| | | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade | Presented by |  | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | DONALD TRUMP teased his political comeback. Democrats did a victory lap in defeat, pointing to the seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict. And Republicans face a future haunted by a damaged ex-president who won't go away. After Saturday's 57-43 vote — 10 votes short of conviction — here's our look at what it all means and what to expect next. TRUMP TOWERS OVER REPUBLICANS — Forty-three Senate Republicans voted to acquit Trump, but few defended him when they announced their votes. Instead, they cited process arguments and said impeaching an ex-president is unconstitutional, which even many conservative attorneys dispute. In short, GOP senators passed up an opportunity to put Trump away for good because their base still loves him — and they fear the base. Will they regret this in a few months or years? The NYT's Alex Burns has more on this. MCCONNELL SIDES WITH HIS TROOPS — Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL delivered a blistering rebuke of Trump — just minutes after voting to acquit him. During his floor speech, the Republican leader said the House managers proved their case that Trump incited the riot and suggested he could still be charged with a crime. "These criminals were carrying his banners, hanging his flags and screaming their loyalty to him. … He did not do his job. … He watched television happily — happily — as the chaos unfolded," McConnell said. Democrats say he's trying to have it both ways. But the reality is that had McConnell voted to convict, the base would have demanded his ouster from leadership, just as they did with Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.). His members would have had to choose between their constituents or him. As disgusted as he was with Trump, McConnell would only go so far. McConnell is clearly looking to steer the party to a post-Trump future. He spoke to Burgess Everett on Saturday night about his plans for doing so. They include, notably, taking sides in Republican Senate primaries against Trump-backed hopefuls if he thinks they'll lose. DEMOCRATS PULL THEIR PUNCHES LAST-MINUTE — There no way to sugarcoat it: Democratic senators decided that moving on to President JOE BIDEN'S agenda was more important than making the strongest case against Trump. The Senate surprised everyone when it suddenly voted to hear from witnesses Saturday morning, a move that made sense to many folks given the unanswered questions that still loom over what happened on Jan. 6. Then Senate Democrats panicked and backtracked, and the trial was over in hours. It's no coincidence that the man they leaned on to deliver this message to the impeachment managers was Biden's closest Hill ally, Sen. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.), who argued that senators wanted to go home for Valentine's Day and that calling witnesses would bog down the Senate for weeks. (Ironically, the second point is the same reason McConnell gave for not calling witnesses during the first impeachment and the Democrats grilled him for it …) Our Congress team has the backstory here, as does CNN. WHY THE WITNESS MOVE MATTERS — Democrats will tell you that calling witnesses wouldn't have led to a conviction, and they're probably right. But people will always wonder what might have been had they deposed Republicans. This is not to say the managers didn't make a solid case. Far from it. Even GOP senators said so, and the impeachment was the most bipartisan in history. NYT has this headline: "One Legacy of Impeachment: The Most Complete Account So Far of Jan. 6." Still, details of what Trump did on Jan. 6 went unexplored. So Americans will have to choose their own version of events: the managers'/media's, or Trump's. If this was such a grave attack on American democracy, why bypass the chance to put it all on record, as WaPo's Aaron Blake writes in his four takeaways. On the other hand, if you want to be really cynical, one could argue that Trump remaining viable in politics is good for Democrats. He did just lose the election, and no one motivates the liberal base more. And his presence in the party will continue to divide the GOP. | | A message from Amazon: Amazon has stepped up our testing, safety measures, vaccination efforts, and economic relief to ensure the safety and well-being of our workers.
Now, we're supporting the national effort to vaccinate 100 million people in the first 100 days of his presidency. Our recent pop-up clinic in Seattle has already vaccinated thousands.
Amazon is working to help vaccinate front-line workers and community members providing essential services during the pandemic. | | | THE SEVEN GOP REBELS — Even if you disagree with the seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict — RICHARD BURR, BILL CASSIDY, SUSAN COLLINS, LISA MURKOWSKI, MITT ROMNEY, BEN SASSE and PAT TOOMEY — the decision took guts. Murkowski, the only one of the seven up for reelection next year, told Burgess in an interview just after her vote that she isn't afraid of retribution from Trump world. "If I can't say what I believe that our president should stand for, then why should I ask Alaskans to stand with me?" Listen to the full interview here: | 
| Sasse spoke to National Review and had this to say: "One of the questions I try to always ask myself in situations like this … is how would I be handling it if it were a Democrat president?" Cassidy tweeted out a 10-second, two-sentence video: "Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty." WHAT'S NEXT? — There's been some chatter lately about whether Congress will censure Trump or move to bar him from running again using the 14th Amendment. Don't count on it. "Censure is a slap in the face of the Constitution," Speaker NANCY PELOSI said at a post-trial press conference. "We censure people for using stationery for the wrong purpose. We don't censure people for inciting insurrection that kills people in the Capitol." Sen. TIM KAINE (D-Va.) had recently been discussing disqualifying Trump from holding office again, but his office told us he's focused on pandemic relief now. What about criminal charges against Trump? Investigations of the former president will continue. The Senate is about to turn to the nomination of MERRICK GARLAND for A.G., and it will be interesting to see what he says about this. But remember the threshold for violations of law is often more difficult to meet than political offenses that could be considered impeachable. Three great non-impeachment Sunday reads: 1) Megan Cassella, Tyler Pager and Marianne LeVine have a deeply reported piece on BRIAN DEESE, the 42-year-old head of Biden's National Economic Council and a central figure leading the administration's economic response to the pandemic: "Few doubt Deese's intelligence, and his close relationship with Biden is a potent source of his authority on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. But while supporters have praised his efforts to win support for a $1.9 trillion relief package, Deese also has drawn criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike, some of whom have bristled at how much power he's been given and how he's wielding it." One anecdote: "During the transition, a seemingly innocuous change on a weekly economic briefing raised eyebrows among the economic team, according to multiple people familiar with the incident. As team members were preparing to deliver one of their first briefings, Deese adjusted the document's header. He put his name atop the document, shifting Cecilia Rouse, Biden's nominee to run the Council of Economic Advisers, into a 'cc' line below his name. Rouse, who would be the first Black person to hold the post, boasts a doctorate in economics from Harvard and previously was dean of the public policy school at Princeton." Lots more here 2) The NYT's Michael Crowley profiles another controversial player in the early days of the Biden administration: Iran envoy ROBERT MALLEY. Crowley describes Malley as "a well-known advocate for engaging with groups and governments — including, over the years, Hamas, Hezbollah and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria — widely considered enemies of the United States and Israel and, by some, morally off limits for contact." But "[d]efenders of Mr. Malley, whose position does not require Senate confirmation, say that he has become a convenient target for an opening salvo from the American and Israeli right intended to warn the Biden administration against trying too hard to work with Tehran on another nuclear deal like the 2015 agreement that became one of the most bitter foreign policy battles of the Obama years." 3) Inside WaPo's front section, Craig Timberg has a fascinating look at how an "explosive" but "deeply flawed" research paper claiming that China created the coronavirus in a lab spread across the internet last fall: "[I]n an age when anyone can publish anything online with a few clicks, [the warnings were] not fast enough to keep [Chinese virologist Li-Meng] Yan's disputed allegations from going viral, reaching an audience in the millions on social media and Fox News. It was a development, according to experts on misinformation, that underscored how systems built to advance scientific understanding can be used to spread politically charged claims dramatically at odds with scientific consensus." | | A message from Amazon: From providing COVID-19 testing to advocating for vaccinations for front-line workers, Amazon is working to protect the health and safety of our employees and their communities. We've also enhanced safety measures and increased paid time-off in an effort to support those who have long supported us. | | | HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SUNDAY SHOWS … SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-La.) on ABC's "This Week": "I'm attempting to hold President Trump accountable, and that is the trust that I have from the people who elected me. … The Republican Party is more than just one person. … I think our leadership will be different going forward." REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) on NBC's "Meet the Press": "We have no regrets at all. We left it totally out there on the floor of the U.S. Senate, and every senator knew exactly what happened. … I thought that I successfully demolished [the defenses] at the trial, but there's no reasoning with people who basically are acting like members of a religious cult and when they leave office should be selling flowers at Dulles Airport." SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) on "Fox News Sunday": "We've opened a Pandora's box to future presidents and abused this model. I don't know how Kamala Harris doesn't get impeached if the Republicans take over the House, because she actually bailed out rioters, and one of the rioters went back to the streets and broke somebody's head open. … The biggest winner of this whole impeachment trial is Lara Trump. My dear friend Richard Burr, who I like and have been friends to a long time, just made Lara Trump almost the certain nominee for the Senate seat in North Carolina to replace him if she runs, and I'll certainly be behind her because she represents the future of the Republican Party." DEL. STACEY PLASKETT (D-U.S. Virgin Islands) on CNN's "State of the Union": "We didn't need more witnesses. We needed more senators with spines." BIDEN'S SUNDAY — The president is at Camp David. He and VP KAMALA HARRIS have nothing on their public schedules. Oh! And Happy Valentine's Day, all you love birds … | | | | GET TRANSITION PLAYBOOK TO 100K: In three months, our scoop-filled Transition Playbook newsletter has grown from zero to more than 90,000 subscribers. Find out what's really happening inside the West Wing, who really has the ear of the president, and what's about to happen, before it occurs. Transition Playbook chronicles the people, policies, and emerging power centers of the Biden administration. Don't miss out, subscribe today. And once you do, we'd be grateful if you could spread the word to your friends and colleagues, or, even better, post about Transition Playbook on Facebook or Twitter using this link: politico.com/newsletters/transition-playbook | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | 
PHOTO OF THE DAY: Michael van der Veen and other Donald Trump lawyers are all smiles on the Senate subway at the conclusion of the impeachment trial Saturday. | Samuel Corum/Getty Images | SIGN UP! — With Trump's second impeachment over, Democrats in Congress will shift their focus to Joe Biden's agenda, from Covid-19 relief to the vaccine rollout and more. Join RACHAEL on Tuesday at 9 a.m. for a live conversation with Assistant House Speaker KATHERINE CLARK (D-Mass.) on the most pressing legislative priorities and her approach to getting things done as the fourth highest-ranking member of the House. Register here MORE ON IMPEACHMENT II DEPT. OF WTF … @CBSNews: "Trump defense attorney Michael van der Veen speaks with @LanaZak after the Senate's acquittal vote: 'What happened at the Capitol on January 6 is absolutely horrific. But what happened at the Capitol during this trial was not too far away from that.'" The video RASKIN'S REACTION, via NPR: "Trump stormed our house with the mob he incited, and we defended our house. And he violated our Constitution, and we defended the Constitution." THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS — "After the Speech: What Trump Did as the Capitol Was Attacked," NYT PLAYING THE CLASSICS — "Trump calls impeachment case a 'witch hunt' and hints at a political return," WaPo … BUT, BUT, BUT, via CNN's Kaitlan Collins : "Former President Donald Trump has privately voiced concern in the last two weeks about whether he could face charges as a result of the January 6 riot he's accused of inciting, according to multiple people. "Trump has mainly been quiet since leaving the White House last month, and his silence has been in part related to those concerns. 'He's worried about it,' one adviser close to Trump told CNN." THE STEP BACK … POLITICO Magazine: "'This Acquittal Sends Three Dangerous Messages to Future Presidents': We just lived through history — but what was the point? Fourteen experts explain what the president's fast, unusual second impeachment will mean for America." THE WHITE HOUSE THE VIEW FROM 1600 PENN — "Why Biden won't stop talking about Trump after impeachment," by Anita Kumar: "Biden and his aides will continue to use Trump as a foil for the 'foreseeable future' as they seek to contrast the two presidents' policies to build support for the White House's agenda, according to three people familiar with the situation. "Biden's team learned a lesson from 2009, when President Barack Obama and Biden, then vice president, came to believe that they'd failed to defend their policies forcefully enough against criticisms from Republicans, including former Vice President Dick Cheney. Those criticisms, they believe, contributed to Democrats' enormous losses in the 2010 midterm elections." HAPPENING TODAY — "Biden to sign executive order reestablishing White House faith office," Religion News Service: "Biden is expected to appoint Melissa Rogers, a First Amendment lawyer and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution to oversee the office, as Rogers did in former President Barack Obama's second term. Rogers will also serve as senior director for faith and public policy in the White House Domestic Policy Council. "The office's deputy director will be Josh Dickson, who ran faith outreach for the Biden-Harris campaign. Trey Baker, who worked as the National Director of African American Engagement on Biden's campaign, will serve as the White House office's liaison to Black communities." ALL EYES ON CEDRIC RICHMOND — "Biden Aide Feels Heat From All Sides on White House Equality Vow," Bloomberg: "As President Joe Biden seeks to address racial inequities across the U.S., he's turned to former congressman Cedric Richmond to help keep a promise to end discriminatory practices ranging from housing to voting rights -- a task complicated by the risk of alienating Republicans whose support is needed on key legislative priorities." | | A message from Amazon: Amazon is stepping up to help ensure that our employees and their communities have access to COVID-19 vaccinations and testing. We've helped vaccinate thousands through pop-up clinics, and quickly ramped-up onsite COVID-19 testing for employees thanks to the ingenuity of our fast-moving response team.
We're also heavily invested in supporting our employees, customers, and communities during the pandemic—from enhancing safety measures to increasing paid time-off. We provided more than $2.5 billion in bonuses and incentives for our teams globally in 2020.
Since the beginning of this crisis, we have worked hard to keep our employees safe. We are committed to vaccination efforts as we work together to protect our employees and continue to provide essential services during the pandemic. | | | CONGRESS THE PATH FORWARD FOR DEMS … "Democrats wrestle with how to quit an acquitted Trump," by Marianne LeVine, Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle: "Democrats are trying to move aggressively on their legislative priorities, starting with a major coronavirus relief package, and the president had hoped the Senate could split-screen the trial with its other work. But Democrats also know their base loathes the former president and wants him held to account — anti-Trump energy that could flare further after a second acquittal." — "Schiff ponders life beyond the House as focus shifts from Trump," by Heather Caygle and Chris Cadelago: "Even if the [California] attorney general job doesn't pan out, several options remain for Schiff, including securing a spot in House leadership when Pelosi and her top deputies finally leave in the coming years. He is frequently mentioned as a possible candidate for speaker, but it could be a messy battle against Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who is considered the frontrunner for the job. "There's also his massive war chest — Schiff raised a staggering $41 million last election cycle, with a significant chunk still remaining … Those reserves could easily be deployed for Schiff to campaign for senator or governor … Allies of the 60-year-old, who's served in the House for two decades, insist he's committed to his job leading the Intelligence panel." TRUMP CARDS UP NEXT FOR TRUMP … WSJ: "New York Prosecutors Investigating Trump's Manhattan Properties": "New York prosecutors are investigating financial dealings around some of Donald Trump's signature Manhattan properties, extending the known range of the criminal probe of the former president and his company, according to people familiar with the matter. "The people said Manhattan prosecutors are examining loans Mr. Trump took out on his flagship Fifth Avenue building, Trump Tower; 40 Wall St., an art deco skyscraper in New York City's Financial District; Trump International Hotel and Tower, a hotel and condominium building at Columbus Circle; and Trump Plaza, an apartment building on Manhattan's East Side." PANDEMIC TRACKER: The U.S. reported 2,303 Covid-19 deaths and 90,000 new coronavirus cases Saturday. AMERICA AND THE WORLD SCOTUS WATCH — "2 Americans Tied to Carlos Ghosn's Escape to Be Extradited to Japan," NYT: "Two American men believed to have helped Carlos Ghosn, the former Nissan chief, escape Japan in a speaker box in 2019 as he faced criminal charges lost their last bid on Saturday to block their extradition from the United States to Japan. "Without comment, Justice Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by lawyers for the two men — Michael Taylor, 60, a former Green Beret, and his son Peter Maxwell Taylor, 27 — to suspend a lower court order that cleared the way for them to be sent to Japan to face trial." MEDIAWATCH DUCKLO ANNOUNCEMENT — WAPO: "Deputy White House press secretary resigns amid fallout from contentious phone call with reporter" TOP-ED — N.Y. POST: "Ex-New York Times boss Jill Abramson responds to unrest at the paper": "No one has really stopped and asked the only question that really matters in the current flap and all the others. Have readers been adversely affected by what's happened inside the NYT or by [Donald] McNeil's behavior? Given what I know, and there is still information I don't know, I think not. "Because of Mr. McNeil's resignation, readers are being denied his vital reporting on COVID-19 at a very inopportune moment. … Like any journalist who has worked there, I enjoy hearing gossip and about internal dramas. But lately, they have threatened to endanger the very institution I have revered since I was in grade school." | | | | JOIN TUESDAY - PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH ASSISTANT HOUSE SPEAKER KATHERINE CLARK: How are House Democrats helping move the Biden administration agenda forward, including a Covid-19 vaccine rollout economic recovery plan? Join Playbook co-author Rachael Bade for a live conversation with Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) on the most pressing legislative priorities and her approach to getting things done. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | THE GRINCH WHO STOLE VALENTINE'S DAY — "How the FDA regulates 'love,'" via Alex Gaffney of POLITICO's AgencyIQ: "Lots of companies say their products are made with love. But according to a 2017 Warning Letter from the FDA's New York District Office, 'made with love' should be a slogan — not an ingredient. … The FDA has also taken issue with companies that have directly marketed their products using claims of love without first having obtained FDA approval." TRANSITION — Natalie Krings is joining the Federal Housing Finance Agency's comms department. She previously was comms director for Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). She also recently got engaged to Bob Lawton, who works for the FBI and proposed in her hometown of Columbus, Neb. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Mike Bloomberg … Reps. Richie Neal (D-Mass.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) … Carl Bernstein … Martha Raddatz … Stephen A. Schwarzman … Oscar Ramirez … Amanda Litman … Ed Patru … former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) … Karen Anderson … POLITICO's Kat McKibben … Terry Gross (7-0) … Oriana Pawlyk … Scott Will … Caitlin Patenaude Vannoy … Jeremy Robbins … Jon Sawyer … former Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.) (8-0) … Jaime Horn … Ryan Blake … The Hill's Cristina Marcos ... Sir Martin Sorrell … William Beach ... Daniel Stublen ... Rod Lamkey … Bobby Honold ... Paul Miller ... Mitch Moonier … Dutch PM Mark Rutte … NYT's Alan Blinder … Brooke Lierman … Erik Potholm … Paul Miller … John Funderburk (5-0) … Brandon Renz of Ameren (4-0) … Kate Weinograd … Eirik Kollsrud of UNRWA Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Drama from the Senate floor this weekend? 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. | | | | 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 | | | | |
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