BREAKING on “Morning Joe” -- Joe and Mika are reporting that Donald Trump’s administration will not pursue an investigation into Hillary Clinton. Remember, he spent the entire campaign cheering on the “lock her up” chant.
Good Tuesday morning. Jake’s DCA to LGA flight is leaving out of 35X tomorrow. We thought shuttle riders were immune to that?
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TRUMP CANCELS MEETING WITH NYT -- @realDonaldTrump at 6:16 a.m.: "I cancelled today's meeting with the failing @nytimes when the terms and conditions of the meeting were changed at the last moment. Not nice” … at 6:31 a.m.: “Perhaps a new meeting will be set up with the @nytimes. In the meantime they continue to cover me inaccurately and with a nasty tone!” … at 6:36 a.m.: “The failing @nytimes just announced that complaints about them are at a 15 year high. I can fully understand that - but why announce?”
EILEEN MURPHY, the Times spokesperson, said, "We were unaware that the meeting was cancelled until we saw the President Elect's tweet this morning. We did not change the ground rules at all and made no attempt to. They tried to yesterday - asking for only a private meeting and no on-the-record segment, which we refused to agree to. In the end, we concluded with them that we would go back to the original plan of a small off the record session and a larger on the record session with reporters and columnists."
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DONALD TRUMP’s two-minute-and-thirty-seven-second video detailing his “policy plan” for his first 100 days was notable because it left out one important word: Congress. Trump doesn’t discuss any ways he’ll work with an all-Republican Capitol Hill in his first three months in office, and instead discussed at length his plans to use executive actions -- what President Barack Obama called the power of the pen.
TO BE FAIR, Republicans have maintained that they would be perfectly fine with a Republican president unilaterally undoing Obama’s executive orders, leaving Congress a bystander in the process. But Trump is signaling he’ll go a bit farther. He’s saying that he would eliminate two existing regulations each time a new regulation is promulgated. And, most strikingly, he said he would ban thousands of his employees from ever lobbying on behalf of foreign governments -- an edict we consider utterly unenforceable unless Congress codifies it into law (spoiler alert: they won’t).
OTHER THINGS Trump says he’ll do: withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and negotiate bilateral trade agreements (we believe that), roll back regulations on shale and clean coal (yep, sounds plausible), ask the Defense Department to draw up a new plan to combat cyberattacks (OK), weed out abuse in visa programs (could happen) and institute a five-year ban from members of his administration lobbying (probably also unenforceable unless it becomes law). The video http://bit.ly/2gbNeuI
DETAILS OF THE DAY -- Hadas Gold reports that Trump told media executives in New York Monday that President Barack Obama have spoken by phone twice since their meeting in D.C. Also: Trump told media execs that Mitt Romney “really wants” to be secretary of state. We don’t know if that means he does, or he doesn’t, and Trump is setting expectations. Read the full story, including details of the Trump vs. the media spat http://politi.co/2fAxwtm
44 WATCH -- “Obama exudes calm about Trump as Democrats fret,” by AP’s Josh Lederman: “Each time Air Force One landed in another foreign capital, cellphones buzzed and White House officials’ faces fell as the latest news came in about Trump’s team-in-waiting ... Taken together, the selections deflated the hopes in the White House that Trump, faced with the awesome duty of running the nation, might tone it down after the campaign. Of all the Trump’s choices, White House officials said it was the selection of Flynn that felt like the most devastating blow, given the immense authority the national security adviser has over matters of war and peace. By the time Obama arrived in Peru, the creeping sense of despair among his aides was palpable.” http://apne.ws/2fkpRhF
NEWT’S ROLE -- Former Speaker Newt Gingrich huddled with reporters after meeting with Trump Monday and confirmed he would not be an official White House adviser. Instead, per pooler Anita Kumar, Gingrich said: “I've told the President-elect for months that I want to do is sort of be a senior planner ... And my driving goal is to figure out in January 2025 how did we serve the country so well, how did the Trump movement do so well, that we are consolidating and electing someone because we've earned it, because the American people say this has worked, which is what Franklin Delano Roosevelt did in the 30s.”
-- REMEMBER: Gingrich is a senior adviser at Dentons, the law and lobbying giant. He’s not registered to lobby. http://bit.ly/2ghhVQk
-- @NYTnickc: “Rick Perry blew by reporters and wouldn't take questions, but did pose for a picture with the Naked Cowboy at Trump Bar” http://bit.ly/2gfK0rN
BINDERS FULL OF... -- “Trump is seeking to build a diverse administration, aides say,” by WaPo’s Karen Tumulty and Jerry Markon: “Though President-elect Donald Trump’s first five picks for top jobs in his administration have all been white men, transition officials insisted Monday that the team he ultimately puts together will represent a cross-section of America … The Trump aides were seeking to dismiss speculation that the parade of people summoned by the president-elect — which has included women, nonwhites and erstwhile political foes — has been merely for show. That skepticism comes in the aftermath of a brutal presidential campaign that was punctuated by frequent incidents in which Trump said and did things that offended women, Latinos and Muslims, while drawing support from white nationalist groups.” http://wapo.st/2fXWxiR
WASHINGTON INC. -- “Trump’s shadow transition team,” by Katie Glueck: “[T]he Heritage Foundation has emerged as one of the most influential forces shaping President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team, embedding the veteran Washington group into the operation of a candidate who ran loudly against the Beltway. Part gate-keeper, part brain trust and part boots on the ground, Heritage is both a major presence on the transition team itself, and a crucial conduit between Trump’s orbit and the once-skeptical conservative leaders who ultimately helped get him elected.” http://politi.co/2fAFfaW
NOTE TO 10 DOWNING -- @realDonaldTrump: “Many people would like to see @Nigel_Farage represent Great Britain as their Ambassador to the United States. He would do a great job!”
PELOSI’S PUSHBACK -- “Pelosi predicts fierce Trump backlash: After another dismal election, she says in a POLITICO interview that only she can lead Democrats back to the majority.” by John Bresnahan: “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi isn’t going anywhere. In an interview with POLITICO on Monday, the California Democrat, facing a long-shot leadership challenge from Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, insisted she’s the only one who can bring Democrats back to the House majority. Just remember 2006, she said. After President George W. Bush won reelection, Republicans were dreaming of a ‘permanent majority’ until Democrats trounced them the following election, vaulting Pelosi into the speaker's chair …
“Pelosi, however, also knows that after 14 years of running the House Democratic Caucus, coupled with the party's dismal showing on Election Day, there is significant dissension in her ranks. So she's planning on remaking the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, giving more members a say in the Democratic messaging operation, and appointing ‘vice-chairs’ on committees to, give lower-ranking lawmakers additional input.” http://politi.co/2gfI5U0
-- PELOSI penned a letter to House Democrats, vowing to give more power to her newer colleagues. It’s definitely a concession for the incredibly strong Pelosi that she finally has to decentralize power. http://politi.co/2fAGB5q We believe Pelosi is still the overwhelming favorite to win the race for Democratic leader. Period.
TRUMP INC. -- “With a Meeting, Trump Renewed a British Wind Farm Fight,” by NYT’s Danny Hakim in London and Eric Lipton: “When President-elect Donald J. Trump met with the British politician Nigel Farage in recent days, he encouraged Mr. Farage and his entourage to oppose the kind of offshore wind farms that Mr. Trump believes will mar the pristine view from one of his two Scottish golf courses, according to one person present. The meeting, held shortly after the presidential election, raises new questions about Mr. Trump’s willingness to use the power of the presidency to advance his business interests. Mr. Trump has long opposed a wind farm planned near his course in Aberdeenshire, and he previously fought unsuccessfully all the way to Britain’s highest court to block it. ...
“The group that met with Mr. Trump in New York was led by Mr. Farage, … Arron Banks, an insurance executive who was a major financier of the Brexit campaign, was also in attendance. ‘He did not say he hated wind farms as a concept; he just did not like them spoiling the views,’ said Andy Wigmore, the media consultant who was present at the meeting and was photographed with Mr. Trump.” http://nyti.ms/2fANvaH
-- @realDonaldTrump: “Prior to the election it was well known that I have interests in properties all over the world. Only the crooked media makes this a big deal!”
--EVEN THE NEW YORK POST ed board is urging Trump to make a clean break from his business: “Even the appearance of monetizing the presidency as another Trump brand would be outrageous. Nor is it only the White House that will need to take care: Trump Organization execs can’t be seen to be milking the presidency in any way, either.” http://nyp.st/2fX6ZqJ
CLINTON UPDATE -- “Hillary, Bill and Chelsea Clinton visit Westerly, buy some books at Savoy,” by the Westerly Sun’s Nancy Burns-Fusaro: “What started out as a quiet, regular morning at Savoy Bookshop and Café [in Westerly, Rhode Island] turned rather presidential Sunday when a number of former White House residents wandered into the Canal Street store. Hillary Clinton, accompanied by her husband, Bill, the 42nd President of the United States; their daughter, Chelsea; their son-in-law, Marc Mezvinsky; and their grandchildren, Charlotte and Aidan, were shopping for books.” http://bit.ly/2fNel2h
THIS REALLY HAPPENED -- “‘Hail Trump!’: White Nationalists Salute the President Elect,” by The Atlantic’s Daniel Lombroso and Yoni Appelbaum: “‘Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!’ That’s how Richard B. Spencer saluted more than 200 attendees on Saturday ... [A]fter dinner, when most journalists had already departed, Spencer rose and delivered a speech to his followers dripping with anti-Semitism, and leaving no doubt as to what he actually seeks. He referred to the mainstream media as ‘Lügenpresse,’ a term he said he was borrowing from ‘the original German’; the Nazis used the word to attack their critics in the press. ... ‘America was until this past generation a white country designed for ourselves and our posterity,’ Spencer said. ‘It is our creation, it is our inheritance, and it belongs to us.’ The audience offered cheers, applause, and enthusiastic Nazi salutes.” 3-min. video http://theatln.tc/2gd0Jy2
-- @PJTobia: “Richard Spencer just texted me that the Nazi salutes at his Sat speech were ‘clearly done in a spirit of irony and exuberance.’” … @JuddLegum: “If you do a Nazi salute when you get ‘exuberant,’ you may be a Nazi”
NEWS YOU CAN USE -- “If Berlusconi is like Trump, what can America learn from Italy?” by The Guardian’s Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome: “Given that Italians were governed for nine years by a PM who has often been likened to the new president-elect, what can the US learn from them? ... Political opposition: ‘Stop crying and try to understand his voters’ ... Press freedom: journalists ‘must be wary of complicity’ ... Everyday sexism: prepare for a new feminist fightback ... Berlusconi and the law: a worrying precedent ... Minority rights: ‘Migrants were scapegoated for societal decline’ ... The damage done.” http://bit.ly/2gd5UOh
BANNON WATCH -- “Stephen K. Bannon’s Indie Film Career Contradicts His Alt-Right Vision,” by Indie Wire’s Eric Kohn: “Bannon’s ... career in independent film -- first in distribution, then production -- casts doubt on how much he believes in any of it. Ten years ago, Bannon oversaw the distribution of independent films released by Wellspring Media, a company that supported a wide range of international cinema as well as gay-themed and other ‘transgressive’ titles. Movies acquired and released under his tenure include the experimental LGBT documentary ‘Tarnation’ and ‘Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry,’ a pro-Kerry documentary that opened during the 2004 election. According to one insider who dealt with Bannon at this time, he directly approved and often supported several of these films with great enthusiasm.” http://bit.ly/2gfO7UY
-- PLAYBOOK INBOX: BANNON SKIPPING ZIONIST DINNER IS NO BIG DEAL, ADVISER SAYS -- Arthur Schwartz, an outside adviser to the Zionist Organization of American, emails Playbook: “The story about Bannon being a no-show to the ZOA dinner is getting out of control. I invited Steve - I have known him for years. I knew from the get go that there was a chance that he wouldn’t be able to make it. By the time the cocktail hour started, I knew that he was going to be stuck in NJ with the transition team. There was no snubbing involved!”
THE TRUMPS -- “Newly unearthed letter shows how Trump’s grandfather begged to stay in Germany,” by WaPo’s Ishaan Tharoor: “[T]he letter was penned in 1905 and was addressed to Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, a monarch who presided over a realm within the united German Empire. [Friedrich] Trump beseeches the ‘well-loved, noble, wise and just’ Bavarian royal not to deport him. Luitpold apparently decided to reject what Trump offered as a ‘most subservient request.’ The document was recently identified by a local historian in a state archive.” http://wapo.st/2gd3Xl3
-- “Protecting Donald Trump costs New York City more than $1 million a day,” by CNN Money’s Chris Isidore, Shimon Prokupecz and David Shortell: “[T]hose costs won’t necessarily drop significantly once he moves to the White House. That’s because Melania Trump and their 10-year old son Barron expect to stay at their home at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, at least until the end of the school year. And Donald Trump has indicated he plans to return home regularly, especially while they’re still here. Adding to the expense is the cost of police assigned to Trump’s adult children and his grandchildren, who are also receiving Secret Service protection.” http://cnnmon.ie/2ghfxJE
D’OH! -- “[Kris] Kobach took plan for Department of Homeland Security into Trump meeting,” by Topeka Capital-Journal's Jonathan Shorman: “An Associated Press photographer shot an image of Kobach going into the meeting and clutching a binder along with a stack of papers. One page is visible and readable, though partly obscured by Kobach’s hand. ... The first point reads, ‘Bar the Entry of Potential Terrorists.’ The document calls for updating and reintroducing the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System. The program was implemented in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but largely suspended in 2011. ‘All aliens from high-risk areas are tracked,’ the document reads.” http://bit.ly/2f1KHqN
CLICKER -- “‘If you f*** with me, I’ll kill you all’: The best quotes from Trump’s [possible] defense secretary, James Mattis” http://bit.ly/2f1FlMo
-- “Trump’s pick for national security adviser once bashed torture, drone strikes, night raids,” by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski: “Speaking at Carnegie Council in December 2014, [retired Lt. Gen. Michael] Flynn condemned the use of torture, saying it was against American values. ‘I’ll tell you what, I think it's very dangerous for a time, because it exposes the United States to something that we -- I think history will look back on it and it won’t be a pretty picture’ ... ‘If there’s an American strategic advantage, it is our values. We must protect our values at all costs,’ he added.” http://cnn.it/2fkoWxI
--MICHAEL O’HANLON on the Brookings website, urges critics to “give Flynn a chance” -- “I know him well, especially from my dealings with him on Afghanistan over the years. He was always serious, and far from extreme in his views there. What I remember most was his open-mindedness—to the views of others, to dynamics on the battlefield, to new information, to our overall prospects for the mission there. He was always sober, and generally prescient, in what he saw coming.” http://brook.gs/2fNmtjk
BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- “For McCrory, failed vote challenges show it’s time to concede” – Raleigh News and Observer editorial: Pat “McCrory ... increasingly looks like a sore loser ... [T]he people of North Carolina ... made their choice and deserve to be respected for that choice — by the loser as well as the winner.” http://bit.ly/2gxgRee
-- “Iran’s Guards using Trump victory to claw back power,” by Reuters’ Parisa Hafezi in Ankara: “‘Trump and the Islamic State militants were gifts from God to the IRGC,’ said a senior official within the Iranian government, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity like other figures contacted within Iran. ‘If Trump adopts a hostile policy towards Iran or scraps the deal, hard-liners and particularly the IRGC will benefit from it,’ a former reformist official said.” http://reut.rs/2gcYaw2
BUSINESS BURST -- “Investors Make Bullish Bet on Trump, and an Era of Tax Cuts and Spending,” by NYT’s Landon Thomas Jr.: “Two weeks after Donald J. Trump swept to victory, investors from around the world are betting that his promises of tax cuts, fewer regulations and a spendthrift federal government can recharge the American economy.” http://nyti.ms/2gfLh1Z
DEMOCRATIC AUTOPSY UPDATE -- “Clinton Camp Mastered The Science Of Politics But Forgot The Art, Staffers Say: There was a universe of voters on the fence. What the campaign did to reach them has splintered its ranks,” by the HuffPo’s Sam Stein: http://huff.to/2gfWEHp
FAKE NEWS WATCH – “Fact Check: This Pizzeria Is Not a Child-Trafficking Site,” by NYT’s Cecilia Kang: “Days before the presidential election, James Alefantis, owner of a local pizza restaurant called Comet Ping Pong, noticed an unusual spike in the number of his Instagram followers. Within hours, menacing messages like ‘we’re on to you’ began appearing in his Instagram feed. In the ensuing days, hundreds of death threats — one read ‘I will kill you personally’ — started arriving via texts, Facebook and Twitter. All of them alleged something that made Mr. Alefantis’s jaw drop: that Comet Ping Pong was the home base of a child abuse ring led by Hillary Clinton and her campaign chief, John D. Podesta. ... None of it was true. While Mr. Alefantis has some prominent Democratic friends in Washington and was a supporter of Mrs. Clinton, he has never met her, does not sell or abuse children, and is not being investigated by law enforcement for any of these claims.” http://nyti.ms/2f1EhrL
MEDIAWATCH -- “Ashley Parker joins The Post’s Politics staff,” in an announcement from National Editor Scott Wilson and Senior Politics Editor Steven Ginsberg: “We are very excited to announce that Ashley Parker, who has been covering the campaign of Donald Trump for The New York Times, will be joining our White House team. Ashley is a seasoned political reporter whose work we have long admired. Her stories are filled with sharp observations and behind-the-scenes reporting, and they are always delivered in her engaging, masterful writing style. Ashley also has a deep understanding of the ways of Washington that will be critical to covering the Trump administration. … Her first day will be Jan. 3.” http://wapo.st/2g9lpDB
SPOTTED -- VP-elect Mike Pence at Martin’s Tavern in Georgetown. He got a round of applause when he walked in, and sat with his wife in the “dugout” room in the back.
ENGAGED -- Alleigh Marré, NRSC national press secretary and Zack Roday, Speaker Ryan press secretary and the pride of Orange, Connecticut, got engaged on their morning run in Alexandria on Friday. They met on Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign in Wisconsin. The weekend celebration continued with family and friends in Boston. Pic http://bit.ly/2gxmV6D
OUT AND ABOUT – pool report: “200 former and current Homeland Security officials from the Obama and Bush administrations gathered for their biannual get together at the Clyde's in Chinatown. The gathering, organized by former Bush administration Homeland Security official Ed Cash, was the 20th time that the two administrations have gathered since the first one in 2009 and guests heard remarks from the first secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, who introduced the current secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson.”
SPOTTED: former U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen, D.C. Homeland Security Chief Chris Geldart, FEMA Deputy Administrator Tim Manning, former DHS chief of staff and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) presidential campaign chairman Chad Sweet, former Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar, Kathy Kraninger and Brendan Shields.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Tom McTague, chief UK political correspondent at POLITICO, and Louise Leighton-McTague, a civil servant in Westminster, have welcomed Leo George Leighton-McTague.
-- Cari Fike, LD for Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), and Hugh Fike, policy advisor for Rep. Dave Brat’s (R-Va.), recently welcomed Lyle Rebecca Fike. Pics http://bit.ly/2fkom37 ... http://bit.ly/2fN9nTm
TRANSITIONS -- Meg Goldthwaite will become NPR’s chief marketing officer. http://n.pr/2ghcalM
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Josh Alcorn is 36, celebrating at home with his wife, their 5 month old son Noah, and their two Jack Russell Terriers -- read his Playbook Plus Q&A http://politi.co/2gc4oIN
BIRTHDAYS: ABC News’ Matthew Mosk … Shefali Razdan Duggal (h/t Jon Haber) ... former Iowa GOP chairman Matt Strawn, now at Next Generation Public Affairs … Wong, senior staff writer for The Hill and a Politico alum ... NSC’s Ned Price, a CIA alum ... Pat “Patty Cakes” Cunnane, WH deputy director of messaging and senior writer ... Hannah August, former press secretary for First Lady Michelle Obama … Jeff Tiller, WH strategic comms. director … Barney Keller, EVP at Jamestown Associates and a Club for Growth alum … Andrew Stern, senior fellow at the Richman Center for Business, Law and Public Policy at Columbia Business School and an SEIU alum ... Michael J. Szanto ... Martin Burns ... NYT alum Robert Christie, now VP of international media at Alibaba Group ... Roger Fransecky ... Marshall Schoenthal, co-founder of LOKL, is 43 ... Ryan Fitzgerald ... Barbara Cameron ... Craig Gilbert (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Anne Shoup, ex-CAP, American Bridge, all star athlete (h/t Dan) .... Equal Justice Initiative fellow Jonathan Kubakundimana, the pride of Kigali, Rwanda (h/t Colby Bermel) ... Politico’s Sarah O’Neill ... TJ Cholnoky, associate at RKF ... Zoe Schlag ... Josh Goldstein, law clerk for the Superior Court in Atlantic County, NJ (h/t Josh Brown) ... Sammy Jordan, in her final year at George Mason and working as a part time consultant at Regulatory Economics Group, LLC ...
… CNN’s Cassie Spodak, who celebrated this past Saturday at Jack Rose ... Tim R. Cohen, SVP of development for Hillel ... Yarden Golan, COS of Israel’s Embassy in Washington ... Jessica Sara Turtletaub, manager of public relations, comms and media relations for theSkimm and a Bloomberg alum (h/ts Jewish Insider) ... Rob Atkinson, founder and president of Information Technology & Innovation Foundation ... Welles Orr, USTR alumnus/uber-lobbyist at Miller & Chevalier … Natasha Lennard ... Bettina Inclán, SVP at Mercury and an NRCC and RNC alum ... Meena Ganesan, political producer at CSPAN and WashPost alum … James Williams, president of Engage Cuba, is 33 (h/t Briannon Gillis) ... Alexa Lucas ... Lauren Pastarnack ... Jon Adams, NRSC’s digital director and a Targeted Victory and Team Romney alum … Brian Francis Kelley … Harry Siegel, columnist at the NY Daily News and senior editor at The Daily Beast and a Politico alum ... Bush 43 WH alum Missy DeCamp … Billie Jean King is 73 … Jamie Lee Curtis is 58 … Mariel Hemingway is 55 … Mark Ruffalo is 49 … Boris Becker is 49 … Scarlett Johansson is 32 (h/ts AP)