| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | HAPPENING NOW — Closing arguments just wrapped, and the DONALD TRUMP defamation trial is now in the hands of an anonymous Manhattan jury that will determine whether and how much the former president must pay E. JEAN CARROLL for his denial of her rape allegation. Trump has already been found liable in court for sexually abusing Carroll, and Judge LEWIS KAPLAN told jurors this morning that “it is established” the assault happened. Carroll has asked for tens of millions of dollars.
|  Speaker Mike Johnson reiterated that anything that falls significantly short of H.R. 2 won’t be able to get through House Republicans. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | BORDER BOMB — In his starkest comments to date about the Senate negotiations over an immigration policy/foreign aid deal, Speaker MIKE JOHNSON today warned his colleagues that the rumored details of the agreement “would have been dead on arrival in the House.” Johnson reiterated in a letter that even if the Senate can land a deal, anything that falls significantly short of H.R. 2’s major immigration crackdown and border security investments won’t be able to get through House Republicans. It’s another warning sign for the Senate negotiators, whose latest timeline is a plan to release bill text near the start of next week. And the global ramifications could be huge — not just for the humanitarian crisis at the southern border, but for the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, too. “Johnson didn’t explicitly rule out taking up a Senate bill,” Jordain Carney notes. But his comments put the package’s prospects on even more uncertain ground “following Senate drama this week that shook confidence in negotiations.” (Johnson’s political messaging is rather less measured: “NOT. A. CHANCE” of agreeing to “CHUCK SCHUMER’s open-border wishlist.”) At the same time, the Biden administration is losing a leading immigration staffer as KATIE TOBIN departs her role as senior director for trans-border security at the NSC, NBC’s Monica Alba scooped. Tobin played a big role in ending Title 42, crafting the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, and negotiating with Mexico. Johnson, meanwhile, is barreling ahead with another House GOP priority tied to the border: impeaching DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS. His letter said the full House will hold a floor vote on the impeachment “as soon as possible” after the Homeland Security Committee votes on it next week, saying it’s a “necessity” to protect America’s sovereignty as a nation. Democrats, who view the impeachment as politically motivated and historically anomalous for its basis in policy disagreements, reacted angrily. Homeland Security ranking member BENNIE THOMPSON (D-Miss.) sent Chair MARK GREEN (R-Tenn.) a letter calling impeachment a “sham” that had broken the rules and denied Mayorkas due process, Jordain scooped. And White House spokesperson IAN SAMS posted on X that Republicans were acting “out of partisan political bloodlust.” INFLATION NATION — In another mostly positive sign of price pressures easing, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation rose 2.6% annually in December, matching economists’ expectations. The month-to-month increase was 0.2%, slightly higher than in November, but still a pretty good indication of cooler inflation. More from the WSJ GOING: DUTCH — Another House veteran is hanging it up: Rep. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER (D-Md.) won’t run for reelection after more than two decades in office, he announced today. The departure is just the latest shakeup in a Maryland congressional delegation that’s due for a lot of change next year. The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Barker and Lia Russell float Baltimore County Executive JOHNNY OLSZEWSKI JR. as a potential replacement in the safe Democratic seat. (h/t Joe Gould for the pun) Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CREDIT UNIONS & COMMUNITY BANKS IN All 50 STATES OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL: Local credit unions and community banks serve an essential role in supporting Main Street. So, when 10,000+ credit unions and community banks throughout the country oppose the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill, Congress should pay attention. Durbin-Marshall lines the pockets of corporate mega-stores by shifting costs and risks to credit unions, community banks, and their 140 million customers. Click here to learn more. | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor leaves the International Court of Justice today after bringing a genocide case against Israel. | Patrick Post/AP Photo | 1. UN IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The State Department said today that it had temporarily halted funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which gives humanitarian aid to Gazans, after the agency said it fired several staffers whom Israel accused of participating in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, per CNN. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN talked with Secretary-General ANTONIO GUTERRES and urged him to investigate quickly. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice issued a mixed initial ruling in the case South Africa has brought accusing Israel of genocide: The court said Israel needs to take further steps to ensure acts of genocide are not committed and permit more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. But it stopped short of urging Israel to end the bloodshed, which has reportedly killed more than 25,000 people. More from the NYT 2. BIG MONEY: “MoveOn Will Spend $32 Million to Back Biden and Other Democrats,” by NYT’s Reid Epstein: “MoveOn is planning what its executive director, RAHNA EPTING, called a ‘house party strategy’ to bring its 10 million supporters together for in-person events in large numbers … [Plans] call for mobilizing members in seven states — six presidential battlegrounds and Ohio, where Senator SHERROD BROWN is in a tough re-election fight — along with 26 competitive House districts across the country.” 3. OPIOID FILES: For the first time in more than a year, top U.S. and Chinese officials will come together next week for high-level talks about stopping fentanyl, NBC’s Janis Mackey Frayer and Jennifer Jett scooped. The restart of cooperation on counter-narcotics efforts comes despite some mutual finger-pointing (the U.S. blames Chinese supply, China blames U.S. demand). It’s also part of a general, partial thaw in bilateral relations following President JOE BIDEN’s meeting with Chinese President XI JINPING in November. “There is still deep skepticism as to whether U.S.-China cooperation on fentanyl will yield worthwhile results,” per NBC, but renewed information-sharing about which chemicals to target could help.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE GOLDEN STATE POLITICAL ARENA: POLITICO’s California Playbook newsletter provides a front row seat to the most important political news percolating in the state’s power centers, from Sacramento and Los Angeles to Silicon Valley. Authors Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner deliver exclusive news, buzzy scoops and behind-the-scenes details that you simply will not get anywhere else. Subscribe today and stay ahead of the game! | | | | | 4. SUZAN DelBENE’S BIG TASK: The Washington Democratic congresswoman is trying to flip the House as the new DCCC chair — and she’s won acclaim from her colleagues for listening to a wide range of their input, WaPo’s Marianna Sotomayor reports. She and the new House Democratic leadership team have shown they can match their predecessors’ fundraising prowess. Steering the DCCC in a new direction by drawing on her tech executive experience, DelBene has also “made some fundamental changes that have shifted resources internally,” emphasizing digital organizing tools, analytics and a research team that was stood up earlier than usual. 5. INTERESTING DYNAMIC: “Biden needles Trump in hopes of pushing him off message,” by CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere and Alayna Treene: “Biden has been taunting Donald Trump – and appearing to relish it – calling him the ‘former president’ or saying, ‘he’s already HERBERT HOOVER’ … Biden has been hoping Trump is paying attention. And, people close to Trump tell CNN, he is. ‘I do think he’s trying to get under his skin, and I think it’s the smartest thing the Biden campaign has done yet,’ a person close to Trump said. ‘It rattles him and takes him off message.’” 6. E-RING READING: The Defense Department is backing down from plans to hold training exercises with several African militaries accused of human rights abuses or involvement with coups, WaPo’s Abigail Hauslohner and Alex Horton report. Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Niger and Sudan have been dropped from the exercises (though the Post had asked the Pentagon about half a dozen more foreign militaries that have been condemned as well). “The about-face appears driven, at least in part, by criticism from members of Biden’s own political party who, upon learning of the Pentagon’s plans, implored the administration to change course immediately.” 7. ALL IN THE FAMILY: “Hunter Biden Snagged a Cushy Bank Job After Law School. He’s Been Trading on His Name Ever Since,” by Jasper Craven in POLITICO Magazine: “Hunter’s stint at MBNA predates the examples of influence peddling that have received the most attention during the current maelstrom. His work there was, by all available accounts, perfectly legal. And yet his time working for the bank offers an illuminating origin story for Hunter. … Of Hunter’s many highly publicized exploits, MBNA may offer the most concrete and credible example of political nepotism. It’s also the most conventional.”
| | | | CONGRESS OVERDRIVE: Since day one, POLITICO has been laser-focused on Capitol Hill, serving up the juiciest Congress coverage. Now, we’re upping our game to ensure you’re up to speed and in the know on every tasty morsel and newsy nugget from inside the Capitol Dome, around the clock. Wake up, read Playbook AM, get up to speed at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report, and fuel your nightly conversations with Inside Congress in the evening. Plus, never miss a beat with buzzy, real-time updates throughout the day via our Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Don Blankenship is running for Senate in West Virginia — now as a Democrat! Jeff Roe held talks with Ye (nee Kanye West) about running his presidential campaign in 2020. Joe Manchin said he’d investigate the Biden administration’s natural gas export pause. Jens Stoltenberg is coming to D.C. this weekend — and he’ll speak at the Heritage Foundation next week. Tim Sheehy is getting hammered by an ad blitz that turns out to be secretly funded by Senate Majority PAC. Dean Phillips wants to keep going to the convention. IN MEMORIAM — “Charles Fried, legal scholar who bridged law and ethics, dies at 88,” by WaPo’s Brian Murphy: “[He] explored questions of morality and law but also engaged in self-examination of his own views, including backing constitutional abortion rights decades after he argued against them as solicitor general during the Reagan era … In the political world, he was part [of] the conservative GOP establishment that stood against former president Donald Trump and, at times, aligned himself with Democrats.” OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a welcome reception for new WaPo publisher/CEO William Lewis hosted by Patty Stonesifer, Michael Kinsley, Donald Graham and Amanda Bennett yesterday evening: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Jamie Dimon chatting with CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, Anthony Fauci and Christine Grady, British Ambassador Karen Pierce, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, French Ambassador Laurent Bili, Finnish Ambassador Mikko Hautala, Sally Buzbee, David Shipley, David Rubenstein, Julie Sweet, Mitchell Rales, Kara Swisher, Rostin Behnam, Tammy Haddad, Steve Case, Mark and Sally Ein, Lonnie Bunch, Deborah Rutter, Eugene Robinson, David Ignatius, Karen Tumulty, Josh Dawsey, Becca and Izzy Lewis, Johanna Mayer-Jones, Kathy Baird, Miki King, Steve Gibson and Ted Olson. — National Geographic hosted the D.C. premiere for the upcoming series “Genius: MLK/X” at the National Museum of African American History and Culture last night, with a panel moderated by Jonathan Capehart. SPOTTED: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Jayme Lawson, Symone Sanders, Faith Abubey, Mia Thornton, Michael Scherer, John Gibson, Marc Barnes, Leah Daughtry, Karen Finney, Courteney Monroe, Karey Burke, Weruche Opia and Aaron Pierre. — SPOTTED at a party for Chris Liddell’s new book, “Year Zero” ($29.95), at Adrienne Arsht’s Chevy Chase mansion last night: Anthony Fauci, Francis Collins, David Marchick, Brian Hook, Tevi Troy, Mack McLarty, Kellyanne Conway, Kathleen Tenpas, Capricia Marshall, William Antholis, Rita Braver and Bob Barnett, Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan, Michael Chertoff, Dianna Dunne and Paula Dobriansky. WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Kana Smith is now deputy director of legislative affairs for the VP. She most recently was deputy chief of staff and legislative director for Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.). TRANSITIONS — Pratima Narayan will be a senior adviser to the ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice at the State Department. She currently is advocacy director for Asia and the Pacific in the U.S. foreign policy division at Open Society Foundations. … David Ohana is now chief comms and marketing officer at the U.N. Foundation. He most recently was at the Minderoo Foundation and Tattarang, and is a UNICEF alum. … Bonnie Glick is now an adjunct senior fellow at the Federation for the Defense of Democracies. She previously was the founding director of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, and is a Trump USAID alum. BONUS BIRTHDAY: Alexis Coe 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, producer Andrew Howard and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
| | | | A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CREDIT UNIONS & COMMUNITY BANKS IN All 50 STATES OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL: The Durbin-Marshall credit card bill would create new government mandates on credit cards that would put consumer data and access to credit at risk. The bill would benefit corporate mega-stores, like Walmart and Target, at the expense of Main Street and the 140 million Americans who rely on credit unions and community banks. The threat of Durbin-Marshall to small financial institutions is so clear that 10,000+ credit unions and community banks in America are opposed to the bill. They also see through the so-called “carve out” for smaller banks which is a hoax to try and buy their support. Their message to Congress is simple: on behalf of credit unions and community banks in all 50 states, commit to actively opposing the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill. Click here to 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 politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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