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Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State | | | | |  | | By Lara Korte, Jeremy B. White and Owen Tucker-Smith | THE BUZZ: If at first you don’t succeed, try again. And again. And again. Despite months of jockeying and a highly unusual three rounds of voting Tuesday, Rep. Kevin McCarthy still couldn’t seal the speakership deal, spelling trouble for the embattled Republican leader and, potentially, the fate of his party in California. This almost never happens. The last time it took more than one ballot to elect a speaker was in 1923, when Massachusetts Rep. Frederick Gillett was elected on the ninth ballot. In McCarthy’s case, he’s being thwarted by the more conservative members of the caucus who want fresh leadership — like Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) or Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). He’ll make another run today, but don’t hold your breath: even McCarthy acknowledged the battle “could” go on for days. Whoever ends up holding the gavel will have enormous sway over the direction of Congress and the country as a whole. But in this case, McCarthy’s potential failure to secure power could also have serious consequences for the folks back home. California Republicans, who for decades have struggled to gain traction against Democrats, benefit enormously from McCarthy’s position on Capitol Hill. As Republican leader, he has the ability to funnel resources and support to races that Republicans might otherwise write off as lost causes — a critical asset in deep blue California.
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Rep. Kevin McCarthy departs a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 3, 2023. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | The party isn’t completely down and out. It flipped four congressional seats in 2020 and managed to flip one more in this last election cycle. But a Republican hasn’t held statewide office since 2006, and party voter registration sits at less than 24 percent. Simply put, it’s not a great time for California’s top Republican to fall out of power. “The scattered remains of the California Republican Party that still exist are entirely reliant on Kevin’s strength in Washington D.C.,” said Mike Madrid, a California Republican and co-founder of the anti-Trump group, the Lincoln Project. Nevertheless, CAGOP leaders are keeping their faith in McCarthy. “Leader McCarthy is an incredible ally for the CAGOP, and we look forward to that valuable partnership continuing in the election cycle ahead,” Chair Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement. BUENOS DÍAS, good Wednesday morning. Welcome back to Sacramento, California legislators. Lawmakers will reconvene in the Capitol today to kick off 2023. Meanwhile, constituents are bracing for more extreme weather. A “bomb cyclone” set to make landfall in California today has been described by the National Weather Service as a “brutal” rain event with a “likely” threat to lives. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up: jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "We are by no means out of the woods when it comes to drought." California Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth following the first snowpack measurements of the year, which came in at an encouraging 174 percent of the average for this time of year. TWEET OF THE DAY:
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Today's Tweet of the Day | Twitter | BONUS TWEET OF THE DAY:
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Today's Bonus Tweet of the Day | Twitter | WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
|  | Top Talkers | | TAKE TWO — “Biden to renominate Garcetti, others as new Senate begins,” by The Associated Press's Seung Min Kim and Chris Megerian: “President Joe Biden still wants former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has been shadowed by a controversy over sexual harassment, to serve as his ambassador to India.” TIE BROKEN — “Murali Srinivasan wins tiebreaker for Sunnyvale City Council,” by the San Jose Spotlight’s Joseph Geha: “Nearly two months after election day, a winner has finally been named in the Sunnyvale District 3 City Council race. Until Tuesday morning, the race was locked in a tie between Murali Srinivasan and Justin Wang, following the election and two recounts.” — “Massive ‘atmospheric river’ to bring heavy rains, winds, flooding across California,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Grace Toohey and Susanne Rust: “After a brief lull in precipitation Tuesday, forecasters are warning of another 'atmospheric river' expected to bring heavy rains and winds to an already-saturated California. The National Weather Service is warning of 'widespread flooding' and strong winds across the state Wednesday and Thursday, with most dangerous conditions expected in Northern California.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | MAYORAL MADNESS — “The 'elected officials are savage' in the tiny Bay Area city of Brisbane,” by SFGate’s Eric Ting: “In the tiny Bay Area city of Brisbane, the role of mayor is largely ceremonial. But last month, a procedural meeting to select the next mayor went off the rails, setting off a political firestorm that left the city of 4,851 confused, angry and combative.”
| | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | STORM TRACKER — “Storms are aimed at Northern California this week and next, forecasts show. What to know,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Michael McGough: “The short window between the two severe storms, both the result of 'atmospheric river' systems rolling in from the Pacific, means the ground remains sodden. Much of the rain expected to fall Wednesday won’t be able to soak into the soil, instead running off and creating what could be dire levels of flood risk for waterways that are already running exceptionally high from New Year’s Eve downpours.” — “Why S.F.’s $600M plan to prevent floods won’t help during this week’s storm,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Trisha Thadani, Chase DiFeliciantonio and St. John Barned-Smith: “While the city is in the midst of three major infrastructure projects — totaling more than $600 million — to help low-lying neighborhoods that are particularly vulnerable to extreme flood damage, those projects are still years from completion and will not protect those areas from the brunt of this week’s storm.” THE RUNDOWN — “Inside the California state Capitol: How your government works,” by CalMatters’ Sameea Kamal and Jeremia Kimelman: “Despite states being the foundation upon which this country’s government is organized, their role in our daily lives is not always apparent. And in some respects — and especially for a place as populous as California — state and local governments play a more prominent role in decisions that affect daily life than the federal government.” PRICE OF PROGRESS — “As California pursues aggressive climate goals, what happens to its oil and gas workers?” by the Sacramento Bee’s Maggie Angst: “As California transitions away from fossil fuels in the years ahead to pursue aggressive climate goals, an increasing number of oil and gas workers across the state will be forced to put their skills to use elsewhere. But just how many workers will be affected and how difficult will it be for them to acquire new jobs earning comparable salaries?” — “‘We didn’t have enough cribs’: Inside a children’s hospital strained by viruses,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Emily Alpert Reyes: “The collision of RSV, influenza, COVID-19 and other viruses has strained children’s hospitals across the country this fall and winter, including Loma Linda in the Inland Empire, where ‘these numbers are beyond what we’ve ever had,’ said Dr. Cynthia Tinsley, chief of its division of pediatric critical care.” DATA DROP — “Report analyzes racial profiling in California traffic stops,” by The Associated Press: “California law enforcement was more than twice as likely to use force against people they perceived as Black during vehicle and pedestrian stops in 2021, as compared to people believed to be white, according to a state report released Tuesday.” — “LA Pays $20M for Black couple's beach tract taken in 1924,” by Bloomberg’s Ella Ceron: “In a ceremony in July, the county returned the deed of Bruce's Beach, located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the city of Los Angeles, to the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce, who were stripped of the land by Manhattan Beach city officials in 1924. Those family members have now decided to sell the property back to the county for almost $20 million.”
| | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | THIRD TIME’S NOT THE CHARM — 3 strikes for McCarthy — but he's not out yet, by POLITICO’s Sarah Ferris, Olivia Beavers and Jordain Carney: GOP lawmakers now hope to resolve their leadership battle privately after several humiliating hours on the floor. McCarthy and his allies have already begun talks with some of the 20 defectors in a desperate attempt to break the detente before the House will resume at noon Wednesday. — White House restrains its glee as it watches McCarthy meltdown, by POLITICO’s Eli Stokols and Nicholas Wu: Staff throughout the West Wing wouldn’t cop to watching live coverage of Rep. Kevin McCarthy failing to get enough votes to become speaker of the House. But, to a person, they were more than aware of the fiasco that was unfolding on the House floor throughout the day, and on the TV sets in practically every office. UP FOR THE JOB? — “Whoever wins, serving as House speaker will be more like ‘being mayor of hell,’” by the Los Angeles Times’ David Lauter: “The problem for Republicans is that the contest over the speaker’s job isn’t what divides the party. Instead, ‘the contested race is the symptom of the underlying problems they face,’ said Sarah A. Binder of George Washington University, an expert on Congress.” — 'Circular firing squad' derails GOP in new Congress, by POLITICO’s Burgess Everett: On one side of the Capitol, GOP senators congratulated Mitch McConnell for officially becoming the longest-serving party leader in Senate history. At that exact moment on the other side of the building, Republicans voted down Kevin McCarthy’s bid for the House gavel — the first initial ballot defeat in a speaker’s race in 100 years.
| | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | TWITTERLAND — “Twitter sued for allegedly not paying rent at San Francisco office,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Roland Li: “The landlord of one of Twitter’s San Francisco offices is suing the tech company for allegedly not paying rent, the latest legal challenge in the wake of a disruptive takeover by Elon Musk.” — Why Elon Musk’s ‘X App’ could be an even bigger headache for D.C. than Twitter, by POLITICO’s Rebecca Kern, Sam Sutton, Ruth Reader and Tanya Snyder: Building a “super-app” like WeChat is a far more complicated challenge than Twitter, with far more points of conflict with regulators in Washington, California, Brussels and elsewhere. Nothing like it exists yet in the West, and it could create a “regulatory nightmare,” said Caitriona Fitzgerald. SILVER LINING — “Startups spring from ashes of Big Tech purge,” by Reuters’ Supantha Mukherjee, Martin Coulter and Krystal Hu: “While overall venture capital (VC) financing fell 33 percent globally to about $483 billion in 2022, early-stage funding was robust, with $37.4 billion raised in so-called angel or seed rounds, in line with the record level seen in 2021, according to data from research firm PitchBook.” — “Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud and Other Charges,” by The New York Times’ Benjamin Weiser, David Yaffe-Bellany and Matthew Goldstein: “Nearly two weeks after he was released by a Manhattan judge on a $250 million bond and ordered to stay with his parents in Palo Alto, Calif., Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced cryptocurrency executive, returned to New York and pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges that he engaged in widespread fraud and other crimes.” — “What Tesla’s falling stock price could mean for the Bay Area,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Danielle Echeverria: “Amid a slowing stock market, Tesla’s share price cratered at the end of the year as the company offered — then increased — a rare discount on some of its most popular vehicles.”
| | MIXTAPE | | MEET THE DA — “Sacramento County has a new district attorney. Thien Ho sworn in, marking a first,” by CapRadio’s Kristin Lam. — “A rare snowy owl is captivating Southern California,” by Smithsonian Magazine’s Will Sullivan. — “Tesla plunges 250 feet off a California cliff, all 4 occupants survive,” by CNN’s Brandon Griggs and Faith Karimi. — “Hollywood’s hiring practices remain largely unchanged: Female filmmakers not welcome,” by LAist’s John Horn. — “S.F. asks court to clarify order barring city from removing homeless people from streets,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Bob Egelko.
| | Transitions | | — Andrew Mamo is now deputy chief of staff and comms director for Rep. Josh Harder (D-Calif.). — Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Joe Buscaino is joining the LA office of Florida-based Ballard Partners, as announced Tuesday. — Dorien Paul Blythers is launching Good Rebel, an LA-based social impact agency. He had been deputy chief of staff for EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
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