| | | | | |  | | By Tara Palmeri | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | THE REBOOT — With his agenda stalled in Congress, President JOE BIDEN is switching strategies, "a stark admission that his approach to governing so far has fallen short," NYT's Michael Shear, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Katie Rogers report. "Biden will retreat from the tangle of day-to-day negotiations with members of his own party that have made him seem powerless to advance key priorities, according to senior White House advisers. The change is part of an intentional reset in how he spends his time, aimed at emphasizing his power to govern as president, rather than getting trapped in a series of congressional battles. "Four internal strategy memos drafted by White House advisers this week lay out the shift ahead of Mr. Biden's first State of the Union address to Congress on March 1: The president will ramp up his attacks on Republicans ahead of the midterm election campaigns to help Democratic candidates. He will travel the nation more and engage with voters. And he will focus more on what he has already accomplished than on legislative victories he hopes to achieve." BACK TO THE FUTURE — "Biden's attempt to salvage the centerpiece of his economic agenda has revived some of the same battles among Democrats over the same tax and spending proposals that have bedeviled the plan for months," Bloomberg's Erik Wasson and Emily Wilkins report. And while earlier this week the president "suggested the $2 trillion package could be broken into 'chunks' with some elements set aside, many congressional Democrats aren't willing to abandon the [expanded child] tax credit, which has emerged as one of the biggest hurdles in negotiations." Sen. SHERROD BROWN (D-Ohio) said he'll "fight like hell" to restore the credit. THE DOUBLE DIPPER — DONALD TRUMP has floated the idea of doling out dual endorsements in some of the key midterm races as he becomes increasingly suspicious of his advisers who are pushing competing candidates. The GOP kingmaker-in-chief has grown so distrustful of all the advice he's getting from various aides — and so wary of being lured into picking the wrong horse — that he's floated an idea that would essentially dilute his endorsement. "He feels like he's being penned in," said a person close to the former president, explaining that Trump's logic is that dual endorsements would mean, "I get two chances to win." Another source of Trump's endorsement apprehension: He isn't clear about which advisers have significant personal or financial ties to the candidates they're bending his ear about. "He's at times suspicious of the recommendations that people give him when he knows they're being paid," an adviser to the former president added. "He's been asking who is paying who." A few examples of the conflicting advice he's getting in high-profile races: — In the Missouri Senate race, PAM BONDI, who heads Trump's super PAC, has advocated for her longtime friend, state A.G. ERIC SCHMITT. But KELLYANNE CONWAY is advising Rep. BILLY LONG's campaign, and KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE serves as national chair of former Gov. ERIC GREITENS' campaign. — In Ohio, tech billionaire PETER THIEL has been lobbying Trump to pick J.D. VANCE for Senate, while Conway works for BERNIE MORENO's campaign. Neither candidate is a clear frontrunner. — In the Pennsylvania Senate race, former White House aide DINA POWELL is pushing Trump to endorse her husband, hedge fund magnate DAVID MCCORMICK. But SEAN HANNITY is urging him to back celebrity doctor MEHMET OZ. — In Arizona, Thiel and Trump's top political aide SUSIE WILES have been pushing BLAKE MASTERS in the GOP Senate primary. Wiles works for Masters' super PAC. But former Trump ambassador RIC GRENELL has endorsed JIM LAMON. Trump was already getting gun-shy about endorsements after feeling burned by several of his early nods. The biggest bust was SEAN PARNELL in the Pennsylvania race, whom Trump backed at the urging of DONALD TRUMP JR. only to see the candidate drop out amid scandal. Trump is also starting to have regrets about his June endorsement of Rep. TED BUDD (R-N.C.) for Senate. Trump's former chief of staff MARK MEADOWS pressed for Budd, but he's now struggling in the polls. Then there's Rep. MO BROOKS (R-Ala.), whom Trump endorsed in April at the urging of STEPHEN MILLER. Brooks has not only lost ground in that state's Senate contest, he also angered Trump when he said at an August rally that people need to move past Trump's 2020 loss and focus on 2024. Three people close to Trump said that he's so furious with Brooks that he's weighed rescinding his endorsement. Another person close to the former president said he does not expect that Trump will ultimately endorse two candidates in the same race. More likely is that he will shower praise on multiple candidates or offer them some other form of acknowledgement, such as granting each a visit to Mar-a-Lago to pose for a picture with him. While Trump could choose to sit out some Senate races, some in his inner circle worry that not endorsing at all would cede power to his nemesis, MITCH MCCONNELL. The Republican Senate leader and Trump have not always seen eye to eye on which candidates offer the party the best hope of winning competitive Senate races. Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. | | | | A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API): Massive, intertwined, fundamental. Words to describe meeting the world's growing need for energy while ushering in a lower-carbon future is It's the opportunity of our time, and progress is underway in America. America leads the world in emissions reductions, and America's natural gas and oil supply chain is committed to accelerating progress. See our plan to drive technology breakthroughs, mitigate emissions from operations, and partner, innovate and advance cleaner fuels together. | | | MORE ON TRUMP — RUDY GIULIANI and several Trump campaign officials "oversaw efforts in December 2020 to put forward illegitimate electors from seven states that Trump lost," sources tell CNN's Marshall Cohen, Zachary Cohen and Dan Merica . People on "Trump's campaign team were far more involved than previously known in the plan … and Giuliani and his allies coordinated the nuts-and-bolts of the process on a state-by-state level. "Trump and some of his top advisers publicly encouraged the 'alternate electors' scheme in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico. But behind the scenes, Giuliani and Trump campaign officials actively choreographed the process." AND FINALLY — Even though he's touted the coronavirus vaccine as perhaps "one of the greatest achievements of mankind" and even called politicians "gutless" for not revealing their booster shot status, the former president is still willing to fundraise for anti-vaxxers. He's planning to attend a fundraiser for JOE KENT, a Trump-loving retired Green Beret who's strongly against the vaccine and is running a competitive primary campaign against Rep. JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER (R-Wash.), who voted for impeachment. The event at Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 1 is being hosted by Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle. "President Trump is a very open-minded guy, and he likes to hear people's opinions," Kent told Daniel Lippman. "And this demonstrates that we will have healthy discussions internally and this isn't a cult of personality or anything like that." HOW WILL BIDEN TRY TO BOUNCE BACK? — It's been a rough first year for Biden, whose presidency has endured arguably more losses than wins so far. Eugene talks with CEDRIC RICHMOND, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, and White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López about Biden's strategy for winning back Americans. Listen and subscribe to Playbook Deep Dive | 
| | | | | A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API):   | | | BIDEN'S FRIDAY: — 8 a.m.: The president will meet virtually with Japanese PM KISHIDA FUMIO. — 9:30 a.m.: Biden will receive the President's Daily Brief. — 11 a.m.: Biden and Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO will deliver remarks about semiconductor supplies, the supply chain and efforts to "make more in America." — 1:50 p.m.: Biden will speak to the nation's mayors at the U.S. Conference of Mayors' winter meeting at the Capital Hilton. — 4 p.m.: Biden will leave the White House for Camp David. VP KAMALA HARRIS' FRIDAY (Eastern times): — 9:30 a.m.: The VP and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will leave D.C. to head to San Bernardino, Calif. — 4:25 p.m.: Harris will get a wildfire briefing with Agriculture Secretary TOM VILSACK at the Forest Service Del Rosa Fire Station. — 4:55 p.m.: Harris and Vilsack will deliver remarks focusing on the bipartisan infrastructure law's wildfire-focused investments. — 7:15 p.m.: Harris will leave San Bernardino to head to Los Angeles. Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at noon. The White House Covid-19 response team and public health officials will brief at 1 p.m. THE SENATE and THE HOUSE are out. | | | | JOIN NEXT FRIDAY TO HEAR FROM GOVERNORS ACROSS AMERICA : As we head into the third year of the pandemic, state governors are taking varying approaches to public health measures including vaccine and mask mandates. "The Fifty: America's Governors" is a series of live conversations featuring various governors on the unique challenges they face as they take the lead and command the national spotlight in historic ways. Learn what is working and what is not from the governors on the front lines, REGISTER HERE. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY | 
Anti-abortion activists protest outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Jan. 20. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | CONGRESS THE MEANING OF JIM CROW TODAY — NYT's Jonathan Weisman and Annie Karni highlight how the three Black senators — CORY BOOKER (D-N.J.), TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) and RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-Ga.) — provided their perspectives during debates on the latest voting rights legislation. "The protracted proceedings underscored how heavily the white leaders of both parties lean on the few Black members of their rank-and-file when issues of race arise," the pair writes. "The moral force that the three senators could marshal to their causes was clear. The back-and-forth between Mr. Scott, the son of a struggling single mother in working-class North Charleston, S.C., and Mr. Booker, a former Rhodes Scholar and big-city mayor, provided a striking moment, as they fought over the meaning of Jim Crow in the present day." ABOUT THAT RAID — The FBI raid of Rep. HENRY CUELLAR's (D-Texas) home and campaign office Wednesday was "part of a wide-ranging federal probe relating to the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan and several U.S. businessmen," a source told ABC's Mike Levine. "A federal grand jury in Washington is investigating the matter, but it's unclear if Cuellar is a target of the grand jury's probe." ALL POLITICS CASH DASH — Alex Isenstadt goes inside Thiel's unusual approach to pumping big money into the midterms, including non-fungible tokens, Silicon Valley types who don't usually support Republicans, and big-ticket dinners discussing deepfakes and JEFFREY EPSTEIN. He's helped boost Masters and Vance. Now, "Thiel has become such a draw that candidates in other races have begun reaching out to those in the investor's orbit in the hope that Thiel could help them, too." UP NEXT: ELECTION POLICE — NYT's Michael Wines : "Republican politicians in at least three states are proposing to establish police forces to hunt exclusively for voter fraud and other election crimes, a category of offenses that experts say is tiny at best. … Supporters say the added enforcement will root out instances of fraud and assure the public that everything possible is being done to make sure that American elections are accurate and legitimate. "Critics say the efforts can easily be abused and used as political cudgels or efforts to intimidate people from registering and voting. And Democrats say the main reason Republican voters have lost faith in the electoral system is because of the incessant Republican focus on almost entirely imagined fraud." | | | | A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API):   | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD MAJOR INVESTIGATION — The NYT's recent spate of bombshell reporting on civilian casualties from U.S. bomb strikes continued Thursday with an in-depth story from Dave Philipps, Azmat Khan and Eric Schmitt on a series of 2017 explosions that hit Syria's largest dam even though it was on a "no-strike list." U.S. military officials declared they hadn't done it. In fact, they had, via a top-secret task force that "used a procedural shortcut reserved for emergencies, allowing it to launch the attack without clearance" from high up the chain of command. Though the strike risked a flood that could have killed tens of thousands of civilians, a massive bunker-buster bomb happened to be a dud and didn't explode. And if engineers hadn't rushed to stop catastrophe in the aftermath of the bombings, "the number of casualties would have exceeded the number of Syrians who have died throughout the war," a former dam director says. U.S. Central Command acknowledged to the NYT that it dropped three massive bombs, "but denied targeting the dam or sidestepping procedures." THE VIEW FROM EMBASSY ROW — Ryan Heath, Alexander Ward and Nahal Toosi spoke with 19 ambassadors and top embassy staff to paint a picture of how they've viewed the first year of the Biden administration. The takeaway: They're much more positive than they were during the Trump administration, "but they're frustrated by the lack of high-level access and plodding decision-making," especially on national security policy. BEYOND THE BELTWAY SCOTUS WATCH — The Supreme Court closed off one of Texas abortion providers' last chances of speedily overturning of the state's near-total abortion ban, denying a motion that would have sent the case to a different court. That helps ensure the law will remain in place for what looks to be months to come. The court's three liberal justices dissented, including a blistering dissent from Justice SONIA SOTOMAYOR that warned, "This case is a disaster for the rule of law." More from the Texas Tribune MEDIAWATCH POLITICO TURNS 15 — John Harris writes on POLITICO's 15th anniversary: "I Predicted the Fall of Journalistic Institutions. Now It's Time to Lift Them Up": "This notion — that in the digital age institutions were losing much of their historic power to set an agenda while individual journalists were gaining it — was at the root of what became POLITICO. … Let me mark the milestone of POLITICO turning 15, and the larger trend that made our success possible, with a comment about the next 15 years. It would be a very good thing if this next period of media history marks the slowing and even partial reversal of that trend. It is time for the pendulum to swing back in the direction of institutional power." TV TONIGHT — PBS' "Washington Week": Laura Barrón-López, Mike Memoli, Vivian Salama and Carl Hulse. SUNDAY SO FAR … | MSNBC | "The Sunday Show": House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) … Howard Dean … Ari Berman … Donna Edwards … Tim Wise. | Gray TV | "Full Court Press": Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) … Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). | FOX | "Fox News Sunday": South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. Panel: Marc Thiessen, Julie Pace and Mo Elleithee. | CBS | "Inside Politics": Panel: Asma Khalid, Jeff Zeleny, Rachael Bade, Astead Herndon and Susan Glasser. | ABC | "This Week": Panel: Sarah Isgur, Donna Brazile, Michel Martin and David Sanger. | NBC | "Meet the Press": Panel: Peter Baker, Carlos Curbelo, Symone Sanders and Kristen Welker. | | | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | A video has surfaced of West Wing Playbook author Alex Thompson appearing on "The Jay Leno Show" back in the day — and trust us, it should not be missed. Eric Adams refunded a $2,000 campaign donation from Brock Pierce after flying on the crypto-billionaire's private jet to Puerto Rico in November. Billy Bush said he drank a lot and struggled with PTSD after being fired by NBC over the "Access Hollywood" tape. Donald Trump insisted he has a "very good relationship" with Ron DeSantis, before adding: "You know, when he wanted to run, he asked for my support and I supported him and he went, you know, up immediately very, very high." Kelly McBride, NPR's public editor, wrote that Nina Totenberg's story this week about Neil Gorsuch being asked but refusing to mask up "merits clarification." Amanda Gorman almost didn't read her poetry during Joe Biden's inauguration. "I was scared of failing my people, my poetry. But I was also terrified on a physical level," she wrote in a NYT op-ed. Quote of the day: Lauren Boebert texted BuzzFeed, "I'm too short to see anyone's yarmulkes." SPOTTED at the Hive Rooftop on Thursday for a farewell party for the British Embassy's political director James Hooley, who is returning to London: John McCarthy, Helen Milby, Valerie Biden Owens, Jennifer Holdsworth, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Greg Schultz and Missy Owens. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Steve Coll, the New Yorker staff writer in his last year as dean of Columbia Journalism School, is working on a new book for Penguin that is a narrative history of the run-up to the invasion of Iraq from Saddam Hussein's point of view. The book takes advantage of many pages of records from the former Iraqi president's regime and recordings of his conversations with regime leadership that have rarely been mined by anyone besides academics. (h/t Daniel Lippman) — Longtime Democratic polling firm ALG Research, which works with the White House and was Biden's main pollster in the 2020 campaign, is changing its name to Impact Research and elevating partner Molly Murphy to president. Founder John Anzalone and the other partners will continue their active roles in the company. HOLLYWOODLAND — "The Comey Rule's" Billy Ray is writing and directing a new feature film based on the Jan. 6 insurrection, called "J6," per Deadline's Mike Fleming Jr. Adam McKay is producing. Michael Fanone consulted on the screenplay, and Ray also interviewed Harry Dunn and members of Congress. MEDIA MOVE — David Firestone, executive editor of NBC News Digital, is retiring this spring after five years at NBC and more than 45 in journalism, including at the NYT and FiveThirtyEight. STAFFING UP — Matthew Miller is joining the NSC comms team temporarily to work on Russia/Ukraine, per Alex Ward. He is currently a partner at Vianovo, and is an Obama DOJ alum. TRANSITIONS — Marcus Jadotte is now SVP of government relations at Crowley. He most recently was VP of federal government relations at Raytheon Technologies, and is an AAR, NASCAR and Obama Commerce alum. … Kate Loomis has joined the United Nations Foundation as special assistant to the president and CEO. She is a former U.N. diplomat and Jackie Speier alum. … … The Raben Group has added Tonya Veasey as a senior adviser and Emily Chiang and Noelle Howey as principals. Veasey previously was CEO and president of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Chiang previously was a public policy manager with Facebook. Howey previously led Everytown for Gun Safety's cultural and entertainment advocacy team. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) … former A.G. Eric Holder … Tyler Cowen (6-0) … Will Holley of Firehouse Strategies … CNN's Sam Feist and Matt Hoye … Getty Images' Win McNamee … Matt Cooper … John Shinkle … L.A. Times' Jen Haberkorn … Will Bunch … Jim Davidson … Bob Sensenbrenner … ABC's Chris Donovan … SKDKnickerbocker's Josh Isay … former Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) … Edelman's Sean Neary and Lyla Shaibi … Michael Comer of House Minority Whip Steve Scalise's (R-La.) office … Becca Glover of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's office ... Jonathan Grella of JAG Public Affairs ... Jack Weiss ... Roberto Coquis ... Alex Plitsas ... Elizabeth Wickett ... Jordan Grossman ... Kyle O'Connor ... Michael Lemov ... Rich Juliano ... Steve Rosenthal (7-0) ... Campbell Spencer of FORA Partners … Loren DeJonge Schulman … Joe Donoghue … former Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. | | | | A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API): Progress is made in America and powered by natural gas and oil. U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions are at generational lows, due largely to the increased use of natural gas to generate electricity. At the same time, methane emissions intensity is down by nearly 60 percent in the past decade across the largest key U.S. producing regions.
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