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Presented by the National Association of Manufacturers: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day Dec 11, 2018 View in browser
By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman and Daniel Lippman

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DRIVING THE DAY
CHUCK, NANCY AND TRUMP ... House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are going to the White House today to talk to President Donald Trump about the government shutdown, which is 11 DAYS away.

REMINDER: Most of the government is funded. There are seven bills that need to pass -- among them is the DHS funding bill, and that's where the border wall money is tied up. Right now, Schumer's position is $1.3 billion for border security, and Trump wants $5 billion for a wall. They're miles apart.

HERE ARE SOME DYNAMICS to think about.

-- MOST PEOPLE BELIEVE that the Senate will have to drive the train on whatever happens on government funding. PELOSI'S top priority at the minute has to be to win the speakership -- and doing her best to block wall funding. Schumer has more room to maneuver. Plus, it's most important to get something that can pass the Senate with 60 votes.

-- THE MOST LIKELY outcome at this moment is that Congress will have to fund DHS for a month until the beginning of Pelosi's speakership. But we have a very tough time seeing the coalition that would be willing to pass such a bill out of the House. That would mark Republicans folding on the wall, since Democrats control the House come January.

-- THE FREEDOM CAUCUS, which has sway until the end of this month, issued this statement last night: "This is our last chance to address illegal immigration before Democrats take over the House. Republicans in Congress must fulfill our promise to the American people by building President Trump's wall, ending catch and release, and securing our borders."

PELOSI, meanwhile, has said she wants a yearlong stopgap spending bill for DHS. That would help her avoid the wall fight in the early days of her speakership.

NEITHER OF THESE THINGS ARE OUT OF THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY: Trump could feasibly cut a deal with Schumer and Pelosi today, or there could be a stalemate that extends from the Dec. 21 deadline through Christmas and into the new year.

ABOUT THE BORDER WALL ... NEW NPR/PBS NEWSHOUR/MARIST POLL: "Americans Want Trump To Compromise On Border Wall": "As President Trump threatens to shut the government down if Congress does not approve funding for a southern border wall, most (57%) Americans think he should compromise to prevent gridlock, according to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll. Furthermore, nearly seven in ten (69%) of Americans do not consider building a border wall between the United States and Mexico to be an immediate priority for the next Congress." The poll

-- "U.S. starts to withdraw troops from Trump border mission," by AP's Lolita Baldor

Good Tuesday morning.

THE NEXT CHIEF ... NYT'S KATIE ROGERS, MAGGIE HABERMAN and ANNIE KARNI: "A shortlist of last-ditch possibilities has emerged, including family-vetted officials like Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, and Robert Lighthizer, the United States trade representative, but only one possibility - Representative Mark Meadows, the hard-right Republican congressman from North Carolina who is so far not quite inside the Trump children's circle of trust - has voiced interest. ...

"Meadows ... is also in the running for the job. He does not enjoy the same confidence of the Trump children that Mr. Mnuchin does. But he is the only person to express public interest in replacing Mr. Kelly. ... Mr. Lighthizer, another replacement option, has a good relationship with Mr. Kushner, West Wing officials said, but he has little experience in the type of administrative duties that the job would require. ...

"Other options range from the possible - including Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget - to the unlikely, including Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and head of the Trump transition team, who angered Mr. Kushner for sending his father to jail while he was a federal prosecutor." NYT

-- WAPO'S PHIL RUCKER, JOSH DAWSEY and BOB COSTA: "Among the people seen as contenders, in addition to Meadows and [Acting Attorney General Matt] Whitaker, are David N. Bossie, Trump's former deputy campaign manager and an outside adviser; White House counselor Kellyanne Conway; Chris Christie, a former New Jersey governor and former Trump transition chairman; Energy Secretary Rick Perry, a former Texas governor; Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania; and Wayne Berman, an executive at the investment firm Blackstone and a veteran Republican operative." WaPo

-- RAHM EMANUEL in The Atlantic, "Trump Doesn't Want a Chief of Staff: Someone needs to get the White House under control-but the president won't let it happen."

A message from the National Association of Manufacturers:

End the HIT now! Americans already struggle with rising health care costs. Congress must protect Americans from the Health Insurance Tax (HIT), the Medical Device Tax and the "Cadillac" Tax. After 2019, the HIT will impact approximately 140 million Americans, increasing health care costs for manufacturers and workers. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b172caf9a0cd180018a05b6a1b334560e5d5ef2375ec9d5c661de097fb5dc35486bea959cc11d7d24dd07a0c1aba86a

THE GOP'S WOMEN PROBLEM -- RACHAEL BADE and SARAH FERRIS: "'I wasn't asking for permission': GOP women put leaders on notice": "The already meager ranks of female House Republicans had just been further decimated in the midterms when Rep. Ann Wagner was readying a play to head the party's campaign arm - in the hopes of leading a recovery.

"Wagner was indisputably well-credentialed for the job: The Missouri Republican had just won in a competitive district. She had experience raising money as finance director of the National Republican Congressional Committee, as well as past success helping Republican women win campaigns. A band of supportive lawmakers stood ready to vote her into the position.

"But there was one major problem: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy didn't want her leading the NRCC. The California Republican called Wagner to express his preference for a far less prominent male lawmaker, Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, according to three sources familiar with the conversation. Wagner could have defied McCarthy - some lawmaker and aides thought she'd win if she would have - but she realized doing so would create tension and would be counterproductive as the party tried to pivot toward 2020.

"Wagner decided not to run. 'The leader had a different plan,' was all Wagner would say about her decision." POLITICO

CHECKING THINGS OFF THEIR 'TO DO' LIST -- CATHERINE BOUDREAU and HELENA BOTTEMILLER EVICH: "Farm bill compromise primed for passage": "The compromise farm bill unveiled Monday night avoids partisan minefields on food stamps and commodity policy that would have jeopardized its chances of clearing Congress before the end of the year.

"Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees rejected sweeping changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that House Republicans and President Donald Trump had sought, clearing a path for bipartisan support in both chambers. The final bill also sidesteps a Senate attempt to tighten limits on subsidies for wealthier farmers." POLITICO

-- A VOTE on the bill on the House floor could come as soon as Wednesday.

TOP-ED -- WAPO: "We are former senators. The Senate has long stood in defense of democracy - and must again."

-- FORMER SENS. CHRIS DODD (D-CONN.) and CHUCK HAGEL (R-NEB.) organized the effort to get the 44 senators to sign the letter, according to a source familiar with the effort.

THE LATEST TWIST IN THE RACE FOR SPEAKER ... "Pelosi, rebels discuss limiting her time as speaker to 4 years," by Heather Caygle and John Bresnahan: "Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a group of House Democratic rebels are discussing a proposal to cap her time as speaker to four years, a move that could clear the way for the California Democrat to clinch the gavel.

"The plan would be a dramatic shift for the longtime Democratic leader. Pelosi has refused to put an end date on her tenure as she tries to reclaim the speakership ahead of a Jan. 3 floor vote." POLITICO

2020 WATCH -- AP'S JONATHAN LEMIRE, ALAN FRAM and ELANA SCHOR: "Some Trump allies starting to worry about investigations"

THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY -- "LinkedIn co-founder backs $35 million voter data project in 'existential threat' to Democratic Party," by Alex Thompson: "Silicon Valley billionaire Reid Hoffman has teamed up with several former Obama administration officials to create an independent - and likely for-profit - database that would store all of the progressive community's voter data, according to three sources familiar with the initiative. The project's backers intend to spend $35 million in the first year alone, with Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, as the primary investor.

"'As we build this effort, we will be reaching out to all the key players soon to get this done,' a person familiar with the on-going discussions told POLITICO, stressing that the project is still in its early stages. 'Across the board, everyone involved agrees that the Republicans have a tremendous advantage when it comes to data infrastructure going into 2020, and that there needs to be a real shift in our thinking and action in order to set candidates up to be successful for people around the country.'" POLITICO

THE SWAMP, via NYT's Ken Vogel: "Targets of U.S. Sanctions Hire Lobbyists With Trump Ties to Seek Relief"

A message from the National Association of Manufacturers:

End the HIT now! Americans already struggle with rising health care costs. Congress must protect Americans from the Health Insurance Tax (HIT), the Medical Device Tax and the "Cadillac" Tax. After 2019, the HIT will impact approximately 140 million Americans, increasing health care costs for manufacturers and workers. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b172caf9a0cd1807e8f7c0b7f4908c181320aa6dd5c17c4e2ddd7d38668fe0ba5e4266a9244a87a5f6655d43bb0accd

TRUMP'S TUESDAY -- The president is meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi in the Oval Office at 11:30 a.m. He will sign the "Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018" at 3:45 p.m. in the Oval Office.

HAPPENING TODAY -- THE SIXTH ANNUAL WOMEN RULE SUMMIT: Tune into the livestream to see ANNA interview REPS.-ELECT ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-VA.), DEB HAALAND (D-N.M.) and CAROL MILLER (R-W.VA.) at 8:40 a.m. ...

... RACHAEL BADE moderates a convo at 9:10 a.m. with REPS. ELISE STEFANIK (R-N.Y.) and MIA LOVE (R-UTAH), along with SARAH CHAMBERLAIN and NERI MARTINEZ, on the future of women in the Republican Party. ...

... SENS. JONI ERNST (R-IOWA) and JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.) will be interviewed by HEATHER CAYGLE at 10:05 a.m. The livestream and full agenda
PLAYBOOK READS


PHOTO DU JOUR: The U.S. seat sits empty at a U.N. Migration Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, on Monday after a walkout by several countries. | Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP Photo

KUSHNER ON KHASHOGGI, via Quint Forgey: "Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, his father-in-law, said on Monday that the American intelligence community was still 'making their assessments' regarding the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but that the administration was now 'focused now on the broader region' in the Middle East.

"'I think our intelligence agencies are making their assessments, and we're hoping to make sure that there's justice brought where that should be,' Kushner said during an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. 'We're focused now on the broader region, which is hopefully figuring out how to bring a deal together between the Israelis and the Palestinians.'" POLITICO

POLITICO INVESTIGATES ... MICHAEL STRATFORD: "Trump administration hid report revealing Wells Fargo charged high fees to students": "The Trump administration for months concealed a report that showed Wells Fargo charged college students fees that were on average several times higher than some of its competitors.

"The 'unpublished' report was obtained by POLITICO through a Freedom of Information Act request. It was produced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau office previously led by Seth Frotman, who quit as the bureau's top student loan official in protest of Trump administration policies. Frotman said in his resignation letter that CFPB leaders had 'suppressed the publication' of the report." POLITICO


SCOOP -- "A Former Trump Campaign Staffer Was Ordered To Pay $25,000 For Violating Her Nondisclosure Agreement," by BuzzFeed's Zoe Tillman: "Jessica Denson, a former staffer for President Donald Trump's campaign, is fighting an order to pay nearly $25,000 for violating a nondisclosure agreement, according to court papers. The award to the Trump campaign came out of arbitration - nonpublic proceedings the campaign pursued against Denson after she filed two lawsuits against it." BuzzFeed

-- "Former Bloomberg Executives to Be Charged in Construction Fraud Scheme," by NYT's Charles Bagli: "More than 18 months ago, the Manhattan district attorney's office opened yet another investigation into fraud in the city's $62 billion construction industry, this one involving Bloomberg L.P., the financial information and media company owned by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is considering running for president in 2020. As investigators peeled back the complex layers of contracts, contacts and under-the-table favors between electrical contractors, vendors and corporate executives they made a startling discovery: It was an inside job.

"On Tuesday, the District Attorney's Office and the state police are expected to arrest more than a dozen executives, including senior executives in New York of Bloomberg's global construction and facilities department, on fraud, theft and bribery charges, according to one executive briefed on the investigation and defense attorneys." NYT

MEDIAWATCH -- "CBS Directors Fear Legal Risks from Leaks in Moonves Probe," by WSJ's Emily Glazer and Joe Flint: "Some CBS Corp. directors are concerned that recent leaks from the investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by the broadcaster's former chief executive, Leslie Moonves, could result in legal exposure for the company or people found to have failed to prevent the disclosures, people familiar with the situation say.

"At a board meeting Monday, CBS directors aired frustrations that details of the investigation have spilled into public view through articles in the New York Times, and they stepped up pressure on the law firms handling it, Covington & Burling LLP and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, one of the people said. Some directors have called for a forensic investigation of the leaks." WSJ
PLAYBOOKERS
TRANSITION -- Katie Britt, chief of staff to Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), is joining the Business Council of Alabama as its president. She will start the job in January.

OUT AND ABOUT -- Pool report: "Mary Elizabeth Taylor was officially sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs at a State Department ceremony on Monday afternoon. Secretary Pompeo delivered remarks and Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch administered the oath of office -- both were shepherded through the confirmation process by Mary Elizabeth in her previous role in White House Legislative Affairs." Pic ... Another pic

SPOTTED: Kristin Clark-Taylor and Lonnie Taylor, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marc Short, Cat Curry, Tony Hanagan, Chris Tuck, Bob Mittelstaedt, James and Emma Burnham, Ryan Kaldahl, Chris Grieco, Rob Strayer, Bethany Scully, Pam Theissen, Amanda Faulkner and Ben Khouri, Liz Johnson, Heather Nauert, Nino Scalia, Andy Koenig, Annie Donaldson, Mike Davis and Jim Goyer.

ENGAGED -- Zach Bauer, Vice President Mike Pence's longtime personal aide, on Saturday proposed to Meghan Patenaude, Pence's director of scheduling, in the Blue Room of the White House. Pool report: "The DMV locals became friends while working for the Vice President during the 2016 campaign and finally started dating in October 2017. Following the surprise engagement at the White House, the couple celebrated with their families at The Trump Hotel." Pic by WH photographer Andrea Hanks ... Another pic

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Julie Mason, host of SiriusXM's "Press Pool." How she got her start in journalism: "After I got kicked out of AU in 1985 (I was a punk rocker and went to shows instead of class -- my GPA was like .93), I landed a job as a clerk in the Washington bureau of the Dallas Morning News and the paper gave me a great start." Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: former Secretary of State John Kerry is 75 ... Max Baucus, former U.S. ambassador to China and senator from Montana, is 77 ... Kara Swisher, who calls herself the "grumpy lady of tech" in her Twitter bio (hat tips: Tammy Haddad and Hilary Rosen) ... John Feehery, partner at EFB Advocacy, is 55 ... Claudia Slacik ... POLITICO's Marianne LeVine and Sam Mintz ... Joe Greeley, director of production at Advoc8 ... Perry Rosen (h/t Jon Haber) ... Josh Brown (h/ts Geoffrey Middleberg and Jeremy Iloulian) ... Washington Examiner's Kelly Cohen ... Elizabeth Spiers ... Gideon Resnick of The Daily Beast ... Bruce Thomas ... Rebecca Brocato ... Jessica Seale of the U.S. mission to the U.N.
... Emily Buchanan, EVP at SBA List ... Seymour Topping is 97 ...

... WaPo's Elizabeth Dwoskin ... Quartz's Annabelle Timsit ... Tyler Daniel ... Alex von Tunzelmann ... Hannah Lankford ... Allison Fleming ... Kirstie Fleger ... Gabe Amo ... Phillip Escoriaza ... Gordon Peterson ... Tim McClellan ... Erika Dimmler ... Peter True, press secretary for Senate Energy Dems ... Rita Moreno ... Michael Allen of Beacon Global Strategies (h/t Jeremy Bash) ... Miyamoto Musashi ... Josh Morton ... Steve Gillon ... Chris Stenrud ... Max Schindler ... Brian Reich is 41 ... Mark Ashworth is 59 ... Fran Boyd ... Robert Wascher ... Benjamin Tribbett is 39 ... Bob Corn ... Ashley Spillane ... Pam Womack ... Seth Johnson (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

A message from the National Association of Manufacturers:

Manufacturers have a message for Congress: deal with the returning harmful taxes that raise health care costs for employers and workers. The Health Insurance Tax (HIT) is an unfair and unneeded sales tax on the health care of American families, including American manufacturing workers. The HIT is delayed for 2019, but action is needed now to ensure families don't get saddled with hundreds of dollars of added health care costs in 2020 and beyond. On average, it costs families $500 a year and individuals $200 to $300. The tax primarily hits small businesses' employees and their dependents, Medicare beneficiaries and those buying individual plans. Instead of making life harder for these 140
million Americans, Congress should act now to ensure Americans have relief from the HIT and that small businesses, including manufacturers, can continue providing quality health care coverage for their employees. Learn more about why manufacturers oppose the HIT at http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b172caf9a0cd180a00e7c1b47ee1fc42ac2dc0b0a0a0f157df3a3f68895c16dbc5794bae56dc403d070b21063dc21d1

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