The Playbook Podcast

Congress’ holiday season theme of governing by crisis continues this week, as lawmakers return to Washington to address what could be the trickiest issue of the month: the debt ceiling.House Democratic leaders have discussed adding a provision addressing the debt ceiling to the final National Defense Authorization Act and voting on it as soon as this week, according to a senior Democratic aide. That’s assuming, of course, that compromise NDAA language is ironed out between the two chambers. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has privately signaled to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that he could go along with this idea, which would end their months-long stalemate. But, there are serious questions about whether this defense-debt ceiling sandwich could pass the House. And much of that is because of one man who might typically be aligned with McConnell, but on this issue appears opposed: Kevin McCarthy.Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Congress avoided a government shutdown after Senate conservatives dropped their demands to nix President Joe Biden's vaccine mandates in the funding bill — and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer gave them a way out. Conservatives will argue they got something out of this drama: a vote on their issue. In reality, it was a face-saving measure. The far-right started out demanding that Congress effectively scuttle the mandates, then reduced their ask to a mere vote they knew would fail, ensuring smooth passage of a continuing resolution a full 30 hours before the shutdown deadline. Listen and subscribe to Playbook Deep DiveRaghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Symone Sanders, a senior adviser and chief spokesperson for VP Kamala Harris, “is expected to leave the White House at the end of the year,” Eugene Daniels, Chris Cadelago and Daniel Lippman reported Wednesday night. “It was not immediately clear where Sanders is heading next or when she will be leaving the vice president’s office. Sanders, a 31-year-old African-American strategist and one of the admin’s most recognizable advisers, leaves amid a flurry of stories about internal frictions and disorder in the VP’s office. Sanders was often the aide who pushed back on those storylines, defending the VP and advocating for her both publicly and in one-on-one dealings with reporters.Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Most people on Capitol Hill are kissing Christmas — or at least most of December — goodbye this year. “We could be in every weekend between now and Christmas, so … sorry,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow told reporters Monday night. Sen. Patrick Leahy is so worried about being here on Christmas that he and his wife bought a holiday tree for their home in D.C.Here are some reasons for the growing pessimism.Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

The drama surrounding Rep. Lauren Boebert's Islamophobic comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar is about to heat up as lawmakers return from Thanksgiving recess this week. Sources tell us a faction of Democrats is expected to push leadership to strip Boebert of her committee assignments or censure her after she joked about Omar, who is Muslim, being safe to ride with in an elevator because she wasn’t wearing a backpack.Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Because we’re POLITICO, Marc Caputo has a story up this morning on Donald Trump's potential 2024 map. Granted, it’s not terribly surprising, centering on the five states that Joe Biden flipped in 2020. But the level of engagement within Trumpworld this far out — that we didn’t necessarily expect. “Trump’s shadow campaign … recently polled Trump-Biden matchups in the five states, all of which were decided in 2020 by fewer than 3 percentage points. According to the poll …  the former president led Biden in Arizona by 8 percentage points, Georgia by 3 points, Michigan by 12 points, Pennsylvania by 6 points and Wisconsin by 10 points.And, With Sean Parnell dropping his campaign for Senate in Pennsylvania, some of his former supporters who are close to Donald Trump Jr. are now pushing hedge fund millionaire David McCormick to run.Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

If a “New York minute” is a few passing seconds, then the opposite is a “McCarthy minute” — something that drags on and on for hours.On Thursday night, at 8:38 p.m., House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy took to the House floor with a speech designed to delay Democrats’ passage of the Build Back Better package. This morning, at 5:10 a.m., some 8 hours and 32 minutes later, he finally stopped talking. Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook Deep Dive.Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

If you want to know more about the state of the House GOP conference, today should provide a pretty telling snapshot. Ten months after rioters stormed the Capitol hunting for lawmakers, most House Republicans are expected to vote against rebuking one of their colleagues, Paul Gosar, who posted an anime video of himself stabbing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.And, voters have increasing doubts about the health and mental fitness of President Joe Biden, the oldest man ever sworn into the White House, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll.”Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

It was all smiles and selfies at the White House on Monday as Democrats celebrated passage of the bipartisan infrastructure deal. But rising voter concern about inflation has cast a pall over President Joe Biden's victory lap. The White House has tried to frame the president’s agenda as a long-term answer to inflation. A pair of stories this morning in POLITICO, however, underscores why those claims are probably wishful thinking.Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

In August, former Trump Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and his wife Hilary Geary Ross sold their 10,000-square-foot home in Woodland-Normanstone for $13 million, according to D.C. tax records. It is the most expensive D.C. home sale of the last 12 months.The August deal was shrouded in mystery. The purchaser used an LLC called Salona Village Holdings that concealed their identity. The Rosses are barred by a confidentiality agreement from disclosing the real buyer’s name, Geary Ross told Daniel Lippman.But the secret is out.Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.