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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 12, 2018 View in browser
By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Daniel Lippman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

Presented by

MICHAEL COHEN is going to jail for 36 months. More from Laura Nahmias in New York

-- COHEN, via Adam Klasfeld of Courthouse News (@KlasfeldReports): "Cohen began his remarks by stating that: 'Today is the day that I am getting my freedom back.' ... 'I have been living in a personal and mental incarceration ever since the day that I accepted the offer to work for a real estate mogul whose business acumen that I deeply admired.' ...

... "Hitting back at Trump's tweet calling him weak, Cohen agreed and added that his 'weakness was a blind loyalty to Donald Trump.'"

CNN'S MJ LEE (@mj_lee): "Cohen: 'Recently the president tweeted a statement calling me weak and it was correct but for a much different reason than he was implying. It was because time and time again I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds.'"

OVER/UNDER ... WHEN will George Stephanopoulos get his pre-prison interview?

SCHUMER THROWS SHUTDOWN SHADE ... On the Senate floor this morning, via CNN's @PhilMattingly: "President Trump will soon realize that his position will not result in a wall, but will result in a Trump shutdown. And he seems to relish the idea, amazingly enough."

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW ... WILL PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP go to Mar-a-Lago for the Christmas holiday even if government is shut down?

Good Wednesday afternoon. FOX NEWS' SEAN HANNITY is interviewing first lady Melania Trump today, and Harris Faulkner is interviewing the president tomorrow for "Outnumbered Overtime," which airs at 1 p.m. (h/t Michael Calderone)

HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADER NANCY PELOSI to NBC's KASIE HUNT: "@NancyPelosi on reported deal to limit herself to 4 years as Speaker: 'When I'm ready to make a statement I [will],' she tells me."

JULIAN CASTRO launched an exploratory committee for the presidency. His announcement ... More from Matthew Choi

PRE-ORDER ALERT ... ROBERT CARO is writing "Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing," a book about things he has learned throughout his career, per Hillel Italie of the AP. "Here we have ... some scattered, almost random glimpses of a few encounters I've had while doing the research on the Moses and Johnson books, encounters both with documents and with witnesses,' he writes. 'It includes also a few things I've learned or discovered, or think I've learned or discovered, about the writing of biography and indeed nonfiction in general which I'd like to share or pass along.'" AP

WHAT'S ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 7:34 a.m.: "Another very bad terror attack in France. We are going to strengthen our borders even more. Chuck and Nancy must give us the votes to get additional Border Security!"

... at 7:50 a.m.: "The Democrats and President Obama gave Iran 150 Billion Dollars and got nothing, but they can't give 5 Billion Dollars for National Security and a Wall?" Fact check from PolitiFact

MARKET WATCH -- WSJ'S DAVID HODARI and AMRITH RAMKUMAR: "U.S. Stocks Get Lift from Trade Talks"

TRADE WARS -- "China Is Preparing to Increase Access for Foreign Companies," by WSJ's Lingling Wei in Beijing and Bob Davis: "China plans to replace an industrial policy savaged by the Trump administration as protectionist with a new program promising greater access for foreign companies ... Odds that the new plan will go far enough in addressing U.S. complaints are long. ...

"If approved by President Xi [Jinping], the plan could nonetheless win over some foreign businesses and persuade some in the Trump administration that Beijing is making meaningful changes to retool the economy to be more market-driven." WSJ

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=a1ab6de1507f412a8fd4e4036b3ad6f441d2150f9ffa6ead5b64c64a34a5dd4c04bdfee8f3fa8bd897cda5bc045b1974

MARIANNE LEVINE: "Senate set to buck Trump on Saudi Arabia": "The Senate is expected to defy the Trump administration Wednesday by passing a resolution to withdraw U.S support for Saudi-backed forces at war in Yemen. The resolution, led by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), cites Congress' authority under the War Powers Resolution ... Even if the Senate passes the resolution, it's not going far." POLITICO

-- CNN'S KATE BOLDUAN (@KateBolduan): "Asked at least 3 times on Fox if he believes the Saudi Crown Prince's denial around Jamal Khashoggi's murder, Sec of State Mike Pompeo does not answer."

COMING ATTRACTIONS ... CNN'S LAUREN FOX: "Elijah Cummings, key House Democrat, previews what oversight looks like": "Early on, Cummings plans to invite Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to testify before his committee about the census and whose idea it was to include a question about citizenship. He also plans to spend time probing how the President's business interests impact American foreign policy. ...

"Cummings sees an opportunity for his committee to spend considerable time holding hearings on lowering the cost of prescription drugs and probing the ways in which Americans are being disenfranchised at the voting booth." CNN

ERIC GELLER: "Pompeo says China hacked Marriott": "During an interview on 'Fox & Friends,' [Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo said China was 'conducting espionage and influence operations here in the United States.' When one of the Fox program's hosts interjected and said, 'The latest one was the Marriott,' Pompeo replied, 'That's right.'

"Marriott announced the hack on Nov. 30 and said the intruders had access to its Starwood chain's reservation database since 2014. The company did not identify the attackers, but multiple news outlets subsequently reported that security researchers found links to Chinese intelligence services." POLITICO

-- WAPO'S ANNA FIFELD in Beijing, DAVID LYNCH and ELLEN NAKASHIMA: "China's judgment on Huawei case: Anger, patriotism and iPhone boycotts": "The fraud allegations against Meng Wanzhou - Huawei Technologies's chief financial officer and daughter of the founder - fit neatly into the Chinese narrative about American efforts to undercut China's rise as an innovator and rival, especially in the race for the next step in smartphone technology, known as 5G." WaPo

NIKKI HALEY SPEAKS ... NBC'S ALEX JOHNSON: "Nikki Haley says she leveraged Trump's outbursts to get things done at the U.N.": "'He would ratchet up the rhetoric, and then I'd go back to the ambassadors and say: "You know, he's pretty upset. I can't promise you what he's going to do or not, but I can tell you if we do these sanctions, it will keep him from going too far,"' Haley said in an exclusive interview which aired Wednesday morning. ...

"On one of the more delicate diplomatic issues on her watch, Haley said the United States must be careful in confronting Saudi Arabia over the brutal killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. ... 'It was the Saudi government, and MBS is the head of the Saudi government,' Haley said Tuesday, referring to the prince by his initials. 'So they are all responsible, and they don't get a pass, not an individual, not the government - they don't get a pass.'" NBC ... The interview

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- WAPO'S LISA REIN: "In the Trump era, job satisfaction tumbles in the federal workforce"

TRUMP INC. -- WAPO'S DAVID FAHRENTHOLD: "Romanian Consulate event at Trump hotel in Chicago draws scrutiny"

-- NBC'S ALLAN SMITH: "Incoming New York attorney general plans wide-ranging investigations of Trump and family": "New York Attorney Gen.-elect Letitia James says she plans to launch sweeping investigations into President Donald Trump, his family and 'anyone' in his circle who may have violated the law once she settles into her new job next month.

"'We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well,' James, a Democrat, told NBC News in her first extensive interview since she was elected last month. ... James campaigned on passing a bill to change New York's double jeopardy laws with an eye on possible pardons coming out of the White House." NBC

FOR YOUR RADAR -- WSJ'S BYRON TAU: "Defeated Republican Rep. Rohrabacher Considers Starting Consulting Firm"

AFTERNOON READ -- JESUS RODRIGUEZ: "How the Migrant Caravan Built Its Own Democracy": "[D]ozens of phone interviews and WhatsApp conversations with advocacy groups and migrants, as well as social media updates from groups on the ground, show that the migrants have organized a surprisingly sophisticated ruling structure, complete with everything from a press shop to a department of public works. ...

"Ask some on the right to define the caravan, and they might conspire about highly organized hordes of criminals funded by the Venezuelan state or billionaire philanthropist George Soros who want to rush the American border. ... Some liberals, on the other hand, will try to convince you that this is a hapless, hopeless lot with no agency, no rights and no recourse for help. The nuanced reality is far from either ideological extreme. ... For people like [Walter] Coello, the caravan government might be the first time they have trusted a government to be responsive and representative-even if it's one they threw up essentially overnight." POLITICO Magazine

TRANSITIONS -- Bill McQuillen is now EVP, managing director and media leader of BCW Global. He returned to the firm after a brief stint as VP of comms for the American Hotels & Lodging Association. ... Dan Kalik and Reggie Hubbard will lead MoveOn's D.C. team focusing on Capitol Hill. Ben Wikler is leaving as Washington director to become a senior adviser at the group and will move to Madison, Wis. ...

... Maggie Gage has been promoted to head of U.S. public policy at Credit Suisse. She takes over for Joseph Seidel, who is now COO at SIFMA. ... Ven Neralla will be chief of staff for Rep.-elect Andy Levin (D-Mich.). Neralla was most recently deputy chief of staff for Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and is an Obama White House alum. ... Scott Ogden will be communications director for Maine Gov.-elect Janet Mills. He was previously deputy communications director for Sen. Angus King (I-Maine).

HOLIDAY PARTY CIRCUIT -- SPOTTED at Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Hilary Ross' holiday party Tuesday night: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Louise Linton, HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Jennifer Azar, Chris Liddell and Renee Harbers Liddell, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Dick DeVos, Don Graham and Amanda Bennett, Martin and Audrey Gruss, Kevin Chaffee, Jim Hoagland and Jane Stanton Hitchcock ...

... Chris Ruddy, Bret and Amy Baier, C. Boyden Gray, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Abby Blunt, Bob Colacello, Deborah Norville, Buffy Cafritz, Nancy Brinker, Ken and Jackie Duberstein, Judy Taubman, Rima Al-Sabah, Dixon Boardman, Lally Weymouth, Kate Gubelmann, Wayne and Catherine Reynolds and Chris Isham and Jennifer Maguire Isham.

-- SPOTTED at EU Ambassador David O'Sullivan's home for "an evening of Christmas carols" featuring the Washington Performing Arts' Children of the Gospel Choir on Tuesday night: Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Stephen Breyer, Susan Davis, Chris Liddell, Craig Gordon and the ambassadors from Albania, Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Jordan, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the U.K.

SPOTTED at a book party Tuesday night hosted by FreedomWorks at the Trump hotel for "Trumponomics" by Stephen Moore and Art Laffer (who met with Trump on Tuesday): Corey Lewandowski, David Bossie, Harold Hamm, Greta van Susteren and John Coale, Adam Brandon, Josh Green, Tony Sayegh, Adele and David Malpass, Lee Rizzuto, Jimmy Kemp, Mike Rubino, Rob Wasinger, Raheem Kassam, Ben Schreckinger, Andrew Restuccia, Matt Boyle, Alexandra Preate, Ernie Preate, Grover Norquist, Hogan Gidley, Catherine Lucey and Tevi Troy.

ENGAGED -- Allison Varricchio, a presidential management fellow/foreign affairs officer at State, got engaged to Anthony Iannarino, clinic director and doctor of physical therapy at Rehab to Perform. Pic ... Another pic

A message from the National Association of Manufacturers:

The Health Insurance Tax (HIT) increases insurance premiums for a family of four by almost $500 a year. Congress delayed the HIT for 2019, but middle-class families, including manufacturing workers, need Congress to act now to delay it again-or even better, end it altogether. With rising health care costs, families cannot afford added expenses, especially when the HIT does nothing to improve health care outcomes. Americans do not want the government collecting taxes off their health care. In fact, 70 percent say they oppose the HIT. It is nothing more than a sales tax on health coverage-a tax we cannot afford. Learn more about why manufacturers oppose the HIT at
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1ab6de1507f412a7d088e600b0d8875bae6bb7f2f0b6f8401840483e7680d3b415f89120201b9803fdf75dd28459f0a

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