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Presented by the American Petroleum Institute: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day Jan 01, 2019 View in browser
By Blake Hounshell and Daniel Lippman

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DRIVING THE DAY
Good Tuesday morning and Happy New Year! It's 2019, and it's Day 11 of the partial government shutdown. Members of Congress are starting to filter back into town. A bleary-eyed Blake Hounshell and Daniel Lippman here -- Jake and Anna will return tomorrow to guide you through this week's maneuvering.

SHE'S RUNNING -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced her 2020 presidential campaign on Monday -- the first major Democratic contender to do so. In a video emailed to supporters, she hit populist notes, and/but never said the word 'Trump': "The problem we've got right now in Washington is that it works great for those who've got money to buy influence, and I'm fighting against that," Warren said. "And you bet it's going to make a lot of people unhappy. But at the end of the day, I don't go to Washington to work for them."

-- NATASHA KORECKI, "Warren battles the ghosts of Hillary": "The anti-Elizabeth Warren narrative was written before the Massachusetts senator even announced she was exploring a presidential run. ... In interviews with POLITICO, advisers and allies project confidence that perceptions of her as cold or aloof will fade once people see her campaign. ...

"Kate Donaghue, a grass-roots Democratic organizer and [DNC] member in Boston, described Warren as someone who thrives on relationships: calling all of her major supporters on their birthdays, moving to the other side of a crowded room to give a quick hello hug, and often being the main star at Donaghue's annual holiday party." POLITICO

-- Warren's announcement video here ... video of Warren cracking a beer afterwards here

Here's how PRESIDENT TRUMP reacted in a New Year's Eve interview with PETE HEGSETH of Fox News: "Elizabeth Warren, one of your favorite senators, will be announcing an exploratory committee -- your reaction to your first opponent on the Democratic side, Mr. President?" TRUMP: "Well, I'm happy about it. I think she'll be wonderful. I hope she maybe gets the nomination. That will be a wonderful thing for me. ... She did very badly in proving that she was of Indian heritage.

"That didn't work out too well. I think you have more than she does, and maybe I do too, and I have nothing. So you know, we'll see how she does. I wish her well. I hope she does well. I'd love to run against her." HEGSETH: "She says she's in the fight all the way, Mr. President. Do you really think she believes she can win?" TRUMP: "Well that I don't know. You'd have to ask her psychiatrist."

-- QUICK THOUGHTS ON WARREN: Odd timing on the announcement. Minimal windup, on the last day of the year? After her DNA test stumble this fall, it shows some wariness of a press-pundit-industrial complex that is ready to pounce on any perceived mistake. Her team clearly sees a need to make her come across as warm and accessible -- hence the video kicking back with the beer.

Warren generates a lot of excitement on the left, obviously, but many top Democrats fear she won't be strong enough to take on the president. Last month, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel told us that in attacking Warren over the DNA stuff, Trump is "picking his opponent." We'll see. If there's one thing we know about politics after 2016, it's that nobody knows anything. After all, many on Team Hillary wanted Trump as their opponent -- and look how that turned out.

SPOTTED in first class on Alaska Airlines on her way back to D.C. from San Francisco Monday: Presumptive House Speaker NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.), along with her daughter and granddaughter. Pelosi has taken some heat from Republicans for vacationing in Hawaii while President Trump stayed in Washington (with a quick side trip to Iraq and Germany) amid the shutdown.

NOW THAT SHE'S BACK IN TOWN -- "Pelosi challenges McConnell with shutdown plan," by Burgess Everett, Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle: "The presumptive House speaker, along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, together announced plans on New Year's Eve to pass bills funding the quarter of the government that's shut down since the president refused to sign any bill without big border security funding increases.

"Pelosi's new House Democratic majority will pass a legislative package delivering funding for nonimmigration enforcement departments that have shuttered during the impasse, plus a stop gap bill funding the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 8, which would only offer a short-term punt to the ongoing impasse over a border barrier." POLITICO

-- @realdonaldtrump's reaction last night: "The Democrats will probably submit a Bill, being cute as always, which gives everything away but gives NOTHING to Border Security, namely the Wall. You see, without the Wall there can be no Border Security -- the Tech 'stuff' is just, by comparison, meaningless bells & whistles...

"Remember this. Throughout the ages some things NEVER get better and NEVER change. You have Walls and you have Wheels. It was ALWAYS that way and it will ALWAYS be that way! Please explain to the Democrats that there can NEVER be a replacement for a good old fashioned WALL!"

-- SHUTDOWN ANALYSIS: "How the shutdown is reaching a breaking point," by Jennifer Scholtes, Caitlin Emma, and Bernie Becker.

A message from the American Petroleum Institute:

Welcome to America's Generation Energy, led by the women and men of the natural gas and oil industry, who are meeting unprecedented consumer demand for affordable and reliable energy while reducing the U.S. carbon footprint to its lowest level in a generation. See how we're doing it and join us at PowerPastImpossible.org.

BEN SCHRECKINGER, "'Wow': NASA startles with invitation to sanctioned Russian": "A Trump administration official's plan to host a sanctioned Russian nationalist in the U.S. in the coming months is raising alarms among Russia hawks in Washington.

"NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine extended an October invitation for his counterpart, Dmitry Rogozin, to visit NASA headquarters in Houston in early 2019. ... Rogozin is ... an ultranationalist politician with a record of stark racism and homophobia who is under American sanctions, which typically bar him from entering the U.S. over his 2014 role ... in Moscow's annexation of Crimea." POLITICO

HOW KIM JONG UN RANG IN 2019 -- "Kim Jong Un Mixes Defiance With Hope for New Summit With Trump," by WSJ's Andrew Jeong and Timothy W. Martin in Seoul: "North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country remains focused on denuclearization and expressed a desire to hold another summit with President Trump but threatened to 'explore a new path' if the U.S. continued its sanctions and pressure campaign.

"The televised remarks, made on Tuesday during Mr. Kim's annual New Year's address, appeared aimed at maintaining last year's mood of diplomacy with Washington. But the North Korean leader's rare public statements also underlined the country's refusal to take further steps toward nuclear disarmament until the U.S. eases economic sanctions that have limited Pyongyang's trade and economic growth." WSJ ... Video of his speech

-- BLOOMBERG'S YOUKYUNG LEE (@YKreports) in Seoul: "Most eye-catching part of Kim's New Year's Day speech to me was his fashion and the interior of the room that he chose to present his speech. Kim was in a suit and tie. against the wooden wall sitting on leather couch. A modern, western, approachable leader doing a fireside chat."

SYRIA UPDATE -- "Trump to Allow Months for Troop Withdrawal in Syria, Officials Say," by NYT's Eric Schmitt and Maggie Haberman: "President Trump has agreed to give the military about four months to withdraw the 2,000 United States troops in Syria, administration officials said on Monday, backtracking from his abrupt order two weeks ago that the military pull out within 30 days. Mr. Trump confirmed on Twitter that troops would 'slowly' be withdrawn, but complained that he got little credit for the move." NYT

OOPS -- "Military Deletes New Year's Eve Tweet Saying It's 'Ready to Drop Something,'" by NYT's Matt Stevens and Thomas Gibbons-Neff: "The unified command responsible for the United States' nuclear strike capabilities drew attention on Monday when it tweeted a message and video that threatened the possibility of dropping a bomb. In the tweet, which was posted as Americans prepared to celebrate New Year's Eve and was deleted about three hours later, the United States Strategic Command said the nation was 'ready to drop something.'

"A video that was part of the tweet showed a B-2 stealth bomber soaring across the sky before releasing two GPS-guided bombs that exploded into a giant ball of fire after hitting the ground below. In the video, which was viewed more than 120,000 times, pulsing music beats in the background as the words 'STEALTH,' 'READY' and 'LETHAL' flash across the screen in white block letters." NYT

WHAT THE PRESIDENT WAS DOING -- POTUS had literally nothing on his schedule on Monday, we're told. His private schedule listed "Executive Time" starting and ending at TBD. That's it. Granted, it was New Year's Eve day, but ... (h/t Eliana Johnson)

SHOT -- Playboy's @briankarem: "POTUS tweet minutes ago claimed he was in the Oval Office. No marine there so that's another lie."

CHASER -- White House spox @hogangidley45: "I just looked into the Oval Office myself, and @POTUS was in fact sitting behind the Resolute Desk working. So, now I'm just waiting for you and the rest of your ilk to either stop jumping to false conclusions, correct the record, or, here's a thought, call the press team to ask."

TRUMP WITH THE VOLUME UP -- @realDonaldTrump at 8:08 a.m.: "HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE HATERS AND THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA! 2019 WILL BE A FANTASTIC YEAR FOR THOSE NOT SUFFERING FROM TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. JUST CALM DOWN AND ENJOY THE RIDE, GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING FOR OUR COUNTRY!" His 2-min. New Year's Eve video
PLAYBOOK READS


PHOTO DU JOUR: Revelers celebrate in Times Square in New York. | Craig Ruttle/AP Photo

FUN READ -- DAVID SIDERS, "'So many that are so bad': The 2020 book primary is on: Great literature? Not exactly. But that's not the goal for Harris, Sanders or Castro, to name a few of the politician-authors."

TOP-ED - JIMMY CARTER in WaPo, "How to repair the U.S.-China relationship - and prevent a modern Cold War"

WHAT TRUMP'S AG PICK ONCE SAID ABOUT A BORDER WALL: In a 1992 appearance on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour on PBS, when asked about a barrier similar to Trump's proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, William Bar said this: "I don't think it's necessary. I think that's overkill to put a barrier from one side of the border to the other." AP

HMM - "A Trump family aide tried to get a HUD colleague fired by name-dropping Eric Trump," by WaPo's Tracy Jan and Juliet Eilperin: "Just three weeks into the Trump presidency, Lynne Patton, a longtime Trump family aide and freshly minted HUD senior adviser, had a personnel problem she deemed serious enough to invoke her powerful connections.

"In a flurry of emails to the Office of Presidential Personnel in February 2017, Patton sought to remove Maren Kasper, the White House liaison to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, because Patton felt undermined. 'Dr. Carson & his team deem her divisive and disruptive, as do I,' Patton wrote to John DeStefano, assistant to Trump and then director of presidential personnel, and his deputy director, Sean Doocey, on Feb. 8. 'If it helps, Eric Trump agrees that it's best to nip this potential problem in the bud & told me to call Jared [Kushner], if necessary, but I prefer to go through you all first.'" WaPo

GET SMART FAST: Here's Sabrina Rodriguez on what the newly inaugurated president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, means for the U.S. POLITICO

MILESTONE -- AP'S MARCIA DUNN: "The NASA spacecraft that yielded the first close-up views of Pluto opened the new year at an even more distant world, a billion miles beyond. Flight controllers said everything looked good for New Horizons' flyby of the tiny, icy object at 12:33 a.m. Tuesday. Confirmation was not expected for hours, though, given the vast distance. The mysterious, ancient target nicknamed Ultima Thule is 4 billion miles (6.4 billion kilometers) from Earth." AP

A message from the American Petroleum Institute:

Welcome to America's Generation Energy, led by the women and men of the natural gas and oil industry, who are meeting unprecedented consumer demand for affordable and reliable energy while reducing the U.S. carbon footprint to its lowest level in a generation. See how we're doing it and join us at PowerPastImpossible.org.

HOT IN KALORAMA - "Trump claims there's a 10-foot wall around the Obamas' D.C. home. He is wrong," by WaPo's Michael Brice-Saddler: "In one of his most recent arguments for a southern border wall, President Trump on Sunday falsely claimed that the Washington home of former president Barack Obama and Michelle Obama is surrounded by a 10-foot wall. ... Trump's assertion came as a surprise to two of the Obamas' neighbors Monday, who told The Washington Post that there is no such wall.

"The 8,200-square-foot structure, despite several security features, is completely visible from the street. A neighbor, a longtime resident of the area who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve their privacy, said Trump 'has a very active imagination.' 'There's a fence that goes along the front of the house, but it's the same as the other neighbors have,' the neighbor said. 'It's tastefully done.'" WaPo

MEDIAWATCH - "Beyond 'no comment': The White House has no response - at all - to many media questions," by WaPo's Paul Farhi: "'This is the least responsive White House press operation I've ever dealt with by far,' said Peter Baker, a veteran White House reporter for the New York Times ... 'There are certainly individuals there who are professional and try to be helpful when they can, and I appreciate their efforts, I really do. But as a whole, I've learned not to expect answers even to basic questions.'" WaPo

-- ADAM RUBENSTEIN will be executive editor of Jewish Insider. He most recently was a writer and an editor at the Weekly Standard.

CLICKER - BUZZFEED -- 22 pix on one page: "How People Around The World Celebrated The New Year And Said Goodbye To 2018"
PLAYBOOKERS
PLAYBOOKERS' NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS -- Linda Lucille Murphy:"Once a week, engage a stranger in conversation -- not a complaint, not a diatribe, not an insult, just a conversation where we both talk and listen." ... Ned Riedel: "I am going to use President Trump as an example of how I can improve myself by thinking long and hard about what I say before I say it out loud." ... Harris Fried:"If people were half as nice to each other 'as they are to their pets' we would have a far more peaceful country." ... Ben Chang: "Say more, Speak less. Focus more on what's happening off the ball. Get a radio show." ...

... Sarah Evans: "1. Stay on my phone less; 2. Volunteer with a local refugee resettlement agency in the DC area (such as IRC or HIAS in Silver Spring)." ... Jack Ditterline: "To drink less and smile more, by watching WAY less cable network news!" ... Mike Struzik: "To maintain my sanity having to live with an insane president, my resolution is to battle the insanity by watching episodes of The West Wing. This is my 3rd time watching all 7 seasons!" ...

... Matt Dennis of CRD Associates: "Pay more compliments. I'm going to make a better effort to make sure people know when I think they're doing great at their job, being a great partner or parent, or otherwise doing positive things. ... [Y]ou never know when someone is having a terrible day or going through something, and that compliment could make a big difference."

AN OLD GENERAL FADES AWAY -- A farewell message from now-former defense secretary Jim Mattis: Twitter


SPOTTED at the British Embassy's annual New Year's Eve party at the ambassador's residence: Ambassador Kim Darroch, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Dr. Susan Blumenthal, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Katherine Van Hollen, Alan Greenspan and Andrea Mitchell, Phil Rucker, Josh Dawsey, Acting AG Matt Whitaker, Mary Jordan, Jeff Goldberg, Craig Gordon, Melanne Verveer, Elizabeth Drew, Fred Hiatt, Kevin Chaffee, Jane Harman, Charlie Cook, Margaret Carlson ...

... Steve Clemons, Bob Costa, Ken Follett, Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.) and Lucy Holding, Brian Hook, Marty Obst, Giovanna Coia and John Pence, Jason Rae, Joel Rayburn, Susan Rice, Nathan Sales, Martin and Katie O'Malley, Samantha Menh, Elizabeth Bagley Frawley, Sean Spicer, Ed Luce and John McCarthy.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Todd Webster, SVP of Cornerstone Government Affairs. What he's been reading recently: "'Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different,' by Gordon Wood. ... [T]he book argues that their personal character was the central component to their success at winning the Revolutionary War, writing a constitution, and founding the country. It also describes another figure from that era who was the antithesis of a decent public official, Aaron Burr. As a one-term senator from New York, Burr 'used his public office in every way he could to make money.' So he's not just the guy who killed Hamilton, he was also corrupt and conniving." Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Dana Klinghoffer, senior director of comms at NBC News (hat tip: the NBC News PR team) ... James Glassman, chairman and CEO at Public Affairs Engagement, is 72 (h/t Tim Burger) ... Rob Johnson, founder of Johnson Strategies (h/t Travis Considine) ... Daniel Arrigg Koh ... Google's Tomer Ovadia ... Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) is 65 (h/t Robb Watters) ... IMF chief Christine Lagarde is 63 ... former N.J. Sen. and Gov. Jon Corzine is 72 ... former Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.) is 97 ... Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) is 54 ... Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) is 45 ... former Rep. John Sullivan (R-Okla.) is 54 ... former Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas) is 77 ... Stephanie Penn ... Katie Lee ...
Kevin McGrann, assistant VP for federal relations at AT&T (h/t Lyndon Boozer) ... Nirmal Mankani ... WaPo's Brady Dennis ... Paul E. Singer Foundation's Daniel Bonner is 29 (h/t Max Neuberger) ... Ronald Perelman is 76 ...

... Jonah Peretti, founder and CEO of Buzzfeed, is 45 ... Gail Golden Icahn ... Jeremy Bates ... Ted Bridis, an AP alum who now teaches investigative reporting at University of Florida ... J.D. Bryant, associate director at Bully Pulpit Interactive ... Kara Kearns ... Josh Nanberg, president of Ampersand Strategies, is 45 ... POLITICO Europe's Giulia Chiatante ... Ken Toltz ... Hannah Schwartz ... Michael Kelly ... Meagan Vargas ... Margot Friedman ... POLITICO's Alex DiNino ... Hugh Delehanty ... Alison Howard ... Kate Beale Maguire ... Victor Ashe ... Brian Frederick is 43 ... Caroline Buck ... Lauren Hagen ... Yama Noori ... James Donnelly of DC political/policy job bank Daybook.com ...
Esther Haluts ... Shannon Watts ... Remy White ... C-SPAN's Nicole Ninh ... Rocky Disabato ... Sally Slater (h/t Liana Baker) ... Uber's Andrew Greene is 29 ... Max Richtman ... Zach Howell ... Jay Kahn ... Jennifer Hall ... Nizar Latif Al-Babli ... Paul Ullman (h/t Teresa Vilmain)

A message from the American Petroleum Institute:

Welcome to America's Generation Energy, led by the women and men of the natural gas and oil industry. Together we power modern life by delivering the fuel, power, products and innovation that are connecting us and making lives safer, healthier and more affordable. America's abundant natural gas and oil are creating jobs, supporting communities and the economy, strengthening U.S. security and developing the technologies of the future. Generation Energy is solving complex problems, meeting unprecedented consumer demand for affordable and reliable energy while reducing the U.S. carbon footprint to its lowest level in a generation. With smart trade, infrastructure and regulatory policies,
Generation Energy is poised to accelerate U.S. energy leadership and build on the environmental progress we've achieved. See how we're doing it and join us at PowerPastImpossible.org.

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