2016-11-19

Welcome to the weekend. President-elect Donald Trump is in Bedminster, New Jersey, this morning, where he’s greeting a parade of potential administration appointees. The Guardian's Ben Jacobs, who is on pool duty in New Jersey, says that there might be "another appointment announced today." Trump's first meeting is with Mitt Romney at 1 p.m. A list of Trump’s meetings Saturday http://politi.co/2feeWte

HERE’S WHAT IS ON THE MIND of the next leader of the free world, per his Twitter feed:

--8:34 a.m.: “I settled the Trump University lawsuit for a small fraction of the potential award because as President I have to focus on our country.” … 8:39 a.m.: “The ONLY bad thing about winning the Presidency is that I did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad!” … 8:48 a.m.: “Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing. This should not happen!” … 8:56 a.m.: “The Theater must always be a safe and special place. The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!”

-- WAS HE HARASSED? DOES IT MATTER? You decide. --@HamiltonMusical: “Tonight, VP-Elect Mike Pence attended #HamiltonBway. After the show, @BrandonVDixon delivered the following statement on behalf of the show.” 1-min. video http://bit.ly/2g7H6Fy

-- @dkipke12: “Here’s Pence getting booed as he gets to his seats at Hamilton” -- 9-second video http://bit.ly/2gtRNG2 … Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff): “Pence getting booed at Hamilton bums me out. Whatever you think of him. He’s trying to engage. Could get ideas from far worse places.”

**SUBSCRIBE to Playbook: http://politi.co/1M75UbX

ABOUT LAST NIGHT… -- “Mike Pence Saw ‘Hamilton.’ The Cast Had Something to Say,” by NYT’s Christopher Mele and Pat Healy: “‘Hamilton,’ the hit Broadway musical about colonial rebels shaping the future of an unformed country, took an even more political turn at the end of its performance on Friday night. With Vice President-elect Mike Pence attending the show, the cast used the opportunity to make a statement emphasizing the need for the new administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump, a Republican, to work on behalf of all Americans.

“As the play ended, the actor who played Aaron Burr, Brandon Victor Dixon, acknowledged that Mr. Pence was in the audience, thanked him for attending and added, ‘We hope you will hear us out.’ ‘We, sir — we — are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,’ he said. ‘We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf all of us.’” http://nyti.ms/2eQKE13

HAPPENING TODAY -- "Protesters try to confront white nationalists in D.C. for conference," by WaPo's John Woodrow Cox: "A white nationalist organization that has come under fire for promoting racism will host a conference Saturday at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in downtown Washington — a gathering of more than 250 that will celebrate Donald Trump’s presidential victory." http://wapo.st/2fFMwJb

CONSIDER THIS: The Koch brothers’ massive network of political organizations sat out this presidential election, instead focusing on the battle for control of the Senate. But, in a twist of luck, the Kochs have ended up with two of their favorites in the Trump administration: Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo, who was nominated to be the CIA director, and Vice President-elect Mike Pence.

PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: ANDY PUZDER

Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants (Carl Jr.’s, Hardees), has been named a potential Labor secretary in Donald Trump’s administration. He is meeting today with the president elect. Earlier this week, Puzder sat down for a Playbook Interview, in which he discussed his experiences with Trump and expectations for the next four years. Over the last few months, Puzder has been one of Trump’s top surrogates and economic advisers. He declined to discuss whether he was in the mix to become Labor secretary, but said, “I would be honored to serve were I asked.” What he expects from a Trump administration: reforming the tax code to spur capital investment, an “all-of-the-above” energy policy that leads to energy independence, less regulation to get government out of the way and reducing America’s “massive trade deficit.”

It’s the economy, stupid: “Everything [Trump did] was aimed towards growing the economy … You can’t pretend we’re going to have the benefits of having a growing economy and not have a growing economy.”

Trump leads by listening: “The first meeting I had with Donald Trump … Trump walks in the room — there are like six, seven us around the table. Puts his hand on the table and says who do you think I should pick for vice president. I swear to God, I think if a guy walked in delivering sodas to the room, he would have asked him … He wasn’t just going to listen to people who were just in the inner circle or influential. This guy was listening to everybody. Not strangely, he heard things the rest of us didn’t hear.”

Don’t expect Trump to moderate: “I don’t think there’s ever been a presidential candidate who did everything he said he was going to do, but we’ll probably find Donald Trump on the higher end of doing what he says he will do.”

TRUMP’s transition team says he has spoken with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg and EU President Donald Tusk … TRUMP settled a $25 million Trump University fraud lawsuit yesterday http://nyti.ms/2gq1YKG

SOME EARLY TAKES ON TRUMP’S FIRST BIG PICKS:

-- NYT A1, “With National Security Choices, Trump Builds Team to Bulldoze Status Quo,” by Matt Apuzzo and Mark Landler: “President-elect Donald J. Trump’s remarkable appointments on Friday served notice that he not only intends to reverse eight years of liberal domestic policies but also overturn decades of bipartisan consensus on the United States’ proper role in world affairs. Mr. Trump moved unapologetically to realize his campaign’s vision of a nation that relentlessly enforces immigration laws; views Muslims with deep suspicion; aggressively enforces drug laws; second-guesses post-World War II alliances; and sends suspected terrorists to Guantánamo Bay or C.I.A. prisons to be interrogated with methods that have been banned as torture. At a time when American cities have been inflamed by racial tensions, police shootings and fears over homegrown terrorism, Mr. Trump made no conciliatory gestures toward Muslims, Mexicans and African-American neighborhoods, all of which he disparaged during his campaign.” http://nyti.ms/2fe7k9Z

-- MICHAEL CROWLEY and HALLEY TOOSI: “Trump appointees endorsed link between Islam and radicalism: Flynn, Bannon represent ‘Islamophobic’ thinking of the type rejected by Bush and Obama, critics say”: “Donald Trump’s early appointments are raising alarms that rhetoric about Muslims and Islam long rejected even by Republican leaders are finding a home in his administration, dimming already-faint hopes that his provocative campaign statements about Muslims — ‘I think Islam hates us,’ Trump told CNN in March — were just political rhetoric. The concern was fueled by Trump’s appointment of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as his national security adviser, days after Trump tapped former Breitbart News Network executive chairman [Stephen] Bannon as a strategic counselor. Both men, who will work steps from the Oval Office, have spoken in sweeping terms about a sickness within Islam and have cast Muslim extremism as an existential threat in terms their critics say equates Islam with terrorism.” http://politi.co/2fOUCgc

-- ELI STOKOLS: “What Trump’s early picks say about his administration” http://politi.co/2fP3IK6

WaPo headline: “Trump signals intent to keep hard-line promises with choices for senior national security posts.” Mini profiles of Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions of Alabama http://wapo.st/2frkP42 … CIA Director nominee Mike Pompeo of Kansas http://wapo.st/2g68S7y

DEPT OF SHADE THROWING -- @SalenaZito: “.@Sen_JoeManchin says in our interview in Charleston West Virginia he supports @SenatorSessions for Trump’s AG”

-- ADAM JENTLESON, Harry Reid’s deputy chief of staff, responds: “Earlier this week, Senator Manchin was elevated to Senate leadership as the vice-chair of Democrats’ policy and messaging operation.”

BURGESS EVERETT -- “Sessions looks like a lock for confirmation: Senate Democrats have no leverage to stop him unless Republicans defect.” http://politi.co/2g7FZoP

-- NYT gives Pompeo front-page treatment http://nyti.ms/2guugEB. They say he’ll face a tough confirmation. We think he’ll be fine.

NEXT UP? -- “Trump mulls a secretary of state: Clone, crusader, statesman or clean slate?” by WaPo’s Phil Rucker -- Rudy, John Bolton, Mitt Romney, Nikki Halley: http://wapo.st/2g62e0M … WSJ: “Adm. Michael Rogers Leading Candidate to Be Trump’s Director of National Intelligence” http://on.wsj.com/2fOZCld

SCOOP -- “Breitbart may need to reveal business structure to secure Capitol Hill press credentials,” by Hadas Gold: “On Friday Breitbart News appeared before the Standing Committee of the Senate Press Gallery in order to secure permanent Capitol Hill credentials. But while the act may seem mundane, the process may help shed light on the inner workings of the right-wing news site, whose chairman, Stephen Bannon, is now chief strategist to President-elect Donald Trump. Within the rules of admission to the gallery, there is a clause that states the person and organization holding the pass ‘must not be engaged in any lobbying or paid advocacy, advertising, publicity or promotion work for any individual, political party, corporation, organization, or agency of the U.S. government.’ … Breitbart has publicly said in the past that they do not discuss their investors. The Mercer family, who backed both Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, are known to be major backers of the site. There have been rumors that Trump himself was financially involved, but that’s been denied by both parties.” http://politi.co/2fawB1x

-- WHY THIS MATTERS: A congressional press pass allows reporters access to the Capitol and to interact with lawmakers and staff in the hallways, off the Senate and House floor and attend press briefings. Breitbart isn’t a straight news site — and often draws as many critics from the right as it does from the left. With Trump headed to the White House, Breitbart is just the first of many conservative outlets expected to try and gain press credentials.

BANNON SPEAKS to the WSJ ed board’s Kim Strassel in a must-read interview: “Bannon explains he’s on sabbatical from Breitbart and has had ‘nothing to do with the site since August 15,’ when he joined the Trump campaign. Now he will take an ‘extended leave of absence and cut all association with the site while I’m working at the pleasure of the president.’ He adds that Breitbart ‘didn’t get a scoop from the campaign from the minute I took over; they’ve had to scramble like everybody else.’”

--BANNON on his relationship with PAUL RYAN: “Does Paul Ryan think that everything Breitbart stands for, Steve Bannon stands for, is great? No. Do I think that everything he stands for -- in particular his omnibus [spending bill] -- is great? No. Can we work together to implement Donald Trump’s vision for America? Can we do that? Oh yeah.” http://on.wsj.com/2g418PN

--BANNON to MICHAEL WOLFF in the Hollywood Reporter: “‘Like [Andrew] Jackson’s populism, we’re going to build an entirely new political movement,’ he says. ‘It’s everything related to jobs. The conservatives are going to go crazy. I’m the guy pushing a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. With negative interest rates throughout the world, it’s the greatest opportunity to rebuild everything. Ship yards, iron works, get them all jacked up. We’re just going to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. It will be as exciting as the 1930s, greater than the Reagan revolution — conservatives, plus populists, in an economic nationalist movement.’” http://bit.ly/2g7tYQe

OUR TAKE -- This is what’s freaking Republicans on Capitol Hill. They have rejected massive spending projects since Obama took the White House. They voted against the stimulus in 2009. They even wanted to find budget offsets for disaster spending! What Bannon is describing is anathema to most conservatives on the Hill.

-- RON KLAIN, who oversaw implementation of Obama’s stimulus, in WaPo, “Trump’s big infrastructure plan? It’s a trap”: “Trump’s plan is not really an infrastructure plan. It’s a tax-cut plan for utility-industry and construction-sector investors, and a massive corporate welfare plan for contractors. The Trump plandoesn’t directly fund new roads, bridges, water systems or airports, as did Hillary Clinton’s 2016 infrastructure proposal. Instead, Trump’s plan provides tax breaks to private-sector investors who back profitable construction projects.” http://wapo.st/2g8dckA

TRUMP INC. – “For foreign diplomats, Trump hotel is place to be,” by WaPo’s Jonathan O’Connell and Mary Jordan: “About 100 foreign diplomats, from Brazil to Turkey, gathered at the Trump International Hotel this week to sip Trump-branded champagne, dine on sliders and hear a sales pitch about the U.S. president-elect’s newest hotel. ... In interviews with a dozen diplomats ... some said spending money at Trump’s hotel is an easy, friendly gesture to the new president. ‘Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, “I love your new hotel!” Isn’t it rude to come to his city and say, “I am staying at your competitor?”’ said one Asian diplomat.” http://wapo.st/2eQx1yO

PIC DU JOUR – @brianstelter: “Friend of a friend sent this picture of Mitt Romney arriving in NYC. Waiting in a cab line at JFK? No driver?” http://bit.ly/2fdZpcN

KNOWING 45 -- “Donald Trump’s New York: The City of the ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’ Set,” by NYT’s James Barron: “In some ways, Mr. Trump’s New York is the city of the ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’ set. In the 1970s, he spent late nights at Studio 54, the notorious disco for the rich and famous. More recently, when he treated Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, to pizza, he took her to a Famous Famiglia on Broadway, a chain restaurant where most pizza-savvy New Yorkers would be unlikely to dine. Mr. Trump is a New York power broker, but he has tended to shun the kinds of places that power brokers are known to frequent.” http://nyti.ms/2g87rmO

CHRISTIE WHO? -- “Inside Chris Christie’s fall from grace,” by Alex Isenstadt: “Chris Christie, once one of the Republican Party’s brightest stars, was virtually assured a position in a Donald Trump administration. As one of the first big-name politicians to endorse the Manhattan billionaire, the New Jersey governor had earned Trump's gratitude. Or so it seemed. Instead, just a few months after being denied the VP slot, Christie suffered another public humiliation - he was stripped of his leadership of Trump's presidential transition. In a phone call last week, the president-elect told Christie that he had become a political liability. Trump and his top aides were most concerned about two issues, according to nearly a dozen people briefed on the process: Christie’s mismanagement of the transition, and the lingering political fallout of the Bridgegate scandal.” http://politi.co/2g65VUn

PROFESSOR OBAMA -- “Unlikely apprentice: Obama coaches Trump to be world leader,” by AP’s Josh Lederman: “Soon after Trump’s victory, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough directed that his preparatory materials be thickened and his intelligence briefings expanded to include more basic information ... Obama and his closest advisers were irritated when it leaked out that Trump, during his White House visit, had displayed a lack of thorough knowledge about key issues while Trump’s aides appeared unfamiliar with the process of staffing up a White House ... They were concerned if Trump felt insulted or aggrieved, he might pull the plug on accepting Obama’s advice and help. After all, Obama’s aides had been pleasantly surprised when Trump, after their Oval Office chat, had agreed to preserve key elements of the ‘Obamacare’ health law.” http://apne.ws/2gtV5ZC

FOR YOUR RADAR – “Diplomats Confront New Threat to Paris Climate Pact: Donald Trump,” by NYT’s Coral Davenport in Marrakech, Morocco: “On the sidelines of the [Marrakech climate] negotiations, some diplomats turned from talking of rising seas and climbing temperatures toward how to punish the United States if Mr. Trump follows through, possibly with a carbon-pollution tax on imports of American-made goods.” http://nyti.ms/2fOEKKW

IN THE SKIES -- “House chairman: Trump favors privatizing air traffic control,” by AP’s Joan Lowy: “A House committee chairman says President-elect Donald Trump likes the idea of spinning off air traffic control operations from the government and placing them under the control of a private, non-profit corporation chartered by Congress. Rep. Bill Shuster, head of the House transportation committee, told The Associated Press that he spoke to Trump about the idea several times both before and during the presidential election. … ‘I have spoken to him on a number of occasions and he generally likes the idea,’ Shuster said. ‘We do need to sit down and put meat on the bones ... I think in general he sees it as something that's positive and we need to work on it.’” http://apne.ws/2fOZp1k

-- REMINDER: Shelley Rubino, who Shuster admitted he had a relationship with, is a lobbyist for the airlines (http://politi.co/2guB5WT).

BACK STORY -- “The Story Behind Jared Kushner’s Curious Acceptance into Harvard,” by ProPublica’s Daniel Golden, author of “The Price of Admission: How America’s Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges--and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates”: “My book exposed a grubby secret of American higher education: that the rich buy their under-achieving children’s way into elite universities with massive, tax-deductible donations. It reported that New Jersey real estate developer Charles Kushner had pledged $2.5 million to Harvard University in 1998, not long before his son Jared was admitted to the prestigious Ivy League school. ... I also quoted administrators at Jared’s high school, who described him as a less than stellar student and expressed dismay at Harvard’s decision.” http://bit.ly/2faaaJZ ... $14.67 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2febeQx

NYT’s THE RUN UP published a guide to help when having a difficult political conversation with a friend or family member. Michael Barbaro, host of The Run-Up, writes: “The voters you blame, whose ballots -- for Clinton or Trump -- so mystify and offend you, are not a distant, unfamiliar America. They are sitting across the dinner table, or the office cubicle, or the bed. They are your parents, your siblings, your friends. Who wants to have that tough conversation, about why they voted as they did and about how it makes you feel? Just about nobody. So we avoid it. But like it or not, these people are in your life. The holidays are upon us. And deep down, you may actually want to have this talk. You may need to have this talk. So we put together a guide for how to do it. We consulted with a professional: Liz Joyner, the executive director of The Village Square, an organization that facilitates these kinds of intimate, difficult conversations.” http://nyti.ms/2fqQ0MV

CLICKER – “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,”edited by Matt Wuerker – 15 keepers http://politi.co/2g72EBK

HOT VIDEO – “Amazon Tackles Islamophobia In Heartwarming Christmas Ad” – HuffPost: http://huff.to/2g4CvSS

GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman, filing from Maui, Hawaii:

--“Why Many Young Russians See a Hero in Putin,” by Julia Ioffe in NatGeo: “Twenty-five years after the breakup of the Soviet Union, they crave the stability that the nationalist president represents.” http://on.natgeo.com/2g4E7vT

--“When a Populist Demagogue Takes Power,” by Adrian Chenin The New Yorker: “Since Rodrigo Duterte was elected President of the Philippines, in May, more than three thousand people have been killed in a vicious drug war.” http://bit.ly/2fdZPjk

--“‘They Will Have to Die Now,’” by James Verini in tomorrow’s N.Y. Times Magazine: “With the Kurdish pesh merga on the road to Mosul.” http://nyti.ms/2g7IrfI

--“When President Trump Goes to War,” by Eliot Cohen in WSJ’s Saturday Essay: “A new commander in chief will soon face hard decisions about how and when to deploy America’s military might. What principles should guide him?” http://on.wsj.com/2g84uCV

--“J.D. Vance, the False Prophet of Blue America,” by Sarah Jones in The New Republic: “The bestselling author of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ has emerged as the liberal media's favorite white trash–splainer. But he is offering all the wrong lessons.” http://bit.ly/2g6Zn5j ... $16.79 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2cFCt2c

--“A Conversation With Dan Ariely About What Shapes our Motivations” – Longreads.com: “Dan Ariely on building an understanding of how humans behave from the ground up.” http://bit.ly/2g5GnXi

--“Charles Harder, the Lawyer Who Killed Gawker, Isn’t Done Yet,” by Jason Zengerle in GQ: “Have a score to settle with the press? Charles Harder, the media lawyer who ground Gawker.com to dust, is your man. As the legal attack dog for Melania Trump, Roger Ailes (reportedly), and possibly even President-Elect Donald Trump, Harder wants us to know he doesn’t hate journalists—he just wants to teach them some manners.” http://bit.ly/2fanDBs

--“The Legacy,” by Gabe Sherman in the July 12, 2009 issue of N.Y. Mag: “Guilty of a shocking crime against his own brother-in-law, real-estate mogul Charles Kushner has been cast out of power. So his son Jared, the 28-year-old Observer owner, has to carry the ambition for the both of them.” http://nym.ag/2g7ExmK

--“Unfathomable: Sunken Treasure, Death-Defying Adventure, Sibling Rivalry,” by James Nestor in Epic Magazine: “How Charles and John Deane invented modern deep-sea diving and saved the British Empire.” http://bit.ly/2fqR2Z8 (h/t Longform.org)

--“Are Video Games Teaching Children to Kill?” by Dave Grossman in Literary Hub: “If it troubles you that our young soldiers have to go through a process of conditioning to learn to kill, it should be infinitely more troubling that we are doing the same thing indiscriminately to our children without the safeguards of discipline.” http://bit.ly/2g7JtYS (h/t TheBrowser.com)

--“Zadie Smith on Male Critics, Appropriation, and What Interests Her Novelistically About Trump,” by Isaac Chotiner on Slate: “The way that male critics write about women is always a little funny. It’s part romantic, part corrective, part ‘now listen, young lady.’” http://slate.me/2eQuRzz (h/t ALDaily.com)

--“Progress Isn’t Natural,” by Joel Mokyr on TheAtlantic.com: “Humans invented it—and not that long ago.” http://theatln.tc/2g71iXT

--“A Call With Jack,” by Gary Coby, director of digital advertising and fundraising for the Trump campaign, on Medium: “How Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, restricted advertising for Trump’s campaign.” http://bit.ly/2fe3sWR

--“Our 86 Billion Neurons: She Showed It,” by Steven Mithen in the N.Y. Review of Books, reviewing “The Human Advantage: A New Understanding of How Our Brain Became Remarkable,” by Suzana Herculano-Houzel: “Our 86 billion neurons ... needs 500 calories a day to function, which is 25 percent of what our entire body requires.” http://bit.ly/2eQukxf ... $25.27 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2fakQZi

--“What Obama Got Right,” by Jonathan Rauch in The Atlantic: “The outgoing president has resolved old problems and avoided new ones.” http://theatln.tc/2fODJ5i

GREAT WEEKEND LISTEN, curated by Jake Sherman:

-- SLOCAN RAMBLERS, a fun bluegrass band. http://bit.ly/2faw2oo

SPOTTED: Rudy Giuliani having lunch yesterday with two companions at a corner table at a mostly empty Circle Dining Room at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida ... former FBI director Louis Freeh at Cafe Milano last night; on Thursday night, Tom Barrack and Donald Trump Jr. were also together in a small group at Milano ... Reince Priebus and Hilary Rosen on the 8 a.m. Friday shuttle to NYC, exchanging greetings and pleasantries ... at Oyster Riot XXII last night at Old Ebbitt Grill: Alex and Caitlin Conant, Rob Tappan, Glover Park Group’s Carolyn Just (a former Politico) and Danielle and Ken Vogel ... John Podesta at Dirty Habit -- the new restaurant in the Hotel Monaco -- last night in Chinatown ... Chuck Todd at Wico Metal in Warren, Michigan in Macomb County talking with voters on the ground about how the county flipped from Obama in ’08 and ’12 to Trump ‘16 this year – pic http://bit.ly/2g60Z1I

PRESIDENT’S WEEK AHEAD – “On Monday morning, the President will return from Lima, Peru. On Tuesday, the President will present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to recipients in a ceremony at the White House. The First Lady will also attend. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

“On Wednesday, the President will pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey in a ceremony in the Rose Garden. The President will celebrate the 69th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation, reflect upon the time-honored traditions of Thanksgiving, and wish American families a safe and healthy holiday. On Thursday, the President will celebrate Thanksgiving at the White House.”

OUT AND ABOUT – SPOTTED last night at the engagement party for Michelle Fields and Jamie Weinstein at the Willard Intercontinental: Bob Costa, Neil Patel, Betsy Woodruff, Jonathan Swan, Josiah Ryan, Daniel Halper, Oliver Darcy, Asawin Suebsaeng, Mary Katherine Ham, Joanne Nosuchinsk, Vincent Coglianese, Leland Vitter, Zack Beauchamp, Alex Pappas, Matthew Continetti, Jim Antle – pic of the couple http://bit.ly/2g63zVr

TRANSITIONS – Sara Armstrong has been named CEO of the Inaugural Committee; she previously was VP of the RNC in Cleveland. (h/t Sean Spicer) ... Jon Potter is joining Burson-Marsteller as EVP; he was previously co-founder and president of the Application Developers Alliance and president of the Digital Media Association.

ENGAGED – Caroline Rabbitt, comms director for Sen. Tom Cotton, to Andrew Tabler, a former HASC staffer now a consultant for Matrix International – on Thursday “he proposed in the wine cellar of the Metropolitan Club over champagne after luring me there for a ‘fall cocktail tasting’. We met through a mutual friend almost three years ago at a charity event for wounded warriors.” Instapic http://bit.ly/2g5MIlL

--Justin Barasky, comms director at Priorities USA Action, on Thursday proposed to Lauren Durham, finance advisor at EMILY’s List. They met on Sherrod Brown’s reelection campaign in 2011. The proposal was private without much fanfare at home in their apartment with their dog Kyrie watching. Pic http://bit.ly/2g4NA6o... The ring http://bit.ly/2feeVp2

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Sara Andresen, manager of community engagement at bio-refining/renewable fuels company Poet and a John Thune alum, and Cody Andresen, who manages Lacey Rentals, recently welcomed William Ransford Andresen. Pix http://bit.ly/2fe1hlU ... http://bit.ly/2g5MNG5

--Nitzan Pelman, CEO of ReUp Education, and David Steuer, who runs the health care practice for Frog design, post on Facebook: “So excited to welcome Orli Jordan Eliana to the world. ... Orli means ‘my light’ in Hebrew. Because...we could all use a bit of light in our lives these days.” Pic http://bit.ly/2faBojI

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Cassi Gritzmacher, senior comms. manager for the Clinton Foundation … (was Nov. 11): Gordon Witkin, executive editor at the Center for Public Integrity

BIRTHDAYS: Boston Globe’s Matt Viser (h/t Annie Linskey) … Ann Curry, the pride of Guam … former Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is 77 … Tommy Thompson, former HHS Secretary and Wisconsin governor, is 77 … Larry King is 83 … Jack Welch is 81 … Ted Turner is 78 … Sam Jacobs, executive editor of Time digital and a Daily Beast, Reuters and Newsweek alum … Justin Hamilton, former Arne Duncan press secretary, is 42 … Allison Janney, everyone’s favorite fictional W.H. press secretary, also a Hotchkiss grad ... WaPo’s Dana Hedgpeth ... Robert Marcus, an Obama alum now EVP of Signal Group … Biden alum Annie Tomasini … Nicole Isaac, an Obama W.H. alum now head of U.S. public policy at LinkedIn ... Michael Dale-Stein, Sen. Franken’s senior adviser for comms ... Trey Emerson Sprick, manager of executive research at the U.S. Chamber … Meghan Burris, comms director for Rep. Ann Wagner and a Thom Tillis alum ... Brad Bauman, partner at The Pastorum Group, a Florida native and Miami Dolphins fan, is 38 … former Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell is 54 ... Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) is 69 ... former Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) is 74 ... former Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) is 57 … Politico’s Scott Garlick ... Sarah Hamilton, managing director at Kivvit and a Rahm alum ... Jason Dumont … Playbook superfan John Axelrod, MSNBC alum now at BerlinRosen, is 25 (h/t Josh Cook) ... Lauren McCulloch of “Meet the Press” (h/t Olivia Petersen) ... Dena Iverson DeBonis, DOJ's acting deputy comms director (h/t Kevin Lewis)

… Matt Lloyd, House veteran, Koch Industries alum now deputy COS for comms. and strategy for Gov. Pence ... Chris Harlow, a consultant in Chicago, is 23 (h/t Hayley Glattter) ... Eric Finkbeiner ... Mike Deutsch, DOT Honors attorney and part-time stand-up comedian, is 26 (h/t Beth Kachel) … Matt Allen ... Beth Mickelberg, JPMorgan Chase alum now chief marketing officer at commercial finance consulting firm Solution7 in Sarasota … Lynne Walton ... Patrick K. O’Donnell ... Andrew Sollinger, EVP of subscriptions at Business Insider and an FT alum ... Cait Graf, VP of comms at The Nation ... Ivan Levingston ... Alexander Heffner is 27 ... Shelley Hearne ... Ellen Silva of NPR (h/ts Jon Haber) ... Charlie Siguler ... Geoff Sokolowski, MBA candidate at UCLA Anderson and a Deloitte and Penn Schoen Berland alum ... Neil Bjorkman, director of digital economy at the Chamber’s U.S.-India Business Council … NRSC alum Hannah McLeod, now at the TN Dept. of Economic and Community Development … Michael Reynold … Amber Manko … Bush 43 WH alum Ivvete Diaz ... Bush 43 HHS alum Mary Kay Mantho, now director at GSK ... Shannon Vilmain ... Barb Leach (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Julie Cassidy … David O’Boyle ... Ricky Wilson ... Dick Cavett is 79 … Calvin Klein is 74 … former NASA astronaut Eileen Collins is 6-0 … Meg Ryan is 55 … Jodie Foster is 54 … TV chef Rocco DiSpirito is 5-0 … Adam Driver is 33 (h/ts AP)

THE SHOWS, by @MattMackowiak, filing from McLean, Virginia:

--NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)… Reince Priebus … Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) ... Panel: Robert Costa, Tom Friedman, Kathleen Parker and Neera Tanden

--ABC’s “This Week”: Reince Priebus … Chuck Schumer … Gen. Michael Hayden (USAF, Ret.) … Panel: Matthew Dowd, LZ Granderson, Steve Inskeep and Jennifer Jacobs

--CBS’s “Face the Nation”: VP-elect Mike Pence … Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) … Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) … Panel: Lanhee Chen, Grover Norquist, Maya MacGuineas and David Frum … presidential transition expert and Partnership for Public Service president and CEO Max Stier

--“Fox News Sunday”: VP-elect Mike Pence … Chuck Schumer … Panel: Laura Ingraham, Bob Woodward, Lisa Boothe and Juan Williams

--Fox News’ “MediaBuzz” (SUN 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT): Kellyanne Conway … Erin McPike … Kelly Riddell … Joe Trippi … Megyn Kelly

--CNN’s “Inside Politics” with John King, guest-hosted this weekend by John Berman (SUN 8 a.m. ET): Panel: Maggie Haberman, Philip Bump, Errol Lewis and Caitlin Huey-Burns

--CNN’s “State of the Union” (9 a.m. ET / 12 p.m. ET): Reince Priebus … Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) … Panel: Bakari Sellers, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)

--CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” (SUN 10 a.m., 1 p.m. ET): Henry Kissinger … Tony Blinken … Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaité … Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (Ret.) (archive interview)

--CNN’s “Reliable Sources”: (SUN 11 a.m. ET): Panel: Ann Compton, Salena Zito, Ben Shapiro and Frank Sesno … New York Observer editor Ken Kurson … VF’s Sarah Ellison and THR’s Marisa Guthrie.

---C-SPAN: “The Communicators” (SAT 6:30 p.m. ET): Former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell (R), questioned by WaPo’s Brian Fung … “Newsmakers” (SUN 10am ET): Adam Smith, questioned by Politico’s Jeremy Herb and Defense One’s Kevin Baron … “Q&A” (SUN 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET): Author Okey Ndibe (“Never Look an American in the Eye: Flying Turtles, Colonial Ghosts, and the Making of a Nigerian American”)

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