 | By Kelly Garrity | Presented by |  |
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| DEAL: DONE — Months after it was left in limbo as they wrapped a marathon final formal session, lawmakers last night finalized a compromise on the closely watched billion-dollar economic development bill. Both chambers are walking away with policy wins woven into the nearly $4 billion bond bill. Top House Democrats secured a provision allowing municipalities and public agencies to use project labor agreements for public works projects, and another renaming the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center after former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Senate leaders got their House counterparts to allow for development of a new soccer stadium on a parcel of land along Everett’s waterfront that the Kraft Group has long been eyeing for a new home for the New England Revolution – with a couple caveats. No public funding will be allowed for the project, and any public infrastructure improvements it requires will have to see matching, private funds. The Kraft Group will also need to strike “community mitigation agreements” with Everett and Boston. And Gov. Maura Healey got leaders to come back to the negotiating table after the bill — one of her top priorities of her first full legislative session as governor — was left hanging in the balance when lawmakers gaveled out of their last scheduled formal session on August 1. House and Senate negotiators also opted to authorize $500 million in bonding over the next 10 years for the life sciences industry — something Healey pressed for to extend an initiative stood up by former Gov. Deval Patrick. And, like Healey’s initial proposal, the compromise authorizes $400 million over the next decade to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center for investments in climate tech and the offshore wind industry. Lawmakers are expected to send the bill to Healey’s desk this week, though it will require a roll call vote. The Senate already adopted a policy allowing the chamber to conduct a recorded vote on conference reports, like this one, but it’s still unclear how the House plans to play it. The Big Three will get a chance to take a victory lap during their post-leadership meeting press conference this afternoon — and to remind reporters that this is just one of several bills they’ve marshaled through since the July 31 deadline for formal lawmaking came and went. GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. One policy that got scrapped during negotiations: letting cities and towns bring back happy hour. Dive deeper into the deal with the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll meet with legislative leaders at 1 p.m. in the Senate president’s office and host the first Youth Advisory Council Summit at 3 p.m. at the State House. Healey is honored at the annual Abigail Adams Awards at 6:30 p.m. in Boston. Driscoll attends a ribbon cutting for a homeless shelter at 9:30 a.m. in Attleboro and chairs a Governor’s Council meeting at noon at the State House. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signs onto the Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports and announces community sports grants at a press conference at 11 a.m. in Roxbury. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: kgarrity@politico.com
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| | A message from Johnson & Johnson: We’re restoring the true meaning of healthcare—Innovating more precise, less invasive surgery and improving recovery. See how we’re connecting the best of Health&Care for every patient and provider. Learn more. | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| IN MEMORIAM — “Gloria Fox, longest serving Black woman representative in Mass. history, dies at age 82,” by Tiana Woodard, The Boston Globe. — “State report suggests Mass. cut shelter system costs but some are left wanting more specifics,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “A state commission charged with studying the emergency shelter system in Massachusetts housing local families and migrants proposed cutting back costs in the face of a $1 billion tab this fiscal year, including by reducing the use of expensive hotels and motels. A draft final report on the shelter system the group released Tuesday largely shrugs off proposing specific changes and instead calls on state officials to make family homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring — broad themes that could guide reforms in the face of massive costs and increased demand.” NEW FACES — State House News Service has a rundown of the new lawmakers arriving on Beacon Hill (or moving across the hall) next year. “The freshmen come from all corners of the state and both major parties, and they took different routes to Beacon Hill. Some secured open seats without breaking a sweat; others toppled incumbents in hard-fought races,” SHNS’s Chris Lisinski writes. “The incoming lawmakers will bring with them new perspectives and unique superlatives. One was born in Puerto Rico, another once worked as a film and television editor in California, and a third was a fingerprint examiner in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.” Meet the state representatives- and senators-elect.
| | FROM THE HUB |
| — “Boston voters power down on supporting Democrats,” Chris Lovett, The Dorchester Reporter: “In 17 of Boston’s 22 wards, the 2024 vote for the Democratic presidential ticket was down by more than 20 percent. The 2024 election results show that Boston remains a Democratic stronghold, but this time with a noticeable downturn in support for the party’s presidential ticket and the overall level of voter engagement. It was less about a Donald Trump surge than negative voltage for the Democratic presidential ticket, with thousands of voters unplugged.” — “Could public land help alleviate Boston's housing crisis? A new report suggests so,” by Hanna Ali and Nik DeCosta-Klipa, WBUR. — “Report: Boston could look to new taxes to diversify budgetary revenue amid commercial market woes,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “A fiscal watchdog group released a new report that highlights a number of ways to make Boston’s annual budget less reliant on property tax revenue in light of falling commercial values. Released Tuesday by the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, the report hones in on ways the city can look to diversify its revenue sources at a time when its eroding commercial tax base has the mayor lobbying the Legislature for a change in state law that would temporarily allow Boston to tax businesses at a higher rate.”
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| | The lame duck session could reshape major policies before year's end. Get Inside Congress delivered daily to follow the final sprint of dealmaking on defense funding, AI regulation and disaster aid. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION |
| — “Warren: Trump transition ‘already breaking the law’,” by Tara Suter, The Hill: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Monday that President elect-Trump ‘and his transition team are already breaking’ a law on presidential transition. … Warren was responding to a Saturday report from CNN that said a conflict of interest pledge included in the Presidential Transition Act was, in part, keeping multiple transition agreements from being submitted by the president-elect’s team to the Biden administration.” ‘PLAYING POLITICS’ — Gov. Maura Healey knocked Rep. Seth Moulton over his comments on transgender athletes and his criticism of the way Democrats handled attacks on the issue in the run-up to the election. “What I saw in that comment was playing politics with people. We shouldn't do that,” Healey told reporters at an unrelated event. “We should have real conversations and not play politics with people, particularly young people and folks who are vulnerable.” Moulton’s comments sparked a firestorm of criticism from local politicians. But that, Moulton argues, is only proving his point: that criticism and “cancel culture” has alienated would-be Democratic voters. The divide isn’t just playing out here. Democrats across the country are reeling from the attacks from Trump and Republicans over transgender rights during the election . BANK ON IT — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is poised to become the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee after Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown’s loss this cycle, and with Virginia Sen. Mark Warner sticking with his role as the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. In a statement this morning, Warren said she’s “grateful for the opportunity to fight for families who most need a government on their side.” “In the aftermath of the 2024 election, it’s powerfully important for Democratic leadership to show that we can make life more affordable for working people and to act with urgency to rebuild our middle class,” the Cambridge Democrat said. ICYMI, POLITICO’s Eleanor Mueller has a look at what Warren’s agenda could look like (for Pros!).
| | TRUMPACHUSETTS |
| TRUMP-PROOFING — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis launched a new coalition — Governors Safeguarding Democracy — this morning, aiming to fend off efforts to undermine state governments. Some #mapoli names joining the effort: former Govs. Bill Weld and Deval Patrick.
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| | A message from Johnson & Johnson: 
| | | | | TRANSITION TIME |
| LOYALTY OVER COMPETENCE! WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE! UNPACKING THE CABINET — Trying to keep up with Donald Trump’s stream of Cabinet announcements? We’ve got a tracker for that . — “‘Who the f--k is this guy?’: Defense world reacts to Trump’s surprise Pentagon pick,” by Joe Gould, Robbie Gramer, Paul McLeary, Connor O’Brien and Jack Detsch, POLITICO: “President-elect Donald Trump’s Tuesday night surprise pick of a conservative commentator and television host as his Pentagon chief shocked Washington, which had expected the nominee to be a seasoned lawmaker or someone with defense policy experience.” U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. David Walsh (left), Commander of Marine Corps System Command, and Pete Hegseth, a Fox and Friends co-host, conduct a cake cutting ceremony live during a Fox and Friends morning broadcast in New York City, Nov. 10, 2023. | U.S. Marine Corps image by Staff Sgt. Theodore Bergan excerpts: President-elect Donald Trump’s Tuesday night surprise pick of a conservative commentator and television host as his Pentagon chief shocked Washington, which had expected the nominee to be a seasoned lawmaker or someone with defense policy experience. National security officials and defense analysts had braced for surprises from Trump after experiencing his first four years in office. But even grading on that curve, they say the announcement of Fox News host and decorated Army veteran Pete Hegseth caught them totally off-guard. “[Trump] puts the highest value on loyalty,” Eric Edelman, who served as the Pentagon’s top policy official during the Bush administration, said in an interview. “It appears that one of the main criteria that’s being used is, how well do people defend Donald Trump on television?” One assessment was more blunt. “Who the fuck is this guy?” said a defense industry lobbyist who was granted anonymity to offer candid views. The lobbyist said they had hoped for “someone who actually has an extensive background in defense. That would be a good start.” The pick will do little to quell fears inside the Pentagon and beyond that Trump, who jousted with his own defense secretaries, plans this time to install a loyalist who will unquestioningly carry out his policies. Trump’s campaign trail rhetoric has primed fears that his second term could see a swift and divisive overhaul at the Pentagon. Trump’s return is expected to bring a collective rollback of Biden administration policies, likely reinstating a ban on transgender troops, ending abortion travel policies, reigniting battles over bases named for Confederate figures, slashing diversity programs and the use of troops on U.S. soil against civil unrest and his political enemies. Late in his first term, Trump also ordered the pullout of thousands of U.S. troops from Germany, something the Pentagon was unable to accomplish in the short amount of time he had left in office. Hegseth’s selection drew immediate backlash from veterans group leaders who opposed him when he was floated for Veterans Affairs secretary during Trump’s first term. He is a former executive director for Vets for Freedom and former CEO of Concerned Veterans for America — a group advocating for outsourcing of health care for veterans that was funded by the Koch brothers. “Hegseth is undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history. And the most overtly political. Brace yourself, America,” Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Independent Veterans of America, said in a post on X Tuesday night. Rieckhoff said he had believed that Hegseth — “a highly effective and ferocious media, culture and political warrior for MAGA. And beyond loyal to and trusted by Trump” — would be Trump’s pick for chief of staff or press secretary. “Very Trump,” another industry lobbyist said. “I’m sure they vetted him.” During the first Trump administration, Hegseth played a pivotal role in several episodes in which Trump inserted himself in the military justice system in order to grant clemency to troops convicted of war crimes. The pick ensures that his confirmation hearing will be must-see TV, with a pugnacious television personality used to sparring on national security and culture war issues squaring off against a Senate Armed Services Committee with both friendly backers and hostile interrogators ready for their own moment praising the president’s pick or damning the choice. “The dumbest phrase on planet earth in the military is our diversity is our strength,” Hegseth said on a podcast this month. Amid fears Trump may use his powers as commander-in-chief to purge the top generals or civil servants, politicizing the Defense Department, Trump’s pick to be Pentagon chief has explicitly confirmed that he could target military leaders, including Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown, in an effort to remove diversity and inclusion programs at the agency.
— “Elon Musk to lead ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ in Trump administration,” by Kierra Frazier, POLITICO.
| | FROM THE 413 |
| — “The Pittsfield City Council set a lower property tax rate, but the average bill is going up thanks to increased property value,” by Greg Sukiennik, The Berkshire Eagle: “The average residential property tax bill for fiscal 2025 will increase 7.17 percent over the previous year under tax rates set by the City Council on Tuesday night. That's despite setting a tax rate 51 cents per $1,000 less than last year for most of the city's property owners.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| — “No school in 3 North Shore school districts Wednesday as teachers' strike continues,” by Munashe Kwangwari, NBC10 Boston. — “Why can't the Taunton mayor get domestic violence charges dismissed? A law she supported,” by Emma Rindlisbacher, Taunton Daily Gazette: “Why can't Shaunna O'Connell, Taunton mayor, get her misdemeanor domestic violence charge dismissed? Ask Shaunna O'Connell, former state representative. In 2014, then-state Representative Shaunna O'Connell was one of 91 cosponsors of House Bill 4036 — the house version of a law titled ‘An Act Relative to Domestic Violence.’ — “ Brockton passes ban on public sleeping, camping to address homelessness,” by Susannah Sudborough, MassLive: “Brockton City Council passed a ban on public sleeping and camping with a split vote Tuesday night in an effort to address a growing number of homeless encampments in the city. The new ordinance makes it illegal to sleep on any public property at any time or to camp in or around any street, sidewalk, park or bridge. Those who violate the law could be forcibly removed from the premises, face hundreds of dollars in fines and be issued a criminal complaint.”
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| | Policy change is coming—be the pro who saw it first. Access POLITICO Pro’s Issue Analysis series on what the transition means for agriculture, defense, health care, tech, and more. Strengthen your strategy. | | | | | | | WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING |
| — “‘I want to scream, but I can’t.’ The hidden world of special education settlements in Mass.,” by Mandy McLaren and Neena Hagen, The Boston Globe. — “Lessons for the Democrats from Latino cities,” by Jennifer Smith, CommonWealth Beacon: “Leaders in heavily Latino cities, which voted for Vice President Kamala Harris but have been peeling away from the Democrats over the last half decade, are split between trying to boost their party’s chances while grappling with the reality that their constituents are signaling unease with the establishment.”
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH |
| TRANSITIONS — Aloke Chakravarty has joined the national law firm Saul Ewing. Chakravarty formerly served as an assistant U.S. attorney, helping investigate the Boston Marathon bomber. — Stephen Hall has joined Morgan Lewis’ Boston office. He previously worked at Orrick, representing companies in the life sciences, chemical, biotech, pharmaceutical, technology, finance, and manufacturing industries. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to NCAA president and former Gov. Charlie Baker, who turns 68; NECN/NBC10’s Sue O’Connell; Sudbury state Rep. Carmine Gentile, Monica Scalpato Burke and POLITICO alum Jonathan Topaz.
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