The Playbook Podcast
POLITICO’s Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns bring their fresh insight, analysis and reporting to the biggest story driving the day in the nation’s capital.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 6 minutes
- Episodes
- 1941
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2025
December 13, 2024: A temperature check on Trump’s nominees
After a dizzying week of meetings on Capitol Hill, Trump’s myriad nominees seem to be on firmer ground than they were. But is that because of what was said in those one-on-ones, or is has Trump himse…
00:10:16 |
Fri 13 Dec 2024
December 12, 2024: Why some Dems are cozying up to Elon Musk
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and arguably President-elect Donald Trump’s most important supporter, finds himself being wooed by some unlikely people in Washington: Democrats in Congress. There …
00:09:31 |
Thu 12 Dec 2024
December 11, 2024: Is Trump’s Cabinet pressure campaign working?
It may be too late for Matt Gaetz, but President-elect Donald Trump’s allies are engaged in a pressure campaign to ensure his Cabinet picks are confirmed. Trump World has used online criticism and th…
00:09:41 |
Wed 11 Dec 2024
December 10, 2024: Bashar al-Assad is gone. What next?
It’s no secret that President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have profoundly different approaches to foreign policy. With Trump taking office in 40-odd days, the seismic geopolitical shif…
00:10:01 |
Tue 10 Dec 2024
December 9, 2024: Tulsi Gabbard's Syria problem
While President-elect Donald Trump’s other controversial picks like Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth have been sucking up all the oxygen in Washington, Tulsi Gabbard has managed to stay largely out of the…
00:08:29 |
Mon 09 Dec 2024
December 6, 2024: The GOP’s DOGE-eat-DOGE era
GOP’s DOGE days have arrived on Capitol Hill. Yesterday, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-heads of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, were on Capitol Hill. And the nascent panel …
00:10:23 |
Fri 06 Dec 2024
December 5, 2024: Pete Hegseth’s last stand
With his nomination for Defense secretary teetering on the brink, Pete Hegseth will soon learn whether his 11th-hour offensive yesterday to save his nomination has succeeded. As Republican senators —…
00:10:22 |
Thu 05 Dec 2024
December 4, 2024: Is Hegseth headed for the door?
With Matt Gaetz gone, Pete Hegseth may be next on the chopping block. The Secretary of Defense nominee has to reckon with—and explain to Republican senators—the recent allegations of fund mismanageme…
00:09:16 |
Wed 04 Dec 2024
December 3, 2024: Congress begins the final sprint
Lawmakers have a lot to get through in the roughly three weeks left in the year’s congressional session. Among the major responsibilities are the annual defense policy bill and a plan to fund the gov…
00:10:04 |
Tue 03 Dec 2024
December 2, 2024: President Biden pardons Hunter
Late Sunday, President Joe Biden issued a “full and unconditional” pardon to his son Hunter for any crime he "has committed or may have committed" in the previous 11 years. In a statement, Biden desc…
00:09:48 |
Mon 02 Dec 2024
November 27, 2024: After Hezbollah ceasefire, what's next for Israel?
A cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered by France and the United States, is not the exact one Biden was hoping to be touting as a capstone to his presidency. Playbook co-author Eugen…
00:12:46 |
Wed 27 Nov 2024
November 26, 2024: The end of the road for Trump's legal woes?
Yesterday, special counsel Jack Smith announced that he would move to drop both federal criminal cases against president-elect Donald Trump due to a long-standing DOJ policy against prosecuting a sit…
00:10:32 |
Tue 26 Nov 2024
November 25, 2024: Trump bucks transition tradition … again
When a new presidential administration prepares to take office, it typically signs transparency and ethics agreements with the White House, the Justice Department and the General Services Administrat…
00:10:03 |
Mon 25 Nov 2024
November 22, 2024: Gaetz is out. Who’s next?
After a tumultuous eight days as Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration yesterday. While Senate Republicans cheered the move, the implications for Trump’s…
00:10:42 |
Fri 22 Nov 2024
November 21, 2024: Can Pete Hegseth withstand the Senate’s spotlight?
Matt Gaetz has dominated the spotlight in Washington since President-elect Donald Trump announced him as nominee for attorney general. But Gaetz is far from Trump’s only contentious pick. On Capitol …
00:10:20 |
Thu 21 Nov 2024
November 20, 2024: All eyes on the House Ethics Committee
Today, the House Ethics Committee will meet to discuss is the findings of its investigation into Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz. Because the committee has an equal number of Republican and Democ…
00:10:51 |
Wed 20 Nov 2024
November 19, 2024: Gaetz’s AG odds: ‘50/50’
Since his first election win in 2016, Matt Gaetz has been embroiled in controversy, including a House Ethics Committee investigation and report that hasn’t been released. Those close to Trump are hop…
00:07:14 |
Tue 19 Nov 2024
November 18, 2024: Sex, drugs and cabinet appointments
Two of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet appointments are facing accusations of sexual misconduct, and the ensuing mess is just getting started. The House Ethics Committee report on Rep. Matt Ga…
00:07:55 |
Mon 18 Nov 2024
November 15, 2024: An anti-vax HHS secretary?
Donald Trump spent his first full week as president-elect making a flurry of announcements unveiling key officials in his coming administration. Yesterday, he unveiled among his most controversial pi…
00:10:45 |
Fri 15 Nov 2024
November 14, 2024: Trump’s AG pick sends shockwaves through Washington
In a move that stunned much of Washington, President-elect Donald Trump yesterday unveiled his choice for attorney general: Rep. Matt Gaetz. The move would put Gaetz atop the Justice Department, whic…
00:10:46 |
Thu 14 Nov 2024
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