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Presented by Delta Air Lines: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day Nov 15, 2018 View in browser
By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Daniel Lippman and Garrett Ross

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WHAT NANCY PELOSI IS SAYING ...

-- PELOSI compared this class to the 1974 "Watergate Babies": "I don't know if this Congress will name itself, but we're almost close to 60 new Democrats." ... PELOSI says PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP is engaged in an "all out campaign to obstruct the Mueller investigation." She said Trump appointed acting AG Matt Whitaker to end the investigation.

THE SCENE ... Pelosi's press conferences are now full again ... Photo

-- ONE NOTABLE difference between Speaker Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi's press conferences are widely attended by her senior staff.

RACHAEL BADE (@rachaelmbade): ".@NancyPelosi on Marcia Fudge potential challenge : 'Come on in! the water is warm.'"

INTERESTING DYNAMIC ... SOUTH CAROLINA REP. JIM CLYBURN -- the former Democratic whip who is running to return to that slot -- said during an appearance with Jake on MSNBC that he was going to populate his whip team with younger lawmakers to bring up a next generation of leaders.

WE'RE STILL ON ... ANNA and JAKE will be onstage with NADEAM ELSHAMI, JOSH HOLMES and GREG STRIMPLE tonight at the Showroom. Doors open 5:30 p.m. We look forward to seeing you there, and talking more about Pelosi and all things post-elections for our "PLAYBOOK ELECTIONS: WHAT'S NEXT?" event, part of the POLITICO-AARP Deciders series. RSVP

MORE KHASHOGGI FALLOUT ... JESUS RODRIGUEZ: "Trump administration slaps sanctions on Saudis over Khashoggi's death": "The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions targeting 17 Saudi Arabian officials - but not the powerful crown prince - over the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi more than a month after the Saudi critic went missing.

"The Treasury Department designated the officials for sanctions over what it called 'serious human rights abuse,' freezing any U.S. assets and barring American citizens from engaging in business with them. The announcement named royal court adviser Saud al-Qahtani and said he led the team that flew into Istanbul just hours before Khashoggi entered the consulate there for paperwork relating to his planned marriage." POLITICO

THE LATEST IN THE SENATE ... BURGESS EVERETT: "Cortez Masto named DSCC chair": "The freshman Democrat will steer the committee into a cycle when Democrats have a real shot at taking back the majority. Republicans will have no more than 53 seats pending the recount in the Florida Senate race, and a handful of GOP senators are considered vulnerable in a presidential election year." POLITICO

-- BURGESS EVERETT: "GOP eyes Blackburn in bid to add woman to Senate Judiciary"

Good Thursday afternoon. SPOTTED: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez taking a call away from where new House members were gathered for freshman orientation at the Capitol. Pic ... Leon Panetta, Jeremy Bash and former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu sitting at separate tables last night at the Bombay Club.

WHAT'S ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 7:14 a.m.: "The inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess. They have found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts. They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want. They are a disgrace to our Nation and don't..."

... at 7:32 a.m.: "...care how many lives the ruin. These are Angry People, including the highly conflicted Bob Mueller, who worked for Obama for 8 years. They won't even look at all of the bad acts and crimes on the other side. A TOTAL WITCH HUNT LIKE NO OTHER IN AMERICAN HISTORY!"

... at 9:49 a.m.: "Universities will someday study what highly conflicted (and NOT Senate approved) Bob Mueller and his gang of Democrat thugs have done to destroy people. Why is he protecting Crooked Hillary, Comey, McCabe, Lisa Page & her lover, Peter S, and all of his friends on the other side?"

... at 9:59 a.m.: "The only 'Collusion' is that of the Democrats with Russia and many others. Why didn't the FBI take the Server from the DNC? They still don't have it. Check out how biased Facebook, Google and Twitter are in favor of the Democrats. That's the real Collusion!"

-- THE INVESTIGATIONS ... CAITLIN OPRYSKO: "U.S. judge rejects move to dismiss Mueller indictment against Russian firm"

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THE LATEST IN FLORIDA ... WSJ'S ANDREW DUEHREN in Tallahassee: "Judge Orders Florida to Allow Thousands of Voters a Chance to Verify Uncounted Ballots": "Voters in Florida whose mail-in and provisional ballots went uncounted because election officials were unable to verify their signature must be given the chance to prove their vote's validity, a federal judge ordered early Thursday, further complicating an already sprawling recount process in the state.

"The order, issued by federal Judge Mark Walker, gives those voters until Saturday at 5 p.m. to show that their ballots were authentic. Judge Walker writes in his ruling that more than 4,000 people in 45 of Florida's 67 counties couldn't vote in 2018 because their signatures on their mail-in or provisional ballot didn't match the signature that county election officials had on file." WSJ

-- NAPLES DAILY NEWS' ANA CEBALLOS: "Florida Dems planned to use altered forms to fix mail ballots across state after deadline":"[A]n email obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida shows that Florida Democrats were organizing a broader statewide effort beyond those counties to give voters the altered forms to fix improper absentee ballots after the Nov. 5 deadline. ...

"One Palm Beach Democrat said in an interview the idea was to have voters fix and submit as many absentee ballots as possible with the altered forms in hopes of later including them in vote totals if a judge ruled such ballots were allowed." Naple Daily News

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- NBC's CAROL LEE, JULIA AINSLEY and COURTNEY KUBE: "White House weighs booting Erdogan foe from U.S. to appease Turkey,": "Trump administration officials last month asked federal law enforcement agencies to examine legal ways of removing exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen in an attempt to persuade Erdogan to ease pressure on the Saudi government, the four sources said.

"The effort includes directives to the Justice Department and FBI that officials reopen Turkey's case for his extradition, as well as a request to the Homeland Security Department for information about his legal status, the four people said." NBC

-- NBC'S VAUGHN HILLYARD in Singapore: "Second Trump-Kim summit to go ahead without list of nuclear North Korean weapons, Pence says": "The U.S. will not require North Korea to provide a complete list of its nuclear weapons and missile sites before President Donald Trump and the North's leader Kim Jong Un meet for a second time, Vice President Mike Pence told NBC News exclusively on Thursday. ...

"'I think it will be absolutely imperative in this next summit that we come away with a plan for identifying all of the weapons in question, identifying all the development sites, allowing for inspections of the sites and the plan for dismantling nuclear weapons,' Pence said." NBC

-- BLOOMBERG'S DAVID WAINER and NICK WADHAMS: "Trump's Middle East Plan Dealt Another Blow With Israel Turmoil": "[E]ven before the latest developments, Trump was showing increasing frustration that the Israeli leader -- with whom he's forged a close personal bond -- wasn't doing more to help the plan overseen by son-in-law Jared Kushner come to fruition, according to two people familiar with the matter. Trump complained in recent meetings that Netanyahu hasn't been 'flexible' or 'forward-leaning' enough on the plan, one of the people said." Bloomberg

NYT'S SUSAN CHIRA: "Banner Year for Female Candidates Doesn't Extend to Republican Women": "The number of Republican women in Congress next year will actually drop, even as the ranks of Democratic women swell to record heights. With a few races still undecided, the new Congress will have at least 105 Democratic women and 19 Republican women.

"But that is not all: From Congress to governor to state legislatures, far more Democratic women ran in this cycle than Republican women. And that means fewer Republican women on the bench, gathering experience and credentials to move up to the next level." NYT

THE FRESHMEN ... "Ocasio-Cortez's 'Green New Deal' becomes flash point for Pelosi," by Zack Colman and Anthony Adragna: "Incoming liberals, led by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, are demanding Pelosi go beyond her promise to revive a select committee on global warming. ...

"But the party's chairmen-in-waiting are pushing back on the idea that even a new select committee would be necessary, arguing that the existing Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, Transportation and Science committees have the tools they need to address climate change. The tension within the party comes ... amid broader tension between moderate members worried about overreaching and progressives who see bold proposals as the key to the party's future." POLITICO

-- SPOTTED at a House Majority PAC reception with donors and labor leaders at Charlie Palmer Steak last night featuring Pelosi and more than 20 Democratic members-elect from competitive districts and a few incumbent Dems from competitive districts: Paul Pelosi, Doug McCarron, Fred Rolando, Gene Karpinski, Tim Canoll, Lee Saunders, Harold Schaitberger, Emily Cain and Rep.-elect Angie Craig (D-Minn.).

THE DON JR. PROFILE -- WAPO'S DAVID FAHRENTHOLD and JONATHAN O'CONNELL in Wichita Falls, Texas: "From Rebellious To Reliable: Donald Trump Jr.'s journey back to family loyalty": "Trump Jr., who is 40, has become his father's top surrogate for a Republican Party that is making the same journey he did: from rejection and rebellion of Donald Trump, to acceptance and, ultimately, to remaking itself in the president's image.

"This article - the first in an occasional series about people who have helped Trump change how Washington operates - focuses on his son as a prime example of the role the president's inner circle plays in rallying his base and executing his mission of disrupting American politics and government. Trump Jr. has had little impact on his father's government, but has emerged as a vital and popular amplifier of the Trump brand in politics." WaPo


AT HUD ... "Under Ben Carson, more families live in HUD housing that fails health and safety inspections," by NBC's Suzy Khimm, Laura Strickler, Hannah Rappleye and Stephanie Gosk in Hartford, Conn.: "From his earliest days in office, HUD Secretary Ben Carson has repeatedly said he joined the Trump administration to fix the 'rats, roaches, bed bugs, mold, lead and violence' that he witnessed as a surgeon in low-income communities. ...

"An NBC News investigation has found that more than 1,000 out of HUD's nearly 28,000 federally subsidized multifamily properties failed their most recent inspection - a failure rate that is more than 30 percent higher than in 2016, according to an analysis of HUD records." NBC

NATASHA KORECKI in Chicago for POLITICO MAGAZINE: "The Best Campaign Money Can Buy": "POLITICO had an exclusive inside look at the [J.B.] Pritzker campaign, spending more than 30 hours shadowing operations, interviewing staff or traveling with the candidate himself.

"The result was one of the most robust operations of any statewide campaign in U.S. history, with spending expected to surpass $250 million, rivaling only the $280 million spent in the 2010 California governor's race. All told, Pritzker's juggernaut had more than 200 employees, 33 field offices, wall-to-wall TV ads and a massive investment in digital advertising resulting in innovations that are likely to serve as a model for 2020." POLITICO Magazine

2020 WATCH -- "Influential president of Human Rights Campaign stepping down," by AP's Julie Pace: "[Chad] Griffin hasn't said what he plans to do next. He is expected to stay at HRC until the organization names a new president; that process could take several months.

"A prolific fundraiser with deep political ties, Griffin probably will become one of the most sought after advisers for Democrats preparing to undertake White House campaigns." AP

FOR YOUR RADAR ... "U.S. says ex-Macedonian PM who fled to Hungary should face justice," by Lili Bayer and Daniel Lippman: "The U.S. believes that a former Macedonian prime minister who is seeking political asylum in Hungary should serve his jail term at home. 'After a thorough and transparent legal process, Nikola Gruevski was convicted by Macedonian courts of misuse of office and sentenced to two years in prison,' a State Department spokesperson told POLITICO. ... Gruevski ... is a close political ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán." POLITICO EU

AFTERNOON READ -- ETHAN EPSTEIN in Austin, Tex., for POLITICO MAGAZINE: "The Young Texans Helping Turn Refugees into Americans: It's a tough time to be a new arrival in the U.S. But a program run by millennial women is accelerating the assimilation process for high school girls." POLITICO Magazine

MEDIAWATCH -- NYT announced additions to its team of congressional reporters: former White House correspondent Julie Davis will focus on House and Senate leadership, with Emily Cochrane and Catie Edmondson also joining the team.

-- Olivia Altman is now marketing and communications coordinator at POLITICO. She previously was at Finn Partners.

OUT AND ABOUT -- SPOTTED at the Independent Women's Forum dinner on Wednesday at DAR Constitution Hall: Nikki Haley, Mike Rowe, Harris Faulkner, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen.-elect Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Garry Palmer, Heather and James Higgins, Heidi Ganahl, Lisa and Jim Gable, Charmaine and Jack Yoest, Jessica Nickel, Lori Armistead, Carrie Lukas, Tammy Bruce, Charlotte Hays and Kathryn Haley.

-- SPOTTED at the CARE Impact Awards at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in NYC last night which honored Adena Friedman, Iman, Glenn Hutchins and Dina Powell: Tory Burch, Indra Nooyi, Dave McCormick, Rick Stengel, Lyndon Boozer, Gerry Harrington, Bob Simmons, Michèle Flournoy, Lael Brainard, Amanda Gordon, Dr. Margaret Hamburg and Peter Brown, Jordana Spiro, José Antonio Alvarez, former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) and Colleen Nunn, Silda Wall Spitzer and Michelle Nunn.

-- SPOTTED at the Pay Our Interns two year anniversary celebration at The Monocle: Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Andy Winer, Arun Revana, Matt Leffingwell, Jesse Barba, Ian Simmons, Tony Tijerino, Marco Davis, Colin Rogero, William A. Powers and Carlos Mark Vera.

TRANSITION -- OBAMA ALUMNI: Evelyn Farkas is now a resident senior fellow at GMF. She previously was deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia in the Obama administration.

WEEKEND WEDDING -- Michael Venet, senior account executive at Zignal Labs and a Saxby Chambliss alum, married Ryan Kool, program monitor at DC Child and Family Services Agency. Jeff Zeleny and David Chalian were among the attendees. Pic by Nadia Rahman


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