| | | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Tara Palmeri | Presented by |  | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | | BREAKING OVERNIGHT: House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY and his top lieutenants are leaning toward removing Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) from the House Education and Labor Committee unless she steps down on her own. More on this Playbook scoop — and behind-the-scenes details of the emergency meeting McCarthy called to discuss this matter late Tuesday night — below. | | 'HOW MUCH IS BIPARTISANSHIP WORTH?' That was the provocative question a longtime JOE BIDEN adviser asked us Tuesday night as they outlined the internal White House debate over Covid relief bill negotiations. This person's answer? Probably about $200-300 billion. Here's the thinking and why the White House has rejected it so far … This adviser was surprised by the Debbie Downer tone of the Monday night statement put out by the White House after Biden met with 10 GOP senators. It noted "many areas which the Republican senators' proposal does not address" and repeated "that [Biden] will not slow down work" and "will not settle" for anything too small. "I think it sounded more like RON KLAIN than Joe Biden," the adviser said, suggesting the chief of staff's more partisan edge is prevailing over Biden's preference for dealmaking. "The GOP plan wasn't a joke. I looked at it and said, 'OK, the midpoint between $600 billion and $1.9 trillion is about 1.2 or 1.3.' I was a little surprised we hit back that hard. It's not like our plan is perfect and there's nothing we can improve. Vintage Biden would not have been that harsh." This person said the decision to plow forward without serious efforts at bipartisanship is driven by two key dynamics, one in the White House and one on the Hill: — 2009: Five of the most important policy wonks in the White House right now — Klain, BRIAN DEESE, JEFF ZIENTS, BRUCE REE, and JAKE SULLIVAN — all served in the early Obama administration. The main lesson from the fraught journey of the stimulus and Obamacare was that BARACK OBAMA wasted time in negotiations with Republicans who were never going to get to yes. "Ron has this whole thing: 'Remember how they rat-f---ed us on the ACA!'" the adviser said. — CHUCK SCHUMER: The new Senate majority leader is under pressure on two fronts. New York Gov. ANDREW CUOMO is insistent that Schumer bring home state and local funding, an expensive part of the Biden plan — $350 billion — that is absent in the Republican plan. Schumer could also face a primary challenge from Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ or someone else on his left. So he's more inclined than ever to stick with the progressive wing of the party that wants the biggest possible package. We would add that the Covid package is popular — people like getting hundreds of dollars in the mail! — and the White House is making the calculation that some Republicans will support the final package even if they didn't influence it much. In 2001, GEORGE W. BUSH got 58 Senate votes, including 12 Democrats, for his tax cut bill, when he only needed 50 because it was passed via reconciliation. The flip side of the debate over the merits of bipartisanship comes down to a calculation about what the final size of the package may be. Biden needs all 50 Democratic votes for a reconciliation package, but the JOE MANCHINS of the caucus haven't put down a marker yet about how big a package they're willing to accept. "It feels like his number will be around $1.3 trillion," the Biden adviser speculated. "If you can't get that guy to 1.3, then you should negotiate a GOP deal." If the gap between the 10 Republicans and Joe Manchin "is $200 or $300 billion," the person added, "then the politics are better going bipartisan." | | A message from the American Beverage Association: At America's beverage companies our plastic bottles are made to be remade. We're carefully designing them to be 100% recyclable, including the caps—so every bottle can become a new one. That means less plastic waste in our environment. Please help us get Every Bottle Back. EveryBottleBack.org | | | MORE ON THAT SCOOP … INSIDE MCCARTHY'S TENTATIVE PLAN TO DEAL WITH GREENE: During a two-hour meeting Tuesday night with Greene, McCarthy explained to the QAnon supporter that her controversial past statements were coming to a head. The problem, McCarthy told her: Democrats are threatening to force a vote to remove her from her committees — and that puts the entire GOP Conference in a bad spot. McCarthy tried to give Greene options, according to a person familiar with their talk: She could denounce QAnon and apologize publicly for espousing hurtful conspiracy theories and endorsing violence on Democrats. She could remove herself from the panel to spare her colleagues a vote on the matter. Or, she could face removal from her own GOP peers. It must not have gone as well as McCarthy hoped, because he then called a late-night meeting with the panel that designates committee assignments to discuss removing Greene. According to our sources, the room agreed that a House vote on this issue would be catastrophic politically for their members who are already angry at being associated with Greene's crazy statements. That must be avoided, they concurred. McCarthy told the room he would speak with House Majority Leader STENY HOYER to try to broker a deal. McCarthy would offer to remove Greene from one committee — Education and Labor — if Democrats back off a House floor vote to remove her from both. (Greene also sits on the Budget Committee.) It is unclear whether Hoyer will go for this. The pressure on Democratic leaders to do something drastic to punish Greene is only increasing. McCarthy's members also talked about re-appointing Greene to another committee Tuesday night, but that will never fly with Democrats. It's important to note the plans could all change if Greene apologizes or removes herself, or if Democrats refuse to back off their threatened vote. But Republicans in the room complained about how bad a precedent Democrats dictating GOP committee assignments sets — and also expressed worry about Democrats making Greene a martyr with the Republican base when they just want her to go away. | | | | A message from the American Beverage Association:   Every Bottle Back is one way we're driving solutions together. Starting another 100 years with a new look, American Beverage will continue with our shared leadership. Ameribev.org | | | BIDEN'S WEDNESDAY — The president and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the President's Daily Brief at 5:30 p.m. Harris will swear in PETE BUTTIGIEG as Transportation secretary at 9:30 a.m. — The White House Covid-19 response team and public health officials will brief at 11 a.m. Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 1:30 p.m. | | | | TRACK FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION: The Biden administration hit the ground running with a series of executive orders his first week in office and continues to outline priorities on key issues. What's coming down the pike? Find out in Transition Playbook, our scoop-filled newsletter tracking the policies, people and emerging power centers of the first 100 days of the new administration. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | 
PHOTO OF THE DAY: President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden pay their respects to Brian Sicknick, the Capitol Police officer who was killed Jan. 6, as he lies in honor at the Capitol on Tuesday. | Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images | PANDEMIC TRACKER: The U.S. reported 3,486 Covid-19 deaths and 116,000 new coronavirus cases Tuesday. THE WHITE HOUSE — "Trump aides made a late request to Team Biden to extend their parental leave. They said no," by Daniel Lippman: "[A] number of ex-Trump political officials who lost their parental leave when Joe Biden was sworn into office. It's a byproduct of the field they're in: Their boss (the president) may have been the one let go, but his departure has meant that they, too, lose their jobs and benefits. "Still, they argue that the Biden administration should have honored their leave by keeping them on payroll until the end of it — a request that, emails reviewed by POLITICO show, the Biden transition did not grant." — "Biden Blue Comes to the White House," New York mag: "We do know that Joe Biden's personal taste steers toward the conventional; no one can really argue against it, but no one will really be that enthusiastic about it, either. He feels most comfortable in the middle of the road. His affections make him seem relatable — his affinity for ice cream; the Ray-Ban aviators; his dogs, Champ and Major; his preference for commuting by train — but also project the image of a trustworthy, capable, and successful person (hence the Rolex he wore to the inauguration). Maybe his showiest possession is the forest-green Chevrolet Corvette that he bought new in 1967 and still owns. But even that reinforces the same story: It's an American-made classic." CONGRESS WHERE'S MITCH? Critics of MITCH MCCONNELL like to suggest he's a politically calculating evil genius with no feelings or convictions to speak of. But since his very public — and atypically passionate — break with DONALD TRUMP, the Senate minority leader has become easily the most interesting man in Washington as he seeks to find a way to guide the GOP away from Trumpism and put it on a more inclusive path. Today, our Burgess Everett and Melanie Zanona map out what McConnell allies say he's thinking as he criticizes Trump, stands up for Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) and trolls McCarthy from the upper chamber to try to do what he feels is right. Will McConnell ultimately make the break and vote for conviction? Probably not, McConnell's allies say. Nevertheless, "McConnell is sending unmistakable signs about where he thinks the GOP should head in the post-Trump era," Burgess and Mel write. Related: "Opinion: The GOP is having a reckoning, and McConnell seems to be on the right side," WaPo editorial board COVID RELIEF LATEST, via Marianne LeVine and Burgess : "The vote to kickstart the budget reconciliation process, which passed 50-49, is a sign that leadership expects to have the full Democratic caucus on board for the final package." — "White House open to narrowing who qualifies for stimulus checks but keeping payments at $1,400 per person," WaPo's Jeff Stein: "One proposal discussed by senior Democrats includes lowering the threshold for the payments to begin phasing out above $50,000 for single taxpayers, $75,000 for people who file as the heads of households, and $100,000 for married couples … [T]he conversations are fluid and legislation has not been finalized." HEADS UP — "Sanders amasses budget arsenal to enact $15 minimum wage," by Caitlin Emma: "The Congressional Budget Office is expected to soon release a report at the behest of Sen. Bernie Sanders that will make a persuasive fiscal case for hiking the federal minimum wage within President Joe Biden's pandemic aid package, according to a senior Democratic aide." TRY THIS ONE NEXT TIME YOU'RE ON DEADLINE — "GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville says he doesn't know anything about Marjorie Taylor Greene because bad weather has prevented him from reading the news," Business Insider — "Elizabeth Warren joining the Finance Committee, extending her reach on tax, health policy," Roll Call: "Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren landing a coveted seat on the Finance Committee headlined the announcement of new committee assignments for Senate Democrats Tuesday. Warren, who ran for president in 2020 and is known for her aggressive oversight of Wall Street and financial institutions, will remain a member of the Banking Committee." 2022 WATCH — "House Dems move to yoke GOP to 'QAnon,'" by Ally Mutnick and Sarah Ferris: "House Democrats are preparing to center their strategy for the far-off midterm elections on a simple, aggressive message: Republicans are the party of QAnon. "Making an unusually early move to protect their narrow majority, House Democrats' campaign arm on Tuesday launched its first TV ad campaign, spotlighting supporters of the fringe conspiracy theory — including those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. It is the first step in a larger plan, orchestrated by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's new chairman, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, to exploit the growing friction between Trump hardliners and establishment Republicans in the GOP base, which Maloney sees as a major weak point for the party." | | | | A message from the American Beverage Association:   Our plastic bottles are made to be remade. Help us get Every Bottle Back. EveryBottleBack.org | | | IMPEACHMENT II (FEB. 8) — "Trump Supporters Say They Attacked The Capitol Because He Told Them To, Undercutting His Impeachment Defense," BuzzFeed: "Former president Donald Trump formally responded Tuesday to the charges filed by House Democrats in his second impeachment, denying that he incited a mob to violently descend on the US Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's win. "But court records in the 175-plus criminal cases filed so far in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection reveal that's exactly what at least some of Trump's supporters thought he was directing them to do." JAN. 6 FALLOUT — "House begins sweeping security overhaul post-attack," by Heather Caygle, Melanie Zanona and Sarah Ferris: "The House took an unprecedented step Tuesday night, voting to levy hefty fines against colleagues who bypass the recently installed metal detectors that surround the chamber. The reason is simple but speaks to the new reality: lawmakers are afraid of being injured, or worse, by colleagues trying to sneak weapons on to the House floor." — "How neo-Nazis used the internet to instigate a right-wing extremist crisis," Vox: "Over the years, these groups used an evolving set of organizing techniques to spread extremist messages to larger and more mainstream groups of people online. They found ways to game the algorithmic feeds of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, so that their new audiences didn't necessarily know they were being radicalized. And there's reason to believe this is only the beginning, since these platforms tend to amplify provocative content." — "Law used to prosecute Capitol riot, Black Lives Matter violence under fire as racist," by Josh Gerstein: "[D]efense attorneys for those charged for their involvement in the racial justice protests now say the law is unconstitutional and rooted in racism. And their arguments are strong enough to complicate — at least momentarily — those prosecutions and potentially the ones related to the Capitol riots. "The pushback has created the oddest of dynamics: violent MAGA agitators potentially benefiting from efforts to expunge the legal system of racist statutes." ELITE STRIKE FORCE TEAM — "Georgia secretary of state investigating whether pro-Trump attorney voted illegally," CNN: "Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has launched an investigation into whether attorney Lin Wood voted as a legal resident in the November election." AMERICA AND THE WORLD — THE CURSED NSC RUSSIA JOB, per DANIEL LIPPMAN: ANDREA KENDALL-TAYLOR, who was announced a few weeks ago as the senior director for Russia and Central Asia at the NSC, announced Tuesday night that she was actually not going to join the Biden White House. That means the streak/curse of the top Russia job at the NSC continues under Biden; the Trump White House had five people in that job. Kendall-Taylor, a senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, tweeted : "Excited to say that I will be continuing my work at the wonderful @CNASdc — much to do to support the Administration's efforts to manage US-Russia relations and revitalize efforts to work w/ Europe on global challenges." She had not started in the NSC job, though she was the Russia policy lead on the Biden transition team. — "Coup Puts Myanmar at the Center of U.S.-China Clash," WSJ: "The U.S. has framed its approach to Myanmar as a push for democracy and human rights. The focus of Beijing, which says it has a policy of noninterference in the domestic affairs of other countries, has largely been on economic and strategic interests. The differences were clear in the response by the two nations to the coup." THE ECONOMIST'S Global Democracy Index for 2020 downgrades the U.S. to a flawed democracy. BLOCKBUSTER STORY — "'Their goal is to destroy everyone': Uighur camp detainees allege systematic rape," BBC | | | | TUNE IN TO NEW EPISODE OF GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS: Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded over the past year amid a global pandemic. This podcast helps to identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | FIRST LADY WATCH — "Jill Biden is getting right to work — on both her jobs," WaPo: "The office of the first lady has always held a peculiar place in American culture. It is an unelected, unpaid role with no standard job description, leaving every new occupant to define the role for herself. Like Michelle Obama, with whom she worked closely, Biden seems eager to use the position to advocate for her idea of social good — free community college, for example. "She also seems keen to re-create the kind of close partnership she had with Obama in her connection with second gentleman Doug Emhoff, her constant companion in the final stretches of the presidential campaign. Biden has seven full-time, commissioned staff members — more, her aides say, than any previous first lady." MEDIAWATCH — Patrick Steel will step down as CEO of POLITICO this summer after four years in the job. A search for Steel's successor has already begun, publisher Robert Allbritton said in a memo to staff. Steel's announcement … Allbritton's memo — "How CNN's Kaitlan Collins Built A Career Covering Trump And Became The Network's Youngest Chief White House Correspondent," Forbes (Includes rare picture of Collins sans turtleneck.) — Glamour celebrates Andrea Mtchell: "Andrea Mitchell Is Washington's Most Resilient Institution," by Mattie Kahn — TRENDING: MyPillow guy Mike Lindell gets shut down in a must-watch Newsmax interview. STAFFING UP — Chris Meagher and Alexis Gonzaludo are joining the Transportation Department as deputy director of public affairs and special assistant to the secretary, respectively. Meagher previously was deputy comms director for the DNC, and is a Gretchen Whitmer alum. Both are Pete Buttigieg 2020 alums. FOGGY BOTTOM ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Naz Durakoğlu has been named principal deputy assistant secretary for legislative affairs at State; she is currently serving as acting assistant secretary in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs. She most recently was senior national security adviser to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and served in the State Department during the Obama administration as well. TRANSITIONS — The Independent Women's Forum has added a group of new fellows: Danielle Butcher, Sarah Erickson, Samantha Dravis, Ellie Cohanim and Colleen Hroncich. … Edgar Burch is now a principal at the Raben Group. He previously was director of government relations for the NCAA. … Joe Calvello will join New Deal Strategies as a member of their comms team. He was previously at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and is a Bernie Sanders 2020 alum. … … Virginia A.G. Mark Herring is announcing senior staff for his reelection campaign: Farah Melendez will be campaign manager, Adnan Mohamed will be deputy campaign manager and political director, Tommy Keefe will be finance director, Cassie Moreno will be comms director and André Earls will be press secretary. … Krissy Katzenstein is now a partner in Baker McKenzie's North America employment and compensation practice. She previously was a partner at Morgan Lewis. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) … POLITICO's Claritza Jimenez … Matt Rhoades … Arthur Levitt … Douglas Holtz-Eakin … Jose Antonio Vargas … DoD's Mieke Eoyang … Dana Thomas … Virginia Boney … former Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) … Wisconsin Dem Chair Ben Wikler … Josh Lipsky … Facebook's Dave Arnold … Fred Hochberg … MSNBC's James Holm … MaryAlice Parks … NPR's Neal Carruth … Rebecca Mark … Kyle Tharp … Joel Mowbray … Adriana Gindlesperger … Kathryn Lyons … Eric Lander … Amal Clooney … Dave Davies Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Know how much Manchin is willing to spend on Covid relief? Drop us a line at playbook@politico.com or individually: Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri, Rachael Bade. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. | | A message from the American Beverage Association: America's leading beverage companies, The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo, are working together to reduce our industry's plastic footprint through our new Every Bottle Back initiative. We're investing in efforts to get our bottles back so we can remake them into new bottles and use less new plastic.
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c. Raising awareness – we're placing a voluntary, uniform message on packaging that shows consumers our bottles should be recycled so they can be remade.
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