The Playbook Podcast

Sean McElwee is a well-known progressive activist who started the “Abolish ICE” movement and in 2018 founded Data for Progress, a progressive think tank with an emphasis on influencing public policy through polling. DFP quickly embedded itself into the top layers of the Democratic firmament. More recently, McElwee became a close political ally and adviser to FTX founder SAM BANKMAN-FRIED. McElwee had easy access to the White House and the press. And he made sure they had access to him. He kept an open Slack channel at DFP that became a rolling conversation between McElwee, Biden administration officials, and some well-known reporters.On Saturday, November 12, the day after FTX filed for bankruptcy and SBF resigned as CEO, McElwee abruptly shuttered the Slack channel. Six days later, he and Data for Progress began negotiating his exit from the firm he had built. At the time, the reported reason for the rupture was that McElwee’s well-known penchant for betting on the outcomes of elections created a conflict of interest for a polling firm. A slew of 2022 DFP polls had a GOP bias, and activists on Twitter— as well as some prominent Democrats pinging reporters— asked whether McElwee was cooking DFP’s polls to affect races and cash in.Sources at DFP insist that this would have been highly unlikely, and that their polls had a GOP bias because of an oversampling of respondents via SMS. In the wake of this, DFP recently adopted a previously unreported “Gambling and Wagering Policy” that prohibits employees from betting on anything related to DFP projects or clients.The McElwee-DFP breakup was ugly, but the two sides were trying to negotiate an amicable separation agreement and a severance. Then on Dec. 13, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York unsealed an eight-count indictment against SBF. The first seven counts, which were about financial crimes, garnered the most attention. But it was the eighth count that turned heads in Washington, alleging a straw-donor scheme in which SBF funneled corporate money to candidates and committees through third parties. And SDNY alleged that SBF had help: SBF “and others known and unknown,” the indictment says, made contributions “in the names of other persons.”In the race to figure out who might have helped SBF make straw donations, McElwee’s name was at the top of the list. The leadership at DFP suddenly feared they could be in the middle of a much bigger scandal.

It's that time of year: the omnibus has dropped. This time it's a $1.7 trillion dollar whopper, with appropriations filling out more than 4,000 pages. Right after the bill dropped on Tuesday, we looked at some of the most notable big-ticket inclusions and omissions in the text of the omnibus government spending bill released overnight, from Electoral Count Act reform to Ukraine aid to the expanded child tax credit. But in such a behemoth, there are plenty more consequential policy decisions to dig into. Playbook editor Mike DeBonis and Playbook reporter Eli Okun discuss what's inside — and what's not.

Democrats are scouring the record of Rep.-elect George Santos to determine their next steps following an extraordinary New York Times investigation of the incoming Republican from Long Island that revealed a history of seemingly fraudulent claims.Democrats are pondering how far to go in their condemnation. Should he be referred to the House Ethics Committee? (Almost certainly.) Should they call for his resignation before he is sworn in? (Some say yes.) Should they call for his expulsion after he’s sworn in? (Probably, but with the GOP in charge it won’t work.) Or should they try to prevent him from being sworn in at all?

This looks like it will be the final week of the 117th Congress… and it’s going to be a busy one. The clock is ticking on the Democratic House majority, and they are looking to wrap up some unfinished business before Republicans move in and take control. Number one on that list is to close out the Jan. 6 select committee, the panel created last year to investigate the attack on the Capitol by angry Donald Trump supporters. Another unanswered question for House Democrats: what to do with Trump’s taxes? Tomorrow the Ways and Means Committee is set to meet and hash that out. The real must-do on the list however is to pass a bill funding the government. Congress has until Friday to do that, and it appears this morning they are on track to do so. But there is some unresolved intrigue surrounding what might get attached to the big year-end bill. Be sure to subscribe to the Playbook newsletter if you haven’t – www.politico.com/playbook.And follow the POLITICO Playbook team @playbookdc. 

The latest news this morning comes via our colleagues Olivia Beavers, Jordain Carney and Sarah Ferris, who note that McCarthy is now “punting conferencewide races for committee leadership slots until after his speaker election on Jan. 3,” which could “incapacitate Republicans during a crucial planning period, virtually guaranteeing a sluggish start for the new House majority.”McCarthy can’t risk pissing off members who lose these races to run House Committees. The downside of this delay is stark: “days, if not weeks, of uncertainty for GOP committees as they begin their stint in the majority. Some of the most important panels, including those charged with tax-writing and border security, won’t be able to prepare bills, tee up hearings, or even hire staff. While some House committees already have uncontested leaders in place, those chairs won’t be able to choose their member lineup or potentially pay staff. The GOP’s subpoena power, too, will be frozen.”Plus, deputy editor Zack Stanton and co-author Eugene Daniels recap Eugene's trip to the White House Holiday Party. Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host and Senior Editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

On Friday, after a group of seven House conservatives issued a public letter outlining the demands that GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy would need to meet to win their support in his bid for speaker, a key McCarthy backer quietly reached out to several moderate Republicans with a request, according to people familiar with the conversations.The Freedom Caucus rabble-rousers had reiterated their demand that McCarthy restore a 200-year-old, now-infamous House rule known as the “motion to vacate,” which allows any one member to force a floor vote to oust the speaker at any moment. McCarthy’s camp wanted the centrists to push back hard on the proposal, which the speaker-hopeful fiercely opposes. If they did, McCarthy would be able to point to their opposition, say his hands are tied and refuse to give in to conservatives’ demands. McCarthy’s office declined to comment to Playbook.Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host and Senior Editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Congressional negotiators announced late Tuesday they had reached agreement on a “framework” for FY2023 spending, clearing the way for passage of an omnibus appropriations package before Christmas.Appropriators are not expected to reveal detailed top-line spending levels until a bill is written and filed, but negotiators had largely settled on a $858 billion defense budget while haggling over the nondefense number. The parties had been roughly $26 billion apart, with Republicans refusing to exceed the $1.65 trillion in total discretionary spending in President Joe Biden's budget request.And more than eight years ago, President Barack Obama stood before dozens of African leaders and made promises at the opening session for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the first of its kind. The summit, it was hoped, would be a jumping-off point for stronger ties between the United States and the continent. Fast-forward eight years later: Biden is hosting a sequel, and he is likely to give very similar remarks. But the situation on the continent has only grown more dire, with global crises such as climate change, Covid-19 and the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine all hitting the continent especially hard. And after four years of Donald Trump at best neglecting and at worst denigrating the continent, this summit is something of a Hail Mary pass to improve relations. Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host and Senior Editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Today’s House Financial Services Committee hearing on the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange will go on as scheduled without its star witness: Former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday at the behest of U.S. prosecutors who have secured indictments on a range of fraud charges. National political correspondent Ben Schreckinger stops by to share to what to expect.Panel chair Maxine Waters said in a statement Monday night she still wants to hear from Bankman-Fried, saying “the American public deserves to hear directly … about the actions that’ve harmed over one million people, and wiped out the hard-earned life savings of so many.” Current FTX CEO John Ray III, a cleanup expert known for his work at Enron after its 2002 collapse, will testify as planned. “The public has been waiting eagerly to get these answers under oath before Congress, and the timing of this arrest denies the public this opportunity,” Waters added. “While I am disappointed that we will not be able to hear from Mr. Bankman-Fried tomorrow, we remain committed to getting to the bottom of what happened.” More from NYTAnd House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro is the biggest remaining obstacle to a huge government spending compromise that congressional leaders are circling, Caitlin Emma, Sarah Ferris and Burgess Everett report. Time is running short, but DeLauro said she’s “optimistic we can get to yes.” The Senate appropriations leaders have closed the $26 billion gap between Democrats’ and Republicans’ proposals, but “they’ve so far been unable to win DeLauro’s buy-in.” — Meanwhile, Congress has to pass a stopgap funding bill this week to avoid a shutdown and buy more time to negotiate the long-term deal. More from the WSJSubscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host and Senior Editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Sunday night that Democrats would not proceed as planned with a vote today on their own spending package, citing “sufficient progress in negotiations … over the weekend.”Government funding runs out Friday. Talks have stalled for weeks as the parties wrangle over funding levels, with Republicans thus far refusing to give Democrats the nondefense plus-ups they desire. Could the distant chime of jingle bells finally be having an effect?There’s no way an omnibus can be negotiated, drafted and passed in the next five days, so expect another stopgap to move this week. Beyond that? There’s already chatter about negotiations dragging right up to and even through the holiday season. We’ll see who blinks first. More from Roll CallPlaybook editor Mike DeBonis and co-author Rachael Bade discuss the funding fight plus the week ahead, including Sam Bankman-Fried's visit to Congresss and President Joe Biden's planned signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act on the South Lawn. Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host and Senior Editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

POLITICO's Burgess Everett with a mega-scoop this morning: “Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is changing her party affiliation to independent, delivering a jolt to Democrats’ narrow majority and Washington along with it.“In a 45-minute interview, the first-term senator told POLITICO that she will not caucus with Republicans and suggested that she intends to vote the same way she has for four years in the Senate. ‘Nothing will change about my values or my behavior,’ she said.“Provided that Sinema sticks to that vow, Democrats will still have a workable Senate majority in the next Congress, though it will not exactly be the neat and tidy 51 seats they assumed. They’re expected to also have the votes to control Senate committees. And Sinema’s move means Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) — a pivotal swing vote in the 50-50 chamber the past two years — will hold onto some but not all of his outsized influence in the Democratic caucus.”Plus, Mike DeBonis and Rachael Bade discuss the feasibility of a so-called unity House speaker, and FDA reporter and astrology emperor Katherine Foley stops by for some birthday news. Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host and Senior Editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.