Presented by

With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

DANA POINT, Calif. — Later this morning, RNC members here at a five-star resort on the Pacific Ocean will pile into a private conference room and elect the organization’s next chair after a weekslong, bitter campaign pitting incumbent RONNA McDANIEL against top challenger HARMEET DHILLON.

While McDaniel remains the favorite, Dhillon’s team has been working overtime since they arrived, and there are unmistakable signs she’s made headway. Just days ago, she had fewer than 30 of the 168 RNC members publicly endorsing her compared to more than 100 who had backed McDaniel in an open letter after the midterms.

The race’s new fluidity comes as members wrangle with one big question in increasingly urgent tones: What does this race say about DONALD TRUMP’s hold on the GOP?

Certainly both candidates maintain close relationships with Trump, and there are few outward signs the party is interested in making a public break with the former president. Yet we have heard many RNC members grumble over the past two days that they want a fresh face to lead the party — and someone better positioned than McDaniel to beat back Mar-a-Lago fever and ensure the org’s neutrality in the 2024 primaries.

Those feelings got a huge, last-minute boost yesterday when Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS declared it was time for “change” at the RNC and heaped praise on Dhillon. Much more from Natalie Allison and Meridith McGraw

It’s hard to say how many votes that moved — most members told us they thought DeSantis’s play was more about creating a contrast with Trump than upending the pending election — but there is a keen sense that some in the party are now seeing the secret-ballot election in a new way.

Last night around 10 p.m. Pacific, we spotted Dhillon standing by herself outside of a lively reception being held in her honor. While others were drinking and socializing, she was working the phones, frantically texting members and bending their ears as they walked by. When Playbook inquired about her whipping effort, she insisted she’s within striking distance.

“I heard some who back Ronna are now kinda freaking out about it. I’ll just leave it at that,” she said, then laughed. “I don’t want to jinx this, but we had a very good night and a very good day.”

Dhillon’s apparent 11th-hour surge comes as she’s spent the past two days apologizing to RNC members for the the flood of email her aggressive corps of grassroots activists have sent their way. She’s also been privately telling members concerned about the diehard MAGA posse around her that she is not an election denier and will do more than McDaniel to push back on Trump when needed.

The charm offensive has had an effect: One RNC member who told us just three days ago that he couldn’t fathom supporting Dhillon told us late last night that after hearing her personal story this week, he may do just that.

Dhillon told us that others have flipped her way because they feel like she has not been given a fair shake this week. In a private members-only meeting yesterday, a few of her allies vocalized those frustration, arguing that Dhillon wasn’t given much of a platform to make her case.

“I think everyone noticed that I got very little time to speak at this meeting and [McDaniel] basically used the whole convention as her campaign and people thought that was a little too much,” Dhillon said. (To be fair: the RNC Winter Meeting is about more than the election; it’s also about RNC housekeeping, and McDaniel has to run those meetings.)

The drama between the candidates escalated last night when at a private RNC dinner featuring guest speaker KELLYANNE CONWAY, Dhillon was assigned a seat in the back of the conference room, facing the corner. Her team was protested, causing something of a hullabaloo.

“Look, I’ve run in elections before; I’ve always been gracious to my opponent,” Dhillon told Playbook last night, adding that one person told her they may be changing their vote because of the slight. “That’s not gracious. That’s petty. People saw that.”

A person familiar with the dinner arrangements told us the RNC organizers had no idea she would be attending until the dinner started — and so put her at an open seat in the back.

Playbook reviewed a screenshot of text messages confirming that the RNC did in fact invite Dhillon and her closest supporters to sit at DAVID BOSSIE’s table near the front. Dhillon told them she could not attend due to a prior commitment, and organizers gave her seat away to someone else.

So will Dhillon’s last-minute momentum help her pull off an upset? McDaniel allies say no way. But at the very least, it should make for an interesting election later this morning. Voting kicks off at 10:30 Pacific, 1:30 Eastern.

Related read: “RNC chair seeks to quell revolt, divisions ahead of tense Friday election,” by WaPo’s Isaac Arnsdorf, Dylan Wells and Josh Dawsey

Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

TALK OF THIS TOWN — Michael Schaffer’s latest column: “Unlike Trump Appointees, Biden Officials Are In Big Demand In the Private Sector”

THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: BILL PALATUCCI — In Playbook Deep Dive today, we sat down with longtime CHRIS CHRISTIE ally BILL PALATUCCI, an RNC member from New Jersey who is backing Dhillon this morning. In one of the more interesting parts of our conversation, Palatucci, a Trump skeptic, discussed how Republicans might unite behind an alternative to Trump in 2024 — instead of allowing a crowded field to splinter the non-Trump vote and allow the former president to sweep the nomination, as happened in 2016.

Privately, this is something we’ve heard from several RNC members — just not on the record.

Palatucci thinks Republicans will have tough conversations with candidates to clear the field eventually.“We have to avoid the situation that we had in 2016, where Trump never got more than 30, 35% in any state but won the nomination because we had such a wide field that the opposition was so splintered,” Palatucci told us. “We’ll have to see if … the opposition is willing to come together and coalesce behind one candidate.”

That’s much tougher than it sounds. There’s an old saying that every politician looks in the mirror and sees a president. Convincing them to bow out — or not run at all — isn’t easy.

Still, Palatucci isalready talking about how that may come to pass. The New Jersey pol told us he thinks Republican governors will be “the adults in the room” and tell some folks, “This is not your time” — even as he admitted that moment might still be a long way off.

Just after he spoke with us, in a private RNC member meeting about the future of the party, Palatucci compared Trump to a drunk who burned the house down — and got chided by McDaniel, who called the comment “irresponsible” because Trump’s brother died from alcoholism. The room gave McDaniel a standing ovation.Listen to Playbook Deep Dive… Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

FOR YOUR RADAR — Authorities in Memphis this evening will release video of the traffic stop that ended with the death of TYRE NICHOLS earlier this month, and the preparations of local and national officials indicate that it could provoke significant unrest. Five Memphis Police officers were charged with second-degree murder and other crimes yesterday, a week after being fired. BEN CRUMP compared the video to that of RODNEY KING’s beating. Nichols and the five officers are all Black. Memphis schools have canceled all after-school activities scheduled for today. More from the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Biden put out a statement yesterday “calling for peaceful protest” and saying that state and federal authorities are investigating. And Capitol Police officers are increasing security on the Hill today, bracing for potential protests, Nick Wu, Sarah Ferris and Katherine Tully-McManus report.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

CONGRESS

WHO’S AT DEFAULT — “New MAGA Push: Defund the Government, It’s Too Woke,” by Rolling Stone’s Asawin Suebsaeng and Kara Voght

POLL POSITION — A new CNN/SSRS poll has some warning signs for House Republicans: Seventy-three percent of Americans say they’re not focusing on the country’s top problems, while just 27% say the House GOP’s priorities are right. And the percentage of Americans who disapprove of congressional Republicans is 8 points higher than for Democrats (67% to 59%). Republicans themselves have fairly high dissatisfaction with their own party’s leaders compared to Dems.

THE TALENTED MR. SANTOS — Are Rep. GEORGE SANTOS’ (R-N.Y.) days in Congress numbered? Both Republicans and Democrats in his district are drawing up plans for who should run to replace him, either in a special election (if he resigns) or in 2024, Sarah Ferris and Ally Mutnick report this morning. Dems are pursuing former Rep. TOM SUOZZI; other possibilities include ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, ANNA KAPLAN, JON KAIMAN and JOSH LAFAZAN. On the GOP side, though the national party hasn’t abandoned Santos, local groups are already buzzing about JACK MARTINS, ANDREA CATSIMATIDIS, ELAINE PHILLIPS, ALISON ESPOSITO and MAZI MELESA PILIP.

— On the Hill, Santos isn’t really making friends, Olivia Beavers reports this morning. “During conversations with a dozen House Republicans, a picture emerged of a Santos who’s more reserved among his colleagues than his recent spotlight-seeking suggests, holding friendly conversations here and there without directly cultivating many allies. Members often remarked they had no idea who he spends time with — but it certainly isn’t them.”

— The Glen Cove Patch’s Jacqueline Sweet has more revelations about Santos making Jewish jokes over the years, even as his own Jewish heritage has come into question. A former friend says that “Santos would frequently make what he said were offensive jokes, usually around the subject of paying the bill at restaurants, ‘but he brushed it off saying he was Jewish.’”

— “Is George Santos Now Trying to Hide His Spotify?”by The Daily Beast’s Ursula Perano, pulling a stupendous Ashley Feinberg-esque move

HOW TO WRITE A BILL — The artificial intelligence ChatGPT wrote a non-binding congressional resolution that Rep. TED LIEU (D-Calif.) introduced in the House yesterday, per NBC’s Kate Santaliz and Julie Tsirkin. “You are Congressman Ted Lieu,” the congressman instructed the program. “Write a comprehensive congressional resolution generally expressing support for Congress to focus on AI." Lieu is trying to urge Congress to address AI head on.

TOP-ED — “Kevin McCarthy is trying to silence us. He will lose,”by Reps. ADAM SCHIFF (D-Calif.), ERIC SWALWELL (D-Calif.) and ILHAN OMAR (D-Minn.) for MSNBC

FOR YOUR RADAR — “FEC examines complaint against Katie Porter’s alleged benefiting from UC Irvine housing,”by the Washington Examiner’s Ryan King

WHO’S YOUR DADDY — “Democrats launch dads caucus to focus on family issues, push for paid leave,”by ABC’s Gabe Ferris

ALL POLITICS

PRIMARY COLORS — The California Senate race is already heating up: Some progressives are attacking Schifffor his role during the Trump impeachments. And they’re citing a familiar source: our own Rachael Bade’s book, “Unchecked,” with Karoun Demirjian. “When we should have gone big against Trump, Schiff said go small,” the Progressive Change Campaign Committee’s ADAM GREEN said in a statement. “When we should have gone fast, Schiff said go slow.” More from Fox News

THE WHITE HOUSE

THE FIRST BIG CABINET DEPARTURE? — Biden’s department heads have been remarkably steady through his first two years, but EPA Administrator MICHAEL REGAN is seriously considering leaving his post at EPA, Reuters’ Jarrett Renshaw and Jeff Mason scooped. Regan “has been exploring options outside the Biden administration but has not made any decisions.” The EPA denies that he has any plans to leave.

HURRY UP AND WAIT — “Biden’s nominees confirmed at slower rate than his predecessors’,”by Axios’ Stef Kight: “It has taken an average of nearly 145 days for Biden's political appointees to receive Senate confirmation — a jump from other recent presidents at this point in their terms.” The Center for Presidential Transition report

POTUS ON THE ROAD — “Biden blasts House GOP for trying to ‘destroy’ economy over debt ceiling,”by WaPo’s Tony Romm

SECOND GENTLEMAN FILES — “Doug Emhoff departs for European trip focused on Holocaust remembrance, combating antisemitism,”by ABC’s Molly Nagle and Sarah Kolinovsky

THE TRAGEDY IN CALIFORNIA — “Biden at Lunar New Year celebration: ‘Silence is complicity,’”by Olivia Olander

JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

EAST OF EASTMAN — The California state bar is moving to disbar JOHN EASTMAN for constructing a plan to overturn the 2020 election, saying he broke professional ethics rules almost a dozen times. Eastman’s lawyer disputes each one of them. If the push is successful, Eastman could ultimately lose his law license in the state. More from the L.A. Times… The 35-page filing… Eastman’s response on Substack

TRUMP CARDS

THE DURHAM INVESTIGATION’S INVESTIGATION — Special counsel JOHN DURHAM is wrapping up his nearly four-year-long inquiry, and NYT’s Charlie Savage, Adam Goldman and Katie Benner have a major story with some shocking revelations from Durham’s probe. Notably, the investigation originally pushed by Trump “expanded in the fall of 2019, based on a tip from Italian officials, to include a criminal investigation into suspicious financial dealings related to Mr. Trump,” though Durham and Barrdid not disclose that or end up bringing charges.

Ultimately, they find, “the Durham inquiry became roiled by internal dissent and ethical disputes as it went unsuccessfully down one path after another even as Mr. Trump and Mr. Barr promoted a misleading narrative of its progress.” And Durham’s work was “marked by some of the very same flaws — including a strained justification for opening it and its role in fueling partisan conspiracy theories that would never be charged in court — that Trump allies claim characterized the Russia investigation.”

2024 WATCH — “Donald Trump’s 2024 Campaign Faces Trouble in Crucial Iowa,”by Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs

HE HAS A PLAN FOR THAT — As Trump’s 2024 campaign continues to roll out policy proposals, his education plan leans hard into the culture wars, Meridith McGraw reports. His plans range from axing teacher tenure and cutting administrative staffers to eliminating federal funding for “critical race theory” and stopping “pink-haired communists” from teaching children. Trump also tackles racial discrimination against Asian Americans and stopping transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports.

JUST POSTED — “On Trump’s Social Network: Ads for Miracle Cures, Scams and Fake Merchandise,”by NYT’s Stuart Thompson

JUDICIARY SQUARE

TENSIONS? WHAT TENSIONS? — Justice BRETT KAVANAUGH said that “there are great relations among all nine justices both personally and professionally,” dismissing reports of growing malcontent at the high court as overblown, NBC’s Lawrence Hurley reports. In his remarks at Notre Dame Law School, made public yesterday, Kavanaugh argued that there was not such an ideological rift among the justices. He praised Justice KETANJI BROWN JACKSON as having “hit the ground running.” And he said observers shouldn’t read anything into the court’s slow pace of releasing opinions this term.

LOOK WHO’S BACK — “Colorado baker loses appeal over transgender birthday cake,”by AP’s Colleen Slevin in Denver

POLICY CORNER

INTEL INSIDE — The Biden administration’s top intelligence official says she expects major resistance in Congress to efforts to renew one of the U.S. intelligence community’s most valuable and controversial authorities before it expires at the end of this year.

Yesterday, DNI AVRIL HAINES told a classified information reform conference in Austin, Texas, that it’s far from clear that lawmakers will extend the power known as Section 702, allowing collection of foreigners’ data held by U.S. tech companies.

“I think it will be extremely challenging, honestly. This is our sense,” Haines said during the event at the LBJ Library, our Josh Gerstein reports.

Haines called the 702 authority “absolutely critical” to counterterrorism operations like the one that killed al Qaeda leader AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI last June, but also stressed its utility in counterintelligence and combating cyberattacks and ransomware efforts. “There really isn’t anything — Russia — nothing is untouched, essentially, by this authority,” Haines declared. “It is fundamental to our work.”

Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas) is set to address the same conference today on the need to keep 702 going after this year, but many Republican lawmakers remain skeptical about a range of surveillance authorities after Trump’s public complaints that he was unfairly targeted by intelligence and law enforcement over alleged ties to Russia.

IDENTITY POLICY — “New U.S. race, ethnicity standards proposed; first since ’97,”by AP’s Mike Schneider

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

WAR REPORT — “U.S. Forces Kill Senior Islamic State Militant in Somalia,”by WSJ’s Vivian Salama

LATEST SANCTIONS — “U.S. labels Russia-backed Wagner Group as transnational criminal organization, imposes new sanctions,”by CBS’ Stefan Becket

MEDIAWATCH 

HEADS UP — “Former Fox News employee sues network, alleging Roger Ailes sexually abused her,”by NBC’s Chloe Atkins

SUNDAY SO FAR …

CBS “Face the Nation”: Speaker Kevin McCarthy … Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

NBC “Meet the Press”: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Panel: Garrett Haake, Stephen Hayes, Claire McCaskill and Amna Nawaz.

FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) … Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) … Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.). Legal panel: Jonathan Turley and Thomas Dupree. Panel: Karl Rove, Susan Page, Juan Williams and Vivek Ramaswamy.

ABC “This Week”: Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) … Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Panel: Chris Christie, Donna Brazile, John Kasich and Richard Haass.

Cory Mills gave out Florida-manufactured (inert) hand grenades to fellow House members. Mike Collins was especially excited.

Elon Muskswung by the Capitol.

Jeff Merkley shared his strong feelings about ink pens.

Kamala Harris encouraged Symone Sanders-Townsend that she could host her own show.

“The French” is now an offensive turn of phrase, says the AP Stylebook.

Willow Biden doesn’t respect the president’s boundaries.

OUT AND ABOUT — Former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt had his official portrait unveiled at an event yesterday evening hosted by Friends of 53 at the Interior Department. It was painted by Jeffrey Bass (pic here). Speaker Kevin McCarthy attended the reception and gave remarks after the unveiling. Also SPOTTED: Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Dirk Kempthorne, Andrew Wheeler, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Reps. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), David Valadao (R-Calif.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), Devin Nunes, Chris Christie and Cory Gardner.

— The Senate Appropriations Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee hosted a farewell party Wednesday in the Russell Senate building for veteran staffer Laura Friedel, who is leaving after 12 years as the committee’s clerk and 22 years in the Senate. SPOTTED: Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.), Roy and Abby Blunt, Larry Tabak, Francis Collins, Ashley Palmer, Emily Slack, Patrick Magnuson, Anna Lanier Fischer, Susan Ross, Kathryn Salmon, Stephen Steigleder, Alex Keenan, Meghan Mott, Mike Gentile, Daniel and Morgan Ulmer, Emy Lesofski, Lucas Agnew, Alley Adcock and Brian Daner.

— SPOTTED at ArtsClub’s DC Studio grand opening in Dupont Circle, hosted by founder Jackie Dreier: Kyle Dropp, Annie Linskey, Doug Pinkham, Rodell Molineau, Christina Maruna, Neil Grace, Eli Yokley, Olivia Petersen, Toni Irving, Daniel Lippman, Nihal Krishan, Jessica Monahan, Sahar Hafeez, Sarah Hafeez and Andy Rabens.

MEDIA MOVES — DotDash Meredith, the parent company of magazines like People and InStyle, said yesterday it was slashing 7% of its staff, the most recent in a round of layoffs hitting the media and tech sectors. Among the journalists cut, effective immediately, was Sandra Sobieraj Westfall, who’s covered the White House and national politics for People and was at the magazine for 20 years.

TRANSITIONS — Sean Bartlett is now SVP of comms at the Export-Import Bank. He previously was senior adviser in the office of the spokesperson at the State Department’s Bureau of Global Public Affairs. … Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) announced several top staffers: Jimmy Peacock as chief of staff, Ashley Schulte as state director, Meghan McCann as deputy chief of staff, Andrew Dziedzic as legislative director, Chris Nuelle as comms director, Marianna Deal as senior adviser for external comms and Justin Smith as senior adviser. …

… Avery Mulligan is now a senior adviser for public affairs at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She most recently was press secretary for Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.). … Katie Berge is joining Waxman Strategies as senior director of health policy. She most recently was director of federal affairs at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. … Robin Rooks McQueen is joining the Contraceptive Access Initiative as project director. She is the founder of A-Team Consultants.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Chief Justice John Roberts … Meredith Kelly of Declaration Media … C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman … Jessica Fink … Kitty Bartels Di Martino … Circle’s Jared Favole … Erin Lindsay … Emily Skor of Growth Energy … CFR’s Kayla Ermanni … Jamal Ware … Nomiki Konst … White House’s Matt Lee-Ashley … DLCC’s Will Rusche … Connie Partoyan of Targeted Victory … Ben Owens … Heather Nauert … Lisa Kaplan of Alethea …Akin Gump’s Josh Teitelbaum … Morry Cater … Rick Ridder … WaPo’s Holly Bailey … former Reps. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.), Zack Space (D-Ohio), John Mica (R-Fla.) and Dick Ottinger (D-N.Y.) … Kevin Downey … American Conservation Coalition’s Michael Esposito …Lifeline Children’s Services’ Chelsea Sobolik … Rachel Dumke of Sen. Steve Daines’ (R-Mont.) office

Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] 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.

Corrections: Yesterday’s Playbook used an incorrect pronoun for Evan Barker of Lifecycle Media. It also misstated Democratic Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove’s state affiliation. She represents California.