| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | BREAKING: German Chancellor OLAF SCHOLZ just announced he's halting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline over the Russia/Ukraine crisis, per Deutsche Welle. END OF DIPLOMACY? — It happened. On Monday, Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN sent troops — er, "peacekeepers," as Moscow's propaganda machine is calling them — into separatist regions of Ukraine. The move came less than a day after Putin and President JOE BIDEN agreed "in principle" to make a last-ditch effort at diplomacy with a face-to-face meeting. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN was set to iron out those details in a meeting with his Kremlin counterpart Thursday. But with the Russian military rolling across Ukraine's borders — see these (as yet unconfirmed) videos oftanks moving in — there are questions about whether that can happen. — Our colleagues Bryan Bender and Paul McLeary put it like this: "Welcome to the new Cold War. And like the last one, strap in for a long and costly military and diplomatic duel with the Kremlin." AN 'INVASION' OR NOT? — As of Monday night, the White House was refusing to call this an "invasion" — though we'll see how long that lasts given public pressure from lawmakers. Senior administration officials were awkwardly dancing around the matter in a background briefing with reporters, refusing to answer the "i-word" question because of the consequences it would bring. In short: Calling Russia's move into the separatist areas — which administration officials said Monday night were "long anticipated" — an "invasion" would "trigger sanctions on Russia and imperil diplomatic meetings that were set on the condition that Russia not invade Ukraine," as our Paul and Andrew Desiderio report . Rather, Biden officials sought to argue that Russia moving troops into the Donbas region "would not itself be a new step," as they've had a presence there since 2014. "There have been Russian troops in the Donbas [region] for eight years," the official said, noting that Russia has denied that presence in the past but now "looks like it's going to be operating openly in that region." Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY was also trying to keep as calm as possible, telling his country late at night that Russia was simply formalizing the military presence they've already had — and that Ukraine didn't plan to respond militarily, POLITICO Europe's David Herszenhorn reports from Odesa. But his ambassador to the U.N. was warning Russia would go further. "Ahead will be a difficult trial," the Ukrainian defense minister said in a statement today. "There will be losses. You will have to go through pain and overcome fear and despondency." HERE'S THE PROBLEM: Lawmakers on Capitol Hill aren't playing these word games. The squawking, unsurprisingly, started on the GOP side, with Republicans on the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services panels demanding full and maximum sanctions right away. They argued that by the administration's original position, this is an invasion, plain and simple. Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) said the move "should immediately be met with forceful sanctions to destroy the ruble and crush the Russian oil and gas sector." Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.), Democrats' favorite Republican, took to Twitter on Monday night to argue that "the Biden Administration and our allies must impose full set of crippling sanctions now." The sentiment quickly spread to Democrats. First, Senate Foreign Relations Chair BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.) chimed in: "To be clear, if any additional Russian troops or proxy forces cross into Donbas, the Biden administration and our European allies must not hesitate in imposing crushing sanctions." Then, Sen. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.), a top Biden ally in the upper chamber, said in a statement Monday night that "the time for taking action to impose significant costs on President Putin and the Kremlin starts now." If Biden is losing Coons, he's got a problem. To be sure, the administration official Monday night did tell reporters that additional sanctions were coming today, but there's still a question about how tough they will be — and how far the White House will go — if they don't recognize this as an invasion of Ukraine. Former acting CIA Director JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: "Putin has choreographed this with the hope that we and the Europeans will debate whether this is an 'invasion' or not. And hoping that throws us enough off balance that he will pay a minimal price for this first slice of salami."
| | | | A message from Amazon: Chatonn got a raise when she chose to join Amazon, where starting wages are at least $15 an hour . A bigger paycheck boosted her buying power and allowed her to afford art supplies for her daughter and karate classes for her son. "Amazon allows me to be the parent I want to be," she said. "That is everything to me." | | | OTHER RUSSIA-UKRAINE THREADS: — On those separatist regions in eastern Ukraine: Putin "recognize[d] the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, framing his show of defiance against the West in a series of nationally televised appearances that came amid Western fears of Russian invasion in Ukraine," reports AP's Vladimir Isachenkov, who described it as a "carefully orchestrated political announcement years in the making." Watch Putin refer to Ukraine as a "colony." Other helpful visual: NYT provides a map of the two breakaway regions at the center of the conflict. And WaPo's Sammy Westfall breaks down the history of the region — On the Biden administration's move to slap sanctions on the separatist regions but not Russia, NYT's Michael Shear and David Sanger have more: "The limited nature of the sanctions appeared intended to allow the United States and its European allies to hold in reserve the more aggressive sanctions they have threatened to impose on Moscow if Mr. Putin sends Russian armed forces into Ukraine, and to allow for the increasingly slim possibility of a diplomatic solution." "Russia is used to sanctions," Foreign Minister SERGEY LAVROV boasted this morning. — On another embassy move: Bloomberg's Jennifer Jacobs scoops, "U.S. is moving its Ukraine embassy staff out of the country and into Poland for security reasons … They may return … tomorrow if the Russian invasion doesn't happen, I'm told." — And then there's this: "Biden administration officials have discussed plans with the Ukrainian government for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to leave Kyiv in the event of a Russian invasion, according to two people familiar with the discussions," NBC's Carol Lee, Courtney Kube and Kristen Welker report. "Under a plan that's been discussed, Zelenskyy would relocate to Lviv in western Ukraine, about 50 miles from the Polish border, the people familiar with the discussions said." — The U.N. Security Council "held a rare nighttime emergency meeting on Monday at the request of Ukraine, the U.S. and other countries," per the AP. The tone was dire: "Undersecretary-General ROSEMARY DICARLO opened the session with a warning that 'the risk of major conflict is real and needs to be prevented at all costs.'" WHAT PUTIN WANTS — What exactly is Putin's endgame in all of this? In a sentence: "He wants to renegotiate the end of the Cold War," WSJ's Stephen Fidler writes. "In sum, Mr. Putin seeks to undo many of the security consequences of the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, an event the Russian leader has called the 'greatest geopolitical catastrophe' of the 20th century. Given that the past century encompassed two world wars, the Holocaust and much else, Mr. Putin's superlative is revealing." THE GLOBAL TOLL — As Russia appears on the brink of invasion in Ukraine, the world is wondering what effect a military move will have on the global economy. In reality, it's already begun. "The promise of punishing sanctions in return by President Biden and the potential for Russian retaliation had already pushed down stock returns and driven up gas prices," NYT's Patricia Cohen and Jack Ewing write. What's next: "An outright attack by Russian troops could cause dizzying spikes in energy and food prices, fuel inflation fears and spook investors, a combination that threatens investment and growth in economies around the world." Good Tuesday morning. Or should we say, Twosday — it's 2-22-22 ! But we don't know if that signals good luck — or bad! Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | BIDEN'S TUESDAY: — 10:15 a.m.: The president and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the President's Daily Brief. — 3:30 p.m.: Biden will host a virtual event on mineral supply chains, clean energy manufacturing and creating jobs with Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM, national climate adviser GINA MCCARTHY, Deputy Defense Secretary KATHLEEN HICKS and California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM. Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 2 p.m. THE SENATE and THE HOUSE are out.
| | | | JOIN THURSDAY TO HEAR FROM MAYORS ACROSS AMERICA: The Fifty: America's Mayors will convene mayors from across the country to discuss their policy agendas, including the enforcement of Covid measures such as vaccine and mask mandates. We'll also discuss how mayors are dealing with the fallout of the pandemic on their local economies and workforce, affordable housing and homelessness, and criminal justice reforms. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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Russian President Vladimir Putin leads a Security Council meeting at the Kremlin on Monday. | Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | THE WHITE HOUSE A BIG MOMENT FOR BIDEN — It was a busy holiday weekend for the president. CNN's Kevin Liptak has the 360-degree view : "President Joe Biden is readying massive sanctions on Moscow after predicting a Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin at any moment. … He is nearing a decision on the first Black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court and will announce his selection at some point in the next week. … And he is several drafts into a State of the Union speech aides hope can recalibrate his economic message amid high inflation and Covid exhaustion, two issues with only narrow room for presidential intervention. … The view from the White House: "Officials describe the current set of issues he faces as directly in Biden's wheelhouse and describe a President eager to take them on. Over the course of his decades-long Senate career, he was chairman of both the Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees – experience that lends itself to the Ukraine and Supreme Court situations. He has attended more State of the Union speeches than perhaps any person currently alive. "Biden once hoped to escape the taut atmosphere i n Washington for Wilmington last weekend to continue working on his speech, but after some back-and-forth, decided to remain at the White House over the holiday. He spent the previous weekend going over drafts with his top message adviser MIKE DONILON at Camp David. As he writes his address, Biden is seeking ways to convey his understanding of Americans' economic unease, according to officials, who say the President will deliver a message that reflects current anxiety over high prices while also touting the past year's accomplishments." Plus, a nugget on the SCOTUS nomination: A source familiar with the process told CNN that "Biden sat down with at least one candidate late last week. It's unclear how many face-to-face sessions Biden has done or if he met with anyone else over the weekend as he dealt with the Ukraine crisis, but the 'interview phase is underway,' the person familiar said, and things are on track for an announcement within the next week." JUDICIARY SQUARE DURBIN SPOTLIGHT — Senate Judiciary Chair DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) sat down for an interview with WaPo's Mike DeBonis, Seung Min Kim and Rhonda Colvin on the Supreme Court nomination process, which he says will "represent a capstone moment" in his career. The story, which profiles the No. 2 Senate Democrat who will oversee the vetting process in committee, notes that his "unpresuming, unfailingly courteous, thoroughly Midwestern personality has played against his interests at times. … But senators of both parties said this month that his composure might be exactly what the Judiciary Committee needs." Case in point: "Durbin said he is putting in the effort to keep the process on a bipartisan track. His first call after learning of Breyer's retirement last month was to Sen. CHARLES E. GRASSLEY (R-Iowa), the Judiciary Committee's top Republican. Durbin said his message was succinct: 'I'm not going to stab you in the back. and I'm not going to surprise you. I'm going to let you know what's coming so that we can work on it together.' … Durbin also placed an immediate call to Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (Maine), who voted for both of Obama's Supreme Court nominees and is seen as the most likely Republican vote for Biden's nominee among the handful of GOP senators who could support the pick." And in a particularly prescient quote, Durbin summed up why Dems want to get this show on the road ASAP: "The longer you wait, the more likely things get complicated with outside events. What if in the middle of this, God forbid, war breaks out in some part of the world? I mean, things can happen. So if I have a singular focus, it's to get this done in an orderly, predictable way in a timely fashion."
| | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | ALL POLITICS ANOTHER ONE FOR HARTZLER — One of the nation's leading anti-abortion groups is choosing a side in Missouri's heated GOP Senate primary, Natalie Allison reports. "The Susan B. Anthony List is endorsing [Rep. VICKY] HARTZLER, currently the third-place candidate in a crowded field of Republicans vying to succeed retiring GOP Sen. ROY BLUNT," in a race that many expect to be a key decider in which party controls the Senate. The move comes just days after Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) did the same. SCOOP: SCHMITT TO MAR-A-LAGO — Speaking of this Show-Me State primary, on Monday night GOP candidate ERIC SCHMITT, the Missouri A.G., sent around invitations for a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago on March 10. He's the first candidate in the race to host such an event at the former president's resort, we're told — prime real estate for anyone trying to swing a DONALD TRUMP endorsement. We heard last week that Trump likes him, and has spoken to him four times in two months at different events. The invitation DEBATE DEBACLE — Ohio GOP Senate candidate JOSH MANDEL and Dem candidate MORGAN HARPER participated in a debate Monday evening. Things got, uh, interesting. Axios' Columbus man Tyler Buchanan tweeted a thread of clips from the debate, including one where Mandel spars with an audience member, one where he insults Harper's intelligence and invokes Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.). And then there's one where Mandel says: "Morgan, do you know the only country on the whole planet where Africans were not brought as slaves? The Jewish state of Israel." (Um … Israel declared its independence in 1948.) Harper refused to shake Mandel's hand after it was over. — ICYMI: Here's Michael Kruse's must-read profile of Mandel for POLITICO Mag, which published a few days ago. TRUMP CARDS MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA BREAK AGAIN — Trump's own social media app got off the ground Monday, marking a year since he was banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. "His Truth Social app was offered for download from the Apple App Store to a limited number of subscribers who had preordered. Others who were added to a waiting list are to be given access over the next 10 days," AP's Bernard Condon writes. So how is it? The app "went live in Apple's App Store on Sunday night, and would-be users immediately ran into glitches and error messages," The Daily Beast's Zachary Petrizzo and Jamie Ross write. "Around 11 p.m. ET, select users who tried to create accounts were repeatedly met with a red error warning: 'Something went wrong. Please try again.' Shortly thereafter, around midnight, others were told that the app was simply too popular for them to join it, with a warning that read: 'Due to massive demand, we have placed you on our waitlist.'" Here's one review: EMILY MILLER, Republican comms strategist and conservative author, didn't have much good to say. AMERICA AND THE WORLD FOR YOUR RADAR — "Iran, the U.S. and other world powers are nearing a deal to revive the 2015 nuclear accord, although negotiators are still wrangling over significant final demands from Tehran, including the scope of sanctions relief. An agreement could be finalized in Vienna within the next couple of days, said officials involved in the talks," WSJ's Laurence Norman reports. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION COMING THIS WEEK — An organizer of the truck convoy that has its sights set on the D.C. region told Fox 5's Lindsay Watts that "there are plans to shut down the Capital Beltway." BOB BOLUS, who "owns a truck parts and towing business in Scranton … said he plans to leave Pennsylvania Wednesday morning, drive through D.C. then head to the Beltway." What should you expect? Here's Bolus: "I'll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor. That basically squeezes you, chokes you and it swallows you, and that's what we're going to do the D.C." OK then!
| | | | DON'T MISS CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | IN MEMORIAM — "BOB BECKEL, a Democratic strategist and former co-host of 'TheFive,' has died at age 73," Fox News' Joseph Wulfsohn and Brian Flood report. "Beckel first joined Fox News in 2000 as a contributor providing political analysis and rejoined the network in 2011 … SEAN HANNITY paid tribute to his 'dear friend' Monday night, saying 'he and I got along great' despite their politics, saying he 'had a key to my house' and that Hannity's own children would call him 'Uncle Bob.' "'He was always full of joy, happiness, light, sunshine. He loved God and Jesus and we miss him already. God bless you, Godspeed, Bob Beckel,' Hannity said." CPAC released its list of speakers, which included former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard. Nancy Mace went quail hunting to celebrate Presidents Day. Kyrsten Sinema spent Presidents Day doing what she loves most: working out. This time, biking Patagonia. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, on the other hand, spent her day off detoxing and destressing — by dunking her face in ice water. Neil Cavuto returned to his Fox Business show Monday after an absence and revealed that a recent second bout of Covid-19 hospitalized and nearly killed him. George Pataki, the former three-term Republican governor of New York, is the subject of an effort to persuade him to run again. AP reporter Phillip Crowther covered the situation in Ukraine-Russia in … six different languages. D.C. chef extraordinaire José Andrés revealed to the WSJ that he eats churros for breakfast. Presidential historian Michael Beschloss commemorated Presidents Day by sharing photos of presidential mattresses in a series of tweets. WaPo also celebrated the holiday with a throwback to a 2018 article in which a college student found a lock of George Washington's hair … fun. The George Polk Awards on Monday announced their 15 winners — chosen from 610 entries, the most ever. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — David Peña Jr. is being tapped as the executive director of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Peña has served as executive director for the National Hispanic Business Association and the Hispanic Dental Association, president for college and universities at ALPFA National, and president for the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce. TRANSITIONS — Sulma Arias will be executive director of People's Action and People's Action Institute. She previously was director of immigration and power building for Community Change and Community Change Action. … Sally Guthrie is now associate director of U.S. public affairs at Becton, Dickinson. She previously was associate director of congressional relations at the American Optometric Association. … Becca Trate is now a policy analyst at the Center of Data Innovation, part of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. She previously was comms manager at the National Association of Broadcasters. … K. Laurie McKay has been appointed VP of government relations and protocol for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She previously was a director at Greenberg Traurig. WEEKEND WEDDINGS — Molly Nuñez, a VP at BerlinRosen, and Matt Bisgyer, VP at Energy Impact Partners, got married last weekend. The couple met on the second day of orientation at Washington University in St. Louis and tied the knot 10 years to the day after they started dating. Pics — J. David Grossman, VP of regulatory affairs for the Consumer Technology Association, and Soumi Saha, VP of advocacy for Premier Inc., got married Saturday at the Tidewater Inn in Easton, Md. The couple, who were introduced by a mutual friend in October 2020, celebrated with family, friends, and their dog Rosie over the holiday weekend. Pic, via Dani Leigh Photography … Another pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Zach Warmbrodt, financial services editor at POLITICO, and Jessica Sidman, food editor at Washingtonian, welcomed Zeb Warmbrodt on Feb. 15. — Sarah-Lloyd Stevenson, senior manager for public policy at Amazon, and Pete Stevenson, a regulatory consultant with Technology Science Group, on Saturday welcomed Sarah "Caldwell" Stevenson, who joins big brother Will. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) (5-0) … Hugh Hewitt … Rodney Hood … David Axelrod … Alex Slater … AARP's Martha Boudreau … Alyssa Mastromonaco … Kristen Soltis Anderson … Caroline Donlon of Rep. Jay Obernolte's (R-Calif.) office (24) … Peter Siegal of Norton Rose Fulbright … Bob Bauer (7-0) … Jennifer Poersch … Chris Crawford … Ed Brookover … Viet Dinh … MSNBC's Dan Holway … CNN's Laurie Ure … eBay's Elizabeth Oblinger … AP's Michael Biesecker … Ryan Eaton … Andy Burness … Jay Driscoll … Liz Glover … Dan Gilgoff … Ellis Brachman … Shawn Martin … Desireé Luckey … Marissa Lang … Angelique Pirozzi … Lauren Orndorff … Yvesner Zamar … Ned Michalek … Ellen Gosnell … Dave LesStrang … POLITICO's Heidi Sommer … John Gibson … NBC's Keir Simmons (5-0) … Jim Friedlich … former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (7-0) … Alan Katz … former Rep. John Bryant (D-Texas) 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.
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