Subject: POLITICO Playbook: The House Democratic staffers you need to know
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2018 04:21:11 -0600
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Presented by Charter: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day in Washington                Nov 01, 2018 View in browser                   
 By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman and Daniel Lippman 
             
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              DRIVING THE DAY      
MOST REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS we talk to think the House will flip. There is very, very little hedging among GOP insiders on this topic these days. So, with that in mind ... 

... We bring you THE PLAYBOOK DEMOCRATIC HOUSE STAFFER CHEAT SHEET. Here are the 13 STAFFERS you need to know (compiled by POLITICO Capitol Hill bureau chief JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA and JAKE):

-- NANCY PELOSI: DREW HAMMILL, GEORGE KUNDANIS and DIANE DEWHIRST, deputy chiefs of staff. This trio of Pelosi aides has decades of experience in leadership. They help the California Democrat with her internal caucus politics as well as shaping her policy and communications strategy.

-- STENY HOYER: ALEXIS COVEY BRANDT, chief of staff, and BRIAN ROMNICK, deputy chief of staff. These are Hoyer's top two staffers, and they are intensely loyal to the Maryland Democrat. They help orchestrate Hoyer's caucus-wide operation.

-- JIM CLYBURN: YEBBIE WATKINS, chief of staff. The longtime Clyburn staffer knows the Congressional Black Caucus better than just about anybody, and is always keeping an eye out for his boss' best interests. 

-- ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE: JAMIE FLEET, staff director. This key panel inside the Congress is charged with overseeing the management and operations of the House itself. The chairman of this panel is often called the "mayor" of Capitol Hill because they dole out everything from parking spaces to coveted office space. 

-- WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE: BRANDON CASEY, staff director. Taxes are going to be a huge issue for Democrats next Congress. Democrats have already said they will use the panel to seek President Donald Trump's tax returns.

-- APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: SHALANDA YOUNG, staff director. Government spending is going to be a major battleground between Trump and the Democrats on all issues, but most notably the border wall.

-- OVERSIGHT & GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE: DAVE RAPALLO, staff director. Armed with subpoena power, OGR, as it's referred to, will be the hotbed of investigations into the Trump administration. Rapallo -- a veteran of the Henry Waxman oversight committee -- will be at the center of all this.

-- ENERGY & COMMERCE COMMITTEE: JEFF CARROLL, staff director. Democrats promise to push forward on an agenda that includes new initiatives to lower the cost of drug prices, which E&C will take the lead on.

-- REP. JERROLD NADLER: AMY RUTKIN, chief of staff. If impeachment is on the table, it will come from the House Judiciary Committee. Rutkin is a pivotal player in Nadler's orbit.

-- REP. BEN RAY LUJAN: ANGELA RAMIREZ, chief of staff. One of the top Democratic strategists in winning back the House, Ramirez will play a key role in Lujan's quest to move up in leadership.

Good Thursday morning and happy November. FIVE DAYS until the election.

UNIONS and other progressive groups took out a centerfold ad in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, urging people to "vote against antisemitism." PDF of the ad

SNEAK PEEK ... THE PRESIDENT to CBN's David Brody and Jenna Browder, on AF1 during the president's trip yesterday to Florida: "I think the blue wave is dead, frankly. And I think we're doing very well. It looks like we're going to win the Senate, which is very important. ... [T]he numbers reflect it as you know and I think we can do, I think we'll win the Senate, I think we're going to do well in the House."

THE COMING CLASH ... IF DEMOCRATS do take the House, and Trump tries to change the Constitution through executive order, there's guaranteed to be a legislative clash on a must-pass government funding bill to stop this. There will be plenty of Republicans who would join with Democrats to buck Trump. Keep your eyes open for the Dec. 7 DHS funding deadline. It wouldn't surprise us at all if Democrats and some Republicans try to use that deadline to ensure that Trump can't change the birthright citizenship principle -- especially if he wants money for his border wall. Whether he knows it or not, the president just put a chip on the table for Democrats to use. 

-- TRUMP in Estero, Fla., per NYT's Katie Rogers: "The president referred to the citizenship clause in the Constitution as a 'crazy policy,' telling a rapt crowd that 'illegal immigrants are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.' (Legal experts would widely disagree.)" NYT

-- TRUMP SPEAKS TO ABC'S JONATHAN KARL: "'We have to have a wall of people,' Trump said, shortly after it was announced that they're going to send 10,000 to 15,000 troops to the border. In an exclusive interview with ABC Chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, Trump said that the caravan is bigger than is being reported, which he says he knows because of his own estimates.

"'You have caravans coming up that look a lot larger than it's reported actually. I'm pretty good at estimating crowd size. And I'll tell you they look a lot bigger than people would think,' Trump said." ABC
       
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15,000 ... TRUMP'S NEW TROOP NUMBERS ... AP'S ZEKE MILLER and ROBERT BURNS: "Just last week officials were indicating that about 800 to 1,000 might be sent. On Monday, officials announced that about 5,200 were being deployed. The next day, the Air Force general running the operation said more than the initially announced total were going, and he pointedly rejected a news report that it could reach 14,000, saying that was 'not consistent with what's actually being planned.'

"Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, the commander of U.S. Northern Command, told reporters the number would exceed the initial contingent of 5,200, but he offered no estimate of the eventual total. Just 24 hours later, Trump thrust new uncertainty into the picture, catching the Pentagon by surprise." AP

-- TRUMP to Karl on telling the truth: "Well, I try. I do try ... and I always want to tell the truth. When I can, I tell the truth. And sometimes it turns out to be where something happens that's different or there's a change, but I always like to be truthful."

MARC CAPUTO: "'Lock him up!' Florida Trump crowd bashes opponents of DeSantis, Scott": "Gov. Rick Scott joined Ron DeSantis on Wednesday night as he campaigned publicly for the first time next to President Donald Trump this year, ending a long spell when Florida's chief executive kept some distance from the man who had long encouraged him to run for U.S. Senate.

"The Scott-DeSantis rally with Trump in Fort Myers - the capital of one of the most politically engaged Republican counties in the state - highlighted the partisan nature of Florida's 2018 midterm election, in which both sides are ginning up their base voters with the two most popular figures in each party: Trump and former President Barack Obama, who visits Democrat-rich Miami on Friday. 'Is Southwest Florida Trump Country, or what?' DeSantis said when he took the stage to loud cheers.

"The campaign event in the packed arena six days before Election Day showcased the classic hits of a Trump rally revival, replete with impromptu crowd chants of 'USA!' and 'CNN sucks!' and a new variant on an old theme: 'Lock him up!' - a reference to the federal investigation swirling around DeSantis' opponent in the gubernatorial contest, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum." POLITICO

BEHIND THE SCENES ... SCALISE ARMY DEPLOYS ... HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP STEVE SCALISE (R-LA.) will be in North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Kentucky today and tomorrow, visiting eight House Republican lawmakers and candidates: North Carolina Reps. Ted Budd, Richard Hudson and George Holding and candidate Mark Harris; Virginia candidate Denver Riggleman; New Jersey Rep. Tom MacArthur; New York Rep. John Faso; and Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr. LIZ CHENEY, the Wyoming Republican running for House GOP Conference chair, is traveling with him.

SCALISE is sending staff to 10 districts to campaign. Senior Scalise aides Chris Bond, Lauren Fine, Ben Napier and Geoff Green are among those hitting the trail. In total, Scalise raised $5.4 million in October, hitting 17 districts in 10 states. He raised $4.2 million online. 

-- LAST PUSH FOR THE MAJORITY: Majority in Action, a PAC supported by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Scalise and Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), will deploy 115 GOP Hill staffers to 23 key districts to knock on doors from today until Election Day. 

THE PAC raised $200,000 to send volunteers to front-line races that will determine the majority next year, including competitive districts in Arkansas, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.

MCHENRY will announce he has raised $5.8 million between his campaign committee and two PACs. He has given an additional $2.6 million to the NRCC and raised another $7.7 million for members, holding nearly 200 events. He's raised $16 million this cycle.

2018 WATCH -- A 'NO' ON PELOSI ... CNN'S MANU RAJU and ASHLEY KILLOUGH in Chanute, Kan.: "In deep-red Kansas, a House race poses a test for Trump and Pelosi": "Here in the 2nd Congressional District of Kansas, Republicans are mounting a furious push to save a seat that has been in their party's control for a decade -- one of two seats in this deep-red state that President Donald Trump won by more than 20 points but could flip to the Democrats come Election Day. 

"The GOP gave an opening to Democrats with the retirement of Republican Rep. Lynn Jenkins and nominated a political novice who has faced serious questions about whether he inflated his resume -- all the while facing an experienced Democrat who is raising far more money than his opponent.

"But while a victory here could help flip the House to the Democrats -- and help make Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California the speaker again -- it also underscores the challenges for a party on the cusp of returning to power. Democrats like Davis are running away from their party's leader -- and may need to continue keeping their distance from their leadership to hold on to their seats in conservative districts.

"First, though, Pelosi will have to win the gavel -- without the support of Democrats like Davis. 'There isn't a circumstance in which I'm going to support Pelosi,' Davis told CNN in Lawrence, Kansas. 'I think Democrats generally are going to have to figure out who's the candidate that can get to 218 votes.'" CNN

-- WAPO'S LAURA VOZZELLA in Richmond: "Democrat says Project Veritas infiltrated her campaign in Va.'s tight 7th District": "A conservative group that creates undercover 'sting' videos infiltrated the campaign of Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat in a tight race with Rep. Dave Brat in Virginia's 7th District.

"The campaign said a young woman working for Project Veritas posed as a Democratic volunteer and spent every day over the past several weeks in Spanberger's suburban Richmond campaign office, performing basic office tasks - and peppering her office mates with questions that eventually raised red flags. Campaign staffers on Wednesday confronted her and asked her to leave, a video released by the campaign shows." WaPo
 
POLITICO/MORNING CONSULT POLL ... STEVEN SHEPARD: "A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted over the past fractious, violent week shows a majority of voters think that President Donald Trump has done more to divide the country than unite it since he took office last year - but that the national news media are even worse.

"Just 3 in 10 voters, 30 percent, said Trump has done more to unite the country, compared with 56 percent who said he's done more to divide it. Even more voters, 64 percent, said the media have done more to divide the country, while only 17 percent say they have done more to unite it." POLITICO

THE INVESTIGATIONS ... "Conspiracy theorist becomes key figure as Mueller builds case," by ABC's Ali Dukakis: "Self-proclaimed conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi returned to Washington, D.C., again this week for more closed-door meetings with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators, and on Friday is scheduled to make a second appearance before the federal grand jury probing Russia interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, ABC News has learned. Reached by ABC News on Wednesday, Corsi's lawyer, David Gray, declined to comment on the matter.

"Corsi, who until recently served as the Washington, D.C., bureau chief for the controversial far-right media outlet Infowars, is one of at least 11 individuals associated with political operative Roger Stone -- a longtime and close ally of President Donald Trump -- who have been contacted by the special counsel." ABC
       
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TRUMP'S THURSDAY -- The president will receive an "election integrity" briefing at 1:30 p.m. in the Oval Office. He will leave the White House at 4:40 p.m. en route to Columbia, Mo., where he will hold a political rally at 6:30 p.m. Central time. Trump will return to Washington tonight.

TAKE THE PLAYBOOK ELECTION CHALLENGE -- See if you can correctly pick the winning candidates in some of the most competitive House, Senate and gubernatorial races in the country. Sign up today!
                 PLAYBOOK READS         

PHOTO DU JOUR: Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and former Vice President Joe Biden campaign together in Missouri on Wednesday. | Jeff Roberson/AP Photo
   
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- BEN LEFEBVRE and ZACK COLMAN: "Zinke's heir apparent ready to step in": "Like Scott Pruitt before him, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has an experienced deputy steeped in the world of bureaucratic infighting waiting on deck if scandal drives him from office.

"Zinke has long been expected to join a post-election exodus from the Trump administration, even before this week's reports that Interior's internal watchdog had referred at least one investigation into the secretary's ethical problems to the Justice Department. And he already has an heir apparent: Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, a longtime lobbyist for the oil and gas and water industries, who would be well placed to execute President Donald Trump's pro-fossil fuel, anti-regulatory policies.

"A department spokesperson said Zinke is not planning to step down soon. But he appears to be laying the groundwork to hand the reins to Bernhardt, who joined the Trump administration last year." POLITICO

TRADE WARS -- "Trade war impact deepens across Asia, but 'real economic shock' yet to hit," by Reuters' Marius Zaharia in Hong Kong: "The economic impact of the intensifying trade war between Washington and Beijing appeared to deepen last month with factory activity and export orders weakening across Asia, but analysts warned the worst was yet to come. In a sign conditions for exporters and factories were deteriorating, manufacturing surveys showed marginal growth in China, a slowdown in South Korea and Indonesia and a contraction in activity in Malaysia and Taiwan." Reuters

         
THE RIGHT -- "How Vilification of George Soros Moved From the Fringes to the Mainstream," by NYT's Ken Vogel, Scott Shane and Patrick Kingsley: "On both sides of the Atlantic, a loose network of activists and political figures on the right have spent years seeking to cast Mr. Soros not just as a well-heeled political opponent but also as the personification of all they detest. 

"Employing barely coded anti-Semitism, they have built a warped portrayal of him as the mastermind of a 'globalist' movement, a left-wing radical who would undermine the established order and a proponent of diluting the white, Christian nature of their societies through immigration. In the process, they have pushed their version of Mr. Soros, 88, from the dark corners of the internet and talk radio to the very center of the political debate." NYT

VALLEY TALK -- "Google Faces Internal Backlash Over Handling of Sexual Harassment," by NYT's Kate Conger, Daisuke Wakabayashi and Katie Benner in San Francisco: "Google is struggling to contain a growing internal backlash over its handling of sexual harassment and its workplace culture. ... [E]mployees' dissatisfaction has not subsided. On Thursday, more than 1,500 - most of them women - plan to walk out of almost two dozen company offices around the world to protest the treatment, organizers said." NYT

MEDIAWATCH -- "CNN cools on hiring Trump alums," by Jason Schwartz and Gabby Orr: "CNN is known for its big panels and endless parade of talking heads, but the network is signaling that it's running out of room for figures from President Donald Trump's administration.

"With the midterms next week, many White House aides are soon expected to head for the exits and look for new gigs, including in media. But CNN president Jeff Zucker has told people inside and outside the network that he's not interested in hiring former officials he perceives as complicit in spreading falsehoods or spurious talking points, according to four people familiar with the conversations." POLITICO
                 PLAYBOOKERS      
SPOTTED: Carl Bernstein on the corner of 71st Street and Fifth Avenue last night. ... Jared and Ivanka with their kids trick-or-treating last night in Georgetown. Pic ... Bob Woodward passing out Halloween candy. Instapic ... Don McGahn having lunch outside at Virtue Feed & Grain in Old Town.

TRANSITION -- Jonny Slemrod is joining Harbinger Strategies as a partner. He previously was associate director of legislative affairs at OMB and was policy director on Sen. Marco Rubio's presidential campaign. 

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Jack Evans turned 65 ... Caroline Pratt, deputy campaign manager for Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer, turned 28. "She's celebrating by knocking doors and going to packetland." (hat tip: Annie Ellison)

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who has been nominated to be the director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, is 65. A fun fact about Darrell: "During my Army service in 1980, I received a very thoughtful commendation from my commanding officer, a Lieutenant Colonel who went on to big things and achieve the rank of General: Wesley Clark. I only made it as far as Captain, but it proves Democrats and Republicans can indeed work together!" Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Ryan Zinke is 57 ... David Bossie, president of Citizens United and a Fox News contributor ... Charles Koch is 83 ... Katie Walsh Shields (hubby tip: Mike) ... Apple CEO Tim Cook is 58 ... Vanessa Morrone Ambrosini, director of regional communications at the White House (h/t hubby Mike Ambrosini and Judd Deere) ... Lee Fang ... WaPo book critic Carlos Lozada ... Noel Eisenberg ... POLITICO's Jason Shervinski and Cristina Brownell ... GPG's Alex Byers ... Brian Mahoney ... Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-Maine) is 65 ... John Oxtoby of Ariel Investments (h/ts Herbie Ziskend and Andrew Bates) ... Craig Kunkle ... Michael Byerly ... Jess Andrews ... Ram Sivalingam of Deutsche Bank ... Jamie
 Sterne ... Eric Liu is 5-0 ... Megan Wilson of Bloomberg Government ... Les Novitsky ... Jay Villegas ... Liz Dougherty, general counsel and corporate secretary at Business Roundtable ... National Journal staff correspondent Madelaine Pisani (h/t Zach Cohen) ... British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is 52 ...

... Francesco Guerrera, head of international for Dow Jones Media Group and publisher of Financial News ... Larry Flynt is 76 (h/t Nadia Szold) ... Liz Bowman (h/t Kelsi Daniell) ... Clare Steinberg ... Tyler Hernandez ... Fergus Bordewich ... Chloe (Mullins) Taylor of Hawk Partners ... Eric Allen ... Ali Ahmad ... Edelman's Pearson Cummings ... Peter Urban ... Jordan Mason ... Greg Werkheiser ... Bill Deere ... Peter Newell ... Leslie Pollner ... Gabe Cramer ... Doug Stevens ... Jordan Mason ... John Stipicevic ... former Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) is 76 ... Anthony DeAngelo, media relations manager at APCO Worldwide, is 35 ... Anthony Fragale ... Bo Harmon ... John Seeley ... Mitchell
 Wohlberg ... Richard Samet "Kinky" Friedman is 74 ... CNN's Marshall Cohen ... Senate Chaplain Barry Black is 7-0 ... Sue Mahsem ... Siri Uotila (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)
       
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