| | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Hello and welcome to Tuesday. Time — So much for the midterms. Who's ready for 2024? Wish You Were Here — Former President Donald Trump, barring some unforeseen turnaround, will kick off his third presidential campaign this evening at his resort home in Palm Beach. Eclipse — Trump has been telegraphing this moment for months, including on Monday where he suggested on his own social media platform that the announcement could be "one of the most important days in the history of our Country." Speak to Me — There are already signs of widespread anxiety throughout the Republican Party about Trump's pending move, divided between those willing to stick by him and those who want to move on to someone new … like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Us and Them — Trump's decision will undoubtedly create a schism, especially here in his adopted home state. It is likely that longtime allies and supporters will jump to Trump's side and back his decision, including Rep. Matt Gaetz or Republican Party of Florida Chair Joe Gruters. Gruters, who has had a tepid relationship with DeSantis, was at Trump's pre-election rally in Miami urging the crowd to chant "run Trump run." On the Run — Other leading GOP politicians in the state may sit and wait to see what happens and whether DeSantis mounts his own campaign. You can already tell that some top Republicans in the state are going to do their best to avoid talking about it — probably for fear of angering either Trump or DeSantis. One of These Days — Trump has already thrown jabs at DeSantis — and other potential 2024 candidates — in recent days. Will he keep that up during his announcement this evening? Does DeSantis, whose rise was aided tremendously by Trump, keep silent? Let the ride begin. — WHERE'S RON? — Gov. DeSantis is expected to attend the annual conference of the Republican Governors Association being held in Orlando. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch: gfineout@politico.com
| | | | POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP . | | | | | |  | CAMPAIGN MODE | | SPLIT — Republicans cringe as Trump 2024 approaches , by POLITICO's Burgess Everett, Olivia Beavers and Andrew Desiderio: Donald Trump's iron grip on the GOP is beginning to crack. And some Republicans aren't even sure he's in command at all anymore. "The question is: who is the current leader of the Republican Party? Oh, I know who it is: Ron DeSantis," said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), citing the Florida governor's blowout reelection win last week. "Ron DeSantis is the leader of the Republican Party, whether he wants to be or not." | 
Former President Donald Trump greets supporters during a campaign rally at Minden-Tahoe Airport on October 8, 2022 in Minden, Nevada. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | BY THE NUMBERS — It's still Trump's party and he'll run if he wants to … run if he wants to, run if he wants to , by POLITICO's Meredith McGraw and Christopher Cadelago: A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll shows that 47 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they would back Trump if the Republican presidential primary were held today. By comparison, 33 percent said they would back Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. No other prospective candidate received above 5 percent in the poll, save former Vice President Mike Pence, who stood exactly at that figure. But if the poll shows the clear path forward for Trump as he readies his third White House run since 2016, it also exhibits the peril ahead. Among all voters surveyed, 65 percent said Trump should probably or definitely not run again (with 53 percent in the definite camp). PALM BEACH STORY — " Trump prepares to launch third campaign for the White House ," by The Associated Press' Jill Colvin: "Trump had hoped to use the GOP's expected gains in last week's elections as a springboard to vault himself to his party's nomination by locking in early support to keep potential challengers at bay. Instead, he now finds himself being blamed for backing a series of losing candidates after disappointing results in which Democrats retained control of the Senate and House control remains too early to call. 'Hopefully, tomorrow will turn out to be one of the most important days in the history of our Country!' Trump wrote on his social media network on Monday." — 4 Ex-Presidents who ran again — and what they mean for Trump , by Joshua Zeitz for POLITICO Magazine TIME FOR DESANTIS? — Club for Growth steps on Trump relaunch with polls showing DeSantis beating him , by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt: The anti-tax organization, which was once a staunch [former President Donald] Trump ally but over the last year has broken with him, on Monday provided POLITICO with a polling memo showing the former president trailing Gov. Ron DeSantis by double digits in one-on-one matchups in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states on the GOP nominating calendar. The surveys also show DeSantis leading Trump by wide margins in Florida, their shared home state, and Georgia, which is holding a Dec. 6 runoff for one of its Senate seats. — " Trump v DeSantis: Republicans split over 2024 run and predict 'blood on the floor ,'" by The Guardian's Chris McGreal — " 86 Utah elected officials encourage DeSantis to run for president ," by KSLTV.com's Eliza Pace — " Texas Republicans siding with Ron DeSantis over Donald Trump in poll of 2024 prospects ," by Florida Politics' A.G. Gancarski — " Carlos Guillermo Smith blames Democratic demoralization for Florida's midterm losses ," by Florida Politics' Jacob Ogles — " A political shift in Palm Beach County? A historic reddening is taking place ," by Palm Beach Post's Stephany Matat
| | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | THE SUN AND THE EARTH — Trump filing in suit against Twitter compares former president to Gaileo , by POLITICO's Kelly Garrity and Josh Gerstein: The brief likens [former President Donald] Trump to Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, who was persecuted by the Catholic Church for promulgating the belief that the Earth revolved around the sun. "Most people once believed these to be crackpot ideas; many still do. But crackpot ideas sometimes turn out to be true. The earth does revolve around the sun, and it was Hunter Biden, not Russian disinformation agents, who dropped off a laptop full of incriminating evidence at a repair shop in Delaware," Trump's lawyers wrote. AS THE PAGES TURN — Justice Department accuses Trump of 'shell game' with Mar-a-Lago documents , by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein: Former President Donald Trump mischaracterized White House documents he retained after leaving office as "personal," the Justice Department argued in a newly unsealed court filing, accusing Trump of engaging in a "shell game" to shield documents from criminal investigators. In the filing, unsealed Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, prosecutors contended Trump has sought to restrict investigators' access to materials — seized by the FBI in August from his Mar-a-Lago estate — by inappropriately claiming they're his personal property. Federal law permits presidents to declare some records as "personal" so long as they have no decision-making value to future administrations. AS THE PAGES TURN PART 2 — " Investigators see ego, not money, as Trump's motive on classified papers ," by Washington Post's Devlin Barrett and Josh Dawsey: "Federal agents and prosecutors have come to believe former president Donald Trump's motive for allegedly taking and keeping classified documents was largely his ego and a desire to hold on to the materials as trophies or mementos, according to people familiar with the matter. As part of the investigation, federal authorities reviewed the classified documents that were recovered from Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and private club, looking to see if the types of information contained in them pointed to any kind of pattern or similarities, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation." REQUEST — Fried asks DOJ to investigate Trump's 2018 Florida election claims , by POLITICO's Bruce Ritchie: Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried on Monday asked the Department of Justice to investigate former President Donald Trump's claims last week that he stopped the Florida's 2018 election from being "stolen" from Gov. Ron DeSantis. Fried, who in August lost a bid for governor in the Democratic primary to Charlie Crist, asked Attorney General Merrick Garland in a letter to investigate Trump's claims that he used the FBI and U.S. attorney's office to intervene in the 2018 election. — " Ex-Trump chief of staff tells reporter that former president's claim about 2018 Broward voting isn't true ," by South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Anthony Man
| | | | GO INSIDE THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO is featuring a special edition of our "Future Pulse" newsletter at the 2022 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit from Dec. 6 to 8. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of health industry leaders and innovators solving the biggest global health issues to ensure a healthier, more resilient future for all. SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE . | | | | | | | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | | MORE DETAILS — New documents show top DeSantis official coordinating with 'Perla' over migrant flights , by POLITICO's Gary Fineout and David Kihara: Documents released Monday night show a high level of coordination between a top official in Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration and some of the key people responsible for facilitating flights of migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard. In response to a lawsuit, the DeSantis administration released a handful of texts messages between DeSantis' safety czar, Larry Keefe, and Perla Huerta, the woman who is believed to have recruited migrants in San Antonio for the trips to Massachusetts. Texts also show that Dave Abrams, an adviser on DeSantis' reelection campaign, was looped into conversations centered on the migrants. Abrams did not respond to a request for comment. TOSSED FOR NOW — Florida judge dismisses lawsuit against DeSantis migrant flights on technical grounds , by POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury: A Florida judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis' migrant relocation program, removing a potential obstacle to the Republican governor for resuming the effort that drew massive publicity and condemnation from Democrats. But Leon Circuit Judge John C. Cooper kept the door open for the legal fight, giving state Sen. Jason Pizzo (D-Miami) — the plaintiff who sued DeSantis and other state officials — two weeks to revamp his lawsuit.
| | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | BUILDING THE TEAM — Passidomo announces leadership team, new Fiscal Policy committee , by POLITICO's Bruce Ritchie: Senate President-designate Kathleen Passidomo on Monday announced her leadership team and a restructuring of the chamber's finance committees. Passidomo announced the appointments of state Sen. Debbie Mayfield (R-Melbourne) as chairman of the Rules Committee and Sen. Doug Broxson (R-Gulf Breeze) to chair the Appropriations Committee — traditionally the most powerful posts in the chamber. SETTLEMENT — " Florida fund for injured kids stuck Medicaid with the tab. Now it's repaying $51 million ," by Miami Herald's Carol Marbin Miller: "Administrators of Florida's long-troubled compensation fund for infants born with catastrophic brain injuries have resolved one of the program's thorniest and longest-standing disputes: the claim that they avoided hundreds of millions in healthcare costs by raiding the safety net for impoverished Floridians. The Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, or NICA, settled a three-year-old whistleblower complaint that alleged the program grew assets of nearly $1.7 billion partly by dumping healthcare and caregiving costs onto Medicaid, the state-federal insurer for poverty-stricken and disabled Floridians." REMAIN IN PLACE — " Gov. DeSantis sticking with Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo during second term ," by Florida Politics' Christine Jordan Sexton: "[State Surgeon General Joseph] Ladapo, who had been on the faculty of the University of California at Los Angeles, has been a key partner with DeSantis since coming on board more than a year ago. He has been skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines and recently led the charge to convince state medical regulators to draft new rules that prevent doctors from prescribing gender-affirming care for minors. In a tweet Monday, DeSantis said Ladapo 'has done a great job' in his role as Surgeon General and Secretary of the Department of Health. 'His evidence-based principles serve as a counterweight to the increasingly political positions of the entrenched medical establishment, especially on schools, masks and mRNA shots,' DeSantis wrote."
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Florida Surgeon Gen. Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, left, speaks at a news conference with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, right, Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo | — " Subpoenas coming as plaintiffs seek Florida redistricting documents ," by News Service of Florida's Jim Saunders
| | DATELINE D.C. | | WHOSE FAILURE IS IT? — " Allies of Mitch McConnell and Rick Scott trade blame for GOP not winning Senate ," by Wall Street Journal's Lindsay Wise: "Republicans' failure to win back Senate control triggered a new round of squabbling between allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and those of Sen. Rick Scott, who leads the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Josh Holmes, a Republican strategist who previously served as chief of staff to Mr. McConnell, said Mr. Scott made errors in strategy and fundraising in running the campaign arm and accused Mr. Scott of falling short in communicating and consulting with fellow senators. 'It was run basically as a Rick Scott super PAC, where they didn't want or need to input any Republican senators whatsoever,' Mr. Holmes said of the NRSC." — " Matt Gaetz turns on Marjorie Taylor Greene over McCarthy endorsement ," by Newsweek's Khaleda Rahman
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | PARTING SHOT — " Broward superintendent Vickie Cartwright is fired by DeSantis' reform board ," by South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Scott Travis: "Broward Schools Superintendent Vickie Cartwright was fired with a 5-4 vote on Monday night, a dramatic climax to the three-month tenure of a "reform board" controlled by five appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis. School Board member Daniel Foganholi made the surprise motion about 9 p.m. Monday after board members expressed anger over scathing audits related to two district vendors." Will it even last? — "Several said it was unfair since the board had just asked the superintendent on Oct. 25 to address a long list of concerns. "This action is impulsive and inappropriate at this moment, and I cannot support this," [Board member Sarah] Leonardi said. All five DeSantis appointees except [Torey] Alston will be gone next week, replaced by elected members." — " UF student body president no longer faces impeachment for her Ben Sasse vote ," by Tampa Bay Times' Divya Kumar — " Former Gulliver prep star D'Sean Perry one of 3 killed in Virginia shooting, per report ," by Miami Herald's David Wilson — " Why does this state hate me? Florida bans gender affirming care for some youth ," by USA Today Network-Florida's Kathryn Varn
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — " Why are so many car washes popping up around Tampa Bay? " by Tampa Bay Times' Gabrielle Calise: "In a move that reflects a nationwide trend, companies are hoping to saturate Florida — and especially Tampa Bay — with as many car wash locations as possible. They know in order to get consumers to fork over anywhere from $20 to $50 for a monthly subscription, it needs to be convenient for them. 'There's been a lot of private equity capital that's been poured into the car wash industry,' said Jay Shadday, president of Big Dan's. 'The biggest reason is the subscription. I would say 99 percent of the car washes that you're seeing built in Florida, and really across the country, are focused on that.'" BIRTHDAYS: State Rep. Michael Gottlieb … state Rep. Will Robinson …Evan Power, chair of Leon County Republican Party and lobbyist ... Wayne Bertsch with Pasco County schools ... Trimmel Gomes of Gomes Media Strategies … Gayle Andrews, corporate and political media consultant. | | | | 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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