| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | TOP-ED — “The Price of American Retreat,” by Mitch McConnell for Foreign Affairs: “To pretend that the United States can focus on just one threat at a time, that its credibility is divisible, or that it can afford to shrug off faraway chaos as irrelevant is to ignore its global interests and its adversaries’ global designs. America will not be made great again by those who simply want to manage its decline.”
|  The biggest conversation in town right now centers on the Republican strategy for passing Donald Trump's agenda next year. | Evan Vucci/AP | TRUMP’S AGENDA DILEMMA — Welcome to (what should be) the final week of the 118th Congress. First things first: Nope, there’s no spending deal yet. We’re less than five days from the government shutdown deadline — and a scheduled two-week holiday break — and negotiators have yet to finalize and circulate text of a continuing resolution and all the potential add-ons. (More on that below.) But the biggest conversation in town right now centers on the Republican strategy for passing DONALD TRUMP’s agenda next year, and we’re told discussions about that strategy percolated in Trump’s suite at the Army-Navy football game on Saturday. Both Speaker MIKE JOHNSON and incoming Senate majority leader JOHN THUNE were on hand for the game. Both men are anxious to get the internal debate over next steps settled, and both know only Trump can do the settling. Thune has been a firm proponent of a two-track approach: Use the Senate’s reconciliation process to fast-track a border-and-energy bill first, then use reconciliation again later in the year to tackle taxes. Johnson, meanwhile, showed up to the game armed with a slew of other ideas. Johnson wasn’t trying to talk Trump out of the two-track strategy — which many of Trump’s closest aides favor — and he has made clear that he’ll execute whatever strategy Trump ultimately endorses. But the speaker is dealing with significant angst in the House over the idea of decoupling the bills, most prominently from Ways and Means Chair JASON SMITH (R-Mo.) — and he made sure Trump was fully briefed on the risks and benefits of the various approaches, we’re told. — The case for one bill: In short, the fear is that the politics within the razor-thin GOP House majority are too fragile to risk anything but a single-bill approach. What if conservatives, for instance, threaten to oppose any tax bill that raises SALT, the state and local tax deduction fix that blue-state Republicans are demanding? If border provisions aren’t in the bill, how can they be enticed to vote yes? Another worry: Passing a “skinny” first reconciliation bill in the early weeks of Trump’s second term could be harder than it looks given that their majority could shrink to a single vote at the beginning of the year due to Trump tapping several House members for his administration. — The case for two bills: On the other side of the Rotunda — and among some senior Trump advisers — annoyance is growing that this conversation is even still happening. The tax bill, they argue, is going to take months to write, and Trump wants a quick win on his signature campaign issue, pronto. The incoming administration also wants to put its stamp on the tax bill, they argue, it will take time to not only get a Treasury secretary confirmed but also stand up the administration’s tax policy staff. Some Trump advisers also doubt that passing a second reconciliation bill later in the year will be as difficult as some in the House are predicting. Riding high after browbeating senators into giving PETE HEGSETH’s Defense nomination a second life, Trump’s team is feeling skeptical that any Republican would dare tank Trump’s tax priorities. — The next steps: Trump advisers feel they’ve been pretty clear about what the incoming president wants — both privately and publicly (see incoming deputy chief of staff STEPHEN MILLER endorsing the Thune plan on Fox News). Another big signal came Friday, when the House Freedom Caucus sent a letter endorsing a two-bill approach. We’re told some Trump advisers were in touch with the hard-liners to get the message out ahead of the crucial game-day conversation. But in the House, there is a desire to hear it straight from Trump himself. That’s why Johnson’s meeting with Trump at the game was so critical, we’re told, giving the speaker a chance to have a meeting of the minds with the ultimate decision-maker. “We need to get going here,” one Republican lawmaker told us last night. “We gotta get the play call so that we can all get behind that. It has to get done this week so we know what we’re doing when we come back.” (As a reminder: Before they pass a reconciliation bill, the House and Senate will need to agree on a budget resolution — no small feat.) A sign should be coming soon. Trump, we hear, is expected to weigh in and endorse the two-bill approach as soon as this week. In fact, he has an opportunity to do it today if he wants to end this once and for all: We hear he's expected to deliver remarks later this morning announcing a new economic development deal. The messaging is already coming together: Republicans are privately arguing that you can’t have economic security until you have national security, and you can’t have national security until you have a secure border and a strong military. Should the two-bill plan get the ultimate nod, as our sources are predicting, expect to hear a lot of talking points along these lines. “Ultimately the president is the quarterback, and he will call the play,” the lawmaker said. “When he calls that play, we’re gonna run that play and try to score — twice hopefully.” Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels.
| | | | 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. | | | ABOUT THAT CR — Despite hopes of releasing a bill yesterday, congressional negotiators are still grinding away on a year-end funding deal to kick the government shutdown deadline from Friday midnight into mid-March, Jennifer Scholtes reports. Why it matters: “Since the funding measure is expected to be the last major bill Congress passes this year, lawmakers have been eyeing it as a path to clearing several other major policy priorities, including a package to authorize expiring health care programs, a long-sought bipartisan deal to overhaul rules for permitting energy projects and a measure to restrict U.S. investments to China.” Why it’s a mess: As Meredith Lee Hill scooped over the weekend, the biggest issue is a breakdown over farm funding. Republicans are pushing for billions of dollars in new economic aid to farmers, and House GOP leaders rejected a funding compromise that would have tapped $14 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funds. “The speaker’s team has been exploring other options to add the farm aid into the stopgap, but Democrats are demanding their own additions in return,” Meredith writes. What’s the timeline: They’ll probably need to notch a deal today if the House is going to adhere to its 72-hour-notice rule and still beat the Friday midnight shutdown deadline. The vote-counting around the deal is especially tricky in the House, given that Johnson will probably need to pass it under suspension of the rules (i.e., with a two-thirds majority). That means he either needs to deliver a lot more Republican votes than he’s used to, or give in to Democratic demands to settle the farm issue.
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate will meet at 3 p.m. to take up the National Defense Authorization Act, with a procedural vote around 5:30 p.m. The House will meet at noon and will take up several bills at 2 p.m. 3 things to watch …
- Amid the final-week rush, the Social Security Fairness Act is headed to the Senate floor after passing the House on a bipartisan vote earlier this year. The bill would give full Social Security benefits to 2.8 million people who have benefited from government pensions; the bill is estimated to cost $195 billion over 10 years and accelerate the depletion of the Social Security trust fund by about a half-year. For that reason, it’s unclear it will vault the 60-vote margin in the Senate, with many GOP lawmakers wary of the fiscal impact. More from the AP
- Appeals Judge JAMES WYNN JR. of the Fourth Circuit is the third Democratic-appointed federal judge to reverse their retirement plans since Trump’s election, and the trend has Senate Republicans hopping mad. Sen. THOM TILLIS (R-N.C.), who publicized Wynn’s plans over the weekend, called it a “brazenly partisan decision” and called for Senate Judiciary Committee hearings. Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL piled on, predicting “significant ethics complaints” and “serial recusal demands” for Wynn. “He’s earned it,” he added.
- It’s ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.’s turn to run the Hill gauntlet this week, with the HHS nominee set to meet with at least 25 Republican senators. His dance card includes the top 3 incoming Senate leaders in Thunes, JOHN BARRASSO (R-Wyo.) and TOM COTTON (R-Ark.). Conspicuously absent from the list: Sen. BILL CASSIDY (R-La.), the incoming HELP Committee chair who will likely preside over one of Kennedy’s confirmation hearings, and McConnell, who criticized Kennedy’s association with a polio vaccine skeptic on Friday. The full list
At the White House President JOE BIDEN will go to a Labor Department event at 12:15 p.m. with acting Secretary JULIE SU to celebrate labor history and highlight the administration’s workforce policies. He and first lady JILL BIDEN will host a Hanukkah reception at 7:45 p.m., with second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF attending. VP KAMALA HARRIS will have internal meetings and briefings.
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|  As Pete Hegseth tries to keep his Defense secretary nomination on steadier footing, Donald Trump’s Pentagon transition is finally ramping up. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | FOR PETE’S SAKE — As Hegseth tries to keep his future nomination on steadier footing, Trump’s Pentagon transition is finally ramping up. MICHAEL DUFFEY is leading the landing team for DOD, which will arrive at the agency today, Jack Detsch, Daniel Lippman and Joe Gould scooped for Pros. Duffey helped hold the pause on Ukraine aid that led to Trump’s first impeachment. ROBERT WILKIE, who was earlier reported to be leading the effort, isn’t on the list of almost a dozen people, though he told our colleagues he’s still in charge of policy implementation work. With big questions still looming for Hegseth, Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) made headlines yesterday when he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Hegseth told Graham he’ll release his sexual assault accuser from her NDA. But lawyer TIM PARLATORE already told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins the agreement was void earlier this month. If he’s confirmed, Hegseth could steer Defense Department schools in a much more conservative direction, prioritizing “patriotic education” and Christian teachings, Juan Perez Jr. reports. That’s certainly the hope of some conservatives, who say Hegseth could establish a template for red states writ large to implement — well beyond the 67,000 military children directly under the Defense secretary’s purview. CNN’s Peter Bergen also has an analysis of the beliefs Hegseth espouses in his most recent book, which blames broad recruitment issues on purported military wokeness. ALL POLITICS REALITY CHECK — As Republicans stoked fears of noncitizens voting before the election, despite a lack of evidence for their narrative, Ohio officials were among those who announced investigations. But AP’s Julie Carr Smyth reports that Secretary of State FRANK LaROSE’s several hundred criminal referrals yielded just eight indictments against living Ohioans across a decade of voting — a minuscule fraction of the state’s voters. Some of the defendants, she finds, were longtime residents who mistakenly thought they vote, including a 78-year-old who came to the U.S. as a kid. ROB FLAHERTY’S POST-MORTEM — “Kamala Harris’ digital chief on Democrats ‘losing hold of culture,’” by Semafor’s Max Tani EXIT INTERVIEW — Outgoing Sen. BOB CASEY (D-Pa.) tells NBC’s Allan Smith that Democrats don’t need to remake themselves completely in the wake of the election, blaming inflation and Trump’s unique political strength for Republican gains. Instead, he says, Dems need to get better at speaking to voters’ concerns about the cost of living and position themselves as the party of the working and middle class — with next year’s big tax bill fight offering an opportunity for Democrats to seize the populist mantle. PRIMARY COLORS — “Hochul May Face a Challenger She Knows Well: Her Lieutenant Governor,” by NYT’s Jeffery Mays THE WHITE HOUSE
|  At the DNC holiday reception yesterday, Biden urged Democrats to take heart in leaving the country better than they found it. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | THE END OF THE TOUR — As Biden winds down his presidency, he’s not quite done delivering messages to the party faithful and trying to enshrine some last-minute policy moves. At the DNC holiday reception yesterday, Biden urged Democrats to take heart in leaving the country better than they found it, ABC’s Michelle Stoddart reports. He emphasized that the transformations from many of Dems’ big investments will take a while to materialize. And despite Democrats’ electoral losses, he said, “That’s the road ahead, to never give up, to keep the faith.” Added VP KAMALA HARRIS, “Our spirit is not defeated. We are not defeated.” Meanwhile, a new memo from White House comms director BEN LaBOLT says the Biden White House still has announcements to come on artificial intelligence and canceling student debt, Bloomberg’s Josh Wingrove and Eric Martin report. You can also expect more distribution of funding from Biden’s major chips and climate laws; more commutations and pardons; and more environmental action. CONGRESS LIFE OF BRIAN — Rep. BRIAN MAST’s surprise selection as the next House Foreign Affairs chair has spooked Democrats on the panel, who see him as likely to tank the committee’s record of maintaining relative bipartisanship, Eric Bazail-Eimil reports. It’s a powerful post, including veto power over some foreign weapons transfers. And replacing current Chair MICHAEL McCAUL (R-Texas) with Mast is very unwelcome for Dems, who point to Mast’s opposition to NATO and Ukraine aid and recent comments like saying it’s “not a far stretch to say there are very few innocent Palestinian civilians.” Republicans say Democrats are overstating the change. ONE TO WATCH — “Over 120 House Democrats call on Biden to have Equal Rights Amendment ratified,” by WaPo’s Mariana Alfaro AMERICA AND THE WORLD MIDDLE EAST LATEST — The U.S. is seeking Israel’s green light to send military aid to the Palestinian Authority as it conducts a major operation against militants in Jenin, Axios’ Barak Ravid reports. THE LINGERIE LOOPHOLE — “China’s ‘erotic clothing’ capital braces for Trump and e-commerce crackdown,” by Reuters’ Casey Hall, Florence Lo and Xihao Jiang
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | THE ECONOMY
|  Republicans like Treasury Secretary-designate Scott Bessent have rosy projections for how the U.S. can tackle record debt by accelerating economic growth. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | GROWTH OPPORTUNITY — Republicans like Treasury Secretary-designate SCOTT BESSENT have rosy projections for how the U.S. can tackle record debt by accelerating economic growth. The likes of JEFF BEZOS and LARRY FINK agree. But Sam Sutton writes this morning that recent political and economic history demonstrates that would be an incredibly difficult feat. In fact, “many economists believe it would take a historic economic boom to meaningfully address the country’s fiscal challenges”: Even BILL CLINTON’s and RONALD REAGAN’s periods of cutting budget deficits were fairly brief and coincided with major growth. And then there are Trump’s actual policy plans. He’s vowed to unleash stronger growth by slashing taxes and regulations, and boosting oil and gas production. Some of those could indeed juice the economy. “But there is skepticism about the effectiveness of those policies in the face of fiscal challenges that can’t be addressed on the margins,” Sam reports. Some economists think his planned tariffs could set off trade wars that would damage growth, while his pledge to keep entitlement programs intact seriously limits opportunity to cut federal spending. MEDIAWATCH FIRST AMENDMENT WATCH — “Trump and His Picks Threaten More Lawsuits Over Critical Coverage,” by NYT’s David Enrich: “The legal threats have arrived in various forms. One aired on CNN. Another came over the phone. More arrived in letters or emails. All of them appeared aimed at intimidating news outlets and others who have criticized or questioned President-elect Donald J. Trump and his nominees to run the Pentagon and F.B.I. The small flurry of threatened defamation lawsuits is the latest sign that the incoming Trump administration appears poised to do what it can to crack down on unfavorable media coverage.” PATRICK SOON-SHIONG SPEAKS — “Patrick Soon-Shiong’s controversial shakeup at the L.A. Times: ‘Bias meter,’ opinion upheaval and a call for growth,” by the L.A. Times’ James Rainey VALLEY TALK MUSK READ — At SpaceX, ELON MUSK hasn’t been cleared to receive the most secret government information shared with some executives, WSJ’s Joe Palazzolo, Emily Glazer and Micah Maidenberg report. That’s because lawyers worried “Musk would have had to answer questions from the government about his contacts with foreign nationals and drug use.” But Trump in the Oval Office could give Musk greater “access to classified information” for his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. BEYOND THE BELTWAY IMMIGRATION FILES — “In Ohio, an immigrant community prepares for Trump’s crackdown,” by WaPo’s Joanna Slater: “The small city of Painesville saw dozens of children separated from their parents during Trump’s first term. Some fear what’s coming will be worse.” HURRICANE FALLOUT — “Some N.C. residents distrust FEMA so much they’re hesitant to apply for hurricane aid,” by WaPo’s Brianna Sacks and Kevin Crowe in Swannanoa
| | | | Write your own chapter in the new Washington. From the Lame Duck Congress Series to New Administration insights, POLITICO Pro delivers intelligence across 22+ policy areas to help you anticipate and navigate change. Discover how a Pro subscription empowers you. Learn more today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Chuck Schumer asked DHS for a drone detection system. Melania and Donald Trump hosted Akie Abe at Mar-a-Lago. Clarissa Ward’s viral interview with a Syrian prisoner has been called into question. IN MEMORIAM — “John Spratt, longtime US Congressman from South Carolina, has died, daughter says,” by The State’s Noah Feit and Andrew Dys: “Spratt was the second-highest ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. He served as chairman of the House budget committee; among his accomplishments was the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.” MEDIA MOVES — Ian Walters launched a new column, “The Booboisie,” at 24sight News this morning. Walters is a former CPAC comms director. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at Solidarity Strategies’ annual holiday party on Saturday at Paraiso: Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), Chuck Rocha, Luis Alcauter, Daysi Gonzalez, Roberto Nava, Vanessa Saenz, Jim Acosta, Fin Gomez, Boris Sanchez, Patricia Campos Medina, Kristian Ramos, Lauren Garrett, Dyjuan Tatro, Ebony Payne, Pili Tobar, Shelli Jackson and Clarissa Martínez De Castro. — SPOTTED at a 30th birthday party for Nat Purser in Stronghold on Saturday: Sam Hammond, Max Bodach, Yonathan Teclu, Ari Schulman, David Jimenez, Lawson Mansell, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Anna Waldman-Brown, Christopher McCaffery, Sam Kimbriel, Zain Rizvi and Osita Nwanevu. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — David Polyansky is launching Just Win Consulting, a political and public affairs firm. He most recently was chief strategy officer at Axiom Strategies/AxAdvocacy, and is a GOP campaign veteran and Ted Cruz alum. TRANSITION — Abbey Overland is joining the Alpine Group as VP. She most recently was an in-house lobbyist at Palantir Technologies and Ursa Major, and is a Joni Ernst and Defense Department alum. ENGAGED — Brendan Kownacki, a video producer and consultant, and Eva Kemp, VP of campaigns at American Bridge, got engaged Dec. 5 on the plaza outside Love, Makoto, prior to a surprise dinner of their favorite meal, dumplings. They first met in December 2023. WEDDING — Christiana Reasor, director of federal government affairs at Genentech, and Scott Nulty, government relations manager at Shield AI, got married Friday at St. Joseph's Cathedral on Capitol Hill, followed by a reception at the Willard. They met while working for Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and started dating after Scott left the office. Pic … Another pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Jenna Talbot, chief comms officer at Whiteboard Advisors, and Davey Talbot, founder/principal of Antelope Advisors, recently welcomed William Rowan Talbot. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep.-elect Mark Messmer (R-Ind.) … CNN’s Phil Mattingly, Liz Turrell and Jason Seher … Joseph Ladapo … Lesley Stahl … Jake Sherman … NewsNation’s Bryn McCarthy … Melissa Kiedrowicz Ellison … former Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) … Adam Bromberg … Peter Orszag … Bloomberg’s Rebecca Rainey … Emilie Simons … Allison Herwitt of Sen. Chris Murphy’s (D-Conn.) office … Jenni LeCompte of FGS Global … DOJ’s Matt Klapper … Jody Murphy of Harmon Murphy Creative … Caroline Champion of FlexPoint Media … Kezia McKeague of McLarty Associates … Carol Browner … Heather King … Sony’s Christina Mulvihill … Chris Frech … WaPo’s Liz Goodwin … Amy Siskind … Susan Estrich … former Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri … Jano Cabrera … former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn … Scotty Greenwood of Manulife … Alexandra Davis of Rep. August Pfluger’s (R-Texas) office … Susan Liss 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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