| | | | | |  | | By Tara Palmeri, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Rachael Bade | Presented by Facebook | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | | SCOOP: House Minority Whip STEVE SCALISE (R-La.) made the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday to meet with the King of the GOP while fundraising in the area. The trip by the No. 2 House Republican comes weeks after Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY'S sit-down with DONALD TRUMP there last month, and it shows Scalise's loyalty to the departed president is unshaken. Unlike McCarthy, who called for Trump's censure after Jan. 6 then moved to patch things up, Scalise, a longtime Trump supporter, never endorsed a formal rebuke of the ex-president. | | The trip underscores that the top two House Republicans are now hitching their wagons to Trump, even as Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL and LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.), the No. 3 House Republican, have ditched him. Scalise, a gregarious and well-liked member of the GOP leadership team, has long harbored ambitions to be speaker someday. If Republicans retake the House and McCarthy for whatever reason can't wrangle the votes to win the post, Scalise will almost surely be waiting in the wings to take a shot. In the meantime, Scalise is leading a charge to pressure President JOE BIDEN to reopen schools. He's hosting a call with grassroots organizations today to push for the return of full-time in-person education. Republicans see the schools issue — and the Biden administration's lowering of expectations for reopening — as an opportunity to put Democrats on their heels. Expect to hear more from Scalise and the fuller House GOP on this soon. BIDEN IMMIGRATION BILL DROPS — ANITA KUMAR emails with the latest details: "Democrats, led by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) will release a long-awaited Biden-backed sweeping immigration bill this morning. It would provide an eight-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, raise the current per-country caps for visas and change the word 'alien' to 'noncitizen' in U.S. law, among other proposals, according to an administration official. "But White House officials were having trouble Wednesday convincing advocates and even reporters that it could garner the support of at least 10 Republicans in the Senate. Behind the scenes, the White House has accepted that it will need to break the bill up into pieces. It endorsed a plan to back separate bills for Dreamers, those with Temporary Protected Status and essential workers on a call with advocates Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the call. "On a separate 30-minute conference call with reporters later, though, administration officials wouldn't acknowledge the piecemeal approach, the potential lack of Republican support or the possibility of immigration being part of the budget reconciliation process. They also wouldn't release the bill's text or provide an updated fact sheet from what the White House released on Biden's first day in office. That led one reporter to ask why they were holding the call. "Eventually, an administration official acknowledged that Biden knows the legislation may not end up looking like the bill that will be introduced Thursday." Related: "'Recipe for disaster': Dem fears mount over immigration overhaul," by Sabrina Rodríguez and Marc Caputo | | A message from Facebook: It's time to update internet regulations
The internet has changed a lot in 25 years. But the last time comprehensive internet regulations were passed was in 1996.
We support updated internet regulations to set clear guidelines for addressing today's toughest challenges.
Learn More | | | A few other key reads this morning … JOHN HARRIS column: "Let's briefly praise Rush Limbaugh — then bury him forever" BIDEN'S 'BIG SWING' AT INFRASTRUCTURE — WaPo's Erica Werner, Jeff Stein and Dino Grandoni set the stage for the president's next big legislative push after Covid relief. If you thought $1.9 trillion was a big chunk of change … "Senior Democratic officials have discussed proposing as much as $3 trillion in new spending as part of what they envision as a wide-ranging jobs and infrastructure package that would be the foundation of Biden's 'Build Back Better' program, according to three people granted anonymity to share details of private deliberations. That would come on top of Biden's $1.9 trillion relief plan, as well as the $4 trillion in stimulus measures under former president Donald Trump. Aides cautioned that the spending figures were highly preliminary and subject to change. "But unlike under Trump, when multiple efforts to address infrastructure faltered before getting off the ground, Biden is expected to take a big swing at the issue and package together funding for expanded broadband networks, bridge and road repairs as well as technology that reduces greenhouse gasses in a sprawling bill that threatens to enlarge to encompass multiple other issues as well." REPUBLICAN-ON-REPUBLICAN WARFARE IN 2022 — James Arkin, Andrew Desiderio and Alex Isenstadt take an early look at how the Trump-McConnell feud could hurt the party's chances of retaking the Senate. Two key passages from the piece: 1) "Following Trump's call for Republicans to move on from McConnell, POLITICO on Wednesday reached out to all 16 Republican senators running for reelection in 2022 to ask if they supported the Kentuckian as majority leader. Only two responded." 2) "The Trump-McConnell spat is already trickling down to 2022 races. Former Rep. Mark Walker, who was the first Republican to enter the open North Carolina Senate race, said he disagreed with retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr's vote to convict Trump and called McConnell's speech criticizing Trump 'unnecessary.' 'I think that whether he likes it or not, former President Trump is going to be very impactful on at least Senate races — maybe House races as well — for 2022,' Walker said in an interview." WaPo's Mike DeBonis and Josh Dawsey also weigh in on the 2022 implications of what they dub, after talking to 10 GOP operatives, a likely "cold war." | | | |   | | | BIDEN'S THURSDAY — The president and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the President's Daily Brief at 9:45 a.m. and a Covid-19 briefing at 10:30 a.m. Harris will lead a virtual roundtable with members of Congress and female advocacy organization leaders at 11:15 a.m. to talk Covid relief and women in the economy. — Biden's trip to a Pfizer vaccine manufacturing plant in Michigan has been postponed to Friday. — Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 12:30 p.m. | | | | NEW – "THE RECAST" NEWSLETTER: Power dynamics are changing. "Influence" is changing. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. "The Recast" is our new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy, and power in America. And POLITICO is recasting how we report on this crucial intersection, bringing you fresh insights, scoops, dispatches from across the country, and new voices that challenge "business as usual." Don't miss out on this important new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | 
PHOTO OF THE DAY: The former Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, N.J., gets imploded Wednesday. | Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images | CONGRESS TWO CAN PLAY THIS GAME — McConnell railroaded Democrats to install a generation of conservative judges, his signature accomplishment of the Trump years. Now, Democrats are prepared to play some hardball of their own, Marianne LeVine reports: "The policy that incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is pursuing would make no change to the so-called 'blue slip' process that Republicans changed in 2017 to yank home-state senators' power to block former President Donald Trump's circuit court picks. "While Democrats criticized Republicans for scrapping blue slips for Trump, they're now signaling that after four years of bruising judicial confirmation battles, they're not going to reinstate the obscure tradition they had defended." PACKING HEAT IN CONGRESS — "Capitol Police Investigate 2 GOP Lawmakers Over House Metal Detector Incidents," HuffPost: "The agency is looking at whether a lawmaker assaulted a police officer and an alleged attempt by another lawmaker to carry a gun into the House Chamber." INSURRECTION IMPACT — "For Black Aides on Capitol Hill, Jan. 6 Brought Particular Trauma," NYT: "Only a small percentage of congressional aides are Black. Since the attack, Mr. McKnight and others who were in nearby offices in the Capitol complex that day have been talking among themselves about how close the violence came to them, what it means to experience such a virulent expression of racism in what is supposed to be a citadel of liberty, and the suspicion they now feel toward other aides, members of Congress and random people they encounter as they go about their business on Capitol Hill." TAKING STOCK OF DIFI — LAT's Mark Barabak: "The slow, sad fade is not simply a function of Feinstein's age — she is 87 — but also the fact that times and the political world have changed and Feinstein, whether unwilling or unable, has failed to change along with them. … "Today, Feinstein is a subject of scorn, considered by many a relic who is well past her prime, who refuses to yield to someone younger, more vibrant, more politically pugnacious and more reflective of California's kaleidoscopic racial and ethnic diversity. History, with its long view, is likely to be much kinder." POLITICS WATCH 2022 WATCH — "Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry enters U.S. Senate race with endorsements from several top Milwaukee Democrats," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel IOWA ON THE ROPES — "It might just be game over for the Iowa caucus," by David Siders and Elena Schneider: "For years, Iowa and New Hampshire have successfully defended their one-two position from states eager to jump ahead. But the combination of Iowa's botched 2020 caucus and increasing diversity in the Democratic Party's ranks has made the whiteness of Iowa and New Hampshire all the more conspicuous, putting the two states on their heels and throwing the 2024 calendar into turmoil." PANDEMIC TRACKER: The U.S. reported 2,336 Covid-19 deaths and 66,000 new coronavirus cases Wednesday. (Keep in mind numbers may be low this week because of weather.) MEGATREND — "A Grim Measure of Covid's Toll: Life Expectancy Drops Sharply in U.S.," NYT: "Thursday's data gives the first full picture of the pandemic's effect on American life spans, which dropped to 77.8 years from 78.8 years in 2019. It also showed a deepening of racial and ethnic disparities: Life expectancy of the Black population declined by 2.7 years in the first half of 2020, slicing away 20 years of gains. The life expectancy gap between Black and white Americans, which had been narrowing, is now at six years, the widest it has been since 1998." THE SCANDAL IN ALBANY — "Cuomo said 'he can destroy me': NY assemblyman alleges governor threatened him over nursing homes scandal," CNN: "Describing an alleged exchange with the governor that has not been previously reported, Democratic Assemblyman Ron Kim told CNN that he received a call on his cell phone from the governor last week as he was bathing his children at home. "'Gov. Cuomo called me directly on Thursday to threaten my career if I did not cover up for Melissa [DeRosa] and what she said. He tried to pressure me to issue a statement, and it was a very traumatizing experience,' Kim said. Cuomo proceeded to tell the assemblyman that 'we're in this business together and we don't cross certain lines and he said I hadn't seen his wrath and that he can destroy me,' according to Kim." | | | |   | | | MEDIAWATCH GAME, SET, MATCH — "Sean Hannity's private plane and the Wake Forest tennis team: A morality fable," Salon: "Publicly available records … raise abundant questions about Hannity's own use of his private jet in support of his son's tennis career at Wake Forest University, and his relationship with the team's star coach, Tony Bresky. According to NCAA and sports law experts, the timeline of those events exhibits an unusual and at times suspicious level of engagement between Hannity and Bresky, including but not limited to the school's frequent use of Hannity's plane. "Facts of that relationship also appear to have triggered a previously unreported federal grand jury investigation — which has been closed without indictments, to be clear — into events surrounding the recruitment of Hannity's son, specifically the striking fact that Bresky purchased a luxury home next door to one bought by Hannity, according to documents obtained by Salon and a person familiar with the case. Hannity, through his lawyer, Charles Harder, and Bresky, through Wake Forest, both denied ever being aware of any such federal investigation." GOOGLE PONIES UP FOR NEWS — LAT: "Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has reached an agreement with Google Inc. for the tech giant to pay for digital distribution of the publishing company's news articles. The landmark deal, announced Wednesday, comes after a 14-year-plus campaign by Murdoch and his lieutenant, News Corp. Chief Executive Robert Thomson, for Google and other technology giants to compensate publishers for the use of their journalism. … "Facebook took a different path. On Wednesday, Facebook announced it would restrict users and publishers in Australia from sharing news articles on its platform, blaming the proposed Australian law for the policy change." AMERICA AND THE WORLD — "Biden on 'Short Leash' as Administration Rethinks China Relations," NYT: "The Biden administration has argued that by being more strategic in how it addresses China, it will ultimately be more effective than the Trump administration. It has laid out an ambitious task as it looks to not only crack down on China for what it sees as unfair trade practices but also develop a national strategy that helps build up America's economic position to better counter Chinese competition." REPORTERS CAN STOP ASKING PSAKI — "Biden speaks with Netanyahu after delay raised questions," CNN: "'It was a good conversation,' Biden told reporters in the Oval Office shortly after the call ended, without elaborating. In a post on Twitter, Netanyahu said he had spoken with Biden for roughly an hour in 'friendly and warm' terms, affirming the US-Israel alliance and discussing issues related to Iran, regional diplomacy and the coronavirus pandemic." DISASTER IN TEXAS THE RUNDOWN — "Gov. Greg Abbott doesn't know when suffering Texans will have water or power again," Texas Tribune … "Texans running out of food as weather crisis cripples supply chain," Texas Tribune … "St. David's hospital without water pressure, heat, officials say," Austin American-Statesman … "Deaths mount, millions still without power amid new winter storm," WaPo … Bloomberg: "undoubtedly the largest forced blackout in U.S. history" — AND THE POLITICAL FALLOUT: "'Now It's Coming Back to Bite Them': Democrats See an Opening in G.O.P. Oversight of Texas Grid," NYT: "As the state reels from power outages, Democrats look to turn the tables on the Republicans who dominate state government." NEW SERIES — POLITICO is launching Recovery Lab, a new reported series designed to highlight the smartest ideas emerging across the country for combating the Covid-19 pandemic and the shocks it has sent through our economy and society, from massive job losses to school closures to the growing digital divide. Inspired by the idea that the states are 50 laboratories of democracy and policy, each edition of Recovery Lab will be a deep dive into a challenge posed by the pandemic. Here are highlights from the first edition: — "How Covid-19 could make us healthier," by Joanne Kenen — "Policy hackathon: Making vaccine distribution work," by Sarah Owermohle — "Nine states doing it right," by Tucker Doherty | | | | A MUST-READ ON CAPITOL HILL: Looking for the latest insight on the power dynamic in House GOP Leadership? Want to listen in on the whispers coming out of the Speaker's Lobby? Trying to understand what is really going on inside the cloakrooms? Olivia Beavers delivers the scoop in Huddle, our morning Capitol Hill must-read, with assists from POLITICO's deeply sourced Congress team that reveal the state of play in the House and Senate. Subscribe to Huddle today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | A NEW CNN LINEUP — "CNN Overhauls Daytime, With New Anchors in Morning, Afternoon Slots," Variety: "The WarnerMedia cable-news outlet intends to move early-afternoon anchor Brianna Keilar to co-host 'New Day' with John Berman, pair morning host Alisyn Camerota with Victor Blackwell in the 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. slot previously led by Brooke Baldwin and feature Ana Cabrera at 1 p.m. weekdays." Release MATT WUERKER VIDEO: How to score a 10 out of 10 on Room Rater (Coulda asked Ryan and Eugene.) | 
| PARSCALE IS BACK — In a sign that Trump is reengaging in politics, his ex-campaign manager BRAD PARSCALE visited Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, as Fox News reported . A source close to the former president said that Parscale, after being effectively fired by Trump last summer, is back in the inner circle and will be very involved in Trump's post-presidential political moves. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Lincoln Project is forming a "transition advisory committee" to provide "full support and cooperation" for its internal investigation into the John Weaver matter and "any systemic workplace culture issues," according to an internal memo obtained by Daniel Lippman. The committee will be chaired by Lincoln Project senior adviser Tara Setmayer with executive director Fred Wellman as the vice chair. After questions about how much money Lincoln Project founders made off the project, it will also conduct a "Stewardship Report" for donors to see how their money was spent. The memo FROM THE EAST WING — "Kelly Clarkson To Sit Down With Jill Biden For First Solo Broadcast Interview Since Becoming First Lady," Deadline: "The Kelly Clarkson Show: White House Edition with the First Lady, Jill Biden will air Thursday, February 25. "The episode will feature a special Kellyoke performance by Clarkson and her musical director Jason Halbert, requested by the First Lady and performed in the East Room of the White House. During the interview, Dr. Biden will reveal what inspired her Kellyoke song choice. The two will discuss Dr. Biden's continued commitment to education, military families, cancer research and bringing the country together, and they'll both take questions from the show's live virtual audience." AS THE WORLD TURNS — "Stormy Daniels' Former Lawyer Michael Avenatti Goes After Michael Cohen Over Podcast Rant," Daily Beast: "A fresh war of words between Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen and convicted attorney Michael Avenatti has broken out over Stormy Daniels, resulting in the two Trumpworld figures trading legal barbs." WE BEG TO DIFFER WITH THIS HEADLINE — "Politics Is Seeping Into Our Daily Life and Ruining Everything," Reason: "Our political affiliations, researchers say, obstruct friendships, influence our purchases, affect the positions we take on seemingly apolitical matters, and limit our job choices. As a result, many people are poorer, lonelier, and less healthy than they would otherwise be." The new paper FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Phil Bartel is joining FlexPoint Media as principal and VP. He most recently was deputy director for the NRSC's IE unit in the 2018 and 2020 cycles, and is a Dan Sullivan and Scott Walker alum. — Andi Pringle and Julie Norton are launching Mosaic Communications, a new woman-owned, full-service strategic and media consulting firm with the staff comprising members of the BIPOC or LGBTQIA communities. Pringle currently is political and strategic campaigns director for March On. Norton previously was a partner at Trippi, Norton, Rossmeissl Campaigns. Chris Smith and Roosevelt Holmes will also be VPs. TRANSITIONS — Patricio Gonzalez is now a senior investigator for the Senate Finance Dems. He previously was adviser for oversight and investigations to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. … Diana Castaneda is now comms director at BOLD PAC. She previously was comms director for Candace Valenzuela's congressional campaign in Texas. … Katarina DeFilippo and Scott Harris are joining the Aerospace Industries Association's legislative affairs team as managers. DeFilippo previously was legislative assistant for Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kan.). Harris previously was legislative correspondent/aide for Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.). … … Amanda Loughran is now VP of public affairs at GCI Health. She previously was associate director of health campaigns and advocacy at APCO Worldwide. … J Strategies is launching a D.C. office with Julie Miner serving as managing partner and CEO, Minda Conroe as managing director, Ashlee Casper-Palmieri as SVP and Adam Morey as VP and media relations director. … Lisa Grove will be CIO for Violet Power, a U.S. solar manufacturing startup. She currently is a partner at ALG Research. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), Steve Womack (R-Ark.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) … former Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) (94) … Ben Wofford … Keith Urbahn … James Hohmann … NPR's Rachel Martin … former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (65) … John DiStaso … Denise Dunckel … Bill Bertles … Kiara Pesante Haughton … former Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) … POLITICO's Amy Oh and Meli Duarte … Lebanese President Michel Aoun … Al Quinlan … Marc Lampkin … Abby Blunt … Lucien Zeigler … Virginia state Del. Mark Sickles … Stacey Gardner … CBS News' Rebecca Kaplan ... Angela Chiappetta … Zac Cockrell Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Know what Scalise and Trump chatted about? Drop us a line at playbook@politico.com or individually: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. | | A message from Facebook: Internet regulations need an update.
It's been 25 years since comprehensive internet regulations were passed.
But a lot has changed since 1996. We support updated regulations to set clear guidelines for protecting people's privacy, enabling safe and easy data portability between platforms and more.
Learn More | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment