2017-01-22

Good Sunday morning. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- WHAT TRUMP WILL SIGN NEXT -- In the coming days, Donald Trump is expected to announce a federal workforce freeze and the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy, which bans foreign NGOs from promoting or paying for abortions. Today is the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

A READER passed along this photo of the floor coverings -- called teraplast -- from the 2012 inauguration. http://bit.ly/2k3LjeF The White House incorrectly said that this was the first year the ground on the National Mall was covered for the inauguration, which they said led to misleading images depicting a small crowd size.

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

TAKING STOCK OF YESTERDAY -- NYT’s JULIE DAVIS and MATT ROSENBERG on A1: “[Sean Spicer] incorrectly claimed that ridership on Washington’s subway system was higher than on Inauguration Day in 2013. In reality, there were 782,000 riders that year, compared with 571,000 riders this year, according to figures from the Washington-area transit authority. Mr. Spicer also said that security measures had been extended farther down the National Mall this year, preventing ‘hundreds of thousands of people’ from viewing the ceremony. But the Secret Service said the measures were largely unchanged this year, and there were few reports of long lines or delays. Commentary about the size of his inauguration crowd made Mr. Trump increasingly angry on Friday, according to several people familiar with his thinking. On Saturday, Mr. Trump told his advisers that he wanted to push back hard on ‘dishonest media’ coverage -- mostly referring to a Twitter post [http://bit.ly/2j19FDR] from a New York Times reporter [Binyamin Appelbaum] showing side-by-side frames of Mr. Trump’s crowd and Mr. Obama’s in 2009. But most of Mr. Trump’s advisers urged him to focus on the responsibilities of his office during his first full day as president.

“[M]ost of [Trump’s] remarks were devoted to attacking the news media. And Mr. Spicer picked up the theme later in the day in the White House briefing room. But his appearance, according to the people familiar with Mr. Trump’s thinking, went too far, in the president’s opinion.” http://nyti.ms/2j0WEdJ

WHAT TRUMP SAID AT LANGLEY -- Here is a copy of the transcript of what Trump said at the CIA yesterday. We didn’t see it on the White House’s website, so read it here. Transcript http://politi.co/2jMNzci … Video http://bit.ly/2iQFmok

-- UNIQUE LINES: “Probably almost everybody in this room voted for me, but I will not ask you to raise your hand. [Laughter.] ... The old expression, ‘to the victor belong the spoils,’ you remember I always used to say: Keep the oil. ... So I can only say that I am with you a thousand percent and the reason you’re my first stop is that, as you know, I have a running war with the media. They are among the most dishonest human beings on earth.” [Laughter and applause.]

-- QUICK NOTE: Trump said: “I have been on their cover [of Time Magazine] like, 14 or 15 times. I think we have the all-time record in the history of Time Magazine. Like, if Tom Brady is on the cover, it’s one time, because he won the Super Bowl or something, right? [Laughter.] I’ve been on it for 15 times this year. I don’t think that’s a record, Mike [Pompeo], that can ever be broken. Do you agree with that? What do you think?” TIME MAGAZINE told Playbook Trump has actually been on the cover 11 times. He was on the cover this week, 8 times in 2016, once in 2015 and once in 1989. Richard Nixon was on the cover 55 times (http://ti.me/2jFh7GW).

-- @realDonaldTrump at 7:35 a.m.: "Had a great meeting at CIA Headquarters yesterday, packed house, paid great respect to Wall, long standing ovations, amazing people. WIN!

-- @kenvogel: “Quite the troll of Trump & @seanspicer by the @DallasStars tonight. Surprisingly edgy for a major sports team.” The jumbotron reads: “Tonight’s attendance: 1.5 million” http://bit.ly/2iQEKyY … @jimsciutto: “Forget crowd estimates. What happens when the numbers actually matter? US troops killed, terror cells ID’d, North Korean missiles fired?”

FROM THE GERMANS -- @GermanyDiplo (the German Foreign Office): “#Steinmeier: With the election of #Trump, the old world of the 20th century is gone. What the world of 2morrow will look like is yet unclear.” Frank-Walter Steinmeier is the German minister of foreign affairs.

THE MARCH -- WASHINGTON POST ONLINE HEADLINE -- “Women’s marches: More than one million protesters vow to resist President Trump”(front-page headline: “Marchers answer inauguration”), by Perry Stein, Steve Hendrix and Abigail Hauslohner: “More than 1 million people gathered in Washington and in cities around the country and the world Saturday to mount a roaring rejoinder to the inauguration of President Trump. What started as a Facebook post by a Hawaii retiree became an unprecedented international rebuke of a new president that packed cities large and small -- from London to Los Angeles, Paris to Park City, Utah, Miami to Melbourne, Australia. The organizers of the Women’s March on Washington, who originally sought a permit for a gathering of 200,000, said Saturday that as many as half a million people participated.” http://wapo.st/2jclp9Y … A1 image http://bit.ly/2k3YBYw

WAPO TRANSPORTATION REPORTER Faiz Siddiqui (@faizsays): "BREAKING: Jan. 21, 2017, was the second-busiest day in Metro history, with 1,001,613 trips. #wmata"

– “Pictures From Women’s Marches on Every Continent” – NYT – 108 pix on one page: http://nyti.ms/2jOWtXo

-- Yahoo’s Katie Couric was live on the ground in D.C. and interviewed organizers, marchers and notable participants of the march throughout the day.Highlights https://yhoo.it/2jN0M5k

-- A LOOK AROUND THE COUNTRY: WICHITA EAGLE: “Will gas prices fall below $2 again?” http://bit.ly/2jcuNdN … BOSTON GLOBE:“WAVES OF DEFIANCE: In Washington, Boston, and in other cities around the world, massive protests led by women marked Donald Trump’s first day as president” http://bit.ly/2iQNjKa … L.A. TIMES: “MASSIVE MARCHES CONFRONT TRUMP: MORE THAN A MILLION JOIN WOMEN’S RALLIES IN U.S. -- New protest era may be emerging, but sustaining unity could prove difficult” http://bit.ly/2jcjlyG … N.Y. POST, “SHE THE PEOPLE -- 3 million march worldwide for women’s rights” http://nyp.st/2kflnvG … ST. LUCIE NEWS TRIBUNE: “DAY TWO: Trump prays, then visits CIA headquarters” http://bit.ly/2iQJCnW … WAUSAU DAILY HERALD: “ACA fate looms over central Wisconsin” http://bit.ly/2jlGAnS

WHAT THE PRESIDENT THOUGHT OF THE MARCH YESTERDAY -- @realDonaldTrump at 7:47 a.m.: “Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn’t these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly.” ... at 9:23 a.m.: “More Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don't always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views.”

ATTN PAUL RYAN -- In Jonathan Martin’s story in the NYT -- “Conservatives Worry as Populist Decree Challenges G.O.P. Identity” -- Kellyanne Conway threw one high and tight to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). “Aiming at perhaps the most powerful congressional Republican, and one of the more orthodox conservatives, Ms. Conway pointedly recalled Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s inability to carry his own state in 2012 as the party’s vice-presidential nominee. ‘Speaker Ryan knows Romney-Ryan lost by seven points in Wisconsin, and Mr. Trump just won the state,’ she said.” http://nyti.ms/2jPex3r

FIRST FAMILY -- “Justice Department blesses White House post for Kushner,” by Josh Gerstein: “In a reversal of legal advice given to prior presidents, the Justice Department has concluded that it is lawful for President Donald Trump to appoint his son-in-law Jared Kushner to a White House post. A 14-page opinion dated Friday from Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel asserts that a federal anti-nepotism law that applies to agencies across the executive branch does not cover the White House itself. The anti-nepotism law dates to 1967 and is widely believed to have been aimed at blocking appointments modeled on President John Kennedy’s nomination of his brother Robert as attorney general. However, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel Koffsky — a longtime career lawyer at Justice — concluded that another law passed in 1978 and conferring broad authority on the president to appoint White House officials essentially overrides the earlier anti-nepotism measure.” http://politi.co/2keVJr8

PROGRAMMING NOTE -- The Trump administration declined to make a surrogate available to CNN’s Jake Tapper for his show “State of the Union.”

SUNDAY BEST -- CHUCK TODD talks to KELLYANNE CONWAY on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: TODD: “Why put [Spicer] out there for the very first time at that podium to utter a provable falsehood. It’s a small thing. But the first time he confronts the public it’s a falsehood.” CONWAY: “Chuck, if we’re going to keep referring to our press secretary in those types of terms, I think we’re going to have to rethink our relationship here.” … CONWAY: “You’re saying it’s a falsehood … And our press secretary gave alternative facts to that.” TODD: “Wait a minute, alternative facts? Alternative facts. Four of the five facts he uttered were just not true. Look, alternative facts are not facts. They’re falsehoods.” Video http://bit.ly/2k4bIcl

-- @burgessev: "Conway: 'The Democratic Senate wants to hold up Treasury, Commerce, Education.' Senate is GOP. None of those noms are ready for the floor."

JOHN MCCAIN tells GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS on ABC’s “This Week” that he will vote for Rex Tillerson: MCCAIN: “I will be voting in favor of his nomination. I have had numerous conversations with him. And, again, my concerns have been about our relations with Russia. And his past relations, I believe -- and I’m very cautious about this -- but I believe that Mr. Tillerson understands the importance of a steadfast and strong relationship --”STEPHANOPOULOS: “How did he assure you?” MCCAIN: “Well, he talked to me a lot about his views about Russia, about the events that have taken place, about the fact of what his duties were as a head of one of the world’s largest corporations. Listen, this wasn’t an easy call. But I also believe that, when there’s doubt, the president, the incoming president, gets the benefit of the doubt. And that’s the way I have treated every president that I have had the obligation to vote for or against as a member of the United States Senate.”

NOTE: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also said this morning he'll support Tillerson, all but guaranteeing his confirmation as secretary of state.

SENATE MINORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.) to JAKE TAPPER on CNN's "State of the Union": Jake asked Schumer about the boos to his address at the inauguration -- SCHUMER: "Well, I couldn't hear much. I was told about it afterwards. But it was amazing. That speech given by -- to -- with any other president, with any other audience, would have been cheered. It's not controversial language to say we're all Americans. It's not controversial language to reach out to others who might not be exactly like you. And so the fact that people didn't like it speaks poorly of them, not of what I said in the speech. They even, when I said we should have rule of law, I was heard, booed. When I talked about Sullivan Ballou, a great Civil War patriot who gave his life to his country and said there are some things greater than ourselves, there were catcalls. Wow. What kind -- what kind of -- what kind of situation is that?"

-- KELLYANNE CONWAY to STEPHANOPOULOS on ABC’s “This Week” -- STEPHANOPOULOS: “[I] do want to get to this issue of accountability, though, because you all make that point often, but you had instances yesterday where both the president and Sean Spicer talked about the reporting on the crowd side and repeated things that just aren’t true. CONWAY: “George, the crowd size is actually not a very animating topic to me for a very simple reason. He had hundreds of thousands of people here, there’s no question. I mean I was on the platform where the president was. We saw crowds as far as the eye can see. But presidents are not judged by their likeability ratings among contemporaries or the crowd sizes at their inauguration.”

-- KELLYANNE CONWAY to JOHN DICKERSON on CBS’ “Face the Nation”: “In his inaugural address, it was uplifting, it was unifying. He did reach across and tried to engage people who did not vote for him who maybe disagree with politically and otherwise really try to come together ... Yesterday it was disappointing to get into this argument about crowd control. ... I think it’s a symbol for how we’re covered and treated by many in the press and that’s unfortunate.”

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- The president is speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 1:30 from the Situation Room ... Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo is expected to be confirmed Monday as CIA director … Congress begins its first week under President Donald Trump this week … Republicans head to Philadelphia Wednesday for their downtown retreat. Trump is expected Thursday. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is speaking to Hill Republicans in Philadelphia, and then going to meet with Trump in D.C.

OFFICIAL BIOS on the new WhiteHouse.gov -- President Trump: http://bit.ly/2jloRNi ... Vice President Pence: http://bit.ly/2kfcMcv ... First Lady Melania: http://bit.ly/2kgplbr ... Second Lady Karen Pence: http://bit.ly/2kf0Do1

THE NEW ADMINISTRATION -- “Trump doling out plum adviser jobs to rich friends,” by Josh Dawsey and Isaac Arnsdorf: “Rudy Giuliani, one of Donald Trump’s top political surrogates and a millionaire, is running point on the president-elect’s cybersecurity policies. Carl Icahn, a billionaire friend in New York, is charged with cutting regulations. And, now, Richard LeFrak and Steven Roth, two of his top real-estate friends, are special advisers to build a $1 billion infrastructure plan. Trump has ... quietly appointed a number of his richest friends and allies to unpaid jobs of importance, where their responsibilities are blurry but their power could prove immense. They will help set the administration’s policies while also remaining in the private sector, where they could financially benefit from such policies through their own personal business interests. ... The arrangement has worried his critics, ethics experts and privately some Republicans. ... They are not subject to the federal conflict-of-interest rules and other stringent ethics regulations that apply to members of the administration.” http://politi.co/2jMWGd8

FOGGY BOTTOM WATCH -- “U.S. Under Trump Won’t Send a Delegation to Syria Talks: State Department cites demands of transition for decision not to send a delegation to Kazakhstan,” by WSJ’s Jay Solomon: “The Trump administration has decided against sending a U.S. delegation to Kazakhstan for talks on the war in Syria, despite receiving a formal invitation from the Kazakh government with the backing of Russia and Turkey, the State Department said Saturday. Instead, the U.S. will be represented in Astana only by its ambassador to Kazakhstan. ‘The United States is committed to a political resolution to the Syrian crisis through a Syrian-owned process, which can bring about a more representative, peaceful, and united Syria,’ the State Department said in a statement. ‘Given our presidential inauguration and the immediate demands of the transition, a delegation from Washington will not be attending the Astana conference.’” http://on.wsj.com/2iQXsXp

OBAMA POST-POTUS -- “In Palm Springs, a special sadness for the end of the Obama era,” by LA Times’ Kurtis Lee: “As progressives nationwide mourn the end of Obama’s tenure, here in the Palm Springs area -- where the former president is vacationing with family as he embarks on life as a private citizen -- his exit from the White House has special resonance in a vibrant gay community that’s thrived for decades. Every spring, thousands flock here for the Dinah Shore Weekend, a music festival that caters to lesbians. And in the fall, Cinema Diverse, an annual film festival, showcases the work of gay and lesbian directors and actors. Dozens of gay-friendly restaurants and bars dot the city.” http://lat.ms/2jF5hwg

-- TMZ has footage of Obama golfing at Larry Ellison’s private golf course in Rancho Mirage. http://bit.ly/2jF8ZWW (Note: He looks like he’s getting a bit caught inside on his wedge shots.)

SNL COLD OPEN – “A Paid Message from the Russian Federation” -- Russian President Vladimir Putin (Beck Bennett): “You are worried that your country is in the hands of this unpredictable man. But don’t worry, it’s not. Relax. I’ve got this. Putty is going to make everything okay. I promise we will take care of America. It’s the most expensive thing we’ve ever bought. I know many of you Americans are skeptical of President Trump. Many Russians were skeptical of me at first too, but today, nobody ever seems to hear from any of them. It’s like they’re gone.” 4-min. video http://bit.ly/2k3UwUb

REMEMBERING HARRY MIDDLETON – Austin American Statesman’s Alexandra M. Biesada: “Harry J. Middleton, who tended the legacy of former President Lyndon B. Johnson as director of his presidential library and museum for more than 30 years, died Friday at the age of 95. Lady Bird Johnson once called Middleton ‘the heart and soul of the library,’ and said the late president ‘would beam with pleasure’ that Middleton succeeded in making his presidential library a living institution.” http://atxne.ws/2k3Jn5G

BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman:

--“A Lot of What Is Known about Pirates Is Not True, and a Lot of What Is True Is Not Known,” by Mark G. Hanna in Humanities: “Jailbreaks and riots in support of alleged pirates were common throughout the British Empire during the late seventeenth century. Local political leaders openly protected men who committed acts of piracy against powers that were nominally allied or at peace with England.” http://bit.ly/2jD0Dl9

--“The Hermit Who Inadvertently Shaped Climate-Change Science,” by J. Weston Phippen in The Atlantic: “Billy Barr moved to the Rocky Mountains four decades ago, got bored one winter, and decided to keep a notebook that has become the stuff of legend.” http://theatln.tc/2jdkwvm (h/t Longreads.com)

--“The Inside Story of BitTorrent’s Bizarre Collapse,” by Jessi Hempel in Backchannel: “How a group of valley outsiders blew through the company’s cash and nearly left it for dead.” http://bit.ly/2k7YNJA

--“Libor scandal: the bankers who fixed the world’s most important number,” by Liam Vaughan and Gavin Finch in The Guardian: “With arrogant disregard for the rules, traders colluded for years to rig Libor, the banks’ lending rate. But after the crash, the regulators were on their trail.” http://bit.ly/2jDhjJ1

--“The Baltic States in a Post-NATO Environment: An Interview with Edward Lucas” – DeepBaltic.com: His “regular articles for British and international publications have developed the theme: Putin’s regime is a corrupt kleptocracy deliberately undermining western powers, NATO and the EU and endangering the balance of power in Europe and beyond. He has urged higher defence spending and tougher sanctions against the Russian state and officials, and prioritising cyber security to a great extent.” http://bit.ly/2jsYHcr

--“Trump’s Cast of Characters Takes a Bow,” by Ben Schreckinger with Katie Glueck and Daniel Lippman in Politico Magazine: “For inauguration week, the president’s colorful surrogate army took Washington by storm.” With cameos by Michael Cohen, Scottie Nell Hughes, Al Baldasaro http://politi.co/2kgqUGE

--“Fear and Time,” by Will Boisvert in The Breakthrough: “Risk Culture and the Broken Doomsday Clock.” http://bit.ly/2k7ZRgs

--“How statistics lost their power – and why we should fear what comes next,” by William Davies in The Guardian: “The ability of statistics to accurately represent the world is declining. In its wake, a new age of big data controlled by private companies is taking over – and putting democracy in peril.” http://bit.ly/2jiX3sF

--“Private Manning and the Making of WikiLeaks,” by Denver Nicks in This Land: “The Inside Story of the Oklahoman Behind the Biggest Military Intelligence Leak Ever.” http://bit.ly/2jD5jr0 (h/t Longform.org)

--“The Mind of an Octopus,” by Peter Godfrey-Smith in Scientific American: “Eight smart limbs plus a big brain add up to a weird and wondrous kind of intelligence.” http://bit.ly/2k82Aq5

--“Escape Artist Harry Houdini Was an Ingenious Inventor, He Just Didn’t Want Anybody to Know,” by Jackson Landers in Smithsonian: “More than just a magician, Houdini was also an actor, aviator, amateur historian and businessman.” http://bit.ly/2k5nZMz (h/t ALDaily.com)

SPOTTED: Amb. Ron Dermer, Sheldon and Dr. Miriam Adelson and RJC executive director Matt Brooks yesterday at Peking Gourmet Inn talking about the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship ... At the Best of the West Ball: Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.), Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) snapping a photo together with their wives, Interior secretary nominee Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) ... at the Washington Hilton’s PIC wrap party for PIC and RNC staff sponsored by the Adelsons, the Ricketts, AFLAC, Fluor, and Akin Gump: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas.), Tom Barrack, Sara Armstrong, Jeff Larson … Trump inauguration invocation giver Rabbi Marvin Hier in first class this morning on an Alaska Air flight from BWI to LAX

INAUGURATION PARTY CIRCUIT – SPOTTED at the ABC News brunch yesterday at the top of the Hay Adams: Bob Barnett, Keith Urbahn, George Stephanopoulos chatting with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Jonathan Karl, James Goldston, George Will and John Harwood chatting with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Brendan Buck and Rebecca Berg, Jerry Seib, Brian Ross, Kellyanne Conway chatting with David Muir, Fred Ryan, Alex Castellanos, Bill Kristol, Josh and Ali Rogin, Geoff Morrell chatting with Mike Allen, Arlette Saenz, Matt Wolking, Meridith McGraw, Pam Stevens, Ali Pardo, Boris Epshteyn on the phone on the balcony overlooking his new work space the White House, Martha Raddatz, Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), Daria Grastara, Julie Townsend, Heather Riley, Elizabeth Drew.

-- Tony Podesta and the Podesta Group’s GOPers (including CEO Kimberley Fritts, and principals Matt Johnson, Kevin McLaughlin, Josh Holly, Lauren Maddox, Steve Rademaker and David Marin) hosted an inauguration event on Friday at the Willard Hotel’s “Nest”. The signature cocktail was the hot apple cider and brandy Trump Toddy; snacks included truffled grilled cheese, tomato soup shots and French fries.

SPOTTED: Jon Voight, Curtis Hill, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.), Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), German Amb. Peter Wittig, Cathy Merrill Williams, Kevin Merida, Amy Greene, Maria Pica Karp, Geoff Morrell, Joe Seidel, Ray Wagner, Kenny Day, Bruce Harris, Andrew Clark, David Mack, Brian McGuire, Beth Jafari, Bob Haueter, Paula Dobriansky, Kathleen and Jake Fox, Ryan Williams, Joe Pounder, John Ashbrook, Peter Flory, Dov Zakheim

--SPOTTED at a post-inaugural “Salute to Freedom” brunch yesterday hosted by Hungary Amb. Dr. Reka Szemerkenyi: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mo.), Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), former NY Gov. George Pataki, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), Amb. David O’Sullivan, Dr. James Carafano and James Dean, Ryan Williams, Daria Grastara, Laszlo Baksay.

OUT AND ABOUT -- Seven hundred progressive leaders celebrated the success of the women’s march Saturday at RiseUp!, a late night party at the Hamilton, DJ’ed by Samantha Ronson with a performance by artist David Garibaldi and remarks by Sen. Al Franken, plus some. Garibaldi’s canvas paintings of Rosie the Riveter and Michelle Obama auctioned off for a total of about $12,000. SPOTTED: Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), Brian Komar, Erica Payne, Nathan Daschle, Purpose’s Jenny Tolkan, MoveOn’s Ben Wikler, The Civic Engagement Fund’s Andrea Hailey, CleanChoice Energy’s Tom Matzzie, Genevieve Roth, DJ Tedd Evers.

WEEKEND WEDDING – “Amelia Chassé, Leonardo Alcivar” – N.Y. Times: “Mrs. Alcivar, 30, is the deputy communications director for Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, a Republican. She graduated from George Washington University. ... Mr. Alcivar, 44, is the managing director of Targeted Victory, a Republican-oriented digital corporate and political agency in Alexandria, Va.” With pic http://nyti.ms/2j0FbCe ... Wedding pic of the couple on Instagram http://bit.ly/2iR8Wdv ... Pic of the Lenny and Amelia with their wedding crowd http://bit.ly/2kg4Hs6

-- POOL REPORT: “The ceremony at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church was followed by an intimate reception at the Red Lion Inn. Guests dined on baby lamb chops, Bloody Mary shrimp cocktail, Berkshire distillery cocktails and local charcuterie. The Bride’s sister Hilary Chassé and best man Phil Musser -- who drew laughs by referring to the nuptials as the SECOND peaceful transition of power this weekend -- toasted the couple, who met at a business lunch in 2011. The couple’s first dance was to The Allman Brothers’ ‘Blue Sky.’” SPOTTED: Phil and Heather Musser, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and fiancée Matt Manda of IMGE, Massachusetts Republican Gabriel Gomez.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD – Ed Skyler, EVP for global public affairs at Citi and a Mike Bloomberg alum, and Jen Skyler, head of public affairs for WeWork, post on Facebook: “Jen, Amelia and I are delighted to share that at 3:14 on Friday morning, Anneliese Diane Skyler was born. While she arrived almost four weeks early, she weighed 7 lbs and is doing well, as is Jen.” The Skyler sisters, Amelia and Anneliese, are excited to look around the greatest city in the world.

BIRTHDAYS: Josh Earnest is 42 (hat tip: Natalie) ... Rob Collins, the pride of Syracuse and former NRSC executive director, now at S3 Group ... Kendra Barkoff Lamy of SKDKnickerbocker and a Joe Biden alum (hubby tip: Jonathan) ... Dave Schnittger, former Boehner deputy COS and the pride of Cincinnati, now a senior policy adviser at Squire Patton Boggs, is 46 ... Jim Oliphant, senior political correspondent at Reuters, the pride of Columbus and an L.A. Times and Chicago Tribune alum (h/t Ginger Gibson) ... former Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.) is 89 ... Politico’s Zach Warmbrodt and Brianna Ehley ... Dan Scandling, senior director of public affairs at APCO Worldwide (h/t Anthony DeAngelo) ... Gregg Pitts, managing partner at Advanced Aviation Team, the pride of Warren, Ohio and former Bush W.H. Travel Office director ... Ado Machida, president of the International Stability Operations Association and a Bush 43 WH alum, is 53 ... Democratic fundraiser Chris Lowe, a partner in a NYC private equity firm ... Jesse Shapiro ... Elizabeth Ashford, senior director of global comms at Activision Blizzard and former COS to former California AG Kamala Harris ... Ken Gross … Adam Beck, Obama ’08 and ’12 staffer (now Professor Beck) ...

... Kevin Bohn, CNN senior producer and editor extraordinaire (h/t Gloria Borger) ... Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) is 64 ... Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) is 51 ... Bush WH alum Patrick Mendoza, now head of corporate comms at Cvent ... Josh Riley, partner at Boies, Schiller & Flexner and an Al Franken alum ... Alexander Wells, senior consultant Exiger and JPMorgan Chase alum ... Ashley Codianni, director of global social publishing at CNN … Chris Lavery … Derek Dye ... WashPost’s Julie Zauzmer (h/t Sarah Gadsden) ... Ginny Simmons, founder of Aglet Strategies ... Charlie Meyerson, VP of editorial/development at Rivet Radio ... Kian Hudson, recent Yale Law grad turned law clerk now with Gibson, Dunn (h/t Trey Herr) ... Nicholas Monck ... Carla Jacobs, public policy associate at Uber, is 31 ... Buckeye Laura Allen ... Cara Baldari, senior policy director of family economics and legal counsel at First Focus, is 3-0 ... Seema Ibrahim ... Anna Sperling McAlvanah, the pride of Bainbridge Island, Wash., and LA to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) ... Mike Simmons, deputy commissioner of Chicago’s Dept. of Planning and Development and a Rahm alum ... Carol McDonald (h/t Teresa Vilmain) ... DoD alum Jason Forrester, now a senior fellow at Atlas Research ... KCRW senior producer Christian Bordal ... Gretchen Elizabeth, director of comms. and gov’t affairs at New Frontier Financials and a Bill Shuster and Fox News alum ... Paul Roales ... David Sanders ... Bush 43 WH alum Christa (Bailey) Allen ... Chase Burgess, LA for House Financial Services ... actress Diane Lane is 52 ... celebrity chef Guy Fieri is 49 (h/ts AP)

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