November 20, 2023 HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

 

November 20, 2023 HEATHER COX RICHARDSON NOV 21 Yesterday, David Roberts of the energy and politics newsletter Volts noted that a Washington Post article illustrated how right-wing extremism is accomplishing its goal of destroying faith in democracy. Examining how “in a swing Wisconsin county, everyone is tired of politics,” the article revealed how right-wing extremism has sucked up so much media oxygen that people have tuned out, making them unaware that Biden and the Democrats are doing their best to deliver precisely what those in the article claim to want: compromise, access to abortion, affordable health care, and gun safety.  One person interviewed said, “I can’t really speak to anything [Biden] has done because I’ve tuned it out, like a lot of people have. We’re so tired of the us-against-them politics.” Roberts points out that “both sides” are not extremists, but many Americans have no idea that the Democrats are actually trying to govern, including by reaching across the aisle. Roberts notes that the media focus on the right wing enables the right wing to define our politics. That, in turn, serves the radical right by destroying Americans’ faith in our democratic government.  Former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele echoed that observation this morning when he wrote, “We need to stop the false equivalency BS between Biden and Trump. Only one acts with the intention to do real harm.” Indeed, as David Kurtz of Talking Points Memo puts it, “the gathering storm of Trump 2.0 is upon us,” and Trump and his people are telling us exactly what a second Trump term would look like. Yesterday, Trump echoed his “vermin” post of the other day, saying: “2024 is our final battle. With you at my side, we will demolish the Deep State, we will expel the warmongers from our government, we will drive out the globalists, we will cast out the Communists, Marxists, and Fascists, we will throw off the sick political class that hates our Country, we will rout the Fake News Media, we will evict Joe Biden from the White House, and we will FINISH THE JOB ONCE AND FOR ALL!”    Trump’s open swing toward authoritarianism should be disqualifying even for Republicans—can you imagine Ronald Reagan talking this way?—but MAGA Republicans are lining up behind him. Last week the Texas legislature passed a bill to seize immigration authority from the federal government in what is a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution, and yesterday, Texas governor Greg Abbott announced that he was “proud to endorse” Trump for president because of his proposed border policies (which include the deportation of 10 million people). House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has also endorsed Trump, and on Friday he announced he was ordering the release of more than 40,000 hours of tapes from the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, answering the demands of far-right congress members who insist the tapes will prove there was no such attack despite the conclusion of the House committee investigating the attack that Trump criminally conspired to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election and refused to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol.  Trump loyalist Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) promptly spread a debunked conspiracy theory that one of the attackers shown in the tapes, Kevin Lyons, was actually a law enforcement officer hiding a badge. Lyons—who was not, in fact, a police officer—was carrying a vape and a photo he stole from then–House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and is now serving a 51-month prison sentence. (Former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) tweeted: “Hey [Mike Lee]—heads up. A nutball conspiracy theorist appears to be posting from your account.”) Both E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted yesterday that MAGA Republicans have no policies for addressing inflation or relations with China or gun safety; instead, they have coalesced only around the belief that officials in “the administrative state” thwarted Trump in his first term and that a second term will be about revenge on his enemies and smashing American liberalism.  MIke Davis, one of the men under consideration for attorney general, told a podcast host in September that he would “unleash hell on Washington, D.C.,” getting rid of career politicians, indicting President Joe Biden “and every other scumball, sleazeball Biden,” and helping pardon those found guilty of crimes associated with the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. “We’re gonna deport a lot of people, 10 million people and growing—anchor babies, their parents, their grandparents,” Davis said. “We’re gonna put kids in cages. It’s gonna be glorious. We’re gonna detain a lot of people in the D.C. gulag and Gitmo.” In the Washington Post, Josh Dawsey talked to former Trump officials who do not believe Trump should be anywhere near the presidency, and yet they either fear for their safety if they oppose him or despair that nothing they say seems to matter. John F. Kelly, Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, told Dawsey that it is beyond his comprehension that Trump has the support he does.  “I came out and told people the awful things he said about wounded soldiers, and it didn’t have half a day’s bounce. You had his attorney general Bill Barr come out, and not a half a day’s bounce. If anything, his numbers go up. It might even move the needle in the wrong direction. I think we’re in a dangerous zone in our country,” Kelly said.   Part of the attraction of right-wing figures is they offer easy solutions to the complicated issues of the modern world. Argentina has inflation over 140%, and 40% of its people live in poverty. Yesterday, voters elected as president far-right libertarian Javier Milei, who is known as “El Loco” (The Madman). Milei wants to legalize the sale of organs, denies climate change, and wielded a chainsaw on the campaign trail to show he would cut down the state and “exterminate” inflation. Both Trump and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, two far-right former presidents who launched attacks against their own governments, congratulated him.  In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower took on the question of authoritarianism. Robert J. Biggs, a terminally ill World War II veteran, wrote to Eisenhower, asking him to cut through the confusion of the postwar years. “We wait for someone to speak for us and back him completely if the statement is made in truth,” Biggs wrote. Eisenhower responded at length. While unity was imperative in the military, he said, “in a democracy debate is the breath of life. This is to me what Lincoln meant by government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people.’”  Dictators, Eisenhower wrote, “make one contribution to their people which leads them to tend to support such systems—freedom from the necessity of informing themselves and making up their own minds concerning these tremendous complex and difficult questions.”  Once again, liberal democracy is under attack, but it is notable—to me, anyway, as I watch to see how the public conversation is changing—that more and more people are stepping up to defend it. In the New York Times today, legal scholar Cass Sunstein warned that “[o]n the left, some people insist that liberalism is exhausted and dying, and unable to handle the problems posed by entrenched inequalities, corporate power and environmental degradation. On the right, some people think that liberalism is responsible for the collapse of traditional values, rampant criminality, disrespect for authority and widespread immorality.” Sunstein went on to defend liberalism in a 34-point description, but his first point was the most important: “Liberals believe in six things,” he wrote: “freedom, human rights, pluralism, security, the rule of law and democracy,” including fact-based debate and accountability of elected officials to the people. Finally, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who was a staunch advocate for the health and empowerment of marginalized people—and who embodied the principles Sunstein listed, though that’s not why I’m mentioning her—died yesterday at 96. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” former President Jimmy Carter said in a statement.  More to the point, perhaps, considering the Carters’ profound humanity, is that when journalist Katie Couric once asked President Carter whether winning a Nobel Peace Prize or being elected president of the United States was the most exciting thing that ever happened to him, Carter answered: “When Rosalynn said she’d marry me—I think that’s the most exciting thing.” — Notes: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2023/wisconsin-door-county-voters-politics-fatigue/ https://talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo/the-gathering-storm-of-trump-2-0-is-upon-us https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-legislature-votes-to-seize-immigration-authority-from-feds/ https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/mike-davis-trump-attorney-general-20231119.html#loaded https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/19/republican-party-trump-haley-desantis-ideas/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/11/20/trump-aides-cabinet-critics-election/ https://www.reuters.com/markets/emerging/argentina-2023-inflation-seen-185-cenbank-poll-2023-11-13/ https://twitter.com/bobcesca_go/status/1726618919161762272 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/20/argentina-presidential-election-far-right-libertarian-javier-milei-wins-after-rival-concedes http://www.agriculturedefensecoalition.org/sites/default/files/file/constitution_1/1B_1959_President_Dwight_D._Eisenhower_February_10_1959_Letter_on_Government.pdf https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/11/mike-johnson-announces-release-january-6-footage https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-tapes-congress-capitol-insurrection-c737a543c379413ad6e025ac603ac3e3 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/opinion/cass-sunstein-why-liberal.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/17/bolsonaro-brazil-coup-report Twitter (X): drvolts/status/1726338675192262789 MichaelSteele/status/1726613601384079567 ChrisDJackson/status/1726267462629663114 gregabbott_tx/status/1726317394342080527 abc/status/1726338341090521489 BasedMikeLee/status/1726102856632332357 ryanjreilly/status/1726224163759849551 KaivanShroff/status/1726335323658174549 Liz_Cheney/status/1725941760520487234

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Beacon Hill's blame game

BY KELLY GARRITY , MIA MCCARTHY AND LISA KASHINSKY SUPP-LICATIONS — Spotted on Beacon Hill on Monday: Community health center doctors terrified that they’ll have to turn a patient out into the cold because there’s no more room in the state’s overrun shelter system. Public employees imploring lawmakers to pass a bill containing their contracts so they can be paid the money they’re owed before the year is out. Housing advocates fearful of what will happen to migrant families who arrive in the state, only to be told there’s nowhere for them to go. The fallout from the Legislature’s failure to hash out a deal over a $2.8 billion supplemental budget that would close out the fiscal year, authorize raises for thousands of state workers and infuse the shelter system with $250 million was abundant in and around the State House. State workers rally outside the Massachusetts State House to urge lawmakers to pass a supplemental budget. | Kelly Garrity/POLITICO Hundreds of union workers gathered on the State House steps in the afternoon to jeer lawmakers for “playing politics” with their paychecks. In the evening, another group gathered for a candlelight vigil to call on Beacon Hill leaders to find more space for the dozens of families on the emergency shelter waitlist and for new arrivals after that. The blame game continued inside the building, too. And today, all of the finger-pointers are going to be in Massachusetts. President Joe Biden , who Gov. Maura Healey continues to press for more help managing the migrant crisis, touches down here today for his family's annual Thanksgiving pilgrimage to Nantucket. Biden has blamed the Republican-controlled House for not engaging with his attempts at immigration reform and not passing the extra funding he’s requested. Biden and Healey are not expected to have any meetings on migrant matters during the president’s five-day stay. State House Speaker Ron Mariano, meanwhile, took swipes at both Healey and the state Senate after the Boston Globe first reported that conference rooms at a state transportation building are being used as temporary overnight shelter for up to 25 wait-listed families. That situation is “emblematic of the need for funding that is specifically reserved for overflow shelter options with greater capacity,” Mariano said in a statement that alluded to his chamber’s plan to require Healey to spend $50 million of the $250 million she requested on overflow shelter. But the state Senate hasn't agreed to that plan. And senators have in turn jabbed at the state House for taking so long to bring the shelter money Healey asked for in September up for a vote. Mariano said the state House will keep pushing the Healey administration to find more overflow sites. There is some progress on that front, beyond the converted conference rooms. A spokesperson for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, which the state seeded with $5 million to help local organizations open temporary overnight shelters, said it’s received “several” applications so far, and expects to be able to begin funding at least one this week. Don’t forget about the Republicans who have unusual leverage during these informal sessions, where one lawmaker’s objection can derail a bill. The state House GOP caucus sent a letter to the conference committee tasked with negotiating the supplemental budget, urging them to pop state workers’ contracts out of the larger spending bill and move them forward so people can get their already-agreed-upon raises. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook won’t publish Thursday and Friday. Have a happy Thanksgiving and we’ll be back in your inboxes on Monday! TODAY — Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Rep. Jake Auchincloss announce affordable housing decarbonization grants at 10:30 a.m. in Brookline. Healey speaks at the Firefighter of the Year Awards at 1 p.m. in Worcester and walks in the March for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts at 4 p.m. in Deerfield. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attends Thanksgiving-related events. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email us: kgarrity@politico.com , mmccarthy@politico.com and lkashinsky@politico.com.   GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here.     PARTY POLITICS ‘A TITAN OF MASSACHUSETTS POLITICS’ — John Walsh , a force in Massachusetts Democratic politics who was a key architect of former Gov. Deval Patrick ’s historic win in 2006 and who helmed Sen. Ed Markey ’s 2020 reelection campaign, has died. He was 65. Tributes are pouring in for Walsh, a beloved mentor to countless young politicians and operatives, who chaired the state party from 2007 to 2013 and was most recently Markey’s chief of staff. The Boston Globe reported that Walsh, who had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, died in hospice care. “John Walsh was a political genius and a transformational figure in the history of Massachusetts movement building,” Markey said in a statement. “But more than his campaign work, more than Boston sports — both of which he enjoyed discussing immensely — John loved to talk about his family and how they made everything possible for him.” Patrick wrote on X that Walsh’s “memory lives forever in the legions of us he inspired, taught and cared about." Here are some of the other remembrances:  — Rep. Jim McGovern described Walsh as a “brilliant political strategist with a heart of gold.” — Gov. Maura Healey wrote on X that Walsh “was one of the truly good people. He was brilliant while staying relentlessly humble, optimistic, inclusive, and empathetic to all.” — Rep. Ayanna Pressley described Walsh on X as not just a "titan of Massachusetts politics" but also a “dear friend and partner-in-good.” — Alex Goldstein , who worked for Walsh on Patrick’s 2006 campaign and at the state party, wrote on X : “There are no words to describe the enormity of his loss to generations of leaders and activists that were transformed by the gifts of his kindness and wisdom.” — Doug Rubin, who worked alongside Walsh on Patrick’s 2006 campaign, described Walsh on X as “probably the most influential person in my professional life. And I’m not the only one who feels that way.” He later told Playbook: “There was no one like John, that’s for sure.” A note from Lisa: John was a great resource who was generous enough to share his years of wisdom with reporters. He always made time for me, even after he went to D.C. My condolences to his family and friends. DATELINE BEACON HILL — “ Mass. Gov. Maura Healey announces new push to combat rise in hate crimes ,” by Alvin Buyinza, MassLive: “A newly created unit of the Massachusetts State Police will work with local law enforcement and community leaders to better the commonwealth’s response to the growing number of hate crimes, officials announced on Monday. ‘One hate crime is too many and we’re seeing more than one a day,’ Gov. Maura Healey said during a Monday news conference at the State House." — “ State officials tout no bias in police stops. Looking closer reveals a different reality, ” by Jeannette Hinkle, Brad Petrishen, Dian Zhang, Dan Keemahill, Cape Cod Times/Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “When Massachusetts released its first taxpayer-funded report on racial profiling in two decades last year, the narrative was clear. Researchers found 'no support for patterns of racial disparity in traffic stops,' state public safety officials wrote in a press release. But a USA TODAY Network investigation by the Cape Cod Times, Worcester Telegram & Gazette and USA TODAY raises serious questions about how the study was procured, influenced and framed by staff at the state’s public safety agency.” — "With adult shelters in Mass. overflowing, advocates worry about winter," by Lynn Jolicoeur, WBUR: "Although the adult shelter population always swells as winter approaches, advocates and officials say in many places, the increase in individuals seeking shelter happened much earlier than normal and in larger numbers than expected. Facing what they says is a dire situation, several advocates and homeless service providers sent a letter to Healey calling for the state to open large overflow shelter facilities for the cold months. Anyone facing homelessness — from unaccompanied youth and adults to families — should have access to those emergency facilities, they said." MASK-ACHUSETTS — “Boston-area COVID wastewater rises ahead of Thanksgiving, free at-home test kits available,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “After a recent decline in the COVID wastewater data, the south-of-Boston and north-of-Boston virus wastewater levels have been climbing in the last week. The south-of-Boston weekly average is now up to 596 copies per milliliter, which is a 65% jump from 360 copies a week ago. Meanwhile, the north-of-Boston weekly average is up to 433 copies, also a 65% increase from 263 copies last week.” — “ Health care coalition demands hospitals bring back masks, take precautions amid fears of COVID surge, ” by Emilee Klein, Greenfield Recorder.   GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK : Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.. SUBSCRIBE NOW .     FROM THE HUB — “ Wu intrigued by universal basic income program, ” by Gintautas Dumcius, CommonWealth Beacon: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu says she backs the concept of universal basic income. What she doesn’t want is another limited pilot like the ones that have spread across the country. The topic came up during a conference on philanthropy earlier this month that Wu attended, sharing the stage with singer-songwriter John Legend and talking about how philanthropic entities can work with city government. Prompted by a question from an audience member about universal basic income — or UBI as it’s sometimes called — Wu pointed to a pilot program in Chelsea and said it’s been an ‘ongoing topic of conversation’ in Boston.” PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES — “Lawmakers pushing for MBTA Commuter Rail electrification by 2035,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “State lawmakers are pushing new legislation that would finally set deadlines for electrifying the Commuter Rail, four years after the MBTA committed to the project. Much of the testimony at a roughly four-hour Joint Committee on Transportation hearing Monday focused on the proposed bill, which would require electrification of the entire Commuter Rail system by Dec. 31, 2035.” DATELINE D.C. NO FOWL PLAY — President Joe Biden pardoned two lucky Turkeys — Liberty and Bell — on Monday part of an annual pre-Thanksgiving tradition that dates back to the Truman administration. More from our colleague Myah Ward. THE LOWELL CONNECTOR — “ Councilors call for Corey Robinson to ‘step aside,’ ” by Melanie Gilbert, The Lowell Sun: “City Councilor Corey Robinson’s fellow councilors pushed back Monday on his statement that he had 'no intention' of stepping down from his District 2 seat representing the Centralville neighborhood following his arraignment last week in Lowell District Court on two charges of assault and battery on a family/household member.” MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW HAMPSHIRE’S MOST WANTED — Nearly six months after passing on his own presidential bid, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is hitting the campaign trail almost as much as the Republicans who are actually running. On Monday, he appeared at town halls with former Govs. Nikki Haley and Chris Christie . Today he's going to one with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis . Sununu is taking his sweet time endorsing. And there’s no rush, with nine weeks still to go until the first-in-the-nation primary. There’s not, as Sununu is looking for, a clear alternative to Donald Trump — though Haley is making a strong case for second place in recent New Hampshire polls. When someone yelled out “endorsement!” as Sununu was introducing Haley in Hooksett yesterday, the governor, who was in the middle of discussing the New Balance event he’d just come from, replied: “I endorse New Balance wholeheartedly.” FWIW, New Balance Chair Jim Davis is backing Haley in this primary after previously supporting Trump. Haley “did a great job in there, her message seems to resonate,” Sununu told reporters afterward. Later, in Nashua, Sununu told Christie he’s “almost a citizen” of New Hampshire with how much time he’s spending in the state, “and that’s exactly what we want with our candidates.” OK, no clear favorite there. Sununu did highlight one difference between the two former governors: A few hours after the South Carolinian Haley joked that yesterday's sunny and roughly 40-degree weather was an “unbelievable kinda cold,” Sununu noted that Christie “doesn’t complain about our cold weather, which I love.” HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH TRANSITIONS — Michael Gordon and Bodo Liesenfeld have joined the Massachusetts Assisted Living Association board. — Brenna Galvin is now press secretary at DCR . HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. David Muradian , Matt Martinelli , Michael Lipson , Jim Daiute and Timothy Cronin. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com .   Follow us on Twitter Lisa Kashinsky @lisakashinsky Kelly Garrity @KellyGarrity3   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters FOLLOW US

POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

 

POLITICO Nightly: California’s looming power outage

 

BY CHARLIE MAHTESIAN Presented by Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) speaks to members of the media following a meeting with President Joe Biden on April 25, 2022. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo BRAIN DRAIN — Another day, another congressional retirement. Today, California Democratic Rep. Tony Cardenas announced he won’t be running for reelection, bringing the number of House members who are either retiring or seeking other office up to 30. In the battle for control of the House, his retirement doesn’t mean much: He represents a solidly blue San Fernando Valley-area district where three out of four voters cast ballots for Joe Biden in 2020. But his departure is symptomatic of a bigger problem facing California — it’s waning clout in Washington. The decade began with a significant blow to the state — for the first time since achieving statehood in 1849, California’s slowing growth led to the loss of one House seat in reapportionment. Even with 52 members, California still has the largest congressional delegation in the House — 40 Democrats and 12 Republicans. But the retirements of Cardenas and Rep. Grace Napolitano, and the departures of Reps. Katie Porter, Barbara Lee, and Adam Schiff, who are seeking the state’s open Senate seat, represent a collective loss of nearly 90 years of legislative experience. The brain drain — so far, all Democrats — isn’t likely to end there. We’re still not through prime retirement announcement season, which essentially runs until the end of January, after members spend time with their families over the holidays. And there are as many as 10 competitive seats in California next year, a handful of which are considered toss-ups. That means — at a bare minimum — roughly a tenth of the California House delegation in the next Congress will be first-termers who are learning the ropes in an institution where seniority matters. That’s not ideal for a big-state delegation that is already pretty green — 15 of the 52 current members were elected in 2018 and after. Under current Republican House rule, the blue state’s clout was already diminished — and that was before former Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield was ousted in October. Today, there are no Californians in GOP leadership and the state holds no committee chairmanships. While the power of committee chairs has been in decline for years, a chairmanship remains a powerful asset for protecting and advancing state interests — rank-and-file members alone can’t match their role in policymaking or the distribution of federal spending. California still fields the largest and most dominant bloc in the Democratic Caucus. That will come in handy in the event the House flips in 2024. But former Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in the twilight of her career and the top Californian currently in leadership, Rep. Pete Aguilar, only holds the third-ranking position. It’s true that California boasts the top ranking Democrat on three committees, but two of them are 75 years or older. Compare that circumstance to the beginning of the Obama era, when the Golden State was unquestionably the top dog in a Democratic-controlled Congress, led by then-House Speaker Pelosi and four House committee chairs. In the Senate, the state had two powerhouse senators who served for decades, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. At the moment, California has two relatively junior senators — Alex Padilla, who was appointed in 2021 and won his first full term last year, and Laphonza Butler, who was appointed last month. Since she has announced she is not running for a full term next year, she’ll be replaced by another Senate rookie. The recent spate of House retirements are part of a broader national phenomenon — Cardenas was the 10th member of the House or Senate this month to announce they’re hanging it up, the second-most in any one month going back at least as far as 2011. It’s welcome news to the legion of ambitious politicians back in California, who are typically piling up in a holding pattern awaiting the next big political opportunity. But it’s not so great for the nation’s most populous state to be a weakling in Washington. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmahtesian@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @PoliticoCharlie . Programming note: Nightly will be off for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, Nov. 23 and Friday, Nov. 24. We’ll be back in your inboxes on Monday, Nov. 27.   A message from The Coalition to Protect America's Regional Airports: DCA is at capacity and can’t accommodate more flights. That’s why a bipartisan majority of House members voted against bringing more flights to the airport as part of the FAA Reauthorization bill. In the past, more flights at DCA have worsened noise, congestion, delays, and cancellations. Doing so again risks exacerbating these issues and severely overburdening DCA. Don’t be fooled – the evidence shows that DCA is at capacity and can’t handle any more flights.   WHAT'D I MISS? — Federal appeals court ruling threatens enforcement of the Voting Rights Act: A federal appeals court issued a ruling today that could gut the Voting Rights Act , saying only the federal government — not private citizens or civil rights groups — is allowed to sue under a key section of the landmark civil rights law. The decision out of the 8th Circuit will almost certainly be appealed and is likely headed to the Supreme Court. Should it stand, it would mark a dramatic rollback of the enforcement of the law that led to increased minority power and representation in American politics. — New York House GOP sees fundraising void without McCarthy cash: Kevin McCarthy made the campaign cash flow as House speaker. His successor Mike Johnson will be playing catch-up for a while. And for vulnerable New York Republicans with tough reelection battles, the difference is stark . More than $1.8 million had been raised by McCarthy-associated committees versus just $12,000 by Johnson-affiliated ones for Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro, Brandon Williams and Nick LaLota, according to federal filings reviewed by POLITICO. — Biden talks turkey — then pardons them: Joe Biden spent his 81st birthday the only way a president would want to, really: pardoning turkeys and telling jokes . “By the way, it’s my birthday today. I just want you to know, it’s difficult turning 60,” Biden said today at the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon. This year’s presidentially spared birds hail from Minnesota. In classic Biden fashion, however, there was a Pennsylvania connection, too. This year’s flock of turkeys were named Liberty and Bell.   Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of new episodes – click here .     NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 DEBATE DATES — The nonpartisan, nonprofit group that has conducted debates for the past nine presidential elections is plowing ahead with four events next year , despite Republicans’ promises to boycott, reports POLITICO. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the dates and venues for three presidential debates and one debate between the candidates’ running mates today, beginning on Sept. 16 and ending on Oct. 9. The presidential debates will take place in San Marcos, Texas; Petersburg, Virginia; and Salt Lake City, Utah; with the vice presidential debate in Easton, Pennsylvania. LOOSENING UP — A federal appeals court panel appeared poised to significantly narrow a gag order imposed against Donald Trump by the judge presiding over his Washington, D.C. criminal trial, reports POLITICO. The three-judge D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel raised concerns that the order — which bars Trump from targeting witnesses, prosecutors and courthouse staff in the criminal case related to his effort to subvert the 2020 election — created murky restrictions that stifled the former president’s right to push back against his detractors, particularly in the heat of a presidential campaign. Judge Patricia Millett, an appointee of President Barack Obama, suggested the gag order could amount to a straitjacket for Trump if his prosecution became the focus of attacks during a presidential debate. “He has to speak ‘Miss Manners’ while everyone else is throwing targets at him?” Millett said skeptically during a two-hour oral argument at the federal courthouse in Washington. “It would be really hard in a debate, when everyone else is going at you full bore. Your attorneys would have to have scripted little things you can say.”   A message from The Coalition to Protect America's Regional Airports:     AROUND THE WORLD Now-president elect of Argentina Javier Milei of La Libertad Avanza during a rally at Movistar Arena on Oct. 18, 2023 in Buenos Aires. | Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images UNCHARTED TERRITORY — Right-wing populist Javier Milei resoundingly won Argentina’s presidency Sunday , swinging the country to the right following a fiercely polarized campaign, reports the Associated Press. The fiery freshman lawmaker’s victory has thrust the country into the unknown regarding how extreme his policies will be following a campaign in which he revved a chainsaw to symbolically cut the state down to size. With almost all votes tallied, Milei handily beat Economy Minister Sergio Massa, 55.7% to 44.3%. Milei won all but three of the nation’s 24 provinces, and Massa conceded even before the electoral authority began announcing the preliminary results. Milei, 53, a libertarian economist, started to outline some of his planned policies this morning. He said in a radio interview that would quickly move forward with plans to privatize state-run media outlets he received negative coverage from during his campaign and which he deemed “a covert ministry of propaganda.” A self-described anarcho-capitalist with a disheveled mop of hair, Milei made his name by furiously denouncing the “political caste” on television programs. His pledge for abrupt, severe change resonated with Argentines weary of annual inflation soaring above 140% and a poverty rate that reached 40%. Once in office, he has said he would slash government spending, dollarize the economy and eliminate the Central Bank as well as key ministries, including those of health and education.   GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK : Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW .     NIGHTLY NUMBER Over $1.2 million The amount of money that a new crypto-focused super PAC has pumped into television ads supporting House candidates over the last two months. The group, Fairshake, could become a key vehicle for the crypto industry to insert itself into the 2024 elections in the coming year and is backed in part by Brian Armstrong, the CEO of the largest U.S. crypto exchange, Coinbase. RADAR SWEEP HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU — What happens when a group of Philip Roth scholars and admirers descends on the American author’s birthplace of Newark, New Jersey, for what would’ve been his 90th birthday? It’s a particularly interesting scene in the wake of questions and recriminations about Roth’s legacy, in the wake of a 2021 biography that was pulled from a major publishing house after allegations of grooming and assault from Roth’s biographer. But the conference, chronicled by Hannah Gold in Harper’s Magazine, also has Gold wondering about questions far beyond news about Roth — what kind of person is drawn to Roth? Is it better to read him to an audience or can he only be properly understood in a hotel room or on a subway bench? What do his compulsions teach us about his fans, and vice versa? PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1984: Fans attend Michael Jackson's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. | Nick Ut/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   A message from The Coalition to Protect America's Regional Airports: DCA is at capacity. Even so, reckless efforts to bring more flights to DCA may force the airport to accommodate 12.6 million passengers beyond what it was designed to handle, without any regard for the airport’s physical constraints, safety, and passenger convenience. The experts agree this is a bad idea – the Federal Aviation Administration estimates that just 20 more round-trip operations per day can increase delays by 25.9%. Keep travel safe and efficient for all – say NO to more flights at DCA.     Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA