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Presented by Instagram: The unofficial guide to official Washington. | | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
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Blake Hounshell's POLITICO Magazine staff photo is pictured. | John Shinkle/POLITICO | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | | | Most of you reading this newsletter didn’t know Blake Hounshell, but all of you were influenced by him. He nurtured and mentored dozens of young journalists who now populate virtually every significant news organization. He plucked brilliant academics from obscurity and turned them into influential writers. He shaped the world of online political news, newsletters and social media for over a decade at Foreign Policy, POLITICO and The New York Times. He put together the current incarnation of Playbook. He helped create POLITICO Magazine. He taught beat reporters how to become longform storytellers. He relentlessly spotted and recruited new talent. He was a terrific reporter with a rare breadth of knowledge — just go read his archive of stories over the last two years at the Times. “Blake had lots of insights,” our Sam Stein noted to us last night. “And observations. And advice. He was informed but inquisitive; hyperactive but not overbearing. Those were qualities that made him a great editor. “What made him a brilliant one was that he loved to stir up shit. When … he hired me for the role of White House editor, he said he was eager to cause ‘some good trouble.’ He loved to push the envelope. He wanted to build: stories and newsrooms and products. And he did. Great ones. What a wonderful legacy to leave.” We lost Blake yesterday. It was sudden and baffling. His friends were texting and emailing with him — about dinner plans and story ideas and a new class he was set to teach at NYU. He was tweeting. And then he was gone. He committed suicide after a long struggle with depression. Blake was a singular figure in Washington journalism, and we asked those who knew Blake best to share some remembrances of him. We were ultimately overwhelmed by the extraordinary array of Playbookers whose lives he had touched — so many, in fact, that we’re hard-pressed to share them all here. Uncut, those tributes run to 13 pages, and we’d love to hear more still: playbook@politico.com. — Blake displayed extraordinary journalistic talent at the highest levels of the business. Susan Glasser, who worked closely with him at Foreign Policy and POLITICO, summed him up his way: “He was brilliant and funny and curmudgeonly. He had the viral Internet instincts of Buzzfeed married with the brains of the brainiest person you ever met. He had an evil genius for headlines and was not sorry when they made a fuss. When he went to cover the Arab spring, he promised to be careful — then promptly got arrested by the security forces as the battle for Tahrir Square raged. He read more, and more quickly, than anyone. He loved scoops. He always made things better.” John Harris noted to us that Blake “didn’t come up through a traditional news background, covering local news and campaigns and all the rest. That made it all the more surprising what a dazzling news sensibility he possessed. His strengths were intense curiosity — he read everything — and an exhilarating ability to perceive patterns and contradictions. “This made him a natural editor, on par with some of the best I’ve worked with. Conversation with him was a pleasing experience of being coaxed and even prodded to think more deeply — and then to write it … “At Politico, and elsewhere, his contribution was large and his memory will be imperishable.” Our Editor-in-Chief Matt Kaminski adds: “Where he sometimes came off as taciturn, even unapproachable, in the office or the phone, he loved conversation. … Some of the best things we did over the three years that I worked closely with him — for new newsletters, people who are our stars — came out of those conversations. He was a disruptive intellectual force, the best of POLITICO and of our profession. What a loss.” — Blake was extraordinarily loyal to his writers. Rachael recalled: “I’d spent all night chasing a newsy Playbook top about a feud between NANCY PELOSI’s team and the White House over Build Back Better, Blake sent me a tweet of the speaker’s then-comms director DREW HAMMILL attacking my work as ‘complete trash’ — and told me to keep up the good work. “Most importantly, Blake was a friend and a good colleague who cared. More than anything, I will remember how he always inquired after the well-being of my husband, whom he did not know personally but whom he knew struggled with his own mental health challenges. … Blake knew from experience that we all need a kind word every so often. He will be sorely missed.” — Blake was famous for identifying untapped potential. “He was one of the first editors at POLITICO that took an interest in me,” Eugene remembered, “and believed that I could go from a video reporter who sometimes wrote stories to a White House reporter and Playbook co-author.”
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In this image from 1999, Blake Hounshell plays the guitar. | Courtesy of Molly Ball | We were struck by the array of writers whom he’d discovered and nurtured. Renato Mariotti said, “Blake saw something in me, reached out to me, and helped draw out of me insights that I didn’t know I had.” Julia R. Azari told us a similar story. Blake saw something she tweeted, asked her to write about it and patiently brought her through what was an alien process for her. “That opportunity, and that encouragement, turned out to be an important juncture in the course of my career,” she said. “He could’ve gone to hundreds of other people, but he asked me,” Rachel Rizzo of the Atlantic Council told us. “He gave me the confidence I needed as a young writer; That ‘you can do it’ feeling. It’s something I can’t ever repay, and it meant more to me than he could ever know.” — It wasn’t just the people who wrote for Blake who were touched by him, but the people who Blake wrote about. Zach Hertz of Data for Progress said Blake cold-emailed him a year ago to discuss climate change and the conversation became “the highlight of my professional career.” Adam Jentleson, chief of staff to Sen. John Fetterman, described talking to Blake: “At some point in the conversation he’d reflect back to you some of the things you said, and you’d be like, ‘Oh, wow, that doesn't sound as smart as I thought it did,’ or ‘Yeah, wow, I guess totally contradicted myself.’ But he didn’t do it in a gotcha way, he would let you account for the shortcomings he’d surfaced. Then he’d sort it out, and the resulting piece was unfailingly smart and fair and insightful.” (Jentleson’s boss tweeted this appreciation about being interviewed by Blake, a fellow stroke survivor.) — Blake inspired and mentored countless journalists. Ruby Cramer spoke for a lot us in describing what it was like to work with Blake: “Blake was always cultivating new obsessions. … When Blake got interested in something, it became bright and gleaming and then you saw it, too. Working with Blake meant that his obsessions became yours, yours became his, and then you were down the rabbit hole together. He shared his ideas, always. He shared his time, always. Most of all, he shared his belief that you, his colleagues and the writers he mentored, were capable of something special.” Daniel Lippman reminded us that reporters often did their best work for Blake because they wanted to write the kind of “fun, engaging and unconventional stories that Blake would enjoy.” When our predecessors Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer filed to Blake every morning at 4:45 a.m., they told us, they knew “Playbook would get Blake's magic.” “Blake was what they call in baseball a five-tool player,” Sherman and Palmer said in an email. “He understood Washington journalism — he knew what would have the town chattering. He understood pop culture, foreign policy and political actors. And he was a great gossip — he soaked up tons of information and always knew what was going on with everyone.” — Finally, Blake was a family man. We were overwhelmed by how many people mentioned his devotion to his children — and at the attention he paid to kids in general. “We lived on the same street and our daughters were in the same class,” Blake’s former colleague and neighbor Aaron Kissel told us. “From time to time our kids would find each other and play in the idyllic park and woods that was their glorious ‘backyard.’ “He beamed watching them. The honest joy he had as a father was infectious, beautiful and inspiring. Blake, in those moments, was fatherhood as it is meant to be. I am deeply saddened for everyone who loved him, learned from him and laughed with him.” More… — Our compendium of tributes, from Olivia Nuzzi, Michael Grunwald, Joshua Keating, Alex Isenstadt, Glenn Kessler, Dan Drezner, Tom Bonier and many more — Garrett Graff’s obituary for POLITICO: “In Remembrance of a Beloved and Very Online Journalist” — Sam Roberts’ obituary for the NYT: “Blake Hounshell, ‘On Politics’ Editor at The Times, Dies at 44” — Tweeted tributes from Tim Alberta … Molly Ball … Noah Shachtman … Meg Kinnard … Helena Bottemiller Evich … Lydia Polgreen … Andrew Briz … Nancy Vu … Seung Min Kim … Amanda Litman … Louis Nelson If you or a loved one are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Good Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
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Set up Family Center today. | | | BREAKING THIS MORNING — “Computer failure at FAA could impact flights nationwide,” ABC News: “The affected system is responsible for sending out flight hazards and real time restrictions to pilots known as NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions). ‘THE FAA is experiencing an outage that is impacting the update of NOTAMS. All flights are unable to be released at this time," the FAA said in a statement. … The FAA said they will be issuing an update on the problem shortly.“
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | | | BIDEN’S WEDNESDAY: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 1 p.m.
Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 2 p.m.
VP KAMALA HARRIS’ WEDNESDAY: The VP will host climate and environmental leaders to discuss administration actions at 3 p.m.
THE HOUSE meets at 10 a.m. THE SENATE is out. | | | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
|  In this image taken with a drone, a vehicle is stuck in a sinkhole in the Chatsworth section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. | Jae C. Hong/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | ALL POLITICS THE GHOST OF 2022 — “Democrats appear to flip key state Senate seat in Virginia Beach,” by the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Andrew Cain: “Virginia Democrats appeared to flip a key state Senate seat in Virginia Beach on Tuesday night, expanding their edge in the chamber to 22-18 and making passage of new abortion curbs less likely in the session that starts Wednesday.” The details: “Democrat AARON ROUSE, a former NFL defensive back and a member of the Virginia Beach City Council, edged Republican KEVIN ADAMS, a retired Navy lieutenant commander, in a special election for the seat of Republican JEN KIGGANS, who was elected to Congress on Nov. 8, unseating U.S. Rep. ELAINE LURIA, D-2nd.”
RACE TO THE TOP — “Candidates for RNC chair are set to square off,” by Meridith McGraw: The simmering race between incumbent RNC chair RONNA McDANIEL and HARMEET DHILLON will heat up further at a planned candidate forum scheduled for Jan. 25 and 26. MyPillow founder MIKE LINDELL says he will participate, too. “The potential for fireworks may be limited in one sense, however. The candidate forums will be exclusive to RNC members, proxies or representatives, and will not be broadcast or open to the public.”
FILLING PELOSI’S GREEN SHOES — “New Democratic House leader blesses top Pelosi aide to lead super PAC,” by WaPo’s Michael Scherer: “Newly elected House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-N.Y.) has blessed the elevation of a top aide to former speaker NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.) to lead the House Majority PAC, the principal outside group that funds ads for Democratic members of Congress. The elevation of MIKE SMITH , a senior adviser to Pelosi in the last cycle, who also advised the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and HMP, will bring continuity to the party’s relationships with donors and vendors as Democrats position themselves to win back the House.” THE WHITE HOUSE DOCU-DRAMA — News of the discovery of classified documents at President JOE BIDEN’s personal office at a University of Pennsylvania think tank continued to play out Tuesday, including Biden’s own first public comments. — What Biden said: “I was briefed about this discovery and surprised to learn that there are any government records that were taken there to that office. But I don’t know what’s in the documents. My lawyers have not suggested I ask what documents they were. I’ve turned over the boxes — they’ve turned over the boxes to the Archives. And we’re cooperating fully — cooperating fully with the review, which I hope will be finished soon, and there will be more detail at that time.” More from WaPo’s Tyler Pager, Jacqueline Alemany and Matt Viser — Congressional action kicks up: “House Oversight Committee to investigate Biden documents marked classified,” by CBS’ Arden Farhi, Adriana Diaz and Andres Triay: “In a letter to STUART DELERY, the White House counsel, Oversight Committee Chairman JAMES COMER, of Kentucky, wrote the committee ‘is concerned that President Biden has compromised (intelligence) sources and methods with his own mishandling of classified documents.’ Comer asks the White House to turn over all documents and communications related to the classified material found in Mr. Biden's personal office — including the classified documents themselves — by Jan. 24.” Read the letter — Related reads: “Trump probe may be complicated by documents at Biden office,” by AP’s Eric Tucker and Jill Colvin … “How the Discovery of Classified Files in Biden’s Office Compares With the Trump Case,” by NYT’s Charlie Savage |  President Joe Biden, President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau hug each other during a message for the media as part of the 2023 North American Leaders Summit at Palacio Nacional on January 10, 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico. | Hector Vivas/Getty Images | THE SIDESHOW SUMMIT — Despite Biden, Canadian PM JUSTIN TRUDEAU and Mexican President ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR’s summit’s intended focus on migration, drug trafficking, climate and economic competitiveness, the protests in Brazil and discovery of documents at Biden’s personal office have overshadowed the trip, Myah Ward and Jonathan Lemire write from Mexico City. And yet: “Throughout the summit, administration officials pointed to a series of accomplishments, including productive discussions on the border and fentanyl, two major political challenges for Biden as he enters the second half of his first term. But as Air Force One lifted off Tuesday night from Mexico City, there was little sense that anything significant had changed.” — Related read: “After Rocky Start, Biden Builds Rapport With Mexico’s President,” by NYT’s Natalie Kitroeff and Michael Shear YELLEN AND STAYIN’ — JANET YELLEN has told Biden that she will stick around as Treasury secretary for the remainder of Biden’s first term as the administration tries to weather the economic rollercoaster that has already taken the nation for a ride over the past few years, Ben White reports. CONGRESS LET THE LIGHT IN — C-SPAN formally requested that Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY permit its independent cameras to cover Congress, as they did during the speaker election. “If ongoing coverage of sessions by C-SPAN is not acceptable to the Congress, we request that you at least revisit the rules that permit C-SPAN and other independent journalists to cover key legislative sessions,” C-SPAN co-CEO SUSAN SWAIN wrote in the letter. “A spokesperson for McCarthy did not respond to requests for comment and a representative for C-SPAN told me Tuesday evening that the network had not heard back from his office. A spokesperson for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also didn't respond to requests for comment,” CNN’s Oliver Darcy writes in last night’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter. HEADLINE OF THE DAY — “Curious about George: House Republicans debate Santos’ fate,” by Olivia Beavers and Sarah Ferris: “The GOP conference is now deliberating over how to handle a member who’s been publicly ridiculed as a fraudster, including whether [Rep. GEORGE SANTOS] should receive committee assignments. Some members are openly pushing to sideline him until internal investigations can dig through his campaign finances, and even basic biographical information.” — Related read: “N.Y. Lawmakers Request House Ethics Investigation of George Santos,” by NYT’s Michael Gold INVESTIGATION INVENTORY — “House establishes tough-on-China select committee,” by Connor O’Brien and Gavin Bade: “Lawmakers voted 365-65 to set up the panel, which will be chaired by Wisconsin Rep. MIKE GALLAGHER, a steadfast China hawk.” — “GOP-Led House to Probe Alleged White House Collusion With Tech Giants,” by WSJ’s John McKinnon and Ryan Tracy: The new Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government “is expected to seek to illuminate what some Republicans say have been efforts by the Biden administration to influence content hosted by companies such as Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc., owner of YouTube and Google.” BY THE NUMBERS — “The House of Representatives will have more guys named ‘Mike’ than women chairing committees under the new Republican majority,” by Insider’s Bryan Metzger JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH JUST DESSERTS — “Judge sentences ‘Baked Alaska’ to 60 days in jail for Jan. 6 conduct,” by Kyle Cheney FOOT NOTE — “Capitol riot trial starts for man with feet on Pelosi desk,” by AP’s Lindsay Whitehurst and Michael Kunzelman TRUMP CARDS WEISSELBERG SENTENCED — “Ex-Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg sentenced to five months in jail for tax fraud,” by Joe Anuta FOR YOUR RADAR — “D.C. appeals court weighs its role in Trump libel suit,” by Kelly Garrity and Josh Gerstein: “A District of Columbia court resisted efforts on Tuesday to draw it into a bitter legal fight between former President Donald Trump and New York writer E. JEAN CARROLL, who has accused Trump of raping her in a Manhattan department store dressing room during the 1990s.” | | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | POLICY CORNER ABORTION FALLOUT — “America’s abortion access divide is reshaping blue-state border towns,” by Shia Kapos: “New or expanded health care clinics are starting to bring more people into small towns after the fall of Roe v. Wade.” — “‘We want people to be uncomfortable’: The conservative plan to target pharmacies that dispense abortion pills,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein and Lauren Gardner: “The emerging strategy could further limit the Biden administration’s already limited policy.” THE LOAN LURCH — “Feds propose ‘student loan safety net’ alongside forgiveness,” by AP’s Collin Binkley: “If it’s finalized, the proposal would give a major overhaul to income-driven repayment plans — one of several payment options offered by the federal government. The resulting plan would have lower monthly payments, an easier path to forgiveness and a promise that unpaid interest will not be added to a borrower’s loan balance.” WAR IN UKRAINE TRAINING DAY — “U.S. will train Ukrainians on Patriot system in Oklahoma as soon as next week,” by Lara Seligman
AMERICA AND THE WORLD
THE LATEST IN BRAZIL — “Bolsonaro eyes return to Brazil as US stay pressures Biden,” by AP’s Joshua Goodman in Miami: “The Biden administration is under growing pressure from leftists in Latin America as well as U.S. lawmakers to expel JAIR BOLSONARO from a post-presidential retreat in Florida following his supporters’ brazen attack on Brazil’s capital over the weekend. But the far-right ex-president may pre-empt any plans for such a stinging rebuke. On Tuesday, he told a Brazilian media outlet that he would push up his return home, originally scheduled for late January, after being hospitalized with abdominal pains stemming from a 2018 stabbing.” — Related reads: “Brazil judge orders arrest of top security officials in Brasília riot,” WaPo … “Brazilian Investigators Home In on Suspects in Riot Financing,” WSJ DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “U.S., Japan set to announce shake-up of Marine Corps units to deter China,” by WaPo’s Ellen Nakashima and Dan Lamothe: “Japan, already Washington’s most important ally in the Indo-Pacific, is deepening its strategic partnership with the United States in an effort to counter China — a development that will be showcased this week with a shake-up of U.S. Marine Corps units in Okinawa and a White House embrace of Prime Minister FUMIO KISHIDA.” UNREST ABROAD — “Death Toll in Peru Rises to 46 Amid Extraordinary Violence,” by NYT’s Mitra Taj and Julie Turkewitz … “Political vacuum in Haiti deepens as senators’ terms expire,” by AP’s Dánica Coto and Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti THE ECONOMY WHAT THE FED SAID — “Powell Says Fed Will Not Become a ‘Climate Policy Maker,’” by WSJ’s Nick Timiraos: “The Federal Reserve must avoid straying into political issues that aren’t directly related to its economic-management objectives to protect its ability to bring down inflation without interference from elected officials, said Chair JEROME POWELL.” BEYOND THE BELTWAY WEATHER LASHES CALIFORNIA — “Landslides, sinkholes, floodwaters plague soggy California,” by AP’s Brian Melley and Christopher Weber: “Millions of people were still under flood warnings, and more than 200,000 homes and businesses were without power because of heavy rains, hail and landslides. Thousands have been ordered to evacuate their homes. At least 17 people have died from storms that began late last month, said WADE CROWFOOT, the California natural resources secretary.” — Related reads: “California’s paradox: Confronting too little water, and too much,” by WaPo’s Sarah Kaplan … “Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Wildfires Racked Up $165 Billion in Disaster Damage in 2022,” by WSJ’s Nidhi Subbaraman UVALDE UPDATE — “Uvalde school police chief told investigators why he didn’t try to stop gunman: ‘There’s probably going to be some deceased in there, but we don’t need any more from out here,’” by CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz, Matthew J. Friedman and Rachel Clarke YOUTH MOVEMENT — “An Ailing Arkansas City Elected an 18-Year-Old Mayor to Turn Things Around,” by NYT’s Rick Rojas in Earle, Ark.: “Residents hope that JAYLEN SMITH’s youthful energy and sense of purpose can improve the fortunes of Earle, Ark. — or at least attract a supermarket to the small city.” VALLEY TALK SBF SPEAKS — “The Only Living Boy in Palo Alto,” by Puck’s Theodore Schleifer: “Over the course of two and half hours, SAM [BANKMAN-FRIED] and I sat at the long wooden table in the Bankman-Frieds’ airy, late ‘90s-style kitchen: the stained wooden cabinetry with frosted glass, dark countertops, the subway tile backsplash with decorative notes of pastels. Cookware lay on the stove top, a few unwashed pots sat in the sink, two cords and a laptop were strewn about the table between us and across the kitchen island. … “During our time together — about one-third on the record, two-thirds off — Sam evinced his loneliness and his isolation, but also a hint of mysterious confidence, as if he could somehow wiggle his way out of his current predicament as he had in the past. He spoke carefully and repentantly when on the record, and loosely and almost gamely when off it.” PARLER GAMES — “Parler’s parent company has laid off a majority of its staff,” by The Verge’s Makena Kelly | | | | POLITICO’s exclusive interview with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will take place on Thursday, January 19 at 1:30 PM EST – live from the Davos mountaintop. Register today to join us online. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) at the Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab bar on Tuesday night. — Voto Latino hosted a welcome reception Tuesday evening celebrating the largest class of newly elected Latino members to Congress. CEO Maria Teresa Kumar introduced new members who gave remarks, including Reps. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Greg Casar (D-Texas), as well as DNC Chair Jaime Harrison , who predicted the next election cycle will bring even more Latino elected officials: “This won’t be the largest class.” SPOTTED: Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Colin Allred (D-Texas), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.), Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), Julián Castro, Julie Chávez Rodriguez, Tom Perez and Maya Wiley. Pic … Another pic FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Lexie Leventis is joining Sen. Jacky Rosen’s campaign (D-Nev.) as finance director for the 2024 cycle. Leventis was finance director for Rep. Tim Ryan’s (D-Ohio) 2022 Senate campaign and is a John Hickenlooper, Mazie Hirono and Amy McGrath alum. — Kathleen Kelly Daughety will be VP of campaigns & civic engagement at the mental health nonprofit Inseparable. She was most recently NYC election and legislation co-lead of Moms Demand Action and is a Michael Bennet alum. — The University of Chicago Institute of Politics has announced its winter and spring fellows: Heather Cherone, former Reps. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) and Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), former Mayor of Shreveport, La., Adrian Perkins, former Evanston, Ill., Alderwoman Robin Rue Simmons, former Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak and Matthew Yglesias. TRANSITIONS — The Motion Picture Association is adding Hap Rigby as SVP for federal government affairs and Kenneth Mallory as VP for media policy and regulatory counsel. Rigby previously was senior policy adviser at Wiley Rein, and is a John Thune/Senate Commerce alum. Mallory most recently was head of public policy for Meta in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, and is an FCC alum. … Mollie Timmons is now comms director for Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.). She previously was press secretary for Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and is a DOJ alum. … … J.A. Green & Co. is adding Charles “Chip” Rock as EVP for defense programs, Mark Lewis as VP for government relations and Ryan Alban as director of government relations. Rock had a 35-year career in the Navy, retiring as a rear admiral. Lewis is a Pentagon and House Armed Services alum. Alban previously served with the Army’s Senate liaison division. … Laura Margison is now senior director of comms at Enduring Earth. She previously was director of comms at the Pew Charitable Trusts. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) … MSNBC’s Rashida Jones … Steven Law … Uber’s C.R. Wooters … John Emerson … AbbVie’s Ashley Czin … Jonathan Kott … John Milne … Daria Grastara of the NRSC … Jennifer Higgins of Guardant Health … Joe Lai of BGR Group … Jessica Brouckaert of Dickinson Wright … Kevin Mooney … Chris Beauregard … Anne Cronin … Ron Phillips … Jim Hightower … Frederic Mishkin … Ben Barrett of the Aspen Institute … Richard Posner … Emma Ernst … Gerald Rafshoon … Peacock’s Caragh Fisher O’Connor … POLITICO’s Jeremy Crenshaw and Sheron Sen Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
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