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Today's Playbook Power Briefing presented by BP

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


Good Thursday afternoon. HERE IT IS!: The House GOP tax plan http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4a136ec1c5c3df377d84ab386fdc0226ce428af74c55bc751055bc13a375fd359b7e71f6e0ea5ab655c4a3fcc47ca283 ...

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE TAX PLAN...

-- FIRST TAKEAWAY: There's a long way -- and a lot of lobbying -- to go. But we were standing outside 1100 Longworth all morning, and, generally speaking, the lawmaker reaction to the bill was positive. The gripes seemed somewhat muted. It's going better than health care!

-- THE NAME: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Slogan: "More jobs. Fairer taxes. Bigger paychecks".

PRESIDENT TRUMP'S was generally positive in his statement on the tax rollout, but he did not explicitly say he supports this bill. GOP leaders have been telling us that the president does support it. Keep an eye on that. The statement http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=513c38ebb8700c9b62ae4258f634172c58d4032331cfaec49d4e8ab0489b4b33db86083147211710d3755cd7cf6ae088

-- THE BOTTOM LINE, per Brian Faler: "House Republican leaders unveiled a tax plan Thursday that would make sweeping changes in corporate and individual taxes, including deep tax cuts, limits to the mortgage interest deduction and bigger family tax credits. It also includes provisions that are likely to stoke controversy and fierce lobbying, including limiting the deduction of mortgage interest for newly purchased homes up to $500,000, according to a summary."

-- FLASHPOINTS, per Faler: "[T]he plan would 'retain' 401(k) savings plans and 'allow people to write off the cost of state and local property taxes up to $10,000.' The plan would slash the corporate tax rate to 20 percent and create three new individual tax brackets of 12%, 25%, and 35%. It would maintain a 39.6 percent rate on top earners and boosts the child tax credit to $1,600. It would also double the exemption for the estate tax and repeal it after six years." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=513c38ebb8700c9b9ed3e6988512b1cd2815fb92508fd6d48bdc59b03edfd6f195397b18c240ae1afe6868d7d8f88b2c

-- HIDDEN ISSUES, from WSJ's Rich Rubin: "For example, the proposal repeals an itemized deduction for medical expenses, a crucial provision to households with extraordinary health-care costs. It also repeals the tax credit for adoption and the deduction for student-loan interest.

"The bill also limits the home mortgage-interest deduction. For new home purchases, interest would be deductible only on loans up to $500,000, down from $1 million today; existing loans would be grandfathered. Because of the larger standard deduction, fewer people would have a tax incentive to make charitable donations." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=513c38ebb8700c9bc99d1b78285cc5127514622e7edce19772f971807a515ddf90370ceff1a10d8d59fdd68f041597ab ... Rubin and other WSJ reporters' liveblog http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=513c38ebb8700c9b3ab21f975b08eea698ad9ba078582522d5c0720c52de5314774fc46864f22c23bea22680b0ac543e

-- @_collenmurphy_: "NEW 1.4 percent tax on college endowments with assets of more than $100K per student is in today's tax reform bill ... Plan also ends deductibility on donations attached to seat licenses at sporting events".

STANDING IN OPPOSITION -- NFIB ... Realtors ... National Association of Home Builders

NEW YORK REP. LEE ZELDIN (R) said he's a no on this bill. "We need to fix this State and Local Tax deduction issue. Adding back in the property tax deduction up to $10,000 is progress, but not enough progress."

-- THIS CONTINUES to be a nagging issue that the GOP hasn't been able to adequately solve. REMINDER: Republicans can't count on any Democratic support. They can only lose 22 Republicans on the floor. We'll see how many other New Yorkers and New Jerseyans come out against this bill.

HOW HOUSE GOP LEADERS ARE TALKING ABOUT THE BILL ...

-- SPEAKER PAUL RYAN says families will save $1,182 and Americans will be able to do their taxes on the form the "size of a post card" ...

-- WAYS AND MEANS CHAIRMAN KEVIN BRADY: The GOP tax bill has "President Trump's full support. ...

-- HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY: "Not only will America grow, we'll show the rest of the world how to lead."

HOT DOCS -- THE HOUSE GOP TALKING POINTS for tax reform. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=513c38ebb8700c9b9e2fc908077887a81e6b64817795a351e30a3af0a6bd680632c925fddc1cba87cab0e875efeabb63 ... The policy highlights http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=513c38ebb8700c9bb32d769143b08e904cb6dcf821e10d1e870670371dcd7c3ca184259f4205914c5751d2a19593b020 ... The "taxpayer examples" stories http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=513c38ebb8700c9b360509e333c938e6d46df3e5a190071e221b3eb44b91c36258da1293635bdb1d1140110478caa1f2 ... The pushback against Dem talking points http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=513c38ebb8700c9bb2082b411ca5dda0bc92f6be5646036020df6ef4aff0063831991f3f8f9015d83fa7873bb2656bfd ...

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- HOW THE NRCC IS FRAMING THE BILL -- The NRCC sent out their top talking points today. Look for surrogates to frame the bill this way: 1. Change vs. Status quo 2. More money for the middle class 3. This is personal for American families 4. Pelosi and Democrats will try and stop this to take back the House. The doc http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=513c38ebb8700c9b48a895ba19e2569f560afcec37e0ce758b2d2d64bc4e36a158576a7fbb18b6542cc0526b5ae359a9

-- THE NRCC COMMS and POLICY TEAMS will brief Republican offices tomorrow afternoon going through talking points, polling and the national and state-based data it has compiled. Expected to attend: Member of Ryan's political team, RNC aides and chief of staff and communications directors.


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HUGE -- @seungminkim: "News: Trump and Senate Republicans agreed to not attach DACA fix to year-end spending bill, senators say".

CLOVIS OUT -- Trump campaign aide Clovis withdraws from consideration for USDA job," by Josh Dawsey and Andrew Restuccia: "Former Trump campaign aide Sam Clovis has withdrawn from consideration to be the Department of Agriculture's chief scientist, according to a letter Clovis sent on Wednesday to President Donald Trump. Clovis has come under criticism recently for his lack of science credentials and for his role supervising George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser who struck a plea deal on charges he lied to FBI investigators about his communications with Russia-linked contacts.

"'The political climate inside Washington has made it impossible for me to receive balanced and fair consideration for this position,' Clovis wrote. 'The relentless assaults on you and your team seem to be a blood sport that only increases in intensity each day.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a744337f205cbb414854b07603161cd589bfaa40072ed9f63b616cea7312074e7a296cc6f61d750556d3d70fc3c2e621 ... The letter http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a744337f205cbb4100bc37d479680b4cb963eb80c29b967b2c1138a2f7beb9a0274a25e1969515d898bbc378eeb83131


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BUSINESS BURST -- "U.S. Weighs Suit Against AT&T's Deal for Time Warner," by WSJ's Brent Kendall and Drew FitzGerald: "The Justice Department is actively considering a lawsuit to challenge AT&T Inc.'s planned acquisition of Time Warner Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. The department's antitrust division is preparing for litigation in case it decides to sue to block the deal ... Simultaneously, the department and the companies are discussing possible settlement terms that would lead to the deal winning government approval with conditions attached. The two sides, however, aren't yet close to an agreement." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a744337f205cbb41669fd66aa5b7e2776cd9c38525013d1453b63e5438e82915a2891e42e57fc3cf3ed3a369438a3513

BIG MONEY SHAKEUP -- "RenTech's Robert Mercer to Exit as Co-CEO, Sell Breitbart Stake," by Bloomberg's Janet Lorin and Katherine Burton: "Renaissance Technologies' Robert Mercer plans to step down as co-chief executive officer effective Jan. 1, as he tries to distance himself from controversy over his political ties to associates of President Donald Trump. ... In the Nov. 2 letter, Mercer said 'for personal reasons' he has decided to sell his stake in Breitbart News to his daughters. He wrote that he has 'great respect' for Bannon but that their views don't always align." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a744337f205cbb419c126a1c5c5d81a1ac207f2f5c301e4fc7c6d8ce3ba5545b7b5125218547e62da0c96c0fede272ed

-- MERCER'S LETTER: "The press has also intimated that my politics marches in lockstep with Steve Bannon's. I have great respect for Mr. Bannon, and from time to time I do discuss politics with him. However, I make my own decisions with respect to whom I support politically. Those decisions do not always align with Mr. Bannon's. ...

"I supported Milo Yiannopoulos in the hope and expectation that his expression of views contrary to the social mainstream and his spotlighting of the hypocrisy of those who would close down free speech in the name of political correctness ... But in my opinion, actions of and statements by Mr. Yiannopoulos have caused pain and divisiveness undermining the open and productive discourse that I had hoped to facilitate. I was mistaken to have supported him, and for several weeks have been in the process of severing all ties with him." The full letter http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a744337f205cbb418c584b50a46316a1087f476161dcdf53f3236c250ae54db71440c296f71055d0a664f05905ef28c9

HACK UPDATE -- "U.S. Prosecutors Consider Charging Russian Officials in DNC Hacking Case," by WSJ's Aruna Viswanatha and Del Quentin Wilber: "The Justice Department has identified more than six members of the Russian government involved in hacking the [DNC's] computers and swiping sensitive information that became public during the 2016 presidential election, according to people familiar with the investigation. Prosecutors and agents have assembled evidence to charge the Russian officials and could bring a case next year, these people said. Discussions about the case are in the early stages, they said.

"If filed, the case would provide the clearest picture yet of the actors behind the DNC intrusion. U.S. intelligence agencies have attributed the attack to Russian intelligence services, but haven't provided detailed information about how they concluded those services were responsible, or any details about the individuals allegedly involved." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a744337f205cbb417bb796de54635963a9356761f04a0d28adf7e35ded36e5c06ed1a214b3ccdc9f28e61e8fb5f5e737

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- "The Global Economy Looks Good for 2018 (Unless Somebody Does Something Dumb)," by Bloomberg Businessweek's Peter Coy: "Everyone in the world-plus the two SpaceX customers who technically won't be in the world when they do figure eights around the Earth and the moon for two weeks this coming year-can look forward to another year of healthy growth in 2018. We've gotten so used to complaining about sluggishness that it's a shock to realize the global economy has quietly accelerated to a respectable and sustainable cruising speed. Market volatility is historically low. Even the skeptical Germans sound happy." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a744337f205cbb417a07e29025c639e7056403653e6ac9e995e21c9de96db25ce9f5f72cb8e741421a5b6f6b6ed77649

ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 7:50 a.m.: "Would love to send the NYC terrorist to Guantanamo but statistically that process takes much longer than going through the Federal system..." ... at 7:54 a.m.: "...There is also something appropriate about keeping him in the home of the horrible crime he committed. Should move fast. DEATH PENALTY!"

--"Analysis: CIA releases massive trove of Osama bin Laden's files," by Thomas Joscelyn and Bill Roggio in Long War Journal: "The CIA is releasing hundreds of thousands of documents, images, and computer files recovered during the May 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The newly-available material provides invaluable insights into the terrorist organization that struck America on September 11, 2001. ... The CIA provided FDD's Long War Journal with an advance copy of many of the files." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a744337f205cbb41daa1fec73e1a8ddbec4af40aa867a189296c3f45996ca0310569e305cd4ba4f4c598671bcbe262b5

BINGE LISTEN -- McClatchy released the entirety of season two for their podcast "Majority Minority" today. Episodes include interview with Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) Larry Wilmore, DeRay Mckesson and more. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a744337f205cbb4180b6e7d188a1f08a2e3c7f7b27b84e37fbf97465e20c43efb6c263fe6b20ce3a86d0a9a3936e71b9

BOOK ALERT -- Former FBI Director James Comey's book -- which is due out in May -- will be titled "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership," Axios' Mike Allen reported. Mike's story http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=268d8a2293eab6b94192dea929c8bd6aa515197b439984d8311580e27d8e06ecf7653639c9fd38c555bd0a837dd3b3fc

SPOTTED: former New York Gov. George Pataki reading the WSJ and waiting at Union Station to board the 10 a.m. Acela to New York -- pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=268d8a2293eab6b963feda3adae33b57321726b6ffefd1d3c45f2ef553f6e859303e6a046188dae2b355965edcf7380a ... Financial Times columnist Ed Luce getting breakfast this morning with Jim Manley at the Dupont Circle Le Pain Quotidien

OUT AND ABOUT -- SPOTTED: House Majority Whip Steve Scalise having dinner last night at Oceanaire with a group of Scalise office alums, including: Darren Achord of Amazon, Stephen Bell of NRECA, Luke Bolar of Edelman, Julia D'hemecourt of Hunton & Williams, Will Dunham of Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's office, Nicole Gustafson of NAB, and Eric Zulkosky of Fierce Government Relations.

-- Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, Steve Moore, Marc Short and Tony Sayegh all spoke last night at an off the record dinner hosted by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity at the UPS townhouse on Capitol Hill. SPOTTED: Ralph Reed, Adam Brandon, Alexandra Preate, Doug McGinn, Greg Ip, Damian Paletta, Aaron Lorenzo, Pete Sepp, Noah Jacobsen, Mike Kiely, Annie Policastro, Michelle Dimarob and Dan Clifton.

--SPOTTED this morning at the groundbreaking on the National Mall of the Eisenhower Memorial: emcee Greta Van Susteren, John Coale, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kans.), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Bret and Amy Baier, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), David Eisenhower, Susan Eisenhower, West Point First Captain Simone Askew, and Frank Gehry, who designed the memorial.

THE BOOK PARTY CIRCUIT -- SPOTTED at a book party last night hosted by Jean and Steve Case at the Case Foundation to celebrate Ross Baird's new book "The Innovation Blind Spot: Why We Back the Wrong Ideas - and What to Do About It" ($19.92 on Amazon http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d6c3335a96212c92458b0b64845b82ed2d2e1767d5784bf9ddc8cb0e90973c4ead5c474bb0fc481760a4bf935bee6bcf Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Barry Lynn, Meredith Balenske, Randall Kempner, John Lettieri, Steve Glickman, Matt Stoller.

--SPOTTED last night at PJ Clarke's Sidecar in NYC, celebrating the release of Chris Matthews' new book "Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit" ($18.89 on Amazon http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d6c3335a96212c9267f8553b733f65273a803ce8bb341846c074c5024cc924b29b5b3daa861406206d7ef5720a53f4de Phil Griffin, Ari Melber, Katy Tur, Chris Jansing, Dan Rather, Malcolm Nance, Norah O'Donnell, Kerry Kennedy, Douglas Kennedy.

TRANSITIONS -- Amalia Stott, Marissa Trambley and Emily Winternitz, all EMILY's List alums, launched a fundraising and development consulting firm Stott Development Solutions Group. ... Emily Leviner will start as Sen. Deb Fischer's (R-Neb.) legislative director tomorrow. She was previously with Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas). ... Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies has added Katie Schwab, Rose Christ, and Reggie Thomas, who were all previously at Manatt. ...

... Helen Tolar is joining Troutman Sanders Strategies as a principal and co-lead of the D.C. office. She previously was chief of staff to Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.). ... Brett Zongker has started at the Library of Congress overseeing communications related to exhibitions and new acquisitions in the collection; he most recently was senior associate director of media relations at GW and is a former AP reporter.

- OBAMA ALUMNI: Meredith Carden, former head of partnerships for Sidewire, has joined Facebook's News Partnerships team in New York, where she will also work on the Facebook Journalism Project. Carden also previously worked for former First Lady Michelle Obama in the White House. ... Lisa Samp has started as VP for international policy at JPMorgan Chase. She was previously a senior fellow in the international security program at CSIS and the NSC director for NATO and European strategic affairs in the Obama White House.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD - David Bahr, communications manager for the R Street Institute and a Weekly Standard alum, and Clairee Bahr, a consultant with the American Institutes for Research, welcomed daughter, Reagan Carolina Bahr. Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=268d8a2293eab6b94b4ba897fb3ec5cf6db464f793e656031b3ac2bd03b5fe7eda876fc5a91ff1ce768a0fa5a136dd89

-- Josh Pudnos, head of policy advisory services at FiscalNote, and Micaela Klein, acting policy advisor on tech issues for Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and a State and DHS alum, welcomed their daughter Jax Cady Pudnos on Halloween. "Her first costume, according to her parents, was 'her birthday suit.'" Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=268d8a2293eab6b9f171ce8f0d67164a6bf65a36cfdb514ee93bfd578d614ac2c9f7a5f19007849d32ea310325cd5878

BONUS BIRTHDAY: Bloomberg's Kevin Cirilli is 28. He's celebrating tonight with friends at Fight Night at the Washington (h/t Robin Goldman)

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