SWAMP DRAINING UPDATE -- DONALD TRUMP is expected to name Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor, commerce secretary. He is naming uber wealthy Chicago Cubs co-owner -- and massive political donor -- Todd Ricketts deputy secretary of commerce. He named Betsy DeVos -- a billionaire who gave heavily to politically connected entities -- education secretary. Like we said a few days back, Trump is acting -- mostly -- like a standard-issue politician. He’s putting political insiders and rich millionaires and billionaires into his administration. There’s nothing unusual about that. But it's not a wild departure from what most politicians do. One difference: Trump doesn’t seem to care much about traditional applicable job experience. By all accounts, Ben Carson is a brilliant brain surgeon. But he doesn't have a ton of traditional experience with housing policy. Nikki Haley has gotten high marks as a governor, but she has not dealt with foreign policy, outside of a few trips overseas.
ONE MORE THING. Donald Trump will be president. We can’t see any scenario in which a recount hands the White House to Hillary Clinton.
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IF YOU READ ONE THING -- “Trump turning away intelligence briefers since election win,” by WaPo’s Greg Miller and Adam Entous: “President-elect Donald Trump has received two classified intelligence briefings since his surprise election victory earlier this month, a frequency that is notably lower -- at least so far -- than that of his predecessors, current and former U.S. officials said. A team of intelligence analysts has been prepared to deliver daily briefings on global developments and security threats to Trump in the two weeks since he won. Vice President-elect Mike Pence, by contrast, has set aside time for intelligence briefings almost every day since the election, officials said.
“Officials involved in the Trump transition team cautioned against assigning any significance to the briefing schedule that the president-elect has set so far, noting that he has been immersed in the work of forming his administration, and has made filling key national security posts his top priority. But others have interpreted Trump’s limited engagement with his briefing team as an additional sign of indifference from a president-elect who has no meaningful experience on national security issues and was dismissive of U.S. intelligence agencies’ capabilities and findings during the campaign ...
“‘National security is Donald Trump’s No. 1 priority and I think he’s taking it very seriously,’ [House Intelligence Chairman Devin] Nunes [(R-Calif.)] said in an interview. ‘Look how many leaders he’s met with, how many phone calls he’s done, positions he’s filled. People who are being critical need to get a life.’” http://wapo.st/2faUgUu
-- WSJ: "Donald Trump Jr. Held Talks on Syria With Russia Supporters: Disclosure of the Paris meetings in October could heighten focus on the president-elect’s desire to cooperate with the Kremlin," by Jay Solomon. http://on.wsj.com/2gpPYpJ
HAPPY THANKSGIVING. We are thankful for so much. But professionally, we are thankful you are reading Playbook. We are thankful that more people are reading us -- and opening us -- than ever before. We’re going to do our best to decode D.C. for you, and bring you behind the scenes of the most exciting political story of our time. As always, feel free to get in touch with us. We do this for you, the Playbook community. Let us know what we can do better, what you like and what you don’t like. And enjoy your family and friends over the next few days. Tune out, if you want to. Politics will be here on Monday. If you’re into live music, watch “The Last Waltz,” The Band’s famous final show, which was in 1976 in San Francisco. http://bit.ly/2fs0pXE
LIVE FROM NEW YORK! People were lining the streets of Manhattan early this morning. A photo of Sixth Avenue at 6:10 a.m. http://bit.ly/2fbe9Lb
UPDATE FROM PALM BEACH -- NYT A19 “All the Clamor? Trump’s Palm Beach Neighbors See an Upside,” by Frances Robles in Palm Beach: “There will be no skinny-dipping this weekend outside the Borislow family’s oceanfront home here: They live across the street from Mar-a-Lago, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s winter resort, and now a Coast Guard patrol boat is parked right outside their window. ...
“Coast Guard boats toured the water that surrounds both sides of the road, while a tent was set up nearby where delivery trucks were searched. News vehicles camped out a few blocks away, for a better shot of Mar-a-Lago’s waterfront view. Shelly Borislow, standing in front of her 7,800-square-foot house, where several Palm Beach County sheriff’s cruisers were parked and officers shooed away pedestrians, had no problem with the excitement. ‘There are so many handfuls of people who would want to live across the street from the president,’ she said. … (At least, she hopes so. Her home is for sale for $27.5 million, and she is thinking now she might have a few takers.)” http://nyti.ms/2gpNyY0
-- “Trump in Palm Beach: Man outside Mar-a-Lago seeks inaugural singing gig,” by the Palm Beach Post’s George Bennett: “Mark Nobel, a Fort Lauderdale resident who works at a Target store, was hanging out along Southern Boulevard near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club today in a tie-dyed Trump T-shirt and a blue ‘Make America Great Again’ cap, singing ‘God Bless America’ for members of the media in hopes of landing a singing spot at Trump’s inauguration.” http://bit.ly/2gkBLNn
INAUGURATION WATCH -- “Trump to Accept Inauguration Funds From Corporations and Big Donors,” by NYT’s Nick Fandos: “Mr. Trump plans to ban money from registered lobbyists, whom he has purged from his transition team and barred from working for his administration. But the restrictions will be lighter on corporations and individuals -- the groups that have traditionally provided a vast majority of funding for the festivities surrounding the transfer of power. ... Officials planning the inauguration said Mr. Trump would solicit corporate donations up to $1 million and allow money to be transferred from political action committees on a case-by-case basis. The inaugural committee has not reached a decision on where to cap gifts from individuals, if at all.” http://nyti.ms/2fuJ9oc
THANKS! -- “‘They are taking the bait’: Columnist Michael Wolff on why the media blew it on Trump.” http://bit.ly/2frSj1f
VIDEO DU JOUR – DNC is releasing a Thanksgiving video, “Thanks, Obama!” with voices of Obama supporters about why they appreciate him http://bit.ly/2fV6kIC
OVERHEARD: Gov. John Kasich talking on the phone yesterday at John Glenn International Airport in Columbus. A second tipster spotted Kasich reading a hard copy of the NYT before takeoff on the Delta flight to LaGuardia (he flew coach). Pic of Kasich on the phone http://bit.ly/2fsCta9
DANA PRIEST’s first piece for NewYorker.com, “The Disruptive Career of Michael Flynn, Trump’s National-Security Adviser”: “A lot of reporters and other civilians found Mike, as everyone called him, refreshing. A plucky Irish Catholic kid from Rhode Island, he wasn’t impressed by rank. He told his junior officers to challenge him in briefings. ‘You’d hear them say, “Boss, that’s nuts,”’ one former colleague said. ... ‘When he would walk in a room, they would look up like little dogs. They just loved him.’ ... Flynn broke rules he thought were stupid. He once told me about a period he spent assigned to a C.I.A. station in Iraq, when he would sometimes sneak out of the compound without the ‘insane’ required approval from C.I.A. headquarters, in Langley, Virginia.
“He had technicians secretly install an Internet connection in his Pentagon office, even though it was forbidden. There was also the time he gave classified information to NATO allies without approval, an incident which prompted an investigation, and a warning from superiors. During his stint as Mullen’s intelligence chief, Flynn would often write ‘This is bullshit!’ in the margins of classified papers he was obliged to pass on to his boss, someone who saw these papers told me.” http://bit.ly/2fuHY8d
WASHINGTON INC. -- “NRA Plans to Push Gun-Friendly Agenda Under Donald Trump’s Administration: With GOP controlling Congress and White House, group prepares a legislative drive that was stymied under Obama,” by WSJ’s Michelle Hackman: “The National Rifle Association, which spent an unprecedented amount to help elect Donald Trump president, is preparing to go on the offense in the friendliest political environment for its causes in at least a decade … At the top of the NRA’s legislative agenda is a law mandating that concealed-carry permits issued in one state be recognized in all 50, similar to a driver’s license … The NRA ultimately favors doing away with permits entirely, believing the ability to carry concealed weapons is a constitutional right—a goal they refer to as ‘constitutional carry.’” http://on.wsj.com/2gjzM8b
TURTLE BAY READ -- NYT A1, “Nikki Haley’s Path: From Daughter of Immigrants to Trump’s Pick for U.N.,” by Richard Fausset and Somini Sengupta: “Little is known about how Ms. Haley views America’s role in the world. But an equally important mystery is what her clout might be in the Trump administration. Has Mr. Trump placed her in a post he considers marginal? Or will Ms. Haley — along with a still-to-be-named secretary of state — be able to temper the more radical views of Mr. Trump’s other aides? Despite the unknowns, many diplomats, scholars and rights advocates who have been anxiously awaiting Mr. Trump’s choices were relieved at the announcement. They saw in Ms. Haley, a daughter of Indian immigrants, someone unafraid to express her beliefs even if they differ from Mr. Trump’s.” http://nyti.ms/2g7vcux
-- POST AND COURIER: “Gov. Nikki Haley’s nomination for U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. ‘an endorsement of her skills’” by Emma Dumain and Andy Shain. http://bit.ly/2gkKfUu … HALLEY TOOSI and BEN ORESKES on Haley and Russia. http://politi.co/2fuEbrp
--ELIANA JOHNSON’s debut for POLITICO, “Haley shocked by Trump’s interest”: “The South Carolina governor’s confidants say she was shocked last week to receive a call from the incoming White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, asking her to a meeting in New York City to discuss a handful of jobs, including secretary of state and the one she was named to Wednesday, ambassador to the United Nations. Haley isn’t just the first woman, the first minority and the first person under the age of 50 he has nominated to a Cabinet-level post — she’s also the first Republican who wasn’t a steadfast Trump supporter.” http://politi.co/2fVoA4P
GRAND RAPIDS PRESS with the evenhanded headline of the day: “Trump pick Betsy DeVos either ‘dangerous’ or ‘exciting’” http://bit.ly/2g7KWxN
TOP TWEETS -- @blakehounshell: “This take, from a think tank funded by Dick & Betsy DeVos, might come up at her confirmation hearing” (headline reads: “Bring back child labor: Work is a gift our kids can handle”) http://bit.ly/2frUXUA … @MrWalterShapiro: “For those massively troubled by Ben Carson as HUD Secretary, I challenge you to name the last four HUD Secretaries from memory.”
COMING ATTRACTIONS -- “‘King of bankruptcy’ would be complicated choice for Commerce,” by Adam Behsudi: “Admirers praise Wilbur Ross as ‘the king of bankruptcy,’ calling him a savior of failing U.S. industries. But his critics have a different name for the 78-year-old investor said to be Donald Trump’s pick for Commerce secretary. They describe him as a ‘vulture,’ and say his restructuring of ailing industries has sometimes come at the expense of workers’ safety— in one egregious case, contributing to the deaths of 12 miners in Sago, West Virginia. ... Also likely to get attention are his dizzying array of domestic and foreign investments and business dealings. Those include board positions on at least five major public companies and leadership in several private firms.” http://politi.co/2fuLAqz
TRUMP’S AMERICA -- “Trump adviser tells House Republicans: You’re no longer Reagan’s party,” by The Hill’s Jonathan Swan: “Donald Trump’s economic adviser Stephen Moore ... surprised some of the Republican lawmakers assembled at their closed-door whip meeting last Tuesday when he told them they should no longer think of themselves as belonging to the conservative party of Ronald Reagan. They now belong to Trump’s populist working-class party, he said. ... [S]everal lawmakers ... were taken aback by the economist’s comments.” http://bit.ly/2g7uxsR
-- ON SALE: “Trump is selling [14-karat gold] ‘Make America Great Again’ ornaments for $149,” by N.Y. Post’s Joe Tacopino: “The campaign sent out an email Wednesday hawking the $149 holiday trinket, which is red, shaped like a hat, and bears Trump’s winning ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan. ‘President-elect Trump loves Christmas and makes a point of proudly saying “Merry Christmas” every chance he gets,’ read the email to supporters.” http://nyp.st/2fIMJsf … The Trump email http://slate.me/2gjH0ZW
BUT WHO’S COUNTING? -- “Clinton’s lead in the popular vote surpasses 2 million,” by Gabe Debenedetti, Kyle Cheney and Nolan D. McCaskill: “The former secretary of state has garnered 64,223,958 votes, compared to the president-elect’s 62,206,395, according to a count curated by Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. ... [A]n attorney working with anti-Trump electors said he’s preparing to file suit within two weeks ... [as] part of a coordinated legal fight to dismantle the 29 state laws that force electors to support their party’s nominees. ... A court victory taking down or weakening laws that ‘bind’ electors to their states’ popular vote, the attorney said, would signal to electors across the country that they can’t be punished for voting their conscience. The Constitution, he said, should prevent states from forcing electors to cast votes against their will.” http://politi.co/2gDUP9P
-- “The numbers are in: Trump wins Michigan by 10,704,” by the Detroit Free Press’s Kathleen Grey: “The Michigan Secretary of State posted results Wednesday that were submitted by the state’s 83 county clerks on Tuesday after the votes were reviewed and certified by each county. Before that compiled count, Trump held a 13,107 lead over Clinton. But after each county certified its results, the lead shrunk to 10,704, with the biggest chunk coming from Wayne County, which showed that Clinton had gotten 565 more votes than originally tallied by the county.” http://on.freep.com/2fs5NKt
HISTORY LESSON -- “The Real Legacy in Jeopardy Under the New Congress? LBJ’s: The GOP has plans to take apart many of Johnson’s Great Society reforms. Will Trump let them succeed?” by Josh Zeitz in Politico Magazine: “With majorities in both houses, congressional Republicans under the leadership of House Speaker Paul Ryan have signaled their plans to disassemble not just the Affordable Care Act, but also Medicaid and Medicare; to steer federal education policy away from public schools and toward charters and vouchers; to roll back voting rights and civil rights enforcement; and to make steep cuts to nutritional programs. And, despite the fact that many of these changes could have negative consequences for Trump’s base, the president-elect hasn’t signaled any resistance.” http://politi.co/2fuM7ZR
--“American Dreamers”: “The Times Editorial Board has called on the Trump administration to preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that temporarily shields some young immigrants from deportation and allows them to work legally. We’re featuring stories from young immigrants who were spared from deportation and permitted to work during the Obama administration.” http://nyti.ms/2gpz3U6
MEGATRENDS -- “Perils of Climate Change Could Swamp Coastal Real Estate,” by NYT’s Ian Urbina: “Real estate agents looking to sell coastal properties usually focus on one thing: how close the home is to the water’s edge. But buyers are increasingly asking instead how far back it is from the waterline. How many feet above sea level? ... Though demand remains strong and developers continue to build near the water in many coastal cities, homeowners across the nation are slowly growing wary of buying property in areas most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. ... Some analysts say the economic impact of a collapse in the waterfront property market could surpass that of the bursting dot-com and real estate bubbles of 2000 and 2008.” http://nyti.ms/2gky4qM
MEDIAWATCH -- “Fox News Sunday Posts Its Highest Rating in the Past Decade,” by Mediaite’s Joe DePaulo: “The weekly news program hosted by Chris Wallace pulled in 1.95 million viewers across all broadcast stations in its first-run airing at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. That number was undoubtedly helped in part by the appearance of Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who was speaking publicly for the first time since the Hamilton controversy erupted.” http://bit.ly/2gfMNzC
DESSERT -- “How Trump roasted Clinton in turkey country,” by Steven Shepard: “If your Thanksgiving turkey could vote, it probably would have cast its ballot for Donald Trump. The Republican president-elect won the nation’s top turkey-producing areas by a landslide, winning nearly all of the top 25 congressional districts ranked by the number of turkeys sold — and typically by large margins.” http://politi.co/2fbd5qE
SPOTTED: Chris Matthews on yesterday’s 8:30 a.m. DCA flight to SF ... Sen. Rand Paul at Reagan airport on Tuesday.
THE PRESIDENT’S WEEK AHEAD -- “On Thursday, the President will celebrate Thanksgiving at the White House. ... On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the President has no public events scheduled. On Monday, the President will attend meetings at the White House. On Tuesday, the President will travel to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland to visit with wounded service members.
“On Wednesday, the President will attend meetings at the White House. On Thursday, the President and the First Family will attend the National Christmas Tree Lighting on the Ellipse. On Friday, the President will meet with United Nations Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres at the White House.”
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Former Kansas congressman, Agriculture secretary and MPAA chairman Dan Glickman, now at the Aspen Institute and the Bipartisan Policy Center, celebrating with his wife, kids and 4 grandchildren in L.A. Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2fVzgjZ
BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Politico Europe’s Virginie Dandoy
BIRTHDAYS: Jared Cohen, founder and president of Jigsaw and a CFR senior fellow ... Sally, Susman, EVP for corporate affairs at Pfizer (h/t Hilary Rosen) … Marlin Fitzwater, former press secretary for Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, is 74 … Politico’s Kelsey Miller, Darius Tahir and Katharine Davis ... Cristina Cox … Mark Steitz, founding principal of TSD Communications and advisor to Catalist ... LCV’s Rachel Kriegsman ... Sherry Ettleson ... NYT’s Marc Santora … Lee Godown, VP of global gov’t relations for GM (h/t Jon Haber) ... Meaghan Smith, VP at SKDKnickerbocker and an HHS alum ... Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at Penn (h/t Michael Rozansky) ... Ginger Stanley ... Ben Burger, partner at SRCPmedia and an NRSC alum ... AP’s Nasser Karimi ... Chris Putala of Putala Strategies ... former Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Tex.) is 65 ... ... former Rep. Ron Dellums (D-Calif.) is 81 … Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS deputy secretary, who was born to a Jewish family in Havana, Cuba, is 57 ... Simcha Lyons, senior advisor to both the Ashcroft Group, LLC and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs ... Steven Lowy, philanthropist and co-CEO of global shopping center company, Westfield Corporation, is 54 (h/ts Jewish Insider) ... Kavya Balaraman, reporting fellow at E&E Publishing’s ClimateWire (h/t Colby Bermel) ...
… Matt Chisholm, Rand Paul alum and the pride of Saginaw ... Jordana Merran ... GOP advance deity Brent Swander, a Romney-Ryan alum now gov’t affairs director at Columbus Realtors and the pride of BGSU … Benjamin Deitchman ... Robin Lyons ... Patrick Burchette, partner at Holland & Knight, is 4-0 ... Hugh Grindstaff ... Frank Ahrens, VP at BGR Public Relations, is 53 ... Suzy DeFrancis ... Richard Metzler of Gold Coast Promotions … NBC News’ Rachel Witkin ... Ron Dellums ... Terry Walsh (friends call him “Czar”), workhorse partner at The Strategy Group … Matt Sauvage … DCCC alum Lindsey Melander Schulte … Susan Lyon, head of content at Bulletproof Digital in Seattle and a CAP alum … Patrick Reimherr … Tim Raftis … John Kamis … Sally Susman … Gordon Fischer … Peter McAvoy … Kathy McGough ... Brooke Jamison … Ned McCann (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Jed Link, comms. manager at International Facility Management Association and a Denny Rehberg alum … Amanda Anderson … Jim Landry ... Dave Rapallo of House OGR ... Andrew Fuentes of Sen. Feinstein’s office … Meghan Graf, press secretary for Rep. Mike Coffman ... Jeremy Pevner ... Jonathan Black of Sen. Udall’s office (h/ts Legistorm) … former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue is 76 … actress Sarah Hyland is 26 (h/ts AP)