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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
SHUTDOWN ON HIATUS — Washington starts the week out of crisis mode today for the first time in over a month. The longest government shutdown in U.S. history ended on Friday, and federal workers are slowly getting back to normal.
And now that the border security stalemate is on hiatus, Massachusetts lawmakers have a chance to really start wielding their influence on Capitol Hill, especially when it comes to President Donald Trump. House Ways and Means chairman Rep. Rich Neal has been thrust into the spotlight as an outside effort to impeach President Donald Trump gains momentum today, Rep. Ayanna Pressley has a seat on the influential House Oversight Committee and Rep. Stephen Lynch was named chairman of the National Security subcommittee of the Oversight Committee.
And speaking of the president, things are moving quickly in the race to try and replace him. After weeks of quiet, behind-the-scenes moves among rumored 2020 contenders marked by book releases and staff hires, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has got some real company in the arena now.
Sen. Kamala Harris announced her 2020 campaign to a crowd of 20,000 supporters in California yesterday, former Starbucks chief Howard Schultz is "seriously considering" jumping in as a centrist independent, and potential candidate billionaire Michael Bloomberg will be just over the border in Nashua tomorrow. Not to mention, Sen. Bernie Sanders could announce a 2020 run any day now. Sanders could prove Warren's stiffest competition in early voting states — especially in New Hampshire where he won 60 percent of the vote in the last primary.
GET THIS GUY A NETFLIX SPECIAL — Sen. Mitt Romney's jokes at the Alfalfa Club dinner on Saturday night in Washington, D.C. ...
"Mike Pence swore-in Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona right before me. When she told him she wouldn't be using a bible for the swearing-in, Pence said "that's fine, there just needs to be something there to make sure our hands don't touch."
"Paul Ryan is here. On my first day in office I got a very nice message from Paul, it read: 'I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.'"
"I'll never forget what Orrin Hatch told me on my first day, but he did."
"A new poll just came out. Beto O'Rourke is leading in Iowa. If you don't think winning in Iowa's important just ask President Mitt Romney." Find former Sen. John Kerry's jokes from the dinner in yesterday's national Playbook.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY - Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito hold a leadership meeting with House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka. Polito attends Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer's state of the city address. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Rep. Stephen Lynch attend a ribbon-cutting for the Boston Collegiate Charter School expansion in Dorchester.
State Rep. Sean Garballey and state Rep. Marjorie Deckerannounce renewable energy legislation with Environment Massachusetts' Ben Hellerstein. State Sen. Jo Comerford, state Rep. Mindy Domb, state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa and state Rep. Natalie Blais speak at UMass Amherst.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "House bill quietly filed on education funding," by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: "WHILE BIG EDUCATION funding bills filed by Gov. Charlie Baker and a key state senator have garnered lots of attention, a third school financing bill was quietly filed in the House last week that also proposes a sweeping update of the state's 26-year-old education aid formula. Rep. Paul Tucker, a Salem Democrat, submitted legislation hours before last Friday's bill filing deadline that would also steer millions of dollars in new spending to Massachusetts schools."
- "Gov. Baker proposes lifting welfare cap on kids," Associated Press: "Though he vetoed a similar measure last year, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is proposing the elimination of a welfare rule that denies benefits to children born into families already receiving public assistance. A provision in the $42.7 billion state budget recently filed by the Republican governor would end the policy known as the 'family cap,' which critics argue hurts thousands of vulnerable children in Massachusetts."
- "MBTA preparing to take up fare hikes," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "THE MBTA's Fiscal and Management Control Board plans to discuss fare proposals at its meeting on Monday afternoon, beginning what can be a contentious process depending on the scale of the changes. The control board's agenda for Monday lists 'fare proposals' under a discussion of the budget for fiscal 2020, which begins July 1. "
- "Governor Baker's tax plan would hit firms that make opioid drugs," by Bob Salsberg, Associated Press: "Gov. Charlie Baker's call to tax manufacturers of opioid medications represents the latest high-profile attempt by state leaders to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable in some part for the ongoing opioid addiction crisis. Included in the Republican's proposed state budget is a 15 percent excise tax on sales of prescription opioids in Massachusetts."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Boston's economy is booming, but schools seem cash poor. Why?" by James Vaznis, Boston Globe: "The disconnect between the city's prosperity and the state of its schools has baffled parents, teachers, and education advocates for years. They have repeatedly rallied at the State House for more state funding and questioned whether Walsh provides enough city money to the schools, and whether the School Department spends that money wisely."
- "Gene therapy: Revolutionary health care with a blockbuster price tag," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "What is the price of saving a life? How much is it worth to a person to avoid monthly blood transfusions for decades? How much is it worth to partially restore someone's eyesight? When it comes to health care, who should pay? These are the scale of questions that the health care industry is grappling with as it confronts gene therapy, a revolutionary field that comes with a blockbuster price tag."
- "Untolled millions: Out-of-state drivers owe $26.8M to Massachusetts," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "Out-of-state drivers are taking Massachusetts for a ride, to the tune of $26.8 million in unpaid tolls since the electronic system was implemented over two years ago, with Connecticut the biggest offender. The tab has been steadily rising since the state switched to electronic tolling in October 2016, jumping by $7 million just in the last six months."
- "In Mass. and beyond, an effort to bolster access to abortion," by Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe: "Reproductive rights advocates in Massachusetts and across the country are launching aggressive campaigns for the new year to bolster access to abortion services in left-leaning states, in anticipation of further restrictions in conservative ones. The effort is part of a nationwide strategy by groups, including Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and NARAL Pro-Choice, to create safe havens for women seeking abortion services at a time when a newly conservative Supreme Court could overturn the 46-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortion legal."
- "New MassGOP Chairman Jim Lyons And The RNC: Crazy, Perhaps, But Not Stupid," by David S. Bernstein, WGBH News:"The new chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, chosen just a week ago, is going to wrench the organization away from its responsible, serious path set by Governor Charlie Baker, and plunge it into a Trumpean ideological abyss. That's what just about everybody says, except the man himself."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Opioid company executives set to go on trial in Boston Monday," by Jonathan Saltzman and Maria Cramer, Boston Globe: "The federal government, which has been accused of failing to hold drug companies to account for the nation's deadly opioid epidemic, hopes to dispel that impression Monday when the first criminal trial of pharmaceutical executives who marketed a painkiller begins. John N. Kapoor, a onetime billionaire and founder of Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics, is scheduled to go on trial in US District Court in Boston along with four former company executives on charges that they acted more like mobsters than pharmaceutical executives when they sold a brand of fentanyl, a powerful and addictive opioid."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Iowa Nice: hawkeyed experts say Elizabeth Warren hit ground running," by Ben Jacobs, The Guardian: "The concept of 'Iowa Nice' has long been central to campaigning in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. But it's rarely been a concept around which a first-tier candidate for president has structured a whole campaign. However, since entering the 2020 race on New Year's Eve, the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren has tried to build a campaign staff focused as much on a healthy workplace culture as cutthroat political nous."
- "To Rise Above the Democratic Pack, Elizabeth Warren Tries 'Nerding Out,'" by Astead W. Herndon, New York Times: "Almost one month into her presidential campaign, Ms. Warren's passion for policy minutiae has become her way of standing out in an increasingly crowded Democratic field, establishing herself as a wonk's wonk whose expansive ideas and detail-oriented speaking style are her bid for a good first impression on voters. While other Democrats have focused on sweeping themes of unity or change, Ms. Warren is making a personal and political wager that audiences care more about policy savvy than captivating oration."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "US Rep. Stephen Lynch to head National Security Subcommittee," Associated Press: "U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch has been named chairman of the House's National Security Subcommittee. Lynch said one of his top tasks will be to restart congressional oversight of President Donald Trump's national defense strategy, which he described as 'ill-defined and prone to sudden and erratic revision.'"
- "Neal, Harrington speak at Four Freedoms Coalition event," by Dick Lindsay, The Berkshire Eagle: "Time to end fear over immigration and embrace a diverse America. U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., delivered that message to the enthusiastic crowd on Sunday 'Celebrating Freedom: Democracy in Action,' the theme for the Four Freedoms Coalition annual gathering. Despite President Donald Trump's verbal and Twitter rhetoric, Neal emphatically stated, 'There is no invasion of America at the southern border.'"
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- "Retired Worcester lawyer's plot to remove president revealed in novel," by James F. Russell, Telegram & Gazette: "Move over Russiagate. There's a quicker way to try and dislodge President Donald Trump from office: Use the powerful Writ of Mandamus combined with Amendment 25 of the U.S. Constitution against him in federal district court, according to a retired Worcester lawyer. Burton Chandler, 84, husband of former Massachusetts Senate president, Harriette L. Chandler, D-Worcester, discusses his plot in a novel, 'How an Individual Citizen Can Legally Fire (Not Impeach) the President,' that he published in October."
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| 2020 WATCH |
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- "Weld to speak in New Hampshire," by James Pindell, Boston Globe: "Former Massachusetts governor William Weld is scheduled to speak in the first-in-the-nation primary state, New Hampshire, at a mainstay event for presidential hopefuls — stoking some speculation that the Republican-turned-Libertarian may run again for the White House. But, in an interview, Weld offered no clues on his intentions for serving as the keynote speaker next month at the Politics & Eggs breakfast, which is sponsored by the New England Council — a regional business organization — and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "WE'RE STILL HERE!" Globe: "Stakes high as drug executives go to trial," "In Mass., a push to ease access to abortion," "A BLIZZARD OF DEVOTION." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "MGM's casino hopes to up the ante in Springfield," by Mark Arsenault, Boston Globe: "The cocktail is called #Fakenews. Made with Russian vodka. Another witty touch at a casino packed with offbeat little details. How could I pass that up? I order the $20 drink and get to work — yes, work — taking the measure of Massachusetts' first full-fledged casino ."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- YOU HAVE TO WATCH THE VIDEO: "Apparent Road Rage Incident on Mass. Pike," by Mike Pescaro and Kathryn Sotnik, NBC10: "Exclusive video shows an SUV driving a significant distance on the Massachusetts Turnpike with a man on the hood. An apparent road rage incident took place on the westbound side of Interstate 90 near the exchange with Interstate 95 in Weston. State police say two vehicles had been involved in a minor sideswipe in that town."
SPOTTED - MSNBC'S Rachel Maddow ice fishing in Ashfield on Sunday. Tweet.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY - to Sunday birthday-ers Mark McDevitt, comms director for Rep. Lori Trahan; and Circle's Jared Favole, who turned 36.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to WGBH's Antonio Caban, former Rep. Peter Blute, who is is 63; Chrissy Raymond, policy adviser for Rep. Seth Moulton, former Rep. Peter Torkildsen, who is 61; and the #1 Mass Playbook fan on the West Coast Katie Holzman.
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