| | | | |  | | By Lisa Kashinsky and Kelly Garrity | MAKING THE CASE — The U.S. Supreme Court justices’ seeming skepticism of a Colorado ruling that disqualified former President Donald Trump from that state’s ballot under the 14th Amendment could bode well for him — and poorly for those pushing to strip his name from the ballot here. Over two hours of arguments on Thursday, justices expressed deep concerns about letting individual states decide whether to disqualify a presidential candidate for engaging in an insurrection. And those doubts didn’t just come from the court’s conservative wing. Two of the three liberal justices, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined in the questioning of states’ decision-making power in this situation and the potential political ramifications. “Why should a single state have the ability to make this determination, not only for their own citizens but for the rest of the nation?” Kagan asked.
|  Protesters are seen outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, on Feb. 8, 2024, ahead of oral arguments on a case on whether or not former President Trump can remain on the ballot in Colorado for the 2024 presidential election. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | If the justices rule in Trump’s favor, as they appear poised to do — and especially if they say states don’t have power to decide ballot qualifications — it could “end the litigation across the country,” said Marc Salinas, an attorney who is representing Trump against the ballot challenge he faces in Massachusetts. Like in the Colorado case, Free Speech For People and Shannon Liss-Riordan are arguing that Trump is ineligible for the Bay State ballot based on his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol. But the question before the state’s highest court right now is one of jurisdiction. The state’s Ballot Law Commission dismissed the group’s challenge in January because of how Trump’s name landed on the March 5 primary ballot. A single Supreme Judicial Court judge rejected an appeal along the same procedural lines. Neither decision engaged directly with the 14th Amendment question. Liss-Riordan and the liberal advocacy group appealed to the full SJC and asked the bench to consider the case without waiting for the Supreme Court. But the SJC’s docket shows no action since Jan. 30. And Liss-Riordan said she’s “disappointed” with how Thursday’s Supreme Court hearing played out. “Once again, no one seems to be focused on the substance of the argument that we and other challengers across the country have made,” the former attorney general candidate told Playbook, saying the high court’s justices were more concentrated on procedural issues on Thursday than on whether Trump engaged in an insurrection. “We wanted the Supreme Court to weigh in and address the question [of Trump’s eligibility] on the merits. I don’t think we’ll get an answer on the merits. But we might get an answer that disposes of the question across the country on procedural issues,” Liss-Riordan said. And that, she added, would be “a very unfortunate result.” GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. It’s not clear when the Supreme Court will rule in the case, though they are moving quickly on it. Super Tuesday is less than a month away… TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey has no public events. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Rep. Bill Keating are among the elected officials set to attend Bridgewater State University’s Cyber Range opening at 2:30 p.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at DeeDee's Cry Mental Health While Black Summit at 9:30 a.m. at Encore Boston Harbor and attends a Lunar New Year celebration at 10:30 a.m. in Dorchester. THIS WEEKEND — Jay Ash is on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. State Sen. Peter Durant is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday. Wu is on NBC10’s “At Issue” at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email us: lkashinsky@politico.com and kgarrity@politico.com.
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S GOVERNORS SUMMIT: Join POLITICO on Feb. 22 to dive into how Governors are wielding immense power. While Washington remains gridlocked, governors are at the center of landmark decisions in AI and tech, economic development, infrastructure, housing, reproductive health and energy. How are they setting the stage for the future of American politics, policies and priorities? How are they confronting major challenges? Explore these questions and more at the 2024 Governors Summit. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | GRADING THE GOV — A pair of new polls paint somewhat mixed messages about Gov. Maura Healey’s approval rating just over one year since she moved into the corner office. A Suffolk University survey of 1,000 registered voters put Healey’s job-approval rating at 54 percent, while 31 percent disapprove of the work she’s done so far. Similarly, nearly 53 percent of voters surveyed viewed her favorably, while 32 percent held a negative view. The Feb. 2-5 poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Meanwhile, a poll conducted by Republican-aligned firm Advantage Inc. for the conservative Fiscal Alliance Foundation found 46 percent of respondents viewed Healey favorably. And 37 percent viewed the Democrat unfavorably. The Feb. 3-6 survey of 788 likely presidential primary voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. Perhaps more critically for Healey, both surveys showed immigration issues are gaining salience among voters here as the migrant crisis worsens. The Suffolk poll found that “immigration and border security” was the second-most important issue on voters’ minds. A plurality, 47 percent, deemed it “an emergency situation, and among the most serious issues facing the U.S.,” while 32 percent said it’s “a major problem, but not an emergency.” A majority of respondents in the Fiscal Alliance poll, 53 percent, said they did not support tax dollars being used to support migrants under the state’s “right-to-shelter” law. Even more, 72 percent, said they do not believe taxpayers can continue to sustain the current level of migration into the state. But most voters don’t hold Healey responsible for the state’s immigration struggles. Only 7 percent of respondents in the Fiscal Alliance poll pinned responsibility for migrants coming to Massachusetts on the governor. Thirty-nine percent blamed President Joe Biden, while 27 percent blamed Congress. MORE ON MIGRANTS — The Healey administration’s continued search for office space to use as temporary overflow shelter for migrants is raising alarms in South Boston, where officials are eyeing a building in Fort Point, the Boston Herald reports. The state’s newest overflow shelter site at the Cass Recreational Complex in Roxbury, which opened last Wednesday, is quickly nearing its 400-person capacity. — “DiZoglio Feels Shortchanged By Healey's Budget,” by Alison Kuznitz, State House News Service (paywall): “Under Healey's proposal, the auditor's office would see a 2.1 percent increase in funding, compared to a 9.2 percent increase to Attorney General Andrea Campbell's office, a 9.5 percent increase to Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro's office, a 10 percent increase to Secretary of State William Galvin's office and a 4.8 increase to Treasurer Deb Goldberg's office, according to figures shared by [Auditor Diana] DiZoglio's team.” — “Top House Dems Rule Out Steward Bailout,” by Alison Kuznitz, State House News Service (paywall): “Criticizing past financing deals struck by Steward CEO Ralph de la Torre, House Speaker Ron Mariano and Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Aaron Michlewitz sounded dubious as they discussed the bridge funding deal touted by a Steward executive to stave off the feared hospital closures for now.” — "Driving your Tesla in Apple’s Vision Pro Goggles? Beacon Hill could soon ban that," by Matt Stout, The Boston Globe. — “Towns around Quabbin Reservoir should be better compensated for sacrifices, say lawmakers,” Lisa Mullins and Lynn Jolicoeur, WBUR.
| | DAY IN COURT | | — “Lawyers for student barred from wearing shirt to school that said ‘there are only two genders’ argue before Boston appeals court,” by Travis Andersen, The Boston Globe: “[They’re] contending administrators violated his free speech rights. … It wasn’t clear when the appellate court will issue its ruling.”
| | | | YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics. | | | | | | | DATELINE D.C. | | IF MEMORY SERVES — The White House was already busy cleaning up Biden’s latest verbal gaffes (mixing up heads of state and recalling recent conversations with long-dead world leaders), when special counsel Robert Hur’s report came out Thursday afternoon. Hur’s team didn’t find enough evidence to charge Biden for mishandling classified documents. But the report’s withering description of Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” put one of the 81-year-old president’s biggest political liabilities back at the forefront of the 2024 campaign. Biden insisted “my memory is fine” in an emotional White House press conference later that night. But minutes after defending his mental acuity, Biden mixed up the presidents of Egypt and Mexico when asked about negotiations over hostages held by Hamas. Republicans seized on the report and on Biden’s slip-ups. But Rufus Gifford, the former 3rd Congressional District candidate and Biden administration alum who now serves as the finance chair of the president’s reelection campaign, was among the Democrats who came to Biden’s defense. “I was with him for six hours [on Wednesday]. Hundreds of people. Dozens of questions across the political spectrum. There is no one I’d rather have in the Oval Office,” he posted on X. MEANWHILE, ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL — Former President Donald Trump won another two GOP nominating contests, in Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
| | IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN | | — “Divided panel calls for shift away from natural gas,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “A divided state commission is calling for more aggressive steps to shift Massachusetts away from its reliance on natural gas for energy, but it’s not clear if state lawmakers will take up any of the proposed changes."
| | | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | | — “‘It’s sad that makes me a villain’: Longtime Newton councilor ousted after leading city’s zoning rewrite,” by Andrew Brinker, The Boston Globe: “[Deborah] Crossley’s fate could ring out beyond Newton, highlighting just how challenging the next few years will be for the 150-plus communities in Eastern Massachusetts that must pass new land-use rules that make it easier to build housing, too, and for the local officials who must take the lead. Some will have to do so at the risk of their political careers.” — “Framingham voters must decide between two groups for local Democratic Committee leadership,” by Jesse Collings, MetroWest Daily News: “When city Democratic voters visit the polls for the March 5 presidential primary, the most exciting race on the ballot may well be one that contains the names of several of their neighbors. That's because the Framingham Democratic Committee has two competing slates of candidates, after a schism occurred among leaders of the group.” — “Worcester Housing Authority being investigated for living and working conditions,” by Sam Turken, GBH News. — “States edge closer to regional fund for fishermen hurt by offshore wind projects,” by Anastasia E. Lennon, The New Bedford Light.
| | MEDIA MATTERS | | — “Amid ratings challenges at GBH, external investigation probes workplace culture,” by Mark Shanahan, The Boston Globe: “[T]here’s considerable static inside GBH’s Brighton headquarters at the moment. Several staffers, including [host Jim] Braude, say there’s an undercurrent of fear and intimidation fostered by domineering bosses whose push to make the station more relevant online — on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok — has affected morale and undermined the radio and TV broadcasting that has been GBH’s bread-and-butter.”
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | TRANSITIONS — Commonwealth Care Alliance has appointed Amy Bianco as state public policy, advocacy and community engagement director for Massachusetts. — MTF President Doug Howgate was appointed to the Boston Federal Reserve’s New England Public Policy Center’s advisory board. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Gail Huff Brown, Geoff Young, Jessica Ross and Audrey Scagnelli. HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to former state Senate Ways and Means chair Stephen Brewer; The Boston Globe’s Jeff Jacoby; Nolan O’Brien, Christopher Hartman, Peter Douvris, Jess Arena and Jonathan Pappas, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers Governor’s Councilor Terrence Kennedy, E&E News/POLITICO’s Evan Lehmann, Hannah Lindow, Olga Davidson and Cameron Merritt. NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: BIVALVE PARTISANSHIP — Host Lisa Kashinsky checks in on the state of the state GOP a year into Chair Amy Carnevale’s tenure. Hosts Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith talk polls and ballot measures. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | 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 | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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