of brutality, racial profiling, illegal arrests and impunity for officers who had committed misconduct [in Memphis, Trenton and elsewhere]. But the Justice Department is running out of time to convert those reports into binding plans of action. … The lack of progress under President Biden has frustrated residents of places like Minneapolis.” 7. INDIGNATION IN ISLAMABAD: “Pakistan’s Nuclear Strategy Shifts as U.S. Realigns Ties in Asia,” by WSJ’s Tripti Lahiri: “Pakistan on Tuesday rejected Biden administration officials’ assertions that it is developing ballistic-missile technology that could eventually give it the capability to strike the U.S., but geopolitical experts say long-range weapons would be in step with Islamabad’s shifting national security concerns as India and the U.S. draw closer. … Pakistani Prime Minister SHEHBAZ SHARIF on Tuesday said that there was no justification for the sanctions and that the country’s nuclear program is only for defense.” 8. KNOWING JOHN PHELAN: Trump’s pick for Navy secretary is a rich businessman, fundraiser and philanthropist whose charitable work has helped CIA and military members/families. But at Navy holiday parties this month, there’s been lots of chatter about Phelan’s low profile and relative lack of experience with national security, which has concerned some officials and even “perplexed” some friends, WSJ’s Brian Schwartz and Nancy Youssef report. Nonetheless, the Trump team says Phelan’s outside perspective can help shake up the department. And his friends cite his detail-oriented business approach as valuable. 9. DEPT. OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: “How Trump’s AI, Crypto Push Would Spur Clean Energy,” by WSJ’s Scott Patterson and Amrith Ramkumar: “The giant data centers behind AI models and crypto farms consume so much power that they will require every possible source of electricity generation, including renewables such as solar and wind, industry executives say. … Tech and energy executives say they need [wind, solar and nuclear energy] projects to meet U.S. electricity demand that is forecast to increase nearly 16% by 2029, according to consulting firm Grid Strategies.”
| | | | POLITICO Pro's unique analysis combines exclusive transition intelligence and data visualization to help you understand not just what's changing, but why it matters for your organization. Explore how POLITICO Pro will make a difference for you. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Jared Golden says going on local conservative radio is a key to his success. Donald Trump is selling candy cane socks, Santa aprons and more. Donald Trump Jr. enjoyed bear meat as the Yukon government wooed him. John Cornyn is ready for a brisket fight. TRANSITION — Caren Auchman has joined Palo Alto Networks to lead PR for Unit 42, the company’s threat intelligence and incident response team. She most recently led comms for Securonix, and is a Lewis PR and FleishmanHillard alum. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Savannah (Jolly) Duran, an associate manager with Accenture Federal Services and chief of reserve affairs at Africa Command for the Air Force, and Kevin Duran, VP of operations at Casaplex, recently welcomed Adelina Rose Duran. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Mike Donilon … Karl Rove … OMB’s Wintta Woldemariam … Tim Miller … Jones Day’s Brian Rabbitt … Bill Bailey of the Walt Disney Co. … Stephanie O’Keefe … USAID’s Sophia Lalani … CNN’s Hilary Krieger … Scott Paul of the Alliance for American Manufacturing … Michael Blake … Rachael Slobodien of Eberle Strategies … CBS’ Natalie Pahz … Daniel Fisher of the Associated Equipment Distributors … Amanda Munger … Miranda Margowsky of the Financial Technology Association … Anne Wall … Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza … Kristen Shatynski … James Fitzella … former CEA Chair Christina Romer … Sarah Levin … CTA’s Tiffany Moore … DDC Public Affairs’ Benjamin Khoshbin … Zachary Hooper … Jason Pye 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.
| | | | A message from Instagram: Instagram Teen Accounts: automatic protections for teens.
Parents want safer online experiences for their teens. That's why Instagram is introducing Teen Accounts, with automatic protections for who can contact teens and the content they can see.
A key factor: Only parents can approve safety setting changes for teens under 16.
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