| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Rachael Bade | Presented by ExxonMobil | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | JUST POSTED — “Joe Biden’s Last Campaign,” by the New Yorker’s Evan Osnos: “For as long as [President JOE] BIDEN has been in politics, he has thrived on a mercurial mix of confidence and insecurity. Now, having reached the apex of power, he gives off a conviction that borders on serenity — a bit too much serenity for Democrats who wonder if he can still beat the man with whom his legacy will be forever entwined. … “Given the doubts, I asked, wasn’t it a risk to say, ‘I’m the one to do it’? He shook his head and said, ‘No. I’m the only one who has ever beat [DONALD TRUMP]. And I’ll beat him again.’ … ‘I’d ask a rhetorical question,’ Biden said. ‘If you thought you were best positioned to beat someone who, if they won, would change the nature of America, what would you do?’”
|  Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is touting the Biden administration's infrastructure bona fides ahead of this week's State of the Union address. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images | SOTU SHALL THIS PASS — Biden spent the weekend at Camp David working through his State of the Union address ahead of Thursday’s joint session. He’ll likely have no bigger single opportunity to command the attention of the American public ahead of November’s election. The stakes for Biden and the aides assembling the speech, led by deputy chief of staff BRUCE REED, are enormous. Not only does Biden have to deliver the usual laundry list of goals and accomplishments for his administration, but he’s also facing tremendous pressure to address the mounting concerns about his age and fitness for the job with a vibrant performance. The details of the speech are being closely held, and there’s no telling whether Biden can manage a breakout moment — such as last year’s jab at the GOP over Medicare and Social Security. But the White House is preparing its usual pre-and-post-speech comms blitz — one that includes, yes, national media (see above) but also regional TV interviews, briefings with social media influencers and road trips for Cabinet members and other administration officials. As we broke last week, Biden heads to Philly on Friday and Atlanta on Saturday, while VP KAMALA HARRIS is headed to Arizona and Nevada and other administration officials fan out across the country through the rest of the month. A sampling:
- Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM heads to Colorado Friday to highlight clean energy projects;
- Ag Secretary TOM VILSACK heads to Arizona on March 11 to discuss rural economic opportunity on March 11;
- Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN heads to Kentucky on March 13 to highlight Biden’s Investing in America agenda;
- Ed Secretary MIGUEL CARDONA heads to Massachusetts on March 14 to discuss “educational opportunities for students of multicultural backgrounds”; and
- Interior Secretary DEB HAALAND heads to Arkansas on March 20 to discuss “ecosystem restoration and habitat conservation.”
“In a fractured communications landscape, many Americans won’t consume the State of the Union collectively in the same moment or through the same medium; therefore, we’re fanning out aggressively not only on Thursday but in the weeks ahead to reach Americans where they receive the news with the President’s message about whose side he’s on,” said White House comms director BEN LaBOLT. One Cabinet official who is already stumping before the big speech is Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG, who is out front trying to sell the bipartisan infrastructure law with a slick new docuseries about how projects funded by the bill are improving voters’ lives, our colleague Adam Wren reports. The first episode focuses on the Blatnik Bridge connecting Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. Watch the episode “This is the time for storytelling, and all of us have a role to play,” Buttigieg told Adam in an interview over the weekend, responding to suggestions from the likes of DAVID AXELROD and ROBERT GIBBS that Biden needs an “all-star team” of fellow Democrats to help him win in November. “That’s an important part of government, leaving aside the politics of it. The White House has always been quick to consult the members of Cabinet and the administration,” he said. “I expect that to continue. I’m here to help any way I can.” More from Adam’s Q&A … This digital video series comes as recent polling shows voters trusting Trump over Biden to handle infrastructure. How do you account for that? “I think that shows the importance of storytelling. Look, not everyone has the time to follow the flows of funding that would show you that this or that project is being done in your community. It’s happening … and frankly, not every state or governor gives Joe Biden credit for that. We need to make sure that there’s an understanding in communities red, blue, and purple that these things are happening for a reason and, importantly, that there’s more where this came from.” Why is Trump leading Biden in virtually every poll? “I try not to get absorbed in polls this far out. But I know that more than ever, people get very different sources [of information], sources that don’t even overlap sometimes. … It’s one of the reasons why it’s important to travel where you can engage local news media that cut across some of those ideological boundaries. It’s why we’re making a point of things like this digital series that will help us tell stories that might reach people who aren't following the ins and outs of infrastructure policy.” Are you prepared to serve in a second Biden term — and potentially longer than the longest-serving Transportation secretary, NORM MINETA? “I don’t think I’ll be setting records, but I want to make myself useful however I can.”
|  Nikki Haley claimed her first victory of the nominating calendar, securing D.C.'s 19 delegates. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO | SWAMP THING — NIKKI HALEY finally notched a win in a Republican presidential primary. Unfortunately for her, it’s not a win she seems especially eager to embrace. Haley won Washington, D.C.’s primary with almost 63% of the vote, garnering its 19 delegates — nearly doubling her tally. The win, her campaign says, makes Haley the first-ever woman to win a Republican primary contest. Obviously the D.C. Republican electorate — or at least the roughly 2,000 party people who trudged down to the Madison Hotel over three days of weekend balloting — isn’t especially representative of the party at large, so you can be forgiven if you give this news a shrug. (Just ask MARCO RUBIO and JOHN KASICH, who finished neck-and-neck in D.C.’s 2016 GOP primary.) As D.C. GOP Chair PATRICK MARA put it to our colleague Natalie Allison: “This universe is a little more sophisticated than just about any universe in any other state. I listen to the political podcasts in the morning. I read the newsletters throughout the day. That’s probably, like, half the people showing up at this.” We here at Playbook love our newsletter and podcast sophisticates, don’t we folks? But that won’t stop us from pointing out that Haley’s first win could also be her last. Today, Trump is expected to sweep the 29 delegates at stake in North Dakota’s caucus, and tomorrow, he’s poised to tromp through the 16 Super Tuesday states. Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Were you the sole RYAN BINKLEY voter in D.C.’s GOP primary? Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. TRUMP’S BIG WEEK IN COURT — The Supreme Court yesterday posted an unusual notice to its day-ahead schedule: “The Court may announce opinions on the homepage beginning at 10 a.m. The Court will not take the Bench.” Court watchers immediately interpreted that to mean that the justices’ decision is imminent on Trump’s eligibility for the office under the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. Authorities in Colorado, Maine and Illinois, you’ll recall, have stricken Trump from their ballots, and the court is widely expected to overrule them. It could be just the beginning of a consequential week for Trump — one that could hand him some serious victories as he seeks to delay or avoid his various legal entanglements as he sails to the Republican nomination. Besides the 14A ruling … — His federal classified documents trial in Florida could be delayed by Judge AILEEN CANNON. Oral arguments on Friday ended without a ruling from the bench, but Cannon could decide at any time to push the trial from its current May 20 start date. Prosecutors have proposed July 8, while Trump’s lawyers want it pushed after the election — or until August at the very least, an option that could create conflicts with his other trials. — And then there’s the effort to disqualify Georgia DA FANI WILLIS from her conspiracy case against Trump and numerous co-defendants alleging election subversion. Willis stands accused of creating a conflict of interest by hiring a romantic partner as an assistant prosecutor; she denies the charge, which could completely derail the case if sustained. Fulton County Judge SCOTT McAFEE heard final arguments on Friday and said he’d have a ruling within the next two weeks, so the clock is ticking. ONE TO WATCH — Kamala Harris meets later today with Israeli minister BENNY GANTZ as Biden finishes up SOTU prep at Camp David. The meeting comes amid signals that the White House is getting increasingly fed up with Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU and his wartime government amid the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Harris yesterday notably used the perch of the annual Selma-to-Montgomery march commemoration in Alabama to ramp up the administrations calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, as Eugene and Eun Kim report: “‘Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate cease-fire at least for the next six weeks, which is currently on the table,’ she told the Selma crowd, drawing loud applause. … Harris’ remarks reflect the Biden administration’s most pointed frustrations yet about the Middle East crisis and a recent shift in its public comments.” THE WEEK — Tomorrow: Super Tuesday presidential primaries in 16 states. California Senate primary. … Wednesday: Fed Chair JAY POWELL testifies before House Financial Services on monetary policy. NTSB Chair JENNIFER HOMENDY testifies before Senate Commerce. Hawaii holds Democratic presidential primary. … Thursday: Biden delivers State of the Union address at 9 p.m. Powell testifies before Senate Banking. House Judiciary panel holds latest hearing on “weaponization” of government. … Friday: Federal appropriations expire for more than a dozen departments and agencies at midnight. February jobs numbers released. American Samoa holds GOP presidential caucus. Biden travels to Philadelphia for a campaign event. … Saturday: Biden travels to Atlanta for a campaign event. … Sunday: Daylight Saving begins at 2 a.m. The 96th Academy Awards.
| | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The House and the Senate are out. 3 things to watch …
- Habemus minibus! House and Senate appropriators released a six-bill, 1,050-page, $459 billion spending package yesterday — a breakthrough in the long-running government funding tussle. Expect the House to attempt passage under suspension of the rules on Wednesday, setting up Senate passage before the Friday midnight deadline. A big caveat: As Jennifer Scholtes and Caitlin Emma note, this package represents less than a third of overall discretionary funding, and some of the thorniest battles have been left for the second minibus, which needs to be passed by March 22.
- What the GOP is touting: In a statement yesterday, Speaker MIKE JOHNSON said Republicans “secured key conservative policy victories, rejected left-wing proposals, and imposed sharp cuts to agencies and programs critical” to the Biden administration’s agenda. Those include the EPA, FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which saw reductions of 6% to 10%. The package also includes a smattering of GOP-favored policy riders, like a ban on selling Strategic Petroleum Reserve assets to China.
- What Democrats are touting: The WIC nutrition assistance program gets a $1 billion bump in the bill, fulfilling a key Democratic funding priority. The other big Dem wins, however, are more about what GOP asks were left out: That includes a pilot program aimed at restricting SNAP food aid purchases, Jennifer and Caitlin note, and a reversal of the FDA’s decision allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to be sold directly to patients in pharmacies rather than administered in clinical settings only.
At the White House Biden will receive the President’s Daily Briefing in the morning. Harris will meet with Gantz at 3 p.m. and record a pair of political radio interviews at 4:30 p.m.
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No Labels says it’s still plowing ahead, but several financial backers are worrying that it missed its moment. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo | MAKE-OR-BREAK MOMENT — No Labels has long projected that mid-March, after Super Tuesday, would be a crucial decision point for whether it will mount a centrist third-party presidential bid. But with notable names like LARRY HOGAN and Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) saying no, the organization is starting to stumble with important donors, Daniel Lippman and Shia Kapos report this morning. Ahead of next month’s convention, the group says it’s still plowing ahead — but several No Labels financial backers worry aloud that it missed its moment and has waited too long to make its plans and slate clear. “It’s like buying a ticket to see TAYLOR SWIFT, and you show up to see MADONNA fall off the stage,” one source with direct knowledge of the vetting process says of the struggle to land a big recruit. One possible secret weapon in Democrats’ fight against No Labels turns out to have been BILL CLINTON. He told Hogan and especially Manchin that running with No Labels risked a Trump victory, N.Y. Mag’s Gabe Debenedetti reports as part of a look at the Clintons’ recent, assertive return to the political arena. Clinton talked to Biden on Air Force One about the difficulties of his reelection messaging. HILLARY CLINTON, meanwhile, has been talking with Harris and “convening groups of friends and political allies for private dinners to talk through the coming election season and to drum up badly needed support for Democratic candidates.” More top reads:
THE ECONOMY HEAD-SCRATCHER — “Rent is driving inflation. But there’s something off in the data,” by WaPo’s Rachel Siegel: “[O]ne key part of the inflation picture may already look far worse than things really are. … [A]lmost every data source, except the consumer price index kept by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows that [rent] costs actually are cooling significantly — or even falling.” CONGRESS
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Mitch McConnell is leaving big fundraising shoes to fill once he steps down as Senate GOP leader. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | FOLLOW THE LEADER — One of Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL’s greatest accomplishments has been his fundraising prowess for the GOP — to say nothing of his career-long drive to enlarge the power of money in politics. And the men vying to replace him will have to demonstrate that they can match his machine, WSJ’s Kristina Peterson, Anthony DeBarros and Jack Gillum report. So far this cycle among the likeliest successors, Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas) has brought in $10.7 million, Sen. JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.) $7.5 million and Sen. JOHN BARRASSO (R-Wyo.) $3.2 million. But any of them would need to work hard to inherit some of McConnell’s crucial donor relationships. All three men are also getting busy on the Senate campaign map this year, with endorsements, fundraisers and appearances to benefit the various candidates who could become their next colleagues, Axios’ Stef Kight and Stephen Neukam report. Barrasso has often been out ahead in endorsing conservative candidates early, including BERNIE MORENO in Ohio, while Thune has raised more for the NRSC this cycle than either of the others, and Cornyn is hosting some high-flying fundraisers for the likes of DAVID McCORMICK. Of course, nobody has closer relationships with the Senate field than NRSC Chair STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.), who could be a Trump-backed dark horse for GOP leader. MEDIAWATCH THE MESS AT THE GRAY LADY — “How the Times stumbled on a sensitive Israel story,” by Semafor’s Ben Smith: “Institutions of all sorts are struggling to win trust in this kaleidoscopic, networked world. If you can’t do the painstaking work of presenting an incontestable truth with absolute confidence, the alternative is humility and an openness to multiple points of view.” POLICY CORNER PRETTY STRIKING — Former U.S. Border Patrol chief RAUL ORTIZ never spoke with Biden or Harris during his time in office, he told CBS’ “60 Minutes” as part of a broader look at the situation at the border and Texas Gov. GREG ABBOTT’s faceoff with the federal government. More from Cecilia Vega, Aliza Chasan, Andy Court, Annabelle Hanflig and Camilo Montoya-Galvez Related read: “Federal appeals court to allow controversial Texas immigration law to take effect, if SCOTUS doesn’t intervene,” by CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez MORE POLITICS
|  Tammy Murphy is looking for a big reset in her New Jersey Senate campaign. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | PRIMARY COLORS — New Jersey first lady TAMMY MURPHY, the state Democratic machine’s anointed Senate frontrunner, faces a big moment today as she tries to turn the tide against Rep. ANDY KIM’s more grassroots, insurgent campaign, Matt Friedman and Daniel Han preview. The party convention in Bergen County — the state’s largest, whose county party chair has endorsed Murphy — “could be a much-needed reset” for Murphy after Kim surprised her with five straight county convention victories. Bergen insiders say she is indeed expected to triumph today. “The very fact that there’s even a question about the Bergen County Democratic nod,” however, “reveals the extent of the troubles her campaign has faced since its November launch,” Matt and Daniel note. Kim has led in some polling ahead of the June primary, and Murphy needs to show that she hasn’t lost all the party rank and file. If she wins the convention, under New Jersey’s unique system, she’d get favorable placement on the ballot in Bergen. More top reads:
BEYOND THE BELTWAY COURTING DISASTER — “Florida’s surgeon general is under fire for measles advice. But the GOP is defending him,” by Arek Sarkissian in Tallahassee: “An outbreak in Broward County has split the state.”
| | | | CONGRESS OVERDRIVE: Since day one, POLITICO has been laser-focused on Capitol Hill, serving up the juiciest Congress coverage. Now, we’re upping our game to ensure you’re up to speed and in the know on every tasty morsel and newsy nugget from inside the Capitol Dome, around the clock. Wake up, read Playbook AM, get up to speed at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report, and fuel your nightly conversations with Inside Congress in the evening. Plus, never miss a beat with buzzy, real-time updates throughout the day via our Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Mike Collins is fending off accusations of antisemitism after a puzzling tweet. Donald Trump’s White House staffers reportedly used stimulants regularly. Lisa Murkowski won’t vote for Trump or Joe Biden. The Democratic Socialists of America endorsed “Uncommitted” in the Dem primaries. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Mayra Alejandra Rodriguez is now assistant press secretary at DHS. She most recently was comms director for Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.). TRANSITIONS — The Biden campaign is staffing up its digital team, Wired’s Makena Kelly reports, with Ryan Thompson as chief mobilization officer, Kate Conway as creative director, Cat Stern as director of digital persuasion and Clarke Humphrey as a senior adviser for digital persuasion. … C.M. Files is joining New America as its inaugural digital director. They previously were a VP in the corporate affairs practice at BCW Global, leading on digital and labor issues, and are an AFL-CIO and Purpose alum. … Dave Dorey is joining Liff, Walsh and Simmons as a partner and head of its labor and employment group. He previously was senior litigation counsel at the Fairness Center, and is a DHS and DOL alum. WEEKEND WEDDING — Joe Kalmin, senior director of government affairs at FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), and Gloriana Chaves, director of recruiting and HR at Team Placement Services, got married Saturday in San Jose, Costa Rica. They met on Bumble after she lost a bet and had to use a dating app for a couple of weeks as a result. Pic … Another pic Note: Yesterday’s Playbook mistakenly included the wrong day’s birthdays. Here are the correct March 3 and March 4 birthdays: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY: House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) … Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) … Marc Short … Ira Glass … Dan Conston … WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom … Elaina Plott … Ron Chernow … Alex Smith … POLITICO’s Lily Mihalik Bhandari … George Little … Jesse Hunt … Susan Zirinsky … Mayer Brown’s Andrew Olmem … Tim Morrison … Peter Mirijanian … Carlton Carroll … America First Policy Institute’s Steve Smith … Hadar Arazi … Cameron French … Michael Remez … Roll Call’s Jason Dick … Patrick Gavin … Laura Engquist of Rep. Troy Balderson’s (R-Ohio) office … John Roscoe … Cecilie Combs … Tyler Ann McGuffee … Jason Gerson … Spencer Hurwitz … Hannah Blatt … Ghada Alkiek … Charles Cote … Mike Yelovich … former Rep. Paul Cook (R-Calif.) … Ajay Kuntamukkala … Alexa Henning HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) … Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) … NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard and Alex Butcher-Nesbitt … Emily Bazelon … former Energy Secretary Rick Perry … Doug Hoelscher … Shirley Henry … UNICEF’s Cathy Russell … Maria Recio … Jesse Solis … POLITICO’s Mark McQuillan … Seth Washington of Rep. Valerie Foushee’s (D-N.C.) office … Allison Putala … Kate Bennett … Stephanie Gidigbi Jenkins … Abby Jagoda … Fenton’s Valerie Jean-Charles … Jennifer Loraine … Larkin Parker of Sen. Michael Bennet’s (D-Colo.) office … Scott Cunningham … Simone Ward … Callista Gingrich … Ellen Gilmer of Bloomberg Government … Brooke Nethercott of Rep. French Hill’s (R-Ark.) office (3-0) Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Corrections: Yesterday’s Playbook misspelled Anne Applebaum’s name. It also incorrectly conflated Wisconsin’s new state legislative map and a potential new congressional map. | | | | 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 political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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