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Presented by Delta Air Lines: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day Nov 13, 2018 View in browser
By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman and Daniel Lippman

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DRIVING THE DAY
WELCOME BACK! ... CONGRESS comes back into session tonight, and new-member orientation begins today.

-- READ THE TEA LEAVES ... As we enter the lame-duck session of Congress, it seems fair to assume that Republicans might have to bear the brunt of any big-time legislating on their own. Can Democratic leadership cut any deal with President Donald Trump in the midst of a battle for speaker of the House? Can Democrats have their fingerprints on any deal that results in a border wall? Furthermore, what incentive do House Democrats have to do anything with the president in the lame duck when they will have the majority in something like 60 days?

THE LATEST IN THE BATTLE FOR SPEAKER ... GENDER WARS -- RACHAEL BADE: "Pelosi warns against ousting a woman": "Nancy Pelosi is making gender a central part of her bid to reclaim the speaker's gavel - leaning hard into the pitch that Democrats cannot oust the only woman at their leadership table following a historic election for women.

"In addition to arguing she's the best qualified for the job, the California Democrat and her allies are also framing a Pelosi victory as a matter of protecting political progress for women at a critical moment. Push her out, and men may take over the party at a time when more than 100 women are heading to Capitol Hill and after women voters have been thoroughly alienated by President Donald Trump. Embrace her, and she'll prioritize legislation empowering women from equal pay to anti-harassment legislation.

"'I think it would look ridiculous if we win back the House ... we have a pink wave with women who have brought back the House, then you're going to not elect the leader who led the way? No,' said Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) who leads the Democratic Women's Working Group. 'That would be wrong.' ...

"Pelosi has some powerful allies pulling for her. Emily's List President Stephanie Schriock and founder Ellen Malcolm have been making calls on Pelosi's behalf to newly-elected lawmakers, according to sources familiar with the whipping campaign. The group was instrumental in endorsing or financially supporting more than 63 House female candidates, including many who won Tuesday but have expressed reservations about Pelosi." POLITICO

-- KYLE CHENEY: "Cummings to Dems: Back Pelosi for speaker or risk 'self-destructive' battle": "Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), an influential House Democrat, pleaded Monday with colleagues and incoming House freshmen to reject the efforts of a 'small group' of Democrats he said is 'trying to generate opposition' to Nancy Pelosi's bid for the speakership." POLITICO ... The letter

BIG WIN FOR DEMS -- JAMES ARKIN: "Sinema wins Arizona Senate race": "Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema has defeated Republican Rep. Martha McSally in the battle for the open Senate seat in Arizona, giving Democrats their second Senate pickup of the cycle.

"Sinema had 49.7 percent of the vote to McSally's 48 percent when The Associated Press called the race Monday evening. Though McSally led narrowly on Election Night, Sinema took the lead in the race two days later and continued to pad her edge as the state counted outstanding votes through the weekend and Monday.

-- THE CONTEXT: "Sinema's victory gives Democrats their second pickup of the election, and limits Republican gains in the chamber to just one seat so far, pending a recount in Florida and a runoff in Mississippi. Her victory guarantees Democrats will hold at least 47 Senate seats." POLITICO

-- SINEMA is the first female senator to represent Arizona and the first Democratic senator to represent the state since 1995.

-- JON KYL, who is filling John McCain's seat, is expected to step down after the first of the year. There is some speculation that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey could put McSally in the Senate.

POLITICO CHEAT SHEET: "Key midterm races still up for grabs"

AMAZON IS A COMING ... WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD ... WAPO'S JONATHAN O'CONNELL, ROBERT MCCARTNEY and PATRICIA SULLIVAN: "Amazon HQ2 decision: Amazon splits prize between Crystal City and New York"

A message from Delta Air Lines:

Connecting armed service members with their loved ones while they undergo treatment and recovery is a small way to say thank you to the men and women who bravely serve us. Learn more on how Delta is committed to supporting veterans, active service members and their families nationwide at DeltaTakingAction.com.

SEE YA, KIRSTJEN! ... WAPO'S NICK MIROFF, JOSH DAWSEY and PHIL RUCKER: "Trump is preparing to remove Kirstjen Nielsen as Homeland Security secretary, aides say": "President Trump has told advisers he has decided to remove Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and her departure from the administration is likely to occur in the coming weeks, if not sooner, according to five current and former White House officials.

"Trump canceled a planned trip with Nielsen this week to visit U.S. troops at the border in South Texas and told aides over the weekend that he wants her out as soon as possible, these officials said. The president has grumbled for months about what he views as Nielsen's lackluster performance on immigration enforcement and is believed to be looking for a replacement who will implement his policy ideas with more alacrity." WaPo

-- THIS MEANS THE SENATE will presumably confirm a new attorney general and a new Homeland Security secretary.

Good Tuesday morning. WHITAKER WATCH -- "Whitaker consulting 'ethics officials' on possible recusal from Mueller probe," by Brent D. Griffiths and Quint Forgey: "Attorney General Matthew Whitaker is consulting with ethics officials regarding possible recusal from overseeing the special counsel's Russia investigation, the Justice Department said on Monday.

"'Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker is fully committed to following all appropriate processes and procedures at the Department of Justice, including consulting with senior ethics officials on his oversight responsibilities and matters that may warrant recusal,' Kerri Kupec, a department spokeswoman, said in a statement on Monday night." POLITICO

-- NYT'S CHARLIE SAVAGE: "The State of Maryland is expected to ask a federal judge on Tuesday for an injunction declaring that Mr. Whitaker is not the legitimate acting attorney general as a matter of law, and that the position - and all its powers - instead rightfully belongs to the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein. Mr. Trump may not 'bypass the constitutional and statutory requirements for appointing someone to that office,' the plaintiffs said in a draft filing obtained by The New York Times." NYT

-- BUT ... "Justice Department Poised to Issue Legal Opinion Supporting Whitaker Appointment," by WSJ's Sadie Gurman and Byron Tau: "The Justice Department is expected to publish a legal opinion in support of Matthew Whitaker's installation as acting attorney general as early as Tuesday, a person familiar with the matter said, following questions about whether he can legally serve in the role. The department's Office of Legal Counsel is expected to say that President Trump had the ability to appoint Mr. Whitaker." WSJ

-- REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-Calif.) in WaPo, "Matthew Whitaker, we're watching you": "The president and Whitaker should heed this warning: The new Democratic majority will protect the special counsel and the integrity of the Justice Department. Should Whitaker fail to recuse himself - all indications are that he plans not to - and seek to obstruct the investigation, serve as a back channel to the president or his legal team or interfere in the investigations in any way, he will be called to answer. His actions will be exposed." WaPo

BEN SCHRECKINGER and CHRIS CADELAGO: "Trump's California rants belie feds' quick disaster response": "President Donald Trump has repeatedly used his bully pulpit to threaten California's federal funding, but the government - and his own party in Congress - don't seem to be listening.

"After Trump's latest threat over the weekend to withdraw funding, some feared the president may punish the Democratic-led state during of one of its deadliest environmental disasters in modern history. But if recent history and the response from lawmakers are any guide, there is little reason to believe federal payments for disaster relief will be cut off.

"Trump himself in a late Monday tweet said that he had just approved 'an expedited request for a Major Disaster Declaration' for California. 'Wanted to respond quickly in order to alleviate some of the incredible suffering going on,' he tweeted. 'I am with you all the way. God Bless all of the victims and families affected.'

"On the ground in California, officials say the conciliatory language in Monday's tweet is more in line with the administration's swift and cooperative response in recent days as firefighters battle one the worst spates of fires in the state's history." POLITICO

-- L.A. TIMES: "Another day of grim discoveries as death toll rises to 42 in Camp fire," by Joseph Serna, Melanie Mason and Dakota Smith

THE INVESTIGATIONS -- "Roger Stone ally expecting Mueller indictment," by Kyle Cheney and Darren Samuelsohn: "Jerome Corsi, an ally of longtime Donald Trump associate Roger Stone, said Monday that he expects to be indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for perjury.

"Corsi, a conspiracy theorist who has been meeting with Mueller's team for two months, said he spoke to prosecutors for around 40 hours but that talks have 'all blown up.' 'I'm going to be indicted,' he said in a livestreamed video. 'I anticipate being indicted.'" POLITICO

JARED'S PAL ... "'Tell Your Boss': Recording Is Seen to Link Saudi Crown Prince More Strongly to Khashoggi Killing," by NYT's Julian Barnes, Eric Schmitt and David Kirkpatrick: "Shortly after the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated last month, a member of the kill team instructed a superior over the phone to 'tell your boss,' believed to be Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, that the operatives had carried out their mission, according to three people familiar with a recording of Mr. Khashoggi's killing collected by Turkish intelligence.

"The recording, shared last month with the C.I.A. director, Gina Haspel, is seen by intelligence officials as some of the strongest evidence linking Prince Mohammed to the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, a Virginia resident and Washington Post columnist whose death prompted an international outcry." NYT

-- WAPO'S SHIBANI MAHTANI in Singapore and LOUISA LOVELUCK in Istanbul: "U.S. says audio recording of Khashoggi killing does not implicate Saudi crown prince": "Bolton, speaking on the sidelines of a regional summit in Singapore, said that he had not listened to the tape himself, but that it was the assessment of 'those who have listened to it' that Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler is not implicated." WaPo


HIRE UP! ... WASHINGTON INC. -- L.A. TIMES' JIM PUZZANGHERA: "Maxine Waters to take aim at Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank as new head of House Financial Services Committee"

TRUMP'S TUESDAY -- The president will participate in a Diwali ceremony at 1:45 p.m. in the Roosevelt room.

YOU'RE INVITED: ANNA and JAKE are sitting down Thursday at 5:30 p.m. for a "PLAYBOOK ELECTIONS: WHAT'S NEXT?" event, part of the POLITICO-AARP Deciders series. NADEAM ELSHAMI, former chief of staff for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, now policy director at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; JOSH HOLMES, former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, now president and founding partner of Cavalry LLC; and GREG STRIMPLE, president of GS Strategy Group, will be there to discuss. RSVP
PLAYBOOK READS


PHOTO DU JOUR: A firefighter battles a fire along the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Simi Valley, Calif., on Monday. | Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP Photo

MEDIAWATCH - "Kat Timpf Chased Out of Brooklyn Bar," by National Review's Jack Crowe: "Fox News personality and National Review contributor Kat Timpf was forced to leave a bar in Brooklyn over the weekend after a woman she had never met became enraged upon learning she worked in conservative media. ... Timpf was confronted by a woman, who, upon learning she worked at Fox News, became enraged and began shouting at her in a threatening manner." NR

PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION: CF Folks, the popular lunch counter at 19th St NW, closed its doors on Friday. Owner Art Carlson emailed regular attendees that difficulties over the space with the landlord led to the need to depart from the building. Tim Noah emailed us: "Beloved hangout for Washington lawyers, journalists, government officials and assorted other types since it opened in 1981. Big hangout for the New Republic when I was a staff writer there in early 1980s, and then for Slate when its D.C. office was up the street.

"Regulars included Andrew Sullivan, Jim Glassman, Kate Bennett, Michael Schaffer of Washingtonian, the late Charles Krauthammer (he had sandwiches brought up to his office, in same building), Matt Cooper, Tom Ricks, and me." Carlson's email ... WaPo story


K STREET FILES -- "Former L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa joins Washington lobbying firm," by Theo Meyer: "Villaraigosa, a Democrat, told POLITICO he will be a co-chairman of Mercury, which lobbies for clients from Hyundai to the governments of Qatar and Turkey. Villaraigosa said he doesn't plan to lobby, though. He said in an interview that he planned to focus on strategic and crisis communications consulting and other work that doesn't require him to register as a lobbyist. He'll be based in Los Angeles but expects to have a 'national and international footprint,' he said." POLITICO
PLAYBOOKERS
BIRTHWEEK (was Sunday): Jon Batiste, bandleader and musical director on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," turned 32 (hat tip: Karen Yianopoulos)

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Joe Cirincione, president of Ploughshares Fund and an MSNBC contributor. How he got his start in his career: "I got a masters in 1983, went to work for one of my professors, a neoconservative, who brought me into the Reagan Administration and gave me my first security clearance. I later went to work for the House Armed Services Committee in 1985. I was assigned oversight of several nuclear weapon programs, including the Star Wars program. I came to appreciate just how easy it is to destroy human civilization in an afternoon, by accident, miscalculation or madness." Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Peter Arnett is 84 ... Jimmy Kimmel is 51 ... Addie Whisenant, director at Bully Pulpit Interactive ... POLITICO CFO Joyce Liu ... NPR alum Ken Rudin ... Michael Schwab, video strategist for USA Today Network, is 32 ... Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association ... Lindsay Drewel (h/ts Tim and Kiki Burger) ... journalist Harry Hurt III is 67 ... Jonathan Topaz, Skadden fellow staff attorney at the ACLU Voting Rights Project (h/t Ben Schreckinger) ... Zach Gillan, research director at American Action Network and the Congressional Leadership Fund ... Jared Goldberg-Leopold is 36 ... Jared Parks, executive director of advocacy and external affairs for
the Global Intellectual Property Center at the U.S. Chamber, is 35 ... CNN's Eric Bradner (h/t Teddy Schleifer) ... Ken Klukowski ... Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) is 53 ...

... Bradd Jaffy of NBC News (h/t Erika Masonhall) ... Jeff Blattner, president of Legal Policy Solutions (h/t Jon Haber) ... Jon Wadsworth ... Nochi Dankner is 64 ... Harold Waldenberg ... Saul Kripke is 78 ... Ayaan Hirsi Ali is 49 ... Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is 62. He celebrated his re-election win with a trip to Las Vegas over the weekend to see Blink-182 (h/t Ed Cash) ... Ruth Wattenberg ... Nochi Dankner ... Tim Alford ... Kevin Pailet ... Ari Morgenstern ... Dominique Mann ... Brad Clark ... Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is 61 ... Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott ... Nikki Blank ... Miranda Moreno ... Edelman's Camille Uzel ... David Alexander ... Sherine El-Nahas ... Robert Hastings
... Chuck Thies ... Marion Steinfels ... WashTimes' Seth McLaughlin is 42 ... Mark Cheadle ... Boeing's Terry Adamson ... John Lapp ... Martha McKenna ... Tanya Brown (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

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