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Presented by Instagram: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | |  How many Republicans will join the push to oust Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.)? | Francis Chung/POLITICO | THE TALENTED MR. SANTOS — Yesterday came the findings. Today it’s time for consequences: House Ethics Chair MICHAEL GUEST (R-Miss.) filed a resolution to expel Rep. GEORGE SANTOS (R-N.Y.) from Congress after his panel’s devastating report outlined allegations of campaign finance corruption alongside Santos’ history of serial fabrications. Guest called the findings “more than sufficient to warrant punishment” in a statement; he filed the expulsion attempt in his personal capacity, distinct from his role as chair. Notably, Guest’s resolution is not privileged. He told Olivia Beavers he’ll take that step after the Thanksgiving break, which is when the two-day clock to bring it up for a vote will begin. So how many Republicans will join the push to oust Santos? Many appear to be concluding that his alleged use of campaign donations on Botox and OnlyFans outweighs the cost of losing a swing-district GOP colleague. Others, Olivia reports, are expecting — or maybe just hoping — that he’ll resign now and spare them the discomfort of an expulsion vote. (Santos has already said he won’t run for reelection.) Santos would need two-thirds of his colleagues — 290, if all are present and voting — to turn on him to become the sixth member ever expelled from the House and the first in more than two decades. Rep. RANDY FEENSTRA (R-Iowa) was the latest to announce today that he’ll now vote to expel Santos now after voting on Nov. 1 to oppose it. Santos has decried the Ethics panel’s report as a “disgusting politicized smear.” Of course, he also faces genuine legal jeopardy in the federal criminal case against him. Meanwhile, The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger digs into one striking aspect of the report: more details on a possible straw donor scheme “involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit contributions that Santos funneled to his campaign from business clients — perhaps without their knowledge.” He writes that the footnotes indicate the source of lots of money may have been MAYRA RUIZ and her son ALEX, whose family were significant donors to and clients of Santos. The Ruizes didn’t respond to the Beast’s requests for comment. BIG INVESTIGATION — “‘He didn’t deserve to die like this’: Supreme Court decision leaves family of a man killed at the border searching for justice,” by NBC’s Lawrence Hurley in Tohono O’Odham Nation, Ariz.: RAYMOND MATTIA’s family “believe that [Border Patrol] agents ruthlessly gunned a man down with scant regard for his constitutional rights. But federal prosecutors have already said there will be no criminal charges. “A recent Supreme Court ruling means any effort to sue the agents individually for alleged constitutional violations is doomed to fail. The 2022 ruling is one in a line of cases that has decimated the ability of victims to file lawsuits, known as ‘Bivens claims,’ accusing Border Patrol agents of using excessive force or other constitutional violations. The court’s dismantling of Bivens has reverberated throughout the federal government and touched nearly every agency … In the aftermath of the ruling, lawsuits alleging a wide range of constitutional violations are now routinely tossed out. People mistreated by federal officials aren’t getting their day in court.” PRE-THANKSGIVING TURKEY — “Eric Adams attended nearly 80 events celebrating Turkey,” by Joe Anuta, Jason Beeferman and Maya Kaufman: “These revelations — uncovered through a POLITICO review of thousands of pages of public schedules from his time as borough president and reams of social media posts — shed light on [NYC Mayor ERIC] ADAMS’ unusually strong relationship with Turkey, which has drawn scrutiny from federal investigators.” Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
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Learn more. | | | POLICY CORNER BANK ON IT — The misconduct scandal that erupted this week at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and that could threaten Chair MARTIN GRUENBERG’s job, might endanger a major banking regulatory effort, Zach Warmbrodt reports. The agency’s Democratic majority is planning a significant series of new rules to get tougher on big banks — and if Gruenberg leaves, the board would be evenly split, allowing Republicans to stop the regulations from rolling out. More generally, the brouhaha “could impede the agency’s day-to-day job of ensuring that banks are safely handling Americans’ deposits.” And House Financial Services Republicans today announced they’ll launch an investigation into the FDIC’s work environment. “Chairman Gruenberg, the viability of your leadership is in question,” they warned directly. NEW NAME TO KNOW — The White House announced that President JOE BIDEN is tapping KIMRYN RATHMELL as director of the National Cancer Institute, WaPo’s Dan Diamond reports. She currently is chair of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and has been on the institute’s board for five years. FOR YOUR RADAR — In the wake of the Education Department’s announcement that it would investigate antisemitism and Islamophobia at seven schools, Secretary MIGUEL CARDONA indicated today on CNN that they’d be unlikely to lose federal funding unless they refused to comply with the law. “I haven’t spoken to a college leader that doesn’t want to do everything they can,” Cardona said. “Right now what we’re doing is giving them resources.” More from Bianca Quilantan 2024 WATCH TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK — The Biden reelect is debating whether to join TikTok, Axios’ Alex Thompson and Sophia Cai report. The campaign knows that Biden desperately needs to improve his standing with young voters, and TikTok is one way to reach them. But joining TikTok would run counter to the administration’s efforts to regulate the app and Republican attacks about its national security concerns. SURVEY SAYS — The CNN poll of New Hampshire actually finds a Biden write-in campaign out way ahead of the pack in the symbolic Granite State primary: He’s at 65%, followed by Rep. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-Minn.) at 10% and MARIANNE WILLIAMSON at 9%. BAD SIGN FOR DeSANTIS — A new WaPo/Monmouth poll has Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS down to fifth place in New Hampshire, as DONALD TRUMP maintains his big lead and NIKKI HALEY rises solidly into second, Scott Clement, Dan Balz and Emily Guskin report. BETTER SIGN FOR DeSANTIS — He converted 10 notable former backers of Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) in South Carolina to endorse him, including two state reps, AP’s Meg Kinnard reports from Columbia. WHAT WENT WRONG — “‘Get Me the F--king Tape’: How Ron DeSantis’s ‘Build the Wall’ Ad Put Him on the Outs With Trump,” Vanity Fair: “During his 2018 gubernatorial bid, DeSantis and his wife, CASEY, apparently mocked the campaign spot behind the scenes. As one source tells Matt Dixon, in an excerpt of his new book, Swamp Monsters, it ‘got back to Trump.’”
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes. | | | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD BIDEN GETS RESULTS — U.S. pressure on Israel to allow more fuel into Gaza paid off as Israel approved two daily tanker truck shipments for Palestinians, Axios’ Barak Ravid reports. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and other U.S. officials had told Israel in recent days that it needed to keep its promise to do so. MORE POLITICS MOOD MUSIC — “The Centrists Cannot Hold,” by N.Y. Mag’s Shawn McCreesh, who interviews Rep. RITCHIE TORRES (D-N.Y.) and drops by JONATHAN KARL’s Cafe Milano book party for a look at how Washington officialdom is handling both the Middle East and 2024. “I asked BOB WOODWARD about Trump’s chances. It took him precisely five seconds and 19 words to start talking about Watergate.” BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — GOP inroads with Hispanic voters could threaten Democrats in House races across the country, including in Connecticut, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Virginia, The Messenger’s Dan Merica reports. Far from the Sun Belt, Republicans see an opportunity to flip seats in districts that have a higher percentage of Latino voters than the national average. And Democrats are aware of the vulnerability. CASH DASH — Democrat EUGENE VINDMAN raised more than $800,000 in the first 24 hours of his campaign to succeed Rep. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-Va.) — a staggering amount for a newbie. Steve Shepard puts it into context: “Only 7 non-incumbent congressional candidates raised that much for the *entire quarter* between July-September.” HEY ARNOLD — “Schwarzenegger: America needs ‘new blood’ in the White House,” by Chris Cadelago: “POLITICO caught up with [ARNOLD] SCHWARZENEGGER this week as he prepared to mark two decades since the recall victory with a return to the state capital in Sacramento on Friday.”
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | JUDICIARY SQUARE END OF AN ERA — DAVID BOIES will leave his role as chair of Boies Schiller Flexner at the end of 2024, WSJ’s Erin Mulvaney reports. The longtime legal icon, whose notable clients have included AL GORE in the 2000 presidential election and same-sex marriage proponents in California, is making a second attempt at transitioning leadership after a previous attempt fell apart a few years ago. MATTHEW SCHWARTZ and SIGRID McCAWLEY are seen as potential successors. SCOTUS WATCH — Will the Supreme Court add another First Amendment case to its docket? One California woman is challenging a state ban on honking by arguing that the car horn is a form of political expression — as when she was cited for honking in support of a political rally, USA Today’s John Fritze reports. CONGRESS DEMOCRACY CLICKER — WaPo’s Dan Balz, Clara Ence Morse and Nick Mourtoupalas take a 30,000-foot view of the ways that the Senate in recent decades “has become unrepresentative in ways the founders could not have imagined.” There are three main problems: States’ size imbalance has made voters in small states much more powerful than others; white voters have disproportionate power; and so do Republicans. The upshot is a body that increasingly is governed by minority rule and unable to pass legislation popular with most Americans — and there appears no real opportunity on the horizon to make the Senate more democratic. NOTABLE QUOTABLE — “It’s insane and it adds no value to my life,” Rep. EARL BLUMENAUER (D-Ore.) tells Punchbowl’s Mica Soellner in a look at why some members are retiring from the House. THE WHITE HOUSE BIDEN VS. MUSK — The White House weighed in directly today on ELON MUSK’s recent antisemitism on X, when he agreed with a tweet that said “Jewish [communities] have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.” Spokesperson ANDREW BATES said in a statement, “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie … which runs against our core values as Americans.” DOCU-DRAMA — “Washington Is Lousy at Managing Classified Documents — and Has Been for Years,” by WSJ’s Annie Linskey: “Documents marked secret were found in papers donated by former secretaries of state HENRY KISSINGER, EDMUND MUSKIE, MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, DEAN ACHESON and CYRUS VANCE, along with about a dozen members of Congress, former ambassadors and leading scientists.”
| | | | GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS IN MEMORIAM — “Former Congressman Tom Bliley, Jr. dead at 91,” WTVR-TV: “Bliley was elected to Richmond City Council in 1968 and served as Mayor of Richmond from 1970 through 1977. The Republican lawmaker was first elected to Congress in 1980. Known for his bow-tie and ability to work across the aisle with Democrats,” he also served several years as House Energy & Commerce chair. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a party Wednesday night at Michael’s in NYC for Brian Stelter’s new book, “Network of Lies”: Carl Bernstein, David Leavy, Kaitlan Collins, Poppy Harlow, Laura Jarrett, Ari Melber, Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, Lawrence O’Donnell, Stephanie Ruhle, Ali Velshi, John Berman, Sara Sidner, Donie O’Sullivan, Jesse Rodriguez, Alicia Menendez, Dan Abrams, Juleanna Glover, Risa Heller, Cindi Berger, Nathaniel Brown, James Stewart, Oliver Darcy, Shawn McCreesh, Tara Palmeri, Noah Shachtman, Chloe Melas, Brian Teta, Carolyn Ryan, Ellen Pollock, Jon Kelly, Garrett Graff, John Avlon, Bill Carter, Michael Calderone, Claire Howorth, Stephen Valentino, Charlotte Alter and Mark Chiusano. — SPOTTED on Wednesday at Mozilla Meetups at the Eaton Hotel: Deirdre Mulligan, Joel Burke, Imo Udom, Jenn Hodges Taylor, Noam Kantor, Amie Stepanovich, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Stella Biderman, Steve DelBianco, Samir Jain, Miranda Bogen, India McKinney, Michael Sweeney, Brad Weltman, Heather West, Colin Crowell, Luis Zambrano Ramos, Richard Whitt, Ben Winters and Marshall Erwin. BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Signal Group’s Hunter Headapohl 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.
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