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Presented by Amazon: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | BREAKING — Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-Ala.) is relenting on his mass holds on Pentagon nominations for all but four-star promotions, he just told Senate Republicans, per Burgess Everett.
|  Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is hanging it up in 2025. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | RETIREMENT ROUNDUP — Just weeks after serving as acting speaker, Rep. PATRICK McHENRY (R-N.C.) announced today that he won’t run for reelection in 2024 — the latest surprise, high-profile retirement to hit the House, as Olivia Beavers scooped. The House Financial Services chair’s decision to hang it up will sideline one of the chamber’s most prominent GOP policy wonks, whose bow ties and gavel wielding steered the House through extended disarray after his ally KEVIN McCARTHY was ousted as speaker. Once a conservative rabble-rouser and the youngest member of Congress, McHenry will exit after 20 years in office as one of Republicans’ more broadly trusted institutionalists. His recent tenure has been marked by helping to negotiate this year’s debt limit deal, steering the banking industry through crisis and voting to certify JOE BIDEN’s 2020 victory. On his way out, McHenry tried to soothe concerns that retirements like his reflect the Hill’s dysfunction: “There has been a great deal of handwringing and ink spilled about the future of this institution because some — like me — have decided to leave,” he said in a statement. “Those concerns are exaggerated. … I truly feel this institution is on the verge of the next great turn.” His western North Carolina seat is expected to stay in Republican hands. WHAT SUPP — Democrats and Republicans today are moving further apart, not closer, in the congressional standoff over Ukraine aid and immigration policy changes. The retrenchment will make it harder to reach a deal on the Biden administration’s supplemental funding request for Ukraine, Israel and more. And it again raises the question of whether Kyiv can get any more help from the U.S., as Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY prepares to speak to senators today. Here’s a sampling of the latest:
- Speaker MIKE JOHNSON in a letter to OMB Director SHALANDA YOUNG: “Ukraine funding is dependent upon enactment of transformative change to our nation’s border security laws. … The open U.S. border is an unconscionable and unsustainable catastrophe.”
- Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER on the Senate floor: “What [Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas)] said, Mr. President, is the textbook definition of hostage-taking. … If funding for Ukraine fails, it will not be a bipartisan failure. It will be a failure solely caused by the Republican Party.”
- Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL on the Senate floor: “Anyone who suggests that Senate Republicans are injecting the issue of border security into this discussion at the last minute either isn’t serious or hasn’t been paying attention.”
- Sen. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.): “This is the fate of the world. I’ve never been part of a negotiation with higher stakes.” … Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.): “You’re not gonna pick up 10 or 12 Republicans for some half-assed deal on the border.” … Sen. MITT ROMNEY (R-Utah): “[C]lueless Dems want to negotiate the border bill. Not going to happen. Is an open border more important to Dems than Ukraine and Israel?”
Try to square those circles. When even Romney says he won’t negotiate on immigration demands, Republicans look pretty locked in. But Democrats aren’t backing down either. SCOTUS TEA LEAVES — The Supreme Court’s oral arguments today in a major tax case — which could upend much of the tax system or preclude the creation of a wealth tax — indicated that a majority of justices may be disinclined to go that far, NBC’s Lawrence Hurley reports. While Justices SAMUEL ALITO, NEIL GORSUCH and CLARENCE THOMAS sounded skeptical of the federal government’s defense, “[o]ther justices appeared less critical,” perhaps pointing to a narrow ruling. (There are also ongoing questions about the factual validity of the couple at the case’s center, and about whether Alito should have recused himself.) Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
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Read about employees who benefit. | | | 2024 WATCH AFTERNOON REID — Democratic megadonor REID HOFFMAN is donating to … NIKKI HALEY? NYT’s Shane Goldmacher scooped that he gave $250,000 to her super PAC SBA Fund as he seeks any avenue possible to take down DONALD TRUMP. PHILLIPS PIVOT — STEVE SCHMIDT has left Rep. DEAN PHILLIPS’ (D-Minn.) campaign as he shifts leftward in his primary challenge to Biden, The Daily Beast’s Jake Lahut reports from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. CASH DASH — November was the Biden campaign’s strongest grassroots fundraising month yet, AP’s Darlene Superville reports. And as they approach the end of the quarter, Biden is leaning hard into big fundraising events — he’ll attend seven within just the next week, from Boston to Hollywood, many with big celebrity names on board. MARK YOUR CALENDARS — CNN will host two presidential town halls in Des Moines, Iowa, next week: Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS with Jake Tapper on Dec. 12 and VIVEK RAMASWAMY with Abby Phillip on Dec. 13. SWING-STATE DISPATCH — “How Hispanic voters’ growing political power in Nevada could offer hope to the GOP,” by CNN’s John King in Las Vegas: “[I]t is not hard to find signs of an opening for further Republican gains in 2024.” SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT — Haley is attracting attention from top donors for her openness to entitlement reform, which has set her apart from some rivals in the presidential race, CNN’s Fredreka Schouten reports. Haley’s willingness to call for changes to Social Security and Medicare, long a politically unpopular third rail, could put her at a disadvantage with voters against Trump or Biden. But to many top donors concerned about the programs’ looming financial crisis, her positions look like courage they want to reward. CONGRESS COMING SOON TO ATTACK ADS NEAR YOU — In the latest instance of conservative Republicans aligning with Capitol insurrectionists, Johnson said today that new Jan. 6 tapes will blur the faces of rioters because “we don’t want them to be retaliated against and to be charged by the DOJ.” He said Republicans trust Americans “to draw their own conclusions.” SPY GAMES — “Johnson floats floor showdown as GOP divides over spy powers,” by Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers: “During a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday, Johnson said that he could bring [Rep. JIM] JORDAN’s and [Rep. MIKE] TURNER’s two competing bills up for a vote in a rare procedural gambit known as ‘King of the Hill’ if there isn’t a consensus over Section 702.” ONE TO WATCH — Sen. J.D. VANCE (R-Ohio) and Rep. JIM BANKS (R-Ind.) are introducing legislation to create a special Education Department unit for probing violations of the Supreme Court ruling that ended race-based affirmative action, The Washington Free Beacon’s Aaron Sibarium scooped. ARCHIVE DIVE — “The Violent and Extreme History of Mike Johnson’s Old Legal Clients,” by The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger, Riley Rogerson and Sam Brodey: “Johnson was preoccupied with clients who reflected the same anti-gay and anti-abortion stances that he has held openly for decades. His clients’ embrace of violent rhetoric apparently did little to dissuade Johnson from taking their cases.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | THE WHITE HOUSE TIEBREAKER TIEBREAKER — VP KAMALA HARRIS today cast her 32nd tie-breaking vote in the Senate to get a judicial nominee confirmed, newly taking the solo record for the most tiebreakers ever issued by a VP. THE ECONOMY SIGNS OF SLOWDOWN — National job openings in October tumbled significantly lower than expected, hitting a two-and-a-half-year nadir, per CNBC’s Jeff Cox. The new Labor Department data is a fresh sign of cooling in a labor market that has stayed hot well beyond most economists’ predictions. The Fed will likely welcome the news as an indicator that the campaign against inflation is bearing fruit. MEDIAWATCH UP FOR DEBATE — Tomorrow night’s GOP presidential debate is a big coming-out party of sorts for NewsNation, the fledgling network that will “almost certainly” have its biggest audience ever, AP’s David Bauder reports. “Yet with two of the three debate moderators associated with conservative media and not NewsNation, including podcast star MEGYN KELLY, the event threatens to be at odds with the centrist image the network is trying to cultivate.” The third moderator, ELIZABETH VARGAS, has an evening show on NewsNation. For the network, much could depend reputationally on what questions it asks of the candidates.
| | | | Sponsored Survey WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Share what you think in a short, 1 minute survey about one of our advertisers | | | MORE POLITICS PRIMARY COLORS — The latest Democrat to join the race to succeed Rep. ANNA ESHOO is California state Assemblymember EVAN LOW, who’d bring a focus on tech to the Silicon Valley seat and would be the first LGBTQ+ member of Congress from the Bay Area, The Mercury News’ Grace Hase reports. SURVEY SAYS — The share of Republicans who would prefer a national abortion policy over letting states decide has risen 10 points in the past year, the annual American Family Survey finds, per the Deseret News’ Jennifer Graham. The poll finds complicated and somewhat shifting views on abortion policy among many Americans. BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — Ousting Rep. SCOTT PERRY (R-Pa.) would be a tall task for Democrats, but the field of would-be opponents is gearing up to highlight his crucial actions in trying to overturn the 2020 election, The Messenger’s Dan Merica reports. Some of the Democrats say they’ll make saving democracy from the Freedom Caucus chair the centerpiece of their campaigns. RACE TO REPLACE ROMNEY — Utah Senate hopeful BRAD WILSON is going on air with his first TV spot touting his work as a former state House speaker to enact tax cuts and boost Second Amendment freedoms, Ally Mutnick reports. The buy, worth $300,000, will run on broadcast, cable and digital platforms. Wilson is in a heated primary to replace Romney that includes Riverton Mayor TRENT STAGGS and Roosevelt Mayor ROD BIRD JR. GOP Rep. JOHN CURTIS is also considering a run. AMERICA AND THE WORLD CLIMATE FILES — “US unveils global strategy to commercialize fusion as source of clean energy during COP28,” by AP’s Jennifer McDermott: “The United States will work with other governments to speed up efforts to make nuclear fusion a new source of carbon-free energy, U.S. Climate Envoy JOHN KERRY said Tuesday, the latest of many U.S. announcements the last week aimed at combatting climate change.” POLICY CORNER STICKING TO THEIR GUNS — “Defying presidents and Congress, the ATF, DEA, FBI and U.S. marshals shroud their shootings in secrecy,” by NBC’s Simone Weichselbaum, Hannah Rappleye, Adiel Kaplan, Alexandra Chaidez and Jean Lee: “Despite nearly 30 years of demands for transparency, the DOJ’s law enforcement agencies release little data about whom they shoot, why and when, and they rarely use body cameras.”
| | | | 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 OUT AND ABOUT — The National Archives Foundation held its annual Records of Achievement Award Ceremony Gala last night, this year honoring Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, followed by a celebratory dinner in the Archives rotunda. He was interviewed by Michele Norris, and received two panoramic photos of the Mall from 1881 and 2004 along with his medal. SPOTTED: Mo Rocca, David Rubenstein, A’Lelia Bundles, Rodney Slater, James Blanchard and Jacqueline Mars. MEDIA MOVES — Hamed Aleaziz is joining the NYT to cover immigration and DHS. He previously covered immigration for the L.A. Times. … Michael Williams is now a White House writer covering the administration and the campaign for CNN. He previously was a breaking news reporter for The Dallas Morning News. WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Rachel Palermo is now an associate in Jenner & Block’s government controversies practice. She previously was deputy comms director and associate counsel to VP Kamala Harris. TRANSITIONS — Zach Barnett is now comms director for Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and the Senate Armed Services GOP. He previously was comms director for Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.). … Alex Laster Berger is now a senior federal affairs adviser at the Urban Institute. He previously was manager of government affairs at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and is a Biden 2020 alum. … K&L Gates is adding Varu Chilakamarri and Michael Culhane Harper as partners. Chilakamarri most recently was deputy assistant AG for the Civil Division’s Torts Branch. Harper most recently was a trial attorney in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit of DOJ’s Criminal Fraud Section. … … Alyssa Erdel is joining the House GOP Conference as member services director for Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.). She previously was member services director for House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas). … Joe Maloney will be SVP for strategic comms at the American Gaming Association. He most recently was VP for public affairs and strategic comms for the Washington Commanders. … Jones Day is adding eight new associates who clerked for conservative Supreme Court justices last term: Bijan Aboutorabi, Timothy Bradley, John Brinkerhoff Jr., Henry Dickman, Emily Hall, Daniel Johnson, Christopher Pagliarella and David Kenneth Suska. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Helen Eisner, deputy chief counsel at the Office of Congressional Ethics, and Kyle Aarons, acting director of the policy and program evaluation division of EPA’s Office of Site Remediation Enforcement, recently welcomed Jasper Eisner Aarons. He joins big brother Ari. — Matt Wolking, VP of comms at Axiom Strategies, and Alisa Wolking recently welcomed Mira Wolking. She joins her older siblings. Pic 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. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook PM misstated Brian Schwartz’s employer. It is CNBC.
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