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Today's Playbook Power Briefing presented by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates

By ANNA PALMER (anna@politico.com; @apalmerdc), JAKE SHERMAN (sherman@politico.com; @JakeSherman), DANIEL LIPPMAN (daniel@politico.com; @dlippman) and ZACH MONTELLARO (zmontellaro@politico.com; @ZachMontellaro)


BREAKING -- "Republicans strike deal on sweeping tax overhaul," by Brian Faler and Nancy Cook: "Republicans have struck a deal on a sweeping tax overhaul and hope to have legislation on President Donald Trump's desk by next week, sources said Wednesday. It would give Republicans the type of major legislative victory that has eluded them all year and mark arguably the biggest change to the tax code in over 30 years.

"One major deal that fell into place, on the state and local tax deduction, would allow taxpayers to choose a property tax deduction or a deduction for state and local income taxes, up to $10,000 in either case, according to a GOP congressional aide and a person familiar with the process.

"The issue has been a major snag throughout the process, with Republican lawmakers from the Northeast clamoring for the property tax deduction and those from California insisting on the income tax write-off. Republican leaders originally wanted to abolish the entire state and local tax deduction.

"Lawmakers had made progress Tuesday toward an agreement that would set the corporate tax rate at 21 percent and the top individual rate at 37 percent, but those details remained in flux. There was also a deal to allow homeowners to deduct the interest on up to $750,000 in mortgage debt, down from $1 million now. Another major issue awaiting resolution was how to treat so-called pass-through businesses that pay taxes through the individual side of the tax code." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05696345873fbff60c801facb575772d2b4f3429995a6087a40ad3c4fa9fc2ee8893fafbbf450a80d4

PRESIDENT TRUMP on the tax bill: "We're very, very close to a historic legislative victory." ... On the corporate tax rate: "We're going to see where it ends up but it's at 35 right now. If it got down to 21, I would certainly -- I would be thrilled. We'll see. We haven't set that final figure yet, but certainly 21 is a very great difference."

-- THE WHITE HOUSE TAX TALKING POINTS http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f0506c09d6d4e3d58d709be96e8e978ef83d56f04865c9616e58136425f693df9fcf2997434c43fac49

-- The House and the Senate conference committees are meeting today at 2 p.m. to discuss the tax bill.

Good Wednesday afternoon.

TRUTH BOMB -- There's seems to be a lot of chatter about SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY.) delaying the vote on the tax bill until Doug Jones is seated. We can't imagine this will happen. McConnell is on the 3-yard line. McConnell held a Supreme Court seat open for almost a year so he could get a conservative justice in. This is not a guy who easily bends to external political pressure.

FUNDING BATTLE UPDATE -- JOHN BRESNAHAN, SARAH FERRIS and JEN SCHOLTES -- "House GOP leaders eye 'defense only' spending bill": "House GOP leaders are considering a funding bill that covers a full year of defense spending at $640 billion but only keeps the doors open at other federal agencies until Jan. 19, according to several Republican lawmakers and aides. That end date is one day before across-the-board spending cuts are scheduled to kick in.

"Money for a popular children's health program is likely to be added to the House GOP package in a bid to win some Democratic support, the sources said. A disaster aid package to help Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands recover from this summer's devastating hurricanes would be pushed back until January." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05994202557006183352866fed9b0bb8df3cb4d800922eea5a63412c05e3343ec45a2c6861f5611b24

THE NEXT SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA -- "Smith to take Franken's Senate seat, run in 2018," by Minnesota Public Radio's Brian Bakst: "Gov. Mark Dayton confirmed Wednesday that he's chosen Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to replace resigning Sen. Al Franken in the U.S. Senate. Smith said she intends to run for election next year to keep the seat. Smith has served as Minnesota's 48th lieutenant governor since January 2015. Dayton picked Smith, who was his chief of staff, to be his running mate as he began the campaign for a second term. 'Though I never anticipated this moment, I'm resolved to do everything I can to move Minnesota forward,' Smith told reporters." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05cd1c321f4cfcb88e74b598f4aa252a108a97697957fe80c0ea0e6294064e8aeff5ad34bb5c5dd226

-- @keithellison: "Congratulations to my friend @tinaflintsmith on her appointment to the U.S. Senate. Tina is a progressive champion who will be an extraordinary senator for the people of Minnesota. She has my full support both now and when she runs in the 2018 special election." ... @SenFranken: "Tina Smith will make an excellent United States Senator. She is a dedicated public servant who's worked tirelessly on behalf of Minnesotans, and Governor Dayton couldn't have made a better choice for this job"

****** A message from the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates: UAE airlines bought $42 billion in US-made commercial aircraft at the 2017 Dubai Airshow. That's economic growth and jobs for Americans. The UAE-US commercial aviation relationship is a win-win deal. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05e20b75cb9383f68d39e4a870705c9aa3917ee68bc6eb811a44244115f45578c99447d9013920d3f5 ******

HOW IT ALL WENT WRONG -- "Inside McConnell's slow-motion Alabama train wreck," by Kevin Robillard: "In mid-March, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called freshly appointed Sen. Luther Strange with a pressing political question: Should McConnell or President Donald Trump urge Alabama's governor not to call a special election for Strange's seat in 2017?

"The previous governor, Robert Bentley, had appointed Strange to his seat and set a special election for November 2018 before resigning in a sex scandal. But new Gov. Kay Ivey was under local pressure to move the election forward, and McConnell was concerned it would distract the GOP amid efforts to repeal Obamacare and pass sweeping tax legislation in 2017. Strange told McConnell not to worry -- Ivey was a friend and political ally, Strange said, and they didn't need to worry about her cutting short Strange's time in office.

"The next month, Ivey moved the special election to December, setting off an improbable series of one-after-another political gut punches to McConnell and his conference that ended with Alabama electing its first Democratic senator in a quarter-century, the GOP Senate majority shrinking to just 51 seats, and Democrats hopeful of winning back the Senate in 2018." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f052ef5682c794329662b4a764763a57afa8eeb25b9b9b56fab529a5c605b469bf6b53d2cd19ee7f20e

ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 6:22 a.m.: "The reason I originally endorsed Luther Strange (and his numbers went up mightily), is that I said Roy Moore will not be able to win the General Election. I was right! Roy worked hard but the deck was stacked against him!" ... at 8:02 a.m.: "Wow, more than 90% of Fake News Media coverage of me is negative, with numerous forced retractions of untrue stories. Hence my use of Social Media, the only way to get the truth out. Much of Mainstream Meadia [sic] has become a joke! @foxandfriends" ... at 9:45 a.m.: "If last night's election proved anything, it proved that we need to put up GREAT Republican candidates to increase the razor thin
margins in both the House and Senate."

OUR BAD -- In this morning's Playbook, we said President Trump would be having lunch with a group of bipartisan tax conferees. He is having lunch with bicameral Republican tax conferees.

WEST WING DEPARTURE LOUNGE -- OMAROSA OUT -- AP's Darlene Superville: "White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says [Omarosa] Manigault Newman's resignation is effective Jan. 20, one year since Trump's inauguration. Manigault Newman's decision comes at the start of what's expected to be a round of departures heading into the new year." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05120b14370971c921db987a17ea3e9d6e46d99a0552034dad4a1c28d62e59a9ff49c576e821537006

-- @Yamiche: "On Omarosa's exit: I just talked to sources who tell me Omarosa was let go yesterday and that she was escorted off of the White House grounds by security. They say she is now calling friends saying that she left voluntarily because her year anniversary was coming up."

DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ROD ROSENSTEIN on special counsel Robert Mueller at House Judiciary Committee hearing: "I think it would be very difficult for anyone to find somebody better qualified for this job." More from Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05082b8a6d9e2991f1605c5438d4b26e8fc547be65b2bba8e12ebc678765729fba850d2ad4d3eb529f

REP. MO BROOKS (R-ALA.) REVEALS CANCER DIAGNOSIS -- Al.com's Lee Roop: "Brooks (R-Huntsville) said on the House floor this morning he has been diagnosed with 'high-risk prostate cancer' and will have surgery on Friday. Brooks said he has 'a very good cure prognosis.' Brooks, 63, said he may have to miss several key House votes next week that were rescheduled after his surgery was set 'unless I am unexpectedly medically cleared to travel.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f058258833e44e45e140f929c0b39e4d19b874162ffe2221c07db167383b173c2b2374709508480d137

CLICKERS - The George and Laura Bush holiday card: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f0546bae5b30da8e62408d34aac32341748043cb17894de65aa016cde0d7e1e5edd518dfe8b363dfd91 ... The Romney family one http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f0537908c115ebe13d75f34db4cce644a2b34bd02743394f3921156acdf93415093cc311bf52c50a6b9

UPDATE ON HASTERT -- "Judge bars ex-Speaker Hastert from being alone with minors," by AP's Michael Tarm: "A federal judge in Chicago on Tuesday ordered that Dennis Hastert never be left alone with anyone under 18 unless another adult is present who is aware of the former U.S. House speaker's conviction in a hush-money case that revealed he had sexually abused several high school students. U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin didn't explain in his brief order why that and other new restrictions on the 75-year-old were called for now, three months into his two-year period of supervised release from prison." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05091f18ebf54c5b386aaad45e5834c5964551c84281bf034ada904bcacc53774ee9662b9ca9e2e7f4

VALLEY TALK -- "N.J. Man Admits Creating Mirai Botnet Responsible for 2016 Web Crash," by WSJ's Drew FitzGerald: "A New Jersey man admitted to creating a massive cyberattack that blocked out large swaths of the web last year, according to federal indictments unsealed this week. The Department of Justice charged Paras Jha with running and renting out the Mirai botnet, a system of infected Wi-Fi routers, video recorders and other devices that were used to flood other websites with junk online traffic. That network, which Mr. Jha allegedly leased to other customers, helped bog down the online technology provider Dyn, which in turn made Twitter, Netflix and many websites unreachable for a day."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05af5c806da6437cd5a5a024a79dd867a4841dc7987245b224d1c94d0cd687b39c76dd218a0a60ca0f

MEDIAWATCH -- The Volokh Conspiracy, the blog run by UCLA Law professor Eugene Volokh and others, has moved from WaPo to Reason. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f055891f8ae44c624051c7e7159c1e9d8a269548c26bab5417c3dd7918ba9510e6f76bc8012e49da518

--"Two Reuters journalists arrested in Myanmar: government" - Reuters/Yangon: "[A] government spokesman ... did not say why the journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, had been arrested [or] provide details of the action they faced ... The U.S. embassy in Yangon said in a statement ... that it was 'deeply concerned by the highly irregular arrests of two Reuters reporters after they were invited to meet with police officials in Yangon last night'." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f058138e9ac1770292ff08b994a5f205ccd1eb1bb03b21c8317d3288cb614ce184ae797bf9d43c14f8b

DESSERT -- TRAILER OF THE DAY: Showtime has released the trailer for the seventh season of "Homeland," which starts Feb. 11. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05bb23ca5dd2749be437881425c5cda23431daddea12bea90f5abf0b091f1a30e4b593df480e3a8120

SPOTTED: KARL ROVE talking about the Alabama Senate election in first class of the 8 a.m. Acela today from D.C. to NYC. Per our tipster: "Rove was joking around with the conductor who was trying to guess who Rove was. Said 'you look familiar. I know you from the news. Don't tell me. Don't tell me. A Republican.' He then scanned his ticket and said 'Karl Rove! I knew it. I knew it.'"

HOLIDAY PARTY CIRCUIT -- SPOTTED last night on the rooftop of the W Hotel for Google's "Big Moments of 2017" party: Elaina Plott, Zac Moffatt, Ryan Meerstein, Jill Barclay, Tammy Haddad, Theo Meyer, Lauren Culbertson, Brian Jones, Adam Green, Amos Snead, Patrick Steel, Poppy MacDonald, Alexis Williams, Ben Brody, Kayla Cook, Becca Rutkoff, Riva Sciuto, Ben Ginsberg, Jim Acosta, Charmaine and Jack Yoest, Craig Gordon, Naomi Nix, Sara Forden, Angela Greiling Keane, Alan Davidson, Michael LaRosa, Alice Lloyd, Josh Rogin, Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Will Hurd (R-Texas), Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.),
Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) and Nanette Barragan (D-Calif).

SPOTTED last night at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America holiday party at Eastern Market: Peter Cressy; John Bodnovich, Matt Evans, Rick Wilson, Craig Purser, Laurie Knight, Bill Earle, Craig Wolf, Dawson Hobbs, Kristin Bodenstedt, Catherine McDaniel, Ali Prolago-Gormley, Ashley Lantz, Steve Rebillot, Arielle Broussard.

-- Pool report: "Sweden's Ambassador to the United States, Karin Olofsdotter, hosted the annual Lucia Reception Tuesday evening at the House of Sweden. ... The Lucia Day festivities include a full Swedish 'julbord,' or holiday buffet, as well as a choir that sings with wreathes of burning candles. Saint Lucia is celebrated as a bearer of light in the midst of the dark Swedish winter." Pic by Ben Chang http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f0577ecf1bbbba078d48104b2026dcb3ebb428fd6f7fdb7fa65cf846a141e27cc415c521561f1e5dfa6 ... The menu http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05ea787e67505959db6318ca9f0ffd2a810f8ed702761768d321c52075d562c4bca20133cbfdaee99f

SPOTTED: Norway Amb. Kåre R. Aas, Sverker Göransson, Lindsay Walters, Margaret Dougherty, Carrie Filipetti, James Olds, Ken Hyatt, Stephanie Sullivan, former U.S. Amb. to Denmark Laurie Fulton, Sharon Hudson-Dean, Kathryn Wat, Gabrielle Cowan.

SPOTTED at the Financial Services Roundtable holiday party last night at the group's office: Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.) and Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), Tim Pawlenty and Craig Phillips.

SPOTTED last night at Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's beat reporter Christmas party in the Secretary's office - pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05fdea299389b9cf41f65abcbb6f87f4d2906cffc3132b51162e0f4c24bd192a81fb1d5b0e5694836f Tommy Burr, Mike Coleman, Tyler Ross, Valerie Volcovici, Amanda House, Benny Johnson, Heather Swift, and 20 other reporters.

-- SPOTTED at iHeartMedia's Hot99.5 Jingle Ball at the Capital One Arena: Carl Forti, Rob and Susan Collins, Kenny and Sylvia Day, Caitlin Carroll, Andrew Kovalcin, Alexandra De Luca, Bryan Watkins, Stephanie Benedict.

ENGAGED -- Susie Saavedra, senior director for policy and legislative affairs at the National Urban League and an alum of Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), on Sunday got engaged to Captain Jose Feliz, acting assistant commander for supply chain management policy and performance for the U.S. Navy's Naval Supply Systems Command. Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05f511b03a7c6366125c3c72b1e222c957180cf69f85593611caa8aee8add82dc9ffd3cf3d826b4472

****** A message from the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates: Boeing is the preferred supplier for UAE commercial aviation requirements. Over the past 10 years, UAE customers have ordered $150 billion in Boeing planes, supporting 781,000 jobs in the US and injecting billions of dollars into the US economy. In 2016, the US had a $19 billion trade surplus with the UAE, America's third largest trade surplus globally.

UAE airlines have received or have on order more than 800 Boeing aircraft. Emirates is the world's largest operator of Boeing 777s and has 40 Boeing 787-10s currently on order. Flydubai operates an all-Boeing fleet of planes and has a total of 361 Boeing 737s on order. Etihad operates 24 Boeing 777s with 25 more on order, and has an additional $8.7 billion order for Boeing 787-10s. UAE airlines now serve 11 US gateway cities from Dubai and Abu Dhabi with more than 250 weekly nonstop flights. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297508d5d88a4f05e20b75cb9383f68d39e4a870705c9aa3917ee68bc6eb811a44244115f45578c99447d9013920d3f5 ******

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