| | | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri and Eugene Daniels | Presented by |  | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | ANOTHER ANTI-TRUMP LEAK FROM MCCONNELL WORLD — "McConnell Signals to GOP Trump Impeachment Is a Conscience Vote," Bloomberg: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is signaling to fellow Republicans that the final vote on Donald Trump's impeachment is matter of conscience and that senators who disputed the constitutionality of the trial could still vote to convict the former president, according to three people familiar with his thinking. "The Kentucky Republican has also suggested that he hasn't made up his mind how he'll vote, two of the people said, even though he voted Tuesday to declare it unconstitutional for the Senate to hear the case against a former president." Our takeaways from Day One of Trump's second impeachment … 1) House impeachment managers nailed it. They prepared for weeks for the moment — and it showed. Rep. JAMIE RASKIN'S (D-Md.) emotional appeal to the senators — he told the story of burying his 25-year-old son one day and being petrified the next that the mob would kill his daughter and son-in-law in the Capitol with him — left the chamber in stunned silence. And Rep. JOE NEGUSE (D-Colo.) shredded the Trump argument that a post-presidency trial is unconstitutional, invoking big-name Republican voices to make his point. 2) Trump's attorneys blew it. There's a reason "My Cousin Vinny" started trending on Twitter when Trump's lawyers took the floor. The meandering presentation by BRUCE CASTOR barely made sense: One minute he was complimenting senators, the next talking about getting lost in the halls of Congress. Then there was that weird digression about the phrases "floodgates will open" versus "release the whirlwind," which one senior GOP aide described as "the long extended riff to nowhere." And what was with the rambling about "smart jurists in Nebraska"? "I ain't no lawyer but I know enough to know that was some bad stuff," Sen. RICHARD BURR (R-N.C.) told fellow Republicans in the cloakroom immediately afterward, per another senior GOP aide. DAVID SCHOEN was marginally better. But his harsh tone — he accused the Democratic managers of being "fueled by … hatred" of the Republican base after Raskin nearly broke down crying — did not go over well. 3) Trump is pissed. Down at Mar-a-Lago, Trump was yelling at the TV as he watched the proceedings, per Tara. Maggie Haberman adds, "On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the angriest, Mr. Trump 'was an eight,' one person familiar with his reaction said." Gabby Orr and Meridith McGraw have more. The mood was similarly sour in the broader Trump universe. Mid-defense, Newsmax cut away from Castor to go to ALAN DERSHOWITZ, one of Trump's attorneys during the first impeachment. "I have no idea what he's doing," Dershowitz said of Castor. "I just don't understand it." (Dershowitz also bragged that he taught Raskin at Harvard Law.) | | 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. | | | 4) It just doesn't matter. Senate Republicans looking to justify an acquittal vote were hoping for a little cover from Trump's team. So far, they haven't gotten it — and in fact were highly critical of the defense. Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.), Trump's top ally in the upper chamber, admitted he didn't know where Castor was going in his presentation. Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas) said both Trump lawyers were bad and called Raskin "impressive." Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas), a close ally of McConnell and former judge, complained Trump's team "just rambled on and on and on … It was not one of the finest [legal performances] I've seen." In the end, though, only one Senate Republican changed his vote on whether it was constitutional to impeach a former president — Louisiana's BILL CASSIDY. 5) Cassidy's got stones. It's not easy for any Republican to cross Trump, let alone one from a deep-red Southern state. Cassidy shocked the chamber — and his constituents — when he did just that, joining five other Senate Republicans to say the proceedings were in fact constitutional. Cassidy took the opposite position in a late January vote, and Republicans are already rebuking him in his home state. Here's how Cassidy explained his vote: "The House managers were focused, they were organized … they made a compelling argument. President Trump's team, they were disorganized. … One side is doing a great job and the other side is doing a terrible job. … As an impartial juror, I'm going to vote for the side that did the good job." 6) This thing is over. If the compelling presentations of the managers — and shoddy work by Trump's – weren't enough to move the GOP senators Tuesday, it's not going to happen. SPOTTED AT THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) shaking his head during a montage in which Trump told the rioters, "We love you." … Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) not listening in the cloakroom. … Sen. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.), the only senator who refused to wear a mask, doodling on a pad of paper during the manager presentations. … Rep. AL GREEN (D-Texas), who infuriated his own party by forcing votes to impeach Trump in 2017 and 2018, sitting in the gallery and taking it all in. … Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) holding her hand over her heart for several minutes after Raskin's presentation. (h/t the Hill pool) … MARK MEADOWS with a security detail. Day One in 180 seconds: | 
| | | 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. | | | BIDEN'S WEDNESDAY — President JOE BIDEN and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the President's Daily Brief at 9:30 a.m. At 2 p.m., they'll head to the Pentagon to meet with Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN and other senior leaders. Biden, Harris and Austin will speak to DOD personnel at 2:50 p.m. and tour the African Americans in Service Corridor at 3:30 p.m. Harris, JEFF ZIENTS and MARCELLA NUNEZ-SMITH will have a listening session with African American mayors to discuss the relief/stimulus bill at 5:30 p.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 12:30 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: House impeachment managers proceed through the Rotunda to the Senate chamber at the U.S. Capitol as the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump begins on Tuesday, Feb. 9. | Win McNamee/Getty Images | BIDEN'S PANDEMIC RESPONSE TRACKER: The U.S. reported 2,795 Covid-19 deaths and 93,000 new coronavirus cases Tuesday. PAGING JEFF ZIENTS I — "As Biden Pushes for Racial Equity in Vaccination, Data Is Lagging," NYT: "The administration has race and ethnicity data for just 52 percent of vaccine recipients. Next week, it will begin shipping doses directly to clinics in underserved communities," NYT: "Federal health officials are struggling to gather accurate data on the race and ethnicity of people being vaccinated against the coronavirus, hampering President Biden's push for racial equity in a pandemic that has taken a disproportionate toll on communities of color. ... "'I'm already very concerned that when we have a scarce resource that is first-come, first-served that we are going to have a situation where the privileged have access,' said Dr. Leana S. Wen, a former health commissioner for the city of Baltimore, adding, 'We need to see what is happening in real time so that interventions can be directed accordingly.'" PAGING JEFF ZIENTS II — "Biden Team Fears: No COVID Herd Immunity Until Thanksgiving" by The Daily Beast's Erin Banco: "Top members of Biden's COVID response team are warning internally that the U.S. may not reach herd immunity until Thanksgiving or even the start of winter—months later than originally calculated—according to two senior administration officials." PAGING JEFF ZIENTS III — "How a sluggish vaccination program could delay a return to normal and invite vaccine-resistant variants to emerge," WaPo: "Less than a month into the Biden presidency, as the rate of vaccinations continues to increase, the country has nearly reached the pace needed to achieve that milestone, with 1.48 million shots per day administered over the past week. "Yet as the country faces a deadly pandemic made even bleaker by emerging and more infectious variants of the coronavirus, which causes the disease covid-19, epidemiologists and public health experts say the Biden administration must set its sights even higher." CONGRESS — "Liberals face looming letdown after early Covid wins," by Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle: "A determined band of liberals, led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), has spent the first month of Joe Biden's presidency pushing their agenda for their party's relief bill. That paid off Monday, as House Democrats announced the bill would include the first federal minimum wage hike since 2009. Liberals also scored another major win by fighting off a centrist push to tighten the eligibility for stimulus checks for millions of Americans. "Yet each of those early victories could be short-lived: Senior Democrats caution that procedural obstacles could force them to strip the minimum wage hike from the bill in the weeks ahead. That's on top of lingering centrist resistance, with at least one Senate Democrat publicly opposed to increasing the minimum wage, not to mention the steep $54 billion price tag for that policy alone." IT ONLY TOOK FIVE YEARS! — "Senate Judiciary Committee schedules Merrick Garland confirmation hearing," by Marianne LeVine: "The hearing, scheduled for Feb. 22 and 23, sets Garland up for a March 1 vote out of committee and comes after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) reached an agreement for the schedule." MORE ON IMPEACHMENT II DREAM TEAM UPDATE — "More Philly lawyers are on Trump's impeachment defense team and one sued the president last year," Philly Inquirer: "As Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial began Tuesday in Washington, his lawyer, former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, had two other big-name Philadelphia attorneys backing him up. "But Michael T. van der Veen and William J. Brennan don't exactly have lengthy records supporting Republican causes in court or offering full-throated public defenses of the former president. As recently as two years ago, according to a former client, van der Veen described Trump as a 'f—ing crook.'" | | 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. | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD TRUMP-PUTIN TRANSCRIPTS — "Trump hid his calls with Putin. Now, Biden has access to them," by Natasha Bertrand and Daniel Lippman: "'They don't need our approval to see those [records],' a former Trump White House official said, referring to the new Biden national security team. 'Biden owns all the call materials. There is only one president at a time.' "The Biden White House did not comment on whether it had seen the content of the calls. But so far, at least, the National Security Council has not registered any complaints with their ability to access relevant call records from the previous administration." 2022 WATCH — "Inside Republicans' plans for a House takeover," by Ally Mutnick and Melanie Zanona: "In an exclusive interview with POLITICO on Tuesday, Emmer charted out his road map for the 2022 midterms, which includes a list of 47 Democratic seats to target and a messaging blueprint: Tag Democrats as jobs-killing socialists and stress the GOP's commitment to reopening schools and protecting the gas and energy sector. "But GOP leaders, while quietly confident that history is on their side, know there are still plenty of landmines ahead — especially with the potential for Jan. 6 to leave a lingering black mark on the party and the coronavirus still threatening to scramble the political terrain. … If House Republicans can knock Democrats out of power — something that could happen through redistricting alone, based on the states where the GOP controls the process — that would mark a party's shortest stint in the majority since the early 1950s." — "Trump aide who penned White House tell-all considering Alabama Senate run," by Alex Isenstadt: "[Cliff] Sims, who served on the former president's 2016 campaign and spent more than a year in the White House helping to oversee messaging, has received encouragement from some members of the Trump family and former administration officials. "The 36-year-old Sims formerly published Yellowhammer News, an influential conservative website that tracks the Alabama political scene. He has maintained connections with leaders in the state, including Republican Sen. Richard Shelby … [Former DNI John] Ratcliffe indicated in a statement that he would lend his support to a Sims candidacy." TOP-EDS WSJ EDITORIAL BOARD: "The Costs of Killing Keystone XL: Even allies are asking Biden to reconsider his executive order." WAPO'S CHUCK LANE: "With states doing better than expected, time to rethink Biden's $350 billion rescue" THE NATION'S DAVE ZIRIN: "The Super Bowl's Woke Capitalism: The NFL is desperate to showcase Black talent in an effort to get us to ignore its treatment of Black people." MEDIAWATCH REMNICK AND WINTOUR: THE RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH! — "Condé Nast Withholds $2.4 Million in Rent at One World Trade," WSJ: "Condé Nast is withholding $2.4 million in rent at One World Trade Center for January 2021 and could withhold further sums in the coming months as part of a rent dispute with its landlords, according to a recent bond document filing. "The publisher of Vogue, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker wants to reduce its square footage and its rent per square foot at the landmark office tower, according to the document published Feb. 3 by the building's co-owner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey." MORE NYT DRAMA I — "New York Times Meltdown Plays Out in Private Facebook Group," The Washington Free Beacon: "The 'resignation' of star New York Times science writer Donald McNeil Jr. has sparked a furious back-and-forth among Times staffers, many of whom are outraged over the Gray Lady's handling of his departure. "The Washington Free Beacon reviewed a series of postings to a Facebook group for current and former Times staffers, where a tense debate is unfolding over McNeil's exit. One camp argues that his dismissal was justified and another asserts it set a troubling precedent, which the New York Times union should have done more to prevent." MORE NYT DRAMA II — "New York Times Defends Star Journalist Who Doxxed Free Beacon Reporter on Twitter," National Review MORE NYT DRAMA III — "NYT star reporter apologizes for falsely accusing tech mogul of using the 'R-word'" CASHING IN ON CANCEL CULTURE — "As phenomenon grows, business booms for cancel culture consultant," Washington Times: "A cornerstone of Eric Dezenhall's philosophy is his wish that modern society would cancel cancel culture. "Professionally, however, that would be bad for business as Mr. Dezenhall is a cancel culture consultant. And for now — even as the left dispels the cancel culture phenomenon as a myth — business is booming." | | | | TUNE IN TO 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 and start listening today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | SPOTTED: Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry at Cafe Milano on Tuesday night. SPOTTED at the International Student House Global Awards virtual reception honoring Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Megan Beyer and Robert Abernethy: Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and Patti Garamendi, German Ambassador Emily Haber, Singaporean Ambassador Ashok Mirpuri, Jordanian Ambassador Dina Kawar, Japanese Ambassador Shinsuke Sugiyama, Bulgarian Ambassador Tihomir Stoytchev … … Jim and Janet Blanchard, Lisa Berry and Jim Gale, Karan Bhatia, Roxanne Roberts, Stuart and Gwen Holliday, Tom and Ann Korologos, Samia Farouki, Melike Krilla, Shaista Mahmood, Fred Kempe, Natalie Jones, Laurie Fulton, Marie and Ed Royce, Jim Moran, Frank Islam, Donna and Mack McLarty, Patrick Steel and Lee Satterfield, Lynda and Bill Webster, Susan Blumenthal, and Susan Brophy and Gerry McGowan. THE NEW BUSINESS LOBBY BOSS — "Chamber of Commerce taps Clark to replace Donohue as CEO in March," by Caitlin Oprysko WHAT WILBUR ROSS IS UP TO — "Wilbur Ross Sees Future in a SPAC and 'Trump Condos on the Moon,'" Bloomberg: "Since mid-January, the former commerce secretary has been back in Palm Beach … [W]hen he isn't socializing over gravlax or steak, he's plotting his next business moves. On this particular afternoon, he's sitting in the living room of his 80-year-old home filled with Magrittes and Picassos, sipping a cappuccino, dressed in cashmere sweater, slacks and velvet slippers embroidered with octopuses. "Ironically, it's while ensconced in this paradise of earthly delights that Ross is gearing up to invest in space, among other possibilities. He sees opportunity in extraterrestrial tourism, manufacturing, research and habitation." STAFFING UP — Samantha Vinograd will be senior counselor for national security at DHS. She most recently was at CNN and the Biden Institute, and is an Obama NSC and Bush Treasury alum. … Anthony Martinez is now digital director at the Department of Energy. He most recently worked for the Biden campaign and the National Immigration Law Center. TRANSITIONS — Henri Makembe is now CEO of Do Big Things. He most recently was a partner at LPS Campaigns. … Muthoni Wambu Kraal will join NEWCO Strategies as a partner. She most recently was national political and organizing director at the DNC, and is an EMILY's List alum. … Applecart is adding Sean Sweeney as senior partner (longtime Democratic strategist), Peter Greenberger as VP of business development (previously publisher of The Hill) and Masahiko "Masa" Aida as VP of analytics (previously at Civis Analytics). … … Sarah Clamp is joining Prime Media Partners. She most recently was Northeast regional political director at the NRCC and is a veteran GOP operative. … Justin Kintz is now SVP and head of government affairs and public policy at Peloton. He most recently was VP of public policy at Uber. … Taylor Reidy is now comms director for the Senate Budget GOP. She previously was comms director for the Senate Judiciary GOP. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: George Stephanopoulos (6-0) … Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) … Glenn Beck … Jim Cramer … Bob Iger (7-0) … POLITICO's Margy Slattery, Kaitlyn Tibbetts, Rodrigo Zuleta and Selby Schnobrich … Reuters' Aram Roston … Izzy Klein … Mindy Finn … Susan Crabtree … John Yang … Kyle Trygstad … Scott Sendek … Cathy Gillespie … CNN's Mallory Thompson … Stacy Kerans … WSJ's Michael Gordon (7-0) … Marisa Kashino … Mimi Sheraton (95) … Michelle Levi Noe … Liz Hill … Connecticut state Rep. Caroline Simmons … Bruce Gates … Anne Kaiser … Merck's John Cummins … Jeff Jacoby … Alex Davidson of the Beer Institute … Jessica Meyers, editor-in-chief of Global Press Journal … John Sturm (74) … Roberta Flack Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Do you have a copy of the Trump-Putin memcons? 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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